High Dynamic Range Imaging

Photos by Webbarts

High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI) what a wonderful world it is, well at least for some photographers. HDRI or HDR for short-short is another alternate process for image processing. Some folks like it and some do not, kind of like the entire digital age. I personally think it can help to produce some interesting images. However, some folks just can not seem to except HDR as a valid process.
In my opinion HDR has had some bad exposure, no pun intended. For various reasons people have rejected HDR images, claiming they have no control over the math, and to think we didn’t think math was important. Also, I have heard the images have halos, and look animated and surreal. However, these are not reasons to dismiss the process but perhaps learn why this happens and try to make something good of it.
HDR has its place in photography just as all the other alternate processes and if done correctly the process will evolve into wonderful images. But you are not going to please everyone. So, for those that like HDRI drive on and those that want to learn more please join me over the next few weeks to explore HDRI a little more. Hopefully, I will be able to explain the process and help those that might need help with HDR imaging. Check back and remember please comment.

Kodak Retiring Kodachrome

Demand for digital forces company to phase out film

By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press

Updated: 06/24/2009 01:38:18 AM PDT

 

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Eastman Kodak Co. announced Monday it is retiring its oldest film stock because of declining customer demand in an increasingly digital age.

The world's first commercially successful color film, immortalized in song by Simon, spent 74 years in Kodak's portfolio. It enjoyed its heyday in the 1950s and '60s, but in recent years has nudged closer to obscurity. Sales of Kodachrome are a fraction of 1 percent of the company's total sales of still-picture films, and only one commercial lab in the world still processes it.
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5 Reasons Why Meta Data Should Be Part of Your Work Flow

Jim Goldstein  Landscape, Nature and Travel Photography

After attending the getMETAsmart event in San Francisco last week I became curious how photographers who read my blog and/or follow me on Twitter use it. To be honest I’d be even more curious how photo buyers or stock agents actually use metadata on a daily basis, but that will have to wait for another post. Metadata as many of you know is often discussed but rarely so in the context of how real people use it. While hearing about best practices is helpful everyone has a slightly different take on the subject and many address metadata differently in their workflow. Let’s first address the “why”. Why should metadata play a role in your workflow? To answer that I’ve combined my understanding of metadata with feedback received from my Twitter followers. Read on to learn more.
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Canon announces update for EOS 5D Mark II

Canon has announced a firmware update for its EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR enabling manual exposure when shooting videos. With the updated version, users will be able to manually adjust the shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings in the video mode. The new firmware will be available for download on 2 June 2009 from Canon's website. Click here to take you to the download page.

To read the full Press Release go to dpreview.com

PPA IPC Final Update

Today was the final day of the IPC. It was a great opportunity and I was glad to be invited to this event. It has been just such an eye opener to the world of photography. Something I will remember for a time to come. I leave you with a photo of the Gwinnett Tech Photo Crew and the image of the entire group photo. The entire set of photos (minus the group photo) will be on my flickr account, simply click here. The group photo can be found here.

PPA/IPC Update 2

Today was photo day! Guess what I left at home today, yep the camera. Oh well, the group photos should be on the course blog, click here to see them. However, I do have a photo of the work areas that I have not explained yet. The photo on the left is the crew work area. Photos are announced, spun and marked from this position. The crew of four work in the dark, behind a screen so not to distract the judges. A little tight at times but manageable. Come back tomorrow for the wrap up.

PPC IPC Update

With only two more days remaining, the photo competition is heating up! It has taken two days but I have noticed the students are starting to see the good and bad points of the photos. Hopefully, listening to the judges will pay off. The sorting room is the feature picture of the day. This is where the images go through a final accounting you might say. The room is divided into several staging areas. An area corresponding to each status, i.e... merit and non-merit. Each image is sorted then checked for accountability. At the end of the competition, all the images will be boxed up and shipped out. The room is like a little postal unit - reading entry numbers, sorting, resorting, stacking.... To see the all the PPA IPC photos click here.

PPA IPC

During the judging the rooms were dark and the judges would view the image and vote to give the image merit or not. The good part was when the judges would challenge a call. Then they would explain why they liked or disliked the image.

Today, the IPC went fairly well. I started in the EI room where the electronic images were. However, by the days end I was hauling and sorting photos. I liked the sorting because you get to see all of the photos - good and bad. But on the other hand you don't get to hear why the judges like or dislike the image. Nonetheless, today I saw some very good images. The clarity was out of this world. The amount of knowledge is wild; I am learning something new every 5 minutes. I for one, am glad Ms. Harkins, the PPA and all the others gave us this opportunity. Oh yeah I took a few photos today to share the fun and experience with you. Click here to see the entire set. I will add photos daily so check back often.

Duckhead Clothing?

As we were walking through a maze of shops in almost Southern Georgia, a nice little ducky decided to make a new home. I guess this must be the home of the Duckhead brand of clothing.

PPA’s International Print Competition

The PPA’s International Print Competition is a world-renowned photographic competition and it will be held here at Gwinnett Tech. This is a monumental event folks. I have been looking at the past entries and the images are just remarkable. The images on the left are samples of the amazing work. Don't miss it! I hope you have entered and good luck! For more information on the International Print Competition simply click here.

St. Philip's Stained Glass

The Cathedral of St. Philip has some wonderful stained glass. In fact the upper floor has stained glass from 1860's, pre-dating the Civil War. The stained glass, located on the upper floor hallway, are pictorials dedicated to some on the babies and young children that had died. Get a chance stop by and check it out. The Cathedral of St. Philip is located on Peachtree St., not hard at all to find.

Looks like the grades are posted.

Well folks it looks like the grades are posted. I am sure we will see each other next quarter, so until then have a good one! Oh yeah, it is our last quarter together, did you realize this?