THIS IS THE CRUSH BLOG

NEW SLIDESHOW PRESENTATION USING ProPhoto 4

MARTIN CRUSH — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 17:39:35 +0000

Hello

I have just downloaded some more images on a new Slideshow format that I am currently using on ProPhoto 4. The Gallery is very easy to install and can use either Flash or Lightbox presentations.

Please let me know what you think – any comments would be very much appreciated.

Martin W.A. Crush, FRICS December 2011

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SOME IMAGES FROM ONE OF OUR WEDDING DAY ASSIGNMENTS

MARTIN CRUSH — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:37:14 +0000

Hello

Please email me for for further details and information on the photographic services that I can offer you on your very special of days.

Martin W.A. Crush, FRICS November 2011.

More Images to Peruse

MARTIN CRUSH — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:14:06 +0000

Hello

Here are some more images “hot off the press”. I hope that you enjoy them.

Martin W.A. Crush, FRICS November 2011

Some of my more recent creative work

MARTIN CRUSH — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:47:42 +0000

This SlideShowPro photo gallery requires the Flash Player plugin and a web browser with JavaScript enabled.

Hello

Some of my more recent creative work – hope you enjoy the images.

Martin W.A. Crush, FRICS July 2011

High Dynamic Range (HDR) Images – A different viewing experience

MARTIN CRUSH — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 21:22:11 +0000

Hello

Some more images for your perusal using a different viewing experience – I hope you enjoy this presentation of High Dynamic Range (HDR) images.

DID YOU KNOW

In image processing, computer graphics, and photography, high-dynamic-range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminance between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than current standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods. This wide dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight.

The two main sources of HDR imagery are computer renderings and merging of multiple photographs, the latter of which in turn are individually referred to as low-dynamic-range (LDR) or standard-dynamic-range (SDR) photographs.

Tone-mapping techniques, which reduce overall contrast to facilitate display of HDR images on devices with lower dynamic range, can be applied to produce images with preserved or exaggerated local contrast for artistic effect.

High-dynamic-range photographs are generally achieved by capturing multiple standard photographs, often using exposure bracketing, and then merging them into an HDR image. Digital photographs are often encoded in a camera’s raw image format, because 8 bit JPEG encoding doesn’t offer enough values to allow fine transitions (and also introduces undesirable effects due to the lossy compression).

Any camera that allows manual over- or under-exposure of a photo can be used to create HDR images.

Some cameras have an auto exposure bracketing (AEB) feature with a far greater dynamic range than others, from the 3 EV of the Canon EOS 40D, to the 18 EV of the Canon EOS-1D Mark II. As the popularity of this imaging technique grows, several camera manufactures are now offering built in HDR features. For example, the Pentax K-7 DSLR has an HDR mode which captures an HDR image and then outputs (only) a tone-mapped JPEG file. The Canon PowerShot G12 and Canon PowerShot S95 offer similar features in a smaller format.

Martin W.A. Crush, FRICS July 2011

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Horse Textures – A New Slideshow Presentation

MARTIN CRUSH — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:48:19 +0000

Till next time …

Martin W.A. Crush, FRICS July 2011

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Autumn Colours

MARTIN CRUSH — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 05:03:18 +0000

This SlideShowPro photo gallery requires the Flash Player plugin and a web browser with JavaScript enabled.

This SlideShowPro photo gallery requires the Flash Player plugin and a web browser with JavaScript enabled.

Click on “full screen button” to right of thumbnails to enlarge images.

Hello

This last year, Autumn arrived very slowly but the one great plus was that the leaves remained on the trees in all their colourful glory. I thought that I would share some of my recent images with you. I hope you enjoyed the Season!

Did you know the reason why leaves change colour in the Autumn:

Carotenoids are present in leaves the whole year round, but their orange-yellow colors are usually masked by chlorophyll. As autumn approaches, certain influences both inside and outside the plant cause the chlorophylls to be replaced at a slower rate than they are being used up. During this period, with the total supply of chlorophylls gradually dwindling, the “masking” effect slowly fades away. Then other pigments that have been present (along with the chlorophylls) in the cells all during the leaf’s life begin to show through.

These are carotenoids and they provide colorations of yellow, brown, orange, and the many hues in between.

The carotenoids occur, along with the chlorophyll pigments, in tiny structures called plastids within the cells of leaves. Sometimes they are in such abundance in the leaf that they give a plant a yellow-green color, even during the summer. Usually, however, they become prominent for the first time in autumn, when the leaves begin to lose their chlorophyll. Carotenoids are common in many living things, giving characteristic color to carrots, corn, canaries, and daffodils, as well as egg yolks, rutabagas, buttercups, and bananas. Their brilliant yellows and oranges tint the leaves of such hardwood species as hickories, ash, maple, yellow poplar, aspen, birch, black cherry, sycamore, cottonwood, sassafras, and alder. Carotenoids are the dominant pigment in coloration of about 15-30% of tree species.

The reds, the purples, and their blended combinations that decorate autumn foliage come from another group of pigments in the cells called anthocyanins. Unlike the carotenoids, these pigments are not present in the leaf throughout the growing season, but are actively produced towards the end of summer. They develop in late summer in the sap of the cells of the leaf, and this development is the result of complex interactions of many influences — both inside and outside the plant. Their formation depends on the breakdown of sugars in the presence of bright light as the level of phosphate in the leaf is reduced.

During the summer growing season, phosphate is at a high level. It has a vital role in the breakdown of the sugars manufactured by chlorophyll. But in the fall, phosphate, along with the other chemicals and nutrients, moves out of the leaf into the stem of the plant. When this happens, the sugar-breakdown process changes, leading to the production of anthocyanin pigments. The brighter the light during this period, the greater the production of anthocyanins and the more brilliant the resulting color display. When the days of autumn are bright and cool, and the nights are chilly but not freezing, the brightest colorations usually develop.

Anthocyanins temporarily color the edges of some of the very young leaves as they unfold from the buds in early spring. They also give the familiar color to such common fruits as cranberries, red apples, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and plums.

Anthocyanins are present in about 10% of tree species in temperate regions.

In autumn forests they appear vivid in the maples, oaks, sourwood, sweetgums, dogwoods, tupelos, cherry trees and persimmons. These same pigments often combine with the carotenoids’ colors to create the deeper orange, fiery reds, and bronzes typical of many hardwood species.

Martin W.A. Crush, FRICS June 2011

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High Dynamic Range Images

MARTIN CRUSH — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 00:32:07 +0000

This SlideShowPro photo gallery requires the Flash Player plugin and a web browser with JavaScript enabled.

Click on “full screen button” to right of thumbnails to enlarge images.

Hello

Over the last 12 months months I have tried very hard to improve my own photographic and digital manipulation skills with particular emphasis placed on the production of HDR (High Dynamic Range) images. I have tried many software packages, all of which have proved to be much the same in my view.

However, during this period I have finally invested in software that I feel most comfortable with. The combination of CS5, Capture One, Lucis Pro 6 and Nik Software have helped me to produce images that I am starting to feel relatively pleased with.

I have included a selection of images in the slidepress gallery above for your perusal – I have even included some light music to accompany the images – I hope you like them.

There will be more to follow shortly.

Martin W.A. Crush, FRICS June 2011

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