Category: tips

Tiny Planet Image

Beaverbrook Library Tiny Planet by Bill Robertson

For the September meeting slideshow, I submitted an example of a “Tiny Planet” image that I made of the Beaverbrook Library. In the review, I asked for suggestions about other locations that would make good Tiny Planets.

I received a couple of good recommendations but more members asked how I did it.

First I shot a 11 image 360 degree panorama then I followed these steps in Photoshop:

  • File->Automate->photomergebig pano
  • flatten
  • trim one end (cut), paste over other end, align, and delete extra
  • flatten
  • Image->trim->transparent pixels
  • crop off any blank top and bottombig pano cropped
  • make square (use short dimension & make sure aspect ratio unlocked)square
  • Image->Rotate->180 degrees
  • Filter->Distort->Polar coordinates (rectangular to polar)

If you have any questions about how I did this, I’ll be glad to try and answer them.

There’s a great video here by Mike Browne (thanks to Phil Tughan for bringing him to our attention) that demonstrates the whole process.

Bill Robertson

Improve Your Photography.

Here are five videos I chose with tips on how to improve your photography:

This One Thing Will Make You a Better Photographer;

Phil Tughan

Photographing Glass

Note that this article originally appeared in the May 2016 issue of the shutterBUG.

Photographing glass can be an exciting, and sometimes frustrating, exercise. When light strikes a glass object three different things can happen: 1-light can be transmitted; 2-it can be reflected; and 3-it can bend (refraction). These three unique properties of light need to be considered when attempting to photograph a glass object.

There are two main techniques for photographing glass. The overall goal of either technique is to define the contours at the edges of a glass object. Each technique is defined by the way light is seen at the edge of the glass, either as black lines or as white lines. Continue reading “Photographing Glass”

Tabletop Photography

TTP by Phil Tughan

Here are five videos I chose with tips on tabletop photography:

Phil Tughan

Choosing the Right Lens

lensesHere are some videos I chose with tips on choosing the right lens:

Phil Tughan

Jim Leask on Slide Copying

At our March  6th meeting, Jim Leask demonstrated how to easily and quickly copy slides using a DSLR, an off camera flash and a slide adapter. You can review his notes here.

The adapter he used to hold the slide in front of his camera is a Nikon ES-1 and is available from Henry’s. Note that it is a 52mm thread so you may need an adapter for your lens. Note also that, if you don’t already own a suitable macro lens, you can use extension tubes to adapt whatever lens you have to close focus.

Make an Antique Image

Our recent monthly photo assignment was about making an image look like it was taken years ago.

During the review, Ron Pearce explained how he composited his original image:

01 Almonte Falls Original Image by Ron Pierce
with this texture:

02Texture by Ron Pierce

and this photograph of an antique photo mat:

03 Old Photo Frame by Ron Pierce

to come up with the image he submitted .

If you have Photoshop, an easy way to make an antique version of an image is described in this video by Gavin Hoey. He provides a Photoshop Action and a collection of brushes (which can also be used with Photoshop Elements) which I used to create my submission.

Carol Brown created her own texture by photographing a crumpled brown paper bag, and adding it as a transparent layer using Photoshop to create her submission.

Several members reported that they used the Time Machine effect in Corel’s Paint Shop Pro to make antique versions of their images. A 30 day free trial is available if you want to try it out.

Bill Robertson