Imre Z. Balint, BSc, MPM, MBA

Overall, I think that my video covered white balance (WB) quite well, and I don't have a whole lot more to add other than a couple of comments. First up are the flamingo photos toward the end of the video (starting around 6:12). Now if you look at the values below the photos and then examine the color casts, you might be thinking that something is wrong. The photo of the first flamingo at 3,500 K has a blue cast, but earlier in the video I showed that lower temperatures have a red to yellowish hue. Sames goes for the third pic at 9,000 K, where the image has a stronger red to yellowish hue, yet higher temperatures usually have a blue color cast. What's going on? The answer is that when I load my RAW file into Photoshop and adjust the WB setting, I'm TELLING the program that the scene has a particular color temperature, thus Photoshop accordingly tires to balance the colors. In other words, if I set the WB on a photo to 9,000 K then the program will assume that the ima...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All! Well now that I'm done having a little fun gaming, I thought I'd quickly create this post to let y'all know that Episode 7 on White Balance has been uploaded to YouTube. Thanks to a few extra days off work, I've been able to create this a bit sooner. But alas, it's a tad late as usual, so the supplemental post will come tomorrow. And if you haven't already, please subscribe to my YouTube Channel so you can stay up-to-date with this series, as well as other videos I come up with.

Well I have to admit that I didn't think Episode 6 was going to be this long! And I tried to keep to the basics as much as possible too. Perhaps this is perfectly normal though, as indeed getting your exposure just right (or the way you want it) is really not that simple. In the video I covered five different methods of controlling exposure: 1) Metering modes, 2) Locking the exposure, 3) Using filters, 4) Using a light meter, and 5) Using the exposure compensation button (that one with the +/- sign on it). By the way, EV = exposure value. Before moving on to further details, I would like to add that I could have mentioned exposure bracketing, which most dSLRs support. What exposure bracketing does in general is that your camera will take 3 to 5 photos (depending on the setting) in rapid succession using various exposure compensation values; those values can be set to your liking on most cameras. So for example, if your camera is set to take 3 photos from -1 EV to +1 EV, then y...

Well it's been a long day of video shooting, editing, and uploading, but Episode 6 is live. As it's a tad late now, I'll finish my usual supplemental blog post tomorrow evening after work. And yes, I plugged my new album, Just Listen, at the end of the video. Currently, I know it's live on iTunes, but in a matter of a week or two, it should be popping up in other digital locations.

A few years ago I created 14 songs and for a number of years I did nothing with them; they were merely stored on a backup drive, almost long forgotten and very silent. So a few weeks ago I decided I might as well at least get them out there somehow, so after a little research I came upon a wonderful label called CD Baby . So I signed up, sent them my CD, and that was about it! Simple... I like simple! And just today I checked iTunes to see if by change my songs were available, and indeed they were! It's kind of freaky to see my music up there... and I actually sing on a couple... scary, I know. :P But iTunes is not just the only place my album will be available. CD Baby is partnered with about a dozen other places like Napster and Amazon, so I expect my album will pop up in those places a week or two from now. Anyway, check it out. Currently if you do a search in iTunes for the artist "I Z B" or the album "Just Listen", then you shall find it. As it crops ...

Woot! I've made it all the way to five whole episodes in my photography series, and still more to come. Either scroll down below to watch episode five, or check it out in HD by clicking here . Next week I'll be discussing exposure value (EV) and how your camera determines the right (or sometimes wrong) exposure. Now in regard to episode five, I don't have a whole lot more to add unless I start getting into specific lenses and camera manufacturers. Simply said, too many factors are dependent on the makers, and this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what a photographer might need/want in terms of lenses. Bottom line is, by now you probably have a particular camera that came with a couple of average lenses, and you may be at the point where you want to explore other possibilities (e.g. super-telephoto or macro photography). The goal of the first section of my video was to get novice photographers acquainted with some lens terminology, so that when they'r...

Well I'm a day late with episode four's release, but better late than never! I'm quite pleased with how it turned out too. There are two additional things I would like to add though. The first is really simple; to become "good" at composing your photographs, it takes practice and usually a lot of it. For some people it may come naturally, for others, it might take some getting used to. Once you get the hang of it and you become more critical of your own work (being able to pick it apart, what makes it good/bad) it'll become a cakewalk. But until then, I would recommend joining various photography forums where you can post your work for critique. Here are a few I visit: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/ http://forums.steves-digicams.com/ http://forums.popphoto.com/ Keep in mind too the old saying, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", as some people may love your photo, other's not so much. You'll also likely get many good critiques, al...