Imre Z. Balint, BSc, MPM, MBA

For whatever reason, this video was probably the slowest to upload on YouTube! Not a huge file either... must be a lazy Internet connection. Anyway, do check out the video if you're interested in reducing the amount of sharpness or flatness you might be getting while fretting notes on your mandolin. I'm glad I got off my butt, put new strings on her and played with the bridge position until it became essentially perfect. I'll write more in a few days as I should be off to bed now! L8r!

I managed to produce the histogram episode quite quickly and overall it turned out well. I'm not going to elaborate much here other than to discuss clipping a little more, along with presenting a method you can use to help train yourself in analyzing the histogram on your camera; especially useful for those of you new to this. A Second Take on Clipping Now that I look back at my script, the segment on clipping could have been put more simply or at least in a different manner. First of all, if the dynamic range of a scene you are taking a picture of is greater than what the imaging sensor of the camera can handle, then the image can have clipping in the shadows, highlights or both regions. Unlike our eyes that can see a much broader range of tones, for a given exposure the camera can only capture a portion of that and this is why some dark areas of certain scenes turn out pure black on the photo and bright areas turn pure white. What is crucial to understand is that clipped areas...

Well I managed to get this episode done fairly quickly in about 15 hours start to finish. Plus, I think it turned out to be a great primer for those who are not familiar with histograms. Supplemental post to follow in the next few days as usual! Um... yea I know I said I'd do time lapse photography next, but well... ok I have no excuse! I'll try to make that the next show! L8r!

I got a message from a subscriber of my YouTube channel today about taking photos of birds in flight. This individual expressed problems of getting a fast enough shutter speed, especially due to how cloud cover often blankets the location this person is from and reduces light intensity, which has resulted in some blurry shots. Hopefully my advice to follow will be of some assistance and those blurry shots will turn into some detailed and stunning captures of those featured creatures gliding gracefully through the air. To make this a more complete post about this topic, I've added more detail about shooting birds in general. Please keep in mind too that these suggestions and techniques are what I tend to use and as such they may not work for everyone in every case. So always feel free to experiment. Focusing One of the first steps to ensuring a nice sharp image is to get the scene/subject in focus. Birds swooshing through the air can make this somewhat more challenging, so here a...

Web design has never come that easily to me. It's unusual because I can certainly tell if a website looks professional and is well developed, but drawing something up that looks like some of those awesome sites out there... eeek! Nonetheless, I think I did fairly well with the redesign of my personal website; feel free to comment and let me know (be nice! LOL): imrezbalint.com The "old" version of the site was a little simpler looking and concentrated more on my IT skills (programming, Web application development, etc.), and although I'm not quitting that work I'd rather emphasize my "Photography with Imre" series and other creative projects. As time goes on I'll be adding more resources to the site (i.e. more links and more useful content of my own creation), so at some point the website will become a virtual entertainment and educational hub. Considering it took me two (very full) days to do this, I actually have high hopes on this venture! P...

I already said it, but man did I have fun creating the action photography episode ! Gigantic topic though but hopefully the show gave people a good idea of what it's about. Speaking of which... The Subject is Key ... it is indeed all about the subject and I don't just mean you have to get the thing you're shooting in the frame. Since I hit up this subtopic quite thoroughly in the video I won't spend much time on it here, but I can't help emphasize it a little. Virtually everything such as the camera equipment you'll need for the shoot, the location you select, perhaps the time of day and camera settings will depend largely on the subject. In addition, some research might also improve the composition of the photographs. It's like the examples I provided in the video. Skateboarders doing tricks might look better with a wide angle lens, flash and a large depth of field (DOF) to capture cool moves, while certain motocross shots will be more impressive with th...