Do You Send An Ex A Christmas Card

Tutorial / Test: Use the 50mm objective MACRO ...

How is closing for you this 2010?

're photographing / create / mess in any form or by any means that you can think creatively?

I had planned other tutorials, but since that in these days, I took the opportunity to do some 'testing homemade camera, seem right to close the year with a final tutorial dedicated to photographic technique emergency:)

careful, I'm not inventing the 'hot : the lens reversed and used as a macro is a technique also used by our grandparents ... I knew you could do that but I never tried, with the excuse that I did not want to buy a ring inversion. Then I discovered that in fact ring inversion is not essential :)

So I had to try to force. And since we are on the whole satisfied with the tests, it seemed right, duty and perhaps even useful (for those who have not yet tried) to share my results.

If you want some technical data on what we're talking to, I suggest you look here:

http://www.fotoemonti.com/nozioni/la_macrofotografia . htm

In two words:
the difference between a normal lens and a macro lens is the minimum focusing . The macro lens is made to focus on objects very neighbors, regardless of focal length, thus offering magnification factors higher or lower. This is very cool.

Important Note: macro lenses cost a ball money. This is not cool at all . T_T

A macro lens is not mounted upside down behaves "more or less" as a macro, in that it enables you to focus ravvicinatissima distance (few cm). Of course the quality is not the same as the macro to one million euros, but if you're like me pulciari of starving, it's worth taking off the whim to try this technique. I see around the lens used to make this game the most is the 50mm f/1.8, which does not surprise me. I've documented on this, but I think it is because eye:

1) is easy to handle (the 50in is small and light)

2) is cheap and then have it all:)

3) gives very sharp images (despite the cost down) and then gives acceptable results even used upside down.

4) has a filter diameter of 52mm that fits perfectly (or near) the junction of the machine

guess is that this technique can also be used with lenses of different focal length from 50mm; personally have not tried. A nose I think makes it well with the fixed focal less well with the zoom.
But I have not dared to do the test with 24-70mm risk scratching the lens on the graft ... Loca, But not stupid;)

The ring inversion
is a tool that allows you to mount the lens in reverse: the filter is screwed in place and attaches the graft machine. In this article explains how to build one with the body cap and a filter to throw. But honestly, given that a ring inversion 52mm costs about 9 €, I think labor lost.

The good news is that the ring inversion is not essential to try this technique: we have two hands for luck. One holds the lens in reverse, and the other holding the camera and shoot.

Something of this kind, so the lens rests upside down on the graft of the machine:

And so you take:



Important notes:
before I find myself inundated with emails of people he has done damage, I recommend you do a great great great attention . There are delicate parts I am sure you will not scratch, damage, mess.
In particular, working with the machine "open" to allow themselves to be discovered contacts Electrical connecting the machine to target, the ' plug (for your sake that you do not recommend scratch) and mirror (same as above, if you do not want to say hello hello to autofocus). So
handled everything very carefully, especially when placing the lens reversed graft.
In this sense, yes, have the ring inversion is comfortable and reduces the risk of accidents.
course, pay close attention to the contacts on the lens .

also know that working this way will a lot junk inside your machine . So even if your "assistant" is a bit 'of my less hairy (that you see on the right), clean everything with a good anti-static cloth before you start, and get ready in any case have to clean the mirror and sensor when finished (just the pump, there is no need for liquidity and special shoes).
However do not consider myself responsible spots on your sensor ^ _ ^


Focus:
course, it's all manual. Put the ring quietly focus to infinity: the focus is adjusted closer and away from the subject. The plan will focus a few inches from the lens, it is "only" have a well-trained eye and a very firm hand.

Aperture and depth of field:
If you have already done some tests (unhooked the lens, put upside down and photographed as above) you'll notice a lot of fun little detail: you can not adjust the aperture. :)
The machine gives a value of 0. Obvious: have you forgotten that the lens contacts are on the side opposite to where they should be? :) So
on the machine you can only adjust the exposure time (and highly recommend remain in a shorter time of 1 / 125 unless you want a micro / macromosso).
On the other hand, when dropped from the target machine is always the diaphragm to its maximum aperture ... and if you are using the 50mm ... heck f/1.8 is not really the best for opening a macro !
Firstly, because the depth of field is really too small, and because it significantly affected by stray light (if not negligible) by grafting, in the absence of ring inversion is not strictly "watertight".

$ 1,000,000 Question: How do I adjust the aperture?
Unless you some of those old analog lens aperture ring with built-in, this is the trick.
1) adjust the aperture with the lens engaged on the machine (maybe even do some test shots to see if the exposure is correct)
2) hold down the control button depth of field while unlock the 'optics.
3) Repeat the process (assemble, adjust, lock, loose) every time you want to change aperture.

The depth of field control button (this stranger) is what usually is below the reset button lens (in Canon, in my old Nikon FE Similarly, in the modern Nikon I have no idea, look at the manual!):

Photos Thomas Hawk

Hands up who has never used ... I used when I shot in analogue and then I forgot it existed ... :)
To understand what makes the heat pump control button, set the aperture at f/5.6 (for example), grasping, and push it backward. Zac! The diaphragm closes (precisely) at f/5.6.

Now if dropped while the lens keep the diaphragm closed (by pressing the two buttons with two fingers like I do below, while dropped the lens with your other hand) will have the lens removed from the machine with the diaphragm opening that you have chosen.

Just to tell the difference:

f/1.8 f/5.6 f/11

focusing, aperture
If you close the diaphragm more than f / 8, I suggest you light the scene with a bright light you will otherwise face serious difficulties to focus at a Glance ... because even the view from the viewfinder is very dark:)
Of course, you will need lots of light for photographing, but I have solved the problem using the flash with ambient light as a result much lower than that of shooting, I added a table lamp to the set to simplify your focus (as f/11 and 1 / 200 of the light table lamp becomes negligible).
Lighting
For acceptable results in terms of depth of field, I noticed that you have to go up to f/8.0. At the same time, you can not use shutter speed too long because it would inevitably shake-. Then: either you buy the ring inversion, placed the machine on its stand (keeping in mind that the subjects should be very close to the lens) and we salute you ... or need much light.
I used the flash, of course triggered because the objects to be photographed too close to use the flash on the slide of the machine. I imagine that the ring flash to be a good solution.
But if you do not have flash and / or transmitter, you can certainly hold near a bright window, or using many lamps in continuous light (like the famous spot lights that can be bought from DIY)
Conclusions and considerations
Funny: )
worth investing 'sti € 9 blessed in a ring to make your life easier and do no harm (I "accidentally" used the 350D instead of the 5D), but we say that the 50mm macro has proved satisfactory as an emergency even by hand.
As I said, for yield acceptable would not go below f / 8 and longer time periods than 1 / 125.
In any case, it is not a difficult technique and with a little 'you can also attempts to have a fairly accurate focusing.
conclude with the pictures of my tests, for each there is a crop at 100% (to understand the level of detail that can be achieved). Note that they are all taken with the 350D has a sensor that does not sublime.
When I get the ring, also baptized the 5D:)
(for now only with the 5D I took the dragonfly that I inserted at the beginning of article)

This is the maximum magnification for the 50mm used "the right way" ( image is cropped, a minimum focusing distance)

And this is how they appear with the 50mm reversed, with different apertures.

Some fennel seeds:




Coffee Beans:




cinnamon sticks:



laser-printed paper packaging:




... and now please stop playing with the lens in reverse, and go get ready for New Year's Eve!
See you next year;)

Bissell Carpetmachineplus1630-5

only those who dare to fly (but I recommend a parachute)

We have shown that want is power.

Did they tell you that to make a dream come true, one must believe really.

you have taught that if you really want something , then you can get.

It's not that is true.

If you have a dream, you got to believe, you have to defend, you have to be desired.

Without these assumptions, your dream is still there where: gathering dust in a drawer.

What they forgot to tell you, is that wanting is not enough.

is not enough to jump into the fray and hope it goes well.

If you want to fly, make sure you have strong enough wings before making the jump.

Yes, I want you, you got to believe and you have to fight.

But first you have to study both.

and get a bunch that never ends. And have

humility to accept criticism. The maturity of
recognize your limits.

And do not expect that someone else might do homework at home for you.

There are no shortcuts, no Bignami: there is "only" work hard.

Changing your name on Facebook to "John Smith" to "Mario Rossi Fireman", and distribute business cards to your neighborhood, does not make you a fireman, and if you do not know how a ' tanker and have never used a fire hose, probably valid at the first opportunity ... you're gonna burn, and ugly;)

be short of opportunities is not pleasant, but there is something worse.

To have the opportunity, and not ready: this is the worst that can happen.

{little thought for the consumption of those who have a dream, by one that seeks to achieve its feet without stepping on to the next}

(sorry for not small innocent and not vent, it's just that today, probably reduces the Christmas festivities and accomplices menstruation, are particularly intolerant of those who call themselves "graphic" and makes business cards in Photoshop, who claims to do the "programmer" and makes websites with Word, who pretends to be "photographer" and does not know how to use a studio flash ... well those who seek a shortcut to everything that I and a few other fools we have invested time and money just to study, study, study and try to figure it out. I do not have with you, I swear. I'm saying this for your own good: study, study, study)

Sincerely, Lu

NB Comments and thoughts are always welcome, do not be shy. They are not bad: it is that I draw (© J. Rabbit)

Season Greatings Texts

And you ... you were good enough this year? ;)

Berger Magicote Colour Chart

W3C Validation here is a plugin that you can not miss

If you're like me manic code "clean" and possibly "W3C Valid" (not just because it's nice to see the green light on the W3C page , but because valid html means more pages for accessibility and performance for positioning), do not miss this tool for Chrome and Firefox:
the Web Developer Extension by Chris Pederick

The functions are many and all very tasty, by resizing the browser window highlighting the meta-tags and graphics on the page, but the reason why I will point out today is that it has an entire section devoted to the W3C validation.
feature that won me over is the one that allows you to validate the sites running on the local server ... This means that if you develop locally on any language from php to jsp all'aspx, and as is likely before the publication of test pages on your localhost, you can also test the W3C validation before transferring the files to production server.

I first did this: I opened the page in my browser to localhost, I copied the source output and paste it into a file, and then shoot the file to the W3C validator . One brought her absurd.
Now with this wonderful plugin I'm leaving in the panel "tools" and simply select "Validate local HTML " (local or css). Virtually the same thing, but in a single click. :)

Note: although it is probably all right you will receive a warning:

"Using Direct Input mode: UTF-8 character encoding assumed"

will appear on your pages even if you have correctly inserted the meta tag Content-Type: appears when the validation is performed on a file submitted for upload to the validator (which is what the tool does).
Do not panic: the warning disappears when the pages are online.
conclusion, Highly recommended and very practical.
If you are interested in the topic, next time I'll explain how to validate XHTML 1.0 Strict documents although developed in Asp.net ... ;)

Which Perfume Smells Like Baby Powder

Tutorial: the sky in landscapes (and the blend mode)

Finally after a long tutorial!

Uhoooooooooooo! \u0026lt;- crowd into a frenzy:)

For the occasion, I fished out a couple of pictures of landscapes (no comment, me and landscapes are worlds apart) taken last spring on the outskirts of Madrid.

Rule No To take a good landscape "would" have the appropriate filters: this is because (I'm sure you already noticed there without my enlightening revelation) the sky is often much brighter than the rest of the scene, especially (as in this case) with the twilight and above (as in this case!) when there is so determined to photograph the brightest part of the sky ... the one with the sun!

In the absence of filters (and experience ... because the filters then you must also know how to use ... and I also know if I had them NOT to use), the best thing to do to not lose that glimpse that left us breathless is "take the lesser evil" to try to get a picture with as much information as possible.

Warning: I'm not gonna talk about HDR . For ideological not practical HDR ^ _ ^

No, Seriously. I'm sure that the HDR is pretty cool. Really. And 'that just is not in my comfort zone. Happily left the topic to someone more knowledgeable than me.

Back to the premise above, that is

• sunset / landscape beautiful
• I do not have suitable filters
• not want to do more shots at different exposures and then mix them (HDR)
• want to do a single shot and then retrieve it in the best possible post

L 'I choose exposure in these cases (and I have to practice very well in Scotland, where I believe there is heaven fucking the most beautiful and bright in the world) is what allows me to

• not burn sky (or burn a minimum area in the zone adjacent to the sun)
• not underexpose too much ground

NB: can be a good idea to turn on the histogram display on your camera;)

We come now to the case study:

A beautiful gray sky with flashes of "Vanilla Sky" potentially scorched , but beware: the histogram tells me that there is no burning. At the time of shooting, this is the only thing that interests me.

The earth is underexposed but I did not lose the shadow detail (see trees in the middle). A black eye can seem all but the histogram tells me that there's anything we should be.

I take for good the histogram, all packed together, I the plane and go back home, where I check if the photo is actually recoverable or not.

In this case what should be recovered are:

• details of the high lights of the sky
• details in the shadows of the trees in the middle

1. how to check if you have burned the detail of the highlights ?
   in other words, an area burned (completely white) is lost, you can not recover. While an area that seems to burn but is only very overexposed (not all white) can be recovered.
   To check the other lights, I act on the level: I take the indicator of the shadows and the shot to the right, stuck to the indicator lights, as you see here on the side.
   The burned areas appear white, overexposed areas but not burned, red and yellow, everything else turns black.
   This is the detail of my sky, after the test levels: there is a small burn in the area adjacent to the sun, more than acceptable, while everything else (in red) can be recovered.
   
   If I had a result of this kind, however, I learned that the white areas are still not recovered.
   
   In summary
   
   

   overexposed sky but not burned
   

   sky burned
2. How do I check that it did not "wash" the detail of the shadows?
   Same thing, but in reverse. With
   levels, move the slider to the left of the highlights (the "flattened" into the shadows. See here next.
   In this way, I have almost everything except the white areas of "holes" (ie all black) black and underexposed areas in yellow and green.
   These trees are at center stage after the second test levels: even if the area is very dark, the shadow detail is was kept at 100%. You can recover.
   
   If the result was something like this, I would have known the details of the area had been lost in black (too underexposed pierced =)
   
   In summary
   
   

   detail of recoverable trees
   

   detail of the trees lost
   Warning: know that these first two points seem a bit 'difficult and Pallos, but when I have a picture with a very wide tonal range (landscapes, ... backlit portraits exhibited bad, why not:)) I prefer to lose those two minutes to do fast this occurs, rather than wasting time on a photo and then realize that last some areas can not be recovered!
   so please read these two good points and if something is unclear ask ... and I will try to explain ^ _ ^
3. End of conversation, starting a "dirty" work: mostly a bit 'all
   There is a sure way to make a clearing to the scene without running the risk of burning the high lights: with layers, working only on the range (ie the lever in the center, the gray).
   This is the result, increasing the range of 0.1 points (ie, bringing it to 1.10): pull out the detail of the trees.
4. Now we come to the most "tricky" create a mask to act only on the lighter areas of the sky .
   I assume (I deluded!) You already know how they work forms, ie white = total opacity, black = total transparency ... if not, I suggest a review ... ^ _ ^
   In this case the nature of the image makes us the things we do for a first copy of the base layer, and a subsequent conversion b / w
   
   look for the type of conversion that leaves the most possible contrast in the sky, darkening the most of the land (if is black, even better)
5. Also on the duplicate layer (we will call for convenience "Layer Mask"), we apply the levels to increase the chiaroscuro : bright area of \u200b\u200bsky almost completely white, black earth (it means pulling a bit ' right indicator of the shadows, and a little 'to the left of the lights)
   This is our form of adjustment to the sky, for now let's keep it in a separate layer (invisible) and then see what to do: There
6. are many ways to darken the sky: what I like best is apply a copy of the layer blend mode subtractive . Translate to Italian: I make a copy of the base layer (We will call for convenience "DARK LEVEL"), and set the layer blending mode to "Multiply". In this case, I also made a conversion b / w and I adjusted a bit 'i levels for maximum contrast in the most overexposed .
   
   So in a nutshell: 1) Duplicate Layer, 2) convert to b / w and adjusts the levels, 3) change the blend mode to "Multiply".
   As you can see, we have recovered in an instant all the details of the high lights of the sky, but we have darkened over the rest. Now we see how to apply this effect only where necessary.
7. mask the effect. Let's take our mask layer, copy it and apply it as a layer mask on DARK LEVEL. Question
   $ 1,000,000. How do I apply a layer as a mask to another level?
   With Photoshop:
   - active mask layer, and copied it, ctrl + A, CTRL + V
   - Unmark all
   CTRL + D - the active form fast (in the bottom of the toolbox, hotkey: Q)
   - paste, ctrl + V
   - off quick mask (Q) will see a selection.
   - DARK LEVEL active and apply the selection as a layer mask Dark (just create a new layer mask is automatically taken and the selected area)
   With Paint Shop
   - active mask layer, and copied it, ctrl + A, CTRL + V
   - DARK LEVEL active and add a blank form
   - Active Layer Mask in Dark and paste (ctrl + shift + L)
   Done :)
   Layer Mask is no longer needed, you can trash!
   The result should look something like this:
   
   Experiment with different blending modes and see how it changes the effect.
   We could have ended here, but I wanted the landscape to a more fabulous:)
   So here begins the phase of fake:) I want a sky
8. less saturated, and then change the blend mode to "Multiply" to "Darker Color"
   
9. Not satisfied with this, do a tone violet with DARK LEVEL to adjust hue and saturation of (mode "colors", the purple hue, and saturation is not very high)
   
10. There is still a slight red dominance I would like to eliminate, especially the green of the vegetation to recover. I apply the color balance this:
    Shadows: +16 green (for trees)
    Halftone: Cyan and +12 Blue +16 (to eliminate the red color of the sky and cool)
    Lights: Red +9 (to recover the heat in the highlights)
    
11. Finally increase slightly with the pitch adjustment of hue and saturation: +13 on a tone allows me to have a green "greener" and more a purple sky. You can also increase very slightly the saturation . Without exaggeration, though!
    
    

Conclusions
This of course is just how I wanted to follow for this particular photo: different shooting situations require a different post and I will tell you more, I often shoot in the type of post- I'm going to do. So
I could take a picture intentionally dark (as in this case) because I know how to intervene in post.
Recommendations:

1. familiar with the histogram of your camera, do not rely on the thumbnail you see in the display
2. learn how to use layer masks in a "smart" (today we saw how to use a layer mask obtained directly from the image, with a more natural compared to a form edited manually)
3. EXTREMELY levels of fusion ... I must have said this already:) but when working with very strong light and shade levels can be a big merger.

The picture today was very bright, hence the decision to use a subtractive merge (Multiply, Color darker ... but try Color Burn)

In other circumstances, perhaps, may be more useful to lighten or increase the local contrast: a try combination of mergers Screen, Color Dodge and Dodge ...

or, to increase the contrast, experience the Overlay mode ... and also worked on the transparency of the level;)

In any case, I repeat what I said at the beginning: this is not the right way to take pictures of the landscape. I'm not good taking pictures of landscapes. This is a way to save the situation when you make a trip somewhere and want to take away some nice card, but you're too lazy to learn how to use filters;)