Panoramic photography

Panoramic photography is a technique of photography, using specialized equipment or software, that captures images with elongated fields of view. An image showing a field of view approximating, or greater than, that of the human eye – about 160° by 75° – may be termed panoramic.

panoramic image is created by photographing a series of images, moving from left to right (or vice versa) of a subject. It is mostly used in landscape photography as it provides more detail to the photography. Before the digital era, photographers usually stitch the photos manually to create a single panoramic art. Nowadays, with progressing technology in photography, there are many softwares that allows one to create their panoramic images with a single click.

This video is one of the best tutorial that I have found on the net about panoramic photography.

And here are the end result on a series of panoramic photographs.

San Francisco Panorama by Ron Pepper

Santorini by simon Hart

Silent River by Sergey Merkulov

Pinhole camera

Ever wondered what you can do with a normal empty juicebox drink? Yeah, the one where you usually throw it on the sidewalk after you finished drinking it.

By only using simple tools such as cutter, black tapes, needle and aluminium can; your empty juicebox won't become a waste anymore as you can turn it into a camera. Yes, a camera, the thing where people use it to snap pictures, remember? 

 

This is a technique of creating a pinhole camera. A pinhole camera is a cheap and convenient way to create a device that have similar function to capture an images. Just like your ordinary digital camera, but minus all of the gizmo function found on an advance digital camera.

The video below will explain to you on how to create a pinhole camera.

 

This is indeed a detailed video on how someone can create their own camera using tools that can easily be found in their house. Forget about the girl with a fake moustache pretending to be a man, as the sexy voice of this video will show you a detail but easy-to-follow steps.
 

Now, why would any of us want to waste time building something like this, when you can just grab a real camera to snap pictures? But believe me when I said the outcome of a pinhole camera can be very different from what you normally have from your digital camera.

And pinhole camera is another way you can experiment and improve your understanding on how a real camera works. In fact, it teaches you to be creative, as well as provides another alternative for you to get passionate on getting your subject into pictures.

Enjoy! 

List of most expensive photographs

Photography, like any other form of art, can't be judged by just looking at its outer appearences. Having a keen pair of eye does not qualify someone to assess other people work of art. A picture of a polystyrene cup placed on top of a table can be very much appreciated (at least to someone who knows a thing or two about art) than a picture of a female popstar posing half naked, tempting lust to almost all of the male population in the world.

For the common people, an image from camera shots may only be worth no more than an image alone, but for the people who know what the true meaning of photography, the price of a photograph can even reach millions of dollars. One should have enough knowledge in art before he or she is qualified to interpret photos hanging on a gallery's wall. Many aspects can make a photograph price escalated such as its history, subject, exclusive value and much more.

Below are the most expensive photographs ever sold that made into the top five list. Normal people would think that some of it shouldn't even be on the list, but hey, it solds more than what we can earn in a year, so what the heck!

 

Top 5

Georgia O'Keeffe (hands) (1919) by Alfred Stieglitz

Sold for : $1, 470, 000

 

Top 4

Nude (1925) by Edward Weston

Sold for: $1, 609, 000

 

Top 3

Kremlin of Tobolsk (2009) by Dmitry Menvedev

Sold for: $1, 750, 000

Top 2

The Pond Moonlight (1904) by Edward Steichen

Sold for: $2, 928, 000

Top 1

99 Cent II Diptychon (2001) by Andreas Gursky

Sold for: $3, 346, 456

And there they are. Ka-chinggg!
Each of the photographs were sold on a price no less than a million. You might think now how come a photo of normal supermarket goods can be sold more than three millions of dollars, but undoubtly, that is how art works. In art, one plus one doesn't always equal to two. It defies logical thinking, as creativity doesn't flow with logic.

For those who really think that their photos deserve more accreditation than the above, think again. Try doing something different, something that is out of the normally rules-regulated 'photoshopped' photography that most people usually do. Who knows, maybe someday a photo of you giving your cat a bath can be sold millions on eBay.

Well, it's art. Nobody knows. 

Lomography

Lomography is an artistic style of photography and trademark of an Austrian camera company, Lomographische AG.With a cult following that reaches almost every corner of the globe, lomography is a syle of photography that includes a retro snapshot feel.

Lomography cameras are analogue, or film style cameras. special camera options are often featured on different models, including fish eye lenses, pinhole lenses, multiple lenses (some even shoot from 4-8 lenses simultaneously), and colored flash. Lomography cameras usually look more or less like a toy camera sold in 'pasar malam' for kids.

 

Different type of lomography cameras

 Users of this little camera soon realised that its cheap manufacturing together with a little fun and imagination could produce fun, quirky photographs with high colour saturation, outer edge vignetted framing and grainy effect that together was somehow arty and pleasing to the eye.

Lomography is not about capturing those boring potrait style shots, or the perfect landscape, but much more focused on point and shoot and doing it fast. Some lomographers doesn't really put the camera's viewfinder to good use, as what matters is their fastness of pressing the shutter.

 

These are some guidelines used by many lomographers around the world: 

1. Take your camera anywhere you go.
2. Use it any time - day and night.
3. Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it.
4. Try the shot from the hip.
5. Approach the objects of your lomographic desire as close as possible.
6. Don't think.
7. Be fast.
8. You don't have to know beforehand what you captured on film.
9. Afterwards either.
10. Don't worry about any rules.

And here are some results of photos taken using lomography camera:

 

 

 

 

With many other areas of photography taking on a serious and competitive atmosphere, it is not only fun, but also refreshing to discover a style of photography that allows users to be spontaneous and non technical. For this reason, lomography is a great style of photography for anyone, from children to adults, professional photographers or amateurs; it's all about creative fun.

Photos that shook the world

In every photographs, there always lies a story behind it. Whether it is a story of success, glory, anger or grief; photos have a way to influence its viewer. People will cheer and smile together when they see photo of their favourite winning football team lifting the cup; as well as crying and weeping when they see people suffering somewhere in distant land. It is a powerful medium that able to mesmerize us from a single look and captivates the human soul, or even leaving us in a state of shock.

These are several photographs taken from photojournalists around the globe that revealed some of the most shocking moment that happened in our world. Some of the images be disturbing and cause discomfort.

Burning Monk by Malcolm Browne, 1963

 Hoa Thuong Thich Quang Duc, born Lam Van Tuc (1897 – 11 June 1963) was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963. Thich Quang Duc was protesting against the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam's Ngo Dinh Diem administration. Photos of his self-immolation were circulated widely across the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diem regime.

Execution of Viet Cong Guerilla by Eddie Adams, 1968

With North Vietnam’s Tet Offensive beginning, Nguyen Ngoc Loan, South Vietnam’s national police chief, was doing all he could to keep Viet Cong guerrillas from Saigon. As Loan executed a prisoner who was said to be a Viet Cong captain, AP photographer Eddie Adams opened the shutter. Adams won a Pulitzer Prize for a picture that, as much as any, turned public opinion against the war. Adams felt that many misinterpreted the scene, and when told in 1998 that the immigrant Loan had died of cancer at his home in Burke,  he said, “The guy was a hero. America should be crying. I just hate to see him go this way, without people knowing anything about him.”

Napalm Girl by Nick Ut, 1972

Phan Thi Kim Phuc, O.Ont (born 1963) is a Vietnamese-Canadian best known as the child subject of a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph taken during the Vietnam War on June 8, 1972. The iconic photo taken in Trang Bang by AP photographer Nick Ut shows her at about age nine running naked on a road after being severely burned on her back by a South Vietnamese napalm attack.

Nagasaki Mushroom Cloud, photographed by U.S. Air Force

Nothing like the mushroom cloud had ever been seen, not by the general public. On August 6 the first atomic bomb killed an estimated 80,000 people in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later a second bomb exploded 500 meters above the ground in Nagasaki. The blast wind, heat rays reaching several thousand degrees and radiation destroyed anything even remotely nearby, killing or injuring as many as 150,000 at the time, and more later. As opposed to the very personal images of war that had brought the pain home, the ones from Japan that were most shocking were those from a longer perspective, showing the enormity of what had occurred.

Photo by Don McCullin

When the Igbos of eastern Nigeria declared themselves independent in 1967, Nigeria blockaded their fledgling country-Biafra. In three years of war, more than one million people died, mainly of hunger. In famine, children who lack protein often get the disease kwashiorkor, which causes their muscles to waste away and their bellies to protrude. The world community intervened to help Biafra, and learned key lessons about dealing with massive hunger exacerbated by war-a problem that still defies simple solutions.

Omayra Sanchez by frank Fournier, 1985

Omayra Sanchez was a 13-year-old victim of the 1985 eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, which erupted on November 13, 1985, in Armero, Colombia causing massive lahars which killed nearly 25,000. Trapped for three days in water, concrete, and other debris before she died, Omayra captured the attention of the media as volunteer workers told of a girl they were unable to save. Videos of her communicating with workers, smiling and making gestures to video cameras circulated around the media. Her "courage and dignity" touched Frank Fournier and many other relief workers who gathered around her to pray and be with her. After 60 hours of struggling, she succumbed to gangrene and hypothermia. Her tragic death highlighted the failure of officials to respond promptly to the threat of the volcano and also the struggle for volunteer rescue workers to save trapped victims who would otherwise be quickly saved and treated.

 

 

Afghan Girl by Steve McCurry, 1984

A dusty, young face, and those deep penetrating green eyes. The eyes were the most captivating feature of this subject, almost cat like in intensity, framed in pastels, red and green. It became the symbolic picture of the Afghan struggle at the time, and maybe still is.

Photojournalism: ethic and morality

Kevin Carter would have never expected that his trip to Sudan will change his life entirely. Neither that he expects that the photo he shot will draw much attention and raised hype around the world, and won him enough fame to win the Pulitzer Prize.

Kevin Carter was a photojournalist of South African nationality. Born in the era of apartheid, watching the oppression of the white regime towards the black majority has become a daily routine to him. Although he was a born in white, apartheid-devout family, he never accepted the ideology of white people as the superior genes. And every time he saw police officer arresting or beating black people without reason, he started to question the rationality of the apartheid regime. He always had arguments with his parents who accepted the unequal, lopsided law. Because of this, it will later affect his adult life when he became a photojournalist to expose the brutality of apartheid.

In March 1993, Carter made a trip to the famine-stricken Sudan. While wandering around to photograph the famine victims, he heard a soft, high-pitched whimpering and saw a tiny girl trying to make her way to the feeding center. As he was trying to take the girl’s picture, a vulture landed near her. He would later say that he waited for 20 minutes for the vulture to raise its wings, but it didn’t happen. After he took the photograph, he chased away the bird, and watched as the little girl resumed her struggle.

And then, on April 12, 1994, the New York Times phoned to tell him he had won the Pulitzer for his photograph of the vulture and the little girl. The haunting photo that showed the true nature behind famine Sudan made him won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography, not to mention the massive load of attention and fame. Carter managed to won the attention of the world by the means of using only a single photograph.

By the time the photo was released to the public, hundreds of people wrote and called, asking what happened to the poor little girl. Suddenly, People started to care about a girl who never had any relation to them, and the global awareness on famine in Africa escalated.

The story of Kevin carter proved that even through a single picture, you can change the perception of the world towards certain issue. Photography had the power to alter the mindset of people, and creating public opinion to rise up important issue, especially serious issues that had been overlooked to save the importance of certain people.

Through his picture, Carter managed to gain fame around the world and managed to get people to realize how bad the African people had suffered through famine, where before this none of them seemed to care. Carter reputation soared, he had everything that man ever wanted, and thus making him one of the most renowned photojournalist. This is a story of success of a man, where a single click from the camera shutter had changed his life, entirely.

But there are always two sides of every coin. Every story of success must have a downfall, whether it is set at the beginning of the story, climax or near the end. Carter was no exception. Unfortunately for him that his downfall was set at the end of his successful story.

With the Pulitzer, however, he had to deal not only with acclaim but also with the critical focus that comes with fame. Many people had criticized him, saying that instead of waiting to photograph the girl, he should have helped her to the feeding center. Other had claimed that he was no different from the vulture itself, and even some of Carter's friends wondered aloud why he had not helped the girl.

Carter was so depressed of the entire allegation made towards him. His career starting to drop, his personal life was starting to fall apart, and on 27 July 1994 Carter drove to the Braamfontein Spruit river, an area where he used to play as a child, and took his own life by taping one end of a hose to his pickup truck’s exhaust pipe and running the other end to the passenger-side window. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning at the age young of 33.

Nobody knew if his suicide was related to the photograph he shot, but many believe that depression and the feeling of guilt has caused someone who had all the fame to end his own life.

Sometimes the photographs we shot might be in the condition that people would question our ethics and morality. It is a dilemma faced by many photojournalists. Carter once quoted saying "I am zooming in on a tight shot of the dead guy and a splash of red, going into his khaki uniform in a pool of blood in the sand. The dead man's face is slightly gray. You are making a visual here. But inside something is screaming, "My God”. But it is time to work. Deal with the rest later. If you can't do it, get out of the game."

If you were a photojournalist, and saw someone was screaming and burning in front of your eyes, would you rather waste your opportunity to get a great picture and try any means to help him; or would you put aside your ethic and morality for a single frame and forever be haunted by guilt?

It’s your choice to decide which side of your coin to land.

5 tips on shooting black and white photography

Shooting in black and white has become a trend lately. Those who use digital camera will set their shooting mode into black and white, and some converted their coloured pictures in computer using photoshop and other photo editing softwares.

But often, when you convert your image file to black and white, the outcome of the picture will be very dull and flat. This is common especially when you are using the black and white conversion menu in your camera.

here are some tips on how you can create a good black and white images.

Tips no 1: Shoot in RAW format

I know many of you can’t shoot in RAW (because their camera doesn’t offer it) or don’t shoot in RAW (because they either don’t know how or don’t like to) but for the most control in the post production phase of converting your color images into black and white ones – you’ll want to shoot in RAW if your camera does allow it. Of course shooting in JPEG doesn’t stop you shooting in black and white – but if it’s an option, give RAW a go, you might be surprised by what it offers you in post production.

Tips no 2: Shoot in colour

If your camera doesn’t allow you to shoot in RAW (or you choose not to) – shoot in color and do your conversion to black and white later on your computer.
While most digital cameras offer you the option to shoot in Black and White (and can produce some reasonable results) you have more control over your end results if you have the color data to work with in your conversion on your computer.

Tips no 3: Shoot in low ISO

Shoot with the lowest possible ISO possible. While this is something that most of us do in color photography it is particularly important when it comes to black and white where noise created by ISO can become even more obvious. If you’re after this ‘noise’ (or grain) you can always add it later in your post production – but it’s harder to go the other way and take noise out.

Tips no 4: Know when to shoot

Many digital photographers actually prefer to shoot images for Black and White in low contrast situations. So an dark or overcast day can be a great time to shoot out door shots.
Ironically these are the days that those who shoot only in color sit at home complaining about the ‘poor light’. So next time you find yourself with a dark and gloomy day – shoot some black and white shots.

Tips no 5: Composition

Most of the general tips on how to compose or frame a good shot apply just as well to black and white photography as they do when shooting in color – however the main obvious difference is that you’re unable to use color to lead the eye into or around your shot. This means you need to train yourself to look at shapes, tones and textures in your frame as points of interest. Pay particularly attention to shadows and highlights which will become a feature of your shot.

These are all a simple guideline for you to use when shooting black and white, but it is not necessary to follow it thoroughly . Try to be creative and experiment a lot with your camera. It doesn't mean when your subject lack of colours you have to resort to black and white. Subjects that have a lot of colours can even be shoot in black and white. You can even shoot rainbow in black and white if you want to. You will be suprised by the outcome of your images. Try it out!
 

Thinking out of the box

Let's talk probability.

Almost two-third of people shoots 100 to 300 (or more) photos in a single outing, depending on their memory card size.

One-third will delete pictures that they think not worth keeping. The rest will be too lazy to be selctive and just cramped it all into a single folder and stored it into their hard drives, along with the other already disordered folders.

Most will just pile up their photos into their laptops, and probably will be left forgotten forever. Only a small number of them willing to spare some bucks to print it out.

Out of it, one-tenth will put their photos into frame, and hang it on the wall or simply put it at the corner of the table. These are the conventional and easy way of presenting your photos.

In short, there will be possibly two common ways on how your photos will end up; either stored safely in your had drives, forever; or printed out and framed (yawnn...).

But then, what if you can transform your usually boring photos into an attractive piece of art?

Presenting Fotomo, a technique that combines the realism of photography with the physical presence of a three dimensional model. Created by Kimio Itozaki, Fotomo is a photography technique that able to create the presence of depth, perspective and realism, where the normal conventional 2D photos lack. It has a unique realism that gives the viewer a real sense of "being there".

Hard to understand? Maybe the rotating image below will enlighten you.

Although photography is a medium that faithfully records reality, it only does so in two dimensions. Fotomo on the other hand gives a new meaning to reality, as it completes what the 2D photos lack. Fotomo technique arouses the mood to the viewers by just looking into the uniqueness of it. Below are another example of Fotomo created by Kimio Itozaki.

With Fotomo, Kimio Itozaki creates a new perspective on our expectations towards photography. It breaks the simplest rule of the 2D photo, but manages to produce a new concept of art that able to create different reactions from the viewer. As a creative artist, there are many ways for us to improvise our artwork. there are rules, but then they are made to be broken, especially when it comes to art. Try thinking out of the box and find different ways on how to produce an artwork that will amaze other, no matter what the feedback you will get later. After all, there are no limit in art.

For those who are interested with this technique, try making your own Fotomo using the sample below. All you need is a knife, double-sided tape, cutting mat (you don't want to cut through your own table), patience and time (lots of it). Enjoy!

Don't think, just shoot

It is the month of spring, and you found yourself in a vast, beautiful field. Where the roses are dancing in rhythm with the winds, and the birds are singing the song of serenity. A blast of warm spring breeze gusting through the field, forming beautifully synchronized waves on the tall, green grasses; as if seeing a group of ripples hitting the sandy shores.

You can hear the sound of moving water. As you walk closer to the sound, a small river flows in front of you. A group of fish swims slowly under the crystal clear water, moving in motion with the current of the stream. As sunrays reflect upon the surface of the water, you can see beautiful shiny sparks dancing in front of your eyes.

The white dandelion seeds filled the air as the wind blew upon, and the clouds clump together; standing out under the blue sky. Your eyes were closed as you listen to the arrangement of sounds, as if listening to an orchestra on the song of nature.

As the sun slowly retreating to the far reach of the horizon, you then realized that it is the most glorious sunset or the most beautiful scene that you have ever witnessed. The setting is just like a painting you saw in the gallery, where peace and serenity dominated the canvas.

A moment like this will unlikely to come again in your life. It must be stored somewhere. Not just as a fragment of memory, where only you can selfishly admire it. It must be permanently recorded as a proof that some point in your life, you have witnessed the beauty of nature right in front of your eyes.

As your hand move slowly to reach your pocket, you realized something is not right. And suddenly, the sound of your voice cursing and throwing vulgar words breaks the silence of nature.

“God, darn it! I swear I had brought a camera in my pocket!”

And thus, you left the field hopelessly, without even had the chance to brag about your experience to your friends.

Bummer, isn’t it?

Moral of the story, always bring a camera with you, as you won’t know when will another amazing moment going to pop up in front of your eyes. A thing like this happens to almost every person, including me.

There were once when I was on my way back from Johor, where suddenly a Proton Saga rammed through the highway divider, rolled over a few times and suddenly caught into fire. Now just imagine if I brought a camera along with me at that time, and managed to capture the moment of the car’s collision to the end where it burst into flame. Imagine how much I can get if I sell the pictures to the news agency. Imagine the fame I get when my name appeared under the images in the newspaper. And imagine if the editor like my pictures and put it in the front page of the paper, and I can’t get a good night sleep as my phone kept ringing since many of the news agencies demanded me to work with them as a photographer.

That seems a little far-fetched, but you get the point.

Things like this will not happen to you every day, but when it did, you will then realized how important it is to have a camera as your companion. Pictures can be taken and snapped anywhere, but the ‘moment’ that raises the value of the pictures won’t come falling from the sky. It is either you search for it, or it came to you, unexpectedly. As cameras today come in various size and shape, there are no excuses for not to bring one with you since it can simply fit in your pocket; unless if you fill it  with packs of cigarettes in it. And it is even easier for women as their handbags can fill almost anything from their wardrobe, literally.

Told you cameras really are small

As you are wandering outside, every time you saw something that attracts your attention, don’t hesitate to point the camera and just press the shutter. Make it a habit. Who knows maybe one day your pictures might even be hanged on the wall of a gallery somewhere in London. Well, who knows? With the rapid growth of internet, pictures and images can be delivered to every corner of the world in a matter of seconds. If Justin Bieber can gained his popularity from Youtube, and Sean Kingston managed to gather millions of fans worldwide through MySpace, why can’t you have your own fans admiring your pictures from your own photoblog.

The key of taking great images is to shoot as many pictures as you see through your eyes. For now, don’t worry of the arrangement and setting of your picture; just shoot it as how you imagined it. Put all your feeling and mood at the time your finger reach the shutter, and you will be amazed how well your pictures are.

Pictures are amazing, as it seems as the only thing that tells the truth in the world that filled with lies. A picture tells a thousand words. It serves as a memory that will survive for you to cherish, and tells a story of your life.

And for those who care; yes, the Proton Saga driver survived the crash.

Thousand Words

Since the previous week was the holiday, i don't really had the time to post anything on my blog.(well duh, it's holiday. What do you expect)
But no worries as I will make sure to post everything that i have prepared before, starting this week.

Briefly about this blog, Thousand Words is a photography blog, where the topic discussed will be largely about, well, photography. It can be anything from the gadgets and equipments for your camera; to the photographers and their award-winning images; the latest photography trends; or simply about the normal pictures you can take using your handphones.

what i will write in my blog would probably be something that follows the norms of photography,  but sometimes it might even break the common rules. Other than what I mention above, this blog will also represents my own personal thoughts and opinions on photography in Malaysia. As it is my opinions, some people might agree, and some might not. but please use this blog as a medium to discuss anything about photography. Feel free to leave a comment, either its a negative or positive feedback, i don't really mind.

I wouldn't call myself as a photographer, since my knowledge on photography might not matched with the other hardcore and 'old school' photographer. Just consider myself as a photo ethusiast who is trying his best to write a blog on photography as a requirement to pass his class assignment.

But it is really fun to have a blog where people can read my thought, honest!

(more post are coming after I finally get over my holiday mood. Please bear with me)