Stairway to...

Shot with crappy mobile phone. Some post processing in LR.

I need to admit I quite like the way "bad cameras" are drawing pictures. Their flaws (blur, vignetting etc) can be a tool of visual expression - just like plasticky Holga lens.

Winter has come

I wasnt here for awhile. From today on this blog will be for my pics only - reviews will be continued in another one.

It was like -10 when i went outside and made this shot. I was using Energiser Lithium Ultimate for my Pentax - and it worked just fine.

Shoot with my "new" Pentax ist*DL with kit lens. Cropped to square and slightly sharpened:

Panasonic DMC-FZ50 resolution test! (and why Lightroom sux)

As espected:  the combination of 10Mpx sensor and Leica lens produces amazing results when it comes to resolution, check out this pic (notice nice bokeh of this lens!):

And this is a 100% crop - the details are almost pixel-size!:

To make this crop I had to use freeware Gimp - Lightroom simply don't allow u to crop to a certain size!

Other bad thing about LR is lack of scratches-removal tool I had a very bed time trying to remove few scratches from my scanned films - and we're talking about quite pricey software here!

Sunset in the city

Like the way sun shines through the building :)

First shots with DMC-FZ50 good so far!

Both pictures as shot - jpegs and no post processing (no cropping either):

I had a day for architectural details :)

How to make a good photo of Your bike?

I am a big bike-hobbyist. What I always had problem with was how to do a nice-looking photo of my bicycle. I tried many times with the same effect: flat, dull, unexciting.

Only recently I managed to find a proper technique: IT'S ALL ABOUT DOF!*

*depth of field

Remember: this shot was made with Canon S2IS, which is a cheap 5mpx superzoom digicam and 2.7-3.5 lens.

What I did was:
- waited for a perfect light (CLOUDY DAY! - almost no shadows!)
- chosen possibly non-distracting background
- kept distance between me and a bike AND bike and background - I had to zoom in to fit the bike in the frame!
- shoot in Aperture priority mode and set the largest aperture possible

This is the final effect:

In the details I managed to squeeze even shallower DOF/ stronger 3d effect!

How to properly convert color pics to bw?

I'm using Lightroom and its Grayscale Mix feature (Develop--->Grayscale). I used a color pic from my previous post. Left is converted without color adjustments, right with AUTOMATIC grayscale mix. The diffrence is massive!

Of course - You can also use manual settings to adjust the levels better to Your taste!

Your camera doesn't matter?? Mr Rockwell and Co.

"Your camera doesn't matter" - I do think everyone know the (in)famous Ken Rockwell and his website - mostly one-sided, but fun to read articles about photography.
IMO all such websites are crap. Whatever You read, listen or watch - You should always try to put it through Your own reasoning - only then You'll be able to develop Your own, recognizable photographic style. There is NO golden rule of photography. The best thing You can do to improve Your skills is to take camera and go out.

I've made this picture with 1.3 mpx mobile phone (without even proper lens!). The only thing important here is COLOR - and that's whats really important in color photography.

Here are some basic composition rules.