My intentions for this blog have changed significantly since its conception in August 2007. The lack of posts is not due to a lack of things to write about; in fact those have been plentiful after some of my recent purchases: iPhone 4, Nikon D7000, Nikor 18-200mm Lens and many others. I simply no longer have the time or the drive to write in depth posts. So I am planning a redesign, where the content will be more concise. The site should become less of a blog and more of a home for all my content.

The idea is to make the current theme available to download as well as creating a new one, clear out some of the older content and shift the focus more towards photography. However this is not likely to happen until I have finished my A-levels and am on my gap year in June, but even then It may be some time before anything happens as I am away travelling for nearly 7 weeks.

Thanks Rupert

So what is and HDR, well HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. When we see something with the human eye we can see all the detail in the highlights and in the low lights, but a camera can’t do this; so it either over exposes or under exposes the highlights or shadows. A good example of this is a sunset, in a shot of the sunset in order to get the sky correctly metered the foreground will have to be under exposed and vice versa. This is Where HDR’s come in, an HDR is when you compile multiple shots of the same subject but with different levels of light.

Kit

You will need a camera that can do bracketed shots, most cameras offer a bracketing option but if you don’t have that you can adjust the exposure compensation in Manual mode. A tripod is a very good idea but not necessary (but keeping the camera still is a must) and a shutter release is preferable but not required.

Method

It is best to take 3 or more shots, the more the better as you will be able to see more detail. Now you have the images you need to combine the images to make and HDR, such software as Photomatix, Hydra and Photoshop (photoshop can create HDR’s but not tonemap which is what gives you the HDR look). I am going to use Photomatix Pro 3 to demonstrate how you create an HDR.

First step is to import the images and to do this you go to the process menu and click Generate HDR (shown right). Now follow the simple steps, if you did your shot by hand it is best to try different types of alignments to see which one gives the best result. Now go back up to the Process menu and select Tone Mapping. Now you will be presented with a dialog box and a preview of your image adjust and play around until you are happy with the results.

Click process and save out your image and you have your HDR photo. A tip for anyone who is doing this for the first time try not to go over the top and make your images look to processed.

Fist things first, I am most defiantly getting one. I think Apple have done an amazing job with this upgrade, adding some great new features. The retina display may seem insignificant, but there is nothing worse than looking at a rubbish display when trying to watch a movie or play doodle jump!

The camera, I have always seen phone camera’s as a less of a camera more of a connivence; however if the images Apple showed are what can really be achieved with the new camera I can see this as a permeant point and shoot replacement, Glenn Wolsey wrote an article on this. Along with the greatly improved camera the video quality has gone HD. When ever you want to record a funny video you tend to do it on your phone, it looks crappy to be kind. That is why you buy a Flip, but not more if you can shoot HD from your phone and edit it in iMovie video blogging will have a whole new dimension.

As much as Apple are excited about FaceTime, I really can’t see people full using it for another 3 or so years. The limitation of having to be on WiFi is just to great even tho when at home most people will be.

My problem is my contract expires in February and last time I checked Vodafone would upgrade me to anything but an iPhone, which is not what I wanted to hear.

I have never understood peoples fascination with lost. It seems to me like it could be a great program and would be amazing to watch, but I feel thew story went on far to long and I never felt the initial pull to watch it. I think it is also one of those programs if you miss an episode then you are screwed a bit like Flashforward.

I also get this feeling with 24, they just want to continue the success and so have dragged out the story line just a bit too long. One thing I do admire from these US dramas is the quality, I think they have really raised the bar on production quality for TV. Shows like Lost, 24, Heroes, Fringe and Flashforward all have a really high standard of production. This really makes the stories so much more believable and immersive. In the UK the best channel for Drama’s like these has to be Sky1 and they show most of the good US dramas like Lost, 24, Bones, Fringe and Lie to Me.

The new series of Doctor Who starts tonight, in the UK on BBC1 at 18:20. I am a big Doctor Who fan and have been avidly watching all the latest trailers and reading all the news from the recently redesigned Doctor Who site. For Matt Smiths introduction as the Eleventh Doctor the BBC have recently revamped the Doctor Who site and Logo.

And I have to say I am quite a fan the new logo, it is rather clever in my opinion. The D and W form the shape of the police box that Doctor Who is well known for. Not only that but the typography is rather nice too, it has a more mechanical appearance to it which I think suits Doctor Who.

The old site was quite image heavy and as you can image was therefore covered in compression artifacts. The new site takes advantage of all the new web standards by having transparencies and some really well though out use of typography. The new site has a very grid like layout and the whole site seems to have a better quality to it.

While mentioning the new site on Twitter Jonathan Davies @ed me saying:

@rmaspero Don’t you find the font size a little large and the lack of continuity between pages odd (on the DW site)?

But I find the larger font size helps focus on the content and tends to offer a better hierarchy system for titles and sub titles. I also feel there is continuity between the pages as similar design elements are used all over the place. The site seems to have been made up of a set of basic bricks which to me makes it feel consistent, but to others I can see how they ever changing arrangement and size of the bricks could make if feel incoherent.