http://www.popsci.com/antarctica-carbon-dioxide-hits-400ppm?src=SOC&dom=fb
Friday, June 17, 2016
Thursday, June 16, 2016
The Incredible, Early Morning Michigan Lightning Of June 16, 2016
It is some time about 2 am here in Michigan on June 16, 2016. There is an immense amount of lightning being produced in the western sky, and it is phenomenally bright, illuminating a really fierce sky, turning night into day. Then, after 3 am, it moves south, and persists for what seems like a few hours, after which it persists in the eastern sky for at least two hours, and the sky all around the storm is pretty clear, and all of the mist high up in the air makes it look as though there is a glow emanating into space at least once a second. Simply incredible. Throughout the whole storm, there is virtually no sound of thunder whatsoever, and very little rain. And this is not even a significant storm system, either. It seems as though somewhere there is an extremely potent atmosphere starting to accumulate.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Microphotography; My Experience With Achieving Photos With Micro Lenses
As many probably already know, mastering photography using a fully adjustable camera can be difficult enough. However, microphotography is more difficult. It is downright daunting. However, here are some techniques that can greatly help with anyone who decides to delve into this exploration into the microscopic universe. First let's talk about photography using a microscope. SLR cameras may seem great for taking photos through a microscope. However, that is not really how it is. In fact, this method will practically always result in images which are blurry; Why? Because at microscopic scales, there is lots of light scattering, which means that there is a really high level of chromatic aberration. So, how would we possibly solve such a problem? Well, I know from previous experience that cameras with smaller sensors are better for this. At least my compact camera seemed to work the best. Wait a minute; because it might not be the sensor after all. Instead, it is the fact that when using the SLR, I detached the lens, whereas in the compact camera I had to use the lens. And with an SLR camera, this is practically impossible. Why? Because an SLR camera has a very large lens as compared to a compact camera. And because of this, it is extremely tedious work to align the camera with the microscope, as well as the fact that doing so means risking damaging the lens. Although it is still somewhat difficult with a compact camera, I personally think that, despite generally lower image quality, this is a far better camera system to use, as long as the lens has the proper zoom capability. In fact, the highest image quality comes from prime lenses with a focal length of approximately 50mm, although I would say that it probably needs to be more like 80mm. Now we move on to using a camera phone. This should work, at least everything seems to add up initially. However, it doesn't. See, the field of view will probably not fill the frame, meaning that there is an excessive amount of vignetting in the final image. Unless you have a zoom lens, of course. Alright; now let's talk about something that I have discovered proves to be really successful, besides using a compact camera with a microscope; it is called the "camera phone microscope". Well...at least that's my fancy way of calling it. The issue of vignetting is also a major factor, even with this setup. However, I have discovered that, surprisingly, there is no image degradation at the edges of the frame. And it seems to produce superb image quality, which is not really surprising, although that is great news. Although this might not seem like it is all that practical initially, this technique can definitely produce some astounding results. With a much larger lens, or field of view, I'm pretty confident that you could even fill the frame. If you cannot afford, or find, a larger lens, (which would be me), then you can perfect the process. And by perfection, what I'm trying to get across, is that you can improvise. And that is what makes all of this tinkering really neat. What I have been wondering is what kind of setup I could construct so that I could keep the microscope lens on the camera at all times without having to deal with the problem of inherent light leakage. Then, once that is accomplished, we could move on to the next. And this would be constructing a mount which could move the camera parallel, left & right, as well as up and down. This would be much akin to the process of creating a panorama. However, because of the issue of shifting focus with which microphotography, even macro photography involves itself with, we need to create something that would help to create panoramas in which the images are aligned in a gridlike pattern. In other words, the camera needs to be shifted in only two dimensions while creating the images needed for the final composite image. This would really be something; for now we could create ultra high quality photos, especially since we can go into Photoshop and use focus stacking, albeit a large amount of digital memory will be needed. And even though the camera might only see a small amount of the entire field of view, what's most critical and helpful is the fact that there is no more chromatic aberration, and we can still create seemless panoramas, despite this fact. That is, if we are knowledgeable enough on how to solve such issues. Using a compact camera might work even better, given that the lens can achieve a high enough magnification. Here are some sample of my work using the camera from an ipod, attached to a 4x lens from a microscope. Now, these images could have come out far better, given that instead of using the ipod, we could use a fully adjustable camera, as well as higher format.
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Something that's impossible to explain.
This is a photo in which a camera, with not nearly as much color receptors as the human eye, was able to get a picture of an ordinary leaf!!!!!!!!!https://www.flickr.com/photos/31391486@N04/27635325536/in/dateposted-public/
Friday, June 10, 2016
Photograph In A Miniature World; How Do We Perceive The World (Tilt Shift Photography without using Tilt Shift lens, or Photoshop (FREE TECHNIQUE!)
YAY!!!!! I am here to explain to you a new technique that I have discovered just recently on how to dramatically increase DEPTH OF FIELD, without needing to dish out ANY money (well, once you have a camera of course!)
FOREWORD
*You can scroll down to the paragraph before the last list if you are not patient*... Let's talk today about a hidden secret that involves zoom lenses for cameras (well, really it's true for many lenses that have a decently high magnification, such as a 50mm). For I have recently discovered something truly astonishing about this. Before we begin however, let me tell you about depth of field, otherwise written as DOF for short. As some might know, a very shallow DOF can be applied to relatively large scenes in order to create an illusion of very small, miniature, scale. And another fact that many might know already, is that this effect can be very easily created by two of the most popular tutorials, or techniques; the first would be to simply use a tilt-shift lens. Here are the pros and cons of this technique:
Pros: Tilt shifts produce exceptional image quality throughout the entire frame, or image. They can also be used to create a seemingly "infinite" DOF.
Cons: ...However, these are known to cost well over $1,000, even for the cheapest brands.
Now let's talk about the next technique, which is also pretty simple once you learn it. It's using Photoshop, in which you can easily manipulate DOF
Pros: This technique offers much more control over the DOF, since it is not "Taken; In other words, you can achieve various levels of DOF, whereas otherwise, if you had used a tilt shift, you would be limited to DOF that could only be smaller than the initial image; you could not increase DOF unless, of course, you start with an image that's taken using a regular lens. Either that, or you take an additional image with tilt shift, using a large DOF. This means that you might need to use up about twice as much space on your memory card. That might now be much of an issue when taking only one image, however if you keep taking more and more images, then that will become more of an issue, as memory used might stack up quickly
Cons: There aren't really any cons that I can think of, except the fact that as opposed to a tilt-shift lens, you don't have the effect in-camera.
Finally, we will talk about the last technique, which I have come up with myself. First of all, the great thing about zoom lenses is that you can use various focal lengths without needing to use different lenses. However, you do not necessarily need a zoom lens in order to achieve an unusually small DOF. First of all, here are the pros and cons of this technique:
Pros: Does not require special software, or lens (it's free!). Also, the really unique benefits are that you can achieve much higher resolution. Yet another interesting benefit is explained down below
Cons: It can often be really tedious, and does not work well in some conditions, such as when there's wind or objects in the scene are moving. Now...we can transition away from the "INTRO" and get to what this post was really meant to be about...
If you don't have Photoshop or GIMP, and cannot afford it, then what you would need to do is to download a program (one that I don't think most of us know of.) called Microsoft ICE. It's pretty perplexing, given that it's by Microsoft. I guess people just prefer other programs since they already have them installed. ICE was originally meant to produce images out of what are essentially multiple panoramas, (although it's basically a gridlike pattern that is composed of individual frames) in order to create what is called a collage, or a grid like pattern of images, creating a larger, much higher resolution, image. Generally, it will also have a much wider angle of view, depending on the lense's angle of view, how many images are used, as well as how much the images overlap...
In some ways, this method is less practical as compared to the other options; however, there is a benefit to this that many don't know; and it can help you become much better at achieving better compositions. This is because the resulting image contains multiple images, each with it's own composition. Wait... what does this mean to a photographer?! It means that a photographer can find images in the collage, and each will have a unique composition, and you could even find a composition somewhere in the collage that looks interesting, that you would otherwise miss or ignore, trying to just create a single picture. A single image is based on just one perspective, and by creating a collage, you can have many times more cropping ability without needing to have to reduce the image quality so much. So whatever lens you decide on, you need to consider the scene that you are photographing. A telephoto lens might be necessary in order to capture relatively small scenes, or to dramatically decrease depth of field. For closer focusing distances, you probably don't even need a telephoto lens at all; Feel free to ask: Any questions?
*You can scroll down to the paragraph before the last list if you are not patient*... Let's talk today about a hidden secret that involves zoom lenses for cameras (well, really it's true for many lenses that have a decently high magnification, such as a 50mm). For I have recently discovered something truly astonishing about this. Before we begin however, let me tell you about depth of field, otherwise written as DOF for short. As some might know, a very shallow DOF can be applied to relatively large scenes in order to create an illusion of very small, miniature, scale. And another fact that many might know already, is that this effect can be very easily created by two of the most popular tutorials, or techniques; the first would be to simply use a tilt-shift lens. Here are the pros and cons of this technique:
Pros: Tilt shifts produce exceptional image quality throughout the entire frame, or image. They can also be used to create a seemingly "infinite" DOF.
Cons: ...However, these are known to cost well over $1,000, even for the cheapest brands.
Now let's talk about the next technique, which is also pretty simple once you learn it. It's using Photoshop, in which you can easily manipulate DOF
Pros: This technique offers much more control over the DOF, since it is not "Taken; In other words, you can achieve various levels of DOF, whereas otherwise, if you had used a tilt shift, you would be limited to DOF that could only be smaller than the initial image; you could not increase DOF unless, of course, you start with an image that's taken using a regular lens. Either that, or you take an additional image with tilt shift, using a large DOF. This means that you might need to use up about twice as much space on your memory card. That might now be much of an issue when taking only one image, however if you keep taking more and more images, then that will become more of an issue, as memory used might stack up quickly
Cons: There aren't really any cons that I can think of, except the fact that as opposed to a tilt-shift lens, you don't have the effect in-camera.
Finally, we will talk about the last technique, which I have come up with myself. First of all, the great thing about zoom lenses is that you can use various focal lengths without needing to use different lenses. However, you do not necessarily need a zoom lens in order to achieve an unusually small DOF. First of all, here are the pros and cons of this technique:
Pros: Does not require special software, or lens (it's free!). Also, the really unique benefits are that you can achieve much higher resolution. Yet another interesting benefit is explained down below
Cons: It can often be really tedious, and does not work well in some conditions, such as when there's wind or objects in the scene are moving. Now...we can transition away from the "INTRO" and get to what this post was really meant to be about...
If you don't have Photoshop or GIMP, and cannot afford it, then what you would need to do is to download a program (one that I don't think most of us know of.) called Microsoft ICE. It's pretty perplexing, given that it's by Microsoft. I guess people just prefer other programs since they already have them installed. ICE was originally meant to produce images out of what are essentially multiple panoramas, (although it's basically a gridlike pattern that is composed of individual frames) in order to create what is called a collage, or a grid like pattern of images, creating a larger, much higher resolution, image. Generally, it will also have a much wider angle of view, depending on the lense's angle of view, how many images are used, as well as how much the images overlap...
In some ways, this method is less practical as compared to the other options; however, there is a benefit to this that many don't know; and it can help you become much better at achieving better compositions. This is because the resulting image contains multiple images, each with it's own composition. Wait... what does this mean to a photographer?! It means that a photographer can find images in the collage, and each will have a unique composition, and you could even find a composition somewhere in the collage that looks interesting, that you would otherwise miss or ignore, trying to just create a single picture. A single image is based on just one perspective, and by creating a collage, you can have many times more cropping ability without needing to have to reduce the image quality so much. So whatever lens you decide on, you need to consider the scene that you are photographing. A telephoto lens might be necessary in order to capture relatively small scenes, or to dramatically decrease depth of field. For closer focusing distances, you probably don't even need a telephoto lens at all; Feel free to ask: Any questions?
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Michigan's Most Powerful Tornado On Record
On June 8, 1953, a tornado made its way through Central Southern Michigan. How powerful was it? Well, here's an article about it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Flint%E2%80%93Beecher_tornado
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
The Future Of Compact Cameras?
...take photos like a pro! By creating images with the same qualities of a high end SLR. Yeah, that's right. It would take a few new features (not necessarily a larger sensor!) and a little bit more digital memory to add to the design in order to achieve practically the identical images as those created by cameras that are far more expensive. So...how could we possible embark on such a technological endeavor? Well, first of all, the features that are included in today's cameras, at least all compact cameras that I have ever heard of, are features that people find most popular. There are, however, some very rare features, that a designer could implement. to change the world of cameras as we now know of it. And that would quite possibly bring about a really significant paradigm shift. Yes, you heard that right: paradigm shift! First of all, these features cannot even be found under Photoshop! Whether or not they would be really useful as opposed to just having an SLR camera sure is debatable (at least in my opinion). So how would such features work? These would work by the following:
A) Superresolution: Take four pictures, and they add up to twice the resolution using an advanced algorithm
B) Quantum film; this fairly new and upcoming idea allows digital sensors to behave more like they were film, giving images more gradual tonal transitions. This is when quantum dots of various colors are implicated into the sensor.
C) Increasing Dynamic Range. How does this work? You could thank an unusually low resolution, which would increase a camera's spatial resolution, then the actual amount of pixels which you require would be compensated for by Superresolution.
D) Pixel Sampling & Reducing Noise; Honestly, I can't say much about this myself, so here's some more info about how this process works in a 41 megapixel smartphone: http://www.cnet.com/news/the-secret-behind-n
Now, whether or not this is the same kind of process that goes on, there is yet another method that we could implement to help achieve better lowlight performance. That technique is what many photographers might already know about, since it is in the form of a script in GIMP, and probably other programs like Photoshop as well. We call this image averaging. It can reduce noise no matter how great, as long as you have enough memory space in the camera, as more images are required to achieve more amounts of noise reduction.
Now, there are probably other features that one could implement into a camera. One of them would be focus stacking. Only time can tell whether these changes will actually be implemented in future sensors. With large sensor cameras, we can practically only dream about achieving great macro photos like we could with a compact camera, which can have much better macro capabilities. With the various lenses that people use on their SLRs, they can't really get higher depth of field unless using a relatively expensive lens. With compact photography, however, we could decrease the costs, and we wouldn't always need to resort to the costly endeavor of SLR photography.
A) Superresolution: Take four pictures, and they add up to twice the resolution using an advanced algorithm
B) Quantum film; this fairly new and upcoming idea allows digital sensors to behave more like they were film, giving images more gradual tonal transitions. This is when quantum dots of various colors are implicated into the sensor.
C) Increasing Dynamic Range. How does this work? You could thank an unusually low resolution, which would increase a camera's spatial resolution, then the actual amount of pixels which you require would be compensated for by Superresolution.
D) Pixel Sampling & Reducing Noise; Honestly, I can't say much about this myself, so here's some more info about how this process works in a 41 megapixel smartphone: http://www.cnet.com/news/the-secret-behind-n
Now, whether or not this is the same kind of process that goes on, there is yet another method that we could implement to help achieve better lowlight performance. That technique is what many photographers might already know about, since it is in the form of a script in GIMP, and probably other programs like Photoshop as well. We call this image averaging. It can reduce noise no matter how great, as long as you have enough memory space in the camera, as more images are required to achieve more amounts of noise reduction.
Now, there are probably other features that one could implement into a camera. One of them would be focus stacking. Only time can tell whether these changes will actually be implemented in future sensors. With large sensor cameras, we can practically only dream about achieving great macro photos like we could with a compact camera, which can have much better macro capabilities. With the various lenses that people use on their SLRs, they can't really get higher depth of field unless using a relatively expensive lens. With compact photography, however, we could decrease the costs, and we wouldn't always need to resort to the costly endeavor of SLR photography.
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Incredibly Expensive, Yet Extremely Cheap
Incredibly Expensive for me and yet extremely cheap for many others...
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-d5-pro-dslr-review
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-d5-pro-dslr-review
Friday, June 3, 2016
Small Meteor Proves Spectacular In Arizona!
This early morning, a space rock came thundering down over Arizona. And the dust trail that it created was nothing short of spectacular! http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?
Thursday, June 2, 2016
I have found this blog in particular as truly compelling https://raumberg3b.blogspot.com/2013/12/mysterious-phenomena.html?showComment=1464880760735#c1718734673411418710
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Compelling Books That I've Found This Week
Here are some of my favorite books that I have found really Compelling this week, and that I have yet to read.
- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heart-of-darkness-jeremiah-p-ostriker/
- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/photoshop-lab-color-dan-margulis/1111949815?
- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/passenger-seat-julieanne-kost/1122966553?
- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/universe-john-brockman/1117196169?ean=9780062296085
- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-it-began-chris-impey/1103176656?
- fifty-years-below-zero-a-lifetime-of-adventure-in-the-far-north-charles-d-brown/
- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/alone-together-sherry-turkle/1100173297?
- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reality-is-broken-jane-mcgonigal/1100817884?
- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lightroom-transformations-martin-evening/1123120930?
- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-future-of-the-mind-michio-kaku/1115435236?
- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/zero-charles-seife/1100315592?ean=97801402964
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