High Dynamic Range Photography
I've been experimenting with HDR photography lately, after seeing some exciting examples on Flickr. The concept is simple - take multiple exposures of an image, and combine the best portions of each image to get something that looks more like painting or the experience of human vision than photography.
In practice it's a bit tricky. You only want to change the exposure, while keeping the rest of the parameters as constant as possible. Any variation between images that doesn't involve dynamic range shows up strangely in the finished product. Here are tips for avoiding the most common stumbling blocks:
- A tripod is necessary and a remote is desirable for extra stability.
- Lock your aperture (A or M setting on Nikon D70). If this changes, the depth of field changes, making the HDR result blurry. Use shutter speed instead to alter the exposure.
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Videos and Friends at Computers in Libraries
I attended Computers in Libraries 2008 this week and presented on library videos with Karen McBride. I was a little miffed that Doodlebug didn't win an InfoTubey this year, until I got to the awards ceremony. The winning videos were really great, and a big step up from last year. The creativity and production values were amazing. It looks like libraries have come a long way in video production in a very short time, and moved past the YouTube moment of 2007.
more...
April 10, 2008 @ 8:13 am [comment] [link] [more]
Mimes vs. Clowns
I was just sent this video that really impressed me. It was used at a Fraternity conference (which explains the "pretty in pink" reference) but it's highly relevant for libraries too. The observations on e-mail and phone books really hit home.
March 20, 2008 @ 11:23 am [comment] [link]
The Insurgents
When YouTube first launched, the mainstream media hardly noticed. But YouTube had a technological breakthrough going for it. By taking many different types of video files, and converting them to Flash movies that could play in almost any browser, they made it easy to share video on the web. Their timing was also very good, launching just as broadband was reaching a critical mass of users. Now the television networks are struggling to catch up.What does this have to do with libraries? Well, today I read about Open Library in the Chronicle. It's not the first internet startup to duplicate the things that traditional library catalogs do (see LibraryThing), but the parallels to YouTube are interesting:
- Open Library, like YouTube, is built through the collective effort of the online community. What Wikipedia did for the encyclopedia (for good and bad), Open Library could do for the catalog.
- OCLC, like the television networks, is tied to a business model that has been very effective in the past. What holds you up can also hold you back.
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Marginalia
I just posted my latest library-related video, trying to fight the scourge of writing in library books. I'm actually of two minds on the topic. Writing in a library book with pen or highlighter is just inexcusable, a terrible breach of community standards. But using a pencil and some courtesy, like sticking to the margins, isn't quite so bad. If I had to come up with guidelines for people who are determined to deface communal property, they would be:- Use pencil.
- Write lightly, so as not to damage the paper.
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