Photography
The personal hobbyhorse of this writer is photography. The number of facets makes it so exciting: portrait, architecture, documentation, etc.
The hunt for interesting pictures starts on your doorstep, if not before. Pictures don’t just fly to you, you have to search and find them. Sometimes it takes several hundred pictures to find the right one. - But that doesn’t mean that spontaneous snapshots can’t be interesting, they are very rare.
Photography in automatic mode destroys the fun of detail and cannot be compared to photos in manual mode, where you have control over mood, depth of field and effects.
Basically: All photographs were taken with 6-14 megapixel resolution. To avoid long loading times, all images are optimized for the Internet in terms of resolution and image quality. They are the property of the owner of this domain. Any use and download requires the written consent of the owner.
Anaglypen
Photographers fine-tune various parameters to their image composition. Is the background optimal from this angle, is there an appealing foreground and does the image appear three-dimensional? Photography has one major disadvantage: it projects a three-dimensional world onto a two-dimensional chip or later onto a screen or a sheet of paper. A crucial dimension, “depth”, is irretrievably lost. This is the reason why photographers go to such great lengths to make their images appear not “flat”, almost trivial, but three-dimensional. The separation of background and foreground, possibly even combined with blurred areas (shallow depth of field), creates depth and class in the image composition. The difference between a standard and a really first-class shot often lies in a few nuances, a few meters of walking distance or the right time of day.
But the trend of recent movies being released as 3D versions has led to a boom in 3D usage. With very few resources, you can create your own 3D images. 3D images are certainly not a 21st century innovation, as such images were already being created in the 19th century.
For so-called stereoscopy, you generally need two images of a subject, which are then digitally combined. The most suitable option (squinting is not a good option) seems to be to use 3D glasses, a blue film on the right, a red one on the left.
When photographing the object, it is best to use a tripod. The camera should point orthogonally and horizontally at the object. After the shutter is released, move the tripod with the camera or the camera on the tripod to the side parallel to the object. Depending on how far the object is, the shift should be around 2 to 10% of the distance to create a good 3D effect.
Finally, you overlay the two images to create an anaglyph using suitable software (some of which is freeware). Now you just need the typical 3D glasses and the optical illusion can begin.
High Dynamic Range
High-dynamic-range (HDR) images are currently very popular. A single high-resolution image is generated from three to five images of the same subject with different exposures using special software such as Photoshop. This allows high contrasts and perfect color representations to be achieved. The catch is that you cannot display the full quality with either a printer or a monitor. So you have to scale it down again (tone mapping) to a so-called low-dynamic-range (LDR) image. Not entirely logical, but you want to be there.
A tripod should definitely be used for the shot. Modern cameras often offer a bracketing function that creates a corresponding exposure series fully automatically. Try it out and make your own judgment. If this function is not available, you can achieve the same results manually using exposure correction (EV).
Basically: The attached HDR images have been downscaled and optimized for the Internet to avoid long loading times.
Macro photography
“Why look far away when the good is so close?”… …said the photographer and took a picture of a traffic sign. Nevertheless, the delicate details of a macro shot are very appealing. They are the impressions that mostly exist unnoticed around us. So pay attention and press them!
Panorama photography
Photographs have always had a special appeal, as they allow you to capture reality for eternity. The catch, however, has always been the cramped format.
With modern digital technology you can easily put a number of different images together. The result is so-called panoramic images, which provide a certain overview, i.e. are one step closer to reality.
The range between the Frankfurt skyline, over our school, to Mooserboden near Kaprun should show the range of possibilities.
Technical development
It all started with a Casio QV-200 that was on the gift table in 1998 - during primary school. Just VGA resolution, swiveling side panel, guaranteed no card slot and PC connection via RS232. So a great thing - for the time. The minimal student budget was not burdened by expensive film - and development. Everything and anything was photographed.
Then came the 1-megapixel camera Nikon Coolpix 900! With 8 MB CF card and a built-in flash. You could even connect an external one using an adapter cable. The pictures were great and can still be used today. After the Kodak DX3600 with docking station and 2.2 megapixels, the Epson 2.3 mega (too bulky), came the Minolta Z6, 6 megapixels, 12x zoom, simply a hot topic, but topped by the Minolta A200, 8 megapixels, RAW format, rotating and swiveling display, prints up to A0 format are excellent. There is no end in sight. The photo archive now contains over 10,000 selected pictures (not including those with VGA resolution), from the Harzer Hochmoor project to the picture series about our school. Some of them have been used well in various presentations. The Nikon Coolpix 5600 deserves special mention, as it offers excellent image quality and a manageable file size (5.1 MP) in a very small body size. The ideal documentation camera that fits in every pocket and is really fun!
Forest, meadow, city
Have the courage to use your own camera!" Kant might have said if he had had a camera. Well, these things are everywhere these days and the good subjects are in no way inferior. The danger is often to drift into kitsch and clichés. The art, however, is to extract emotions or documentary elements. Each photo awakens the desire for the next, even better one. The learning process is continuous.
