Photo of the Week

This is an image of a Powhatan ceremonial statue from Jamestown Settlement in Virginia. The detail of the face shows several layers of paint in various states of cracking and decay. I remember these statues from when I was a child visiting Jamestown in the early 1980's, so these have been around for a while. Notice how the older layers of paint appear to have a more reddish hue? I wonder if they covered up the red paint to be more politically correct. The image was shot with a Canon EOS XSi with the kit 18-55 zoom lens at 55 mm, f/5.6, 1/60", ISO 250. The point of focus is the eye closest to the camera. As with all portraits, the eye is the most important part of the face to keep sharp. The background lighting was overexposed, so I adjusted the curves to darken the highlights. I also added a slight vignette to darken the edges and add an old feel to the photo.

Canon Releases Firmware Update for EOS SXi/450D

Firmware update Version 1.0.9 incorporates the following fixes.

1. Fixes a phenomenon in which AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) shooting does not operate normally under specific conditions.
2. Fixes a phenomenon in which the Live View exposure simulation warning indication does not properly display during Live View shooting.
3. Fixes a phenomenon in which images cannot be played back after continuous shooting when a printer is connected to the camera or a video output terminal is used.

Photo of the Week

Using Photoshop to create a simulated shallow depth of field can make a photograph of a real scene appear to be a photograph of a miniature model of the scene. I created this photo using an aerial photograph of the UNC Chapel Hill campus. I duplicated the background layer and applied a lens blur filter to the top layer. I added a layer mask to the blurred layer. Using the gradient tool, I blocked out a portion of the the blurred layer so that the sharp photo below would show through and appear in focus.