Photomart University

3D Photography for Children

admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:21:28 +0000

I’ve mentioned my disdain for 3D in previous posts and this particular article that I found just infuriated me even more. Takara Tomy created a toy camera so that children can play with 3D photography!! It’s a really cool concept though, I won’t lie, I would have begged my mom to buy me one of these… Then I would have gotten a headache shortly after using it, then vomit all over the place.

This simple toy camera lets kids shoot 3D stereoscopic photos, print them , and then view the photos using a special fold-up viewer. Cons: the camera costs $70, and only shoots at 0.3 megapixels.

Via: PetaPixel
Source: Engadget

- MC

Share this Post[?]

A Look at the Phantom HD Camcorder!

admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:09:01 +0000

Tom Guilmette gets the chance to play with the Phantom HD Gold, as seen here on this video from Vimeo.

The Phantom HD GOLD High Speed Digital Cinema Camera from Tom Guilmette on Vimeo.

Via: PetaPixel
Source: Vimeo

- MC

Share this Post[?]

Must Have Photography Accessories Under $25

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:08:04 +0000

Photography can be an expensive hobby. Cameras cost a bundle and lenses for DSLRs often cost a lot more than the camera body. Once you come to grips with the money you spent on the bare necessities it can be daunting to think about spending another fortune on accessories.

The good news is there are plenty of photography accessories that costs less than $25 (US). I’ve put together 15 of my favorites, and they often cost a lot less than $25. But I don’t think of them as “cheap” or “budget” items. These are valuable tools I would want in my kit even if money was no object. The combination of value and low cost means they make great gifts too.

1. White Foam Core - At around $5 this is probably the least expensive lighting equipment you’ll ever own. The white surface can be used to bounce light into shadows, softening hard contrasty light. Or, place it between your subject and the light source to cast shadows where you want them. You can even place it behind your subject for a clean distraction free background. Buy just one from a craft store for a few dollars, or get a pack of 5 boards on amazon.com for about $15.

2. 18% Gray Card (AKA Medium Gray Card – Use your post processing time to get creative, not fixing basic exposure and white balance problems. A medium gray card helps you get it right “in camera” for just $10. An 18% gray card is designed to represent the average photographic scene by reflecting an average amount of light (18% give or take). Cameras are designed to reproduce average scenes, but not every scene in real life is average. Your camera can be fooled into under or over exposing pictures of very bright or very dark scenes. Using a gray card to set exposure will give you much more accurate results. You can also use an medium gray card to set a custom white balance for more consistent color in your photos.

3. Spray Bottle - The trick to shooting fresh and dewy spider webs, fruit, and flowers isn’t waking at the crack of dawn. It’s having a spray bottle handy. It might feel like “cheating” at first but when you see the results you won’t care anymore. You can’t argue with the price either. Fine mist spray bottles can be found for about one dollar.

4. Lens Pen - Leave the lens fluid and papers at home. The “pen” has a microfiber disk filled with dry lens cleaner on one end. The other end has a retractable brush. Dusting with the brush removes large particles of dust. Lightly rubbing the disk on your lens will remove smudges, fingerprints and spots. A half twist of the pen with the cap on cleans the disk. I swear by this thing. I bought one for a trip to dusty Africa and used it extensively. They’re easy to use, they work perfectly, and they’re pretty cheap (around $10). I can’t believe I didn’t have one before.

5. Cloth bag of rice/beans - If you can’t or don’t want to carry a tripod around, having a bag of rice can be the next best thing. Use it to prop up your camera or rest your lens anywhere. Keep the cloth bag empty when traveling to save space and weight. When you get to your destination buy some rice or beans and fill it up. When you’re done, either eat the rice/beans, or give them to someone in need. You can buy dedicated “beanbags” filled with plastic pellets for exactly this purpose starting at about $8.

6. Remote Shutter Release - Make tack sharp photos and no fuss self portraits for around $20. A remote shutter release lets you take the picture without touching the camera. This reduces motion blur caused by camera shake. Since the cord is a couple of feet long, it can make taking self portraits a little easier too. If you spend some time on Amazon you may even find a wireless remote shutter release that gives you even greater flexibility in the same price range. The camera’s self-timer is a less flexible but free option.

7. LED Flash Light - These things are multi tasking marvels. Experiment with light drawing and light painting at night. And while you’re out there in the dark, you can use it to see where you’re going. They’re not just for night photography though. LED lights can look pretty close to sunlight. If you’re shooting outside they can be an inexpensive stand in for an off camera flash. You can get a small LED Maglite for around $20.

8. Nikon (or similar) Lens Caps - I love my Canon, but they make the worst lens caps. Nikon caps are a lot easier to use. The pinchable area on the sides of the Nikon cap are at least twice as wide as the Canon caps. You can pinch from the center of a Nikon cap as well. This makes it easier to remove/replace the cap when a lens hood is in place. The easier it is to use the more likely I am to use it. The more I use the cap, the safer my lens is. They come in a variety of sizes (make sure you get the right size for your lens) and generally cost a few dollars.

9. A Flash Diffuser (or Wax Paper) - If you have to use the on-camera flash, you can at least soften its effects with a flash diffuser. These come in many styles but they all use a white translucent material to diffuse light. Want to try before you buy? Tape a ring of waxed paper around your pop up flash next time you use it. In principal this will do the same thing as a diffuser, though it’s not durable and certainly not professional looking. When you’re at home taking family snapshots it probably doesn’t matter if you look professional. But, fair warning, it might not be a good idea to let the bride catch you with wax paper on your camera at your next wedding gig.

10. Filter Wrench - If you have any screw on filters, one day, one of them will get stuck on your lens. It’s a sad but true fact of filter use. Filters often get stuck because the pressure from your fingers bends the filter a little when you try to unscrew them. Gripping harder to un-stick a stuck-on filter just makes it worse. A filter wrench distributes the pressure of your grip around the entire edge, gripping the filter tight without bending it. Get a filter wrench before you need one so you’re not tempted to force off a stuck-on filter and make it permanently stuck in the process. A set of two wrenches costs about $5.

11. Reflective Emergency Blanket and/or Circular Reflector - Both of these can be used to reflect light into shadows. The nice thing about the emergency blanket, aside from it being very cheap (a pack of four blankets costs a little over $5), is that the mylar it’s made of is waterproof. Throw it over your gear in a sudden downpour, or toss it on the dewey ground when you need to get low. Circular reflectors can’t pull triple duty like the emergency blanket, but they can still be had for under $25 and unlike the emergency blanket they can be held in place with one hand. Ideally, you would have both and at these prices that’s actually practical.

12. Bulb Blower - It’s important to blow off any large grains of sand and dirt before you wipe your camera or lens. You don’t want grains of sand to scratch your lens as you wipe it. A bulb blower delivers a powerful blast of clean air to blow away any dangerous particles. Skip the wimpy brush/blower combo they try to sell you in cleaning kits. The only thing they really do is shed bristled on your camera. Giottos makes a great bulb blower called the Rocket Blower for about $10.
13. Compact Backpacking Hand Towel - This is a must have if you shoot outside. An absorbent lightweight backpacking towel can whisk drops of water away before they become a problem. It’s also nice just to give your gear a quick wipe down at the end of the day to prevent dust and grime from accumulating. Keeping dust and dirt off the outside of your camera may even help keep it from getting inside your camera when you change lenses. These towels take up very little room and they’re worth every penny of the $10 they cost. *Note: I don’t use this for the front or rear element of the lens.

14. A Flickr Account - Use for archiving, getting feedback, showing off, and tracking your progress. A free account gets you 100MB of photo storage every calender month. For about $25 a year you get unlimited uploads and storage space which is awesome if you want to archive your digital photos. I really like Flickr for the community (which you get access to wether you go pro or not). Photographers start “groups” to share photos and discussions with other, like minded photogs.

Wether you want to ask questions, start a group or just have an online home for your photos Flickr’s got you covered.

15. Hot Shoe Mount Bubble Level- Keep your horizons straight even when hand-holding. It’s just a small bubble level that slips into your camera’s hot shoe. Not having to constantly straighten and crop your photos could easily be worth the $5 this bubble level costs.

These make great gifts! Is there a budding photographer in your life? A gift basket stuffed with a lens pen, compact hand towel, and bulb blower is perfect for a traveler. Are they shooting family events and holidays? Lighting accessories like reflectors, diffusors, and white foam core really come in handy for portraiture. Just bought their first DSLR? A basket with an 18% gray card, filter wrench, and remote shutter release is better than any cheap “get started kit” sold at the camera store.

Source: Digital Photography School

- MC

Share this Post[?]

2010′s Top 10 DSLRs

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:31:04 +0000

The following DSLRs are the most popular with Digital Photography School‘s readers in their purchases over the last month. They’re listed in the order of popularity in terms of sales and in the configuration (i.e. with or without lenses bundled) that they’re selling in best.

1. Canon EOS Rebel T1i

This camera has topped our best selling list for the last few months.

It’s a 15.1 megapixel DSLR which comes with an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Image Stabilised Lens.

It has a 3.0 inch LCD, full HD video capture, live view framing of images, face detection autofocusing and a good range of features.

The T1i is currently priced at $718.56 at Amazon with the lens or $631.89 body only and is a great choice if you’re looking for an entry level DSLR.

2. Nikon D90 DX

The Nikon D90 DX is a 12.3 megapixel DSLR which comes bundled with an 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AF-S VR lens.

While not Nikon’s newest camera it has many fans in our forums and it is no wonder when you see its feature set including 3.0 inch LCD (high res), Live View framing, Face Detection, Video recording Image sensor cleaning, 4.5 frames per second shooting and a lot more.

The Nikon D90 with it’s 18-105mm lens comes in at $1031.89 or you can grab it Body Only for $794.95. It’s probably one of the best cameras in the ‘enthusiast’ range of cameras and in most reviews I’ve read of it gets a very high rating.

3. Canon EOS 50D

The 50D is another mid range/enthusiast camera that is often put forward in our forums by users as one to consider and it is reflected in the sales figures among our readers. Featuring a 15.1 megapixel image sensor, 3.0 inch LCD, Live View Framing, DIGIC 4 processor and 6.3 frames per second shooting – this camera still packs a punch despite having been on the market for over a year (although no video which is becoming standard on DSLRs).

You can pick up the 50D as a body only unit for $940.89, with a 28-135mm lens for$1,131.89 or an 18-200mm lens for $1499.

4. Canon Digital Rebel XSi

Another popular entry level DSLR from Canon contineus to be the 12.2 megapixel XSi (also known as the 450D in some parts of the world).

Features on this DSLR include a 3.0 inch LCD, DIGIC III processor, dust cleaning, 3.5 frames per second shooting, Live View Framing and a range of other standard DSLR features.

Again – this gets great reviews but is perhaps starting to date a little (although is selling well according to our figures.

The Canon XSi retails on Amazon for $521.89 as a body only purchase (and a little more for a silver one). You can also pick it up with an 18-55mm lens for $556.80.

5. Nikon D5000

Nikon’s turn – with their 12.3 Megapixel DSLR.

It’s another entry level offering but this one a little more up to date than others, having been released this year – plus it has a few extra features and probably puts it in the upper end of the entry level spectrum.

Feature wise it has a 2.7 inch tilt and swivel LCD, 720p HD Movie capture, Live View, Face Detection, 11 AF points and 4 frames per second shooting.

The D5000 is getting great reviews and takes great images for something of this price point.

Speaking of price – the D5000 bundled with an 18-55mm lens (the most popular bundle we’ve seen sold) retails at Amazon for $651.89 or body only for $599.99.

6. Nikon D3000

The little brother to the D5000, this 10.2 megapixel camera has been a popular buy with those right at the entry level of DSLR purchases. In fact at present the D3000 is the top selling DSLR on Amazon.

Features include a 3.0 inch LCD, Image sensor cleaning, 11 AF points and 3 frames per second shooting. Missing in comparison are a number of features including Live View, no automatic chromatic aberation correction, slower burst shooting, no tilt and swivel LCD. It also does not have a video mode.

The price of the D3000 will be attractive to many – with an 18-55mm lens it is $469.99 and body only it’s just $419.95.

7. Canon EOS 7D

One of the newest cameras on this list is Canon’s 18 megapixel 7D – a camera that has had ALOT of press this year.

This is a camera for the serious enthusiast (in fact I know a couple of pros who have this as their 2nd camera) and it is feature rich (a true big brother to the 50D mentioned above). Features include – Dual DIGIC 4 processors, 100% viewfinder, 19 point AF system, 8 frames per second shooting, built in flash (that can control external flashes), 1080p HD video, 3.0 inch LCD and environmental sealing.

In some ways this is actually a better camera than the Canon EOS 5D Mark II – and if you don’t need a full frame sensor this could be one to consider.

Getting very high ratings – the Canon EOS 7D is priced at $1699.95 as a body only package or with a 28-135mm lens is $1899.99 (although if I were spending that much on a body I’d want to grab an L series lens to put on it).

8. Nikon D300S

In a similar space to the Canon EOS 7D we find the D300S. While lower megapixels (it has a 12 MP sensor) it’s got a great feature list. The D300 (its predecessor) was widely regarded as the top of its class by many and the 300S is a worthy update.

Features include – 720p 24 frames per second HD video (with some in camera movie editing), 7 frames per second shooting, 3.0 inch LCD, image sensor cleaning, 51 AF points, Live View and a lot more.

A camera for those who are serious about their photography the Nikon D300S is priced at $1575.95 as body only or for an 18-200mm lens bundled with it you’ll be paying $2,427.70.

9. Pentax K-7

Yay! Finally a non Canon or Nikon in the list. We promise we’re not biased, we’re just reporting what people are buying from our readership!

The Pentax K-7 DSLR is a 14.6 megapixel DSLR. It has a 3.0 inch LCD, Live View framing, Moving Mode (1280×720p 30fps moview), 5.2 frames per second shooting and weather/dust/cold resistant body.

The K-7 has a retail price on Amazon of $1,114.95 when bundled with a 18-55mm lens.

10. Olympus Evolt E520

Rounding out our top 10 list is a DSLR from Olympus which will appeal to the entry level DSLR buyer.

This camera was released this year and features a four-thirds 10 megapixel sensor, in body image stabilization, face detection, shadow adjustment, Live View and more.

While it’s features are not as advanced as some of the other cameras above for its price it’s going to be very attractive to many – Body Only it is $399.92 and bundled with a 14-42mm lens it is $449.95.

Via: PetaPixel

Source: Digital Photography School

- MC

Share this Post[?]

Learn More About Lighting with “Strobox”

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:13:36 +0000

Strobox is simple. It provides an outlet for photographers to create lighting diagrams and share them with other photographers. The website was recently upgraded and now includes a gallery where you can browse photographs done by others, view their lighting diagrams, and comment on them.

A cool feature offered to those of you who don’t have a full lighting setup, Strobox allows you to filter the photos by the type of lighting equipment used to browse photos that are more relevant to you.

Here’s what Strobox looks like with a diagram and comments:

If you’re looking to learn more about lighting, this would be a good site to bookmark.

Via: PetaPixel
Source: Strobox

- MC

Share this Post[?]

Award Winning Stop Motion Music Video

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:03:12 +0000

In January of 2009, Oren Lavie uploaded a stop motion music video to YouTube for his song “Her Morning Elegance” and became viral in just a few days. The video won many awards and 14 million views later (1 and 1/2 years later) I FINALLY come across it via PetaPixel. I don’t know how I missed it! But just in case you did too, I embedded the video below.

Directed by: Oren Lavie, Yuval & Merav Nathan
Featuring: Shir Shomron
Photography: Eyal Landesman
Color: Todd Iorio at Resolution
© 2009 A Quarter Past Wonderful

Via: PetaPixel
Source: YouTube

- MC

Share this Post[?]

15 Great Sites to Show Off Your Work

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:56:31 +0000

Creating a portfolio website is a must for any designer/freelancer. No one out there will know about you unless you market yourself as a brand. And this is precisely what a portfolio website does for you. You can easily design your own portfolio website if you are an artist. What really is more important is marketing your portfolio website.

We have listed below 15 websites that are ideal for you to showcase and brand your design portfolio. All these websites are popular among your prospective clients and your presence in one or more of these websites is surely going to give you a massive business mileage.

1. 50up.net

50up.net is perfect for new designers and students. It has an attractive layout that is devoid of any online advertisements and gives you ample space to showcase your work. It is one of the simplest websites to use and manoeuvre through and is completely free. There is no limit to the number of images and videos that you can upload on this website. 50up.net also refreshes its Fresh List every now and then so that they can highlight the best works.

2. CargoCollective.com

If you are creative then CargoCollective.com gives you a great opportunity to show your creativity to the world. This is another ad free website that is simple in design and is easy to use. This website offers you superbly designed portfolios and also gives your prospective clients a “Follow” feature through which they can track of all their favoured designs.

3. PimpArtworks.com

For those who love photography and street art, one of the best places to showcase their work is through PimpArtworks.com. You can use this website for free for your portfolio pages and you can even use the social networking feature available on this website. This website can also be used for selling your art work where you pay a base price for the production.

4. Coroflot.com

From all creative artists to all print designers, the one website that you simply cannot do without is Coroflot.com. This website is supposedly the biggest and oldest of all the websites in this domain. You can create your free portfolio and use the networking features to reach out to thousands of visitors to this website. Everything is free and you get unlimited uploads thrown in for good measure.

5. FigDig.com

When you need high definition resolution to really make your illustrations to stand out, the website you should look to use is FigDig.com. This website uses a 1224×792 HD resolution to make your work stand out. This website also allows visitors to download samples of your work in PDF format. And the amount of publicity that you get when you make to their Hall of Fame is simply unmatched.

6. DeviantArt.com

For those of you who are into 3D graphics and fantasy art, one of the best looking portfolio websites to use is Portfolios.deviantart.com. Here you also get your personal URL so that you don’t need to share space with others and this is an absolutely free service. You can also use their four free galleries that you can use for uploading as many as 18 images.

7. Vimeo.com

Vimeo.com is ideal for those that are into motion graphics. This website stands out due to the clarity and simplicity of its design and its original content. You can upload various file formats up to 500MB a week. You can also make use of the oEmbed and API tools that can be used both by novice and advanced users.

8. Flickr.com

Flickr.com came into the limelight when it was acquired by Yahoo. This website gives you all that you get from Yahoo. You can use the website for showcasing your graphic designs and photography, online image editing and tagging. This website is massively search engine optimized and helps you publicize your work using the huge social networking platform. The flickrSLiDR API also helps you embed your Flickr portfolio into your personal website.

9. Behance.net

Behance.net gives you a platform where you can collaborate with other designers of any art category. This site also has a very clean look and you can use its popular social networking platform. You also get ample support due to the website’s “members only” rules.

10. Society6.com

Another great website to showcase your illustrations is Society6.com. You can create simple to look but effective portfolios on this website for free. This website uses similar templates like the way Flickr uses and there are no advertisements to take the visitors’ attention away. You also become part of the website’s community where everyone takes pride in promoting others’ works.

11. NOTCOT.org

NOTCOT.org displays one image of yours and then provides visitors a link to your personal portfolio. This format is very useful for the visitors because when they show some interest in a particular image, they can quickly visit your profile page and get to know more about you.

12. Mojizu.com

For character designers like you, Mojizu.com helps you create your own personal profile. You can also create your Avatar and use it to combat other Avatars.

13. Carbonmade.com

Carbonmade.com gives you ease of use to set up your portfolio that the visitors can easily browse through. This website features more than 72,000 portfolios divided into 45 categories. This is ideal for those into photography and illustrations.

14. Flavors.me

Flavors.me is slick and is a platform for gathering information from Vimeo, Netflix, Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter. You can make a great impression on your prospective clients using the various colour combinations, backgrounds and font styles.

15. Squarespace.com

Squarespace.com offers you more than 60 templates with navigation options and varieties of designs. You can also manage your work with ease and use the analytics report that is available 24 by 7.

Source: dzineblog

Share this Post[?]

35 Movies in 1 Minute – Incredible

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:22:59 +0000

When I came across this video on Vimeo, I thought it was just someone demonstrating their skills in After Effects (I should’ve just read the caption haha) but when the video finished, it said that there were 35 movies in it!

This is amazing, I watched it about 5 times with my roommates trying to decipher how these simplified scenes were actually iconic moments from well-known movies. See how many you can find:

35mm from Pascal Monaco on Vimeo.

{Answers are in the comments }

Via: Vimeo

- MC

Share this Post[?]

Fun Friday: LOL: M Night Shyamalan’s Escalation

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:24:14 +0000

When the trailer for the M Night Shyamalan-scripted/produced movie Devil was screened at Comic-Con, people began laughing and booing when M Night’s name appeared on screen. I’ve seen the same thing happen to a much lesser extent at a normal Friday night screening in at the Hollywood Arclight. The M Night backlash seems to be in full effect.

M Night seems to have a sense of humor after all, and has recorded a faux movie trailer for a new thriller called Escalation (basically Devil but on a normal office Escalator which suddenly comes to a stop). The spoof trailer stars Shyalaman, Penthouse Pet Ryan Keely, one of the stars of Avatar, and MTV News correspondent Josh Horowitz. Watch the trailer now, embedded after the jump.

Movie Trailers – Movies Blog

Read more: LOL: M Night Shyamalan’s Escalation | /Film http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/08/26/lol-m-night-shyamalans-escalation/#ixzz0xpsHtf7d

courtesy of slashfilm.com

Share this Post[?]

Fun Friday:Ghostbusters vs. Stay Puft LEGO Dioramas

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:14:09 +0000

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man fighting The Ghostbusters

The following photo was taken by mhuffman at LEGOLand:

courtesy of Slashfilm.com

Share this Post[?]