The Arcanum is brought to us by Trey Ratcliff of Stuck in Customs and Stuck on Earth fame. It uses the traditional master and apprentice approach to learning creative arts, but adds a twist. No longer do a master and his apprentices have to be together in the same place; The Arcanum uses technology to facilitate interaction between a master and his apprentices wherever they may be on the globe. Visit The Arcanum and view the video preview then read the rest if you’re interested. Once you’ve viewed the video you might have some questions, like Do I need Google Glass? or How much does it cost for me as an Apprentice?, and you can find answers to these and other questions in the Frequently Asked Questions.
Display Calibration
In the 2014 edition of his Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List for Windows, Scott Hanselman points out that Windows 8 and 8.1 include a number of utilities that third-party ones you needed previously. One of these is a display calibration utility.
So if you use Windows 8 or 8.1, don’t have a Spyder or other hardware calibration tool, but still want to get your monitor calibrated as well as you can, follow these instructions from Scott.
Display Calibration – Another app I once had to install, now built-in. Type calibrate from Start, and get all your monitors’ colors correct and clear. Crucial for those who work on the web or in PhotoShop.
Solving for X: Algebra of the Fujifilm X-System
Some of us attended the Fujifilm photo walk in November to try out the new X-M1 camera. A few, myself included went on to buy into the Fujifilm X-System. The rest of you may be wondering what the fuss is all about and this article from John W. Griggs’ blog gives a good overview of the Fujifilm X-System and should help you decide whether you want to stick with your DSLR system or switch to mirrorless; and if so, whether the X-System is the one for you. If you want to know more, or just missed the last photo walk, JJ is arranging another one for us in March.
How mirrorless cameras are creeping upon the DSLR territory
The author is clearly a fan of mirrorless cameras, beginning the article with
Everytime someone says that a DSLR is the only way to get the best image quality, somewhere, a Kitten dies. Stop with the misinformed lies people! READ ON!
Having recently purchased a FUJIFILM X-E1 I’m impressed by the image quality I’m getting from it, considerably better than I get from my Canon 30D DSLR. Though to be fair, the 30D is seven year old technology and I have better quality lenses for the X-E1. But what isn’t explained by differences in image quality is how much more fun I’m having with the mirrorless camera. I really don’t miss the extra bulk of my DSLR.
Track your camera gear
LensTag is a new web site that offers a way to register ownership of your cameras, lenses and other photo gear that has a serial number. If your gear is stolen you can indicate this and when buying used gear you can look up the serials to see if someone else has registered it stolen. This sounds like a great idea and you might want to make use of it. Besides the web site there are also apps for your iOS or Android device, letting you access the registry wherever you may be.
RAW VS JPEG (JPG) – THE ULTIMATE VISUAL GUIDE
This article from SLR Lounge looks at the differences between RAW and JPEG images and explains when and why you should use either format. They use examples showing what unprocessed images look like straight from the camera, and show what can be achieved from processed RAW images, particularly when the in-camera exposure was slightly off.
Freeman Patterson: Embracing Creation
Nettie sent me this link she received from Colla Swart, asking if it could be played at a club meeting. But as a radio interview it wouldn’t fit into a club meeting very well; I thought it best to post the link here so those that are interested can listen to the interview.
Freeman Patterson is a Canadian photographer known to many of our club members who have attended the workshops he has offered here in South Africa in the Kammieskroon area. Several members have also travelled to Canada to attend his workshops there.
The link below opens a player that will play the interview discussing Freeman’s new book and gallery exhibition. Although the page has CBC Television above the player, this is a radio interview and the visual in the player as it plays is simply a portrait of the radio show host.
Aspect Ratio: What it is and Why it Matters
In the days of film aspect ratios were fixed by the camera and film format; while this is true of some digital cameras, newer ones allow you to choose from a few aspect ratios to shoot in. Add to this the fact that we have easy, infinite control over cropping during post-processing and aspect ratios become another factor in the creative choices we can make when creating images. The article linked below looks at some common formats and explains why we might choose them.
Aspect Ratio: What it is and Why it Matters
I see many newer photographers asking in forums, whether they have to use one of the common or standard formats. The answer is no, you can and should embrace free-format cropping that lets you make the crop that best suits an image. Sometimes images even lend themselves to different crops; you might find that you want to create several different versions of the image and that’s fine too.
The Editor and the Creative Process
On The Phoblographer, Ibarionex Perillo writes,
One of the things that I share with my students about the practice of photography is the role of “the editor”. And by that I don’t mean the software that one uses to massage a digital photograph or even the person sitting at the computer working the mouse or the stylus. Rather, I am referring to the voice in the head that makes the decision of what’s good or bad, what works or doesn’t work. It’s the voice that’s meant to guide me as to whether I’m walking the right creative path or that I’ve lost my direction and have become tangled in the burrs and weeds.
Joe McNally Photography- Climbing the Burj Khalifa (The World’s Tallest Building)
At the black & white evening on Wednesday we looked at Joe McNally as our featured photographer. I mentioned that he is well known for photographing at great height. Here is a video of him shooting at the top of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest man-made structure on earth.
Helderberg Photographic Society 