Photo Editors

There is so much to learn.

For some time I have been getting good use from Harry's Filters in Irfanview. The burn tool can be very strong, so it is worth looking into the Darken feature, using BW Limiter Pro. It enhances textures in bark and stone.

The dramatic toning in this Sunflower was made with the Canon software that came with my Digital Rebel. Learning to use levels and to gently tweak the colour lines in a photo can help pastiche makers a lot.

Greyscale

Greyscale photos can be flat and lack sparkle.

Post processing is the secret to improving dull images and Irfanview is quick and easy to
use.

Rather than hit the greyscale button, better effects can be achieved by first using the "Color Corrections" function.
Choose settings that make the photo more vivid and using the contrast and gamma functions help to find a more balanced
effect.

Then hit the "Auto adjust colours" button followed by "convert to greyscale"

Here is and example of Before and After...

Film EOS

A great advance has just been made in using film as well as digital technologies.
I bought a Canon that did seem nicely made and which the friendly sales person assured me
had been a well regarded EOS slr in its day.

Several days of research and three rolls of film later I'm really pleased with the fineness of the
effect the Canon RT camera ensures. For anybody interested in the history of cameras there are plenty of sites that explain
how the use of a fixed pellicle mirror means a shutter speed that was astonishing in 1989, the date it was launched.

It is very like the EOS 630, which became much more popular, but although I don't shoot sports events, and probably won't
get the best use out of my new gem, the fixed mirror means that flower macros should be very clear and sharp as there is no
mirror slap to cause the slightest ripple.

This has been a steep learning curve as, at last I took bracketing by the horns and set the camera to take
three photos in a row, forgot how to undo it and so found myself with the machine having taken over for a while.

However, it got sorted out and photos of architectural details in particular are very pleasing.

There's a link in the title bar to the photos uploaded so far.

Christmas Fare

Dublin is ablaze with Christmas colour at the moment.

In the title bar is a link to some of my Chrismas photos on Flickr, going back several years.

And, it goes without saying, there is the food...

Bright Colours

So many of my photos from this Summer are dull, due to lack of bright sunlight, that I took to making pastiche "fine art" photos, flattening the tones even more and using contrast to the best effect.

These are not photos that will be of commercial interest ever, I expect, but the exercise of learning to play with gamma and contrast in Irfanview has brought several benefits. Most of all, it helps to learn about using negative space in a photo.

However, I still prefer the gaudy flowers and insects captured during a bright May when I first bought a zoom lens with built-in macro function.

Here's to more colour from now on...

Botanical

Dubliners are fortunate to have a very beautiful and well stocked botanic gardens. There is great pleasure in seeing plants grown to the highest standard and to walk in a fine arboretum where the trees are loved and well tended.

The flat light that makes everything seem so sombre at the moment is actually helpful when it comes to flower photography. Whites, in particular, do not get bleached out in macro photos.

Shots of flower borders and wider landscapes are less successful, however, as there is less sparkle on a dull day.

Sunshine?

Well, it's in short supply in Dublin these days.

Wonderful clouds, dramatic and eerie colours in the sky abound, but the fine sunlight that encourages insects to fly from flower to flower is simply not here.

September may be brighter... or so it's to be hoped.