Spherical aberration – is the term for an optical fault caused by the spherical form of a lense that produces different focus points along the axis for central and marginal rays.
Curvature of field – optical defect that causes points on an object plane perpendicular to the lens axis to focus on a curved surface rather than a plane.
Astigmatism – aberration in which rays of light from a single point of an object (which is not on the axis of a lense) fail to meet in a single focus thus causing the image of a point to be drawn out into two sharp lines, one radial to the optical axis and another perpendicular to this line, in two different planes near the curvature of field.
Coma – optical defect that causes the image of an off-axis point of light to appear as a comet-shaped blur of light.
Distortion – an rectangle may appear as a barrel or pin cushion-shaped object.
Chromatic aberration – aberration caused by light rays of different wavelengths coming to focus at different distances from the lense.
Aspherical lens – a lens whose curved surface does not conform to the shape of a sphere; because a spherical surface lens has difficulty in correcting distortion in ultra-wideangle lenses or coma in large-aperture lenses brought about by spherical aberration, an aspherical lens is used.
Aspect Ratio – the ratio of width to height in photographic prints – 2:3 in 35 mm pictures to produce photographs most commonly measuring 3.5 x 5 inches or 4 x 6 inches.

more to come….

Tags: photo, photography, glossary, terms

Abstract art is now generally understood to mean art that does not depict objects in the natural world, but instead uses colour and form in a non-representational way. Abstraction is based on sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking.
But it’s a missconcept to believe that nature can not offer abstractions without human touch. The easiest way of understanding is by following this example:
Look at a tree in a way you usually do and your first thought will probably be the so called “lonely tree” theme for your shoot. But then look again at the details of the tree: the patterns of the leaves, the texture of the tree stamp, sometimes the shape of the roots. Once you look only at the picture of such parts of a tree, you begin to understand what an interesting network of colours and shapes you got. Eye caching, is it not?

Tags: abstract art, abstraction, nature, texture, sensation, pattern

First of all I confess that for me, Canon has the best image quality I’ve experienced. A520 and A620 make no exception at all. The Canon A520 is just slightly smaller and definitely lighter than the A85 it replaces (A520 only uses 2 AA accumulators, however, A620 comes back to 4 AA which last longer), but still hardly fits in your bag (sort of robust compact design). They can be used as a point-and-shoot camera in Auto or Program mode, but it’s special ability lies in the flexible exposure control it allows: Shutter-Priority, Aperture-Priority, full Manual, and easy to use scene (Kids&Pets, Fireworks, Beach, Foliage, Snow, Underwater, Indoor, Night Snapshot) and modes (fast movement, slow movement, portrait, night, landscape and, particularly for canon, panoramic mode). Also, you can choose evaluative, center-weighted, or spot metering, vivid colour, black&white or sepia. Kind of slow cameras when flash is used. MMC (Multimedia Memory Card) for storage.

As for the technical details, A520 (released in February 2005) has a 4x optical zoom, 4 MP, F2.6 maximum aperture, 15-1/2,000 sec. shutter speed range, 35-140mm (35mm equivalent) f/2.6-5.5 zoom lens, powerful noise reduction and minimum ISO 50 (not 80 as other cameras), at superfine resolution you come up to 180 instead of 75 pixels/inch, 1.8-inch LCD. But movie clips can be recorded only of up to 3 minutes, with sound.

A620 is different than A520 by its 7.1 MP and the 2.0 inch LCD that flips out and rotates.

Since I mentioned A520, there’s also to take under consideration A530 (5 MP) and A540 (6MP), but, to conclude, A620 is the last and the best from this series, therefore, my recommendation.

Optional accessories: wide-angle, telephoto and close-up lenses, an external High-Power Flash, and an underwater marine case for underwater photography.

Tags: powershot A520, powershot A620, macro mode, camera, zoom, effects, shooting speed, compact digital camera, canon, LCD, high resolution

Secure Digital Card (SD)
Compact Flash (CF)
Multi Media Card (MMC)
xD-Picture Card (xD)
MiniSD Card
MicroSD Card
USB flash drive
Memory Stick
SmartMedia

MMC is about the size of a postage stamp: 24 mm x 32 mm x 1.5 mm, compatible with SD cards. Basic cards, high-speed cards and high-end cards have speeds up to 150x or even higher! (Incredible, right?) Some digital cameras require high-speed cards to record video smoothly or capture multiple still photographs in rapid succession.

SD cards typically have higher data transfer rates, but this is always changing, particularly in light of recent improvements to the MMC (MultiMediaCard) standard. As of 2006, SD card capacities range from 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, and 512 MB, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 GB.

MiniSD cards are currently produced in capacities ranging from 16 MB to 4 GB. MicroSD is currently the smallest memory card format commercially available (15 mm x 11 mm x 0.7 mm) and available in capacities from 128 MB through 2 GB.

XD is a type of memory storage developed for digital cameras only (transferring from the xD card to computer only by plugging the camera into the PC) in a small variety: from 256 MB to 2 GB, but they are faster and have a low power consumption.

CF cards can be used directly in PC Card slot with a plug adapter, generally available in capacities from about 32 MB to about 32 GB.

With a Memory Stick (typically a small box that connects via USB or some other serial connection), a user could copy the pictures taken with the digital camera off to his computer.

Tags: cards, sd card, xd card, digital storage, mmc, high speed multimediacard, pc card, microsd, minisd, Memory Stick

Now let’s begin the “how to make” these borders:

1. create a copy of the layer called background
2. select the content of the initial background and cut it
3. give the background the color you want for the border
4. move to the “copy of background” and in the menu “Edit” go to “Free Transform” or just press “CTRL+T”
5. How holding “Shift” resize the image from a corner, then resize the opposite corner
6. Double-click to make the resize if you are sure you got what you wanted. You now have a simple border…

7. After resizing, go to the menu “Layer” -> “Layer Style” and select “Stroke”. Modify the size and color as you wish. You now have a double border…

For a transparent border you need to follow different steps.
1. Create a copy of the layer called background
2. For the initial layer (background), modify it’s opacity to 40%
3. Now go to “copy of background” and resize the image
4. It’s recommended to add a stroke to “copy of background”

There are other ways to make the borders and you are free to discover and use other methods. When about borders, the result is what matters.

Tags: border, tutorial, adobe photoshop, photoshop, picture, picture edit

The question isn’t “why a border?”, but rather, “what kind of a border?”. Simply because a picture looks better with a border and because different photos look better with different borders.
First of all, you should know that border color depends on the photo’s colors. A photo with warm colors works better with a white border, while a photo with a black border will have cold colors. However, don’t take this as a rule: If the contrast between the border and the photo is not strong enough, you are free to use a different color.

Second, the size of the border: If you have a landscape or any other kind of picture with lots of elements, or one element made of many pieces, the border should be simple and thin. A simple minimalistic picture asks for a bigger border or a more complicated, double border. The two basic colors (black and white) can be used mixed together and in a variety of tones. If you’re still not sure what kind of border to use, I have one more suggestion: a transparent border!

Go to part 2

Tags: border, tutorial, adobe photoshop, photoshop, picture, picture edit

This compact model, with a 5.08 cm display (2 inch) of 115.000 pixels (quite small…) appears to have problems while focusing in dark light and in tele mode. But the good thing about it it’s the multitude of functions and semiautomatic programs, even a manual exposure mode. Thru rapid access, in automatic mode you can change the diaphragm parameters. This camera not only uses the JPEG format, but also RAW (by the way, it used an XD card). Maximum ISO is 800. At ISO400 the image quality is week. This 9 Mp camera, with 4x optical zoom, has a high resolution, but fluctuant as the focal distance changes. Also, it creates dark corners on photos. Start-up takes 0.71 seconds, so it’s a quite fast camera, recommended for instant pictures. Also, its use of AA batteries adds to its travel credentials and has a more sophisticated look than earlier Fujifilm point-and-shoots (but the card slot and battery slot are somehow mixed in an unpractical way). No AF-assist light! But you can record video as long as you still have room on your card. Nice idea of FujiFilm to put a pop-up flash on a compact camera.

Tags: finepix e900, review, camera, zoom, effects, shooting speed, compact digital camera, fujifilm, LCD, high resolution, point-and-shoot

I bet one of your first questions was: what photography books should I read? I warmly recommend you the National Geographic Photography Field Guide series.
Shortly: 160 pages each, around 114 pictures, discusses equipment, technique, and composition, from preparation to final print, and covers both traditional film and the latest digital gear.

When is the right moment to snap a sunset? How do you “freeze” your child in action on the soccer field? What’s the difference between a JPEG and a TIFF? These specialized guidebooks answer hundreds of questions and provide practical advice specific to particular types of photography. Filled with easy-to-follow instruction, illustrated by National Geographic photographs, each portable volume reveals the secrets behind the Society’s renowned photography—showing both novice and advanced photo-buffs how to take the best pictures of their lives.

I won’t get into details about each book, but I provide you the cover of them so you can identify them in stores. Actually, you can order them online via National Geographic Shop. Have a nice lecture!

Blue, by it’s meaning, it’s an important color in art, and therefore in photography. Anyway, it’s present all over: sky, water… (we live on the Blue Planet, right?). If you use a polarization filter, light blue turns into dark blue.
Note: the filter effect is greater if the angle between the sun light and the direction of the photographer is 40 to 60 degrees.
The blue tone of the evening creates a mystical atmosphere. That for the natural blue. But artificial blue goes to architecture and technical objects.
Truth blue you create the illusion of perspective (human brain identifies objects with fuzzy colors as being farther). If we can say that an image done only in blue tones gives a feeling of calm and peace, if you also use a complementary color (red, orange, yellow), the red spots tend to appear closer than the blue-green background.
Tip: A red filter in front of the flash will highlight a tone in a blue illuminated environment.

Now that you have the 3 elements requested (tripod, background, lamp), let’s start using them.
One rule in photography is about how busy the background is. If you take a picture of your object with the library behind, for example, the person who looks at the picture will loose the concentration over the subject of the photo (the object) by being distracted because of the many colors and shapes of the books.

Also, the light in your room is not to compare with the light outside (it’s darker, right?), and then you can control the amount of light you need, and the direction of it (to cast the right shadows) with the small lamps not the one on your above wall. Also, never use the flash in a macro shot.
Since the light is not natural, consider using the custom white balance function of your camera by taking a picture of a known grey reference under the same lighting, and then set that (incorrect WB can create unsightly blue, orange, or even green colour casts, which are unrealistic).

As an example of what I’m talking about, let’s see the picture of a film roll. Here, the white background I used is glossy, so the film’s reflection is very powerfull.