Here’s Why I Shoot RAW (via Photofocus)

The reasons in this article are why I run CHDK on my Canon A720IS and shoot in Raw mode with my Pentax K-5. I actually store them as DNG files with my K-5,  I feel it is a good idea to go with a published standard instead of a proprietary format. The more data that you can get into the computer, the more control of the resulting image you have.

People seem to still struggle with this. Should you shoot JPEG or RAW? I can’t answer that for you. But I can answer it for me. Here are just some of the reasons I shoot RAW. When you shoot in RAW, you bring back a digital file that has more information than if you shoot in JPG. More is better in this case. You can … Read More

via Photofocus

Night photography basic equipment

The Camera

The selected camera needs to have a manual mode that allows control of shutter speed, aperture (f-stop), and ISO (sensitivity).  Some cameras automatic systems can handle the exposure settings or at least start the photographer in the correct direction. An accurate preview system can also be a big help in seeing what you are getting.        A delay timer or a remote release is required to help eliminate camera shake.  It can be surprising what you can capture even the point and shoot digital cameras.  I have taken some very nice shots with my Canon A720IS.

Lenses

If you are fortunate enough to have a dslr, experiment with your lenses.  This is like other landscape and cityscape photography, look for your shot and think about lens choice.

A Tripod

A solid tripod or another way to stabilize a camera is required.  If you try to hand hold the camera the shots will be blurry, some of the exposure times can exceed 1/10 of a second and it is a very rare person that can hand hold a camera for that long – even with image stabilization.

I will end this post with a couple of images I captured earlier this evening. Both of these were taken with my Pentax K-5 and my 55-200mm lens.

Cross northwest of UNR

Downtown Reno from near the National Basque Monument.

I received a delivery today!!!

This gallery contains 7 photos.

I placed the order yesterday afternoon and the camera was delivered today, very fast service from amazon.com and Adorama.com. Photos of the unboxing process of my new Pentax K-5 DSLR.  I found two firmware updates for the camera had been released … Continue reading →

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Pogonip Photos this morning

This gallery contains 4 photos.

I took these images this morning of the pogonip (local native american word for freezing fog) and working the macro feature of my Canon A720IS.

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An interesting technique for creating very interesting photos

I was just reading an interesting article about High Dynamic Range Photography at The Art of HDR Photography Part 1: Guides: Learn: Digital Photography Review.  The author provides a very through walk through of the details of the technique and why it can be useful.  I have worked with some HDR images using my Canon A720IS with the CHDK that I referenced in an earlier post.

This image is one of my attempts with HDR images.  The difference from the original files is in the shadows within the building and the additional detail in the shadows and the sagebrush.

I achieved an interesting image by combining some night shots in downtown Reno.  The visible clouds and the bottom of the river are enhanced by the combining of the images.

These and several other HDR images that I created are at my office live photos, here are thumbnails of them.

		High Dynamic Range VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I plan on doing more of these images after I get the new camera next month.