Canon EOS photochains

This is a photo I submitted to Canon EOS photochains starting a new chain:

Nobody continued my chain so the submissions are closed now.

Fake Gimp HDR in practice

There is a differnce in vividness when transforming an image in accordance to fake gimp HDR tutorial.

 From an image:

 I transformed it to:

and from:

to:

and one more - from:

to:

I also transformed my abstract image:

to:

If you like what you see above try it on your photos.

How to make fake HDR using Gimp

I found this little video tutorial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8_tL7UCXuc

If you prefer reading instead of watching go to:

http://gimpology.com/submission/view/fake_hdr_look_in_gimp/

If you use Gimp software and want to learn more about it you can find more Braedon's videos here:
http://www.freewebs.com/gimpknowshow/apps/videos/
or here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/GimpKnowHow#p/u

High Dynamic Range Photos

I watched yesterday YouTube videos about HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos. Plenty of good info.  If you're interested go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBETWrA9tps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8srivzsW5nI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwHoPVhWbwE

Water droplets and more...

I'm not sure if the reflections in water drops are real or just added in photoshop but Amery Carlson's photos are just stunning. Check them out here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amery/sets/1134806/

Then you might go to all sets:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amery/sets/

or to secret techniques:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/technique/discuss/82977/

A start-up introduction

Macro photography reveals a new world unknown to many of us. If we just looked around and changed our perception of reality, we would be able to see bizarre creatures, strange and colorful plants. Take another look an you'll find yourself in mother nature gallery full of beautiful paintings and sculptures and many other amazing things which we've never suspected that existed in our vicinity.


Today I got a sudden impulse to keep all the links that I find about my new passion - digital macro photography - in one place, and at the same time to share them with you. As you can see I'm sending my posts a few days a week, so if you want to stay in touch please sign up and follow my blog


I'm going to start with links that I emailed yesterday to my ex-wife. She is into photography too and I thought that she may enjoy all these great photos and tutorials.

Let's start with Igor Siwanowicz:

http://photo.net/photos/siwanowicz

http://thewondrous.com/2009/10/30-incredible-insect-photographs-by-igor-siwanowicz-part-i/

http://blepharopsis.deviantart.com/gallery/

The text below I copied from:
http://www.evanitawmontalvo.com/about/senior_project/proposal.html

Igor Siwanowicz is by far one of the most amazing insect photographers I have ever seen. Unlike any other insect photographer, he manages to capture human like qualities in the smallest creatures especially exotic praying mantids. The lighting, vibrance, detail, and the anthropomorphic qualities he attains never ceases to amaze me. Not only is he a master at capturing the human qualities of the insect he shoots, but he also is able to capture natural lighting within an unnatural environment.
Almost all of his insect photographs are done in his studio with flashes in order to be able to attain the extreme amount of detail he captures. Despite working in a studio, his subjects do not seem as if they are out of place from their natural environment. The ability to control and capture natural lighting without having to depend on a sunny day is a great capability to have. One piece in particular I find inspiring for this project is his digital manipulation titled "Cirque du Soil VI". The piece contains a studio photograph of a pill bug and he has seamlessly applied the texture and color of a lemon onto the pill bug. He has a section that is peeled off the pill bug in order to play on the words pill and peeled.

I found first information about Igor Siwanowicz here:
http://www.pixalo.com/community/tutorials-guides/macro-photography-tutorial-24240.html

Here is a 2nd part:
http://www.pixalo.com/community/tutorials-guides/macro-photography-tutorial-ii-31623.html

And this is a link to the tutorial's author website:
http://klysewicz.co.uk/index.php