Imaging Digitally.
The digital still camera (as opposed to the digital video
camera) is a mainstay in the digital device world. While some folks prefer to
extract individual images out of video, that technique sadly lacks the clarity,
control and compositional potential that the still image has.
A modern digital camera is an amazing device. While the
early evolution of the digital camera was rocked with substandard machines
including slow, expensive, battery-hogging devices that produced low quality
images, today the digital camera has for all practical purposes completely
replaced the film camera. Currently, Nikon only produces two film cameras and according to Canon’s website Canon manufactures no film cameras. Digital cameras are one of the best examples of a paradigm shift. Essentially the playing field was reset to zero and all manufactures were at the same advantage or disadvantage depending on how you looked at it.
The consumer market held the most leveling, but for a while even the pro market
was in flux. Lately, the pro market has polarized between Nikon and Canon, but
the prosumer market still has much variability and no clear winners. In fact, there are some interesting so-called off-brands that have produced some interesting photo products.
Applying the chicken-egg equation, Kodak, once the leader in
film, currently offers only 11 different types of 35mm film including negative,
slide, and APS. Fuji, the second
largest 35mm film company produces four different types slide and negative
film. I cannot help but wonder how long it will remain profitable, or even realistic to manufacture plastic film.
So on to the digital.
The goals of the next two weeks are three-fold.
First, I would like you to become better photographers through technique and awareness.
Second, I would like you to develop/enhance your “darkroom skills” through the
use of photo editing tools.
And third, to experience and expand your photo organizing and sharing toolkit. This will be accomplished through several separate but related assignments including photographing a specific topic, editing the images, and sharing the images online.
The “default” photo management programs on most computers are iPhoto on the Mac side, and Windows Picture Manager on the PC. However there are many solutions on both sides. For the assignments, I will suggest some basic programs but you are free to use whatever tools you would like as long as they are of equal or greater value. In other words, please don’t simplify the assignment any more than it is, but you may complify it to your heart’s content. Here is a primer for Picasa, Google's free half-cloud based cross-platform photo editing and management program.
You will need a digital camera for this assignment. Remember that much of the modern world also uses digital cameras so when you have questions, a quick Google search will likely produce a plethora of helpful websites and discussion groups. I encourage you to Google what you want to know, and then spend a few minutes poking around the search results. You will likely find other helpful or important information since the gigantic number of resources that often overlap related issues of equal or greater importance.
Assignment 1 of 3: This task focuses on the taking and
sharing of pictures.
The steps of this assignment include:
1) View or review the resources I am providing to make you better photographers as well as understanding the technology behind the devices.
2) Use your digital camera to photograph a handheld object like a coffee cup, cell phone, pocketknife, sunglasses, or almost anything else of that size. By photograph, I mean take many pictures of it from various angles, using different backgrounds, perspectives, and settings. The point here it to keep the object constant over all else. For example if a cell phone is your
subject, then the phone could be on a desk, partially in a pocket, or in, on, under or along any class-appropriate setting you can come up with. Humor is fine. As photographers say, work the shot. This means consider what is attractive about the scene. What is interesting? What is important? What is not? Take many pictures and consider what you like. What doesn’t work? What distracts? What attracts? In the end, you will need about 20 individual images, each associated with your object. Be creative.
3) Put your images in a folder on your desktop with a descriptive name. Download Google Picasa if you have not already done so. Picasa will “link” its interface to all images and movies on your computer. The data is not removed from anywhere, but just connected to Picasa.
4) Make a new album and title it 370 (name of your object). Find your object pictures in the Picasa library. Put your object pictures into the 370 object folder. Then upload onto the web using the upload button. You will need to have a Google account open. Keep the album visibility public. The medium size image is fine in the dropdown menu.
5) Use the “link to this album” link on the right of the online album screen. Then choose the embed slideshow hypertext. To get the embed code. Copy the slideshow embed code, and paste it in an html/JavaScript gadget in your blog. Keep the gadget at or near the top of your blog page. If two different Google accounts are needed, you can run a different Google account if you are running two different browsers like IE and Firefox, or Safari and Firefox at the same time.
6)Test your blog gadget.
Assignment 2 of 3: This task focuses on editing and
manipulation of photos.
The steps of this assignment include:
1) Choose five of the images from the set you created in step one.
2) Put copies of the images in a separate folder. You will be manipulating these images but you want to keep originals. Make the copies, and change their file names by adding an “E” at the end of the filename (not the extension) for edited. This way if back in the folder with the originals, you will see both the original and the edited file next to each other.
3) Using the photo editing tools in Picasa or other programs, work with each image changing it from its original form to a new one. We will be working with the more artistic aspects in step 3 but for now, concentrate on making the image stronger or more focused on a specific area. Use the cropping, straightening, and brightness/contrast tools. Make at least 4 changes to each image.
4) Make a new album using the naming convention above plus the work edited. Following the steps in assignment 1, upload the album, and embed it in your blog below the assignment 1 album.
5) Test your blog gadget.
Assignment 3 of 3: This task focuses on the digital art
aspect of photography.
The steps of this assignment include:
1) Choose two of your original images that you will alter digitally to bring out your inner artist. Make copies of them in another folder, and change their file names by adding an “A” at the end of the filename (not the extension) for art.
2) Explore the tuning and effects features of Picasa. Other editing programs should have similar or better tools. Note that some of the effects have additional options once selected.
3) After exploring the tuning and effects tools you may want to choose different images that the ones you started this assignment with. Feel free to select different ones from your original set.
4) After you have altered your image, make a new album using the naming convention above plus the word “Edited.” Following the steps in assignment 1, upload the album, and embed it in your blog below the assignment 2 album.
5) Test your blog gadget. If all works how you want, then post your blog address in the proper discussion thread as well as an explanation of what you did to your images. Please look at others’ photo album. Comment as needed.
As usual, there will be helpcircles for the assignments and for digital photography in general.
Additionally, there will be other discussions in which I expect you to take part.
And to top it all off, here are some additional links worthy of a click:
High level
editing with Aperture
Gadget Savvy:
Digital Cameras Quiz
Why do people
have red eyes in flash photographs?
Professional and Technical Camera
Reviews
Photo Competition?
And for those who want to take this further...a photo contest.
Two categories, one photo per category accepted.
The two categories are Unenhanced and Art.
Change it little to none = Unenhanced.
Change it more than a little = Art.
Please submit your images to me via email and I will post them
in an online album.We will then vote for the winners
who will receive recognition and have their pictures presented on the OmniGlobe.
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