Merry Christmas to you and your family and best wishes for the new year!

Mike & Bren Hendren

Photo © Mike Hendren, 2009

One morning in November, I looked out the window to see what promised to be a gorgeous sunrise.  Fortunately, my Nikkor 14-24mm lens was already on my camera, a Nikon D700, so all I had to do was grab the tripod and run out the door.  I set up just behind the house and saw the bright clouds reflected in the windows of the house and giving a warm golden glow to the stone work.

One of the primary requirements for good HDR (High Dynamic Range) images is a tripod.  Even if the normal exposure could be hand held, you still need to be sure that every image in the bracketed series will line up perfectly.  Photomatix Pro, the software I use to process HDR images, can do a decent job of lining up images, but the result is often less than desirable if a tripod was not used – resulting in what appear to be out of focus images.

Other important considerations are:

• aperture priority (to have a consistent depth of field),
• auto-ISO off (set the lowest ISO possible to reduce noise in the images),
• and manual focus (to make sure the focal point doesn’t change from one image to the next).
• Some also recommend setting the white balance to something other than Auto.  I always shoot in RAW, and this has not been an issue.  If it were, the white balance of RAW images can always be changed with software.

So, I shot 7 bracketed images with 1EV spacing between each one, at an aperture of f/5.6 and the lens at 14mm.

After importing the images into Adobe Lightroom, I immediately exported them to Photomatix Pro.  Photomatix default settings usually provide a very good starting point but optimum results will normally require tweaking some of the settings.  In this case, I left the strength at 100%, but reduced the Luminosity slightly because the default setting was too bright.

Next, I increased the Smoothing setting slightly to get rid of the halo around the house – this is sometimes introduced by HDR processing and can add impact to some images but often results in an unnatural looking effect.

Finally, I reduced the Micro-smoothing to zero to keep texture in the clouds and stone work on the house and then saved the image back in to Lightroom for some minor tweaks.

The highlights were still a little too bright so I used Lightroom’s Highlight Recovery slider to reduce those slightly.  I almost always add some Contrast and Clarity – it seems to add a bit of a sharpening effect.  Then I normally increase the Vibrance, especially if there is some blue sky, to deepen and darken that sky.  Finally, I’ll sharpen slightly and do some noise reduction to make sure the image is as smooth and noise free as possible.

Producing HDR images is a lot of fun and can give some added dimension to your portfolio – so give it a try!

I grew up loving kaleidoscopes, they always seemd to intrigue me. You could look through the small viewfinder lens and twist and twist and see a variegated schema of colors and sometimes if you twisted it just right you would get all the colors working together to create this rainbow of diversity.

Attributes of autism tend to include:

Sameness is resistance to change; for example, insisting that the furniture not be moved or refusing to be interrupted.
Ritualistic behavior involves an unvarying pattern of daily activities, such as an unchanging menu or a dressing ritual. This is closely associated with sameness and an independent validation has suggested combining the two factors.
Restricted behavior is limited in focus, interest, or activity, such as preoccupation with a single television program, toy, or game.

Some religious views might include a worldview that pervasively excludes the possibility of other belief systems containing any truth whatsoever. I would hope we could all sign-on to the reality that truth is bigger than one systematic approach to why we are here. That truth is in each of us as Jesus offered (John 14:6). Not that all truth could be handled by one person, but that when we come together, we get to experience truth in its fullness. Remember Jesus himself is linked up into a partnership, a community of sorts. And in more than one place, he says we can be just like Him. In fact, one place, He tells us to go and be like Him. This idea is beyond pantheism or any other label one might find to try and fit this, because it bigger than you or I or a group of people. It is a framework designed by God that we can all join in and seek to find truth together. But, when we get comfortable in our way of seeing the world rather than seeing the value in different worldviews we suspend some of our reality and promote a cultural autism that was never meant to be.

Christianity isn’t the only place where we can participate in the perpetration of cultural autism. It is something we can do in other faiths as well. Or politics. Or emotions. Or worldviews. Or family dynamics. If we are to move out from this then we must be able to move through the whole autistic spectrum to find what we are looking for. You never know what you are looking for until you find it.

When the moment is seen through your eyes alone
and alone is when the moment you own,
no one to see in your mind privately
no noise to disturb your life, silently.
A click of the frame that moment in time,
A look in your soul, is one with your mind,
Alone with your thought, but two with your heart
Love steers your sight, not alone nor apart.

Last summer, I came across my great grandfather's old camera, and I became fascinated by it.

In a time when the DSLR reigns supreme, it is a joy to use a photographic instrument which requires no batteries and relies completely on the user’s skill, not his camera’s processing power. This Akarelle (c. 1958) is a simple viewfinder camera. The lens is f/3.5 with a focal length of 50 mm; the focussing is manual from 3.5 feet to infinity, and the aperture can be stopped down to f/16. The fastest shutter speed is 1/300 second, and the camera even has a mechanical self-timer!

Using invisible infrared light, the Night Vision Viewer can see in 100% darkness, indoors and outdoors, and will run from a battery pack for several hours.

If covert surveillance or countermeasures is your game, then this is one piece of equipment you will definitely want in your spy gear arsenal.

The Night Vision Viewer is built around commonly available parts, most of which can be found new at any electronics store, or be taken from dead video appliances. This project is well within the reach of anyone with a desire to do a little hardware hacking, and even includes a basic guide to getting started in electronics.

There is a lot of room to add your own modifications as well, so you can create your own unique spy gear in order to further your cause. The truth is out there, and now you will be able to see it, even in total darkness!

• 75 pages of detailed instructions
• 69 pictures and diagrams
• Introduction to electronics
• Instant download 16.5MB PDF file

More details and ordering information at http://www.atomiczombie.com .

After going through alot of DIY pictures and forums, I’ve finally managed to finish one of my (many) DIY works for my 500D: DIY magnified viewfinder.

Based on the design from here, I gathered the required materials needed: magnifying glass, a small square container, a couple of 2inch pvc pipes, matte black spray paint and hot glue.

I didn’t take a step-by-step pictures but here you can see the first prototype I did. Note the eyepiece from my DVX100.

And here’s another picture from another angle.

Olympus realizes the all new E-P2, which includes an electronic viewfinder, an electronic multi-purpose out, in which you can adapt a stereo microphone if you want your HD (720p) videos to have stereo sound. You can have it with the Olympus Digital Zuiko 14-42mm lens or with the 17mm pancake or even with both of them. It comes only in piano Black (color-colour), a bit more shiny than the Sigma DP-1 or the Sigma DP-2. Here it is:

Car Finder app

Picture this:
It’s Holiday Shopping Season and you are stalking shoppers for a potential parking spot nearest the mall entrance. You’ve probably gone around the mall parking hundreds of times with no luck and your patience has worn thin. So you settle for the parking spot you never knew even existed and bolt for the mall entrance in the piercing winter cold.

Several hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars gone and bags from your favorite designers shackled to your arms…you trudge back outside only to remember that you did not remember where you parked. Remind you that it is probably even colder than when you first entered the mall. Sucks, but its happened to all of us.

ENTER the “Car Finder” app from the iTunes App Store. This app from Intridea, Inc. sets the location of your car (of course you set it when you first park). Then when you need to find your car turn the app on and use the camera viewfinder see an overlay of where your car is at. The app uses Augmented Reality to find your car and it will tell you what direction your car is and how far away it is. It is only compatible for the iPhone 3GS.

Helpful for those “OH SHIT!” moments during Holiday Shopping.

On the Internet, there are no secrets, especially in the tech industry. Rumors leak out by the dozens and for the last few years, the insiders who leak documentation on gadgets are hitting the mark almost exactly.

Today’s leak is the Olympus Pen (EP-2). The EP-2 is the second coming of the Pen (EP-1) that was released a few months back. Almost immediately after the EP-1 hit the streets, rumors were already spurring around on what the EP-2 would have. Sure enough, the EP-2 may fix nearly all the deficiencies that many photo-heads found in the first one.

The EP-1 was a redesign of the famed classy Olympus PEN 35 mm film camera. Despite the film camera not being pen-like in any aspect, it was called PEN because of its small size and portability. The PEN was the worlds first half-frame camera at the time. Thanks to the micro four-thirds system, developed by Olympus and Panasonic, Olympus was able to recreate the camera for the digital era while keeping the PEN’s iconic body mostly intact.

During my stay in Hong Kong this past summer, the EP-1 was the camera to drool over. Not as large as even the smallest DSLRs on the market (Nikon D40, 60, 3000, 5000/Canon XSi, XS, T1i to name a few) and not as compact as a point and shoot, micro four-thirds cameras are somewhere in the middle. With nearly the same optical features and manual controls of a DSLR, but in a much more compact body, its a win for everybody. Of course, like all things that are beautiful and shiny, the EP-1 would have put a hole in my pocket, roughly about $800 USD worth of patching necessary I’d estimate. My uncle who is a major photo-buff but only as a hobbyist was going to buy one, but smart thinking told him otherwise; the EP-2 was already on the horizon.

Although Olympus has yet to officially announce the camera, here is what we know according to source 43 Rumors:

12 Megapixel: Plenty, this is double my Nikon D40

3fps: More continuous shooting frames never hurts

Stereo Sound: Sounds good. Pun intended.

AF tracking: I love sharp images.

1.44 million dot electronic viewfinder with 100% field of view: OMG. A 100% viewfinder would sell me immediately. I’m sick of 95-97% view finders.

8 Art Filters (two more than the E-P1 ….. Diorama Filter and Cross Process): I’m not big on these, but its nice to have.

i-Enhance function (color boost): Vivid. More vivid. Redder reds, yellower yellows. Yes.

230K LCD
X1/180

All in all the specs look great on paper, and Olympus may still have some surprises we don’t know yet! The EP-2 will cost about 950 Euros or about $1,409. That’s expensive, but did I mention it will come in black? Ooooh, black. Release date is scheduled to be around January 2010. Delicious.

43 Rumors

Ok, I’m really bored right now. I’ve been at home all day because my bug has come back round, in a slightly different form this time. Anyway, I’ve gotten bored, so I thought I’d make another annoying, bitchy post.

Today’s topic of condemnation (and I dont know why I havent posted this before really) is D-SLR’s with HD/movie recording capabilities.

Just before I began writing this, I was on the Times Online website, on the Tech & Web section, when I saw the top 5 SLR’s. Naturally, I had to check this out. Mostly to see how they’ve rated all the different models. I was surprised to see that they have 5 different categories; Best for Beginners, Best for Price, Best Overall Image Quality, Best For Looks (wtf?!) and finally, Best for 1080p video.

What worried me more than the fact that some shitty Nikon won the overall image quality, was that the Olympus PEN won the looks. The fact that I, and probably many others dont consider this a true SLR probably makes no difference. But seriously, have you seen one? The fact they have a few lenses you can swap around does not an SLR make. The Hasselblad XPan features interchangeable lenses, but everyone calls that a compact, NOT an SLR.

But let’s get back on track here. Go back, let’s say, 2 years, and I guarantee you that the last category, the best 1080p camera, would not exist. More importantly, I could probably guarantee you that there were absolutely no SLR camera’s that had HD video recording. I wont say no video recording whatsoever, because there might have been.

The fact of the matter is this; what is the need to implement video recording into a tool specifically designed to take images? When the first SLR’s were made, they were never designed to take video. We have these things called camcorders that do the same thing. Many compact cameras have taken up on video recording. I’ll accept that, because those cameras are more designed for the masses, and the video recording features have been around on them since basically the start of their digitalisation.

However, I am not happy that camera manufacturers, especially the bigger ones like Nikon and Canon, are putting video recording into SLR’s. Personally, I’m against Live View too. I rarely use it on my 40D, except when a shot is especially awkward, or when I give it to someone else to take a photo. But SLR’s are not designed for the masses. People buy them because their interest in photography is high, and they want to improve themselves. By using things like Live View, or using the totally unnecessary HD video features, they are, in my opinion, ruining the entire experience of using these photographic tools. People ask all the time, is digitalisation killing photography? I think that camera manufacturers doing things like this is killing photography.

I dont mean killing the medium. I simply mean that it is fundamentally killing everything we typically associate with photography, and the artform of taking a photograph. In the old days, you used to hold the camera up to your eye to frame the photo (or look down the ground glass screen). Now, I have to laugh when people stretch their camera’s out at arms length to frame their photos. But it’s also something that is sad to see, because the effort needed to take a photo with those little cameras is zero. You push a button, and the camera does the rest. If it isnt a very good photo, you just delete it and try again. There’s no skill needed anymore. I read a story in a camera magazine a long while back; someone was on holiday with his family etc etc, and brought along his Nikon (dont ask what model. D300 I think). Anyway, he asked a man who was walking past who owned the same camera to take his photo. But when the man tried to take the photo, he looking really bewildered. Then, the man watched the stranger set the camera to automatic. What sad times we live in, if some of the most excellent photographic tools and equipment we can buy are being used on automatic.

Went off tangent there. Bit of a rant. But fuck it, I have nothing better to do, and now my sister is kicking me off even though there are two computers in this house dammit.

Photo © Mike Hendren, 2009

We had a few inches of fresh snow just a few days ago.  The morning brought us clear skies and sunshine, and as I walked around the end of my garage, I was treated to this beautiful sight!

This mule deer buck was just meandering along, looking for food (or maybe love – it is the season), and of course my sudden arrival definitely got his attention.  But he didn’t run – he just stood there like a majestic statue studying my every move.

I quickly went back in the house, got my camera, and was fortunate enough to get off a few shots before he finally walked away.

I did discover a little trick with Adobe Lightroom on this image – I desaturated the blue channel to get rid of the blue colored snow back in the shadows without affecting any of the other colors!

Okay, I know that some of you are now pretty enthusiastic about High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging – and you should be!  HDR is another great tool that expands your photographic capabilities.  But first, there are a few things you need to do with your camera to give you a better chance of getting the images you need to make this work.

Important:

• Put your camera on a tripod.  The software can help correct for slight misalignments in the photo series, but you’ll increase your chances of a nice sharp image if you’ll use that tripod.  However, if you don’t have the tripod, don’t miss the shot – brace yourself and your camera against something solid and fire away!
• Set your camera to “aperture priority“.  This causes your camera to just change the shutter speed, so that each image in the series has the same depth of field.  Also, pick a higher f-stop if it’s feasible, like f/8 or f/16 (something about getting a slightly higher dynamic range in each image – technical stuff!).
• While you’re at it, set your camera to a low ISO and turn off the auto-ISO feature if it’s on, to reduce noise in the images.

Recommended:

• Instead of Auto White Balance (AWB), pick one like daylight or tungsten (depending on what your shooting).  Personally, I’ve always used AWB and haven’t noticed any problems.
• Shoot in RAW instead of JPG, if you can.  If you do shoot in JPG, turn off any in-camera processing that you may have set.  I prefer RAW because, for one thing, you can change the white balance after you get it into the computer.
• Use manual focus, if possible, so each image has a constant focal point.  Or you can let the camera focus and then turn it off.
• Use a cable release or a wireless remote release.  Again, this is just to help reduce camera movement during the series of shots.  (Also important for any photo with long exposure times.)

While none of these things are absolute requirements, each one can increase your odds of producing a quality HDR image.  The software is amazing, but it can only do so much so give it all the help you can. 

Also, take a look at my previous post about bracketing and HDR:  Bracketing Photos for HDR . . . what?

You’ll probably notice a slightly different look, here.  I changed themes, today, so I could get the page links across the top like a real (normal) website.  So the colors and format have changed a little bit.

If you have any comments, I’d sure appreciate hearing from you.