NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article, January 2012
The Wild Side of Photography
By Clara Harold,
Member, Tucson Computer Society, Arizona
March 2011 issue, TCS eJournal
http://www.aztcs.org
cbellevideo (at) msn.com (click to email author)

This book’s twenty chapters are written by 11 different photographers. They hail from around the world and show great imagination and creativity.

1. Landscape Blurs – Alain Briot. Notes on process and approach. Alain talks about the equipment that he uses, picking the right scene with the right colors and the quality of light that will make a beautiful blurred photo. He writes about picking the correct lenses and processing your photo in Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS4.

2. Landscape Blurs, part 2 – Alain Briot. Image processing Workflow. The photos of the workflow he used in Lightroom 2 are well done. He talks about the Black Point Adjustment Curve which was very helpful in editing pictures with great results. The instructions on how to use the High Pass Filter, Smudge Tool, Shadows, Highlights and Vibrance adjustments and what they do are very good.

3. Show Time – Gerhard Rossbach. A mini photo studio in your notebook computer. This is a great idea that I have used and really like the results. Pick a picture to show on the screen of your laptop. Use two LED lamps that plug into a USB port. Cover the keyboard with something that has a smooth finish.

I took pictures of flowers and jewelry. It is such a great idea.

4. Near and Far – Cyrill Harnischmacher. Using telephoto and macro lenses as telescopes and microscopes. Cyrill explains how to build with eye pieces, adapters, and customized lens caps and even how to adapt a compact camera into a homemade telescope. Use some old camera equipment to experiment with.

5. Camera Obscura – Tobias Pohl. Analog and Digital Pinhole Cameras. After sharing some of the history about the pinhole camera he gives information on how to build one as well as suggestions on how to correct some of the problems you might encounter. He suggests http://www.pinhole.cz.

6. Graffiti Made of Light – Niklas Plessing. Light Writing with LED Lamps. Niklas writes about equipment and sources of light for getting great shots. He goes into great detail about camera settings so you can be sure to capture a good photo. There are 6 websites listed for more information on light writing and equipment.

7. Kite Aerial Photography – I have never flown a kite, so I don’t think I will try this one. They describe the different kinds of kites, everything you will need to get started, plus a long list of websites on the subject.

8. Selective Focus – Cyrill Harnischmacher. Build Your Own Tilt/Shift Lens. This chapter is how to modify an old camera. The directions for all the technical work are listed. There are some pictures of some very interesting results from the makeover.

9. Color, blur, and Verve – Anett Boettcher. Close-up Photography Revisited. The author likes to experiment with camera lenses to keep his work intriguing; he experiments with color on the computer so the viewer will want to take a second look. There are very nice examples of his work.

10. Diver Down – Kai Wallasch. A look at the fascinating world of underwater photography. There is a lot of good information about equipment and how to use it. For the more practical photographer he shows how to build a periscope.

11. Night Sights – Michael Diechtierow. Using flash creatively in the dark. First you need a camera that is capable of long shutter speeds and high ISO settings. He goes into great detail on using light and various flash techniques, with some great pictures as examples of his work.

12 . The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars – Cyrill Harnischmacher. Simple ways to shoot spectacular astrophotos. He explains about using the top hat method to avoid camera shake, focusing, the right place and the right time. A list of exposure settings is provided along with f stops and how to build your own sun filter. If you are planning on taking night pictures this book would be of great benefit.

13. Klip-Klap – Tobias Pohl. Getting started with stereoscopic photography. Design drawings are available in the book to build your own attachment to use on your tripod. This gives you a very artsy effect.

14. The Flatbed Camera – Gottried Huettemann. Taking photos with scanners. There are directions on how to get great photos of small objects without a camera. Information is given on how to set up the scanner and how to block out the light.

15. What Do You Print On? – Michael Benecke. Printing images on unconventional materials. He gives a lot of information about different printers and explains the many different types of paper. It is amazing the incredible variety of papers that can be found on the web. For a little fun, you can print on edible paper, apply it to a wafer and frame it!

16. Gotcha! – Cyrill Harnischmacher. High-Speed photography using a photoelectric shutter release. This chapter has information on how to take very high speed photos of water splashing and eggs breaking, the equipment that is needed and what settings to use.

17. Soft-Focus Lens – Mike Hagen. Create a Lensbaby Effect with Vaseline. To take pictures with a selective focus using what you have at home, try a little Vaseline. You can try horizontal, radial, partial, diagonal or circular smears. Use your imagination. When it’s time to clean your filter, use a little rubbing alcohol on a soft rag.

18. Little Planets – Christian Bloch. Seriously twisted panoramas. This technique needs some special equipment. An HDRI book by the author is available at http://www.hdri-handbook.com. You may also consider Mastering Digital Panoramic Photography by Harold Woeste, see the site http://oreilly.com/catalog/9781933952451. The photos featured in the book are outstanding.

19. Light Changes Everything – Martin Krolop. Using Dedicated Flash Professionally. Here’s information on all types of flash units that can be used, from in-camera flash to accessory units that allow photographers to enhance their subjects anywhere. He gives advice on both indoor and outdoor shooting.

20. A View From Above – Mike Hagen. Aerial photography with a telescoping monopod. Want to raise your camera 20 feet into the air. Information on how to construct you own telescoping monopod is in the chapter. He gives a list of what you need and how to use it for a very low price. Use the self timer and you’re in for some great pictures.

21. Camera Hacking – Berthold Daum. Activating hidden functionality in Canon Consumer Digicams. He explains how to bring up a lot of hidden information that is in your camera.

This book will help you be more creative and take your photography to a higher level. There is something for all ages and ability levels. I recommend this for every photographer’s library.

About: The Wild Side of Photography
Author: Various
Publisher: Rocky Nook
http://www.rockynook.com
ISBN-10: 1933952512
ISBN-13: 978-1933952512
Price: $29.95, $19.57 @ Amazon

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