Published Articles
Spiders Really Do Live Under Toilet Seats
If
you've ever heard anything about Australia it may be that you've been told to
look under the toilet seat for Redback spiders before stealing some
uninterrupted time in the quietest and darkest room of the house. Australia is
home to some of the most deadly insects and arachnids in the world - all of
which despite their fearsome reputation are extremely photographic.
Infrared Photography and the
Car Thief - Successful Digital Imaging
To the
uninitiated observer infrared photography conjures up television images of car
thieves speeding away from police helicopters during the dark hours of the
night. In recent times professional photographers have made use of infrared
film predominantly for black and white portraits. However infrared photography
is now not out of the realm of possibility for the average amateur
photographer.
Infrared
Photography and Big City Crime
One of the
major problems of the larger cities of the word these days is crime. It
appears that the larger the city the more-acceptable serious crime seems to
be. Not much escapes the all-seeing eye of the infrared camera of the police
helicopter as it chases a carload of thieves down the freeway. Likewise, your
own infrared daytime photography should let no entity go unnoticed.
Spiders Really Do Live Under Toilet Seats
Summary:
If you've ever heard anything about Australia it may be that you've been
told to look under the toilet seat for Redback spiders before stealing some
uninterrupted time in the quietest and darkest room of the house. Australia is
home to some of the most deadly insects and arachnids in the world - all of
which despite their fearsome reputation are extremely photographic.
Article:
If you've ever heard anything about Australia it may be that you've been
told to look under the toilet seat for Redback spiders before stealing some
uninterrupted time in the quietest and darkest room of the house - the Aussie
outback toilet. Australia is home to some of the most-deadly insects and
arachnids in the world - all of which, despite their fearsome reputation, are
extremely photographic.
 Macro
photography is generally recognized as the art of capturing images of small
objects at a scale larger than life. Insects and spiders fit perfectly into
the serious macro photographer's psyche as they pose in unpredictable
positions and are always on the move. Depending on the insect - this can make
it extremely difficult to capture them clearly-enough for the photograph to be
of high-enough quality for presentation value.
The Australian Redback spider is a very timid creature. It lives in warm dark
places such as wood piles, under the eaves of homes, along timber fences and
yes - even under the famed outback Aussie toilet seat! They've even started to
make their presence known in the steel cities of Japan - courtesy of shipments
of Australian iron ore.
Finding a Redback can sometimes be the easy part of the shoot - they're
everywhere in summer. Getting the little creature to keep still and pose in
the right position and light can be the difficult part.
Shooting macro photography images usually means getting as close as only a
couple of inches away from the subject. This can sometimes be a disturbing
experience when photographing the Redback. They're mostly shy and sometimes
move fast.
 I've
never read anywhere that Redback spiders can jump; however I've had a couple
of experiences where I've witnessed this. It's usually the smaller ones that
will leap from the leaf of a shrub and swing on a fine thread to the ground in
an attempt to escape. So when you've spent the last five minutes setting up
the shot only to see the highly magnified spider disappear from the eyepiece
of the camera in an instant - you'll find yourself spending the next fifteen
minutes looking for the damn thing up the leg of your trousers!
The silky smooth blackness of the Redback in sunlight lends itself to a set of
gleaming macro photographs you'll be proud to show to your friends.
If
you go searching for a Redback to photograph, be warned; around 200
Australians are bitten each year!
Resource:
Phill Petrovic is the owner of Photo Shop Australia at:
http://www.PhotoShopAustralia.com/
Photo Shop Australia provides unique and amazing Australian nature photography
including macro, infrared and landscape images of Australia. Photo Shop
Australia also has a page of totally royalty free images available for free
download for businesses and personal users.
Publisher Guidelines
If you wish to publish/reprint any ezine or blog article from Photo Shop
Australia in your own online newsletter, newspaper, magazine, other print
publication, ezine, website, or blog you must acknowledge the copyright of
Phill Petrovic and Photo Shop Australia by publishing the entire article
without changes, including hyperlinks.
You must also include the full resource details as shown below the article.
You must also agree to not to change the title or content of the article in
any way. All links must be maintained active.
This notice constitutes written permission for you to publish this article
using the guidelines above.
Infrared Photography and the Car Thief - Successful Digital Imaging
Summary:
To the uninitiated observer infrared photography conjures up television
images of car thieves speeding away from police helicopters during the dark
hours of the night. In recent times professional photographers have made use
of infrared film predominantly for black and white portraits. However infrared
photography is now not out of the realm of possibility for the average amateur
photographer.
Article:
Infrared photography is sometimes placed on the outside edge of the
mainstream photographic world. To the uninitiated observer infrared
photography conjures up television images of car thieves speeding away from
police helicopters during the dark hours of the night, only to be caught
hiding beneath bushes beside a darkened home as their hot bodies light up the
camera monitor in the police chopper like Bedouin camel herders atop a Sahara
sand dune.
 In
recent times professional photographers have made use of infrared film
predominantly for black and white portraits. However infrared photography is
now not out of the realm of possibility for the average amateur photographer.
Digital cameras are now providing the clever photographer with the opportunity
to create beautiful infrared images at a fraction of the cost when compared to
film.
Not all (or more accurately - not many) digital cameras are set up to be able
to shoot infrared images.
So
how do you know if your digital camera can shoot infrared images?
This is a simple one to answer!
Point your digital camera at a television remote control and take a photograph
of the infrared sensor that's located at one end of the remote while pressing
buttons on the control to send out an infrared beam. If your camera can shoot
an image of the infrared light being emitted from the LED of the TV remote
control then you are on your way to producing an infrared image!
It's not enough to simply have any old digital camera for shooting infrared
images. The type of digital camera that you've purchased will determine
whether infrared images will be successful. Your camera should be at least a
semi-professional digital or digital SLR-type with screw fittings to be able
to connect filters to the lens.
The lenses of the cheaper and smaller digital cameras don't usually support
fittings for filters so may not be appropriate for digital infrared imaging.
Check your camera's documentation to see if it will accommodate filters.
 Next
you will require an infrared filter. The Hoya R70 infrared filter is one of
the best and cheapest to buy, however at around US$40 or more it can be out of
the price range for most would-be infrared amateurs - especially since you
still don't know if the end-product image will be what you want to achieve! If
you've got the money to spare (or to blow!) then give it a go.
After purchasing an infrared filter, attach it to your camera, set up a tripod
outdoors on a sunny day and shoot away! The first thing you'll notice is that
you can either see nothing or very little through the camera eyepiece.
Your camera will be recording images in the infrared spectrum - not visible
light - so you would expect to see very little light through the filter with
your own eyes.
Be
aware that adding an infrared filter may have serious effects on your camera's
electronics or lens. Consult your camera's operations manual or manufacturer
before fitting any infrared filter to your camera, and never look through an
infrared or any other type of filter with your own eyes.
Photo Shop Australia
http://www.PhotoShopAustralia.com/
has a large array of infrared example images captured using combinations of
shutter speeds, aperture and light sources.
Resource:
Phill Petrovic is the owner of Photo Shop Australia at:
http://www.PhotoShopAustralia.com/
Photo Shop Australia provides unique and amazing Australian nature photography
including macro, infrared and landscape images of Australia. Photo Shop
Australia also has a page of totally royalty free images available for free
download for businesses and personal users.
Publisher Guidelines
If you wish to publish/reprint any ezine or blog article from Photo Shop
Australia in your own online newsletter, newspaper, magazine, other print
publication, ezine, website, or blog you must acknowledge the copyright of
Phill Petrovic and Photo Shop Australia by publishing the entire article
without changes, including hyperlinks.
You must also include the full resource details as shown below the article.
You must also agree to not to change the title or content of the article in
any way. All links must be maintained active.
This notice constitutes written permission for you to publish this article
using the guidelines above.
Infrared Photography and Big City Crime
Summary:
One of the major problems of the larger cities of the word these days is
crime. It appears that the larger the city the more-acceptable serious crime
seems to be. Not much escapes the all-seeing eye of the infrared camera of the
police helicopter as it chases a carload of thieves down the freeway.
Likewise, your own infrared daytime photography should let no entity go
unnoticed.
Article:
One of the major problems of the larger cities of the word these days is
crime. It appears that the larger the city the more-acceptable serious crime
seems to be. If not because to the proliferation of serious crime then because
the mindset of its citizens have been conditioned to accept the serious
behaviour of a minority of its inhabitants.
So, how does this statement relate to infrared digital photography and the
hobbyist or professional camera operator?
 Not
much escapes the all-seeing eye of the infrared camera of the police
helicopter as it chases a carload of thieves down the freeway in the middle of
the night. They will almost invariably be caught by the police when they exit
their vehicle thanks to the thermal heat imaging of the helicopter's infrared
camera.
Likewise, your own infrared daytime photography should let no entity go
unnoticed. After all - you've spent a lot of time setting up the shot and
composing the image with just the right light, shutter speed and aperture.
Your mindset should not be to simply accept inaccuracies and faults with your
photograph, but to go that extra step to eliminate them altogether.
Just like the officers in the police chopper, why would you go to great
lengths to capture that final important infrared image only to decide at the
last second to give up the chase?
Digital infrared photography does have a few things that should be taken into
account to ensure your image is as best as could be. The following combination
of items will affect your image:
The digital infrared images at Photo Shop Australia
http://www.PhotoShopAustralia.com/
have varying amounts of light, shutter speeds and apertures.
Low light may require longer exposure times if you can't get the aperture down
low enough. This could have a dramatic effect on the final image - especially
if you are shooting a subject that may move even slightly.
Dust on the infrared filter will affect the image by producing "blind spots"
in the final image. A close inspection of your infrared image in your photo
editing software will reveal these. The blind spots can be smudged out of the
image easily, but if you have hundreds then it may be more worthwhile to
recompose the image than to edit the digital photo.
The type of infrared filter will also determine the outcome of the print. The
Hoya R70 filter seems to be the best-priced for digital infrared photography.
Exposure and aperture settings can be played with until you find the best
combination for your camera. But keep in mind that usually the higher the
F-stop the longer the shutter speed required. So shooting a moving subject at
a long shutter speed can result in unwanted effects.
Long shutter speeds (of up to 15 seconds or more) of trees on a windy day can
actually produce the most spectacular effects.
We've all seen those long exposure night photographs of cars moving along a
freeway. Long exposure daytime digital infrared imaging can produce amazing
results too. You just have to get creative with your camera and subjects.
Think of the possibilities!
Be aware that adding an infrared filter may have serious effects on your
camera's electronics or lens. Consult your camera's operations manual or
manufacturer before fitting any infrared filter to your camera, and never look
through an infrared or any other type of filter with your own eyes.
Resource:
Phill Petrovic is the owner of Photo Shop Australia at:
http://www.PhotoShopAustralia.com/
Photo Shop Australia provides unique and amazing Australian nature photography
including macro, infrared and landscape images of Australia. Photo Shop
Australia also has a page of totally royalty free images available for free
download for businesses and personal users.
Publisher Guidelines
If you wish to publish/reprint any ezine or blog article from Photo Shop
Australia in your own online newsletter, newspaper, magazine, other print
publication, ezine, website, or blog you must acknowledge the copyright of
Phill Petrovic and Photo Shop Australia by publishing the entire article
without changes, including hyperlinks.
You must also include the full resource details as shown below the article.
You must also agree to not to change the title or content of the article in
any way. All links must be maintained active.
This notice constitutes written permission for you to publish this article
using the guidelines above.
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