Basic photography techniques

we now look for basic photography techniques.

THERE ARE THREE TECHNICAL ELEMENTS THAT "MAKE" AN IMAGE

• Aperture
• Shutter speed
• ISO speed (sensitivity of the digital sensor)

 

 

1. APERTURE

 

The aperture determines the amount of light that gets to the digital sensor. A SMALL number indicates a LARGE aperture, good lenses start with a maximum aperture of 2, better and more expensive lenses start at 1.1!

Apart from the quantity of light that is allowed to get through, the aperture also determines the DOF (depth of field).

The numbers you see on the side of a lens usually look like this:

F 22 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 5.6 | 4 | 2.4

At F 22, the lens lets in a very small amount of light, it is at minimum aperture. At F 2.4, the lens lets in the maximum amount of light that it has been designed for.

Each number represents a double increase (or decrease) of the quantity of light that is allowed through the lens.

For example: at aperture 5.6 you allow 2 times more light than at aperture 8, and 2 times less light than at aperture 4

On "point and shoot" digital cameras you do not see this numbers on the side of the lens, the process of opening and closing the aperture is controlled electronically and has also increments like: 5.9 or 8.2

2. SHUTTER SPEED

The shutter is the device that controls the exposure time of the photo. The exposure time usually begins at 1/2000 sec. and goes up to 30 sec.

At 1/250 sec. exposure time, the shutter will let in 2 times more light than at 1/500 sec. and 2 times less than at 1/125 sec.

The exposure time determines how a photo will look, if it will be "shaken" or crystal clear. For example: you want to take a picture of a water fountain. You have two options, use a short exposure, or a long one. A short exposure (of 1/2000 sec.) will "freeze" the water droplets in mid air; the detail of every droplet will be clearly visible in the photo. A long exposure time (of 1 sec.) will create a special effect where the falling droplets traces unite to create streams of water.

Aperture Priority | Shutter Speed 1/25 | Aperture Value 8 | ISO Speed 50

Aperture Priority | Shutter Speed 1/1000 | Aperture Value 3.2 | ISO Speed 50

 

3. ISO SPEED

 

ISO speed is the third element that "makes" a photo. It is usually expressed with the following numbers:

50 | 100 | 200 | 400 | 800 | 1600 | 3200

These numbers tell you how "fast" does the digital sensor react to the light sent through the aperture and shutter.

A small number means that it takes a relatively long time to take a photo, a large number, a very short time.

But things are relative in using the right ISO setting. On an average digital camera, the ISO goes from 50 to 400. The ISO speed 50 is usually used on bright sunny days, while the 200 and 400 ISO is used in low light conditions (like interiors or at night)

There is also a problem with the image quality regarding the ISO speed. At large numbers, 400, 800, the image will contain "noise", so use the low ISO speed as much as possible.

Here is a table that will further explain how the aperture, shutter speed and ISO speed are used TOGHETHER to "make" an image. I'll give a theoretical example of how this three indicators work together: At ISO speed 100 you select an aperture of 8 and the shutter speed is calculated by the camera at 1/250 sec. The same image*, mathematically speaking, can be created using the following settings:

ISO speed	Aperture	Shutter speed
100	16	1/60
100	11	1/125
100	8	1/250
100	5.6	1/500
100	4	1/1000

same image* - the same in theory but with different effects on the final, real image

As you can see, with the ISO speed constant, the aperture and exposure time increase or decrease in connection with each other; if the aperture allows more light into the camera, the shutter speed decreases to compensate and give the perfect exposure.

But what happens to these theoretical numbers if you set the ISO speed at 50? Take a look:

ISO speed	Aperture	Shutter speed
50	11	1/60
50	8	1/125
50	5.6	1/250
50	4	1/500
50	2.8	1/1000

You can modify the aperture, keeping the shutter speed constant, or you can modify the shutter speed, while keeping the aperture values constant:

ISO speed	Aperture	Shutter speed
50	16	1/125
50	11	1/250
50	8	1/500
50	5.6	1/1000
50	4	1/1250

full copyright, text&images © www.digital-cameras-help.com / published: January/20/2006

Source: http://www.digital-cameras-help.com/basic-photography-tips.html

The 5 Hardest Games in the Whole Wide World

I’ve played a wide variety of games throughout my life so far, ranging from Spyro the (cute little) Dragon and Crash Bandicoot to the more controversial Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt series.

During my search for new games, I encountered some games that were more - special.

Frankly, some of these games made you pull out all of your hair before you were done.

For this article, I’ve searched for the hardest (free) games in the world. Believe me when I say it will be frustrating. It will seem impossible. And if you don’t die and fail a few hundred times before succeeding, you’re just not trying hard enough.

If this seems too much for you, please turn back now. Failure will be an option - nearly a necessity before succeeding. If you can find the courage, follow me into the gaming pit of doom.

5. La Mulana

You’re an adventurer, and armed with nothing but a whip, you choose to invade the tomb of La Mulana. Like always, these tombs are far from empty, and trespassers are not particulary celebrated.

There are many items to be found in the game, many of which will contribute to the story, and some that will grant you additional abilities and weapons.

Remarkable for this 2D platformer, is that the story is non-linear. Yes, the ending will always be the same - if you manage to reach it - but there are tons of different ways to get there.

The game was originally released in Japanese, but an English patch was made available by Ian Kelley of AGTP. So you’ll need to download and install both the original game and the English patch.

4. World’s Hardest Game #2

The fourth place is taken by a flash game - the World’s Hardest Game 2 (talking about paradoxes).

The game looks ridiculously simple, but don’t be fooled; many brave men and women went down because of carelessness.

You play with the red square. Your objective is to grab all the coins and return to one of the green patches. There’s only one obstacle; the little blue balls. Touch those and you’re done for.

Easy, right?

The problem is that these little blue balls constantly move around, which creates a deadly maze that you need to get through.

Instead of showing you the number of lives you’ve got left, the game chooses to mock you with the number of lives you’ve lost so far. Play through all fifty insane levels, and you’ll hold a name of honor.

If you enjoyed playing this game, you should also check out the first game of the series.

3. Japanese Mario Kitten (dl) 

Our bronze medal goes to this Japanese Mario-like game.

The game has a high degree of randomness, which takes the difficulty to a whole new level, so don’t be surprised when you hit invisible bricks or get killed by the clouds from time to time.

Many people claim that because of this, completing it is more a matter of memory than of skill. But whatever the cause, the difficulty of this game is undeniable.

The game can be played out of your browser on this page, or you can download it here.

2. FLaiL 

Being the second hardest game available, FLaiL receives the silver medal.

FLaiL is an acrobatic 2D platformer, in which you need to hike, jump and even fly accross the level to reach a red beam. The difficulty of this game lies not in any randomness, but - as you can see in the screenshot below - in the insanity of the level designs. Even the tutorials are pretty hard, and it doesn’t get any easier.

Play through the 80 available stages by yourself or in co-operation mode. It’s also possible to add a third player, who then occupies himself with dropping bombs to make it even moredifficult!

1. I Wanna Be The Guy 

By far the hardest game ever made, I Wanna Be The Guy.

I admit, if you manage to finish this game, you’ll be one hell of a guy.

You’re playing the role of Kid, who’s on the dangerous quest of becoming a guy. The game is frustrating at times, but wonderfully designed and hosts several cool references to old school classics - like the tetris level.

This game manages to combine utterly insane level designs with bits of randomness. You see the screenshot above? Chances are pretty good that a few of those spikes will try to attack you in mid-air.

Similar to Japanese Mario Kitten, remembering the oddities of each level plays at least as big of a role as your skill. However, if you manage to beat this game, you will be amongst the elite few.

If there are any games which you consider to be the hardest in the whole world, please let us know in the comments what they are.

Enabling interaction between 2D and 3D games

Developers of 3D virtual worlds and multiplayer games may soon have access to tools that would allow them to build connected, promotional 2D, Flash versions of the same games.

These new tools are at the heart of Battle, a simple Flash game being released Thursday by theMultiverse Network, a virtual worlds middleware company.

A simple Flash game that runs on Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, and Kongregate, Battle is really the showpiece behind new Multiverse technology that could, for the first time, make it possible for developers using its platform to build full-scale downloadable, virtual worlds or online games to create scaled-down, 2D, browser-based versions of the same titles and let players compete between them.

At the same time, Battle is also an example of what Multiverse co-founder Corey Bridges said was one of the first-ever multiplayer, real-time, action- or combat-based Flash games. To date, nearly all Flash multiplayer games have been turn-based, meaning only one person plays at a time, or have very basic game mechanics.

And while, as a platform company, Multiverse isn't in business to create games itself, Bridges said Battle shows that a wide selection of games that previously had to be played using a downloadable client could now be played in the browser.

"Now, you can have proven genres of video games, really popular games, like shooters, real-time strategy, sports and things that exist on consoles or specially installed games," Bridges said, and "those types of games can live in your Web browser without a download."

The immediate appeal to game developers of this innovation is being able to use the Multiverse tools to bring a wide variety of existing types of games to Flash, games that in the past required downloadable clients. And that could mean opening up such titles to far larger audiences, since many people don't want to have to install special software in order to play casual games.

As a tools company, Multiverse is not in the business of building games. But Bridges said the point of its buildingBattle itself was both to show off the latest set of features the platform offers, and to go through the process of using its own tools, so those inside the company know what its clients' experiences are like.

Multiverse offers its development platform free of charge to anyone who wants it, and hopes to make money by levying a commission on any game made with its tools that charges a fee to play. To date, there are no publicly-launched games built with the Mutiverse tools, though Bridges said several are in beta and are close to being launched.

To some observers, the best thing about the technology underpinning Battle is the marketing opportunities game like it can offer larger, more complete 3D, downloadable multiplayer games and virtual worlds.

"The real benefit of this is that nobody's ever created one tool that lets you have two views," both 2D, in Flash, and 3D, into the same game, said David Fox, vice president of technology at casual games developer, iWin. "This lets (game designers) have a free trial version on the Web and a download for the 3D experience without having to create everything again."

Fox did add that he was "dubious" that Multiverse could deliver on that promise but, not knowing very much about the initiative, said, "the proof is in the pudding."

But Bridges indicated that proof is just around the corner.

"We've got a very small handful of our existing developers taking their (in-development) 3D worlds," Bridges said, "and these developers are making a window into those worlds that can be done in Flash, and that's a pretty interesting new way of thinking about a virtual world experience."

Indeed, he added that he sees the 2D to 3D cross-over element of the tools being a good way to get players hooked on a game concept before convincing them to upgrade to a full 3D version. Yet, they would be able to play against people running the full 3D game in order to get a sense of what the entire experience might be like.

"This demonstrates that Flash is well on its way to becoming the default real-time interaction platform for the Web," said Raph Koster, founder of Areae, which is making Metaplace, a platform that lets anyone design their own Flash-based virtual world, "and it enables more kinds of games than people generally think possible."

As of today, Metaplace is in closed beta, but hopes to be opening up to the general public before too long.

Koster said that it's clear that Multiverse is making important strides in developing new kinds of real-time, multiplayer Flash games, but said that others, including Metaplace itself, have created games enabling such types of play.

Still, Bridges said he differentiated Multiverse's tools by their ability to create real combat action in a game likeBattle.

Peter Haik, a co-founder of the virtual worlds development company, Metaversatility, which is using Multiverse's tools in some of its projects, agreed with Bridges' assessment of the Flash games market.

Haik said there are other multi-player Flash games, but they tend to be casual titles aimed at kids.

Multiverse's tools, he suggested, are geared mainly toward producing full-scale virtual worlds or massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), and therefore have much more scope for being used to create crossover between rich 3D games and 2D Flash versions.

"The true innovation" of the Multiverse tools, Haik said, "is that it's sort of an agnostic client, where if someone is in the Flash application, and someone else is in the 3D client, they can interact, and it doesn't matter what the other one is running."

And he said, Multiverse brings serious server technology to the table that runs separate from the various social networking sites, like Facebook and MySpace, and that is what enables the rich crossover experience.

One other important element of the toolset Multiverse provides, Bridges said, is a rendering engine that allows developers to generate Flash assets using the items from their 3D virtual worlds.

"It's really cool," said Bridges. "We have a Web-based automated system where a development team just uses a Web page, uploads a 3D model, and back comes the generated Flash files. It's a really quick way to convert a 3D game into a Flash game and make it look really, really good."

Verizon to offer 2 BlackBerrys for price of 1

Google Latitude keeps tabs on friends' locations

just because the Internet has broken down geographic barriers, don't assume that Google doesn't care about geography.

The company plans to launch software called Latitude on Wednesday that lets mobile phone users share their location with close contacts. Google hopes it will help people find each other while out and about and to keep track of loved ones.

"What Google Latitude does is allow you to share that location with friends and family members, and likewise be able to see friends and family members' locations," said Steve Lee, product manager for Google Latitude. For example, a girlfriend could use it to see if her boyfriend has arrived at a restaurant and, if not, how far away he is.

To protect privacy, Google specifically requires people to sign up for the service. People can share their precise location, the city they're in, or nothing at all.

"What we found in testing is that the most common scenario is a symmetrical arrangement, where both people are sharing with each other," Lee said.

The software spotlights Google's fixation with mapping and location technology. Location is an important part of navigating the real world, and Google clearly sees its geographic services as a way to establish a more personal connection with customers who today use Google chiefly for the virtual realm of the Internet. And of course money is involved, too:Google hopes its mapping technology will lead to location-based advertising revenue.

Google's power is firmly lodged in search and search advertising, but the company is trying to expand to broader online services, too. That includes online documents and various aspects of social networking, which are much more personal services and ones that put Google into more direct competition with rivals such as Microsoft, Facebook, and Yahoo. Like using Google profiles to contact information with select contacts, using Google Latitude tells Google who's who in your social graph.

Latitude lets you contact somebody who's close by.

(Credit: Google)

How it works
Latitude is part of Google Maps for Mobile, the company's mapping software for mobile phones, but also can be used through a gadget loaded onto its iGoogle customized home page. It'll work in 27 countries at launch, Google said.

Initially, it will work on most color-screen BlackBerry phones, most phones with Windows Mobile 5.0 or later, and most Symbian-based devices such as Nokia smartphones. An update to the Google Android operating system now being distributed to the T-Mobile G1 phone also enables it, and iPhone and iPod Touch users will get the option "very soon," Lee said.

Latitude uses Google's technology to judge a user's location not just by GPS satellite, but also by proximity to mobile phone towers and wireless networks.

That's a much more automated approach than the manual "check-in" process used by Dodgeball, a service that Google decided in January to shut down.

Other competitors exist, though. BrightKite andLoopt offer mechanisms for people to find each other by mobile phone, for example. Then there'sMobiFriends, Tripit, and Dopplr.

And Google's clearest competitor, Yahoo, offers some competition with Fire Eagle. That service doesn't provide location information, but it does provide a mechanism to centralize people's geographic privacy choices, in effect taking care of some of the social graph management when it comes to location information.

To use the service, you need a Google account to record who has permission to see your location. For choosing who gets to see your location, you can use contacts stored with Gmail or Picasa, Google said.

The white lie
With the service, you can hide from specific people or disappear altogether. And you can manually set a specific location if, for example, your phone can't show it with sufficient precision or if you wish to tell someone a white lie about whether you really aren't going to go to the candy store.

People must agree to share their location before Latitude will work.

(Credit: Google)

Google envisions two broad classes of people with whom you might want to share location information. First is a small, close-knit circle of friends and family with whom you're willing to share your exact spot. Second is a larger group with whom you're happy to share city-level detail, convenient for finding out when somebody's in town but not much more.

When somebody is close, the software lets you contact the person various ways--by calling or sending an e-mail or text message, for example. It also lets you hide from that specific person.

Privacy is of course a significant concern when it comes to sharing this sort of information. If you want to use Latitude, you must specifically enable the service.

Meeting your pals at a bar is an obvious example of the software's possibilities, but there are softer cases I see as useful, too.

Lee pointed to a case where a friend's girlfriend, though far away in Seattle, will "virtually place herself next to him." That sounds a little sappy for my tastes, but I can still relate. My wife is on the other side of the country right now, and it would be heart-warming to see just where. There are a lot of occasions where technology is better for maintaining relationships than it is for establishing them, and this looks like one to me.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10155946-94.html?tag=rtcol;pop