Photography - Close up

Don't cut off body parts except at the mid chest, waist or mid thigh region.

http://www.izzyvideo.com/close-up-shot/

• medium close up (MCU) - cut at waist, show hands movement, with head room above the head
• close up (CU) - at the chest, with head room
• head and shoulder close up
• head close up (big head close up)
• choker close up - the face only
• extreme close up - the mouth only

Sunny 16 rule

If it's a sunny day, set aperture to f/16 and shutter speed closest to the reciprocal of yout ISO.

• ISO 50, 1/60 sec
• ISO 100, 1/125 sec
• ISO 200, 1/250 sec, etc.

Use f/16 for sunny settings, but go down for less bright conditions:

• f/11 for cloudy daylight
• f/8 for overcast
• f/5.6 for outdoor shade
• f/4 for dark shade

Dos and Don’ts for Shooting the Moon

Do use a tripod

Don’t use a slow shutter speed

The moon is actually moving very quickly around the earth at a speed of 2,288 miles per hour (3,683 kilometers per hour). Because of the moon’s speed and the long focal length necessary to capture an image of the moon, you need to use the fastest shutter speed possible. A good rule of thumb for tack sharp moon photos is nothing slower than 1/125th of a second.

Do use a telephoto lens

To successfully shoot any kind of detail of the moon in your image, you need at least a 300mm telephoto. For a full frame image, you will need around an 800mm lens.

Don’t use any filters on your lens

Do try the Looney 11 rule

The Looney 11 rule is similar to the Sunny 16 rule. Set your f-stop to f/11, then match the shutter speed to your ISO.

• With ISO 100, set the shutter speed to 1/100 or 1/125 second
• With ISO 200, set the shutter speed to 1/200 or 1/250
• With ISO 400, set the shutter speed to 1/400 or 1/500, etc.

Don’t touch the camera to start your exposure

Using a cable release or remote trigger is the best way to start your exposure. If you don’t have either of these gadgets, use the self-timer feature on your camera to begin your shot.

Do use Mirror Lock-up

If your camera gives you the option to lock up your mirror this can greatly increase your chances of getting a tack sharp image.

Don’t use Image Stabilization

Canon’s IS (Image Stabilization) or Nikon’s VR (Vibration Reduction) must be turned off anytime your camera is on a tripod.

Do know the cycles of the moon

The Photographer’s Ephemeris will not only give you the phases of the moon, but also show you when and where the moon will appear in the sky. By far the most photographed stage is the full moon, which is also the brightest and the most difficult to expose correctly. The side lighting of the Gibbous stage produces some interesting shadows which may allow you to capture craters and mountains. The crescent moon is, of course, the darkest stage, but one which may create some interesting effects when added to a nighttime landscape.

Don’t always place the moon in the center

Don’t just put the moon in the center of your image with nothing else –  it’s been done a million times before and there is nothing exciting about this. Try to include other objects in the frame with the moon.

Don’t just place the moon in an empty sky. Including a foreground object will create a more dramatic image.

Do switch to manual focus

Don’t just shoot the moon at night

The best time for photographing the moon is just after it rises or just before it sets, when it is very low in the sky. When the moon is near the horizon, it is closest to Earth and will appear larger in your images. Also, as the full moon rises the sun will be setting, and as the full moon sets the sun will be rising. This may give you great lighting to include or accentuate foreground or landscape objects. Shooting the moon in the day time will give you opportunity to include foreground objects, and you also may be able to capture some craters on the moon’s surface.

The June full moon, called the “Honey Moon”, captured as it sets at sunrise.

Do use exposure bracketing

After you are satisfied with the exposure you have dialed in, bracket two stops under and two stops over, just to ensure that you get an exposure you will be happy with later.

Don’t use Auto White Balance

Using auto white balance will give you very inconsistent results. What is the source for the light of the moon? That’s right, the sun! So try daylight white balance, but if you are looking for a different effect, try tungsten or cloudy.

Don’t depend on your meter

Most likely your camera’s light meter will be fooled by the amount of light reflecting off the moon. Also it is important to note that as the moon rises, the exposure will continual change. It gets brighter as it rises, so you need to keep adjusting your shutter speed.

Five Things You Don’t Need To Include On Your Resume

• Every Job You’ve Ever Held
• Starting and Ending Months for Your Past Positions
• Your Tasks and Duties at Each Job
• Your Exact Job Title, If It’s Confusing
• Any Indication of Your Age

http://news.monster.com/a/other/five-things-you-dont-need-to-include-on-your-resume-33cc5d?WT.mc_n=CRM_US_B2C_LC_JOM_Act_D_141203

Remove MS SQL Server Instance

This is the example in Windows 7 with MS SQL Server 2012

• Control Panel
• Program and Features
• Select "Microsfot SQL Server 2012 (64-bit)"
• Click "Uninstall/Change"
• Click "Remove"
• Click "OK"
• Select the instance to remove in the drop down box, click "Next >"
• Check the features (will show all available features installed for this instance) to remove
• Database Engine Services
• Reporting Services, etc.
• Click "Next >"
• Click "Next >"
• Click "Remove"
• Click "Close"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugkP3Wt850c

Getting Mac OS version in a disk image

You can get the version in this file:

• /System/Library/CoreServices/ServerVersion.plist
• <key>ProductUserVisibleVersion
• <string>

Custom Thumbnail for YouTube video on a Mac

Instead of using the default three thumbnails from YouTube, you can use any part of the video as the thumbnail:

• Play the video using any player stop at the spot you want it as the thumbnail
• Press <command><shift>4 and then <spacebar>
• Click on the player window 
• Save the image on DropBox (optional, but very handy)
• Upload to YouTube

6 Ways to Take WOW Photos in Less Than an Hour

In summary:

• Method One: Bird’s Eye View
• Method Two: Worms Eye View
• Method Three: Shoot at an Angle
• Method Four: Get the Sun Behind Your Subject
• Method Five: Use Shadows
• The Ultimate WOW Shots
• The ultimate WOW shots are created when you use one of more of these techniques by combining elements, angles, and points of view.

http://digital-photography-school.com/6-ways-to-take-wow-photos-in-less-than-an-hour/

Ten must have camera settings for Concert Photography

Here is a summary of the ten must have camera settings:

1. Use manual exposure mode
2. Use your lowest aperture number
3. Use fast shutter speeds
4. Use high ISO values
5. Use spot metering
6. Use your middle autofocus point
7. Use the auto white balance setting
8. Use burst mode
9. Never use flash
10. Shoot in RAW format

http://digital-photography-school.com/10-must-have-camera-settings-for-concert-photography/

VS 2005 Open Debug Immediate window

Shortcut <Ctrl><Alt><I>

If you cannot find it anywhere in the menu (Debug),

• go to Tools
• Customize...
• Commands tab
• Categories: Debug
• Drag and droop Immediate to the menu (e.g. Debug)

Windows 7 Stereo Mix

If you want to record whatever it is playing on your computer, there is a simple way to do it.

• Right click on the "Speakers" from the Task Bar 
• Select "Recording devices"
• Right click in the tab and check "Show Disabled Devices" (if it is not checked)
• Right click on "Stereo Mix" and select "Enable"

Use any recording software such as Audacity and select "Stereo Mix" as your input device.

APS Daemon - missing MSVCR80.dll

Uninstall all Apple applications and reinstall iTune will fix this problem.

Word of God

The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses.

The Basics of Video Compression

Why Do We Compress the video?

• An uncompressed 1080p file requires about 237 MB/second for playback.  
• It is far exceeding any internal connection speed mere mortals can afford.  
• Most compressed movies playback from the web at less than 1.5 MB/s
• The higher the quality of the source file, the higher the potential quality of the compressed files derived from it.
• You can't make a compressed file look better than the source file; with the possible exception of making the frame size smaller.
• When compressing a file, you apply settings to determine what you want the source file to become.
• The size and format of the source file have almost no relevance.
• all compression software automatically determines the specs of the source file and creates the transcoded file based on your settings.

Definitions

Codec (Compressor/Decompressor)
The mathematics used to convert light and sound into numbers that can be stored and played back from a computer.  Codecs are the heart and soul of compression.  There is no single codec that is perfect for capture, editing, and distribution.

Bit rate
The speed, in bits per seconds (bps), of a media file during playback.  Controlling bit rate is a key element of compression.  Also called data rate or bandwidth.  This also determines how smoothly a web video will stream.
Our Goal, when creating videos for the web, is to get the highest possible image quality from the smallest possible bit rate.

Frame size
The size, in pixels, of a video frame

Frame rate
The number of frames playing per second; the web supports an infinite variety of frame rates.

Artifacts
Small, ugly, rectangular blocks in compressed video caused by bit rates that are set too low.

I-frame
A method of compression where each frame is compressed individually.  Yield excellent image quality, with very large file sizes.  Best format for editing.

GOP (Group of Pictures)
A method of compression where groups of frames are compressed together.  Yields good image quality with very small file sizes. Best for web videos.

What Determines Quality?

• Image quality is balance of five factors:
• Codec.  Different codecs require different settings for similar quality.
• Compressed frame size.  Larger frame sizes require faster bit rates
• Compress frame rate.  Faster frame rates require faster bit rates.
• Movement between frames.  More movement between frames requires faster bit rates
• Bit fate of the compressed file.  Higher bit rates yield higher quality, but much larger file sizes.

Bit Rate Isn't Everything

• Files encoded at the same bit rate will generally have the same file size, but they may not have the same image quality, unless they also have the same specifications.

Frame Size Makes a Difference

• Bit rates that work for one format, don't work for others.
• NTSC DV frame contains 345,600 pixels
• PAL DV frame contains 414,720 pixels
• 720p frame contains 921,600 pixels
• 1080p frame contains 2,073,600 pixels
• 2K frame contains about 2.21 million pixels
• 4D frame contains about 8.29 million pixels

Minimize Movement

• Video compression yields the smallest file sizes when there is very little movement between frames.
• The more movement between frames in the master file - from camera, transitions, effects, or talent - the higher the bit rate that is needed to properly compress it.
• If small file sizes are key, minimize on-screen movement; such as hand-held cameras, file noise effects, video noise due to low light, or leaves waving in the background behind your actors.

SQL Server Data Tools Projects Error with the file _Data.sqlinclude

I am having problem to build the project.  The error is:

• SQL71006: Only one statement is allowed per batch. A batch separator, such as 'GO', might be required between statements.

Solution:

• Set the Build Action of the file to "None".  It was set to "Build".

More info:

• Make sure the file (Data\_Data.sqlinclude) is NOT Read Only.
• Have a Pre-Build event to generate the file with Data\_Data.tt

set doTemplateTransform=

if "$(BuildingInsideVisualStudio)"=="True" set doTemplateTransform=true

if "%doTemplateTransform%"=="true" "$(MSBuildProgramFiles32)\Common Files\microsoft shared\TextTemplating\12.0\TextTransform.exe" "$(ProjectDir)Data\_Data.tt" -a "!!targetDir!$(ProjectDir)Data"

Format xml file automatically

Use the free XML Copy Editor

• Open the file
• Select "XML" from the top menu and select "Pretty-print" or press <F11>

What is the Difference Between DIV and SECTION?

It's All About Semantics...

http://webdesign.about.com/od/html5tags/fl/div-vs-section.htm?nl=1

Apple loops and sound effects not showing in FCP X 10.1

Trash the FCP X preferences and restart FCP X

Download the free Preference Manager

Delete the preferences manually

• User > Library > Preferences > com.apple.FinalCut.plist and
• User > Library > Preferences > com.apple.FinalCut.LSSharedFileList.plist

if you cannot see the Library in the user home folder

• Open user home folder by <command><shift><H>
• Click 'View'
• Select 'Show View Options'
• Check 'Show Library Folder'

or

• from Desktop, click "Go" with <Option> key, select Library