Picnik will be closing

Back in 2010, I had written an article on Google acquiring Picnik, the online photo editing tool in another blog of mine—Ravi’s Blog. And its hardly 2 years after acquisition of Picnik by Google and they wants to close Picnik.  This is one of the products which Google has and will be closing in recent times. Picnik will be closed on 19th of April 2012. Some of  the best features which were meant for premium users are now made free till the closing date. Premium users who had updated their subscription will get their entire money back. For those who were using Picnik, you don’t have to be sad as Picnik will now be embedded into Google+ where you can find many of your favorite Picnik effects. You can edit your photo that is uploaded on Google+ by clicking on “Creative Kit” under each uploaded photo.

New Photoshop Feature–Content Aware Fill

Adobe Photoshop team has been rolling out a series of videos highlighting selected features of the popular photo editing software. Photoshop, well known for it’s vast array of time saving techniques, has established itself as the leader in image editing. Popular additions to the later versions of Photoshop have been the Content Aware options. In the video below users are given an example and brief tutorial on the Content Aware Fill function using the ability to paste pixel data from any area of the photo. Content Aware Move tool is a very quickly and handily, allows you to move large and small objects alike while avoiding the time consuming task of using Layer Masks. I will be updating more on these soon. Follow my blog and I will keep you all updated with more and latest updates.

More new Canon DSLRs soon

Canon EOS 5D Mark III 22.3 MP Full Frame CMOS Digital SLR Camera (Body)

You can expect new Canon cameras end of this month and early next month.

Expected and Rumors:

5D Mark III/X – Expected on Feb 27th
Below are the specs for the coming 5D replacement, the full name of the camera is currently unknown.

Specs

• 22 MP
• 61pt AF
• 100% VF
• 3.2″ LCD
• Dual CF/SD Card Slots
• Price: Around $3500 USD

Canon Rebel T4i

No real specs are available, except that it will come with a new EF-S 18-135 lens with a silent autofocus motor.

Will keep you all updated..  subscribe/follow to this blog to get the latest updates.

3 more Nikon DSLR cameras in 2012

XS6Q9PQDRUGN Nikon had announced D4 and D800 recently. In addition to the D4 and D800, Nikon will announce three more DSLR cameras in 2012. Pre orders for Nikon D800 are available on Amazon and will be shipped sometime end of March. The new cameras might be all DX models - Nikon D3100, D7000 and D300s replacements. If you are planning to buy one then I would say wait for a while as cameras with higher MPs and many more better features are expected.

Sam Abell - National Geographic Photographer

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Sam Abell has worked with the National Geographic Society since 1970 as a photographer and has photographed more than 20 articles on various cultural and wilderness subjects. He has also lectured on photography and exhibited his images to audiences throughout the world. In 1990, Eastman Kodak published a retrospective monograph of his photographs titled Stay This Moment: The Photographs of Sam Abell. A companion exhibit of his work was shown at New York City's International Center of Photography in November of that year. 

Abell's book credits include Contemplative Gardens, The Inward Garden: Creating a Place of Beauty and Meaning, Australia: Journey Through a Timeless Land, and Seeing Gardens. In 1998 he collaborated with author Stephen Ambrose on Lewis & Clark: Voyage of Discovery and again in 2002 on The Mississippi: River of History. That same year, he worked with author Leah Bendavid-Val to produce a retrospective of his life and work titled Sam Abell: The Photographic Life. Two additional book projects, Four Stories and The Life of a Photographer, are scheduled for publication in October 2007 and October 2008, respectively.

Check out National Geographic photographer Sam Abell talk about his career, what inspires and influences his work, and his most memorable adventures.

Stone Age paintings

These paintings/ symbols crop up throughout the prehistoric world. These hands were painted on the walls of a cave in Rio Pinturas, Argentina. The hand forms were created by pressing all or part of the hand against the surface, after having applied paint or clay. This symbol is surprisingly rare, found at just under 7 per cent of the French sites studied. Its earliest know appearance is at Chauvet, from where it seems to have spread out in all directions. By 13,000 years ago it had fallen out of use.

Magnum Photos

Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo. Magnum Photos is a photographic cooperative of great diversity and distinction owned by its photographer members. With powerful individual vision, Magnum photographers chronicle the world and interpret its peoples, events, issues and personalities. The Magnum Photos library is a living archive updated daily with new work from across the globe. You may search or browse our 500,000+ images which are available online for licensing in a variety of formats.

Check out: Magnum Photos

Kodachadri Trekking

I had been to Kodachadri with my friends on a team outing when I worked for IBM. We reached Kollur late in the evening and spend overnight at one of the hotels in Kollur City. We started our day by visiting Sri Mookambika Temple of Kollur. Kodachadri lies in the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary at Kollur in Karnataka, India. The mountain is 1343m tall and is the highest peak in the Shimoga district of Karnataka. Arashinagundi falls and Hidlumane falls are two famous waterfalls inside the forests of Kodachadri valley. The highest point among these hills offers a majestic view of sunset. During sunset the Arabian sea can be viewed from the sunset point. There is also a sunrise point from where a breathtaking view of rising sun is made possible. The Lingamakki reservoir is also visible from the peak.

There is a temple dedicated to Sri Mokkambika Devi at the top. Chitramoola is another beautiful location which according to the legend was the place where Shankaracharya met Mookambika Devi. Ganapathi Cave is another attraction near the Peak. Kodachadri is a trekkers paradise with adventurous trekking routes through the waterfalls to the peak. Well, if you are lazy to go all the way for trekking then you can go by local jeep though some other route. I would suggest every one to take routes through the waterfalls to the peak. It’s a must visit place. Leave a comment and do share this post if you are planning to visit or have already traveled to Kodachadri.

Megapixel

Megapixel, one million pixels, refers to the number of dots in a digital cameras and other digital displays. The megapixel measurement reflects the ratio of individual pixels in a screen as it is divided by one million. In simple terms, a megapixel tells a photographer the camera’s capacity to detail an image. Digital cameras tend to produce images at 2048 x 1536 pixels, which renders a 3.1 megapixel measurement. The higher the megapixel number, the greater the resolution of the digital image. Images with higher resolutions appear clearer, sharper and more vivid.

Choosing a branded Camera

Buying a digital camera can be disorienting. There are hundreds of cameras available at many different types of retail outlets, with prices ranging from $75 (Rs. 3500) to several thousand dollars. This, of course, is the big question that you really want an answer to and you know that nobody is going to give you one. If you ask anyone who already has a camera most will support the brand of the camera they have unless they have had some trouble with it, even then people are very forgiving. Also, be careful about fake cameras. You think you  paid for a popular brand until you reach home, tear the product box, and notice a slight variation in the spelling of  manufacturer' name. You feel cheated but often it's too late to do anything about it. Digital cameras are expensive electronics items, you don't want to get the brand wrong. I am a fan of Canon as they are into this business for a long time and my opinion about manufacturers who make the best film cameras would be Canon, Nikon, and Olympus, seem to make the best digital cameras. There are many other brands like Kodak, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Sony, Samsung etc.

Canon's AI Servo

AI Servo is Canon's predictive autofocus (AF) system. The name is derived from the use of Artificial Intelligence used to predict the speed and distance of the moving subject. It greatly increases your chance of getting a sharp image when your target is moving. It is the camera's ability to continuously focus on a moving subject, a feature normally only found on digital SLRs. It is generally used by sports or wildlife photographers to keep a moving subject in focus.

Autofocus Servo is normally engaged by switching focus mode to "AI Servo" in Canon or "Continuous" in Nikon followed by half-pressing the shutter release. The camera will continue to focus based on its own focus rules and your settings while the shutter release is half-pressed or fully depressed (actually taking shots). Predictive autofocusing happens whenever AI Servo is on and there's a readable subject with predictable movement where as Shutter release timing is controlled by the photographer for single shots and the first shot in a burst.

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is nothing but the amount of time that the shutter is kept open or the length of time that your image sensor looks at the scene you’re attempting to capture. Shutter speed is measured in fractions of seconds. In most cases you’ll probably be using shutter speeds of 1/60th of a second or faster. The bigger the denominator the faster the speed (Example: 1/500 is much faster than 1/8). Lower shutter speed will lead to blur images because of camera shake. Camera shake is when your camera is moving while the shutter is open. Use tripod or image stabilization cameras when working with low shutter speed. Different selection of shutter speeds will yield different kind of visual effect on a final photograph. Generally, a fast shutter speed can freeze action while slow speed can blur your image. I would say keep experimenting the same shot with different settings to learn more.

Check out Ravi's Photography for more pics and don't forget to share it with your friends. :)

Belur

Belur, built in the year 1117 A.D. was the early capital of the Hoysala Empire. Belur is located in Hassan district, Karnataka, India. The main attraction in Belur is the Chennakesava temple complex which contains the Chennakesava Temple (meaning handsome Vishnu) as the centre piece, surrounded by the Kappe Chennigraya temple. The temple is one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture; it was built by king Vishnuvardhana in commemoration of his victory over the Cholas at Talakad in 1117 A.D.Legend has it that it took 103 years to complete and Vishnuvardhana's grandson Veera Ballala II completed the task. The facade of the temple is filled with intricate sculptures and friezes with no portion left blank. The intricate workmanship includes elephants, lions, horses, episodes from the Indian mythological epics, and sensuous dancers (Shilabalikas). Inside the temple are a number of ornate pillars. Darpana Sundari (Lady with the mirror) carved on walls of Belur Temple is one of major attractions in the complex. This temple is being proposed as UNESCO world heritage sites.