More Holiday Gift Ideas For the Photographer on Your List

PopPhoto has an article on What to Get The Serious Photographer In Your Life.

It's a little different from the previous list I mentioned in that it targets the professional/serious hobbyist instead of the mobile phone photographer.  The previous list was dedicated to Smartphone accessories.  The PopPhoto article is for photographers that use "actual" cameras.

The article also includes links to where the products can be purchased.  Many of the items can be purchased at local stores.  Local stores may also offer a suitable alternative.

Some of the items on the list:

Micro Gaffer's Tape
Similar to duct tape.  The difference is in the adhesive.  Gaffer's tape is designed not to leave adhesive residue when removed and won't melt under heat.  This makes it suitable for use under hot studio lights, unlike duct tape.

It can also be used in the field.

Gaffer's tape is a specialty product, unlike duct tape, and may need to be purchased online.  (An Internet search may show a local store that carries it.  Oddly, the local store near me that carries it is Guitar Center.)

Can be purchased directly from supplier's web site, PopPhoto article has link.


Memory Cards
Memory cards to occasionally fail and having multiple cards can be useful.  Personally, I find it takes some time to process a full memory card.  Having a second card allows me to continue taking pictures while processing the first, full card. 

I also like to carry a second card with me in case the card in the camera fails or full.

That's three total.

Check the card's speed rating if possible.  Higher speed translates to less time wasted between pictures.  Capacity is less of an issue.  8 to 16 GB cards provide ample storage for most photographers.

Most cameras use SD cards.  Some compact cameras use Micro SD and high-end DSLR cameras might use Compact Flash.  Make sure you grab the correct format.

Memory cards can be purchased at a local electronics store or the electronics department at WalMart or Target.


Color Management System
Color Management Systems ensure accurate color rendering when printing images.  The PopPhoto article mentions one listed at $89. 

For alternatives, try an Internet search for color management systems/software, colorimeter, color calibrator, or monitor calibrator.

Color management systems can be very expensive, especially those designed for professional level photographers.  A photographer working on a tight budget may not be able to afford one themselves, making this a good gift idea.

This idea probably requires a little more research than the other ones suggested in the article. 


Rechargeable Batteries
Rechargeable batteries greatly reduce the cost associated with the batteries used by photographic equipment.  A serious photographer can never really have too many.

They're not just used for cameras.  Flash units and portable light sources also require batteries.

The PopPhoto article suggest Eneloop batteries.  Eneloop batteries may not be available at a local store.  It's not a commonly carried brand.  They can be purchased online (the article links to Amazon but they're available on other sites.)  Eneloop batteries tend to be more expensive than competing brands, but they are usually considered the best available.

Other brands will work.  Just make sure to pick a brand that lists capacity on its packaging.  Purchase 2000 mAh or better capacity batteries.  I've had results from Kodak rechargeable batteries.  It's a solid company with a good track record and they list capacity.

Avoid Rayovac.  They no longer list capacity on their packaging and appear to be offering lower capacity batteries than the competition while charging similar prices.


The article suggests other gifts.  These are just the ones I wanted to add my comments on.  Check the article for the rest of PopPhoto's suggestions.

Off Topic Post: What the H*** was ABC Thinking?

I just had to post on this despite it being completely off topic.  It has nothing to do with photography or art, (the topic limit I placed on this blog.)  I just couldn't resist posting on this.

Last night, ABC ran a Muppets Thanksgiving Special. Nothing unusual there, but they decided to pair the Muppets with Lady GaGa, RuPaul and Elton John.  WTH were they thinking?  You pair the modern-day Queen of Burlesque (not to mention two queens of another sort) with a group based on wholesome entertainment fit for children?

Burlesque has its place, but it isn't the type of thing people want their children watching, and it showed in the ratings.

Lady Gaga and the Muppets got fewer viewers than the 40-year old Charlie Brown Thanksgiving show.   (The latter drew 50% more viewers.)

The Entertainment Industry, as a whole, has no idea what the rest of the country wants to watch at this point.

I just had to share this image from last night's show:

'nuff said.

Fine Art America Update: Phone Case Offerings Upgraded

Fine Art America is one of those sites that is constantly upgrading the products offered.  The latest upgrade has to do with the iPhone cases offered on its sister site: Pixels.com. 

The phone cases offered use images not specifically designed for phone cases.  The aspect ratio is different and the image is often horizontally oriented.

The latter issue has been addressed in the latest update.  Purchasers can now select the orientation of the image used on the case.  The case can be set so the image is printed horizontally.  This produces better results for many images.

The camera position is also optional.  The camera opening can be on the left bottom corner of the case or on the top right when the image is viewed in the correct orientation.  This gives a little more control over what portion of the image is excluded by the camera opening.

Morel Suit Against Getty and AFP, Verdict Now In

Revisiting the "What the Hell Were They Thinking" file, the verdict has been released in the Morel copyright suit against Getty and AFP.

They jury found the companies guilty of willful copyright violations and awarded the maximum amount possible $1.2 Million, stating they were "outraged" over the companies' behavior.  Technically, it's $1.2 Million for the copyright violations.  There were non-copyright damages awarded, but nothing close to the damages for copyright violations.

The outcome was fairly predictable given the behavior of the two companies in this case, especially AFP.

The financial hit for AFP could be staggering.  Getty has an indemnification clause in its contract with suppliers, like AFP, which could force that company to foot the entire verdict amount.  That's on top of the millions of legal fees it has incurred over the last 3 1/2 years.


Then there's the hit to the reputation of both these companies.  Getty provides a huge amount of material to the daily print media.  They now have to wonder if Getty is providing images they have been authorized to use by the copyright owner.  News outlets might start avoiding Getty now, creating a financial hit to that company as well.

Source:
EPUK's Daily Coverage of Morel/AFP trial

Night Photography: Results Versus Human Perspective

I ran across an interesting article on Space.com on the difference between human vision at night and the results produced by the camera.  The article is by Scott Taylor and ititled How Cameras Reveal the Northern Lights' True Colors.

His aurora and other night photographs can be seen at his smugmug portfolio.  Some of his aurora photographs are extremely impressive.  (Prints can be purchased from the smugmug link if interested.)  Taylor also offers photography workshops.  Keep an eye on his blog for his 2013 schedule.

Now, back to the article.

It points out that auroras seen be the naked eye lack the strong color often seen when photographed by a camera.  The human eye contains two types of structures for capturing light.  One captures color and works best in strong light.  The other works in low light conditions, but can't capture color only value.

Digital cameras, on the other hand, are capable of capturing color even in low light conditions.

 The sensor used by digital cameras technically isn't capable of capturing colors at all.  It can only capture value (dark/light).  Color is produced by filtering incoming light to exclude all but certain wavelengths of light.  Some parts of the sensor detect green light, another red and a third blue.  Combined, they produce full color.

It's like having three eyes designed for low light conditions, filtered for color and then combined by the brain into a single image.


The article gives some practical advice when taking aurora photographs.  Presumably, the advice should apply to other low light conditions.

More Holida Gift Ideas: Smartphone Accessories

I'm not the only one posting Holiday Gift Ideas.  Digital Photography Review recently posted an on smartphone accessories as gifts for the smartphone photography enthusiast.  It's worth reading if you have someone on your gift list that gets a great deal of usage out of their smartphone's camera.  (Especially if they already have several phone cases.)

My favorite is the Gizmon case that looks like a Leica camera.

A leather carrying case with straps is also available.  Combining the two might be a good gift for someone that is constantly losing their iPhone. 

The straps go around the neck or across the shoulder, allowing for hand-free carrying of the phone making losing it after putting it down somewhere far less likely.  It never gets set down.

Interesting Blog Article on Kit Lenses

I just came across than interesting blog post on Fujifilm Reimagining Kit Lenses.

The camera mentioned in the article is the new Fujifilm X-E2.  It's a 16MP mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with retro styling.  (It resembles a vintage Leica.)  The price is roughly $1000 for the body, and $1400 for the kit that includes a f/2.8-4 18-55mm lens.

It's the kit lens that separates the X-E2 from the competition.  Kit lenses from competitors tend to have a less desirable aperture range.  The X-E2's kit lens is high enough quality that investing in a better lens is less of a priority.  An important factor when first investing in a DSLR camera.  (Less important for a photographer that already has a collection of quality lenses.)


Fujifilm has decided to differentiate themselves from the competition by offering a higher quality kit lens.  The competition will have to respond.

Holiday Gift Ideas: Claendars

Here's another gift idea for those people on your list that are hard to shop for.  Try a calendar.  Calendars combine utilitarian design with an inexpensive source of wall art.

A calendar is a little less "special" than other gift ideas, making them more appropriate as a second gift or as a gift for a teacher, coworker or those Christmas parties where everyone is supposed to bring a gift without knowing who the ultimate recipient will be.  Options range from small pocket calendars, to desk calendars and large wall calendars.

Pocket and desk calendars work well as stocking stuffers for those mature enough to enjoy something other than candy in their stocking.

Calendars are readily available from multiple sources.  (Discount stores often offer very inexpensive, if limited, options.)


Custom options are available for those willing to support a starving artist.  CafePress, Zazzle and RedBubble all offer calendars from individual artists.

I do have a RedBubble account and currently have one calendar in my portfolio featuring my water related photography.  My only complaint is that calendar offerings aren't listed as a separate option when viewing an artist's RedBubble portfolio.  They are instead displayed under images with the word "calendar" across the image.  Not a good way to draw attention to a product.


For a truly customized calendar, try uploading your own artwork or photographs.  All it takes is creating a free account at one of the above sites (CafePress, Zazzle or RedBubble).

There are other sites that will print calendars using uploaded images.  The three sites listed offer the additional option of selling those calendars to other people.  If you want to use your own images Shutterfly, Snapfish and Walgreens offer calendar options.  (That's just after a brief Internet search.)

Christmas Gift Idea: Customized Kindle Covers

Hat tip to Engadget via PopPhoto.

Amazon now offers the option to personalize Kindel Accessories purchased from their website.  Kindel cases and skins can now be purchased decorated with images uploaded by the purchaser as well as images from Amazon's gallery.

The latter option includes images of the Peanuts gang. 

There are image sources for those non-photographers/non-artists that want to customize using something other than the somewhat limited images offered by Amazon.   Free sources are listed first.  (The images on this site should be free of any copyright limitations, but it doesn't hurt to double check before using an image from one of these sites.)

The Amazon orders are actually filled by CafePress.  You could go directly to that website for more image options.  I don't currently have a CafePress account, so I don't have anything to gain (yet) by linking to this site.

CafePress accounts are free to open.  Try one if you are an artist or photographer looking to make a little money. 

Copyright Infringement Suit Against Getty Images and AFP

Here's one for the "What the Hell Were They Thinking" file.

A trial starts today against Agence France Presse (AFP) and Getty Images for the willful violation of copyright law.  They are being sued by Haitian born Daniel Morel for the unauthorized redistribution of photos he took of the 2010 Haitian earthquake.

The undisputed facts: Morel was in Haiti during the earthquake.  Took photos of the devastation and loaded those photos online.  A second individual copied those photo's and uploaded them to his online account, taking credit for them.  AFP downloaded the photos from this second account and distributed copies of them without permission from Morel, the original photographer.

When Morel contacted AFP about the unauthorized use of his material, AFP sued him for "commercial disparagement."  Morel then registered the photos with the US Copyright office and countersued AFP, the affiliates that had distributed the images and the media outlets that had used the photos.

Morel's attorneys presented electronic communication between Morel and AFP clearly indicating that AFP knew that Morel was the original photographer before they downloaded the photos from the second account.

A judge has already found in Morel's favor in regards to copyright infringement by AFP and Getty.  The issue now is whether that infringement was "willful".  Willful infringement would open AFP to damages beyond the $1.6 million in damages it currently faces for copyright and DCMA violations.  Luckily for AFP, the fact that they sued Morel despite knowing he was the actual copyright holder was ruled too prejudicial to be part of the willful infringement part of the trail.

That $1.6 million would be on top of the $7 millions AFP and Getty has spent on legal fees so far plus future legal fees (probably another $2 million.)  That's a minimum of $10.5 million as a result of their outrageous behavior.


It gets better if you read AFP's defense.  They cite Twitter's TOS as defending their use of Morel's photos.  That went over well when it was pointed out that the photos were loaded to TwitPic, not Twitter.  That's a related site with its own TOS that clearly states that copyright ownership stays with the person that loaded the images.

The only response to AFP knowingly using More's photos without permission, suing him when he complains and then using the TOS on a site that did not host the photos to begin with has to be  "What the Hell Were You Thinking".


For further reading:
Photographer takes on agency giants at copyright-trial
Morel Suit Press Release at Photo Attorney
Story on Editorial Photographers UK and Ireland
Russian Photos Blog
 and here
British Journal of Photography

On the last link, you'll need to search for articles.  Using AFP with Morel as search terms should work.  You might also want to search the Russian Photos site for additional articles.

Photographer takes on agency giants at copyright trial
Read more at http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/photo-news/540204/photographer-takes-on-agency-giants-at-copyright-trial#PgyKsFguAUhrBdEa.99

Photographer takes on agency giants at copyright trial
Read more at http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/photo-news/540204/photographer-takes-on-agency-giants-at-copyright-trial#PgyKsFguAUhrBdEa.99

Golden Hour Calculator

I recently came across this Online Golden Hour Calculator.

The calculation is automatic as long as the web site can determine the user's location from their IP Address.

The Golden Hour (also called the Magic Hour) is the period of time after sunrise and before sunset where natural lighting conditions are "best".  This period of time produces softer edges do to the diffused sunlight, softer contrast, longer shadows and warmer tones.

The actual time varies and is based on a location's latitude and the time of year.  The "best" natural lightinf conditions when the sun is at an altitude of 10-12 degrees (or less).  There are locations where the sun never rises above this point during certain times of the year.  The "Golden Hour" lasts all day in these locations.

According to the calculator, the Golden Hour for this evening where I'm located starts at 4:27 pm and lasts until 5:06.  That's roughly 40 minutes, and not an actual hour.

Determining How Your Photographs Will Look on a Phone Case

I recently wrote a post suggesting phone cases as Christmas gifts.  My Fine Art America account allows me to offer my photographs for use on phone cases.  One of the problems I have had is determining how those photos would actually look when used.

I recently created an account on RedBubble.  It offers a wider range of products than Fine Art America.  (I am planning on creating accounts on Zazzle and CafePress as well).  RedBubble offers a template for use with iPhone and iPad cases.

This template does give a better idea as to how the final product will look, but it still isn't perfect.  I decided to create a template that works better when trying to determine how an image will look on an iPhone case (based on the RedBubble template).

The white area is actually transparent.  This allows the underlying image to show through in that area.  The gray is set to 50% transparency.  This area corresponds to the sides of the case.  This portion of the image will be printed on the case, but not visible when only the front can be seen.

The black area represents an area not printed when using RedBubble.  It's there so that the image can still be used if the case design changes.

Here's how the template looks over an actual image:

The template was placed over the image for best results then cropped to the template size.  This looks like it should work well for a phone case.  The main subject is completely on the front of the case and fairly well located.

First Impressions of the New Alpha 7 and Alpha 7R from Sony

No, this has nothing to do with my first impressions.  I don't get review models of new cameras.  This is about the recent articles on the two cameras from PCMag.  The professional writers get to play with all the new cool toys.  I just get to read their reviews and comment.

One thing the latest article points out: the a7 and a7R technically aren't the first full-frame mirror-less digital cameras.  The Leica M (Typ 240) predates the a7.  It also lacks auto focus and costs almost $7,000, which is over 3 times what you will shell out for one of the Sony models.

The Leica M mount lenses can be used with the a7 or a7R by using an adapter (as well as most SLR lenses).  This helps address one of the main drawbacks of switching to these cameras, there are currently few lens options specifically for these cameras.

PCMag also has a previous article comparing the two Sony options.

The cameras seem to fill slightly different rolls and certainly seem worthy of considering for purchase, especially for a photographer that already has lenses that are compatible by using an adapter.

Using Photographs to Generate Design Ideas

Sometimes designers suffer from the design equivalent of writer's block.  If you're anything like me, you're sitting on a fairly large stack of digital images that can be used as inspiration sources.  Here's a trick I've used for design ideas that works with many photographs.  It does requiring using an image editing programs capable of using layers.

The Process:

1) Pick Your Source Image
This can be any image.  The image selected will impact the results and some work better than others.  This method will work with what would normally be a "bad" photograph.  Blurry images, over or underexposed photographs or images with uninspiring composition will work, and may produce better results than using a good photograph.

Here's the one I'm using for this example:

This is a shot of a neighbor's tree.  I decided to keep it in this orientation instead of rotating it 180 degrees.


2) Create Duplicate Layer and Rotate 180 Degrees
New layers need to be on top of the layer stack when using this method.  Keep this in mind through the rest of this example.  (Assume any newly created layer is on top from here on out.)

Change the layer's properties so that it interacts with the lower layer.  There are a limited options that will result in a symmetrical design.  Lighten Only or Darken Only both work throughout the process, Grain Merge will work for this first step as well (but not for later).

I chose to go with Lighten Only with this image.  You may want to use one layer mode, go through to the end of the process, then start over with a different layer mode.  Changing modes at any step in the process will alter the results.


3) Create Layer from Visible Image, flip horizontally
GIMP has two methods for doing this.  Edit->Copy Visible then Edit->Paste as New Layer.  GIMP also allows the creation of a new layer from the visible image by Right Clicking on a layer in the layer dock.  The layer dock is located in the top right corner in the above image.

Flip this new layer horizontally and change its properties to Lighten or Darken Only.  (You can choose a different layer mode if symmetry is not desired.)

Darken Only was used here.

This step can produce an useful image.  You might want to save this image before going further.


4) Create New Layer from Visible and Rotate 90 Degrees

Here's an example of how different layer modes impact the visible results.  The new layer was set to Lighten Only in the top image and Darken Only in the bottom.

Again, yo may want to save the results before continuing.


5)  Create New Layers From Visible Image, Rotate 45 Degrees

6) Duplicate Top Layer and Flip Horizontally

The final step requires two identical layers in order to produces symmetrical results.  Set both layers to the same mode.  Here's the image after this final step:

The image can be edited after this.  You may want to enhance contrast or saturation or turn the image into a square image for better tiling.

Holiday Gift Ideas: Phone Cases

The Christmas season is fast approaching.  Time to start thinking about those people on your list that are hard to shop for.

For those needing an idea, try a personalized phone case.  Mobile phones are common now days and phone cases are a fairly inexpensive way to personalize a phone.  (They run around $35.)  You will need to know enough about the person you are buying for to buy something they will like.  You will also need to know the make and model of the phone they use.

One good thing about phone cases, they can always be rotated if you have more than one case you like.  It's a good gift even if the person already has one.  (Keep in mind the saying "too much of a good thing," though.)

My Fine Art America account includes the options to sell phone cases on Pixels.com.  The product options are right on the front page, including iPhone and Galaxy phone cases.

For all iPhone cases, go here.  (Other cases are listed under Products.)

My cases are here.  Some of these images are horizontally oriented.  I try to limit offerings to those that work well on phone cases, but it is hard to determine how well horizontally oriented images translate when put on a phone case.  Images can be re-sized and moved to improve appearance.  Keep this in mind with horizontally oriented images.  The image can easily be moved left or right to reposition the subject.

If you see an image that would look better moved slightly, pixels gives you the option to do so.  Here's a shot I took of a rabbit in my backyard.

I had to move the rabbit slightly to the right on this.  The front of its face disappeared over the edge initially.