Images of Earth From Above

In honor of Earth Day, gathered here is a collection of scenes of our home planet from above, from vantage points we don’t see in everyday life. These scenes help show the Earth as a larger system and demonstrate the extent to which human activity has affected it. From The Atlantic

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, viewed on Bastille Day, July 14, 2011. (Reuters/Charles Platiau)

A development on one of the islands of “The World Islands” project in Dubai, on January 7, 2012. The collection of man-made islands are shaped into the continents of the world, and will consist of 300 small private artificial islands divided into four categories – private homes, estate homes, dream resorts, and community islands, according to the development company Nakheel Properties Group. (Reuters/Jumana El Heloueh)

A fisherman in floodwaters in Ayutthaya province, north of Bangkok, on November 19, 2011. (Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP/Getty Images)

Railway tracks lead towards the main train station as the sun sets on a freezing cold afternoon in Frankfurt, Germany, on January 31, 2012. (Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach)

Seasonal asparagus harvesters work on their vegetable crops near Elsholz, Germany, in this photo taken on April 17, 2012. (AP Photo/dapd, Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert)

This astronaut photograph from the International Space Station highlights the southeastern part of the Southern United States at night, including the eastern Gulf of Mexico and lower Atlantic Seaboard states. The brightly lit metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Georgia (image center) and Jacksonville, Florida (image lower right) appear largest in the image with numerous other urban areas forming an interconnected network of light across the region. A large dark region to the northwest of Jacksonville, FL is the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo taken on January 29, 2012. (NASA)

 

See the rest of these amazing images here

Concert and Live Music Photography: Clubs, Bars, and Small Venues

From the photo.net site, very extensive advice on photographing in the places where so often the music is the best and where you can get close enough to capture the energy and excitement of a live band.

“Clubs, bars, and small venues are the places where most concert and live music photographers get their start, the reason being that there are fewer restrictions since the performers are less likely to be famous. These are often the best places to catch bands on their way up and sometimes on their way down. Unfortunately, these venues are typically the ones with the worst shooting conditions. The good news is that when you start out shooting in the worst conditions it only gets easier as you work your way up.

One of the biggest problems you are going to have when shooting in bars and small clubs is dealing with the crowd. About 99% of the time there isn’t going to be a place for photographers to set up. The key is to get there early and stake out a spot at the front of the stage. The best spot isn’t dead center but usually just to the left or right of center. Standing off to the left side a bit allows you to get a better angle, especially when the lead vocalist uses a mic stand. This way the mic isn’t blocking the singer’s face, and you can get a nice three-quarter side shot instead of straight ahead. Singers who don’t use a stand are more apt to move around, so in this case placement isn’t quite as important. Even if you showed up early and staked out your spot, be courteous to the people behind you. If you’re constantly blocking someone’s vision with your camera, things can get out of hand quickly, especially in a bar scene where you’re mixing alcohol with a situation that could be potentially volatile.”...MORE

Alt-J ©Keith Barnes

The Image Licensing Trap: A Short Intro for Photographers

From the excellent Lightstalking Jason Row writes about a problem many photographers face when placing their images into the stock image library market.

“With more and more people selling their images through stock agencies, it is important to understand the licenses that your work may be sold under. Stock agencies can broadly be split into two camps, Microstock and Macrostock. In general but not exclusively, most Microstock agencies sell images as Royalty Free where as Macrostock will sell both Royalty Free and Rights Managed. So lets start with the Royalty Free license:”..…MORE

Two shots taken the the same time in the same location. The first image would be acceptable as Royalty Free as no licenses are required. The second shot would almost certainly be refused unless you had permission from the ship’s owners as the company’s logo is clearly visible.

Click Here: The Image Licensing Trap: A Short Intro for Photographers

Macro Flower Photography: A Tutorial in Focus Stacking

This tutorial by Harold Davis explains how you can use Photoshop to achieve crisp focus throught a macro image.

“The closer you get in macro flower photography, the fussier focus gets. Since “fussy” is not a technical term, let me explain. Because focus is inherently shallower as you get closer to your subject, slight variations of distance between camera and subject throw you out of focus very quickly, and even fully-stopped down you may not have enough depth-of-field for your entire photo to be in focus.

Certainly, stopping your lens down to its smallest aperture, observing whether you have the in-focus areas you want, and seeing if there is any way to position the camera to improve the amount that is in-focus is a good way to start. But bear in mind that stopping down a lens comes with some downsides: optically your lens may not perform best at its smallest aperture, and when the aperture is small you can’t use a shutter speed fast enough to stop motion.

An approach that often can surmount these obstacles is to use focus stacking: shooting at a number of different focal points and combining the images in Photoshop to create a hyper-focal image that has an extended area that is in focus.”…MORE