The Background Story

Since I was a little child I always liked taking pictures. For most of my life I was not interested in photography itself, I just liked the act of taking pictures. I guess with age the demand on the quality of these pictures grew and two years ago (2009) I bought my first digital SLR and a lens. This is where the adventure started.

As I am currently a student, I work on a student's budget and use mostly entry level equipment. Nevertheless, I try to constantly improve on composition, camera handling, new techniques, and post-processing.

All my pictures are taken during family hikes/vacations/city visits. I therefore have only as much time to compose and take a shot until my family will run off without me (approx. anywhere between 2-20 seconds). I almost never carry my nice sturdy steel tripod and cannot persuade my wife to carry it for me. I know this limits the quality of the photos somewhat, but for now these limitations are perfectly fine.

Adobe Lightroom 2 is used for post-processing and I am still learning the ropes. Since I always shoot in raw format, all photos in this blog are post-processed. Most of the photos need cropping, white balance adjustments, exposure and lighting fixes, contrast enhancements, sharpening, and occasional split-toning and vignetting. As I don't use Adobe Photoshop (except Elements 6 for panorama stitching), I don't add or take away any elements of the original image. I started experimenting with high dynamic range photography (HDR) and use Photomatix Pro 4.1 to tonemap the HDR images.
With the student budget in mind, below is a list of the equipment I am currently using:

- Canon EOS 450D (or Rebel XSi)
- Tamron SP AF Aspherical XR Di LD 28-75mm 1:2.8 Macro
- Sigma DC HSM 30mm 1:1.4 (which, when used with the
   APS-C size sensor of the EOS 450D , performs like a 48mm)
- Canon Close-up Lens 250D
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.7, Photomatix Pro 4.1,
   Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 (for panorama stitching)