Ok so probably most know what noise is and the fact that the lower the ISO you use the lower the effects of said noise.

The subject of noise continues to fascinate me as in the days of film grain (the equivalent of noise) was often seen as a positive element of an image as it added a certain gritty feel to the image. Now a days noise considered a most undesirable effect so much so that camera manufacturers have spent millions on producing cameras that reduce noise to achieve incredible results. It´s a kind of grain is good, noise is bad kind of situation, despite the fact they are very similar. I assume the change in opinion has much to do with the fact we are are now viewing images at 100% on big screens rather than through a loupe on a lightbox and therefore see every tiny flaw. It´s also worth noting that film grain, unlike digital noise, tends not to introduce any extra colours as can be seen below.

Modern DSLRs and software have come along way in recent years to reduce the unwanted effects, I just wander that if in a few years time we´ll look back on these images in the same way as we look back on a grainy black white print shot on Ilford 3200.

That was day

Todays digital cameras are overflowing with features in an attempt to make your shots better. The thing is that if you want the absolute best out of your shots you are really limiting yourself if you are only shooting your images in .jgp format. The alternative which gives you greater image quality is to switch your camera to shoot in a raw format. Raw formats give you more freedom when it comes to processing your images, it´s like having more space to play before making a mess.

The biggest problem with shooting in raw is you´ll need to convert it to a .jpg at a latter stage to be able to view them in most applications including web browsers. For this reason I am not suggestting everyone with the ability to shoot in that format should I am simply making the point that if you want to get the highest quality image from your camera then shooting raw is the way to go, if on the other hand ease and speed are what you require froma camera then stick with shooting .jpg

At the end of the day if you only want to view your images on a computer or digital device then stick to shooting jpg, if on the other hand you have desires to print your work and don´t mind spending sometime converting files then try your raw format.

That was day 14 of 366, check back tomorrow for more.

Yesterday I bored a fair few of you with a brief introduction to histograms, well here´s something a little lighter to digest. Now while many photographers go on and on about histograms and checking them as you shoot there is actually (in my opinion) something better and much simpler to understand. It´s name is highlight alert (at least that´s what its called on my camera, your´s may have a different name. Don´t ask me where that setting on your camera as I have no idea, but is certainly a feature of most modern cameras) and I have it permanantly on for all of my bodies. With this feature enabled it will display on your LCD the clipped highlights of an image as flashing black and white. What is a clipped highlight I hear some of you ask, it´s an area of the image that is completely white, with no detail. Sometimes it´s unaviodable in an attempt to bring out detail in the shadow areas, but as a rule it´s best to avoid clipped highlights, for the simple reason that the camera is recording no detail in that area.

When faced with flashing highlights on your LCD what you should do is analize the scene and decide if you really want that part of the image to be represented in such a way. It is often difficult to judge with the human eye what is pure white and what is actually grey or white with some detail, so think about it. Once you have captured the image what is pure white will remain white you will not be able to bring out any detail in post production.

For me personnally it is actually quite rare that I want any large part of my images to be be completly white, so I always verge on the side of caution and underexpose my images, this gives me far greater options when processing the image.

That was day 12 of 366 come back tomorrow for more.

This is the longest I have ever spent on covering a story, It´s been weeks, for 2 reasons firstly my chosen subject is very interesting to me. Secondly the town in which we are staying is adorable and it´s one of those places where we have been totally sucked in while time has just passed us by. What with Christmas and new year just around the corner we´re staying put for another week or so.

After my first visit to the fishermen I was invited out to sea with them at 4:30 one afternoon, initially this seemed a great offer but later turned out to be somewhat not as expected. when I found out that the boats don´t return until sunrise the next morning. Perhaps I´m being uncommitted but the idea of spending 15 hours at sea in a small boat in the pitch black doesn’t fill me with excitement, so I´m trying to find out id there is another way for me to get out to sea with them. Even if this doesn’t happen I´m happy with the images I have and I think they´ll become a gallery in their own right when I finally get around to update my website, hopefully in the first quarter of next year, until then here are a select few images.

A typical morning scene at thefishing village near Gokarna.

A young boy helps his father push their boat out of the sea.

An elder untangles a crab from his net.

Organising fishing nets on the beach.

A young fisherman with his net thrown over his shoulder.

2 boys sit on a boat stabilizer.

A fisherman untangles a ray from his net.

Women carry the morning catch off to the market.

At the market the women sell the days catch.

Regular readers of this blog will know only too well about my love of fishermen. It seems where ever I go there they are looking all photogenic and waiting for me to get snapping.

Well here in Karnataka is no different, yesterday morning I wandered down the beach and met a really friendly bunch of fishermen who where only happy to stop and chat for a few minutes and enquire about my life, as the conversations continued I started shooting and was asked by several times if I was going to come out to sea with them. By this time the light was starting to get really harsh as the sun was beating down. I politely refused and made arrangements for me to go out around 4am early next week, when I hope to find some great light and interesting subjects – what more could you ask for.

In the mean time here are a couple of shots from yesterday.