Category: AtoZ Challenge

A to Z, post a day (almost) challenge!

AtoZ Challenge: C – Colour Temperature

Colour Temperature

Hot objects emit radiation. If the radiation were visible, say visible light, what would be the temperature of the body emitting the radiation? For example, for soft white light, it is accepted that the body must be at about 3000K. This 3000K is the colour temperature.

The usefulness of this knowledge in photography? Immense, unless you want to spend hours in the darkrooms making the photos look natural. The two photos below shall explain better.

Pug, Yellow Light, Cute, Unrealistic Colour
This one is a no colour correction photo, while the one below is with proper colour temperature settings dialled in.

Pug, Colour corrected, Brown and Blue , Realistic colours
Notice how the colour is realistic now. Since the place was lit by dim yellow lights, everything had a yellow tone, which is not the natural colour.
The settings that need to be tweaked within the camera to get realistic colours is the white balance. Dial in the on which matches your setting best, and shoot away.

Last time, it was Composition.

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AtoZ Challenge: B – Bulb Mode

Bulb Mode

Normally, a camera shall let us slow down the shutter speed till 30 seconds, but suppose we need an exposure of a minute, what do we do then?? We use the Bulb Mode.

30 Second Exposure setting on Nikon D7200
This mode shall keep the shutter open for as long as the shutter button is pressed. Ideal for use with astro photography and shots of milky way!
Bulb Setting on Nikon D7200

Go out there and shoot some milky way shots. I want to, someday soon, I will.

Last time, B was for Bokeh!

Cheers!!

 

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AtoZ Challenge: A – Artificial Horizon ( Virtual Horizon)

Artificial Horizon (Virtual Horizon)

The AH feature is prevalent in aeroplanes, gliders and also on ships. The main objective being an instant cognizance of one’s orientation by a glance. It uses a gyroscope for the attitude indications.
While taking photographs, if there is a single horizontal reference that we wish to measure against, it is the visible horizon. We take the horizon to be a flat line and orient our cameras accordingly.
One may use a level tube indicator for the purpose, but it cannot be integrated into the camera. Hence, the gyroscopic sensors!

Artificial Horizon, Lenovo K6 Power, Nikon D7200, Level Indicator

Shown above is a view though the screen of my Lenovo K6 Power’s camera, which features a AH indicator, focussed at the AH indicator on the Nikon D7200. These are useful tools when you are trying to shoot a photo with precision.

So, go ahead, switch on the AH feature on your phone, or your camera and shoot straight!

Last time, A was for Aperture!

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A to Z Challenge: Dec 2017

Hi there all,

Writing enough blog posts, after a 7 to 9 (pm that is) job is a tough thing, as I have come to know, and also you, my dear readers, by the meager number of posts. Now, I decided to pile up some more of the difficult stuff and do another A to Z Challenge. Check out the previous one here!

For the new joinees here, A to Z Challenge is a month long blogging marathon, where you blog letter by letter. Begin at A, finish at Z. Simple as that. Now, how you choose to blog and what you blog is entirely upto you.
I have friends who blog poem after poem, for 26 days straight and then there’s me, who picks up a word and expands on it.

Since I am a photographer, my challenge prompts shall be from the world of photography, pretty much like the last time. I shall try to keep the topics as varied as possible and avoid repetitions. I will backlink the same lettered posts from the previous stint in the upcoming ones.

Do follow the series as it unfolds, and let me know of your views and takes in the comments 🙂

Cheers!! Lets Begin!

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April AtoZ Challenge: PH – Reflections!

This is probably the last post of the April AtoZ Challenge of 2015 on my blog.

I ll take this opportunity to reflect upon some of the things that I learnt and experienced during the month  which will help me improve in future.
To begin, planning. When doing a post-a-day challenge, planning ahead about what is to be shot and how it is to be done, is of paramount importance.
Then, being crisp. Unwarranted long descriptions are not welcome. The shorter, simpler and crisp the post is, the better it is.
Doing the research is very important. If I want to write a shorter version of a deep, difficult topic, I should be able to grasp the topic properly, before proceeding to explain it.

Doing this challenge was fun. Producing a word limited post, putting the essentials such that they are lucid, yet informative, and posting a post every day, it was hectic, but no doubt fun.

Next time I do a AtoZ Challenge, it ll be even more fun, because, I’d have to come up with something different, useful and unique once again.
During the course of this challenge, I came across a few exceptional blogs which I thoroughly enjoyed, by Karen Anderson, Parul Thakur and  Bob Byrd. Do have a look!

In case you want to check out my April AtoZ Challenge series, head right here.

Thanks a lot to the AtoZ Challenge team for dropping by often and boosting the confidence and morale.

Cheers!!

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April AtoZ Challenge: PH – Z: Zoom Burst

Z for Zoom Burst

This is a photographic effect which is achieved in camera, during the shoot. Essential is a lens that can zoom. We start the exposure, and then zoom in or out during the exposure. This creates interesting trails, and if done correctly, delivers exceptionally different photos which stand out immediately. Its really easy. Set a long exposure, click, zoom, done. This is how an example looks.

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This is a part of April AtoZ Challenge. For the complete set of all 26 letters, click here.

With this, I come to the end of the April AtoZ Challenge in PH (Photography). In this month of intensive blogging, I realize the importance of planning ahead is paramount. Thanks to the challenge, I now know how to make meaningful gist of long post and keep it short and crisp. Thanks to all who helped me along and thanks to all who loved my posts.

Cheers!!

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April AtoZ Challenge: PH – Y: You

Y for You, yourself!

Call me narcissist but I feel, a post should be dedicated to You! Here, I ll dedicate it to me :p

It isnt easy doing a AtoZ Challenge, find the words, bring the definitions into compact less than 100 words gist, and then arrange the photos that explain each of them. Using own photos do pose certain issues, but then, it feels better too. But, in the end, it feels good to be able to complete this challenge, Z is all set up, so, am happy!

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This is part of April AtoZ Challenge. Upto letter X can be found here!

Cheers!!

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April AtoZ Challenge: PH – X: X-Process

X for X-Process (Cross Process)

This is a throwback to the old film processing days. Cross Processing was a case when developing solutions for a certain type of photo was used, either by mistake or intention to a different one. The results used to unpredictable and fairly in consistent, and in a lot of cases, made the photos distinct and appealing. Now, with softwares like Picasa and mobile apps like Pixlr-o-matic, cross process photos are easy to make. Dont over use this, but once a while, they do liven up the photos.

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This is a part of April AtoZ Challenge. Previous entries can be found here.

Cheers!!

 

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April AtoZ Chellenge: PH – W: White Balance

W for White Balance

This is a in-camera option, for setting the color tone correctly while shooting under varying light conditions. Generally, options like cloudy, direct sunlight, shade etc are available along with the Auto mode. The Auto mode suffices mainly, but be advised, during shooting HDR photos, or making a timelapse video, change it to some other setting other than Auto. This is because, in the Auto mode, the white balance might change between the subsequent shots, something that is not desirable while shooting in a series. For flexibility, I shoot in RAW format, and fix the issues in post processing.

 DSC_1577-1 DSC_1577-1-3

DSC_1577-1-2

This is a part of April AtoZ Challenge. For the rest of the series, head here.

Cheers!!

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April AtoZ Challenge: PH – V: Vibration Reduction

V for Vibration Reduction (VR)

VR, is also known as IS (Image Stabilization) in Canon lens, is a system of arrangement of lens and motor which constantly moves the lens elements to compensate for the tiny hand vibrations. It becomes visually significant in slower shutter speeds and at extreme telephoto focal lengths. Normally they allow for 2 or 3 stops worth of stabilization. On the downside, when taking long exposure photos, on a tripod, the lens may try to compensate and actually cause blurring. Contrary to certain beliefs, keeping the VR mode on, hardly drains the battery in an excess, but the advantages are immense.

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This is a part of April AtoZ Challenge. Previous letters, right here.

Cheers!!

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April AtoZ Challenge: PH – U: Underexposure

U for Under-exposure

The photographic condition, when enough light is not received by the photo, we term it as an under-exposure. The overall photo appears to be darker and needs corrective tweaking in post processing. Most likely causes being high shutter speed and/or small aperture values. In some cameras, the RAW files capture more details in the shadows than in the highlights, hence having an under exposed photo is more usable than an over exposed one. When in doubt, under expose the scene by one stop, that’s my suggestion.

DSC_a-2867

 

This is a part of April AtoZ Challenge. Rest of the preceding letters can be found here.

Cheers!!

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April AtoZ Challenge: PH – T: TTL Metering

T for TTL Metering

TTL is for Through The Lens. This is a type of auto metering where the camera decides the exposure values and white balance etc based on the incident lights, measured through the lens, hence the name. It is also used for flash metering, where a pre flash is fired and the response acts as the deciding value for the flash power. In a fix, Auto mode works fine, but often we want more control and this setting is left untouched. Do explore it though, might come handy someday.

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This is a part of April AtoZ Challenge. The other letters can be found here.

Cheers!!

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