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• Ok, Now I am totally embarrassed.
  by Deri Dority

  For the last year or longer, I have been dabbling in HDRI High Dynamic Range Imaging (or so I thought). I have been reading articles, bo…

  For the last year or longer, I have been dabbling in HDRI High Dynamic Range Imaging (or so I thought). I have been reading articles, bought all the proper software (Photoshop CS3 Extended and Photomatrix which were both good choices). I have been autobracketing my photos (I started with 3 photos, 1 EV (stop) apart and then moved up to 5 photos 1 EV apart.) I use a tripod, lock my mirror, and use a remote to trigger my camera. I shot all my photos in RAW, which starts you out with a higher dynamic range. So far so good. However, yesterday, I got the long awaited book that I preordered (before production) “The HDRI Handbook” by Christian Bloch, hot off the press (it can be ordered through Amazon.com). I couldn’t put the book down. I have been reading it in all my spare time. It has a lot of technical aspects in the beginning, but without that portion, you miss out on a lot of incredible information. Now here is where some true HDRI photographers are going to be snickering. I am going to list some of my mistakes so that others don’t take the same dumb path I took on their way to HDRI. Mistake #1. When I autobracketed my shots, I used Aperture mode (OK go ahead and laugh HDRIers). So for all 5 shots, the depth of field changed. This is crucial, you must be in Tv (shutter) mode to bracket your shots. If your camera doesn’t have an autobracket system, you have to do it all manually. / Mistake #2. I should have had 2 EV (stops) between shots instead of one. Mistake #3. I should have locked the focus or switched to manual focus. Mistake #4 On a couple of occasions I took 1 RAW image and processed it 5 ways and then ran it thru Photomatrix. Hmmmm. This is similar to dumping a pint of water into a gallon container and calling it a gallon. You don’t end up with a HDRI. Mistake #5 OK, I switch back and forth between Photomatrix and CS3 extended to see which gives the best image (that is ok, because it varies between programs and images). My big mistake….. I tone mapped the HRDI right away instead of saving the original in a 32 bit format. I also should have edited it in CS3 Extended in the 32 bit format. So, I now have a 8 bit image (I actually did save some as 16 bit image), that shows up great on the Internet. Except for the fact, that my HDRI’s didn’t look as good as others. (See here for an example) So all of this I have learned up to page 126 of the book (less than half way thru). I will keep you posted as I restart my journey into HDRI. And to all of you that have been doing it right, my hats off to you. I am just getting into the “how to”part of the book and have a long way to go. Many people might say, who cares, I am not going to be doing HDRI. Think again. The pixel race is over and the camera manufacturers got smart. The race for HDR is on, and just around the corner.

• Thank you so very much, Bits and Pieces, for featuring “Gossamer wings” this last week!
  by Randi Bailey

  I was thrilled by this, Bits and Pieces! I was so pleased that my mid-tech lens and the right moment yielded this photograph. I loved th…

  I was thrilled by this, Bits and Pieces! I was so pleased that my mid-tech lens and the right moment yielded this photograph. I loved the little dewdrops on the bee’s wings. My reason for entitling it “Gossamer wings,” as I did was because this was my favorite part of the photo. Thank you for picking this for a feature spot! My technology may not get better soon, and I may not attempt to get much closer soon… A friend of mine was stung last week and ended up with a hand the size of his head, and a three-day hospital stay. Not to dampen any artists’ enthusiasm, but watch out! Thanks again, hosts, of course, you rock! A happy holiday season to all! Randi Bailey / AKA Infoframe Dynamics Card view of “Gossamer wings”... /

• HDR - High Dynamic Range explained
  by zacco

  HDR – High Dynamic Range Don’t be scared of the title! I know it looks extremely difficult and technical, it’s really not that hard. A…

  HDR – High Dynamic Range Don’t be scared of the title! I know it looks extremely difficult and technical, it’s really not that hard. As with everything in photography though, it does require a lot of practice! So don’t be disappointed if your first HDRs don’t come out as good as the images of the pro’s out there, you’ll get there, just don’t give up too easily! HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. You are probably wondering what dynamic range is. Dynamic range is the range of light you, your camera, or monitor is able to see (or display). Have you ever taken a picture of a sunset, and found that when you reviewed the pic on your (cameras’) monitor, the sky had beautiful color, but everything else (the landscape) was totally blacked out? That’s because normal digital camera’s have much lower dynamic range than our eye. So with a normal photograph you will be able to either: get a correctly exposed sky, or a correctly exposed landscape. This is because there is a lot of contrast between the sky and the landscape. This is where HDR comes into play. HDR is a technique where you’re able to get more dynamic range with your digital camera. When you look at some of the HDR pictures being made, you’ll notice how everything is correctly exposed; no underexposed shadows, no blown out highlights. Because of this, it will look like there is a lot of detail in the picture. It sometimes is even too perfect, and will look rather surreal, making it look like it was a scene in a computer game. I’ll use the example of the sunset to explain how it works: Like I said before, on a sunset with a lot of contrast, you’ll get either get: correctly exposed sky, or a correctly exposed landscape. How do we fix this problem? We combine the two pictures! That is the only thing HDR actually does – it combines pictures of different exposures and merges them into one HDR image, which will result in a picture with a correctly exposed sky and a correctly exposed landscape. Of course, this technique can be applied on more than just landscape photography. Enough of the blabla, let’s get down to the real fun: get out and make some HDR pictures! Hooo, before you go, let me explain exactly how you get it to work. First some things you need before you start: A camera that lets you change either: shutter speed or exposure compensation (EV). Preferably it should have a mode which locks the Aperture (diafragma), so that your depth of field doesn’t change. Something to stabilize your camera with (preferably a Tripod, but you could use anything else, or even try shooting handheld – this will result into blurry pictures though). dynamic photo HDR or Photomatix – to combine the pictures (free trial on: http://www.hdrsoft.com/download.html) 1. Taking the pictures So this is what we’ll do: take three pictures with three different exposures. One underexposed for the sky, one normal exposed for everything, one overexposed for the landscape. Make sure your camera is stable during this proces! If you have a dSLR: 1. Look for a function called “Bracketing�? (Nikon) or “AEB�? (Canon). This will make three pictures after another – one underexposed, one normally exposed, one overexposed. You’re able to set how much it should change per step. I mostly use steps of 1 stop (so, 1 EV, 0 EV, +1 EV). / 2. Set your camera in Aperture Priority mode (“A�? on Nikon, “Av�? on Canon), so your depth of field won’t change. / 3. Set your shooting mode to burst (so it’ll continuously take pictures). / 4. Hold down your shutter button till it has taken three pictures. / 5. Look if the pictures are correctly exposed (landscape is light enough in one pic, sky is dark enough in another). If not: set your camera to overexpose a little (EV, +/ button, make it like +1, or just try some different values) / 6. Go to the part where we combine the three pictures. If you don’t have a dSLR, you might not have this bracketing function. If you don’t, you’ll need to change the exposure manually. You can do this either by: Changing the exposure compensation (EV, +/- button). (easiest) Changing the shutter speed. (bust have a mode that will let you lock the aperture (F number, ie. f8) Exposure compensation: 1. Take a picture, look if it’s “okay�? exposed (sky is looking quite good, but a little too light, and background is too dark, but not black) / 2. Set your exposure compensation to 1 EV, take a picture. (underexposed, for the sky) / 3. Set your exposure compensation to 0 EV, take a picture. (normal exposure) / 4. Set your exposure compensation to +1 EV, take a picture. (overexposed, for the landscape) / 5. Look if the pictures are correctly exposed (landscape is light enough in one pic, sky is dark enough in the other). If not: set your camera to overexpose a little (EV, +/ button, make it like +1, or just try some different values) / 6. Go to the part where we combine the three pictures. Shutter speed: 1. Look for a mode that will let you lock the aperture (F-number, ie. f8) and will let you change the shutter speed manually. / 2. Take a picture, look if it’s “okay�? exposed (sky is looking good, but a little too light, and background is too dark, but not black). Let’s say we set our aperture to f8, and our shutter speed is 1/125 seconds. / 3. Set your shutter speed to 1/250 seconds, take a picture. (underexposed, for the sky) / 4. Set your shutter speed to 1/125 seconds, take a picture. (normal exposure) / 5. Set your shutter speed to 1/60 seconds, take a picture (overexposed, for the landscape) / 6. Look if the pictures are correctly exposed (landscape is light enough in one pic, sky is dark enough in the other). If not: set your camera to overexpose a little (EV, +/- button, make it like +1, or just try some different values) or take longer shutter speeds (in this example, start with 1/60 as your normal exposure, 1/125 under, 1/30 over) / 7. 7. Go to the part where we combine the three pictures. 2. Combining pictures: 1. Open dynamic photo HDR or Photomatix / 2. Go to File => Open, and open your three images / 3. Go to HDRI => Generate HDR / 4. Check “Use opened images�?, click OK / 5. Check “Use standard response curve�?, check “Align LDR images before..�?, click OK. Photomatix will now generate an HDR image. Don’t be scared by the first result, I know it looks terrible! 6. Go to HDRI => Tone Mapping This is starting to be more like it! From this point on it’s just playing with the different settings. I’ll explain a couple of them: Strength: controls how much of the HDR effect is applied. Be careful not putting this too high though! A lot of beginners will raise this all the way to 100%, because it looks very extreme, but it will also make the sky look rather grey in comparison to the landscape. I often use a strength of 50-70%, and use Photoshop to give the whole more contrast. Luminosity: makes the shadows (and the overal pic) brighter. Make this higher if your pic is too dark, lower if it is too light. Color saturation: Makes the colors come out more (or less). Smoothing: Controls how much the light between the different parts of the images is smoothed, set this to medium or high. Try playing with this together with luminosity Microcontrast: Just set this to high. When you’re happy with the results, click ok, save your image (if you chose 48-bit, you cannot save as JPEG). I almost always edit my picture in Photoshop afterwards to give it more contrast, but that’s up to you! HDR – High Dynamic Range 3. Some tips: Make sure you turn bracketing OFF when you’re finished shooting HDR pictures. If you have bracketing on, and accidentally have taken a picture, take 2 more and start over. Photomatix preview and result may not be identical, if you’re unhappy with the result, go to HDRI=>Undo Tone Mapping, and tone map again. If your picture looks flat after tone mapping, open it in Photoshop (or another image editing program) and enhance contrast. Save your image as a TIFF file if you’re going to edit afterwards, with JPEG you’ll lose information! If your pictures look blurry, make sure your camera is steady next time! You’re able to get a HDR effect using a single raw image with different exposures too. If you want to know how, let me know. All other rules of photography still apply here, so take care of your composition! Don’t let my post limit your creativity – feel free to expirement! This was all for now. I am not a pro on HDR yet, but I’m enjoying it a lot and learning along the way! If you have some tips, feel free to leave a comment! Have fun! taken from here http://www.cre-aid.nl/2006/06/13/hdr-high-dynamic-range-workshop/

• Thank you, Mood & Ambience for my feature today of “Lone sojourner!”
  by Randi Bailey

  Thank you for including my piece in that wonderful feature area with the similar themed works. These images really set a mood…it looks go…

  Thank you for including my piece in that wonderful feature area with the similar themed works. These images really set a mood…it looks good seeing all of them together. Much credit goes to you Ellen and Timothy for the group you have created. May all have a happy and “healing” holiday season! “Lone sojourner” in card form… My best to you all, / Randi Bailey / aka Infoframe Dynamics

• Let's Do a Beautiful RedBubble Book! - Are You Interested?
  by Curtis Bard

  To all my friends and fellow artists, / I’m finding out more and more every day what a great community of creative and friendly people are…

  To all my friends and fellow artists, / I’m finding out more and more every day what a great community of creative and friendly people are involved with RedBubble. Do you think it would be possible to set things up in RedBubble to allow people from certain categories to collaborate on a book that could then be printed? (I.E.: Members load their best photos into a book section of the Web site to be self-published on-demand, and sold on the Web site for RedBubble’s and the included artists’ benefit?) I believe that other sites like www.CafePress.com and www.Lulu.com already have this capability. I would be interested in participating in something like this, even if there was an up-front fee to help RedBubble make it happen. / Perhaps there might be a way to work with a on-demand publisher/printer such as www.Trafford.com. I’m excited about this possibility, and there are so many great artists on RedBubble that I can’t help but think that they also would be excited about this prospect, and that we could do a very appealing book that could potentially help all the professional and emerging artists on RedBubble publish and sell their work. Please consult with others on this and let me know what you think… Thanks, / Curtis / ——- Hi Nodakami, / Thanks for the tips, comments and suggestions! I’m a newbie, so I hope you will bear with me. I’ll try to address some of the points you’ve touched on… Some people said that a RB book would be too big if it had no categorical way to narrow it down, so I just threw that in, but I suppose it could be for everyone with internal categories (like fantasy, realism, fractal, B&W, etc.), (if it was not so big as to become cost-prohibitive). I would think it would be “all the above” that you mentioned; I.E.: for the artists, for RB, and for sale, IF it was really nice and the marketplace would like it and wish to purchase it. Your “Best of” idea sounds good to me. I think RB is interested in the online print-on-demand book idea, and any printed works would surely boost their membership. I think they are interested in something that would work similar to the calender creation, but whatever form it takes, I’ve learned that it may take awhile to become a reality on RB. There are many works of art on RedBubble that are so uniquely beautiful, that it just seems like a natural thing to want to see them on large glossy pages in a book. If the RB artists express an interest, I will try to put their ideas out there on the suggestions forum, and also post to my journal and to other forums. You expressed another good idea in that short artist “bios” and/or lifestyle essays could be included with their work. This type of book would be great exposure for RedBubble and also for those of us who are “Emerging Artists”. I’m really excited about this possibility. In a relatively short time I’ve already grown to like the artists on RB, and to appreciate their awesome work. The best thing that could happen is that people like yourself might become interested in this possibility and together we could encourage RB to help us make it happen. Thanks again for your ideas and input, / Curtis / —- webgrrl wrote you a BubbleMail 4 days ago: i think its possible.. its just a matter of planning it out ..and someone to instigate it…. like the build it and they will come? yes cafepress has book printing capabilities..but if im not mistaken.. LULU (lulu.com) is the leader in self book publishing.. ive made a calendar there with them.. http://www.lulu.com/content/905970 and i have to say that i really like the option of having black bkground (so far the only place able to do that..and custom holidays as well..) id be interested in projects / help / things like that.. if you see my profile and see all the sites/projects that im doing all myself.. cuz i got tired of waiting for others to do it with me..so i just started them myself… and hope everyday…… others will want to join.. :/

• "Double Feature - Live, Love, Dream & Canon DSLR"
  by Vickie Emms

  This is a first for me this morning. I woke up to find a double feature of the same photo, only uploaded last evening. Thank you so v…

  This is a first for me this morning. I woke up to find a double feature of the same photo, only uploaded last evening. Thank you so very much to the wonderful hosts of “Live, Love, Dream” and “Canon DSLR” (BigD and Kathy) for featuring my photo “Dark”. I am amazed and delighted to receive this honor today. I sure had a great start to my day. Yippeee happy dancing!!! This photo was a lot of work, I did not complete it in one effort. I’ve put the original in as well, so you can see what it looked like before I made it “Dark”.

• Winter coming on in Oz
  by Mark Richards

  I’ve never been much of a Winter person, however, having now discovered the technique of High Dynamic Range photography this has added a …

  I’ve never been much of a Winter person, however, having now discovered the technique of High Dynamic Range photography this has added a new dimension to how I think about Winter. I think I actually like it now :) Plus, on the weekend I bought a new anti-vibration zoom lens which I am totally wrapped in, it takes brilliant shots. So I’m a happy chappy at the moment.

• Collaborating with Dynamic DanaMS Woooooo HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
  by Amber Elizabeth Fromm Donais

  I have had the pleasure of collaborating with Dynamic Dana Ms / On 2 occasions she is such a kind and generous spirit and very much a swe…

  I have had the pleasure of collaborating with Dynamic Dana Ms / On 2 occasions she is such a kind and generous spirit and very much a sweety and a brightener to my days I Love her SHE IS AWESOME and here they are #1 Strawberry Dreams and Vanilla Sky / #2 God Canvas Sky / super hugs thanks Dana and thank you for viewing too lil ol / amber elizabeth

• Enjoyable Sunday Afternoon Walk
  by Mark Richards

  Yesterday I went for a walk around my local area of Darlinghurst / Paddington with the purpose of doing some laneway shots, however, othe…

  Yesterday I went for a walk around my local area of Darlinghurst / Paddington with the purpose of doing some laneway shots, however, other visual pleasure kept popping up. One that I particularly like was a HDR shot of an old gateway with stone steps leading up to the front door of an old house.

• What a Halloween treat! "Contemplation" featured in Live, Love and Dream group!
  by Randi Bailey

  Well, my Halloween has turned from freaky to fabulous! My sunset image,“Contemplation,” was featured in the great group Live, Love and Dr…

  Well, my Halloween has turned from freaky to fabulous! My sunset image,“Contemplation,” was featured in the great group Live, Love and Dream (thank you incredibly much, moderators.) As a result, I have received many nice comments. Also, I was placed as a Featured Member, my first ever selection, in Domestic Cats! Ok, this eerily wonderful night’s announcements are not over…because I have reached over 4,000 views at this point. Sure, I ‘ve been a member since June; you see I’m slow but steady! Thanks to all the special people who always go out of their way to be supportive and brighten my day! Happy Spooks Day, Randi Bailey “Contemplation” /

• New calendar
  by Luca Bimbi

  Dear all, a new calendar is available now: Botero: Heaven and Hell...

  Dear all, a new calendar is available now: Botero: Heaven and Hell . The same discounted price (-10%) is applied as for the other one. / I hope you’ll like it, it could be a nice present for Christmas as it has photos from two beautiful Frescos in Pietrasanta that Master Fernando Botero made in a Church in 1993 as a gift to the town. / If you would like the same calendar with a different order of photos bubble mail me and I will create a custom calendar for you at the same price :) All the photos are HDR. Luca

• What a nice surprise to wake up to! Thank you for featuring "Bougie fever" in All about Flowers
  by Randi Bailey

  Such a great surprise to wake up and find that your work has been featured. It’s not my birthday but it sure feels like it! Thank you All…

  Such a great surprise to wake up and find that your work has been featured. It’s not my birthday but it sure feels like it! Thank you All About flowers group. I very much appreciate the kind attention. Randi Bailey / Aka Infoframe Dynamics

• OMG a triple feature! Thank you Bits and Pieces!
  by Randi Bailey

  Three of my pieces were featured some time before I woke up and checked my PC this morning! What a wonderful blessing! Bits and Pieces is…

  Three of my pieces were featured some time before I woke up and checked my PC this morning! What a wonderful blessing! Bits and Pieces is a great group. Thanks so much to the wonderful hosts. Randi Bailey The three features are: Everwhite the Cat Butterfly dance / and Shhhh, hide here!

• Double feature today...double thanks!
  by Randi Bailey

  Having a great day despite the stock market! Thanks to two groups for helping me survive (mentally) the loss of big $$. Thanks so much t…

  Having a great day despite the stock market! Thanks to two groups for helping me survive (mentally) the loss of big $$. Thanks so much to Domestic Cats for featuring “My wise ol’ cat” and All Around the Styles for featuring “Spooky yoda cat.” I couldn’t be more pleased. Thanks to Marie Sharp for letting me know the good news on the latter feature. Best to all, / Randi Bailey

• Thank you, AMERICA ~ Rural, Urban, Wild, Free, Expressions of Artists!
  by Randi Bailey

  Thank you so much for the feature of “Making little tracks” in your group, AMERICA ~ Rural, Urban, Wild, Free, Expressions of Artists! I …

  Thank you so much for the feature of “Making little tracks” in your group, AMERICA ~ Rural, Urban, Wild, Free, Expressions of Artists! I especially want to thank Karön Melillo d’Vega for posting the gorgeous group banner on the image page! You moderators rock! Thanks again and have a great holiday season. Making little tracks Randi Bailey / aka Infoframe Dynamics

• Cocoon of? was featured in Nature's Wonders! Thank you so much!
  by Randi Bailey

  My work “Cocoon of?” was featured this morning in the group Nature’s Wonders! I am very pleased about this and want to thank the hosts w…

  My work “Cocoon of?” was featured this morning in the group Nature’s Wonders! I am very pleased about this and want to thank the hosts who made it possible. / Thank you Mobii and Rainy! What a beautiful land you live in. I will be looking out for more of your own delightful work from Thailand. Anyway, I very much appreciate the support. I have to leave the artwork and computer editing for a while to check out a job in another state, so you know I will have some withdrawal symptoms. This might help ease the emptiness :-) Randi Bailey

• Good times keep rollin’ on! Double feature within a day’s time!
  by Randi Bailey

  Last night and this morning, I got great news of my features. One was “Dewdrop on wildflower” on the United States group, and the other w…

  Last night and this morning, I got great news of my features. One was “Dewdrop on wildflower” on the United States group, and the other was “Character” in the Bits and Pieces group. Thank you, moderators of both groups. Really helps to keep my creative fire stoked! Dewdrop on Wildflower / Character /

• Crazy wonderful quadruple feature! Thank you Bits and Pieces!
  by Randi Bailey

  Thanks so much to the moderators for giving my new day a little extra shine! It’s so much fun to check on your bubble and find an overnig…

  Thanks so much to the moderators for giving my new day a little extra shine! It’s so much fun to check on your bubble and find an overnight delivery like this! / The featured works are: “Ibis design” “Persian tabby cat” “Early morning mourning dove” “Newly trimmed hibiscus bush” Thanks again go out to the great hosts! Randi Bailey / AKA Infoframe Dynamics

• Get to do another Who0oo0 Ho0oo0! Got featured again today! "Anhinga graphic" was featured in Bits and Pieces
  by Randi Bailey

  Thank you terrifically much, Bits and Pieces group for featuring my piece “Anhinga graphic.” I sure appreciate the support for my artwork…

  Thank you terrifically much, Bits and Pieces group for featuring my piece “Anhinga graphic.” I sure appreciate the support for my artwork.

• My cat and I thank you for the feature of “Everwhite, the cat” in Americas-Rural, Urban, Wild, Free - Expressions of Artists
  by Randi Bailey

  Thank you so much Americas-Rural, Urban… group! This is Everwhite’s second-time feature and we feel blessed! She is now an active membe…

  Thank you so much Americas-Rural, Urban… group! This is Everwhite’s second-time feature and we feel blessed! She is now an active member of my art team…I even tried to put a beret on her head this afternoon! Well, it didn’t go so well, but we artists are persnickety, don’t you know. Have a wonderful weekend, artists, moderators, all you lovely people! Randi Bailey Everwhite, the cat /

• It’s so wonderful to get two features within a day’s time! Thanks to Tabby Time and Mood & Ambience groups for giving my art a little boost!
  by Randi Bailey

  Sometimes the little bit of recognition helps when there is so much going against the creative process in our world. Thanks for helping m…

  Sometimes the little bit of recognition helps when there is so much going against the creative process in our world. Thanks for helping me keep the flame lit! “Sunset on my street’ was featured in Mood & Ambience group, and I am fairly new to the group. I’m in the process of learning what the group is all about, so thanks for the help and direction, and showing me I got it right at least this once! And “Hiding” was featured in Tabby Time. I have a white cat, so Tabby Time has to wait for opportune moments that I get when we have feline visitors to our yard. Thank you, Tabby Time group moderators, for this feature!

• Thank you, Bits and Pieces for featuring my work!
  by Randi Bailey

  I really appreciate being noticed by the moderators of Bits and pieces…being featured twice is a great honor! “Park critter” and “Natu…

  I really appreciate being noticed by the moderators of Bits and pieces…being featured twice is a great honor! “Park critter” and “Nature’s power” were both given featured on the group site, I am very pleased… Park critter / Nature’s power /

• Thank you, Bits and pieces for featuring my swan image "Peacefulness"
  by Randi Bailey

  Thanks again Bits and Pieces! It’s great to wake up and find that over night you received some positive feedback for your endeavors. I v…

  Thanks again Bits and Pieces! It’s great to wake up and find that over night you received some positive feedback for your endeavors. I very much appreciate the featuring of “Peacefulness.”

• Thank you Graphic Room!
  by Randi Bailey

  Thank you so much for featuring my picture “Black kitten and solar eclipse.” I have just recently joined this group and wonder how I mis…

  Thank you so much for featuring my picture “Black kitten and solar eclipse.” I have just recently joined this group and wonder how I missed knowing about it earlier. Since much of my work has a graphics quality, I know you will be seeing many pieces come through knocking on your door! Thanks again for helping me get a special buzz from being a member of this great group. Best regards, / Randi Bailey