Sony has announced “Digital Filter”, a new camera app that mimics the use of graduated ND filters. It allows you to divide the scene you’re shooting into two or three areas and set exposure and white balance for each of them separately. As a result, you can get an image with balanced light when shooting sunsets and other backlit landscape scenes.
Cyclops Optics creates clip-on light pollution filters for your Nikon sensor
Light pollution is one of the main problems of every astrophotographer, no doubt about that. If you want to get rid of its orange-yellowish tint, you need either post-processing or a filter. We have recently presented you with PureNight Premium, a filter you can attach to your camera and reduce the effects of light pollution. It’s mounted onto your lens by using a standard square filter holder.
But Cyclops Optics, a Hong Kong-based company has another solution. They produce filters that can be clipped on – but onto your camera’s sensor.
Quick tip: repurpose an old LCD screen as a polarizer filter
Polarizing filters are great, they enhance skies, remove reflections and reduce glare from photos. On the other hand they are usually big and not something you’d haul around for a smartphone. Here is a quick little hack courtesy of the Koldunov Brothers that builds a small and portable polarizer filter for your smart phone.
You can now get a fader filter to adjust your scene’s colour temperature
This is a strange one, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it yet. The new ICELAVA Warm-to-Cold fader is a new filter which offers a stepless level of white balance adjustment from 2900K to 6300K.
It works similarly to a circular polariser or variable neutral density filter. You screw it onto your lens, and then the front rotates to change the effect seen through your lens, but I’m really not getting the point.
Meet the X3, a filter that claims to be the ‘world’s sharpest and most color neutral circular polarizer’
Breakthrough Photography has already had their, well, breakthrough, but they’re looking to push the boundaries even further.
On December 14th 2014 the San Francisco-based startup finished a very successful Kickstarter campaign for their then-new collection of neutral density and circular polarizer filters. Now, they’re improving their offerings with a new circular polarizer filter that they claim to be the ‘world’s sharpest and most color neutral.’[Read More…]
Telling a Story With Shaped Bokeh – Five Examples
We all love a photo that tells a story. In stories we talk about sub plots. Subplots can relate to the main plot and enrich in it many ways.
It can prelude the main plot and help create emotional attachment to the characters. It can contradict the main plot and provide irony. It can resonate with the main plot, making its point stronger.
In photography we have subject and background (or far plain). The background can relate to the subject, in similar ways that a sub plot relates to a main plot.
To illustrate that point I decided to use images with shaped bokeh.
Quickie: Use a Welding Glass As A 14 Stops ND Filter
Take a smooth water image at the middle of the day with super bright sun above?
You must be kidding me. It would take at least a 10 seconds exposure. Even at f/16 the sun is too strong to do long exposures. Can anyone pull that off? As a good friend of mine said, YES.WE.CAN! [Read More…]
Creating A Blur Effect With The Whatever’s Around Filter
Look at the picture on the top from Gilad Ben Ari. Click on it to really see it larger.
Something just does not add up. There’s a noticeable blur on the red in the bottom half of the image. I asked. It is not photoshopped. I’ll say it again. NOT PHOTOSHOPPED.
Take it as an exercise; try to think what makes the blur before reading on.
Readers Projects – Thomas Schwenger Complete Two Seconds Lighting Kit
I said it before, and I’ll say it again. The reason why bloggin’ about DIY and Photography makes me a happy person it because I get to tap into a great stream of creativity fro mother great photographers out there.
Take Thomas Schwenger for example. After getting some from the Strobist and DIY community Thomas now gives back one of the lightest and easiest lighting kits for portables strobes. With a single page snoot, a mini GOBO and a filter holder, Thomas wins the DIYP kit of the year award. (Of course, like a being a warded a knighthood, there mostly honor in the title, no dough at all.
Take Infrared (IR) Pictures With Your Digital Camera
In this article, I will show you how to make a cheap infrared (IR) filter for your digital camera out of bits and pieces such as cardboard rolls, electrical tape, and some black processed photographic film (old negatives). This is just getting a brand new Hoya R72 IR filter for free.
The idea for this project came while researching IR light. When I discovered unexposed processed film made an effective IR filter, I literally had to put my house upside down to fish out some old negatives. Sadly, I also destroyed the zoom motor on my trusty Canon A60 by making a case that was too tight. You will see I have included several warnings here to prevent you from making the same mistake! I am now the proud (and poorer) owner of a brilliant Canon A710…[Read More…]
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