Photo

This post showcases photographs (rather than tools and equipment)

Drones for Aerial Photography, under $2000

Drones for Aerial Photography, under $2000

Kevin
Kevin flying a DJI Phantom
Kevin flying a DJI Phantom

The term “drone” is commonly used in pop media, more common than alternative terminology UAS (unmanned aircraft system) or UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle).   To my mind, a drone implies an automated military device – I prefer the term quadcopter.

As far as you or I are concerned, we serve as the remote pilots while standing on terra firma.  We operate a radio transmitter while the copter is equipped with a matching radio receiver.  Different radio systems are available and they are not all compatible.  For example, some communicate via a 2.4 GHz radio frequency, while others utilize a 5.8 GHz.  The differences are not limited to radio frequency alone.

Anything that is labeled as Ready-To-Fly (RTF) will include a radio transmitter that is compatible with the drone.  If the product is not advertised as RTF, it may not include a transmitter, which is preferable for anyone who intends to re-use an existing transmitter they already have.

  • 3D Robotics Iris+  … $750
  • 3D Robotics RTF X8 … $1,350
  • Blade 350 QX      – $470
  • DJI Phantom I … $400
  • DJI Phantom II Vison+ … $1,300
  • Gaui … 330X … $400
  • Gaui … 500X … $1,150
  • Gaui … 540H  / hexcopter (6 rotors) …  $600 does not include transmitter
  • Parrot   AR drone … $300
  • Quantum Nova … $320
  • Quantum Venture … $400
  • TurboAce Matrix … $900
  • HUBSAN  X4  H107C-HD
  • SteadiDrone QU4D … $1700
  • Walkera QR X350 … $400
  • Walkera QR 800 … $1,700
  • Walkera TALI h500  / hexcopter (6 rotors) … $1900

For aerial photography purposes, you need a stable device that is easy to control – consider electric copters only.  Gas-powered machines are loud, extremely fast, and potentially very dangerous.

The rotational force of a single-rotor will tend to rotate the entire machine; this is why traditional helicopters have a small tail rotor, to counteract the rotational force.  Coaxial dual-rotor designs solve the rotational force problem by spinning two rotors in opposite directions, but this reduces the total lifting force.  Multi-rotor copters, with four or more independent rotors, solve the rotational problem by spinning half the rotors in a clockwise rotation and the other rotors in counter-clockwise rotation.

I expect (but have not verified) that all of the copters listed above are capable of lifting a small camera.  In the cases of some smaller copters, I had doubts and so did not include those in this list.

Please note that most of these copters will rely upon rechargeable LiPo batteries, for which I offer two tips.  A single battery might give you eight minutes of flight or twenty minutes of flight – so do have more than one battery.  These batteries are relatively high power devices and there have been stories of such batteries causing fire, sometimes during the charging process.  Do use protective LiPo storage bags such as LiPo Safe.

The most commonly used camera for these copters is a GoPro 3 or newer (e.g. Go Pro 3, Go Pro 3+, or GoPro 4).  Personally, I have used the Hero 3+ Black Edition; while I find that it captures great video, I am not impressed by the still image JPEGs.  Listed here are some of the available small “action cameras”, all of which I expect are primarily intended for video.

  • CamOne Infinity
  • Contour+2
  • ContourROAM3
  • Drift Ghost-S
  • Garmin VIRB Elite
  • Gear-Pro HD Sport Action Camera
  • GoPro HERO3+
  • GoPro HERO4
  • Ion Air Pro 3
  • JVC GC-XA2
  • Mobius Action Camera Pro
  • Polaroid XS100i
  • Polaroid Cube
  • Replay XD Prime X
  • Sony AS20
  • Sony HS100V

The last component for aerial photography is perhaps the first component to select when building a new system.  A motorized/computerized gimbal is necessary for aerial video, to remove the unwanted effects of aircraft movement.  The gimbal holds the camera, detects aircraft movement, and automatically moves the camera to counteract the aircraft movement.  Without one of these devices, your level horizon will be ruined anytime the copter moves left or right.  Gimbals are often designed to match the size and weight of specific cameras.  So, if you are thinking of using a specific camera, you need to be sure that you can get a gimbal that accommodates that camera.

 

Forest Service fee for any photography in national parks ?

Forest Service fee for any photography in national parks ?

Kevin
Bicyclist making a photograph at Glacier National Park
Bicyclist making a photograph at Glacier National Park

 

The National Forest Service wants to charge you a large fee to make photographs on national lands (national forests or national parks).    The proposal covers “still photography and commercial filming” … without any further clarification, that seems to include you making a photo with your camera phone.

The proposal, an iterative evolution of past interim proposals because past efforts have been unclear.

>>   Federal proposal regarding still photography and commercial filming

Do check it out ASAP.  The Forest Service is accepting public comments until November 3rd.  You can easily provide your input on-line at the link above.  I did.

 

 

What is that beautiful tree?

Kevin
Do you know the type of tree?
Do you know the type of tree?

May is the month for flowering trees!   You’ve probably seen a few lately.   Some of my friends don’t seem interested in specifically what type of tree they are looking at … but I certainly am interested.

How about the photo here at the top – do you know this one?  Magenta flowers with green leaves.  Flowering crabapple.

How about the next one?  Pink & magenta flowers, clustered close along the branches, and the leaves aren’t particularly showing yet.  Eastern Redbud.

Pink / magenta flowers, closely following the branches.
Pink / magenta flowers, closely following the branches.

(Click on either image for a larger view.)

As for trees with magenta flowers, there are only two others that are common.  Magnolia flowers can range from mostly magenta, with a bit of white, to mostly white with a bit of magenta.  (The latter is more common.)  Uniquely, magnolia flowers are larger than any of our other common flowering trees.

The last one is tricky.  The flower buds, before blooming, can be magenta color.  The flowers in bloom look like bright pink carnations.  That’s a Kwanzan Cherry; there is nothing else like it.

Oil Painting Effect on a Photograph

Oil Painting Effect on a Photograph

Kevin

Toying around with some software filters, I arrived at a painterly effect that I really love … in just 5 minutes.  I’m not trying to put painters out of business – just having fun.

I started with an image from Lexington Massachusetts this past Patriots Day weekend.  My first experiment did not yield a compelling result.  Tried a second image, applied different filters, and shown here are all the phases of transformation.

Unmodified image
Unmodified image

The first filter is Bokeh 2 by Alien Skin.  (This is demonstrated in my previous post: Softening a Photo with Bokeh 2)

Processed with Bokeh 2, by Alien Skin
Processed with Bokeh 2, by Alien Skin

The second step is done with Topaz Adjust. Adjust is one of my favorite tricks for adding a bit of “pop” to an image that seems a bit dull, however, here I used a preset called “Low key”, which I have never found any use for until today.

Processed with Bokeh, then Topaz Adjust, preset = Low Key
Processed with Bokeh, then Topaz Adjust, preset = Low Key

The last step is an painterly effect using Snap Art by Alien Skin.

Click on the image to see the larger view!

Processed with Bokeh and Adjust, then Snap Art
Processed with Bokeh and Adjust, then Snap Art

That was rather easy. Honestly, such experimental transformations are usually more difficult and end up with a result I don’t love … so, delete. I really like this one.

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

Softening a Photo with Bokeh 2 (by AlienSkin)

Softening a Photo with Bokeh 2 (by AlienSkin)

Kevin

Last winter, I did a bit of backyard bird photography. Attached here is one of those images, where the bird looks quite good, but the background is distracting. As this was shot from my kitchen window, there was nothing I could do about the background (except maybe hang an artificial backdrop in the background trees

original image - shot with a MFT 45-200 zoom at f/8
original image – shot with a MFT 45-200 zoom at f/8

Perhaps the background would be less distracting if the depth of focus was more shallow.  A wider aperture might do the trick. This image was shot at f/8.  The widest aperture on the lens is f/5.6.

Enter … a software filter called Bokeh2, by Alien Skin.  The term ‘bokeh’ refers to the characteristics of an out-of-focus lens.  Some lenses have a more visually appealing bokeh than others.  The Bokeh 2 software simulates the bokeh effect and includes several presets that emulate specific lenses.  So here is an edited version of the image, using Bokeh 2 to simulate an aperature of f/2.8 to soften the background and make it a bit less distracting.

Background softened using Bokeh 2
Background softened using Bokeh 2

Although this does not entirely remedy the distracting background, it does reduce the distraction by softening it.  You might achieve a similar effect with a basic Gaussian Blur filter, but Bokeh 2 aims to simulate characteristics of real lenses.  This would be very significant if the background here had specular highlights, as real optical bokeh has a different effect than simple blur.

New Domain Name For Your Website

Kevin

Maybe you wanted a web domain name <YourName>.com, but it was taken by someone else. This conflict is being blown apart, beginning in 2014 and onward. There are more than 1600 applications to create new top level domain names.

Think about what your new domain name could be.
<YourName>.music, <YourName>.blog,  <YourName>.cool, <YourName>.tech, <YourName>.now

At a glance, here are just some of the proposed new domains
http://www.1and1.com/new-top-level-domains

I can easily imagine there will be millions of dollars spend on securing new domain names.
Just think how many people will want to own HipHop.music or HowTo.book

Epson Printer

Kevin

A year ago, I almost bought an Epson 3880.  Last week, I did buy an Epson printer, but opted for the 3000 instead of the 3880. Here is are a few reasons:

(1) the 3880 will print 17×22 paper, which is one size larger than the 3000
(2) the 3000 will feed both sheet paper and rolls
(3) the 3000 has built-in wi-fi
(4) the 3000 costs $300 less than the 3880 (after mail-in rebate)
(5) both the 3000 and 3880 use medium-size ink cartridges
specifically, 80ml volume  (compared to 59ml for the R2000)

Between the years 2000 – 2010, Epson has been the standard bearer among semi-pro inkjet printers.  Canon has since taken some of that market share from Epson.  The Canon Pixma Pro-10 competes directly with the Epson 3000 and is comparably priced.  The Canon may print a bit faster and includes 50 sheets of paper with the printer (worth $45).

Epson also offers larger printers (for 17″ wide and 24″ wide paper); Canon does not.

The real cost of a printer is not the printer itself, but the cost printing.  The per-sheet cost is primarily a combination of paper and ink.  For more info regarding per-sheet cost:
http://www.redrivercatalog.com/cost-of-inkjet-printing.html
(The cost of paper can vary widely as there are many choices today for paper.)

UPDATE:
One week after selecting/buying this printer, I stumbled upon this recent review of the R3000:
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-photo-inkjet-printer/