Photography

Even the uninitiated can identify HDR photos--their striking appearance often pops with high contrast, saturated colors, and an unmistakable surreal look. These photos seem like a lot of work, but when you examine the process of creating HDR photos, you'll find that it's much easier than it looks.

HDR, or "high dynamic range," photography is simple: a photo is shot three times, at three different exposures--low, regular, and high--and then stacked to create one image. In doing so, you create a sharp image that looks closer to what the human eye sees, as the varying highlights … Read more

The plug gets pulled tomorrow on popular Web image editor PicNik, but do not despair. An intrepid band of PicNik engineers started up a new Web image editor, PicMonkey, which is free and easy to use. It doesn't require you to register -- just drag an image into PicMonkey to start using its wide array of image-editing tools.

After you drag a photo into PicMonkey.com, the image editor opens with your image on the right and the tools on the right. There are seven groups of tools: Basic Edits, Effects, Touch Up, Text, Overlays, Frames, and Textures.

In … Read more

With Facebook's Instagram acquisition grabbing headlines and the photo-editing app finally being available for Android, millions of people have started using Instagram in just the past few weeks.

It doesn't take much to get started, and the interface is pretty straightforward, but without a proper guide, you might have missed some of the essential tools that make an Instagram experience that much better. Check them out:

1. Double-tap to like. As you scroll through the Instagram feed, you can quickly "like" a photo by double-tapping it. A white heart will pop up to let you know … Read more

Instagram created a social-media uproar last night when it changed its terms of service to state that it could license user photos for display by advertisers without consent and without compensation. Granted, Instagram isn't the first social-networking service to claim the right to use uploaded content, but the broad language with phrases like "without any compensation to you" spurred a quick and vocal backlash. And rightly so.

Fortunately, it took less than a day before Instagram began to realize its mistake. As rivals began to pounce on its fumble and users threatened to leave, CEO Kevin Systrom … Read more

Evidently the Canon 5D Mark III SLR must be a pretty hot item.

Because Apple just released an update to its Mac OS X camera support whose sole purpose is to let iPhoto, Aperture, and other photo applications view and edit the new camera's raw images.

Usually such Apple updates add support for a collection of new cameras, but time is of the essence now that the 5D Mark III is shipping. Many photographers who use this class of camera shoot raw images (data taken directly from the image sensor, not processed into JPEG by the camera) for the … Read more

Carl Zeiss today announced 15mm and 135mm members in its CP.2 family of adaptable lenses geared for both cinema and SLR uses and due to ship in the fourth quarter.

The CP.2 line of Compact Prime lenses can be fitted with adapters to Canon or Nikon SLRs, to PL-mount cameras common in the video and cinema industry, Micro Four Thirds cameras from Olympus and Pansonic, or Sony's NEX cameras with E-mount lenses. The CP.2 line is geared for cinema purposes, though, for example with a long-travel focusing ring.

The lens family spotlights the convergence of traditional … Read more

The ceaseless succession of new Canon and Nikon SLRs has a certain predictability, but an unusual model came out of left field today: Canon's astrophotography-oriented EOS 60Da.

The 60Da is a close cousin to the Canon EOS 60D, a higher-end 18-megapixel model geared for enthusiasts. But the 60Da has one big difference: its infrared filter has been modified so it doesn't screen out so much "hydrogen-alpha" light, a deep-red 656.28-nanometer wavelength of light produced by excited hydrogen atoms.

By letting in about three times the amount of hydrogen-alpha red as a regular 60D, the $1,500 60Da can capture much better photos of energetic nebulae, Canon said. It's due to go on sale this month. … Read more

With smartphones boasting excellent lenses and good point-and-shoot cameras becoming more affordable, photography has become a greater part of everyone's life. Just look at some of the most popular apps and Web sites, like Instagram, Flickr, and even Facebook Photos: they've exploded in activity as people discover a previously untapped passion for capturing moments and quickly sharing them with the world.

As a fellow everyday photographer, I scoured blogs, Pinterest, and (unashamedly) previous How To posts to dig up the tips, tricks, and tutorials that take this newfound passion for photography to greater heights.

Whether your smartphone is … Read more

Some folks satisfied with conventional 1080p video think the push to higher 4K resolution is silly -- but Sony execs are not on the list.

The company announced a new 4K videocamera today with interchangeable lenses, super-slow-motion options, and a Super 35mm-sized image sensor. Initially it'll shoot only conventional 1080p video, Sony said, but it's "4K-ready," meaning that with a planned firmware update it'll also be able to produce video imagery about 4,000 pixels wide.

Other high-end features include built-in 2-, 4-, and 6-stop neutral density filters, which can block light so videographers can … Read more