http://digitalconstruction.ca/music/mobile_Recording_Studio/
Monday, September 11, 2017
Monday, February 15, 2016
The Home Recording Studio
I have not been posting in a while now because I have been very busy in setting up my Home Recording Studio.
I now have two complete set ups. One is on a PC the other is portable on a MacBook Pro. I have been actively
playing music since I was 15 years old and my interest has taken me into recording so I can capture sound that
I produce in a studio environment. I have set up a music page so I can post the recordings I produce.
Here is a little video that I posted on youtube :
Check out some of the grooves at My Music
Check out some of the grooves at My Music
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Hyperfocal Distance
An important part of taking a great photo is deciding what you want to appear in (and out of) focus. Often, you'll want to
emphasize your subject by keeping the rest of the scene out of focus, so I've explained how to be selective about focus using
your camera's aperture setting.
There are also times when you want everything in a photo to be in sharp focus, however, from the very front of the foreground
to the most distant part of the background. There's a way to do this, and it's called hyperfocal photography--or, more to the
point, shooting at your lens's hyperfocal distance.
The Problem With Focusing Normally
The term hyperfocal might sound a bit intimidating, but don't worry: There's no calculus or physics involved. The easiest way
to understand hyperfocal distance is to imagine that it's the distance at which you need to focus your lens in order to get
the deepest possible depth of field. Photographers often rely on the hyperfocal distance to ensure everything is in focus
from the very foreground to the "infinite" background.
Consider this:
Suppose you are taking a landscape photograph and want to include both a log lying on the ground in the
foreground and some distant mountains. The log is only a few feet away, but the mountains are miles away--as far as the lens is concerned, they're at "infinity." Is it possible to get both extremes in sharp focus? Maybe. But how?
You already know that you should switch your camera to Aperture Priority and dial in the biggest f-number you can, like f/22. That setting gives you the best depth of field.
Suppose you focus on the log. Your depth of field extends in front and behind the log. The depth of field in front of the log is wasted, because you don't care about capturing anything in front of the log. Behind the log, you'll have some sharpness, but it probably won't go all the way to infinity.
Photography trivia:
The closer your focusing distance, the more narrow your depth of field will be. This is why macro (very close-up) photos have such a miniscule depth of field.
Okay, focusing close didn't work. What if we focus more distant--on the mountains--by setting the focus on infinity? We automatically get deeper depth of field (because depth of field gets proportionally bigger as you focus on more distant objects), which is a good start. But again, we're wasting perfectly good depth of field. All the depth of field beyond the focusing distance is useless, since it's already at infinity. If you're lucky, the depth of field in front of infinity will reach all the way back to the log, but it's unlikely, especially if the log is quite close to you.
The Solution:
Use the Hyperfocal Distance
You can probably guess where this is going. Instead of focusing on either the closest or most distant part of your scene, you should focus on something in between. If you pick the right place in the middle to set the focus, the depth of field will extend forward to the log and back to the mountains, rendering your scene perfectly sharp. Consider this photo. Rather than focusing on the grass at my feet or the mountains in the background, I chose an intermediate spot, which allowed the entire scene to be sharply focused.
So what's the right middle point to focus on? This is where the hyperfocal distance comes in. Specifically, the hyperfocal distance will give you a depth of field that extends from approximately half the focus distance all the way to infinity.
Since the hyperfocal distance gives you the deepest possible depth of field, it's a photographer's go-to setting for getting a photo with seemingly infinite depth of field.
Here's a practical example: Suppose you know that the hyperfocal distance for your lens (at a particular f-stop) is 20 feet. If you focus on something 20 feet in front of you, everything from 10 feet away to infinity will be sharp. So to capture the log in our original example, you'd need to set your camera lens to its hyperfocal distance and then make sure the log was halfway between you and the point you're focusing on. That's all there is to it.
As an aside, here's a detail you might not care about, but I'll throw it in for thoroughness:
Photographers have traditionally used a rule of thumb that says the depth of field at the hyperfocal distance goes from half the focus distance to infinity. In reality, that's not quite true. The near limit of the depth of field is not exactly half the focus distance, but it's generally fairly close.
emphasize your subject by keeping the rest of the scene out of focus, so I've explained how to be selective about focus using
your camera's aperture setting.
There are also times when you want everything in a photo to be in sharp focus, however, from the very front of the foreground
to the most distant part of the background. There's a way to do this, and it's called hyperfocal photography--or, more to the
point, shooting at your lens's hyperfocal distance.
The Problem With Focusing Normally
The term hyperfocal might sound a bit intimidating, but don't worry: There's no calculus or physics involved. The easiest way
to understand hyperfocal distance is to imagine that it's the distance at which you need to focus your lens in order to get
the deepest possible depth of field. Photographers often rely on the hyperfocal distance to ensure everything is in focus
from the very foreground to the "infinite" background.
Consider this:
Suppose you are taking a landscape photograph and want to include both a log lying on the ground in the
foreground and some distant mountains. The log is only a few feet away, but the mountains are miles away--as far as the lens is concerned, they're at "infinity." Is it possible to get both extremes in sharp focus? Maybe. But how?
You already know that you should switch your camera to Aperture Priority and dial in the biggest f-number you can, like f/22. That setting gives you the best depth of field.
Suppose you focus on the log. Your depth of field extends in front and behind the log. The depth of field in front of the log is wasted, because you don't care about capturing anything in front of the log. Behind the log, you'll have some sharpness, but it probably won't go all the way to infinity.
Photography trivia:
The closer your focusing distance, the more narrow your depth of field will be. This is why macro (very close-up) photos have such a miniscule depth of field.
Okay, focusing close didn't work. What if we focus more distant--on the mountains--by setting the focus on infinity? We automatically get deeper depth of field (because depth of field gets proportionally bigger as you focus on more distant objects), which is a good start. But again, we're wasting perfectly good depth of field. All the depth of field beyond the focusing distance is useless, since it's already at infinity. If you're lucky, the depth of field in front of infinity will reach all the way back to the log, but it's unlikely, especially if the log is quite close to you.
The Solution:
Use the Hyperfocal Distance
You can probably guess where this is going. Instead of focusing on either the closest or most distant part of your scene, you should focus on something in between. If you pick the right place in the middle to set the focus, the depth of field will extend forward to the log and back to the mountains, rendering your scene perfectly sharp. Consider this photo. Rather than focusing on the grass at my feet or the mountains in the background, I chose an intermediate spot, which allowed the entire scene to be sharply focused.
So what's the right middle point to focus on? This is where the hyperfocal distance comes in. Specifically, the hyperfocal distance will give you a depth of field that extends from approximately half the focus distance all the way to infinity.
Since the hyperfocal distance gives you the deepest possible depth of field, it's a photographer's go-to setting for getting a photo with seemingly infinite depth of field.
Here's a practical example: Suppose you know that the hyperfocal distance for your lens (at a particular f-stop) is 20 feet. If you focus on something 20 feet in front of you, everything from 10 feet away to infinity will be sharp. So to capture the log in our original example, you'd need to set your camera lens to its hyperfocal distance and then make sure the log was halfway between you and the point you're focusing on. That's all there is to it.
As an aside, here's a detail you might not care about, but I'll throw it in for thoroughness:
Photographers have traditionally used a rule of thumb that says the depth of field at the hyperfocal distance goes from half the focus distance to infinity. In reality, that's not quite true. The near limit of the depth of field is not exactly half the focus distance, but it's generally fairly close.
Friday, June 10, 2011
The Cost of Doing Business
There seems to be this expectation, on the part of clients, when one photographer undercuts the market, that that price now becomes the price to match if you want the client's business. Well nothing could be further from the truth, because those photographers are not being honest with themselves, their industry, and their potential client, about the cost of conducting a business. Once you take the time to explain to a client what goes into setting a price for both products and services, your work and the subsequent price becomes, by all accounts, more than reasonable. I've generated a list of some expenses to help put things into a better perspective for when it comes time to educating your clients.
There's the obvious cost of equipment, both past and present. That number easily goes into the thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Photographers need to have access to cameras, lenses, filters, memory cards, lighting systems, computers, digital storage and backup systems, and multiple software packages. The depreciation of this equipment must be factored in when establishing the value of your work. While we're at it, let's add the cost of insurance for all of the above items.
There's the cost of your time. That involves the initial consultation, any subsequent calls or meetings, the actual session, the post processing work, and the final presentation meeting with clients. Ask yourself, what is every single hour of your time worth?
If you need to get to your client, there's travel time, and travel expenses. It is easy to put a price on airfare, or gas for your car, but then there's the ever so slight depreciation of your vehicle, if you had to drive to a remote shoot. What price do you put on that?
If your client is coming to you, there's studio rental costs, or mortgage costs for that studio, and all of the associated utilities with that building. Let's also include the insurance costs for that location as well.
Have you considered staffing costs? There's accounting fees, payroll fees, legal fees, and other salaries to keep in mind when establishing a price for your commodity.
Now comes the time to put a price on some of the more difficult things to quantify. There's the price that needs to be placed on your years of experience and expertise. We have talents that took years to hone, develop, and mature. That's significant, and must not be overlooked.
There's the price and value of you, the photographer. Even if you have access to all of the resources above, if your work is weak, nobody will hire you. With that being said, you need to assign a value to your creative eye. Not many people have the ability to translate a client's desires into a visual reality, but you do, and that needs to be factored into your final price. Compared to the cost of equipment, your photographic eye and intelligence is astronomically more significant ... dare I say almost priceless.
In the "oh, I almost forgot" category, let's add some of these additional expenses as well: equipment repairs, office expenditures, organization fees, shipping, advertising, licenses, and of course, last but not least, taxes.
This by no means is an exhaustive list of costs to consider. It does however highlight the importance of not undervaluing your work, yourself, and your industry. Photography is not a cheap commodity. If your product and services are explained to your clients in this manner, your price becomes more than acceptable.
There's the obvious cost of equipment, both past and present. That number easily goes into the thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Photographers need to have access to cameras, lenses, filters, memory cards, lighting systems, computers, digital storage and backup systems, and multiple software packages. The depreciation of this equipment must be factored in when establishing the value of your work. While we're at it, let's add the cost of insurance for all of the above items.
There's the cost of your time. That involves the initial consultation, any subsequent calls or meetings, the actual session, the post processing work, and the final presentation meeting with clients. Ask yourself, what is every single hour of your time worth?
If you need to get to your client, there's travel time, and travel expenses. It is easy to put a price on airfare, or gas for your car, but then there's the ever so slight depreciation of your vehicle, if you had to drive to a remote shoot. What price do you put on that?
If your client is coming to you, there's studio rental costs, or mortgage costs for that studio, and all of the associated utilities with that building. Let's also include the insurance costs for that location as well.
Have you considered staffing costs? There's accounting fees, payroll fees, legal fees, and other salaries to keep in mind when establishing a price for your commodity.
Now comes the time to put a price on some of the more difficult things to quantify. There's the price that needs to be placed on your years of experience and expertise. We have talents that took years to hone, develop, and mature. That's significant, and must not be overlooked.
There's the price and value of you, the photographer. Even if you have access to all of the resources above, if your work is weak, nobody will hire you. With that being said, you need to assign a value to your creative eye. Not many people have the ability to translate a client's desires into a visual reality, but you do, and that needs to be factored into your final price. Compared to the cost of equipment, your photographic eye and intelligence is astronomically more significant ... dare I say almost priceless.
In the "oh, I almost forgot" category, let's add some of these additional expenses as well: equipment repairs, office expenditures, organization fees, shipping, advertising, licenses, and of course, last but not least, taxes.
This by no means is an exhaustive list of costs to consider. It does however highlight the importance of not undervaluing your work, yourself, and your industry. Photography is not a cheap commodity. If your product and services are explained to your clients in this manner, your price becomes more than acceptable.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
My Journey Into Photography
The Photographic Image has always portrayed for me anyway, a moment in time of color & beauty from the very smallest insect to the great wonder of a morning sunrise. Every image has it's own unique light qualities that the photographer tries to capture and portray in his composition.
The images below are just a very small sample of the prints that I produce to portray that wonder of light & color that we see every day but passes us by in the blink of an eye because the light is always changing so rapidly that we hardly have time to notice the beauty and wonder all around us.
The art of photography is a never ending process of learning and discovery.
The more you learn about taking pictures the more it opens up the possibilities of doing things you have not tried or even thought of before. That is when you capture the best images that are worthy to print and get framed
Photography is the process, activity and art of creating still pictures by recording radiation on a sensitive medium, such as a photographic film, or an electronic sensor. Light patterns reflected or emitted from objects activate a sensitive chemical or electronic sensor during a timed exposure, usually through a photographic lens in a device known as a camera that also stores the resulting information chemically or electronically. Photography has many uses for business, science, art and pleasure.
The camera is the image-forming device, and photographic film or a silicon electronic image sensor is the sensing medium. The respective recording medium can be the film itself, or a digital electronic or magnetic memory.
Photographers control the camera and lens to "expose" the light recording material (such as film) to the required amount of light to form a "latent image" (on film) or "raw file" (in digital cameras) which, after appropriate processing, is converted to a usable image. Digital cameras use an electronic image sensor based on light-sensitive electronics such as charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The resulting digital image is stored electronically, but can be reproduced on paper or film.
In all but certain specialized cameras, the process of obtaining a usable exposure must involve the use, manually or automatically, of a few controls to ensure the photograph is clear, sharp and well illuminated. This is where the art of photography elevates the captivating photograph into a moment in time that becomes a work of art.
My first camera was placed in my hands about 18 years ago.
I have been capturing images of everything that I see trying to learn the art of good composition and exposure ever since that day.
Received my first set of Alien Bees which turned out to be the best purchase that I have ever made for studio lighting gear.
Got my first DSLR ,a Nikon D200. I have been using Nikon equipment as my tools of choice ever since.
Many people believe that a portrait is merely a picture of a person. Portrait photography is challenging and often requires years of experience before a photographer is proficient. A good portrait makes the subject appear to leap off the page. This is not achieved by simply taking a snapshot. It requires deliberate attention to lighting techniques to bring out the best in a portrait.
Understanding the fundamentals of posing and lighting is crucial to successful portrait photography.
Mastery of these essential skills can transform otherwise point and shoot pictures into professional quality images.
Great portrait photographs show off their subjects with a natural, effortless ease.
I have been shooting wildlife with a camera for more-or-less the last fifteen years. Wildlife photography is a very challenging endeavor, requiring specialized skills and equipment. One does not simply pick up the camera used for family vacation photos and capture compelling wildlife images.
Wildlife photography is regarded as being one of the more challenging forms of photography. As well as needing sound technical skills, such as being able to expose correctly, wildlife photographers generally need good field craft skills. For example, some animals are difficult to approach and thus a knowledge of the animal's behaviour is needed in order to be able to predict their actions. Photographing some species may require stalking skills or the use of a hide/blind for concealment.
You must be able to react quickly when photographing most animals in the wild. Getting the eyes in focus is key to capturing a photo of an animal. It's human nature to look at the eyes. It's how we determine emotion and how we connect.
Above all you must have patience. Just when you give up on a situation and prepare to leave the scene something always happens. You can not rush nature.
I use Nikon equipment but have used Sony and Minolta gear in the past. I still have my other gear as back up but prefer to use my Nikon gear for all my wildlife shooting.
For Studio Shoots I have a fully equipped modern studio in the southern Mississauga area.
For Location Shoots I have numerous portable flashes, stands and light modifiers for any desired affect that a client might request at my disposal.
For Event Shooting I simply put my camera around one shoulder and my accessory bag with a few lenses of different focal lenghts and a spare flash with a customized bounce card over the other shoulder and just keep moving and capturing moments. There is no limit to the number of pictures I will take. You are only charged for the time.
Pet Photography is very challenging just like children. They are always moving at the most inappropriate times. They are individuals with their own personalities and you have to take your time and take lots of shots.
Here are some Macro shots....
The images below are just a very small sample of the prints that I produce to portray that wonder of light & color that we see every day but passes us by in the blink of an eye because the light is always changing so rapidly that we hardly have time to notice the beauty and wonder all around us.
The art of photography is a never ending process of learning and discovery.
The more you learn about taking pictures the more it opens up the possibilities of doing things you have not tried or even thought of before. That is when you capture the best images that are worthy to print and get framed
Photography is the process, activity and art of creating still pictures by recording radiation on a sensitive medium, such as a photographic film, or an electronic sensor. Light patterns reflected or emitted from objects activate a sensitive chemical or electronic sensor during a timed exposure, usually through a photographic lens in a device known as a camera that also stores the resulting information chemically or electronically. Photography has many uses for business, science, art and pleasure.
The camera is the image-forming device, and photographic film or a silicon electronic image sensor is the sensing medium. The respective recording medium can be the film itself, or a digital electronic or magnetic memory.
Photographers control the camera and lens to "expose" the light recording material (such as film) to the required amount of light to form a "latent image" (on film) or "raw file" (in digital cameras) which, after appropriate processing, is converted to a usable image. Digital cameras use an electronic image sensor based on light-sensitive electronics such as charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The resulting digital image is stored electronically, but can be reproduced on paper or film.
In all but certain specialized cameras, the process of obtaining a usable exposure must involve the use, manually or automatically, of a few controls to ensure the photograph is clear, sharp and well illuminated. This is where the art of photography elevates the captivating photograph into a moment in time that becomes a work of art.
My first camera was placed in my hands about 18 years ago.
I have been capturing images of everything that I see trying to learn the art of good composition and exposure ever since that day.
Received my first set of Alien Bees which turned out to be the best purchase that I have ever made for studio lighting gear.
Got my first DSLR ,a Nikon D200. I have been using Nikon equipment as my tools of choice ever since.
Many people believe that a portrait is merely a picture of a person. Portrait photography is challenging and often requires years of experience before a photographer is proficient. A good portrait makes the subject appear to leap off the page. This is not achieved by simply taking a snapshot. It requires deliberate attention to lighting techniques to bring out the best in a portrait.
Understanding the fundamentals of posing and lighting is crucial to successful portrait photography.
Mastery of these essential skills can transform otherwise point and shoot pictures into professional quality images.
Great portrait photographs show off their subjects with a natural, effortless ease.
I have been shooting wildlife with a camera for more-or-less the last fifteen years. Wildlife photography is a very challenging endeavor, requiring specialized skills and equipment. One does not simply pick up the camera used for family vacation photos and capture compelling wildlife images.
Wildlife photography is regarded as being one of the more challenging forms of photography. As well as needing sound technical skills, such as being able to expose correctly, wildlife photographers generally need good field craft skills. For example, some animals are difficult to approach and thus a knowledge of the animal's behaviour is needed in order to be able to predict their actions. Photographing some species may require stalking skills or the use of a hide/blind for concealment.
You must be able to react quickly when photographing most animals in the wild. Getting the eyes in focus is key to capturing a photo of an animal. It's human nature to look at the eyes. It's how we determine emotion and how we connect.
Above all you must have patience. Just when you give up on a situation and prepare to leave the scene something always happens. You can not rush nature.
I use Nikon equipment but have used Sony and Minolta gear in the past. I still have my other gear as back up but prefer to use my Nikon gear for all my wildlife shooting.
For Studio Shoots I have a fully equipped modern studio in the southern Mississauga area.
For Location Shoots I have numerous portable flashes, stands and light modifiers for any desired affect that a client might request at my disposal.
For Event Shooting I simply put my camera around one shoulder and my accessory bag with a few lenses of different focal lenghts and a spare flash with a customized bounce card over the other shoulder and just keep moving and capturing moments. There is no limit to the number of pictures I will take. You are only charged for the time.
Pet Photography is very challenging just like children. They are always moving at the most inappropriate times. They are individuals with their own personalities and you have to take your time and take lots of shots.
Here are some Macro shots....
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