
PRACTICAL HDRI: High Dynamic Range Imaging For Photographers
November 5, 2008 by Dr. Michael N. Roach
Filed under Books, Photography, Top
Jack Howard should be a familiar name to many of you photographers as he is the Editor of PopPhoto.com/Popular Photography & Imaging where he tests and reviews cameras, lenses, software and a multitude of camera gadgets.

Write of Passage
October 17, 2008 by Lesli Jason
Filed under Art Commentary, Books, Commerce, Digital Lifestyles, Hardware, Media, On The Frontpage: The Not-So-Daily-Edition, Photography, Software, The Not-So-Daily Edition, The Write Stuff, Top, Workflow
I never really gave much thought about the actual process of writing, or even that it was a process at all. I liken it to brushing my teeth or walking or breathing. It’s just something I do. And while we all get a little writer’s block from time to time, like constipation, eventually you know that something’s gonna give.
So when a friend recently asked me to blog about "signs" (no smoking, no parking, caution-crime scene etc) I thought "Sheesh. What could I possibly write about signs that would be interesting, sardonically humorous or even remotely relevant?" Enter Pom Cosmos because hey, it’s five o’clock somewhere… »»

Digital Infrared Photography by Cyrill Harnischmacher
October 6, 2008 by Dr. Michael N. Roach
Filed under Books, Photography, Software, Top, Workflow
One of my colleagues is an architectural photographer who shoots digital infrared images a great deal of the time. Unfortunately, he lives several hundred miles from me and when we are together (which actually is seldom) we spend our time talking about our lives and clients–and lately, hurricanes (since we both live in areas that are affected by storms). That means that we don’t spend a lot of time talking about infrared photography, which I would really like to do. For me, that’s unfortunate because I am actually very interested in the “look” of the infrared photograph, and years ago in my film days I actually spent some time experimenting with black and white infrared film and the appropriate filters. So the theory is not unknown to me, but the practical aspects of digital infrared photography is very new to me. »»

Complete Guide To The Nikon D300 By Thom Hogan
September 22, 2008 by Dr. Michael N. Roach
Filed under Books, Digital Lifestyles, Photography, Software, Top
On User Manuals, Digital Books, Travel, The Importance of eBooks and The Foresight of Thom Hogan
I like physical books. By that I mean I like a book I can hold in my hand, feel the texture, and maybe even revel in the smell of the paper and the ink. I like to consume well-done images that inspire or instruct. I like books that open themselves flat and allow me to look at them without having to hold down both sides of the tight binding of a signature in the book without being afraid that the book would snap closed if I turned lose with one or both hands.
But then I have to say that there is a “but” that goes with all of that. The bigger a book gets the less likely I am to have it along when I want it. Big books in heavy bindings don’t fit easily into the weight requirements of modern-day air travel. They’re, well, “big” and “big” and “ease of travel” are oxymorons. They just don’t work interchangeably. »»

Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Digital Photographers
July 28, 2008 by Dr. Michael N. Roach
Filed under Books, Digital Lifestyles, On The Frontpage: Books
In my professional life I have attended many seminars and workshops. Some of those seminars or workshops have been funded by my employer, and others I have paid for myself. Looking back over some forty plus years of classes—let’s go ahead and call these seminars and workshops that—I think that the average price of any of these half day classes has to have averaged at least a hundred dollars per session; perhaps it has been even more. »»

LAYERS: The Complete Guide To Photoshop’s Most Powerful Feature
June 23, 2008 by Dr. Michael N. Roach
Filed under Books, Featured Stories, Graphics, Photography, Software
When I pick up a book to read it I have an almost overwhelming desire to know something about the person writing the book before I even flip the pages of that book. I want a connection between that person and myself in order to justify committing myself to their momentary care. I look first at book forwards or introductions or at least the author’s brief inside the front cover. This is true whether the book is a work of fiction or a technical manual. Without this beginning I have a hard time relating myself to the author; I have this need to know something about them.
Some almost 50 years ago when I was a beginning college student I always avoided classes taught by "staff" or "to be announced" if there was an option, and when there was a name listed for a course I got out my college catalogue and looked up the faculty member teaching the course and tried to find out as much about them as possible before I committed myself and my hard-earned tuition money to their care.
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Seven Key Techniques For Taking Your Images From Flat To Fantastic
June 2, 2008 by Dr. Michael N. Roach
Filed under Books, Editor's Choice, Photography, Workflow
I included the sub-title with the title because I think it makes the subject clearer. I think that describes why Scott Kelby’s book is not just another Photoshop book even if you don’t know who Scott Kelby actually is. If you don’t know, then I suggest you crank up GOOGLE and pick a couple of dozen of the 999,000 entries it says it pinged up for your perusal when you punch in his name. I’ll give you the summation—he knows Photoshop. He knows it very well! »»

Exposure & Lighting for Digital Photographers Only
April 25, 2008 by Dr. Michael N. Roach
Filed under Books, Digital Lifestyles, Featured Stories, Photography, Workflow
I recently encountered a relatively new book by Michael Meadhra and Charlotte K. Lowrie entitled Exposure and Lighting for Digital Photographers Only published by Wiley Press in 2007. »»

Managing Your Photographic Workflow with Photoshop Lightroom
January 1, 2008 by Dr. Michael N. Roach
Filed under Books, Editor's Choice, Photography, Workflow
Rocky Nook was founded in 2006 in Santa Barbara, California, and is closely associated with dpunkt.verlag in Germany. Rocky Nook is associated with, and releases books, through O’Reilly Media Company, hence the distribution through the O’Reilly address.
Rocky Nook specializes in books on digital photography, imaging, and workflow. Their stated goal is "to support creativity, and improve the quality and efficiency of photographic work". »»

The HDRI Handbook: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers and CG Artists by Christian Bloch
December 5, 2007 by Dr. Michael N. Roach
Filed under Books, Photography

Film has never been able to capture the dynamic range of reality, and trying to achieve that result has been the goal of photographers and chemists, and then later lens and film designers, since the early beginnings of the photographic process. »»






