HarveyG

Fabulous day. Days like this make you proud of what we have achieved in this country, from the old days to the new. Shot at SAAF Museum AFB Zwartkop, Gauteng, RSA

Contact me for tuition and tours as well as event photography!

Gear I use: Bodies: Nikon D-SLR’s / Lenses: Nikon, Sigma, Tokina, Vivitar
Filters: Hoya UV & Polarizing / Flash: Nikon Speed-lights / Bag: Lowe Pro
Tripods & Heads: Manfrotto / Grips, Triggers, Timers, Batteries: Phottix
Editing Plug-in: Topaz Labs Noise Reduction, HDR, B&W Conversion & more!

There are 1000′s of monitor types, sizes, brands and various ways to get them displaying colour accurately. Cambridge in Colour explain it far better than I can:

Knowing how to calibrate your monitor is critical for any photographer who wants accurate and predictable photographic prints. If your monitor is not correctly reproducing shades and colors, then all the time spent on image editing and post-processing could actually be counter-productive. This tutorial covers basic calibration for the casual photographer, in addition to using calibration and profiling devices for high-precision results. Furthermore, it assumes that tossing your old monitor and buying a new one is not an option.

Ideally an IPS panel (In Plane Switching) is what you should be striving (saving?) for. Locally they are scarce but I can source them for you. ASUS, Dell, Viewsonic are popular brands. If you’re a MAC/MACBook user recent Apple displays are all IPS based (within at least the last 5 years). It’s even valid when purchasing cellular/mobile phones. LCD, IPS, AMOLED etc.

If you can’t for whatever reason justify an IPS panel, tweak the monitor you have on your desk (or the laptop) using this software tool. Don’t skimp on this. It isn’t costing you a cent and your images will be judged on “my” monitor with the same or near identical colour warmth, overall temperature and brightness, contrast as what you saw and edited your image for, on your monitor.

The test images are best viewed in a dim or dark environment and in full-screen mode. In most browsers, F11 switches to full-screen mode, and F11 back to windowed mode.

Age, size, type of screen, CRT, LCD, IPS, LED are all different technologies. Take 15 minutes of your time and calibrate!

It could mean the difference between image on the far left vs the far right!

Cambridge in Colour Monitor Calibration Tutorials | Lagom Online Calibration Tool

Other Calibration Tools:

Canon .CR2 RAW

Nikon .NEF RAW

So you have a Canon (CR2) but want to help a friend edit or Post Process their images but can’t open or view them because they are Nikon (NEF)?

When you install your DSLR software, the codec for your brand of camera is embedded into and used by the O/S so you can view thumbnails, open and edit with your manufacturers included software, however it can’t read a RAW file from another manufacturer if that codec is not installed.

You might have bought the camera 2nd hand and the packaging/software is amiss and downloading the original software is either daunting or it simply isn’t available.

Here’s a solution:

You can download the RAW Codec Pack from a number of online resources. Solutions are to get the codecs from your camera maker, O/S House or from a 3rd party, if you have failed at finding/downloading the software from the manufacturer. Please visit each site regularly as they are updated as new camera models are released. You could also join your local camera club, as there will be a diverse collection of cameras and someone might well be willing to copy his/her install CD for you. Once installed, most s/w self-updates to the latest version.

I’ve done some of the leg work for you; download them here > Codec links: (continue reading…)

Lunch Lizard © HarveyG Photography (published on SigmaPhoto.com)

I lay flat on my stomach for an hour watching this guy catch his lunch during a workshop/getaway in and around Hoedspruit, Limpopo, South Africa. Used a Sigma 100-300mm f/4 APO EX DG APO HSM full-frame non-stabilised lens on the D90 (Sadly it is discontinued by Sigma as they have replaced it with a 120-300mm f/2.8 and I’m counting pennies ;p ) This gives me the effective range of 150-450mm on the DX small-frame sensor of the D90 (remember the D90 has exactly the same sensor as the D300s). Distance to subject about 180 cm / 70.9″ right at the cusp of closest focus. A “kit” 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 would also work as long as it’s the DG (full frame) that has that extra reach, and not the DC 18-250mm version. I shot a lot of my early work with 70-300mm f/slows and they are very versatile. A 55-200mm VR or any equivalent new 70-300mm VR DX/OS DC lens will work, but you have to get closer and often these subjects have a personal space of a few meters.

Note the low POV. Critical in getting more powerful images. I wished more people would do that with their pet images on Facebook!

The lizard polished off at least half a dozen insects and larvae in one hour. They are so fast that by the time he’s scampered to catch the fallen insect he’s half swallowed it already before you get a shot. You have to be spot on with focus and constantly alert. Shutter priority is the way to go and once you have mastered that go aperture priority but keep an eye on the shutter speed. At least double the speed of the maximum focal length of your lens to get a sharp unblurred image. In my case that would be 1/1000th (300mm full frame lens x 1.5x crop factor = 450mm x 2 = 900). A bean bag is handy as this big lens weighs 1480 g / 52.2 oz, and gets harder to hold as time goes by, however the POV is then slightly higher and perhaps not as powerful a shot.

ETA 2012/01/19: ID just in! Thanks to to Trevor from Hardaker.co.za Common Flat Lizard (Platysaurus intermedius) Possibly male.

Watching him snack bugs reminded me of The Crunchy Frog sketch by Monty Python:

Well it’s back to the grindstone for most of us. Hope you all feel refreshed like these little guys and have a fabulous 2012!

Splish Splash - Crowned Lapwings aka Kiewiet (c) H Grohmann photographed during a Workshop at Rietvlei NR

and all those togs that can afford the new Nikon D4 should have a blast at the Olympics with it this year.

If you work in Adobe Photoshop, like any other computer application, keyboard short-cuts speed up your work flow considerably. I found this fabulous and extensive list for versions of Adobe Photoshop 5, 6 and 7 to Adobe Photoshop CS2, CS3, CS4 on Trevor Morris Photographics web site. (CS5 will be near identical to CS4).

Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard

I have been using the original Logitech G15 and it has up to 54 Programmable Macro Keyboard Assignments plus other useful tools. The newer version has 18. Whether you have a fancy or a standard 100+ key keyboard, Trevor’s lists are well worth a look.

Print them and keep them near your workstation.

Thanks Trevor!