Photography Luethi - Blog

Introduction

We photographers often face the problem that the differences in brightness in a scene exceed the dynamic range of our camera. Especially in landscape photography, for example with sunsets or motifs with a bright sky and dark foreground, this leads to blown-out highlights or blocked-up shadows. There are two established methods for compensating for these contrasts: the graduated neutral density filter (GND filter) and HDR (high dynamic range) technology. Both approaches have their strengths and weaknesses.

Fisherboat — The gray gradient filter helps with high contrasts.

Spring, when flowers are blooming everywhere, is the time for macro photography. Macro photography opens up a fascinating world that often remains hidden to the naked eye. It makes it possible to make the smallest details visible and to view everyday objects from a completely new perspective.

Bee on Asphodelus ramosus — Bee on Aesculus affodill (Asphodelus ramosus)

In this article, you will find out what macro photography is, what equipment you need and which techniques will help you create impressive shots.

Read more: Springtime Macrotime

You always meet interesting people at photography events. So do Elvis and Miha Halilović, two Slovenian designers. Together they founded the company Ondu Pinhole in Velenje, Slovenia, in 2013, which mainly produces pinhole cameras that do not require expensive optics.

However, they have recently started producing fully-fledged view cameras. They acquired a taste for the large format through the Ondu Pinhole 4x5 inch. The 4x5 inch format has the advantage that you get a postcard-sized picture with a contact print. The brothers hesitated for a long time because the view camera presented them with problems. But they found the solution to all their problems and there are now 3 models in the Eikan series.

Elvis Halilović, with the Eikan technical Camera

The best camera is always the one you have with you. But did you know that your smartphone and tablet can do more? The integrated camera app that comes with your smartphone and tablet only does JPEG. However, the camera sensor can do more. JPEG images are only 8 bits, but the sensor can do 16 bits with a colour depth of 14 bits. These 8 bits mean 2⁸ = 256 colours can be displayed. Whereas the sensor can capture 2¹⁴ = 16384 colours. This means that data is used very wastefully. Once data is lost, it can no longer be recovered. So get the maximum out of your sensor, I'll show you how.

Smartphone and Tablet

Digital photography now offers more creative possibilities than ever before. Although modern cameras work with automatic programmes, the basic camera settings remain crucial for image composition and quality. It is particularly important to understand the difference between RAW and JPEG images – because this determines which settings are critical at the time of shooting and which can be easily corrected later.

Gletscherhorn