Seth Shostak

Technically Speaking
B&W Photos in the Digital Age: Are Monochrome Images Made with Software Truly B&W?
Seth Shostak  |  Nov 01, 2016

Mark was a fellow radio astronomer, full of insights. One day in a conversation about photography he said something that caused my eyebrows to lift: “Well, as we all know, color film is never sharp.” But what Mark was getting at was this: As the consequence of a few million years of Darwinian evolution, our eyes have three types of color receptors, casually described as red, green, and blue.

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Lighting How ToLighting NewsNewsTechnically Speaking
What Makes Soft Light Soft?: It’s More About Basic Geometry Than Anything Else
Seth Shostak  |  Oct 10, 2016

For decades, soft light has been the bee’s knees for portrait photography. It’s flattering, pleasant to look at, and undistracting.

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Compact Camera NewsDSLR NewsMirrorless Camera NewsNewsTechnically Speaking
How High Can ISOs Go?: Cameras Break the Noise Barrier with Ultra-Sensitive Chips
Seth Shostak  |  Sep 09, 2016

Remember when Paul Simon crooned, “Mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away”? That classic film may have given you nice bright colors, but only on sunny days. In its early incarnations, Kodachrome’s film speed—its sensitivity—was 10, or slower than Homer Simpson.

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Nature Photography How ToNewsTechnically Speaking
Freeze Framing: How Technological Breakthroughs Help Us Get Sharp Shots of Movement
Seth Shostak  |  Aug 09, 2016

In real-world shoots, both camera and subject are often moving. Six generations of photographers have fought this problem in their quest for images as sharp as a zoot suit. And nowhere is this fact of photographic life more obvious than when you’re trying to freeze the movement of wildlife. Whether you’re bagging African megafauna or trying to capture backyard beetles, stopping the motion is part of the assignment. So how do you do it?

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NewsOutdoor Photography How ToPhoto How ToTechnically Speaking
How to Take Stellar Night Shots of Stars: Better Astrophotography Through Settings And Science
Seth Shostak  |  Jul 01, 2016

We’ve all seen them: night shots of some wind-weathered rock formation in the American Southwest, backed by a dramatic, star-spangled sky. Earth, the universe, and everything.
Your first thought: “What sort of unaffordable equipment does it take to make a photo like that?” Your second thought: “You know, a 16x20 nighttime pic would sure look good above the pool table.”

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NewsSoftware How ToSoftware NewsSoftware ReviewsTechnically Speaking
How Panoramic Stitching Software Works: The Technology Behind This Ultra-Wide-Angle Tool
Seth Shostak  |  May 31, 2016

Panoramas are easy to wish for, but, until recently, were not easy to get. To shoot high-quality panos often required special cameras that could rotate their lens while simultaneously advancing an aperture slit across a curved film plane.

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