Hi All,
I have a way for you guys to order your calendars through me which means I can take your orders on a separate site but I will then have to send off for calendars to be printed so it will most likely take til mid January for calendars to get to you all.
If you would like a calendar, please follow the link below and put your order through. I will stop taking orders on Wednesday the 3rd of January and will order the calendars on this day. Hopefully they will get to me in speedy time and I can get them to you quickly. I know I haven't given you very long to order them but I don't want you to miss out on the first month because of deliveries.
I will be happy to take orders after the 3rd but I can't guarantee their delivery date before January if you are not in the UK!
Thanks all!
http://fatdragon100.bigcartel.com/
Saturday 29 December 2012
Friday 21 December 2012
Animating in Photoshop
I have been playing with Photoshop CS6 at work and learning how to animate with their new Motion layout.
I have animated in CS5 but, unless I have missed something, the timeline is a lot better in CS6 and the only downside I can see is that you can only make a 10 second clip. This is as far as I know anyway but as my clip was only 10 seconds I didn't pursue it. I guess if that is the case it is always possible to make a string of 10 second movies and put them together in simple video editing packages.
Either way it was great fun. I may do a tutorial at some point if people are interested in it, or just because I enjoy it anyway ;) It's a great additional feature to an already intense program.
One thing that is great about animating in Photoshop is the ability to change layer opacity which means that you can 'onion skin' (see the frame before and after the one you are drawing) to be able to animate a lot easier. I really like it and it's a great resource if you want to play with animation without committing to buying a whole package of animation software!
Here's my rough run through of a 10 second clip from The Count of Monte Cristo:
I have animated in CS5 but, unless I have missed something, the timeline is a lot better in CS6 and the only downside I can see is that you can only make a 10 second clip. This is as far as I know anyway but as my clip was only 10 seconds I didn't pursue it. I guess if that is the case it is always possible to make a string of 10 second movies and put them together in simple video editing packages.
Either way it was great fun. I may do a tutorial at some point if people are interested in it, or just because I enjoy it anyway ;) It's a great additional feature to an already intense program.
One thing that is great about animating in Photoshop is the ability to change layer opacity which means that you can 'onion skin' (see the frame before and after the one you are drawing) to be able to animate a lot easier. I really like it and it's a great resource if you want to play with animation without committing to buying a whole package of animation software!
Here's my rough run through of a 10 second clip from The Count of Monte Cristo:
Tuesday 18 December 2012
Understanding aperture and background blur
A lot of people keep asking how you achieve good background blur with the SX40 - the quick answer is that you can't. Or at least you can't do it in the same way you can with an SLR.
Background blur is your depth of field which refers to how much of your image is in focus. The Aperture is a big part of this in SLR cameras however it does not seem to do the same job in the SX40. I hope by now that a lot of you know I won't go into technical detail, mainly because I don't know the exact technical reasons for the aperture behaving differently on the SX40 but I would assume it is down to something in the camera being digital rather than a mechanical function.
But I digress... the aperture, as I have explained before, behaves very similarly to our eyes. When we open our eyes wide, a lot of light gets in and it's harder for us to focus. Vice versa, squinting our eyes often allows us to focus more and limits the amount of light that we are receiving.
When we use a low/wide aperture with an SLR, the background blur is also affected in the same way our eyes blur the scene when we open them wide. So taking a picture with a low/wide aperture on an SLR, enhances the background blur and gives us more light.
Taking a picture with a high aperture on an SLR decreases the amount of light, but also allows for more focus which means our image is focused over a bigger space so background blur is limited.
The SX40 doesn't behave in the same way. I took the following examples to demonstrate:
This is a side by side comparison of images taken on the Canon 400D SLR. The image on the left has a low aperture of F3.5. Notice the background blur and the focus on the foreground.
The image on the right has an aperture of F8.0 so the background is more in focus whilst the foreground remains in focus.
This image is from the SX40. As you can see there is little difference between the two images even though I used the same settings for the SX40 as I did on the Canon 400D.
Whilst the exposure is a little off on the 400D thats because I wanted to keep the same settings as the SX40 so I couldn't balance the light completely.
So when you are stressing over getting good background blur, do bear this in mind. I did make a video about creating Bokeh (which is essentially creating background blur) which you can see here. But it's not as easy to create as it would be on an SLR as these examples will demonstrate.
I apologise for the camera shake in this video, it was tough juggling three cameras! :P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpMDiEbIJ3g
Background blur is your depth of field which refers to how much of your image is in focus. The Aperture is a big part of this in SLR cameras however it does not seem to do the same job in the SX40. I hope by now that a lot of you know I won't go into technical detail, mainly because I don't know the exact technical reasons for the aperture behaving differently on the SX40 but I would assume it is down to something in the camera being digital rather than a mechanical function.
But I digress... the aperture, as I have explained before, behaves very similarly to our eyes. When we open our eyes wide, a lot of light gets in and it's harder for us to focus. Vice versa, squinting our eyes often allows us to focus more and limits the amount of light that we are receiving.
When we use a low/wide aperture with an SLR, the background blur is also affected in the same way our eyes blur the scene when we open them wide. So taking a picture with a low/wide aperture on an SLR, enhances the background blur and gives us more light.
Taking a picture with a high aperture on an SLR decreases the amount of light, but also allows for more focus which means our image is focused over a bigger space so background blur is limited.
The SX40 doesn't behave in the same way. I took the following examples to demonstrate:
The image on the right has an aperture of F8.0 so the background is more in focus whilst the foreground remains in focus.
Whilst the exposure is a little off on the 400D thats because I wanted to keep the same settings as the SX40 so I couldn't balance the light completely.
So when you are stressing over getting good background blur, do bear this in mind. I did make a video about creating Bokeh (which is essentially creating background blur) which you can see here. But it's not as easy to create as it would be on an SLR as these examples will demonstrate.
I apologise for the camera shake in this video, it was tough juggling three cameras! :P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpMDiEbIJ3g
Friday 14 December 2012
I just upgraded my SLR...
I was trying to make a video last night making aperture a lot clearer and explaining what it is that the SX40 is missing when it comes to creating background blur when the SLR can do it a lot easier. So I had the two cameras side by side on the bed and my demo set up to show that one lot of photography settings has a much different affect on blur with one camera than it does on the other. I was trying to preview my Nikon pictures (I have a Nikon D70) and the screen was so tiny I couldnt really see them without moving the camera and ruining the shot.
I realised that I really don't use my SLR because it's just so difficult to see through the viewfinder and the back screen and navigation around the camera isn't the easiest. I still love my SX40, it is a lot easier to carry around and the zoom is epic, but it is nice to have an SLR for special occasions and for more photography experimentation so it was about time I upgraded!
I stuck with Nikon as I already had the lenses for the camera and lenses are so expensive that it wouldn't make much sense for me to switch to Canon unless I had a lot of money to spare which I don't. As I know the Canon models better, having worked with them every day, I decided that I knew I liked the 50D and 60D in the Canon range so I looked up the Nikon equivalent. The D90 is the apparent equivalent to the Canon 50D but with the option of video which the 50D doesn't have.
So it was the D90 I eventually picked and I am waiting for it to arrive. Hopefully when it does I will will have some good time to play around with it and start to explain photography in more depth. Don't fear the SX40 videos won't be completely out of mind but as I have covered a lot of information on them already, it will be nice and refreshing to show some other parts of photography that are still relevant in terms of learning and relevant to both the SX40 and the D90.
So there's an update on my SLR situation, I'll be back soooon!!
I realised that I really don't use my SLR because it's just so difficult to see through the viewfinder and the back screen and navigation around the camera isn't the easiest. I still love my SX40, it is a lot easier to carry around and the zoom is epic, but it is nice to have an SLR for special occasions and for more photography experimentation so it was about time I upgraded!
I stuck with Nikon as I already had the lenses for the camera and lenses are so expensive that it wouldn't make much sense for me to switch to Canon unless I had a lot of money to spare which I don't. As I know the Canon models better, having worked with them every day, I decided that I knew I liked the 50D and 60D in the Canon range so I looked up the Nikon equivalent. The D90 is the apparent equivalent to the Canon 50D but with the option of video which the 50D doesn't have.
So it was the D90 I eventually picked and I am waiting for it to arrive. Hopefully when it does I will will have some good time to play around with it and start to explain photography in more depth. Don't fear the SX40 videos won't be completely out of mind but as I have covered a lot of information on them already, it will be nice and refreshing to show some other parts of photography that are still relevant in terms of learning and relevant to both the SX40 and the D90.
So there's an update on my SLR situation, I'll be back soooon!!
Thursday 13 December 2012
Huge Apologies, I've been off the radar!
Hi All,
I'm so sorry I haven't been updating my blog. I deserve a good old slap on the wrist as I really do appreciate that people read my blog.
Last week I had Tonsillitis which I was trying to deal with without going to the doctor for four days before I gave in and went anyway. Following a week of antibiotics I am now back and ready to roll.
I am still looking to move house which is another reason why I am finding it hard to make more videos. I'm in a bit of a pickle as I need to look for jobs so I can move, but once I find one, I won't have access to the video camera I make the videos with which means making new videos could be a pain.
I was going to start doing a series of videos about SLR cameras and also I was considering doing some animations to talk through Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO to help those who are still struggling with the theory of it. I think the animations may be easier for me to complete at this point in time as doing the other videos requires a lot of set up which I don't have the time to prepare!
I did do a vote on the facebook page to see what people were interesting in seeing from my Youtube channel and the top suggestions were:
I have taken this into consideration. The tough part is really being able to suggest the settings for concert photography without actually having a concert to go to. I previously mentioned in a video about changing your white balance to help in low light situations, it tends to bring in more light but it does remove that atmosphere that the concert lights can give.
In terms of low light, I will need to employ one of my family members again to try and get them to help me demonstrate photography in low light.
Sunset pictures is also a tricky one at this time of year as I am leaving work in the dark so I don't get a chance to capture many sunsets. Also with it being winter, the chances of nice clear skies and sunsets are limited here. I'm hoping that the next time I go to Wales on the weekend I will be able to grab the opportunity for sunset shots out in the hills and I can bring both cameras to talk through it!
The Raynox is one I am admittedly slow at moving my butt into gear on. I do own a Raynox and it's a great tool, I just need to get a bit more time practising with it and I will be able to talk through it as an accessory and the best ways to use it.
The zoom blur effect in photoshop isn't something I am familiar with so I will need to find out what effect it is exactly that you want to achieve and I can demonstrate that in Photoshop with no probs.
Fireworks... again a shot that isn't easy for me to do a demo with as the opportunities I get to see fireworks don't really allow me to take two cameras and to talk through a demo with so it would be a case of showing pictures I have taken and explaining the settings but I can do that if it's needed?
So there's an update in the world of Fatdragon100!
Lastly, I have been running a weekly photo theme over on Facebook which is proving to be quite fun and popular. I noticed that this weeks theme is the 11th week we have been doing it and I was thinking of making a 2013 calendar using the photo theme winners for each month and perhaps popping a Fatdragon picture in on each month too. Is this something people would be interested in? I will run a vote over on Facebook too to find out and to see if the winners would be happy for their photos to be used.
I hope everyone is well and looking forward to a nice Christmas break!
All the best,
FatDragon :)
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