Imaging Storm Photography » Uncategorized

Photographic copyright nonsense

David Bradley — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:04:36 +0000

We have a saying in England: “The law is an ass”. It’s not some kind of bizarre booty call for QCs, it just means that the law is stupid…donkey stupid, stubborn like a mule, well more to the point, it’s the judges who make the laws that are stupid

BoingBoing reports today a case in point (pardon the pun): In a bizarre ruling, an English court has ruled that in favour of a commercial poster company that argued that a photo that showed a similar but different scene taken by a different person in a different place nevertheless infringed the copyright of their original poster.

The judge ruled that photographing a scene that is "substantially similar" to a scene someone else has already photographed infringes the first shooter’s copyright.

So, no more snapping the Eiffel Tower, any beach with a palm tree, your kids on a pedalo, a full moon, close-ups of flowers nor any spit-roast scene.

Insane English copyright ruling creates ownership in the idea of a photos composition – Boing Boing.

What you should know before buying a new lens

David Bradley — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:00:36 +0000

Swapping out lenses is one of the greatest advantages of modern SLRs, allowing photographers to take vastly different kinds of pictures with the same camera. But what should you know before you flash out on an expensive new lens?

Full details: What Do I Need To Know Before Buying A New Lens For My Camera?.

Fotowall – montage, collage and editor

David Bradley — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:28:13 +0000

Fotowall is an opensource creative tool that lets you play with your pixels as you’ve ever wanted! Make the perfect arrangement with your photos, add text, live video from your webcam as well as pictures from the net.

Download.

Jame Bond is a Hoe

David Bradley — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:05:09 +0000

Apparently, James Bond, aka 007, has “had” 839 hoes, or is it ho’s? I’m never sure whether all those rappers are talking about gardening or dissing their beeyatches. Anyway, this is sweary, so headphones on if you’re at work, there are children present or you’re doing some gardening and have your hoe with you

It is funny-ish, and quite true, but the way the singer shoehorns his lyrics into the James Bond theme is rather painful…you have been warned.

Barn owl at twilight

David Bradley — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:39:16 +0000

I saw a barn owl hunting in daylight yesterday, reminded me I had a few snaps of an owl taken at twilight on the banks of The Cam. Apparently, those owls with dark eyes are the night hunters, those with bright eyes the daylight/twilight hunters…

Venus and firs

David Bradley — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:28:35 +0000

An evening snap of the tall trees on our village green (yes, I know they’re not firs) with Venus hanging low and the Xmas lights awaiting their imminent extinction for another year.

5+10 Tips for better party photos

David Bradley — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:22:51 +0000

Christmas and holiday parties mean getting lots of family and friends together. And getting the family together usually means lots and lots of pictures!

Here are a few of my personal tips for better photos at Christmas get togethers and holiday parties:

Don’t use red-eye reduction, it’s easy to get rid of red eye later, the multiple pre-flashes irritate people and lose the spontaneity of the shot.
Get down low when shooting kids and pets. Photos taken from above their heads almost always look awful, get on their eye level and you get a much friendlier shot.
Use distractions, don’t have people stare at the camera, give them a toy or another distraction to focus on while you capture their character and charm.
If you must have posed shots, have people in pairs or threes at most, if they’re female friends and relatives ask them to put their heads together (It amuses people and gets them smiling as well as producing an affectionate photo effect).
Ask people to lift their nose up slightly if you have to shoot a posed shot, it reduces shadows under the eyes, nose, and chin, taughtens the skin and makes people giggle a little all at the same time.

And here’s another ten from HTG:

Take test shots if you can, before the event
Don’t make people pose
Think about and use the available light
Use the camera’s manual settings for more control
Use burst mode to snap a sequence of action shots and select the best later
Take photos that help tell a story
Think carefully but quickly about composition
Go high ISO and avoid using the flash if it works better
Use a tripod or monopod for low light conditions
Get your ISO as low as possible, or use convert to monochrome and use the graininess for dramatic effect

Fudge maker

David Bradley — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 09:28:23 +0000

It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it…

Sugar molecules and creamy proteins and fat worked into a hot lather and packed just in time for Xmas.

Antique Casio calculator

David Bradley — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:12:24 +0000

This is my ancient Casio calculator from my sixth-form days. It’s an fx180p, p for programmable. It’s bruised and battered, but still works perfectly as you can see. Those batteries? They are the same pair that came with the calculator 30 years ago! Still providing the necessary Watts.

What other number did you expect an ubergeek to display?

Christmas light bokeh

David Bradley — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:52:07 +0000

Bokeh are those out of focus spots of light that can add such character to a photo. However, they can also be the focus of the photo to create some abstract effects. These photos were snapped at night deliberately defocusing the Christmas tree lights and zooming right in to create what might, at first glance, look like the most complex Venn diagrams ever.