This afternoon was spent at my mother's and brother's house. While I was mostly there to simply see them for the day, my brother required my assistance for a photoshoot he needed to complete for an assignment of his that he wants to submit next week. Naturally, I was happy to help.
We had roast pork for dinner - something that none of us have eaten for a while - and tomorrow I'll be back over to eat some of the pork crackling that was cooked tonight. I have an academic assembly to attend first, so I'll head over to theirs once that is finished.
Showing posts with label Photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Photography. Show all posts
Sunday, 26 February 2017
Thursday, 3 March 2016
The college photoshoot
At college, I was recently made a Student Ambassador. One of the tasks of a Student Ambassador is to help out at open evenings but another, which I recently learnt, is to attend photoshoots for college literature. This afternoon, I visited the photography studio, which was a part of my campus I hadn't entered before, to have my pictures taken. While there, I met three other students, including one who was a fellow Student Ambassador. I am unsure when my photographs will start to appear but I anticipate seeing them soon.
Monday, 2 February 2015
Ceiling light
Using my phone's front camera, I photographed this ceiling light at college.
I wasn't intending to photograph this light: what happened is that when I placed my phone down on its back I noticed this light flickering on the screen. I liked the effect and thought it would make a nice picture.
Saturday, 27 December 2014
Lincoln visit December 2014
I spent most of today in Lincoln. While much of it was spent in either shops or my cousin's university accommodation, I photographed the cathedral a few times and I'll be sure to post the pictures tomorrow. It snowed last night and the snow drastically altered the Lincoln landscape.
Monday, 18 August 2014
Picture sorting August 2014
I once again have a backlog of my recently-taken pictures to sort out, similar to what I had this time last year. I had over nine hundred pictures to rename but today I managed to cut that number down by about a sixth. When I go to Nottingham at the end of this month, one thing I do not want to bring with me is a backlog of my unsorted images on my computer. No, they all need to be sorted and backed up.
I don't expect to generate an image backlog when I'm in Nottingham; I doubt I'll be taking as many images as I normally do. Then again, I could surprise myself and end up taking loads!
I don't expect to generate an image backlog when I'm in Nottingham; I doubt I'll be taking as many images as I normally do. Then again, I could surprise myself and end up taking loads!
Friday, 8 August 2014
Sphere light
I took this picture during my recent stay in Nottingham:
It's a light. I've always liked these types of lights because they look like crystal spheres. Quite a few gardens use these lights; they're a pretty decoration during the day and provide useful illumination at night.
I was sure to take a similar picture to the one above and put it through the HDR filter on the Snapseed phone app.
Thursday, 31 July 2014
The glass of water
I photographed this glass; one of these images has been enhanced:
The unenhanced picture alone is pretty impressive. Now see it through Snapseed's HDR filter:
It looks amazing! Despite what I said before about not wanting to use enhancements too much, I honestly do love the effects the app generates.
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
GIF creator
When my father got his new phone last year, one aspect of the device of which I was particularly envious was its camera, as it was far more advanced in its hardware and software than the camera I had on mine. The software feature that fascinated me the most was its ability create GIFs.
Last night, inspired by the Snapseed app that my uncle recommended, I decided to have a look for a GIF-generating app and after less than a minute spent searching, I found one. I created a couple of GIFs of my brother and mother just to test the app out; they worked! I can now create my own GIFs.
I don't need a GIF-generating app but it's one of those things that's nice to have. An app or camera feature that would be incredibly useful is one that lets you know when you're about to take a slanted picture and can straighten it for you...
On a related note, I've always pronounced GIF with a hard G, like the word grass, rather than with a soft G like the word gym. I was surprised when I heard that there is a significant minority of people who pronounce it as "jif", which has caused a dispute over the pronunciation. Of all the things to argue about!
Last night, inspired by the Snapseed app that my uncle recommended, I decided to have a look for a GIF-generating app and after less than a minute spent searching, I found one. I created a couple of GIFs of my brother and mother just to test the app out; they worked! I can now create my own GIFs.
I don't need a GIF-generating app but it's one of those things that's nice to have. An app or camera feature that would be incredibly useful is one that lets you know when you're about to take a slanted picture and can straighten it for you...
On a related note, I've always pronounced GIF with a hard G, like the word grass, rather than with a soft G like the word gym. I was surprised when I heard that there is a significant minority of people who pronounce it as "jif", which has caused a dispute over the pronunciation. Of all the things to argue about!
Thursday, 17 July 2014
Photo enhancement clarification
In yesterday's post, I included a picture that had been enhanced with an HDR filter; as a result, the image looked fantastic. However, I want to state right now that up until that point, none of the pictures I had posted had been retouched, save for cropping or the occasional blurring out of a plate on a vehicle.
While I now have the ability to enhance pictures and post them, I will only do so rarely; I prefer to post untouched photographs taken with my phone and main camera. I think I would be cheating if I constantly posted heavily modified images rather than made the effort to take decent pictures. Imagine if this blog contained recordings of me singing, but I Auto-Tuned myself: it wouldn't be right. Better to make it impressive in the first place.
So that's my position on enhanced images. They look amazing, but I prefer natural pictures; touched images will be rare here. My phone and camera don't produce HDR photographs and I should not give the illusion that they do.
While I now have the ability to enhance pictures and post them, I will only do so rarely; I prefer to post untouched photographs taken with my phone and main camera. I think I would be cheating if I constantly posted heavily modified images rather than made the effort to take decent pictures. Imagine if this blog contained recordings of me singing, but I Auto-Tuned myself: it wouldn't be right. Better to make it impressive in the first place.
So that's my position on enhanced images. They look amazing, but I prefer natural pictures; touched images will be rare here. My phone and camera don't produce HDR photographs and I should not give the illusion that they do.
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
Photoshopping
Following up on my post about TLC's "Unpretty", which was also about body image issues, I recently saw this video about photoshopping:
It's disappointing that unrealistic expectations of women's looks are still prevalent in today's day and age. Not only do these high expectations put pressure on girls and women to conform to a certain appearance, as shown in the video, but it also indoctrinates men into thinking that women have to look like photoshopped supermodels.
From my point of view, all four women in the video are more attractive in their natural appearances than when they were photoshopped; there's nothing wrong with how any of them look and their supposed "imperfections" are merely parts of who they are. I hope that most men would share my opinion; it would deeply unfortunate for society if most men preferred photoshopped women over how women actually look.
Of course, I don't have any problem whatsoever with women applying make-up to themselves, as a lot of women do it to boost their self-esteem and/or simply because they enjoy doing it, but I wouldn't ever expect a woman to look like a fashion model. No one looks "perfect" and even if they did, it wouldn't be natural.
It's disappointing that unrealistic expectations of women's looks are still prevalent in today's day and age. Not only do these high expectations put pressure on girls and women to conform to a certain appearance, as shown in the video, but it also indoctrinates men into thinking that women have to look like photoshopped supermodels.
From my point of view, all four women in the video are more attractive in their natural appearances than when they were photoshopped; there's nothing wrong with how any of them look and their supposed "imperfections" are merely parts of who they are. I hope that most men would share my opinion; it would deeply unfortunate for society if most men preferred photoshopped women over how women actually look.
Of course, I don't have any problem whatsoever with women applying make-up to themselves, as a lot of women do it to boost their self-esteem and/or simply because they enjoy doing it, but I wouldn't ever expect a woman to look like a fashion model. No one looks "perfect" and even if they did, it wouldn't be natural.
Sunday, 2 February 2014
Yesterday's gift
I mentioned in yesterday's post that I had received a gift during a visit to Nottingham to see my Hong Kong uncle. I said that this gift would help me with my blog. So, what did I receive?
A new phone! Well, it's actually not new but it is to me. When I saw my Hong Kong uncle last summer, he mentioned that he would be getting himself a new phone and would be retiring his old one. When I asked him if he was planning to sell it at all, he said that I could have it once he was finished with it.
How will the phone help with the blog? It has a significantly improved camera compared to my now-old phone, both in megapixels (8 vs 5) and in image quality. While I usually use my main camera for photographs, I do take a lot with my phone and I'm looking forward to taking pictures with my new phone! Its indoor shots, even in low light, are fairly decent and I'm curious to see what they're like in natural outside light.
As for the phone I bought in September of 2012, I have given that to my mother. She is delighted about having my old phone, as it is a vast improvement upon hers, which was also mine before I upgraded in late 2012.
A new phone! Well, it's actually not new but it is to me. When I saw my Hong Kong uncle last summer, he mentioned that he would be getting himself a new phone and would be retiring his old one. When I asked him if he was planning to sell it at all, he said that I could have it once he was finished with it.
How will the phone help with the blog? It has a significantly improved camera compared to my now-old phone, both in megapixels (8 vs 5) and in image quality. While I usually use my main camera for photographs, I do take a lot with my phone and I'm looking forward to taking pictures with my new phone! Its indoor shots, even in low light, are fairly decent and I'm curious to see what they're like in natural outside light.
As for the phone I bought in September of 2012, I have given that to my mother. She is delighted about having my old phone, as it is a vast improvement upon hers, which was also mine before I upgraded in late 2012.
Saturday, 7 December 2013
The camera-shy spider
Dad and I spent the day in Nottingham at my grandparents' house. We were there to see them and to replace an outside light on their garage.
We needed a ladder to reach the light. While Dad was busy up the ladder and in between the moments when I was passing tools up to him, I watched a small spider dangle itself out of its home in one of the ladder's grooves. It did this for several minutes before I took my phone out and attempted to take a picture of it. That's when the spider disappeared back into its groove.
This happened a second time before the spider either gave up or wasn't even paying attention to what I was doing in the first place and had found something else interesting outside its groove (the latter is far more realistic). My pictures of the spider were worthless, however, as the spider appears as a small, blurry dot and isn't identifiable. Still, it's a little funny to think that the spider was merely camera-shy.
I should note that during the times when I was attempting to photograph the spider, Dad wasn't up the ladder!
We needed a ladder to reach the light. While Dad was busy up the ladder and in between the moments when I was passing tools up to him, I watched a small spider dangle itself out of its home in one of the ladder's grooves. It did this for several minutes before I took my phone out and attempted to take a picture of it. That's when the spider disappeared back into its groove.
This happened a second time before the spider either gave up or wasn't even paying attention to what I was doing in the first place and had found something else interesting outside its groove (the latter is far more realistic). My pictures of the spider were worthless, however, as the spider appears as a small, blurry dot and isn't identifiable. Still, it's a little funny to think that the spider was merely camera-shy.
I should note that during the times when I was attempting to photograph the spider, Dad wasn't up the ladder!
Monday, 28 October 2013
On selfies
With personal cameras being widespread, with the most common type being phone cameras, people can take more pictures now than at any other point in history. Everything is photographed: natural landscapes, buildings, food, animals, disasters, random objects, odd objects...everything. Obviously humans are photographed, too, but many people like to take pictures of themselves, not others. All over the Internet, "selfies" are in abundance
There are a variety of ways that these selfies are achieved, but the three common types of selfies are:
1. Mirror shot
The person aims their camera/phone camera towards a mirror and takes a picture of their reflection. If one didn't know better, it could be assumed that some people have a fascination with bathroom mirrors and what to share that interest or are trying to show others what their camera or phone looks like...without the use of another camera.
2. Arm extended
This involves someone holding a camera/phone with an extended arm and pointing it back towards themselves. If aimed correctly (it's not possible to see the viewfinder), this method will take a picture of the person rather than their reflection but often the arm that they're using to hold the camera gets caught in photograph.
3. Phone front camera
Specific to phones, this is similar to "Arm extended" in that it requires the person holding the device at arm's length; however, the person utilises the front camera of their phone, which provides them with better aim as they can see the phone's screen and thus, can direct the lens accordingly.
My opinion? If people want to take selfies and share them, that's completely their decision; besides, I know some people who are skilled at taking selfies! I'm only not keen on the selfies that involve the person pulling stupid faces or giving obscene gestures: they're tedious and not at all funny nor clever. I rarely take selfies (I use option 3. when I do) and none of the ones I've taken are online. I prefer having someone else take a picture of me, as those photographs of me look better than any I've taken.
What do you think? Do you like taking selfies? All viewpoints on this subject are welcome!
There are a variety of ways that these selfies are achieved, but the three common types of selfies are:
1. Mirror shot
The person aims their camera/phone camera towards a mirror and takes a picture of their reflection. If one didn't know better, it could be assumed that some people have a fascination with bathroom mirrors and what to share that interest or are trying to show others what their camera or phone looks like...without the use of another camera.
2. Arm extended
This involves someone holding a camera/phone with an extended arm and pointing it back towards themselves. If aimed correctly (it's not possible to see the viewfinder), this method will take a picture of the person rather than their reflection but often the arm that they're using to hold the camera gets caught in photograph.
3. Phone front camera
Specific to phones, this is similar to "Arm extended" in that it requires the person holding the device at arm's length; however, the person utilises the front camera of their phone, which provides them with better aim as they can see the phone's screen and thus, can direct the lens accordingly.
My opinion? If people want to take selfies and share them, that's completely their decision; besides, I know some people who are skilled at taking selfies! I'm only not keen on the selfies that involve the person pulling stupid faces or giving obscene gestures: they're tedious and not at all funny nor clever. I rarely take selfies (I use option 3. when I do) and none of the ones I've taken are online. I prefer having someone else take a picture of me, as those photographs of me look better than any I've taken.
What do you think? Do you like taking selfies? All viewpoints on this subject are welcome!
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
The Vado
When looking at the mess on my computer desk I picked up this item:
It's my Creative Vado, a pocket digital camcorder. My grandfather gave it to me not long after my family and I had moved back from the United States. I was excited when I received it because it was my both my first new camera in several years and my first video camera. In my excitement, I did annoy certain family members for a brief spell when I constantly filmed various events, both exciting and unimportant, alike!
Sadly, I hardly use the Vado now. I rarely take videos and when I do I use my phone, as I'm usually carrying that device rather than the Vado. Still, I think the Vado is worth keeping because the videos that my phone takes occupy a huge amount of storage space; the Vado's resolution is only 640x480 but its videos are decent in quality, even if they are small. If I ever needed to take a long video but didn't want it to be several hundred megabytes (or even a few gigabytes) in size, I would use the Vado.
My last two major uses of the Vado were: Late last year when I went to visit my East of England relatives, as I used it to film their cats and the bus trips to Norwich, and earlier this year during the heavy snow. In addition, I brought it with me when Becca and I went to see Carrie Underwood at the Royal Albert Hall and it is also one of the three pieces of electronic equipment that I passed to my uncle during my mud jump at Chatsworth House in 2012.
Sadly, I hardly use the Vado now. I rarely take videos and when I do I use my phone, as I'm usually carrying that device rather than the Vado. Still, I think the Vado is worth keeping because the videos that my phone takes occupy a huge amount of storage space; the Vado's resolution is only 640x480 but its videos are decent in quality, even if they are small. If I ever needed to take a long video but didn't want it to be several hundred megabytes (or even a few gigabytes) in size, I would use the Vado.
My last two major uses of the Vado were: Late last year when I went to visit my East of England relatives, as I used it to film their cats and the bus trips to Norwich, and earlier this year during the heavy snow. In addition, I brought it with me when Becca and I went to see Carrie Underwood at the Royal Albert Hall and it is also one of the three pieces of electronic equipment that I passed to my uncle during my mud jump at Chatsworth House in 2012.
Thursday, 15 August 2013
The shower and photo backlog redux
At last, we have a new shower installed. After spending two weeks cleaning ourselves in the bathtub with a dodgy shower head while crouching, it will be a pleasant change to have a proper shower tomorrow morning. With the new shower and the area around it re-sealed, hopefully the leaks are all fixed...it's not going to be fun if they are still present after all that work and our time in the bathtub!
As for my backlog of pictures to rename, I cleared it yesterday. I still have Dad's pictures to rename and I took some more photographs today, but at least I no longer have to worry about more than 1,000 existing pictures on top of any I take while I'm Nottingham. Still, I should keep on top of it in the future to prevent it from becoming that backlogged again!
As for my backlog of pictures to rename, I cleared it yesterday. I still have Dad's pictures to rename and I took some more photographs today, but at least I no longer have to worry about more than 1,000 existing pictures on top of any I take while I'm Nottingham. Still, I should keep on top of it in the future to prevent it from becoming that backlogged again!
Tuesday, 13 August 2013
Current picture renaming
I'll be going to Nottingham for over two weeks, starting this Saturday. After my week there last year and the year before, I had over a thousand images to rename on each occasion; I completed the jobs soon after returning home rather than left them hanging.
My current problem this year, however, is that I already have over a thousand existing images that need renaming. To add to this, I'm not only renaming pictures that I've taken but also ones that Dad has taken with his new phone (it's easier for me to rename them than for him to do the task himself).
I've been behind on renaming pictures all of this year; it is slow and boring work but it needs to be done. Even a one-word file name is far more useful in describing an image's subject than a jumble of letters and numbers! I've already almost halved the backlog in the past few days; I'll be satisfied if I have three-quarters of it cleared by Saturday and completely relieved if I have it all done before I leave! I should not have left it this long.
My current problem this year, however, is that I already have over a thousand existing images that need renaming. To add to this, I'm not only renaming pictures that I've taken but also ones that Dad has taken with his new phone (it's easier for me to rename them than for him to do the task himself).
I've been behind on renaming pictures all of this year; it is slow and boring work but it needs to be done. Even a one-word file name is far more useful in describing an image's subject than a jumble of letters and numbers! I've already almost halved the backlog in the past few days; I'll be satisfied if I have three-quarters of it cleared by Saturday and completely relieved if I have it all done before I leave! I should not have left it this long.
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Food photography tips
Do you enjoy taking pictures of food? Here are some tips from this article on the BBC, in its Magazine section; there's also a link at the bottom if you want to send any creative (or terrible) pictures of food:
Here's another link, one from the above page, warning about the disruption sometimes caused when people photograph food at restaurants. Try to be discreet!
Here's another link, one from the above page, warning about the disruption sometimes caused when people photograph food at restaurants. Try to be discreet!
Thursday, 6 December 2012
"Look at this Instagram"
I try not to post two songs in a row, but I haven't been well today and don't have time to type out any lengthy pieces. Last night I came across "Look at this Instagram", a parody of Nickelback's "Photograph":
As hilarious as I found the video, it did get me thinking about my own photography and what pictures I've posted here. I enjoy using my cameras, and I hope that the images I've shared have been worthwhile to all my readers and that they're not considered useless pictures of mundane objects!
As hilarious as I found the video, it did get me thinking about my own photography and what pictures I've posted here. I enjoy using my cameras, and I hope that the images I've shared have been worthwhile to all my readers and that they're not considered useless pictures of mundane objects!
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Day in Nottinghamshire
My Dad, brother, and myself spent the day in Nottinghamshire at my grandparents' house. We went up there to take our car in for its scheduled maintenance, but our trip doubled as a visit to family. I took a countless amount of pictures on a lengthy walk my brother and I went on...I will upload some of them tomorrow!
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Panoramic images
During our recent barbecue I discovered something that the camera on my phone is better at than my main camera: panoramic images.
I was messing around with the camera settings on my phone when I found the "panoramic" mode and switched the camera to that particular setting. I proceeded to take a picture in the panoramic mode: my camera let me take the first picture in the panoramic, but then it directed me to where the camera should be aimed once that first picture was taken, and then it would automatically take the picture once I pointed it to its target. Even better, once six pictures had been taken, the camera would merge them all into one and crop the uneven parts of the images accordingly. Hardly any effort is required!
In contrast, my main camera does take panoramic images, but it requires a photo-stitching software to merge any pictures it takes in its panoramic mode. However, this has not been an issue since I have not had any reason to use any panoramic features.
What amuses me the most is that I thought I had discovered all of my phone's abilities. Evidently, I have not...but I think it is good to keep learning more about something you thought you already did know everything about!
I was messing around with the camera settings on my phone when I found the "panoramic" mode and switched the camera to that particular setting. I proceeded to take a picture in the panoramic mode: my camera let me take the first picture in the panoramic, but then it directed me to where the camera should be aimed once that first picture was taken, and then it would automatically take the picture once I pointed it to its target. Even better, once six pictures had been taken, the camera would merge them all into one and crop the uneven parts of the images accordingly. Hardly any effort is required!
In contrast, my main camera does take panoramic images, but it requires a photo-stitching software to merge any pictures it takes in its panoramic mode. However, this has not been an issue since I have not had any reason to use any panoramic features.
What amuses me the most is that I thought I had discovered all of my phone's abilities. Evidently, I have not...but I think it is good to keep learning more about something you thought you already did know everything about!
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