Scaling an image for the web involves two tasks:

Downsizing your image

Since digital photos are often very large, they need to be downsized for web use, not only to make them fit properly in a page layout, but also to make them load faster. (Large images can really slow down the loading speed of a web page, and if your pages don’t load quickly enough, impatient viewers may leave your website.)

Adjusting the Resolution of Your Image for Web Use

The resolution of your image needs to be adjusted downwards to insure fast loading times for the web. Think of resolution as an index of the data density of a file. Web images don’t require as high a resolution as printed images do, or ones projected on large screens.  Seventy-two DPI is plenty for web images viewed on a computer or other small screen device. Increasing their resolution over that figure will not increase their clarity one bit.

So, now that you know why you need to scale web images for the web, here’s how you do it with GIMP:

How to Scale Images and Set Their Resolution with GIMP

1. Launch GIMP and open the image you want to scale in the editing window.
2. Under the “Image” menu at the top of the window, select “Scale Image”.
3. Make sure that the link symbols are joined, not broken.  This will preserve the proportionality of your image (the ratio of its width to its height).
4. Set the x and y resolution at 72 DPI.
5. Set the largest dimension of your image at from 400 to 600 pixels to make a large web image, or 250-350 to make a medium sized one, or 100-200 to make a thumbnail. (Don’t worry about the lesser dimension of your image.  It adjusts automatically when you set the larger dimension, provided the link symbol was joined when you made the entry.)
6. Under the File menu, select “Save As”.  Name the file whatever you wish and save it as an .xcf file (the standard GIMP image format).
7. To convert that .xcf image to another format, under the File menu select “Export”.  This brings up a window for saving the exported file.  In the small window that says “all images” access the drop-down menu and select the format you wish.  Web images are most often saved as .jpeg or .jpg files, but they may also be saved as .gif or .png.  In another CyberKenPost I’ll explain the advantages of each of these formats.  At any rate, you’ll be safe always to save your web images as .jpeg or .jpg files.

The post How to Scale Images with GIMP appeared first on CyberKen Blog.

Photos often need corrections to look their best, such as:

• exposure correction (making the photo lighter or darker),
• color correction (getting rid of unnatural hues and making whites appear white),
• sharpening (making the outlines of shapes look sharper, which gives a crisper look to the photo.)

This post deals with two color correction tools in GIMP: levels and curves, and secondly, with the sharpening tool.  These three basic tools will cover a lot of your photo adjustment needs.

But first, download GIMP and install it by following the instructions for your computer’s operating system.

Next, double click on the icon of GIMP2 to launch the program.  Don’t be worried if it takes a while for GIMP to open.  (It has to load fonts.)

When GIMP opens you will see three panels.  The center one is the editing window.  This is where your photo will appear when you open it.

Opening a Photo with GIMP

In that center panel, under the File menu, select open and navigate to where the photo is that you want to work on. (It’s handy to put your photos in the Pictures folder.) Highlight the name of the photo you want to open and click on the “open” button.  You may get a caution message that asks whether you want to convert the file (change its color space).  Click “convert”.

Using the Levels Tool in GIMP

Under the Colors menu at the top of the editing window, select “levels”.  A window will open labeled “Adjust Color Levels.”

You will see a graph of the distribution of colors in the photo. This is called a histogram.  On the extreme left this graph shows pixels that are completely black (i.e., have no color at all.)  On the extreme right the graph shows pixels that are completely white (have all colors).  The graph of your photo may show some space on the extreme left or right where there are no pixels, i.e., blank graph space.  The object of the levels tool is to get rid of these blank spaces in the histogram. You do this by sliding the triangle on the left rightward to where the dark pixels begin, and sliding the triangle on the right leftward to where the light pixels begin.  (The video below demonstrates this procedure.)  When you have adjusted both sliders, click the “OK” button at the bottom of the window.  This saves your changes.

If your photo needed a lot of histogram correction, the levels tool will accomplish most of what’s needed. You should see a fairly dramatic positive change in the look of your photo after applying the levels tool.

But, not all your photos will need levels correction.  When you look at the histogram of some of them you will see that there are no empty spaces to the left or right in the histogram.  So, there is no need for the levels tool. Go to the second colors correction tool, the curves tool.  This is for making more subtle corrections.

Using the Curves Tool in GIMP

Again, under the Colors menu at the top of the editing window, select “Curves”.

You will see the histogram again, and a 45 degree line from bottom left to top right. Place your cursor somewhere on that line and hold the left mouse button down, while moving the cursor straight up or straight down.  Notice what happens to the photo when you drag that graph line up or down.  The photo gets lighter or darker.  When you drag, try to follow the vertical lines in the window.  Don’t stray to right or left as you drag because this will distort the hue of the photo.You want to correct just the lightness or darkness, not the hue. (That’s done with another tool.)

You can experiment by dragging the curve line up or down at various places.  The curves tool is for minor adjustments. Don’t drag very far up or down, unless you want to make your photo look unnatural.

Again, when you are finished save your changes by clicking on the “OK” button at the bottom of the window.

Using the Sharpening Tool in GIMP

In the editing window under the Filters menu, hover over “Enhance” and then select “Sharpen”.

A window opens showing a portion of your photo.You can move to a different portion by sliding the scroll bars left and right or up and down. Select a portion of the photo that shows some finer detail so that you can notice the effect which the Sharpness slider produces.  Then move the slider to the right.  At some point you will see a dramatic change, like the lines in the photo are popping off the background.  This is too far!  Back off about half way of the difference you slid and settle for that.  You don’t want to over sharpen. This will make your photo look unnatural. Click the “OK” button when you are finished.

Finally, go to the File menu in the editing window and select “Save” (if you don’t want to change the name of the file), or “Save As” if you do, then rename it.  The final step in either case is to click the “Save” button.

Congratulations! You have just learned how to use three basic photo correction tools in GIMP: levels, curves, and sharpening.  Even your good photos will look a little better if you take the time to correct them with these tools.

The video below demonstrates the instructions in this post.  If you click thelittle square with the four little arrows (bottom right corner of the video frame) you will see the video much larger.  It’s much easier to see the detail that way.

The post How to Make Your Photos Look Better With GIMP appeared first on CyberKen Blog.

I use the fairly small Nikon D5100 and two relatively inexpensive zooms, the 18-55mm kit lens, and the 70-300 telephoto.  This gives me all the range I need for group shots and close-ups.

In many situations the on-board mic of the D5100 will not give good results, but I have found that the Sennheiser MKE 400, a small external mic which mounts in the D5100′s hot shoe, works great!

I took the video above with this rig, without using a tripod.  If you concentrate on keeping the camera steady when you’re using the 18-55 lens, you can get very steady shots.  If you want to video with the 70-300 zoom you will definitely need a tripod, though.  I prefer to travel light, so I leave my tripod at home and reserve the broad angle lens for video and the telephoto for close-up stills.  Within seconds I can change my lens to shift from one shooting range to the other. A mixture of broad angle video scenes spiced with candid close-up stills gives me plenty of story-telling material.  I recommend this lightweight HD video kit for the amateur photojournalist.

Here are a couple of video shooting tips for the D5100:

1. Set exposure with the AE-lock button.

   If you set the camera for automatic exposure you will find that it doesn’t adjust quickly enough to changing light conditions.  Your video will fluctuate too noticeably between lighter and darker, which is unacceptable.  If you press the automatic exposure lock button (AE), which lies pretty close to your thumb for right-handers, you can stop this fluctuation.  Of course, you will need to avoid panning into a much darker or lighter area; otherwise the locked AE setting will cause either over or under exposure.

2. How to begin a video clip with the D5100:

• Choose your exposure mode and lock it with the AE button (see step above).
• Pull the monitor view lever toward you.  This shifts the viewfinder from the eyepiece to the monitor on the back of the camera.
• Press the red video button, which lies near the shutter button, but slightly closer to the front of the camera.  Press it again to stop filming.

Below is a slideshow of my stills from the Family Gardening Experience.  Click on the little square with four arrows at the bottom right of the video frame to see the photos full screen.

The post A Lightweight HD Video Kit for the Amateur Photojournalist appeared first on CyberKen Blog.

Flickr  is a huge worldwide network of amateur and professional photographers.  At Flickr you can organize your photos in large collections or smaller sets.  Here’s how to display a slideshow of one of your Flickr sets:

1. Install and activate the Flickr-Set-Slideshows plugin.
2. Now to configure the plugin: In the left hand margin of your WordPress Dashboard hover over “Settings” and in the drop-down menu select “Flickr Set Slideshows. You will now see the Flickr Set Slideshows setup page. In the first window, fill in your Flickr user name; and in the window below that, your Flickr API Key. If you haven’t obtained a Flickr API key yet , this video explains how to get one. Save your entries. You must then give WordPress permission to connect with your Flickr account.  Allow this.
3. Next, in the Dashboard of your WordPress blog, in the left hand margin, hover your cursor over “FlickrSet Slideshows”, then select “Add New”.
4. In the first window select the set at Flickr that you want to display as a slideshow. In the window below that one, set your chosen  size of the video display on your blog page. I find that medium is best. This displays the full width of my blog post but does not intrude into the margin. You can always display the slides full screen by clicking on the little box with four arrows at the bottom right corner of the video display window. Save your changes.
5. The plugin now adds the slideshow to a list of saved ones, and gives you a shortcode for it. Copythis shortcode to your clipboard.
6. At the top right of the editing window for your blog post, click on the “text” tab. Insert your cursor where you wish in the copy.  I find it best to insert the shortcode at the bottom of everything else in that window, which displays my slideshow at the bottom of my blog post.
7. Push the Control and “V” keys. This pastes the shortcode where you placed your cursor.
8. Click the “Update” button in the right hand margin. (The button will show “Publish” if the post has not yet been published. If it has, the button will say “Update”).
9. Click on the “View page” link at the top of your editing window. The slideshow should be displaying. Start it by clicking on the right facing arrow. Display it full screen by clicking on the little box with four arrows at the bottom right of the video window. To leave the full screen mode, press the Esc key.

Here is an example of a Flickr slideshows set, Springtime in the city park near my home:

The post Use the Flickr Set Slideshows Plugin appeared first on CyberKen Blog.

What’s a storyboard?

Storyboarding is the technique of arranging graphic files in a certain order to tell a story, usually by way of a slideshow or video.

Why is special software required to make digital storyboards?

Well, when graphic files are displayed in a folder they are arranged by their titles, usually alphabetically or numerically.  If you try to drag an icon to a different position in the parade it won’t stay where you drop it, unless you’re using storyboard-capable software.

Irfanview, a free option for making storyboards

You can storyboard with Adobe Bridge, the partner program to Photoshop, but Photoshop is EXPENSIVE!  Irfanview, a freeware photo viewer and tagging application, will save you lots of dough.

Follow these steps on how to make a storyboard with Irfanview:

(You might want to print out these instructions to make it easier to follow along.)

• Download and install Irvanview
• Launch Irfanview.
• A window with default black background opens.  Under the File menu above that window, select “Thumbnails”
• A new window opens, with a navigation panel to the left.  In that panel navigate to the folder that contains the graphic files you want to make into a storyboard.
• Now you will see the icons of those graphics files, arranged alphabetically or numerically.  Under the “Options” menu of that window, select “set thumbnail options.”
• A new window opens.  In the drop down area of that window, select the display size for your thumbnails. Choose a large enough size that you can easily see the content of the files.  Then click the “OK” button.
• Now you’re ready to arrange your files in the order you want for your story.  Just drag and drop the icons where you want to place them in the story.
• When you have the order you want, hold down the Control button and then press “A”.  This highlights all the thumbnails.
• Press the F2 key.  This brings up the “Rename files” window.
• Under the “Work as” section, select “Batch rename”.In the “Name pattern” window, if your folder contains less than 100 files, type ##.  If it contains more than 100, type ###.
• Click on the “Options” button, just alongside the “Name pattern” window.
• In the “For numbers/digits” window, leave the default setting, starting number 1 and increment 1.
• On your Desktop, create an output folder for your renamed files. Do this by right clicking on your Desktop and selecting “New”, and then “Folder”.  Name that folder whatever you wish.
• Referring back to the Irfanview rename window, in the “Output directory for result files” window, click the “browse” button just alongside, and navigate to the folder that you just created on your Desktop, and when you have highlighted it, click on the “OK” button.
• Finally, click on the “Start Batch” button in the rename window.  If you have followed these directions, your graphics files should now be accessible in the folder you created, and they will have new names, starting with the number, 1.  You can now drag and drop these files into a slideshow editor or video editor and they will remain in the story order you created.

The post How to Make a Storyboard with Irfanview, a Freeware Program appeared first on CyberKen Blog.

1. Spend lots of money for a very long lens, and photograph your subjects from far away.  (I consider this no challenge whatsoever, except for saving the dough.)
2. Spend much less money for a shorter telephoto, get closer by stalking your subjects, and learn how to get sharp exposures without using a tripod or monopod, (which make stalking impossible).

This post gives tips for using option two, stalking small game with a camera:

• Choose a fast shutter speed:  When you can’t find a nearby rock or stump to steady your cradling hand, set your camera on “S”, to always shoot at 1/500th second, and a fairly high ISO, say between 400 and 800.  Higher ISOs may produce grainy photos, but this not so true anymore, with newer cameras.
• Steady your hand-held shots:  When I have a few seconds to shift my camera strap from the customary around-the-neck position, I use it to restrict my elbows tightly against my rib cage while I hold the camera firmly against my forehead. The weight of the camera rig rests upon the strap which runs across my chest. Yoga has helped me develop good breath control, so when my chest is steady (between breaths), the camera is too.
• Be inconspicuous:  Dress in drab colors, take off shiny jewelry, stay low. Crouch if you can remain in that posture without wavering.  When you’re crouching, a raised knee may help to steady the arm you’re supporting the camera with.
• Locate birds with your ears first, then spot them with you eyes, and plan your best route of approach.
• Conceal yourself:  Use trees and bushes as cover.  Stay in the shadows. If you can, approach with the sun at your back so that the glare is in your subject’s eyes; and try not to present your profile against a light background.
• If your subject moves, try to stay “up sun” of him. You want the sun fully upon your subject, and at your back.
• Approach birds when they’re preoccupied, e.g. mating or feeding. (But, take care not to interfere with either activity, because, life for them is a ruthless competition for survival).
• Freeze if you’re detected: While stalking Great Blue Herons and groundhogs out in the open and standing erect I’ve discovered that if I move extremely slowly, and remain still when noticed, I can approach very near to them: In the case of a groundhog, within fifteen feet, and a heron, thirty.Standing absolutely still I can remain with them in plain sight as long as I wish.

This kind of photography isn’t for everyone. When you do wildlife photography by walking and stalking, every outing is an uncertain adventure. There’s no guarantee that you’ll come home with a keeper. I enjoy other more dependable kinds of photography as well, but I love walking and stalking not so much for the trophy shots, but for the excitement of the chase. Like the devoted angler who comes up empty handed but still counts his day worthwhile, so if I have no images to show for a day’s patience in the field, at least I’ve enjoyed the pursuit, and probably learned more about my wee fellow creatures than I could have by any other means.

Have a look at the samples below,  of my best animal closeups, taken in Brandywine Park, Wilmington Delaware.  Click the small square with four arrows at the bottom right of the slideshow window to see the photos full screen.  Press the “esc” key to exit the full screen view.

The post Stalking Small Game with a Camera appeared first on CyberKen Blog.