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24 Amazing Photographs Of Japan

Barry — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:33:12 +0000

By Scott Smith (SRisonS)

By Okinawa Soba

By iwalk.jp

By EugeniusD80

By jamesjustin

By tokyoluv.com

By Robert Swier

By williamcho

By Okinawa Soba

By Bravo Whiskey

By jasohill

By williamcho

By Okinawa Soba

By pats0n

By Okinawa Soba

By jamesjustin

By Okinawa Soba

By iwalk.jp

By shinnygogo

By Okinawa Soba

By MoMaBi

By kumozo41

By Peter E. Lee

Photography Techniques Try Something New!

Barry — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:03:41 +0000

The Orton Effect

The Orton Effect is named after Michael Orton who first used the technique, one overexposed, one underexposed -- creating this almost dream-like photograph.

Photoshop Tutorial -- Three Layer Orton Effect by bobgcampbell

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLQfva4kWbY

: By Lutz-R. Frank

: By Kyle Kesselring

“]: By [ henning

: By kevindooley

: By Lutz-R. Frank

Bokeh Effects

Bokeh, from Japanese meaning "blur" or "haze" is a photographic term referring to the appearance of point of light sources in an out-of-focus area of an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field. An in depth explanation of Bokeh can be found here at Toothwalker.org.

It is possible to use the Bokeh effect to create shapes from the out of focus points of light. This tutorial explains how you can achieve this effect using a single piece of card and a pair of scissors.

: Credit: http://www.diyphotography.net

This effect lends itself well on wet nights where there is a lot of artificial lighting such as street lights and traffic.

{I br♥ke for bokeh}”]

By [ r ♥ c e y t ♥ y

: By Adam Foster | Codefor

: By Kounelli

: By ~jjjohn~

: By © dabawenya © (magiging busy na ulit….)

Harris Shutter

The Harris Shutter is a technique, rather than an actual piece of photographic equipment. The effect is produced bysimply taking three colour photographs on location, and then use software to take the Red channel from one exposure, combine with the blue and green channels from the other two photos, you can also correct any movement if the camera is inadvertently moved between exposures (although movement sometimes adds to the effect!).

: By Thiophene_Guy

: By Thiophene_Guy

: By Hello, I am Bruce

: By MacIomhair

: By Thiophene_Guy

Kite Photography

This form of photography involves a camera being lifted using a kite and is then triggered either remotely or automatically to take aerial photographs. Instructions on the setup of your kite can be found here.

: By bre pettis

: By bre pettis

: By Gunni Cool

: By Ric e Ette

: By Fanny et Anthony (NonSenZ)

Zoom Bursting

This technique involves zooming while the shutter is open with a fairly slow shutter speed, generally below 1/60th of a second. For this reason low light or small apertures are required. You can also get filters that achieve a similar effect from Cokin (I have just purchased one).

: By eleda 1

: By Dr Craig

: By gertys

: By hey mr glen

: By MacIomhair

Tilt Shift Photography

Tilt-shift miniature faking is a process in which a photograph of a life-size location or object is manipulated so that it looks like a scale model. By distorting the focus, you can simulate the shallow depth of field normally encountered withmacro lenses making the scene seem much smaller than it actually is. A tilt shift lens can be purchased for this effect, or it can be achieved in post processing through Photoshop etc. A great tutorial can be found here.

Fake miniature model, tilt & shift lens effect

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1kVwFYZwHE

: By Becky E

: By EasyTiger3

: By JanneM

: By jsrcyclist

: By Bob Reck

Preview image by caruba

Photographing Buildings – A Guide

Barry — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:01:01 +0000

Whether you live in a sprawling city or a tiny village, there are buildings and structures. You may drive past a certain building or bridge etc every day on the way to and from work. Next time you drive past it, stop and have a closer look to plan how you can capture most effectively what caught your eye in the first place.

Take a look at the building from all angles and, if possible, take a look from the roof down. Consider the time of day that would suite the shot best. As buildings have windows it may be worth waiting for the sun or even moon to be reflected in order to add a bit more to the photograph. Take a look at the building from a far, if the outline of the building is an interesting shape then a silhouette shot may compliment the overall effect.

: By Chi King

Buildings at night take on a completely different look. Lights and shadows add to the overall scene and offer opportunities for different effects such as ‘bokeh’ or light trails. Remember that if you do go for night shots you will require a tripod due to the increased exposure times required.

Obviously make sure that you are allowed to enter the premises if it is private and DO NOT trespass.

If the building’s surroundings tell a story or compliment the general feel of the location then consider including it in the shot, for instance a church may be complimented by it’s graveyard and a museum photograph may look better if you include the steps that lead up to it’s entrance.

: By Dr.Deer

Perfect examples of this are light houses where there are usually cliffs in the foreground or background, churches (graveyard) and stately homes which often have lots of landscaped gardens an statues.

: By tanakawho

Go Inside

Interiors of buildings are often more interesting that the exteriors. light, shadow, colours and textures all play a part inside and make for great images. Churches and museums often have interesting interiors and stained glass windows can smother the scene with vivid colours from the sun shining through.

: By Christopher Chan

Modern buildings often have an abundance of glass which, in turn offers reflections and shapes to concentrate on (a polarizer filter will help to control and also enhance these reflections.

HDR is often a good choice for interiors as it captures high, mid and low tones and can create stunning photo’s.

: By Brandon Godfrey (away)

Other Structures

Bridges, statues, piers etc all offer great photographic opportunities. Again the above applies to all of these locations but for piers especially, you have the added bonus of the see or river and, IF SAFE, yo can also get underneath them for the structure itself.

: By tochis

CityScapes

If you can get up high enough and have a city near by, why not go for a whole lot of architecture in one go!! Some inspiration can be found here. Using several shots and ‘stitching’ them together as a panorama is a great technique to capture large scenes like cityscapes, a tutorial regarding this technique can be found here. Alternatively there is software available that will stitch several images together and adjust the tones so that all photos in the panorama match, one such package is AutoPano Pro.

Abandoned Buildings

Abandoned building offer a different angle as they are often decaying and sometimes a bit creepy. Items that are left in the building offer interesting subjects and the eerie nature of the location adds interest to the photograph.

My previous post about Hellingly Asylum may help to give you some inspiration when it comes to derelict buildings.

: By howzey

Remember to be careful though and make sure you are allowed to enter the premises and that it is SAFE.

Equipment

For daytime shots you don’t NEED any specialist equipment other than the camera. A wide angle lens is an advantage as it will capture more of the scene but if you do not have one of these then you can always take a series of shots and create a panorama in post processing.

A polarizer and ND filter are also a ‘nice to have’ but not essential.

For internal shots it is an advantage to take an external flash and diffuser but, again, during the day these are not essential as there should be enough light for your photogrpahs.

For night time shots and cityscapes a tripod is essential as the shutter speed will be slower. A torch is also a good idea, not only to see where you are going but also for a bit of light painting for those long exposure shots.

: By 2create

Preview image by MarcelGermain

Great Photo’s Showcasing Wonderful Architecture

Barry — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:00:21 +0000

By tochis

By alessandro silipo

By flickrolf

By Photochiel

By marie-ll

By Chi King

By Pieter Musterd

By neilio

By Pieter Musterd

By Thomas Hawk

By S.C. Asher

By Giampaolo Macorig

By an untrained eye

By alles-schlumpf

By swisscan

By it's wesley

By dlisbona

By Str1ke

By shimonkey

By Str1ke

By Wolfgang Staudt

By travlinman43

By Stuck in Customs

Cityscape, Urban and Architecture Photography Showcase

Barry — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:07:25 +0000

By EugeniusD80

By TheFalcon

By rickz

By Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton

By Stuck in Customs

By J.Salmoral

By country_boy_shane

By Oliver Lavery

By telmo32

By Jsome1

By HKmPUA

By night86mare

By Mark Lobo Photography

By Zach_ManchesterUK

By Vermin Inc

By bensonkua

By Tom Haymes

By orange tuesday

By MSH*

By khalid almasoud

By NJScott

By Phillip Ritz

By Dead Air

By michaelrighi

By luketelliott

By angrokor

By Uqbar is back

By tanakawho

By tricky ™

Taking Great Photographs – A Guide

Barry — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:41:46 +0000

Try and get the shot right whilst taking it rather than relying on post processing. Cropping and such are all very useful but you will lose areas of the photo that may be of interest and obviously reduce the size of the overall image.

Rule Of Thirds

The first rule that you should use in all of your photography to get the right composition is the ‘Rule of Thirds‘. The illustration to the left is what this rule applies to (this grid is available as an overlay on the viewfinder on many DSLR’s). The image is broken up into thirds both hoizontally and vertically. Where the lines cross (known as the ‘power points’ by some photographers) is where you should aim to place the focal point of the shot to get a more intersting shot. This rule can obviously be broken sometimes, such as when the subject is in the centre of the photo but in these instances a feature on the subject can be lines up with a power point to improve composition.

Try and move the focal point around within the grid to avoid repetitive photographs.

Below are some great examples of photos taken using the Rule Of Thirds;

By fd

By Яick Harris

By mseckington

The above photo has the following text on the photographers photostream;

“From Wikipedia: “The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in visual arts such as painting, photography and design. The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections. Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would.”

So does my photo contain tension, energy and interest? “

Are there any distractions from the main focus of the photograph?

When taking the photograph and in post processing check the background of the image for distractions. Areas where the colour is washed out or a person walking accross the back of the shot will draw the viwers eye straight away and ruin the overall effect of the shot.

If photographing groups of people, trees, multiple objects or animals etc fill the whole image including the corners. Areas that are empty will also act as a distraction for the person viewing your photograph.

Should I take vertical or horizontal photo’s?

Check both angles out in the viewfinder prior to taking any shots (although with DSLR’s this isn’t so much of an issue and you could take the shot using both angles and delete the one you don’t like). Vertical shots are great for emphasizing height or depth of field in a photograph and a horizontal shot will achieve an effect as if you have ’swpt’ accross the scene.

Adding that ‘Dramatic’ effect to a photograph

Rather than taking a straight shot of your subject look for reflections either from water or glass that might be reflecting the subject and use this as your lens.

By mikebaird

By VisualAge

By C-HAD

For landscape shots look for good definition between the clouds and the sky, storms are even better but if your in the middle of a field watch for lightning! HDR is a great technique for highlighting the contrast in the sky but dont overdo the effect.

Certain time of day often offer great light conditions, sunrise and sunset are obvious favourites. Winter sun mixed with frost on the ground is a great example of foreground and background interest. Occasionally you might venture out in the early morning in Spring and catch steam coming off of the surfac of a stream or river as it is being warmed by the sun, this adds an extra dimension to any scene.

When photographing at sunrise or sunset remember that you only have a certain amount of time. Get your kit ready and be quick with your camera settings. Also be prepared to change position as the light changes.

Try and experiment with different angles. Photographs taken from ground level often create interesting shots and give the impression of size and DOF to a photo. Taking photos of animals ‘at their level’ adds an intimacy to the photograph. Dark backgrounds often work well but experiment with different scenes. I have climbed trees to take portrait shots before but they gave a great ‘original’ feel to the shot.

Use Lines

Use lines in a photo to lead the eye of the viwer to the focal pont of the image, diagonal lines work particulary well for this.

Balance your shot

If taking photo’s of multiple subjects then try and keep them to odd numbers. 3 is often thought of as the ‘magic number.

FPR Interview Photographer Dave Derbis

Barry — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:54:04 +0000

1. Can you please tell me a bit about yourself and your photography? I am a 27 year old IT Specialist currently living in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. My nterests include photography, web development and cycling. I have been focusing on my photography for several years now and my passion is still constantly growing. I enjoy scouting locations and hiking among remote regions and never get tired of it. I love being outside away from computers, civilization noise and crowded cities. 2. How did you get into photography? I discovered photography in 2006. I saw some photographies of Matthias Haltenhof, a fellow student and very good friend of mine. First through his HDR and IR photos, later through daily visits on photo and art communities like deviantArt (where I disovered lots of great images and inspiration) I really got into photography as an art form and started taking photos by myself. 3. What were the main challenges for you when you first started out as a professional photographer? Until now, I’m not a professional. The main challenge will be to earn a living from photography with a combination of tours and workshops, stock images, calendars, prints, writing articles and photo assignments. 4. What camera/s do you currently use and why? I now use a Canon 5D body in combination with some Canon L lenses (17-40mm, 24- 105mm, 70-200mm). Last year I switched from a Nikon D80 crop sensor camera to the 5D full frame sensor. I simply wanted the advantages of a full frame sensor with good lenses for the best possible image quality. 5. Where is the most inspirational place you have ever visited? For me this is definitely the South of Iceland with Jokulsarlon (also known as Glacier Bay) and other amazing locations like Skógafoss falls and the Geysers. 6. Do you have an all time favourite photo that you have taken? Not really. As I learn new techniques and discover new locations all the time my favourites also change from time to time. 7. What is in your camera bag?

Bag itself: Tamrac Expedition 8
Canon 5D, 17-40mm, 24-105mm, 70-200mm,
Manfrotto 718B tripod, Cable Release, Hot Shoe Spirit Level, Camera Armor,
some Singh-Ray 4×6 hard and soft 2 and 3 stop ND Grad. and Reverse ND Grad. Filters + ZPro
Holder
Hoya Polarizer, IR filter, ND400 filter,
Retro Adapter, compass, some batteries and cards, cleaning accessories
weather indication and phases info sheet (by Matthias Haltenhof)
(depending: something to drink, to eat, clothes)

8. The ‘Summer Garden’ picture is a favourite of mine on your site, can you please tell me what your thoughts were behind this and the methods/settings you used to take the photo and post process it? This photo was made on a really beautiful summer day near Koethen (a place I lived and studied). The clouds were superb and light was good too so I decided to scout for a nice foreground. It was late afternoon when I arrived at this location. The image displays some lovely red poppy among green corn in the foreground and some great cloud formations in the blue summer sky. I used a low angle to get a feeling of being right in the middle of the scene with this composition. I tried a variety of different compositions and settings but at the end this one worked best for me. I used a Nikon D80 at 18mm with a polarizer at F/8 and combined different exposures for this shot. Post processing was done in Photoshop with a combination of tones, curves and selective color adjustments. 9. Do you have a favourite photographer or a photographer that inspires your work? Not really only one favourite. There are quite some like Alain Briot, Craig Tanner, Gilad Benari, Maciej Duczynski and Marc Adamus to name only a few. 10. Other than your camera, what is the most important item in your camera bag? At the moment I think it is the tripod and the GNDs. 11. What do you look for when deciding where and what to photograph? First of all the weather is the most important factor. I look for dramatic clouds, nice light and an interesting foreground. 12. Is there anywhere in the world that you would love to photograph? There are some places I would love to go to. For example the Denali National Park in Canada, the West Coast of the US with its rugged beaches and last but not least the Alps in the South of Germany (maybe Alps will come true in the next couple of weeks ). 13. Do you have a particular favourite area of photography (cityscapes, landscapes etc)? Yes, my favourite is landscape photography with all of its hours of scouting for locations, hiking and being outside listening to nature. But I also really like architecture photography. 14. Do you ever get requests from people asking you to photograph something specific? No, this never happened until now. But requests are very welcome! 15. If you could give someone starting out in photography 3 tips, what would they be?

Shoot as much as you can.
Study the work of others.
Ask.

16. If you had to describe your photography in 3 words what would they be? Wow, that’s kinda hard. I’ll go with: Nature, Remote and Dramatic. 17. Is there a competition that you would love to win for your photography and why? Yes, the international photography awards category landscape. I think it is an honor to win there and you get a lot of people to know your work. 18. Do you ever have inspiration ‘blocks’ and how do you get over these? Yes, from time to time. Sometimes I just grab my camera and go out trying something new or I take a deep look at my favorite images of other photographers to inspire myself and refresh my passion. 19. If you had to pick 3 photos to showcase your work, what would they be?