Given the very large population of mobile phone users all over the globe, it is safe to assume that almost every one of us has heard of the term “pixel”. Taking into consideration the technological advancements for the past years up until the present in the mobile phone industry, and the frequency of innovations by different mobile phone manufacturers, it would be reasonable to assume that most people have already heard of the term pixel as every mobile phone these days comes with a built-in camera which uses the term pixel to suggest its imaging capability.

But what are Pixels really? Though a lot of us might have heard it not just once, some I suppose have no idea what it is, what’s it for or simply just didn’t care. Well, to put things in a proper perspective, the term pixel is technically not for mobile phones. It’s for equipment that displays an image such as digital cameras (megapixel) and others. It just so happens that mobile phones these days are manufactured with built-in digital cameras – so now a lot of people have been accustomed to hearing the term more often.

The term pixel came from two different words – picture and element. It is a jargon in the digital world but in the course of time, has been used by lots of people to mean the smallest unit of an image. Pixels are referred to as the small dots that make up an image. The tricky part is that pixels have no dimensions and so there is no way to quantify how small is small. Pixels are measured in terms of PPI which stand for the number of Pixel Per Inch and the higher the count, the better the quality of an image. This is possible by dividing the image into grids.

For digital cameras, “megapixel” is the appropriate term. It basically refers to the camera’s resolution which is the image dimensions (measured in pixels) that the camera is capable of producing which in simple language means the total number of pixels or dots in an entire image that a camera can produce. It is calculated by multiplying the length and the width with pixels as their unit of measure. Their product is equal to the total number of pixels the camera is capable of producing. The resulting figure would then be the megapixel.  So a camera capable of producing a 1600 X 1200 pixels would then have a total of 1, 920,000 pixels which is equivalent to, following your math, 1.9 megapixels.

I hope this could be of help.

Thank you for reading. Please check back soon as we explore more avenues of photography and the digital world.

Bruce Walter Photography is a Melbourne based business that offers quality work to the corporate, government and private sectors. With over 20 years of experience, our company can provide specialist photographers in your area of need. With past and present clients ranging from Australia Post, Bovis Lend Lease, and Royal Freemasons Homes – we have the diverse experience to cater to your requirements. As a result of our extensive experience, we can plan and implement your specific photographic requirements from conception through to your final product. Please view the about page and client page for more information about our company.

In one way or the other, we perhaps have all seen pictures of people or even ourselves with red eyes. For a moment, we’d wonder and then let go. We normally wouldn’t bother ourselves or spend time to know exactly how and why it happened. After all, taking another shot is more easy and convenient to begin with than digging deeper. But for those wondering what exactly causes the red-eye; be glad to know that there is really nothing weird about it and that your camera is fine.
Your best SLR camera has nothing to do with it. Cameras just capture what is laid before them. You on the other can do something about it.

The red eye in pictures is caused by the light that enters the retina that it reflects back and captured by the camera. This commonly happens when taking pictures in a low light setting like indoor shoots because our pupils are relatively smaller than when in brighter or well-lighted places. Remember that our pupils react to light and adjusts itself accordingly. When in a low light setting, our pupils becomes dilated allowing more light to enter the retina – the more light that enters the retina, the more light bounces off it. This light bouncing off the retina, when captured by a camera results to what is commonly referred to as the “red eye”. Notice that this seldom happens in pictures taken in broad day light or brighter settings where there is abundance of light. This is because our pupils are relatively smaller in brighter settings, limiting both the amount of light that enters our eyes and bounces off it unless by nature one has relatively bigger pupils that reacts differently to light.

This red eye problem has nothing to do with the camera and could happen even with the best camera for photography available. However, because this is a known issue in photography, most top SLR cameras nowadays has the “red eye reduction” feature. This feature simply makes pre-flashes before actually capturing the image. Said pre-flashes gives the camera ample time to let the pupil adjust to light (flashes), reducing the size of the pupil before finally taking the picture.
For cameras that doesn’t have this function, the best way to get rid of this red eye is by moving the flash away from the lens. This is the downside of flash photography – often times the flash and the lens are too close such that the light comes straight back to the lens when the flash is fired.

I hope this could be of help.

Thank you for reading. Please check back soon for more photography information.

Bruce Walter Photography is a Melbourne based business that offers quality work to the corporate, government and private sectors. With over 20 years of experience, our company can provide specialist photographers in your area of need. With past and present clients ranging from Australia Post, Bovis Lend Lease, and Royal Freemasons Homes – we have the diverse experience to cater to your requirements. As a result of our extensive experience, we can plan and implement your specific photographic requirements from conception through to your final product. Please view the about page and client page for more information about our company.

What is landscape photography? How is it different from other genres of photography?

Taking pictures is not photography, it is taking pictures! Photography is both an art and a science and therefore involves a process in coming up with a photo. There are different genres in photography and each requires a system-like applicable processes or techniques to come up with a high quality picture. Landscape photography is one of those genres and depending on the photographer, requires knowledge and skills from basic to advanced in order to create simple and sophisticated shots respectively.

Landscape photography, to simply put it is taking photographs of scenes or views that are free from man-made obstructions. In most cases, it involves nature. From a professional perspective, obviously there’s more to it but for purposes of introduction to landscape photography, we can define it even as simple as taking photos of “landscapes”. The question is, how do we do this? Below are some basic landscape photography tips that are useful for all levels of photographers.

Time of day

Technically speaking, it’s not the time that matters but the light and the angle of the sun. When doing landscape photography, it would be best to do it early in the morning or later in the day (dusk). These are the best times for shooting landscapes because the low angle of the Sun will show texture and give the image more depth.

Surrounds and Sky

Large areas of white near the edges of the frame are distracting and take away from the main subject, perhaps you can crop out the sky altogether or shoot at a different time of day. Additionally the use of gradated filters may be useful. Of course, post production and stripping in a sky is possible. Take a good look at your surroundings. Is there any rubbish in the foreground or distracting objects and colors near the edges of the frame?

[ISO 100, Aperture F8, Shutter speed 1/125 sec Lake area of North Island in New Zealand. Composed the image to include the rocks on the bottom corner for scale, and the main area of focus taking up 2/3 of the image showing the lake and reflections.]

Scale

Scale and depth are some elements that contribute to the beauty and life of a picture. It gives the picture a sense of space and distance. Placements of objects within the frame allow you to show scale and depth because they create a reference point, and can lead the viewer into the image. This helps to emphasize your subject.

[Figure 1]                                                        [Figure 2]           

[Figure 1: ISO 100, Aperture F8, Shutter speed 1/200 sec Hot springs from other side of lake using 2/3 composition to emphasize color and shape]

[Figure 2: ISO 100, Aperture F11, Shutter speed 1/200 sec. Again, Using 2/3 of the frame, a tighter shot showing more detail, but still retaining a small area of sky to show scale]

Horizon Line

Try placing the horizon line off center, for example if you have an interesting foreground which you wish to emphasize, fill approx 2/3 of the frame with this area. The same proportions will apply to sunsets, cloud formations where you utilize the top 2/3 of the frame for the area of interest.

Line

Use lines and shapes that appear to move away from the viewer and into the picture to create depth in your 2 dimensional photographs. Objects that become smaller the further away from the camera and converging lines will also imply depth and volume.

These are simple and basic landscape photography tips. Learning more advanced techniques is even more fun.

Bruce Walter Photography is a Melbourne based business that offers quality work to the corporate, government and private sectors. With over 20 years of experience, our company can provide specialist photographers in your area of need. With past and present clients ranging from Australia Post, Bovis Lend Lease, and Royal Freemasons Homes – we have the diverse experience to cater to your requirements. As a result of our extensive experience, we can plan and implement your specific photographic requirements from conception through to your final product.