Monday, January 18, 2010

Single Exposure HDR

Rainbow Sculpture
I enjoy HDR photography which can produce some really vibrant and interesting results.  Typically, HDR images are made by combining and tonemapping multiple exposures into a single image, taking advantage of the wide dynamic range provided by combining multiple exposures of the same scene.  I recently discovered that Photomatix Pro, the HDR/Tonemapping software of choice, does a great job even with a single RAW image. This is because an image in RAW format still has a higher dynamic range than typical monitors/printers (although not as high as multiple combined exposures) which good HDR/tonemapping software can take advantage of.

See some of my HDR photos on flickr.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Photography Podcasts

There are some good photography podcasts out there, full of useful information and tips.  Not to mention a bit of entertainment.  These are the photography podcasts I currently listen to:

  • Photofocus : Scott Bourne (who used to be a regular on TWiP) and a guest host (Rick Sammon was a regular but not anymore – see below) answer listener questions about photography. Usually under an hour in length, these episodes are short enough to remain interesting and Scott Bourne does a great job of keeping things moving. This would currently be my #1 recommendation. [iTunes link]
  • This Week in Photography (TWiP) : hosted by a combination of Frederick Van Johnson, Alex Lindsay, Steve Simon & Ron Brinkmann, along with others at times. This podcast is more a discussion of recent photography news, along with usually a guest interview. It can be interesting and sometimes more entertaining than Photofocus. However, at other times the guys can ramble on for too long, the guest interviews are not always interesting and are usually too long. In fact, the whole podcast could be shortened to fit within an hour. Sometimes they drag on for up to an hour and a half without adding any extra value. Still, good coverage of news by a broad range of hosts with varied backgrounds. [iTunes link]
  • The Digital Photo Experience (DPExperience) : A couple of months ago Rick Sammon left Photofocus and started this podcast.  You have to think there must have been a falling out between Scott Bourne and Rick Sammon, as one minute Rick was cohosting Photofocus and the next minute he wasn't (replaced with rotating/guest co-hosts) and neither of them made a single comment about the split.  In fact, all questions about the split on both Rick's and Scott's websites/blogs have been silently ignored. Neither wants to spill the beans in public.
    So anyway, the DPExperience podcast is a new show that is very similar to Photofocus (two hosts; mostly Q&A) and time will tell if there is room on photographer's iPods for both. [iTunes link]
If there are some photography podcasts you'd like to recommend, or would like to comment on the ones I list above (perhaps you know more about the Rick/Scott split?) then drop a comment below.

Cheers,
Chris Miles



Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Chris Miles Photography

Movie Night Hi everyone,

I am a hobbyist photographer who takes photos for the enjoyment of it. I have started this blog to share my photographic experiences with whoever is interested.

I am also a gadget junky and photography is full of gadgets of all kinds, so I'll probably write about them too as I find them.

You can find more about me at Chris Miles .info and see my photos on flickr (or view by most interesting).

Enjoy!

Cheers,
Chris Miles