Redefine JPEG’s with Canon Picture Styles

Picture Styles is one of the option found in Canon DSLR’s which allow the users to process their photographs straight out of the camera so one can shorten their digital workflow. There are inbuilt presets for most common photography scenarios already programmed into the camera viz. Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Faithful, Monochrome etc. Apart from these inbuilt presets, the user can even download new picture styles from Canon’s website & install them on to the camera using the provided software onto the CD.

 

A photograph straight out of the camera where I changed the default picture style to ‘Landscape’ alongwith a few in-camera adjustments.

Happy Free Software Day!

Love in its purest form, ‘unconditional’ is the best. In our fast food society, seldom there is place for the unconditional love. If we exclude the love of mom for her child, then most other relations of love don’t hold strong to the bond of unconditional love. However, I feel privileged at the unconditional love showered by the people(developers, maintainers, users etc) of the “Free Software Foundation”.

The love which they put into their work so millions around the globe can experience a solid product. The compromises they make to fix the loopholes soon upon being discovered in software are many. My heart reaches out to people who are so devoted to their work. Who wake up every morning & put in their best. There is no appraisal or immediate reward but that does not let these people from doing what they do best. Its the effort & commitment of each person in the hierarchy who gives in his/her best which rubs off on the whole project. They work together in peace & utmost co-operation. Contrast this with the corporate world/society where most of the people are ever-ready to stomp on someone to gain a personal milestone in favor of the team’s success. Its a good lesson one can take from these people – “Do your Best & Team’s Success won’t be far off”.

At the end of the day, I feel so happy to be a part of it. Its not about the money I save from using free software. Its not about showoff/glitz factor in using free software. Its all about appreciating the good work of people involved & joining them. Its about helping to spread the word, that being free does not equates to poor. Though I’m still in my baby steps towards contribution to the free software foundation but I’m doing my bit. If everyone gives in a bit, then we’re looking at a tsunami of greatness. The Tsunami of Free Software sailing not only in computers & gadgets but in hearts around the globe. Happy Free Software Day!

Why Photographers should Rise Early

If you want to be a good photographer, develop the habit of getting up early in morning. Its the best time to shoot outdoors. I had this particular shot envisioned & I got up early today to shoot it. The result? I not only got the shot I wanted but much more.

I got up early even though the weather was chilly. Its a good time to cuddle under your blanket & sleep for some more hours but one should not take the excuse of bad weather for not getting up early. It just takes a small push at the beginning & once you do that, you will be on a roll. So I get up & once I’m done with my preliminaries, I leave home with my tripod & off-course the camera. The shot I wish to make today, is that of the Ganesha Temple at Shivaji Park. I had seen once how magnificent the marble shines in the darkness of the night. Its a spectacle.

Wonderful Customer Service from Tamron

The zoom ring of my Tamron 17-50 mm f/2.8 lens got stuck. It happened abruptly. It was time I take the lens to its service centre. Taking it to service centre was not an issue as I was assured of free repairs as the lens was under warranty. However I was worried in what condition will the lens be returned after the repairs. In India, most of the customer care are not really great. The consumer products are often manhandled & are kept in the custody gathering dust without being actually serviced right away.

The Power of a Photo Print

With the advent of Digital Photography, printing photographs have taken a back seat. I no longer see people taking out photo prints & preserving them in an album to enjoy later. This has been replaced by archiving all the pictures onto an optical media & forgetting them after a while. However, there is some magic a print casts which a digital cannot replicate. Forget replicate, do nothing at all.

With prints, one can take the album & have a good time anywhere. You may argue that so can be their digital counterparts transported across phone, tablets, laptops, photo frames etc. But do you feel the photo on these digital devices? Its there one moment & in the next it goes off. The feel of handling a photo album is unique. It somewhat helps you in reliving the moment at your ease. No hurry. When you’re satisfied soaking up into the photograph, you can turn the page. With digital you cannot do so(those digital flip albums are not even close to the real thing) & often there is not much of an emotional connect. A printed photograph is way too powerful. It can bring lot of emotions which seldom come out when gazing the same photograph on a digital device.

Prints are good but huge prints are great! Select one of your favourite photograph & have it printed large(anything above 12*18 inches). The bigger the better. Now just take the print in your hand or lay in on table or frame it and take a moment to look at it. Just look at it without thinking of anything. Slowly you’ll feel the emotions. As your eyes run across the print, you’ll begin to realize what you’ve been missing with the same image projected on a digital device. These feelings are indescribably. Every-time you look at the print you will feel better. In my home, I have close to half dozen of frames lined up across the wall opposite my bed. So whenever I open my eyes to a new day, they are the first things I happen to see. It brings pleasant feelings to me & my day gets off to a kick-start. At times, I feel soon I’ll have to purchase a bigger home to add more.

To photographers, a huge print even functions as a learning aid. You get to notice the composition, the details, the story of the photograph clearly. So from time to time its a good idea to print big an image or two of yours. Its one of the reason the photo contests ask the participants to submit images printed in larger sizes.

Once you print your photographs big, I bet you will derive a new outlook towards seeing photographs, one which will dramatically change your perception of photography.