Category: photolinks

• Usually these things don’t interest me, but there’s an exception where Steven Soderbergh redoes Raiders of the Lost Ark as Black and White Silent Film.
• It seems that it’s all too common for people to define copyright as something like, “my stuff is a rare and precious gem.” Everything else is common property.
• I enjoy light painting and these light Painting Brushes look interesting.
• Not directly photography related, but analysis of sleep pattern by Jawbone. I especially took note in the section of the time zone differences in Tennessee and Kentucky. Having lived on both sides of the Eastern/Central time zone line I can relate to those details. It also serves as a nice reminder that Tennessee is split into two time zones which catches someone traveling through off guard at least a couple times a year.

• Useful plugin for post-shoot examination of your work when using autofocus that shows focus points selected by the camera in Lightroom for most Canon and Nikon cameras.
• A web visualization of depth of field for various camera settings. Nice way to visualize the results of different settings can create.
• For outdoor shooters Dark Sky Finder helps find the best places for shooting stars and the night sky.

• My main link for this week comes in a proposal on commercial filming in National Forests. Given how much of the mountain area around me is National Forest I read this with special interest and more than a little concern. Here’s a good summary of the concerns. Media coverage prompted a response to some concerns and extension of the deadline to comment. Those who would like to read the proposal and provide comments can do so here.
• Ever felt sore after a long day carrying or using a camera? I found some tips to avoid injury and strengthen muscles used in shoots.
• The last week introduced Trailblazers: A new series on Powerful Women of Photography.

A couple of interviews and a look at using architectural tools to take photos like those from a drone this week.

• Apple’s new software for tablets and smart phones comes with a default Milky Way background image. Read an interview with the photographer on 500px.
• Digital medium format is still priced out of reach for most hobbyists. Read about someone who made their own 8 x 10 digital capture back.
• Getting photos with the drone POV without a drone.

• A photo found in the rubble after the 9/11 attacks returned to owner after 13 years.
• Some dramatic photo of last week’s meadow fires around Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. I visited the location some of these were taken on my way out of the park back in June this year and hiked to Half Dome earlier in my stay there. I’ve seen photos of wildfires before, and scars of previous fires there this summer, but this is the first time I’ve seen fires burning in places I’ve stood just months before.
• Staying on the geography theme, here is a dramatic view of active exfoliation, the geological process partly responsible (along with glaciation) for Half Dome’s unique look.
• Creating a 3D face model from just video. On my list of things to start playing with sometime is the idea of doing sculpture type work using 3D printing and this would seem an interesting possible approach.

A short list this week. Expect large amounts of iPhone camera related comments next week.

• You should always remain a safe distance from animals while photographing them. Even if you’re a drone.
• See how to make an intervalometer for time lapse with a graphing calculator. Of course it uses a calculator that would cost a lot more than just buying an intervalometer unless you have one lying around.
• A nice article on writing about your photographs. That’s something I have trouble with and like the thoughts and advice here.

This week’s edition of links.

• DireStudio released a Windows version of the popular tool to get shutter count for Canon cameras last week. A Mac version already can be found in the Mac App Store. Useful if you’re looking to buy or sell a used Canon DSLR.
• Instagram released Instagram Hyperlapse for producing short time lapse videos. Provides simplicity over adjustments and settings, but that makes it appealing for short time lapse videos.
• B&H Photo has published The Canon Lens Experience. It’s a marketing site, but there’s some rather good information here for Canon shooters (like myself). Contains the expected information on lens options, but I found the interviews with photographers from a variety of fields the most interesting.
• The mystery of Sliding Rocks on Racetrack Playa in Death Valley solved. I’d considered visiting here on my trip this summer, then realized I’d be going to Death Valley in late June. So I went to Phoenix instead…

Welcome to what I hope to be a new feature on this blog going forward. Hopefully weekly, but no promises as I’m starting this out and seeing how it works. It’s a place to gather some items I’ve come across since the last entry in the series.

Topics will be photography related, but rarely to images (though there is one below). Mostly expect to see tutorials and thoughts of models or photographers here. Subject to change of course as I figure out exactly how I want this to work.

• Begin with a stunning composite landscape image image via PetaPixel
• In the DIY equipment category comes this diffusion panel.
• Some thoughts from model Keira Grant on the perils and rewards of outdoors shooting. A lot of good thoughts here for photographers who don’t do it often, but are interested in trying it out.
• Going with the last entry some thoughts by model Katja Gee on the experience of modeling. Some of the reasons that it’s not easy and why I really appreciate those who pose for me and others.
• Research from Microsoft on smoothing out those videos taken from helmets or mountain bikes. The part of me that came this close to doing a Master’s Degree focused around computer graphics is fascinated by this stuff.
• Lastly good advice from a cat. My primary lesson from a workshop I recently attended was to not half ass anything. Do it with full intent, or don’t do it.