Polaroid Me, Micky

HOW2GUIDE: 3. Cowboy's Lasso

2009-05-26T02:33:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the delay, rest assured that updating this blog has been one of my top priorities. Been tied up with work lately and my study. A colleague of mine asked me the other day, what’s a lasso tool? I know I’ve mentioned it in my previous How2Guide: 1. Poster Creation “Triple Water Surprise” PART 1 of 2 (I know…I know…I was supposed to provide you with PART 2 of 2…”AKAN DATANG!!” or “COMING SOON). I’ll take this time to talk about this lasso tool.

I’ll make this tutorial short but to the point.

Lasso tool, as the name suggest, is a photoshop tool to “lasso” an “object”. A cowboy would use a lasso to catch a running calf while riding on a horse, once captured, he would tie the calf up.

Same idea with your photograph/image. You can use a lasso tool to “catch” (select/extract) a certain area or a portion of the image and “tie it up” (close the area) to ensure it’s completely selected and ready for further editing.

Lasso tool comprises of 3 different types:

(Original) Lasso Tool - hard
Polygonal Lasso Tool - moderate
Magnetic Lasso Tool - easy

You can use any of those three lasso tools, it's up to your preference. How to use it?

After clicking the icon,
First you need to decide on a starting point of your lasso, and click your mouse (don't let go)
"Lasso" the area you want to extract by dragging it around the area.
And enclose the area by dragging it to the starting point again (the cursor will change its icon to tiny hole once it reaches the starting point)
Done!! Simple isn't it?

(Here's a sample where I've used magnetic tool, where the lasso seems to have a magnet which can indicate the area that needs to be extracted, this will work if the foreground and background has a contrasting colour/feature) - the extracted area will have a "marching ants" to indicate it.

(Here's another sample where I've successfully extracted the area)

Other similar tools which can be used to highlight/select a fraction of your image.

Marquee tool
Erase tool
Magic wand
Extraction filter (for complex picture, I would recommend using this, especially if you want to extract something where retaining details are necessary, i.e. extracting hairs, smokes, etc)

Happy lasso-ing!!!

SIMPLE MOJO: 2. Wala Wala

2009-05-22T04:58:00.000-07:00

One sleepy night, I dig up my photo archives and for some reason I discontinued my photo-browsing as I stumbled upon this blurry and pixelated picture. I think I was using a point and shoot camera at the time. I randomly shot here, there, everywhere and couldn't really focus in taking a good shots cause I was so much in tune with all the pop/alternative songs the band was playing last time at Wala2 Cafe. And because the place was packed and having such a low light, it was hard to get a good picture. So standing against the bar table, I took this photo. It somehow turned out ok, and I did make it a bit more blurry and increased the exposure to add more depth to it.

Oh ya, the place got a promotion at the time, one for one for Asahi...nice!!

HOW2GUIDE: 2. Front & Back Exposure

2009-05-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

You brought your pocket camera along, and snap here, snap there. And as a tourist you happened to stand in front of a building which you thought having a spectacular design, and you pressed the shutter button. You went home and realized one thing. Being in front of the sun, it created a strong shadow over. And you wished you had captured it from a different angle. Don't worry it happens, I did that a few times as well, especially when I randomly shot pictures.

Well, thanks to the photo-editing software, you can just do a bit of tweaking. All you need to do is:

Select the building, using lasso tool
Adjust the level to your desired level
Select the sky, using lasso tool
Adjust the level to your desired level
To add a bluish touch to the sky, adjust the exposure.
Lastly, make the image crispier/clearer by using specific filter.

SIMPLE MOJO: 1. Do You Like Chucky?

2009-05-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

Look what I've found!!! I happened to walk along the stretch of Arab street, and happened to find few interesting things. A toy store selling dolls, an antique store selling everything...yes, everything, tried to ask permission to take pictures but rejected.....and a Malay museum. I tried to walk further to find more interesting things but was too tired already and I didn't have a tripod (it was getting dark and should be fun playing with some night photographies)....anyway....looking at those dolls remind me of the Bride of Chucky....scary scary!

SCHOOL BOY: 2. Unlock the Secret of Digital Camera Buying.

2009-05-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

I know sometimes it’s confusing to decide on what camera you should buy, especially if you are like my mom, who doesn’t care about the camera itself as long she can press the shutter button and have the guy at the print shop develop the pictures.

Nowadays, there are a great deal amount of cameras for your selection. And due to their unique features and prices, sometimes it can dilute your perception on what's necessary or vice versa. I myself am not an expert, but I've gone through a few years of researching, catalogue/shop-browsing, camera testing.

So how should you select your camera? I would suggest that you consult with a shop specialist/sales representative. However it will help you a lot if you can understand what you need. And my following points will assist you in coming up with your selection points.

Should you get a higher/lower ISO?

Should you get a bigger Optical/Digital Zoom?

Should you get 10MP? 14MP? 18MP? 1000MP? :P

Canon? Nikon? Konica? Minolta? Wachamacallit?

Well, as long as you know the basic, it shouldn't be difficult. Ok let me tell you how I would normally select my camera, I would narrow down my selection to 3 factors:

1. PRICE
2. USE
3. DESIGN

1. PRICE (subjective)
You should ask yourself: 100$, 200$, or 5000$? $100 to $700 will give you a good Consumer camera. $500 - $1500 will give you a low range of Prosumer camera (Professional Consumer). $1200 - $5000 will give you a moderate range of Prosumer camera. $5000 < will give you Professional camera.

2. USE
You should ask yourself: What do I need it for? family activities? studio photos? Landscape photos? wedding? The use together with the price comfort will determine your selection.

3. DESIGN
You should ask yourself: Simple or complex body model? Low or High specification?

Also, I’d like to share with you some useful lingo that can assist you in narrowing down your selection. And by weighing the pros and cons below and also my 3 factors above, you should be able to come up with your selection points and ready to speak to a shop specialist or a sales representative.

The most popular lingo are:

1. ISO
ISO will tell how receptive your camera sensor to light. The standard measurement is label as 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200. The higher ISO = the more receptive the camera becomes to light = good for low light condition where there is no sufficient light to light your object.

Pro: The higher, the brighter your picture can become.
Con: The higher, the more pixelated it becomes

2. MP
Stands for Megapixel. Pixel is a measurement we use for indicate picture quality. A picture can contain thousands/millions of pixels (looks like a dot when you look at them using a magnifying glass). Normal computer resolution displays 800x600 (480K pixels) or 1024x768 pixels (~800K pixels). So it means by having 2MP (2,000,000 pixels) is sufficient.

Pro: the higher, the better your picture quality become
Cons: unless you're printing a big poster, you won't need a high MP.

3. ZOOM
Optical zoom is better than digital zoom. Optical is the real zoom, whereas digital zoom is the fake zoom. Try to get a higher optical zoom and ignore the digital zoom.

4. NICE TO HAVE, BUT NOT NECESSARY
Image Stabilization (IS) - unless you have a shaky hand/tele lens, you won't
need to have this feature;
Photo Stitching – not necessary since you can stitch you photos manually (it even gives the look of originality I’d say);
Face detection - ok if you have a point and shoot camera and love to capture one’s facial expression.
Touch screen – why don’t you just buy a PDA?

After knowing all these, only then you can jot down your requirement and browse for your camera. Don’t do the other way around or you’ll get confused. And the most important thing, always ask yourself “DO I NEED IT?” Trust me it’ll help! Cheers.

HOW2GUIDE: 1. Poster Creation "Triple Water Surprise" PART 1 of 2

2009-05-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

I still remember a few years ago, my mom asked me to get a birthday present for my beloved sister. As I was short on cash at the time, it took a me a while to come up with an affordable yet presentable present. After thought it over and over, I decided to get her some nice contemporary posters to be hung at her new house since she just moved in a couple of months ago after she sold her first house. I window-shopped at some local shops and even online, and I wasn't able to find any good ones that met my taste and of course, my pocket. So it just happened that my creativity kicked in, I created some posters on my own, using photoshop, my camera, and few other supporting materials.

AFTER
BEFORE
The idea behind this poster creation was to symbolize a new chapter of life: surprise, excitement, and life. They are dynamic, surprising, and exciting at the same time. My sister was leaping with joy once she received those gifts, thanks to my brain...oops...nope, thanks to my mom, she was actually the one who told me that my sister would love to receive any present that can be used as decoration for her new house.

I'd like to take this opportunity to impart how I made these posters up from scratch:

PREPARATION

A piece of white card board - functions as a backdrop / background.*
A desk lamp – functions as the key and directional lighting.*
A transparent glass – a ¾ filled with water.
A watercolour tube – to colorize the water.
A watercolour brush – to give a nice touch to the composition.
A 20D camera
A 135L lens – to capture a zoomed object (not adequate.)*
A 580EX digital flash – to light the object from the front (not adequate.)*
A Manfrotto tripod
Ice cubes – to splash the water*

*Additional note:

Ensure that the cable is long enough, so when the water splashes, it won’t reach the power socket)
The white background also functions as a protector to ensure that the water won’t splash all over the place.
135L is not adequate to capture a macro object. However I didn’t have the time to get myself a macro lens, so 135L worked just fine.
Using flash for this type of project was not an effective approach due to the amount of time it needed to power up/sync before it can fire another flash. And for this project I required few consecutive shots simultaneously.
To splash the water using ice cubes, it would be better if you have a friend who can assist you. In my case, I did everything on my own, so believe me, it created a mess!! And I had to clean up afterward.

SETTING

Fill the glass with water which has been mixed with red paste, place it against the backdrop.
Place the desk light to achieve appropriate lighting up to your preference
Set up the camera with the lens and mount it on a tripod.
Set the camera for consecutive shots and set the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture to your liking (ensure it is fast enough to capture the splashing.) I myself set it to ISO 1600, 1/500 sec, f/2.0.
Make sure that you chose a decent resolution. I prefer to keep a big resolution so even when it is blurry, it won’t be so noticeable.

EDITING

Choose the appropriate pictures and start editing them in Photoshop (in the next PART 2 of 2)

SCHOOL BOY: 1. Understanding Aperture

2009-05-10T01:40:00.000-07:00

Aperture is one of two most important features in photography, along with shutter or shutter speed. Aperture functions as a controller built in a camera lens to adjust the amount of light that reaches the sensor, which eventually will interpret into the level of clarity and brightness of a picture.

Aperture works hand in hand with shutter speed to produce the different level of light exposures.

Rule of Thumb (1)
(a) Faster shutter speed = larger aperture (to store sufficient exposure)
(b) Slower shutter speed = smaller aperture (to reduce excess exposure)

As a young child, I used to make an experiment using flashlights. I used to hide under a blanket in my dark room, and together with my elder brother we took turn flashing light against each other’s eyes to see how our pupil reacted. We giggled when our pupil contracted and expanded as we switched the lights on and off (Please don’t try to teach your kids to do this, a long exposures to blinding light in a dark environment can severe your eyesight). This is what happened when there was no parents’ supervision.

Aperture reacts the same way as our eyes react to light exposures. When there is sufficient light exposure, you will need smaller aperture, and oppositely, when you are under low light condition, you will need larger exposure to ensure sufficient light exposure.

Rule of Thumb (2)
(a) Low Light condition = larger aperture (to ensure sufficient exposure)
(b) Sufficient light condition = smaller aperture (to reduce excessive exposure)

For you who own a camera lens, the lens body is usually marked with a specific labelling that marks an aperture diameter. This is generally known as “f-stops” A lower f number indicated a larger aperture, and vice versa. A normal lens will normally have it ranging from f/2 (larger opening) to f/16 (smaller opening)

Rule of Thumb (3)
(a) Smaller f number = larger aperture
(b) Bigger f number = smaller aperture

(Note: Next GIZMO TALKS will talk about Shutter or Camera equipments)

SCHOOL BOY: Introduction

2009-05-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

"Customer is KING" that's the most important motto which Japanese businessmen hold dearly within their service-oriented ethics. Imagine if all customers perceive that slogan literally, the industry would not survive because of all the abuses customers make towards all the service providers. That is why, some providers have some extra protection against that slogan, i.e. another signage that says “We have the rights to refuse service” or even an exhaustive list of Terms & Conditions.

To me “Learning is KING”, no matter how smart or rich you are, there will always be someone above you, smarter than you and so on. And without learning, life has no meaning at all. And I’d like to take this opportunity to share some knowledge around photography. That may not be an absolute answer to your questions; however they can add value to your current knowledge or even be a stepping stone for you to understand more things. Like the name suggests, let us all be a SCHOOL BOY (or girl) again, and hope that this section can also be an interactive one where we can give feedback, suggestion, etc.

HOW2GUIDE: Introduction

2009-05-04T08:42:00.000-07:00

Hi there, HOW2GUIDE will proudly present technical impartation which has long been kept within my own arsenal. Please allow me to share my few years of experience taking non-profit wedding photography, producing multimedia projects during my school years, tricks and tips on photograph editing using Photoshop, Illustrator, other media, and other photo-related things. I am in hope this blog can benefit us all as we know knowledge is a nonstop-learning process for life. And how you measure them pretty much depends on your own perception. I would also hope that this HOW2GUIDE would serve as an open forum which can help us all including me, obtaining further knowledge about photography and life in its simple form, happiness. Stay tune for more information and surprises [o] photohoncho [o]

GIZMO TALKS: Introduction

2009-05-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

GIZMO TALKS will serve as open discussion, sharing session, and testimonial forum for any talk relative to our wonderful world of technology especially photography related technology. Talks about the latest gadgets, devices, tools, equipments, and many others. I would start off by sharing to you what tools I have (used to have) in my own arsenal box. Also in hope that this can also give some enlightenment to those who are looking to own the same. As much as possible, I would try to fit the content in conjunction with photography related stuff. Stay tune for more information and surprises.

SIMPLE MOJO: Introduction

2009-05-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

Literally as the name suggest, SIMPLE MOJO section will be filled up with hope to present you with amusing stories and interesting photos. SIMPLE MOJO would base its stories on the photographs I’ve captured to portray my day-to-day experience, simple life happenings from my local neighbourhood, and other surprises which have sparked my creativity nerves. I am in much hope that SIMPLE MOJO can bring positive influences and attract lots of attention to you to brighten and give more colours to your daily life. I am also in hope that there will be feedbacks, comments, and maybe ideas that you can share to colorize this section more. Stay tune for more information and surprises

ABOUT ME: Intro to Polaroid, Micky and Mojo

2009-05-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

"POLAROID ME, MICKY” That's what I would say if I had the chance to go back to 2 decades ago when everything was just rosy to me and I didn't have a care at all in the world. And I would definitely catch that gray-haired guy and offered him few pennies to pick up his rented, dusty, and antique Polaroid and snap some pictures of my silly chubby & naughty 8 yr old me. And as he unsteadily gripped his camera, I would just shout “POLAROID ME, MICKY” to surprise him. Boy, how that would make my day; and not because his name was MICKY but it’s because MICKY is a Disney character which I love for his active, young, bright and cunningness. That’s also the characteristics I want to portray with this blog.

POLAROID will always remind me of my nostalgic childhood, especially of my carefree, joyous, untroubled times. So to me, it's more than just a widely known trademark, it's also a MOJO, a personal charm, and magnetism that can spark creativity out of you. All in all, with this blog creation, I am in much hope to appreciate life and all the little things around us by understanding its uniqueness, or its MOJO in this context

Why PHOTOHONCHO? Given its name, HONCHO means the person in charge of something. And as a HONCHO myself, I’ll try to manage this blog by filling it up with positive and knowledgeable contents and this can only be realized with some extra helps and pointers from you, keen readers as I am in hope that this blog can also be a forum to share and transfer our knowledge. (Note: special thanks to a friend who assisted me to come up with this name.)

Just a small quiz for you keen readers:
1. MOJO is the first name of Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup’s arch enemy (True or False)
2. HONCHO is a Japanese word. (True of False)