Simply stunning. Click on the video for more info and a chance to watch it in HD. Oops, apparently videos of Vimeo Plus users are HD by default whereas basic users’ (like me) videos can be linked as standard definition only. Apologies…
Sky from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.
Canon EOS 7D. Photo courtesy of Canon.
Before I go on about the actual topic of this post, here’s some background information on where I come from as a photographer. I’m a serious hobbyist photographer and I’ve been using Canon SLRs/DSLRs since the beginning of 2002 when I started shooting with a simple entry-level film camera, Canon EOS 300 (or Rebel 2000 in the US). As I learned more about taking photos, my appetite for better gear grew and I finally switched to EOS 33 (also known as EOS Elan 7) which ended up being my last film camera. I still have fond, ultra-saturated memories of receiving my developed Velvia 50 or Provia 100 slide films from the print shop and scanning them with a professional Canon film scanner. Even today there’s something magical about a stunning sunset shot with Velvia and colour saturation that DSLR owners can only dream of (at least when it comes to images that have not gone through extensive tweaking).
But shooting with film cameras was not all magical. Developing film was expensive and going trigger-happy only added up to those expenses. I usually had to use exposure bracketing to ensure that I nailed a scene with correct exposure, which meant that instead of just one frame, I’d end up shooting at least three frames for one scene. Getting the exposure spot on would’ve required more knowledge and experience which I lacked at that time (even though going digital has surely made me less concerned about getting it right these days as I can always review the shot and reshoot if necessary). Scanning was slow — albeit it produced great results — and since my professional film scanner didn’t have physical or even software dust removal, dirty slides were a pain to clean up. View Full Article »
Tilt-shift, or fake miniature photography is a great technique to turn ordinary photos into something cool. I’ve tested it with good results, all it takes is a little patience and some skills in Photoshop:
Original photo on Flickr
It didn’t occur to me until recently that of course the same technique can be applied to video! Here’s one of the best I’ve ever seen:
Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.
I’ve been thinking of topics that I’m going to cover in this blog, what’s the audience, what people want to read, etc. But unless I write about what interests me and draws my attention, I’ll be a pretty lazy blogger. I’ll try to write about various things in LENGTH with a “quality over quantity” motto and avoid one-liner posts or links to things others have posted. Of course there will be hilarious and completely random stuff that I cannot miss sharing, but my New Year’s resolution was that I would try to develop as a writer and a blogger. It won’t be easy as I’m more at home with Photoshop than typing letters, but I am not going to give up easily! So what am I going to write? View Full Article »
First post. Welcome! And Merry Christmas.
