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Category Archives: Photography, general
Street Photography: Is Black and White Best?
A few days ago, I came home from work and sat down at the computer to see what folks were up to on Facebook, and I saw the “Photographic Society of Madras” was hosting a talk by an American street … Continue reading
Posted in Photography, general
Tagged black and white, eyes, focus, Photography, semetko, ted grant
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and yet MORE Adventures with Redscale Photography
Yesterday I blogged about redscale photography with 35mm film – i.e. taking a roll of normal film and flipping the film inside the cartridge so that the light passes through the film itself before it hits the emulsion and causes … Continue reading
More Adventures with Redscale Photography
What’s redscale photography? I didn’t know either at first – I saw some “redscale film” for sale and started asking about it, and found out that it’s nothing more than ordinary film, but reversed. Photographic film has layers of chemicals … Continue reading
The Trouble With Black and White Photography
I enjoy looking at good black and white photographs. But maybe it’s just me – I find it extraordinarily difficult to create good black and white photographs. The problem is, we see in color. And I use color references to … Continue reading
Afghanistan: The Power of Photography
Free and open media are at the heart of maintaining a free and democratic state. This is especially applicable to photojournalism, due to the power of photographs to convey emotion and meaning often eluding other media forms. This was a … Continue reading
Matchbox Pinhole Camera II
A couple of days ago I posted about a project where I taught teens in one of Windhoek’s vulnerable communities to make matchbox pinhole cameras. I lamented how few of the photos had turned out because I had failed to … Continue reading
Matchbox Pinhole Camera Project
One of the last projects I attempted with the teens I worked with during the last two years in Katutura, Namibia was a photography class. The idea was that I would explain how cameras work; bring a half dozen of … Continue reading
Redscale Photography – First Attempts
Being new to film photography, I had never heard of “redscale photography” until I spotted this on on Flickr and had to know how he had gotten this effect: Wanting to try it out on my own, I did a … Continue reading
Fun Photography Trick: Star Trails
Here’s a fun trick to try at night if you own a camera that can take 30 second exposures, a decent, fully-charged camera battery, and a tripod. This is not the best example, but it’s what you should be able … Continue reading
Posted in Photography, general
Tagged celestial pole, Image Stacker, night photography, Star trails, stars, Starstax, startrails
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Digitally enhancing analog photos – is it cheating?
The whole “back to basics” photography movement, with its return to analog film and (in some cases) cheap plastic lenses has a kind of purity about it that doesn’t mesh well with all of the computer-aided post-processing of photos we … Continue reading
Tone Mapping in the Namibian Desert
I’ve read a number of explanations of tone mapping, but I confess I still don’t understand what’s going on. I know it’s a way to manipulate a digital image so that what you see in the image better approximates what … Continue reading
Posted in Namibia, Photography, general
Tagged desert, Hoodia Lodge, Namib Naukluft, rainbow, Sesriem, Sossusvlei, sunset, tone mapping
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Getting that “Wild West” feel – “down under” in Namibia
Just outside the vast “dune sea” of the Namib Naukluft Park is the last place you can get gas, before you venture into the coppery-red dunes of Sossusvlei, a dry but harsh landscape where only the most well-adapted creatures can … Continue reading
Posted in Namibia, Photography, general
Tagged effects, Photography, Photomatix, Solitaire, Sossusvlei, tone mapping, vintage cars
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Make an HDR Photo from a Single Exposure
Yesterday I talked about HDR photography, and how you can combine multiple exposure photos of the same scene with software to ensure all the different parts of the scene are exposed the right amount. What I didn’t mention is that … Continue reading
HDR Photography: First Attempts
I’m sure everyone else has heard of “high dynamic range” or HDR photography, but for me, it’s “The Latest Thing” I’ve discovered. You know how you sometimes come across this amazing scene with lights and darks and bright colors, and … Continue reading
Posted in Photography, general
Tagged HDR, high dynamic range, Photography, Photomatix, RAW, tonemapping
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Flickr Makes its Move
Over the last month, there’s been some interesting maneuvering going on in the photo-sharing community. Specifically, once-dominant Flickr, which had been stagnating in comparison to its made-for-smartphone rival, Instagram, has made a couple of moves likely to put it back … Continue reading
Sunsets: the impact of cropping and zooming
I never tire of these Windhoek sunsets during the “rainy season”. But I’m always amazed by how much of a difference cropping and zooming make on sunset photography. These are three photos taken in succession of the same sunset, with … Continue reading
In Namibia, the best light for photos is within 10 minutes of sunrise
Driving through the Namibian desert just outside the coastal town of Swakopmund at about 0545 can give you a real visual treat. It would have been more spectacular with a bit more of the fog/mist the area is known for, … Continue reading
The Magic Hour
Strange things happen to the light in the last minutes before sunset. And in Windhoek, during the “rainy season” (usually December and January) it’s even more extreme. Every night, there are a few minutes where everything turns a brilliant yellow … Continue reading
Water & Sky Photography: Fixing the Horizon in “Post”
This is a pretty basic point, really – but I see the same mistakes made over and over by hobbyist photographers. In my experience, virtually every photo you take that has a prominent horizon in it will require some correction … Continue reading
Posted in Photography, general
Tagged correction, horizon, photoshop, post, rule of thirds, water and sky
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Easy Panoramic Photos – Southern Namibia Horizons
I’ve posted before about how you can take panoramic photos these days without one of those fancy panoramic cameras. Given the resolution of cameras these days, you can just take a slice from an ordinary photo of the horizon or … Continue reading
Posted in Namibia, Photography, general
Tagged horizon, Keetmanshoop, panorama, panoramic, southern Namibia
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Accidental Photos
Sometimes you can get a cool photo when your camera fails. Standing under a streetlight in Katutura, a small child was begging to have his photo taken, yet for unknown reasons the flash wouldn’t fire. The result is below. I … Continue reading
Posted in Photography, general, Random Thoughts, Observations and Weird Stuff
Tagged accidental, flash, photo
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Making Ordinary Photos Panoramic
Sometimes I wish I had one of those fancy panoramic photos where you can capture the full breadth of something – usually the horizon – don’t you? Well, it turns out that with today’s high-resolution digital cameras, you can easily … Continue reading
Posted in Photography, general, Tips and Tricks
Tagged panorama, panoramic, photo, Photography
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Photographing Victoria Falls
So you go to one of the most spectacular views in the world and you figure the photography is going to be child’s play – just hold the camera up in the right general direction and shoot. Not so in … Continue reading
Under the Namibian Sky (Time Lapse)
Namibia is truly one of the most amazing places for stargazing – sparse population, cloudless sky… Here is a timelapse by a group of folks who spent 10 days (and nights) on a Namibian farm doing just that. Add a … Continue reading
Posted in Namibia, Photography, general
Tagged constellations, Namibia, night, sky, stargazing, stars, timelapse
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Our Coast, Your Photo Contest Entries
The entire TAZM Pictures crew entered a local photo contest sponsored by the Windhoek newspaper, The Namibian, and Studio 77, a photography studio. The contest was set up to raise awareness about the fragility of the Namibian coast, most of … Continue reading
Posted in Namibia, Photo Contest, Photography, general
Tagged beach, coast, dunes, Namibia, ocean, sea, swakopmund, Walvis Bay
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