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Digital Photography/Taking Digital Photos

This section deals with the nuts and bolts of actually taking pictures. This is the part where most of us like to spend time on.

Camera Basics
A camera is made of two basic parts - the lens, and the camera body. The lens and camera body work together to form all the functions found on this page.

Choosing your Level of Control
Taking a digital photo can be as easy as turning on the camera, pointing it, and pressing the shutter button. The camera will make all the necessary decisions for you. This of course, assumes that you have your camera controls set to auto or program mode. A point and press camera will not make correct adjustments when scenes are heavily back-lit or in mixed light situations for example. Advanced cameras allow you to take more control of this process, to allow you to hopefully take better photos. But care must be taken, otherwise you may actually take worse photos. You will need to decide what level of commitment you want to make to taking terrific photos. There is no guilt here, just do what is best for you.

Controlling Exposure
Digital cameras capture a limited range of brightness. File formats like jpeg and tiff, and computer monitors and printers have limits also.

When a digital image is significantly underexposed, certain parts of the image will be simple black, other parts will not express colors accurately, and digital noise will be visible.

Overexposure can cause areas to become simple white, without detail. This is known as "blowing out the highlights."

In automatic mode, most digital cameras try to adjust exposure to make every picture average brightness. This may not be what you want if you are taking a picture of a bride, or a flamingo, or fireworks. You can improve your pictures by controlling exposure.

Exposure Value of an Image
There are four factors which affect the brightness of your image:

 * Exposure value (EV). Brightness of the scene itself.
 * Aperture. The size of the entrance pupil of the lens. The larger the aperture, the more light; the smaller the aperture, the less light.
 * Shutter speed. The length of time over which an exposure is made. The longer the exposure, the more light that falls on the imaging medium; the shorter the time, the less light.
 * ISO speed. Increasing the ISO setting on a digital camera increases the sensitivity of the sensor to light.

Setting Exposure
Exposure - controls the amount of light which reaches the image sensor. Exposure is measured in ev. The Aperture and Shutter work together to allow the correct amount of light into the camera. If, for reasons to be discussed later, you wish to make the shutter speed faster (letting in less light); you must compensate by having the aperture open wider (letting in more light). This relationship is known as reciprocity (as it is a reciprocal relationship). As stated in the introduction, you can feel free to play with your camera and get a feel for how this principle can be used without worrying about wasting valuable film.

 * Aperture - defines the size of the opening in the lens. Aperture is measured in f-numbers and often referred to as "f-stops." Discussion of f-stops is counterintuitive in that the larger the f-stop - the smaller the opening of the lens. The correct unit usage of f-stops appear like: f/2, f/4, f/5.8, etc... However, most cameras find it more economical to truncate the display to show: 2, 4, 5.8, etc... Forgetting that the larger the f-stop - the smaller the hole is a common pitfall of early camera students.
 * Shutter speed - defines the exposure time i.e. the time for which the shutter is held open during the taking of a photograph to allow light to reach the sensor. Shutter speed is measured in seconds or fractions of a second (e.g. 1s, 1/30s, 1/60s, etc.).

Sensitivity of the sensor - setting ISO speed
In film photography, ISO measures the sensitivity of the film used. The more sensitive the film, the less light required to make an appropriate exposure. Consequently, the more sensitive the film, there is a noticeable increase in grain. In digital photography, the metaphor is maintained. The more sensitive you tell your sensor to be, the less light you need to create an exposure; but, it will also be more sensitive to noise. The difference is slight and only a matter of terminology (grain versus noise) but the idea as a whole is transferable.

There is always a correlation between ISO and noise; however, the amount of noise present at a particular ISO setting is dependent on the specifications of the image sensor - and thus, every camera is different. Generally speaking, professional level cameras have less noise for each of the ISO settings compared to the same settings on consumer level cameras.

Prosumer SLR cameras tends to perform very well up to ISO800, and even at ISO1600, the noise is noticeable but tolerable. As can be expected, ISO1600 offers a tremendous advantage to photographers in low light/ night environment.

What is light metering ?
It should be stated that "metering" is photographer talk for "measuring." Metering, in photography, can either refer to measuring the light or measuring the actual distance from the camera to the subject.

There are normally three types of light-metering: evaluative, center weighted average and spot. Your camera uses these to decide on what exposure it should aim for.

Evaluative means your camera will try and choose an exposure which will work well for the entire image. However the implementation of this feature can vary vastly from camera to camera meaning that different cameras will make different decisions in the same lighting conditions. Evaluative metering usually is preferable when you use automatic or semiautomatic (Av aka Aperture Priority, and Tv aka Shutter priority) exposure setting.

Spot is the exact opposite of the Evaluative setting, rather than taking into account the whole of the image it tries to choose an exposure that is appropriate for whatever appears in the center of the image ignoring the rest of the image. This metering method is useful if you set the camera to manual exposure mode. A typical camera has dynamic range of about 6 ev steps. Areas for which camera show +3 ev in picture will be absolutely white, and areas with -3 ev will be absolutely black. The easiest way to set correct exposure will be to meter highlights (brightest white spots) in your composition and set exposure so that highlights read at +2.7 or +3 ev.

Center weighted falls between these two settings, the camera chooses an exposure which will work well for the entire image, but places more importance on getting the exposure right for the center section.

Exposure modes of digital camera
Usually a digital camera has three types of exposure modes:
 * Automatic modes (A, Autopicture, different picture modes (portrait, landscape etc.), P (Program)), in which the camera sets your aperture and shutter speed.
 * Semi-automatic or priority modes:
 * Shutter priority (Tv) - you set the shutter speed and the camera sets the correct aperture.
 * Aperture priority (Av) - you set the aperture and the camera sets the shutter speed.
 * Manual mode (M and B) - you set the aperture and shutter speed.

How to achieve sharp digital photographs
The reasons for the lack of sharpness in your digital photos can be attributed to one or more of the following reasons:

 * Camera movement.
 * Lack of proper focus.
 * Using a "soft" camera setting.

Camera movement (or camera shake) usually comes from hand-holding your camera while using a slow shutter speed. To minimize camera movement while using slow shutter speeds of 1/25th of a second or lower you should use a tripod. If you don't have a tripod with you, try placing the camera on a flat surface and using the camera's self timer (obviously, this works best when there is not much movement in the scene). Sometimes, if the lighting conditions are marginal where your shutter speed is right at 1/25th of a second, if you have a very steady hand, you can try holding your breath briefly as you snap the shutter. You can also try manually increasing the shutter speed at the expense of using a wider aperture (lower f-stop). Generally, a higher shutter speed decreases the effect of camera movement, but the lower f-stop decreases the depth of field and requires more careful focusing.

Lack of proper focus is another cause for lack of sharp photographs. Fortunately, most digital cameras today come with autofocus capabilities. In a few fixed lens cameras and in almost any digital SLR, the autofocus can be disabled allowing you to focus the lens manually. Greater care must be exercised to make sure the object that you wish to be the center of attention in the photo is sharply focused.

In more inexpensive cameras, the only focus adjustment may be a normal and macro mode. The normal mode is usually represented by a mountain icon and the macro mode is usually represented by a flower icon. If your camera only supports these two modes, make sure it is in the proper mode before you snap the shutter to achieve the sharpest photos.

Camera with normal and macro focusing modes

Poor lighting conditions may cause your photos to lack definition and contrast. You may notice that even when you use a tripod and with your camera handling the autofocus, your photographs may not appear as sharp as you might wish. This is especially true for available light photographs where you do not wish to use a flash. The fault for this lies not with your camera but with the scene itself. In cases like this, try increasing the available light shining directly on the subject. This can improve the photograph by allowing the edges to be more sharply defined against the background.

In camera sharpening can also affect the sharpness of an image. Some higher end cameras offer a sharpness adjustment that usually ranges from +2 or +3 to -2 or -3 with zero in the center. Increasing the sharpness can give you crisper looking images, and decreasing it will give a more "soft focus" effect. Some photographers like to use a soft-focus effect when taking portraits, especially of women, because it tends to smooth out the appearance of the skin. Increasing the sharpness will not compensate for camera shake or lack of proper focus. Many photographers choose to leave the sharpness setting at zero and perform any sharpening in the post-processing stage.

What's the slowest exposure time you can get away with ?
"Camera shake" is what happens when you don't hold the camera sufficiently still. The longer the exposure time, the longer you have to hold the camera perfectly still, and the more chance there is for shake.

How long an exposure time you can use before being affected by camera shake depends very much on the individual. With a lot of practice it's possible to hold the camera still for as much as half a second, but most people should be able to hold a camera still for 1/20 of a second with a little practice. Beginners should be able to hold for 1/25 of a seconds without problem.

As a rule of thumb, it is recommended to not use a shutter speed lower than the inverse of the focal length of the lens used. For example, if you use a 50mm lens, try not to use a shutter speed slower than 1/50.

Another way to find out what shutter speed to use is by testing.

 * 1) Pick something which will stay motionless and has straight lines which can easily be used to detect blurring. A good option would be a piece of paper which has large lettering printed on it, or use a suitable book cover.
 * 2) Be somewhere that has a reasonable amount of light (not necessary - but then all of your photos won't have the same brightness). If light is sufficient, feel free to turn off the flash to allow you to take photos faster.
 * 3) Switch your camera to exposure-time/shutterspeed priority mode.
 * 4) Set the camera to a reasonably long exposure time (say 1 second).
 * 5) Take a photo of your target in the way you normally take photos. Don't go out of your way to try to be more stable unless you are willing to do that every time you take a photo.
 * 6) Reduce the exposure time by one or two steps (how long this is in seconds will depend on your camera).
 * 7) Repeat the last two steps until you get down to about 1/30th of a second.

Now load the photos onto your computer, the one taken at 1 second will be blurred unless you are some sort of statue, but as the exposure time decreases the amount of blurring decreases. Go through the photos in order until you find where the blurring is no longer noticeable. That photo will represent the maximum exposure time you can take photos without "camera shake". Don't worry if you didn't note down the exposure times while taking the photos because most modern digital camera will store the information alongside the photo using what is known as EXIF. Most photo-manipulation packages can read this EXIF information as can many stand-alone EXIF-readers.

(If you use Windows XP you can get the EXIF information by right clicking on the photo and choosing properties, then the summary tab and clicking on advanced.)

The EXIF-data will include a lot of information, but the field you'll want to find is "exposure time" which, logically, will tell you the exposure time used when that photograph was taken.

Now you know what exposure-time you can get away with. Many photographers have their own techniques for stabilizing the camera so that they can use longer exposure times. These normally involve levering body parts against each other for greater stability. One common technique is to hold the camera directly against the brow or nose. Another is to try to lean against the nearest stable object like a tree, wall, etc., and then hugging your elbows into your chest. How well these work for you will very much depend on you, and of course, practicing.

Now that you know how long an exposure time you can get away with using your normal technique, you can start experimenting with other ways to hold your camera that will allow for longer exposure times without causing camera shake.

When taking shots with exposure times longer than you normally use, it's a good idea to take several shots if you have the spare memory. The more shots you take the better the chances that you manage to hold sufficiently still for one of them to come out well.

As a rule of thumb, the longest exposure time that tends not to be affected by camera shake is about 1/60th of a second or 1/125th of a second. At those values, the camera shutter is operating fast enough that the image captured is typically not affected by camera shake.

However, such values are typically achieved only at locations with good lighting, say, a typical afternoon outside. It is tricky to achieve this lighting indoors and photography at those shutter speeds without compromising on ISO (see below) or aperture is difficult at times

In addition to this, high end digital cameras are starting to appear with image stabilization or vibration reduction technologies. These can help to increase the longest exposure time to about 1/30th of a second or even 1/15th of a second when used right, and it is a huge advantage in indoors/ low light environment. Unfortunately, the technology is expensive at the moment, but it would eventually trickle into the more consumer-friendly models.

The non-human approach to reducing camera shake
Use a tripod or monopod. Failing the availability of either, find a flat, stable surface you can set your camera on. You may find that a small bean or wheat bag helps when placing your camera onto an uneven surface. If your camera allows you to set it off remotely or to use a timer, these also help reduce camera shake to an absolute minimum.

Another technique that can be used for stabilizing your camera is, if you have a camera strap, turn your self into a bipod. This is done by steadying your legs and then pulling the camera away from yourself.

Some cameras have a function that attempts to compensate for camera shake by moving the sensor or parts of the lens.

When is long exposure time useful ?
Sometimes a long exposure time is the best way to increase the brightness of a shot in the low light situations. However longer exposure time can also increase "noise" in images. Many cameras have an automatic noise reduction system which kicks in at about 1.25-1.5 seconds. This means that the camera has to do more post-processing after the shot is taken so it may take slightly longer before the camera is ready to take another shot.

There are also times when you want to deliberately cause light streaks. Moving objects such as stars (for the ultra-long exposures) and cars (at night, when the headlamps are on) can create quite beautiful photographs when you utilize long exposure deliberately.

There can be cases when one wants to capture a portrait at night with usual exposure and flash no details in background can be captured. Here a longer exposure is taken with flash, flash can freeze and provide detail of person's face while longer exposure time will generate details of small lights in the background.

Why do images become darker with short exposure times ?
Let's say you want to shoot a little leaguer running to first base, and not have it blurred. If your camera is in a semi-automatic mode (for example shutter-speed priority), you can adjust the shutter-speed to be faster (i.e. shorter exposure time). The camera then tries to modify the other settings (flash and aperture size) to make the image have an appropriate brightness.

But there are limits to how far the camera can go. The amount the aperture can be opened is physically limited. Once the aperture has been opened to its widest and the camera is out of other options, the brightness can't be increased further. This means that when you decrease the exposure time beyond that point the image will get darker, or "underexposed".

Luckily your camera will be able to tell you when it reaches this point. How it does this varies from camera to camera but the most common way is to make the aperture size change to red on the display (you may have to have the LCD display turned on to see this). On many cameras this information is only updated when the shutter button is pressed half way. Further details on this should be available from your camera manual.

At larger apertures, why do images become brighter ?
Just as in the case above, where short exposure time images can become darker, or underexposed, when you exceed the camera's ability to "open up" the aperture, the camera is limited by how much the aperture can be closed down. So, in very bright conditions, if the camera cannot close down further, images will be brighter, or "overexposed". Again, most cameras have a way of warning you when this point is reached, and unless in manual mode, will not allow you to shoot.

Why should I take control of exposure time ?
Hopefully by now you understand the basics of exposure time and how it affects your shots. If you have shots that you've taken before that have turned out blurred now is a good time to go and have a look at their EXIF information and pay attention to the environment the photos were taken in. Almost certainly, your blurred photos will have been taken in low light situations and the EXIF information will reveal that the exposure time was fairly long (longer than your "stability limit").

You should now be able to make educated guesses as to what your camera's automatic system was doing that resulted in blurred images. The camera detected low light so it probably tried to compensate by turning the flash on and opening the aperture as far as it could. However, even after doing this, the camera thought the photo would be too dark, so it increased the exposure time. Here it made the fatal mistake! Since the camera doesn't know how stable you can hold the camera or if it is on a tripod, it assumes that you can hold perfectly still for as long as you want.

Since you know that's not true, this is a perfect example of a situation where you should step in and take control. In most situations you don't want a blurred photo, (though you do have to consider what you want). If, for example, you would prefer a darker photo but without blur or camera shake, then all you have to do is switch to shutter-speed priority mode, set the exposure time to a setting which you are comfortable with, and let the camera handle the rest of the settings.

What if you want the image brighter? Well, the simple answer is to increase the lighting. If you're indoors, then turn the lights on if they aren't on already or set up what you want to shoot near window light. If that's not an option, you can start playing with other settings such as the ISO. Increasing the ISO can increase the brightness of the shot by increasing the camera's sensitivity to light, but at the expense of causing more noise to appear in the image (more on ISO later).

All of these choices involve compromise, and your camera can't choose which compromise to make for you as it doesn't know why you want the photo and what's important about it. Only you can make that decision, and that's why you have to take control.

Why change the aperture ?
In general, cameras are fairly good at automatically changing the aperture to deal with the light situation.

However, as mentioned earlier, if you want to increase Depth of Field (the range around your subject that remains in focus) or improve the focus on distance shots, you might want to step in and make the aperture smaller.

Without getting into a lot of theory and mathematics, aperture widths are measured in what are called "F-Stops" written like this: f/1.0, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6 f/8.0, f/11, f/16 etc. As these numbers get larger, the aperture gets smaller. So from these numbers f/1.0 means the aperture is the widest (wide open in fact), while f/16.0 is the smallest. When you increase the size of the aperture by setting it to a lower numbered f-stop, it is called opening up. When you decrease the size of the aperture by setting it to a higher numbered f-stop, it is called stopping down.

Put your camera into manual aperture priority and move the dial back and forth to adjust it. You will see the numbers in the view finder change as you open and close, and can see the range of options your specific camera has. Each of these numbers represents one "stop" more or less of light reaching the camera. Another, more indirect way of changing the aperture, is to switch to time mode and do the same drill, observing that the time notation changes for the amount of the light reaching the camera. The numbers show what part of a second the aperture is open. For example, t/90 means 1/90th of a second. You will see the numbers change something like this: t/90, t/125, t/180, t/250, t/350, t/500. Again, as the numbers change, so does the amount of light—there's one "stop" less light with each shorter exposure.

If you use aperture-priority mode on your camera, beware of the same problems that you can get in fully automatic mode. Your camera may increase the exposure time significantly to compensate for less light through the aperture, so make sure the exposure time isn't too long when taking the shot.

If it is too long, then you have to use a tripod or other method to stabilize your camera, and switch to manual mode. This will mean that you have to set both the aperture and exposure time by hand. But that's not too hard, now that you see that the numbers simply represent step changes in the amount of light reaching the camera.

Remember, as shown above, each step increment change of either the f/stop or time exposure represents one "stop" of light. As long as the change is proportional between these measurements, the amount of light is the same. I.e. If you open the lens up more, shorten the time the same number of steps to still get the same amount of light... if you close the lens more, increase the time the same number of steps to still get the same amount of light.

So, here's how you can set manually without fancy light meters. Simply find out what the camera's light meter is recommending in the automatic mode. For example, it may think you need t/250 with f/8. But you want to get a greater depth of field, say f/16. That is two steps smaller aperture than f/8, hence, two stops less light. So in manual mode, set f/16 (which is two clicks less light than recommended to get the right amount of light) and then INCREASE the amount of light two stops above what the automatic setting recommended, in this case, moving two clicks from t/250 to t/125. Actually, you can simply think of it as turning two "clicks" up or down for each setting and don't worry about the numbers.

Again, a simple solution for manual mode is to take the automatic mode setting, then switch to manual and "click" the same number of steps up or down to get your new aperture and speed settings.

Most camera lenses do not produce images of the best resolution with the aperture wide-open (e.g. f/1.4 on a 50 f/1.4 lens). Stopping down (increasing the f-stop setting) can improve their resolution, often drastically. This can be referred to MTF charts. Using f/8 or f/11 on most lenses produces an image with fine detail. Beyond this would actually degrade images due to diffraction, so don't overly stop-down unless you need greater depth of field.

The major trade off a photographer will encounter when fiddling with the aperture is this: low aperture allows more light in, but at the cost of Depth of Field; high aperture allows less light in, but have more Depth of Field.

Normally, you would want to shoot with aperture as low as possible, as not having enough light is typically more common than having too much light. Under some circumstances though, a low aperture gives more headaches than the increased light. One very obvious case is when you are taking photographs in macro mode.

In macrophotography, you are pushing the camera to capture details on a small object, typically close to the lens. In these cases, when the object is close to the lens, Depth of Field is critical. Having insufficient Depth of Field means only part of the object is in focussed. This is good if it's your artistic intention, but that's rarely the intention.

In these cases, you have to stop down to higher aperture numbers, and balance the trade offs elsewhere. Normally these come out from shutter speed (longer shutter speed) or ISO (higher ISO settings), which is why macrophotography tends to occur in controlled environment.

Thus, as a rule of thumb, an aperture of around f/4 is probably adequate for normal photography; anything lower and you begin to get noticeable loss of Depth-of-Field. At f/2.8, the Depth-of-Field is visibly constrained to fairly narrow bands.

For macrophotography, apertures around f/8 or f/10 or even higher are common. such high aperture values would mean a corresponding increase in shutter speeds.

There is another aspect of apertures that may not be obvious to casual users. Higher apertures gives you more Depth-of-Field, which means more things are in focus -- which means you have more room for errors in terms of focussing.

This is most obvious when you have a low-aperture lens, shooting a distance (really distant! Say, 150~200+ metres away) object, in poor light and/ or on a moving platform.

(Aside: One has to wonder why a photographer is in these conditions, but we digress... )

Even with autofocussing technologies in today's camera, getting a sharp picture in those circumstances is difficult. Autofocussing relies largely on contrast and not so much on image context, so it is easy for the autofocus to focus on the wrong portion of the subject.

If your aperture is set high enough, this isn't an issue; depth-of-field will ensure your subject is in focus. However, if you are shooting at low apertures—say, f/2.8 -- the low depth-of-field will mean you need to be very precise in your focussing to ensure the subject is in focus. Make a mistake (easy enough when your lens is hand-held and shooting at 150+ metres), and your subject slips out of the depth-of-field and you end up with a blurred shot.

As such, using a high aperture gives you more margin of error when it comes to focussing on a subject. As usual, you have to adjust for the (generally) lower amounts of light a higher aperture implies, and it becomes a balancing act.

Changing what automatic/semi-automatic mode aims for
When you use automatic, shutter-priority, or aperture-priority modes the camera has a fixed idea about what exposure (brightness) it should aim for. What if you want to change this without having to use manual mode ?

Luckily most cameras come with a feature known as "exposure compensation" which allows you to underexpose or overexpose shots easily. However how much you should change the exposure depends on the situation and on your camera, so the best way you can learn is by experimentation.

Many digital cameras tend to overexpose and it's common for photographers to use an exposure compensation of -1/3 to -2/3 as default.

Many photographers use "bracketing", this is the name given to when you take several photos with a range of exposures to ensure one photo comes out with the correct exposure. Automatic mode normally gets fairly close to a good exposure so taking photos at one level above and below its defaults will probably get you a good shot.

Speeding up recovery time ?
recovery time (also called latency) is the time taken between shots (i.e. after you take a photo how long do you have to wait before you take another)

You can speed up the recovery by turning some or all of the following things off,

 * compression
 * image sharpening
 * flash
 * getting a better memory card

Latency time is one of the downfalls of point and shoot type digital cameras, but as time goes by and technology improves the latency time has been reduced dramatically. More advanced digital SLR cameras are as fast as their film counterparts ever were with some professional SLRs offering up to eight frames per second with a buffer of forty frames.

Image sharpening
The general opinion is that image sharpening should be left to the post-processing stage. Some cameras offer in-built sharpening, however these are normally less sophisticated than those available on most photo-manipulation packages. There is no technical advantage in using in-built sharpening over using a computer based sharpening tool. Actually image sharpening must be the last step in image manipulation, so if you will need some post processing the in camera sharpening will only decrease the quality of the final image.

The canon user manual will suggest which settings to use with their higher end digital SLRs.

Photo effects/Color modes
These let you take shots in Black and White, Sepia, vivid mode, etc. The basic rule is don't use them, shoot in colour and apply these effects in post-processing if you want them. Like with sharpening, your computer is able to take advantage of more sophisticated algorithms resulting in a better end-result.

White balance
White balance often confuses beginners; after all, white is white, isn't it?

Actually, it isn't. Your camera sees what colour an object is; unfortunately this won't be the same colour as humans see. This is because the human brain makes people see non-white colours as white.

The colour of an object is dependent on the light source, however humans automatically adjust so that anything which roughly combines the primary light colours together appears white.

"White-balance" is the name given to the technique cameras use to try and depict the image as humans see it. Most cameras will have at least three options (daylight, fluorescent, and tungsten) and may have many more which are designed to adjust to the light source.

Some cameras will also have a custom option, the custom option will allows you to setup a "White-balance" for a specific lighting situation. The way it works is that you have to show it something which is white (or more often a grey card) and using that it makes corrections to the photos taken.

Luckily automatic white-balance detection is fairly sophisticated so most of the time leaving white-balance on auto mode will get you the result you want.

Depth of Field and achieving blurring effects
The depth of field (DOF) is the distance in front of and behind the subject which appears to be in focus. Areas which are out of DOF look blurred. Sometimes it's very useful to have shallow DOF to separate the subject from the background (and/or foreground). Photographers try to get the subject in focus and the background slightly blurred.

DOF for given camera depends on three factors:
 * Distance to subject. Getting closer to subject will make DOF shallower;
 * Lens focal length. The longer focal length will make DOF shallower;
 * Aperture. The larger aperture will make DOF shallower;

Despite there are three factors which affect DOF, only aperture can help you control it. If you choose a longer lens to get the full subject in frame you need to increase the distance to your subject and these two factors will compensate effects of each other.

So to have shallow DOF you need:
 * fill as much of the frame as possible with your subject (it is usually easier with a long lens)
 * set big aperture (f4.0, f2.8 or even f1.4 if you have such lens)

Worth noting that cameras with bigger sensors will have shallower DOF for the same f-number, because of the same focal length of the lens you will need to get nearer to your subject to fill the frame. So with a digital SLR getting shallow DOF is much easier than with a compact Point & shoot camera.

It is also possible, relatively easily, to introduce blurring at the post-processing stage although the effect may not be as good compared to that done in-camera.

Taking infra-red photos
Some digital cameras have sensors which are capable of detecting infrared, if your camera is capable of doing so then you should be able to obtain a infrared filter relatively cheaply (about £10 GBP/ $15 USD) which allows you to take infrared photos.

The simplest way you can tell if your camera is infrared-sensitive is to point an infrared source into your lens and see if it is visible on your LCD screen. Almost any infrared source can be used including remote controls (point the emitter at your lens and hold down a button on your remote).

A more technical explanation follows:

All digital camera sensors are capable of detecting infrared; this is actually a problem with early digital cameras, because they pick up infrared and as such alters the captured image.

To deal with this issue, camera manufacturers build something called a hot mirror into digital cameras. Effectively this is an IR filter, designed to filter out IR so that the final images are not affected by the extra 'light' coming in.

Hot mirrors aren't 100% effective, thus some cameras are more sensitive to IR than others. Of course, if you are daring enough, you can open up your digital camera and replace the hot mirror with a glass of matching optical index, but this is not recommended and not advised. Doing that will almost certainly void your warranty, and sometimes break the camera.

IR filters are filters which filter out non-IR light; the filter itself appears black or reddish-black. When you hold it up to a light source, you may see a dim image of the light source showing through, but pretty much nothing else will show up.

But attach the filter to a IR-sensitive camera, and when you take photographs, you will see some images captured. How does this work?

Essentially, it's the same idea how photographs are taken. IR light are reflected off objects the same way 'normal' light is, and the IR filter will remove the 'normal' light, leaving the camera to interpret only the IR light. This results in an image that can be eerie in the extreme: Trees are white (IR reflects off leaves strongly), dark clothing becomes white and vice versa, things simply aren't what you expect.

IR photography does have some issues to take note of. First, IR light tends to be lower in intensity, so you need to compensate with lower aperture, longer shutter speed, and/or higher ISO. Also, IR focuses slightly differently from normal, which is why some SLR lens have IR markings for them. So you may end up with slightly out-of-focused images.

The last issue is not technical, but moral. IR can and does reflect straight through clothing, especially thin clothing. This can lead to some morally questionable photography, although it's really really much harder to achieve than people are led to believe. The ability does exist though and it has to be left to the individual photographer's morals to determine what to take in IR.

Example shots

 * An action shot
 * Obviously we want a short exposure time here, to compensate we would open up the aperture. We might also use the flash, but remember using the flash will mean you have to wait for the flash to warm up/fire.

 * A landscape shot
 * This time we'd want a narrow aperture as we want to photograph a large area with a deep depth of field. If we want to increase the brightness of our shot then we'll need to increase the exposure time (as the flash probably won't be powerful enough to light up our scene). In a landscape shot the most likely source of motion is the photographer, so it's best to take these shots using a tripod to avoid motion.

 * A framed painting
 * If there is glass in front of the painting you will almost certainly want to turn the flash off otherwise you'll get effects like this:
 * [[image: frameref.jpg]]
 * Which obviously you want to avoid. Using a wide-aperture is an obvious move, if you have a tripod or otherwise stable place where you can place the camera a long-exposure time will also help. If you still don't have enough light then you might consider increasing the ISO but going over ISO 400 is likely to cause a noticeable noise effect on the final image.

 * Another solution would be to take the photo at an angle to reduce the reflection of the flash, however "straightening" the photo in post-processing may take more effort than it is worth.

 * Glass enclosed exhibits
 * Most of what we've said about framed paintings also applies here, however you're more likely to be able to get away with taking photos at angles. Consider the following two images which are both taken with flash,

 * In the second the reflection from the glass is almost unnoticeable, while in the first it destroys the balance of the image. However all is not lost in the first image either as the majority of the flash reflection happens away from our main target we should be able to remove most of the flash reflections in post-processing:

 * Another problem with this sort of image is that the glass can often reflect other items in the room including the photographer. One way to avoid this is to take the photo while holding the camera very close to the glass. A secondary advantage of this approach is that you can make it appear that there is no glass between yourself and the exhibit for example in the following photo,

Another way to dramatically reduce reflections is with the use of a polarizer.

 * Portraits
 * Use a shallow depth of field and try to avoid using an on-camera flash. If you can't increase the surrounding lighting use an external (preferably bounce flash) flash instead. Using the on-camera flash will create harsh shadowing and is responsible for red-eye.


text:
Cookbook:Easy Wedding Soup

| Soup

Easy wedding soup is a simple variation on Italian wedding soup that requires only four ingredients and water.

Ingredients

 * 6 cups chicken broth (from bouillon cubes is fine)
 * 2 cups water
 * 1 packet (10 oz) frozen spinach
 * 12 oz spicy chicken sausage (pre-cooked)
 * 3 tbsp acini di pepe (pastina, little bead-like pasta)

Procedure

 * 1) Bring broth and water to boil in 4-quart saucepan.
 * 2) Add frozen spinach.
 * 3) Cut sausage into small pieces.
 * 4) Add sausage and acini di pepe to soup.
 * 5) Bring back to boil, and allow to boil for 10 minutes.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * Calorie content may vary depending on the specific ingredients you use; 80 kcal is reasonable.
 * The spicy sausage will impart more subtle flavor to the soup, making further spicing unnecessary. Using different types of sausage will vastly change the character of the soup.
 * This recipe may require salt if you use homemade chicken stock. Bouillon cubes tend to be heavily salted already.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Cookbook:Easy Wedding Soup


text:
Movie Making Manual/The Art of Flirting

The script
The script is a basic layout of the scenes, dialogue and actions in the film.

Lessons Learned
The Art of Flirting

title: Movie Making Manual/The Art of Flirting


text:
User talk:Frankie Roberto~enwikibooks

Hi Frankie,

Have you contributed anything to this linguistics wikibook yet? --Aroberts 11:09, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Your account will be renamed
Hello,

The developer team at Wikimedia is making some changes to how accounts work, as part of our on-going efforts to provide new and better tools for our users like cross-wiki notifications. These changes will mean you have the same account name everywhere. This will let us give you new features that will help you edit and discuss better, and allow more flexible user permissions for tools. One of the side-effects of this is that user accounts will now have to be unique across all 900 Wikimedia wikis. See the announcement for more information.

Unfortunately, your account clashes with another account also called Frankie Roberto. To make sure that both of you can use all Wikimedia projects in future, we have reserved the name Frankie Roberto~enwikibooks that only you will have. If you like it, you don't have to do anything. If you do not like it, you can pick out a different name.

Your account will still work as before, and you will be credited for all your edits made so far, but you will have to use the new account name when you log in.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Yours, Keegan Peterzell Community Liaison, Wikimedia Foundation 23:10, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

Renamed
 This account has been renamed as part of single-user login finalisation. If you own this account you can |log in using your previous username and password for more information. If you do not like this account's new name, you can choose your own using this form after logging in: . -- Keegan (WMF) (talk) 04:59, 19 April 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Frankie Roberto~enwikibooks


text:
Common Lisp

Common Lisp (CL) is a modern, multi-paradigm, high-performance, compiled, ANSI-standardized, prominent descendant of the long-running family of Lisp programming languages.

The CL Hello World program reads as follows:

Which outputs: Hello World!

Table of Contents

 * 1) /First steps/ — installation and introductory tutorials
 * 2) /Basic topics/ — lists, functions and macros
 * 3) /Advanced topics/
 * 4) /Beyond ANSI Common Lisp/ — Non-official standards
 * 5) /External libraries/ — A sampling of the multitude of Common Lisp libraries
 * 6) /Implementation Issues/ — Using Common Lisp programs in your every day work
 * 7) /Case Studies in CL/ — A collection of involved examples
 * 8) /Reference/ - The language's reference

Common Lisp Common Lisp

title: Common Lisp


text:
User talk:80.43.131.76

G'day,

I see that your created the wikibook The Art of Flirting, just wondering what it will be about. Also normal naming conventions would dictate that it should be at The art of flirting, so unless there is a special reason for the extra capitals, please consider moving it to the standard. The bellman 12:45, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)

title: User talk:80.43.131.76


text:
Template:SteelType

is good on: Ice, Rock is bad on: Electric, Fire, Steel, Water

title: Template:SteelType


text:
Instructional Technology/Learning Theory - Strengths/Weaknesses

What are the perceived strengths and weaknesses of using certain theoretical approaches to instructional design?

Behaviorism

Weakness -the learner may find themselves in a situation where the stimulus for the correct response does not occur, therefore the learner cannot respond. - A worker who has been conditioned to respond to a certain cue at work stops production when an anomaly occurs because they do not understand the system.

Strength - the learner is focused on a clear goal and can respond automatically to the cues of that goal. - W.W.II pilots were conditioned to react to silhouettes of enemy planes, a response which one would hope became automatic.

Cognitivism

Weakness - the learner learns a way to accomplish a task, but it may not be the best way, or suited to the learner or the situation. For example, logging onto the internet on one computer may not be the same as logging in on another computer.

Strength - the goal is to train learners to do a task the same way to enable consistency. - Logging onto and off of a workplace computer is the same for all employees; it may be important do an exact routine to avoid problems.

Constructivism

Weakness - in a situation where conformity is essential divergent thinking and action may cause problems. Imagine the fun Revenue Canada would have if every person decided to report their taxes in their own way - although, there probably are some very "constructive" approaches used within the system we have.

Strength - because the learner is able to interpret multiple realities, the learner is better able to deal with real life situations. If a learner can problem solve, they may better apply their existing knowledge to a novel situation.

Schuman, L. (1996). Perspectives on instruction. [On-line]. Available: []

Return to Bases of the Field.


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Systems Theory/Goal Structure (Teleological Behavior)

Four Teleological Orders
According to Quentin Smith (1981), the four teleological orders are the relations of one aim to another as (1) a “means to” it, (2) a “part of” it, (3) a “concretion” of it, and (4) as “subsumed” under it. These teleological orders interconnect three different types of aims: (1) ends, (2) goals and (3) purposes. Smith uses the term “ends” to refer to those aims that are directly pursued in voluntary actions. Ends are terms of one or both of the teleological relationships that we are designating as the “means to” relationship and the “part of” relationship. The ends that are terms of these relationships are either physical ends, mental ends, or interpersonal ends. 1. Physical ends are either to alter the physical structure of my surroundings (such as to saw a branch in half), or to alter and move my body for its own sake (as is the case when I engage in exercise). 2. Mental ends are not to change the physical environment or my body, but to “bring to my mind” ideas, images or memories. Examples of mental ends are “to solve a mathematical problem,” “to recall a person’s name,” “to read a poem,” and “to conceptualize in an accurate manner a vague insight.” 3. Interpersonal ends are to influence or affect the consciousness of another person. Goals are formally defined as aims that are constituted by two or more ends. The smallest scale goals are constituted by the fewest ends, and the largest scale goals are constituted by thousands of ends. Goals differ in essence from ends in that they are mediate aims of voluntary actions, whereas ends are immediate aims of these actions. An end is immediately and directly attained by an action: it is the volitional activity and striving that either are the end itself, or that bring about the end as their direct result. A voluntary action, however, cannot immediately attain a goal. A goal must be attained by a series of voluntary actions, such that they become attained only through the attainment of a series of complete actional ends. In this sense the attainment of the goal is mediate: it is mediated by the attainment of a series of actional ends. The explanation of this definition of goals involves a distinction of goals from complete actional ends. Complete actional ends differ from goals in two respects. Complete actional ends are such that: (1) they are continually posited from the moment they are willed by a volition until the moment they have been completely attained by the subsequent voluntary action. This entails that these ends (2) are pursued in a continuous and uninterrupted action and striving, such that I act and strive without intermission from the moment I will the end to be attained until the moment I attain it.

Goals
Goals, on the other hand: (1) are not continually posited from the moment they are willed until the moment they are attained. Rather they are posited as my aims at different times. The pursuit of a goal is interspersed with modes of behavior that do not aim at attaining the goal; these modes of behavior may be actions that aim to attain other goals, or they may be non-actional modes of behavior, such as passions, moods, periods of day-dreaming, sleeping, etc. (2) Corresponding to this discontinuous positing of the goal, the voluntary activities and strivings that aim to realize the goal are engaged in at different times. This definition of goals indicates that they differ from ends in the manner in which they are posited and pursued. They do not necessarily differ in their contents (although they usually do). This occasional similarity between their contents is apparent in the smallest scale goals and the complete actional ends. At one time I may pursue and attain one aim in a single voluntary action, and at another time I may pursue and attain a similar aim in two or three different actions. In the first case, since the aim is attained in a single action, it is nothing more than the complete end of this action. In the second case, it is the mediate aim of several actions: it is the goal to which the several actional ends are ordered. This distinction between ends and goals enables us to note a fundamental difference in kind among the various aims of actions. This difference is usually overlooked. For example, Sartre does not distinguish between the different kinds of aims we empirically desire. For Sartre (L’Etre et le Neaot; Paris: Librairie Gallimard, 1943), “drinking a glass of water” and “conquering Gaul” are undifferentiated instances of the aims we can empirically desire. However we believe there is a fundamental difference in kind between these two aims. The aim of “drinking a glass of water” is achieved in a single and continuous action, whereas the aim of “conquering Gaul” is achieved by a vast number of such actions. The former aim is an end, the immediate aim of one action, whereas the latter aim is a goal, the mediate aim of a number of actions. The relation of goals to purposes is different in kind than the relation of ends to goals. Goals are neither “means to” nor “parts of” purposes, but “concretions” of purposes. Goals “make concrete” the “abstractions” that are purposes. Specifically, goals are the concrete determinations of undetermined instances of universals. It is the nature of purposes to be undetermined instances of universals, and it is the nature of goals to be the particular determinations of these instances. Whereas ends and goals constitute the unique individuality of our actions, purposes are the unconditioned meanings of our actions. They are the ultimate “reason” or “what for” of our actions. If it is asked why or “what for” a person is engaging in an action, the final reason he can give is that he is doing it in order to realize a purpose. While goals are the meaning of ends, in that ends are pursued for the reason that they realize goals, purposes are the meaning of goals, for purposes are the “reason why” we pursue goals. If we consider this order and distinction between these terms and their relationships, then the order of things may be presented in the way similar to graph above. Once the purpose of the action is formulated in the mind of a person, he/she pursues the goal(s) required to be accomplished, in order to achieve definite (and desired) end(s), with ultimate result of fulfilling this purpose. Ends, goals and purposes, as they are interrelated by the four teleological orders, constitute a teleological structure of voluntary actions. According to this interpretation of goal structure, the goal is mediate aim of a number of actions. Hence, it consists of the series of actions intended to achieve proximal and distal effects. If we use Smith’s example, adapted from Sartre, aim of “conquering Gaul” requires series of actions. In order to achieve this military aim, Julius Caesar might have devised this series of actions: •	Divide the territory into areas of responsibility between legions, in order to prevent communication of Gaul tribes. •	Ascertain key terrain features that need to be controlled by legions, to establish camps and uninterrupted lines of communication and supplies for the troops, etc. These hypothetical actions of Caesar would represent the series of activities designed to achieve proximal effects. Distal effect of this series of actions would still be, of course, “conquering Gaul.” The structure above has five levels, each level being an interrelationship between some of these aims. The relationship between ends and other ends constitute the level that lies at the basis of this structure: the “part of” and “means to” order between ends is the irreducible foundation of voluntary and aim—directed action. Founded upon this basic level of the interconnection of ends, there is a second level consisting of the “part of” and “means to” relations between ends and goals. And upon this level there is based a third level: the “part of” and “means to” relations that connect goals to other goals. These relations serve as the foundation for a fourth level of this teleological structure: the “concretion” order that links goals to purposes. Upon this level there is built the uppermost level, which is the “subsumption” order that connects purposes to other purposes. The final purpose in this “subsumption” order is the empty purpose of “attaining some purpose.” This is the most general aim of voluntary action, and with it the teleological relationships terminate. Any phenomenon that is to become an aim of human action can only do so through being integrated in an immanent fashion within this interconnected teleological structure.


text: File:Wikkkki.jpg

title: File:Wikkkki.jpg


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Beekeeping/Residential Beekeeping

Despite appearing to be an impossibility on first observation, it is quite possible to keep bees in residential or even heavily residential areas. Though it is not necessarily the easiest or most successful method of beekeeping, residential beekeeping is by no means an unfeasible act. It is often possible to keep bees in the most crowded suburban areas, within small residential lots or even on the rooftops of mid sized buildings. If enough effort is made, it is usually possible to keep bees in some capacity within an urban environment. For the most success, beekeepers of this ilk must adapt and manage in such a way as to cause the least amount inconvenience for both their bees and their neighbors.

Because of the factors affecting residential beekeepers, they will almost always act as a hobbyist beekeeper, or in some areas rent a hive from a local commercial beekeeper. Due to limited amount of space and resources, it is recommended that residential beekeepers start small with just two or three hives, and only expand once a proper feel for the local area has been achieved. However, some residential beekeepers also have other apiaries, in which they can create a small sideline business, but rarely do they go the  commercial route.

Before keeping bees in a residential area, be sure to know local laws, requirements and regulations. Some areas don’t allow beekeeping and other areas require a permit to be purchased. If you are on good terms with your neighbors and wish to remain as such, it may be a good idea to speak with them before committing yourself to keeping bees in a populated area.

Hive Placement Factors
When working the urban environment with bees, particular attention must be taken to properly place the hive to eliminate or increase certain behaviors and actions of the bees.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Chances are, a new residential beekeeper’s neighbors will not be as excited about bees as the new neighborhood beekeeper. Keeping this in mind, it is often a good idea to keep any hives out of direct line of sight, or disguise hives that are out in the open. Sometimes all it takes is moving a hive from a front or peripheral yard into the backyard. Keeping hives out of sight may eliminate blame for any sort of insect stings, and in the extreme case vandalism. Most people will not even realize that a neighbor keeps bees if a hive is well placed, which may divert a great deal of stress and controversy. This is not to say that neighbors shouldn’t be allowed to know about beekeepers in the area, but often they must first be appeased and educated before they would be agreeable to this new possibly threatening circumstance.

Flight Pattern
In general, bees exiting the hive to gather food will fly between three to ten feet from the ground. Having bees fly in people’s path will likely cause a great deal of unnecessary alarm. Planting tall plants or placing a fence a few feet in front of your hives will force the bees to choose a flight pattern that will take them above head level. Some beekeepers may even choose to locate their hives on a rooftop to eliminate conflicting paths.

Hive Location
Preferably, colonies of bees should be kept in a location in which they receive a full day’s sunlight. Shaded and cold bees tend to be more aggressive and ready to sting. Though it may not always be possible, the main hive entrance should be pointed to the southeast to get the best of the early morning sun. A placement of hives near neighbor’s yards is unadviseable, especially if the neighbors have young children who play outdoors. It is also advised that bees be kept away from swimming pools, as they may attempt to make it their primary water source.

Resources
One of the most important issues of beekeeping is having the proper resources for the bees.

Foraging
During most times of the foraging season, bees will be able to find adequate supplies of nectar and pollen for survival. Keep in mind that most bees choose to forage within a two-mile radius but ten is not unheard of. A two mile radius means that the bees will cover over 8,000 acres of land. Within this land, even in residential areas, many people have gardens, fruit trees and decorative gardens. So foraging may be no problem whatsoever to residential beekeepers.

Supplementing
Occasionally, it may be necessary to supplement the diets of residential bees. But the same guidelines may be followed as with any other form of beekeeping.

Water
Depending on location, water may be a scarcity to the bees of a residential beekeeper. Bees require water to regulate hive temperature and for diluting honey for feeding. Water is often collected from the nearest source, though bees seem to prefer shallow pools of warmer standing water. Because of this, it is advisable to supply bees with a source of water so they do not attempt to drink from neighboring pools or birdbaths. Keep in mind that during the hotter parts of the year in some regions of the US, a single healthy colony of bees may use up to a gallon or more of water a day. Some beekeepers have a faucet slowly dripping over a shallow dish or plate. Once bees start using a specific water source, it may be difficult to prevent them from returning. It is often best to provide a non-diminishing supply of water near the hive before the bees begin flying.

Working The Colony
Whenever a beehive is opened or in some way disturbed, a potentially dangerous reaction may occur. To diminish the possibility of negative action, it is advisable to follow a set of guidelines when working the hive.

Be Aware of Nectar Flows
A nectar flow may be the best possible time in which to work a colony. During a good flow, many of the workers will be out of the hive foraging. This diminished population offers the best time to examine the colony. Be aware of the nectar flows in your area, though this may not be possible without good observations for several years. During a time of nectar dearth, bees may be more defensive and more populous in the hive.

When to Open the Hive
Weather and time of day hold a large influence over the temperament of a colony of bees. Opening a hive during non-peak condition, such as early morning, a rainy or windy day, or during cold weather should be avoided whenever possible. To minimize the likelihood of problems, hives should only be worked on ideal warm sunny days. This however, is also the time of day when neighbors tend to be out and about. When possible only work the hive when no one else is around the immediate vicinity.

Expect Observers
When working a hive, neighbors, especially children, may become interested in what you are doing. If you don’t mind an audience, be sure to have some extra protective gear on hand so some of your spectators may get a closer look or even help out. If you don’t have any protective gear to share be sure that spectators stay a reasonable distance away so they won’t chance getting harmed. Now would also be a good time to casually educate those around you in the art and science of beekeeping. A beekeeper can often use a good assistant, some one who repeatedly chooses to watch may be just that person. It may even be a good idea to invite friends and neighbors to learn and enjoy your hobby. Just be prepared to answer many questions.

Avoid Robbing
Honey, nectar or hive parts exposed, or even leaving a colony open for a few minutes may encourage a robbing situation, which will likely lead to many defensive, ready-to-sting bees flying around. Always seal hives and cover attractive hive parts as soon as possible when working to avoid this situation.

Avoid Gloves
Wearing gloves while beekeeping can be a bad idea. Stings on hands are easily removed and the resulting pain quickly subsides. Generally stings on gloves are not felt, but alarm pheromones are released each time and will cause other bees in the hive to attack. Often this will build and the beekeeper will ignore a cycle that the residential beekeeper should avoid. Wearing gloves may cause the beekeeper to miss one of the best identifiers of colony mood. Working barehanded, a beekeeper is less clumsy and will be less likely to allow the bees to get out of control.

Tips

 * Gentle Bees :When keeping bees in residential areas it is important to keep gentle bees. Select a race of bees that is known to act non-aggressively. If a colony becomes temperamental, don’t hesitate to re-queen it.
 * Consider Your Neighbors :It is best to keep your neighbors happy, though you may be within your legal right to keep bees on your property, an angry neighbor can cause severe problems for a beekeeper. For more information on this subject, see the Gaining Support of Friends and Neighbors module.
 * Avoid Swarming :Even though a swarm of bees is often no threat, neighbors will not perceive it as such.
 * Join Hobbyist Associations :Often a residential beekeeper does not have the room or the need for some seasonal beekeeping equipment, by joining an association it may be possible to share such equipment an thereby eliminate some cost. If such an association is not available consider paying a small fee to a beekeeper with the proper equipment for rental or usage.
 * Hive Design :Because a residential beekeeper often has differing requirements, you may want to consider alternate hive designs such as a top bar hive, which are known to be easier to work, cheap, and to encourage gentler bees.

title: Beekeeping/Residential Beekeeping


text:
Instructional Technology/ELearning

STRATEGIES TO ADOPT E-LEARNING
Incorporate e-learning or blended learning into the corporate strategy by linking training to a business goal.

 * It is imperative that training needs are clearly defined and matched to business goals. Management must then communicate loud and clear these strategic messages to all departments, champion its initiation, and maintain its support until results are achieved.
 * Of course, one needs to be mindful of the concept of "scope creep," in which too many project needs are tied to a learning solution that tries to answer all departmental needs but ends up never fully adopted by any department.

Match the appropriate e-learning learning methodologies to training needs.

 * The foundation of organization-wide e-learning is the licensing of a learning management system (LMS). At its simplest level, an LMS registers students, runs courses, and generates reports on their completion. At more complex levels, an LMS performs many other functions, such as creating certification tracks, allowing the entry of offline learning results, and so on.

 * Buyers should only license systems that support either the SCORM (Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model) or AICC (Aviation Industry Computer Based Training Committee) standard for e-learning programming, and should only license content that is compliant with those standards. Most systems, but not all, comply with at least one of these standards. Compliance with one of the two is adequate, since most content providers will provide content for either.

 * Buyers need to be aware of another standard that isn't related to content production, the Standard Object Access Protocol (SOAP). This enables an LMS to integrate with a human resources information system. This integration can enable anything from the automatic updating of employee information from a program such as PeopleSoft to more complex analyses of job performance and training results.

 * A newer product is the Learning Content Management System (LCMS). This enables the storage of content pieces such as images, videos and documents in the system with the purpose of making them available for content creation by the organization.

ELearning Defined

E-Learning is not just about how technology is used in education. It is a much broader term that has come to include both technical and social dynamics. It is not a stretch to say that our society is moving (has moved) from an industrial age to an information age based on knowledge. E-Learning will have an increasing role in this shift. Some people think of E-Learning as just online or web learning, but it is a very narrow view. There is more to it than just learning with computers and more elements makeup E-Learning than just websites. Cognitive Design Solutions (CDS) created three different levels of E-Learning definitions. The three levels are: Internet enabled instruction, Technology-based instruction and Learning tools of the New Economy.
 * In internet enabled instruction definitions dealing with networking technology would be found.
 * The Technology-based instruction includes methodology issues such as: instructional design, best practices and collaboration elements.
 * Learning tools of the New Economy look at cultural and social impacts that are being advanced by technology.

Basically, what CDS is saying is that to do E-Learning justices one must look at the whole makeup of E-Learning (the technology, methodology and social elements). These three elements have interaction with each other to produce new networks to support learning. When instituted correctly, E-Learning, provides a new array of tools and practices that can add value to a traditional learning setting.

Return to Instructional Technology.

title: Instructional Technology/ELearning


text:
Visual Rhetoric/Definitions of Visual Rhetoric

Defining Visual Rhetoric

Rhetoric may be defined as the faculty of observing [discovering] in any given case the available [appropriate] means of persuasion

The duty and office of Rhetoric is to apply Reason to Imagination for the better moving of the will

Rhetoric is the art of persuasion using language. The classical philosophers used rhetoric in their speeches to persuade people to their point of view. The art uses style and many different formulas to make the most pertinent argument to convince their audience. The classical sophist, Gorgias, said rhetoric had the power to create images in a person's mind. Quintilian also believed that rhetoric presented images into people's minds (Blakesley 2). Visual rhetoric is actually representations and images. It is using images to convince people instead of using words. Images have just begun to be analyzed as rhetoric. They have surrounded people since cavemen began drawing pictures on cave walls. Images today are used in Mediums and Manifestations of Visual Rhetoric advertisements, schoolbooks, movies, magazines, paintings, the list could go on forever because images are everything we see. The visual surrounds people all the time. The definition of visual rhetoric depends upon the scholar, but it can be any range of the items listed previously. In Defining Visual Images, the authors, Charles Hill and Marguerite Helmers, explain that visual rhetoric is “understanding how images… work upon readers” (Helmers 2). So visual rhetoric is the study of what impression visuals give a viewer. There are many categories to look at when determining this impression or impact. One aspect of visual rhetoric is intertextuality. This is how one image relates to another image. Are there similarities? Is it a certain type of image, advertisement, family photo? This is important because the more images that are similar, the more symbols our society comes to know, and the study of semiotics is born. The reason that images can mean something or create emotion in viewers is because of semiotics. Objects in images represent concepts known to our culture, that have a common meaning throughout our society. One example is the American flag. The American flag in an image at least in America, stands for freedom. Psychology must also be looked at when studying images. Trying to figure out what impact certain colors, shapes, symbols have on people is important in figuring out their reactions. This psychology could change from culture to culture. Cultural studies are then also important. Two people from different backgrounds could see images in completely opposite views. Read more about this Cultural Theories of Visual Rhetoric. Visual rhetoric found its beginnings in art criticism. Analysts would look at aspects in the design and symbolism in a piece of fine art, to try and explain what the artist was trying to say. One example of this is Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh. To some people it is just a pretty painting to look at, while others see a foreshadowing to his death. He includes a cypress tree, which is a cemetery tree. He also has the stars, in Van Gogh’s time, heaven was being in the stars. Now that painting would be looked at by a rhetorician and be analyzed in the same way- by looking at all aspects of it.

Visual rhetoric is highly connected to design. When the maker of an image is creating it, he looks at the lines. What direction are the lines going? Are they thick or thin? Are they diagonal? In The Grammar of Visual Design, Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen write about vectors. Rhetorical Vectors. Vectors are diagonal lines throughout an image. Vectors create action in an image. They determine whether or not an image is narrative or conceptual. Another ‘grammatical’ concept in their book is modality. Modality is how believable or realistic an image is- Modality and Visual Representations of Reality. Another ‘gramatical’ concept in their book is framing and salience. Kress and Leeuwen say that the rhetoric of an image is affected by the framing around it- the way the image is cropped. This makes the image either more or less believable. All of these concepts need to be analyzed in order to determine the rhetoric of an image. And even through looking at each aspect scholars may disagree about the meaning. Each person has previous knowledge and experiences that lead him or her to have his or her own opinion about different symbols. But through semiotics and using ‘grammatical’ concepts, hopefully the study of visual rhetoric can become more stabilized and well thought of in intellectual circles- Status of Visual Rhetoric and Visual Literacy in the Academy.

Works Cited Bizzell, Patricia and Bruce Herzberg (Eds.). The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from Classical Times to the Present. Boston: Bedford, 1990. Blakesley David, Brooke Collin. “Introduction: Notes on Visual Rhetoric”. Enculturation. Online. Issue 3:2. 2001.


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MATLAB Programming/Psychtoolbox/Work arounds

If you encounter a problem in the psychtoolbox and have a simple hack to fix it, post it here.

 * Psychtoolbox:GetMouse_AllowMultipleHack - A simple hack I made to get around the limitation on the number of mice. It gets around the problem by ignoring that there are multiple mice.

 * Psychtoolbox:KbCheck - A changed kbcheck that will check all connected keyboards and will sort out some invalid devices that appear to be keyboards.


text:
MATLAB Programming/Psychtoolbox/GetMouse AllowMultipleHack

Back to MATLAB Programming/Psychtoolbox/Work arounds

A simple hack I made to get around the limitation on the number of mice. It gets around the problem by ignoring that there are multiple mice.

This is useful if you have a trackpad on a laptop and need to use an external mouse.

function [x,y,buttons] = GetMouse_AllowMultipleHack(windowPtrOrScreenNumber) % [x,y,buttons] = GetMouse([windowPtrOrScreenNumber]) % % Returns the current (x,y) position of the cursor and the up/down state % of the mouse buttons. "buttons" is a 1xN matrix where N is the number of % mouse buttons. Each element of the matrix represents one mouse button. % The element is true (1) if the corresponding mouse button is pressed and % false (0) otherwise. % % % Test if any mouse button is pressed. % if any(buttons) %  fprintf('Someone''s pressing a button.\n'); % end % % % Test if the first mouse button is pressed. % if buttons(1) %  fprintf('Someone''s pressing the first button!\n'); % end % % % Test if the second mouse button is pressed. % if length(buttons)>=2 & buttons(2) %  fprintf('Someone''s pressing the second button!\n'); % end % % length(buttons) tells you how many buttons there are on your mouse. % % The cursor position (x,y) is "local", i.e. relative to the origin of % the window or screen, if supplied. Otherwise it's "global", i.e. relative % to the origin of the main screen (the one with the menu bar). % % NOTE: If you use GetMouse to wait for clicks, don't forget to wait % for the user to release the mouse button, ending the current click, before % you begin waiting for the next mouse press. % % fprintf('Please click the mouse now.\n'); % [x,y,buttons] = GetMouse; % while any(buttons) % if already down, wait for release % 	[x,y,buttons] = GetMouse; % end % while ~any(buttons) % wait for press % 	[x,y,buttons] = GetMouse; % end % while any(buttons) % wait for release % 	[x,y,buttons] = GetMouse; % end % fprintf('You clicked! Thanks.\n'); % % NOTE: GetMouse no longer supports this obsolete usage: % xy = GetMouse([windowPtrOrScreenNumber]) % where xy is a 1x2 vector containing the x, y coordinates. % % OS X: ___________________________________________________________________ % % Even if your mouse has more than three buttons, GetMouse will return as % many values as your mouse has buttons, % % GetMouse can not cope if your computer has more than one mouse connected. % It exits with an error. % _________________________________________________________________________ % % See also: GetClicks, SetMouse %

% 4/27/96 dhb  Wrote this help file. % 5/12/96 dgp  Removed confusing comment about columns. %              Added query about coordinates. % 5/16/96 dhb  Modified MEX file to conform to above usage, answered %              query about coordinates. % 5/29/96 dhb  Flushing mouse button events added by dgp. % 8/23/96 dhb  Added support for windowInfo argument. % 2/24/97 dgp	Updated. % 2/24/97 dgp	Updated comments about flushing mouse button events. % 3/10/97 dgp	windowPtrOrScreenNumber % 3/23/97 dgp	deleted obsolete comment about flushing mouse button events. % 5/9/00  dgp  Added note about waiting for release before waiting for next click. % 8/5/01  awi  Added examples and modified to document new size of returned button matrix %				on windows. % 8/6/01  awi  Added See also line for GetClicks and note about prior Windows version. % 4/13/02 dgp  Cosmetic. % 5/16/02 awi  Changed Win GetMouse to return variable number of button values and updated %              help accordingly. % 5/20/02 dgp  Cosmetic. % 5/22/02 dgp  Note that obsolete usage is no longer supported. % 6/10/01 awi  Added SetMouse to see also. % 7/12/04 awi  ****** OS X-specific fork from the OS 9 version ******* %              Added note that this is not supported in OS X.  When the %              new OS X mouse functions are in place this will have to be updated. %              Check to see if the OS 9 GetMouse source would work in %               Carbon on OS X so that we could still support this. % 11/18/04 awi Added support for OS X % 04/25/05 robkohr  A simple hack I made to get around the limitation on %               the number of mice. It gets around the problem by %              ignoring that there are %              multiple mice.

% Exit with an error if we don't find the a mex file on Windows or OS 9. AssertMex('MAC2', 'PCWIN');

% On OS X we execute this script, otherwise either MATLAB found the mex file % file and exuted this, or else this file was exucuted and exited with % error on the AssertMex command above.

%get the number of mouse buttons from PsychHID mousedices=GetMouseIndices; numMice = length(mousedices);

%%%%%% %changed to avoid multiple mouse problem %%%%%% mousedices = mousedices(1); % % if numMice > 1 %    error('GetMouse detected more than one mouse connected to your computer and got confused'); % elseif numMice == 0 %    error('GetMouse could not find any mice connected to your computer'); % end

if numMice == 0 error('GetMouse could not find any mice connected to your computer'); end

%%%%%%% %%End Change %%%%%%%

allHidDevices=PsychHID('Devices'); numMouseButtons=allHidDevices(mousedices).buttons;

%read the mouse position and buttons [globalX, globalY, rawButtons]=Screen('GetMouseHelper', numMouseButtons); buttons=logical(rawButtons);

%renormalize to screen coordinates from display space if(nargin==1) screenRect=Screen('GlobalRect',windowPtrOrScreenNumber); x=globalX-screenRect(RectLeft); y=globalY-screenRect(RectTop); else x=globalX; y=globalY; end


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Beekeeping/Frequently Asked Questions

This section of the beekeeping wikibook exists as a place to quickly answer some frequently (and perhaps some non frequently) asked questions. Answers will generally be brief and possibly point in the direction of a pre-existing module on the subject. Any items that go into particular depth and don’t have a related module may eventually become a new module. Because of the ease and simplicity involved in answering (most) quick questions, there may, and likely will, exist information within this module that is not present in other modules.

Please keep in mind that most questions have a wide range of possibly correct answers. An old saying goes “if you ask 100 beekeepers the same question you will get 101 different answers.” Though some beepers may disagree with that statement, which does not change the fact that there will be different opinions as to the correct answer to a question. Because of this, hopefully more than one answer may be supplied for each question. If you choose to answer any questions, please do not simply remove answers you disagree with, rather add reasons to support your decision and let the reader gather information as they please.

If you have a particular question that has not been answered within the overall beekeeping wikibook, or have a question for this list which you wish to know the answer too please submit it to the frequently asked questions discussion page.

Getting Started

 * How much does it cost to get started beekeeping?
 * This depends completely on the new beekeeper, equipment can be built, and items purchased new or used. Depending on how many hives are desired, access to bees and so forth. A complete hobbyist beginner may spend any where from $0 to $1000.

 * How much time does it take to keep bees?
 * Beekeeping is a seasonal task. During the winter there is little to be done, during the spring your time may be completely occupied. Once a beekeeper becomes accustomed to keeping bees it may take any where between five and thirty minutes per hive per week during the active season. However, this is not to say that beekeeping can’t consume more time if desired.

 * Is a license or permit required to keep bees?
 * This is wholly dependent on where you live and possibly the number of hives you wish to keep. If you call your local agricultural department they can likely point you in the right direction.

 * Do I need to join a local association or club to keep bees?
 * Joining a club or association will likely never be a requirement, though doing so is greatly advised. Some clubs require yearly dues, but often this money is quickly more than paid back through the resources that the club provides.

Bee Stings

 * How often do beekeepers get stung?
 * This is dependent on many factors, including the race of bees the keeper keeps, the temperament of the individual colonies, the number of colonies and the beekeepers attitude and skill. Every beekeeper that does his or her job properly will get stung at some point, it is rarely the goal, but sometimes the result. A beekeeper may expect more stings as they begin keeping bees, and fewer as they continue.

 * Does being stung hurt?
 * It can, and likely won't depending on where the sting occurred. The best protection against being stung is not to bother the bees, however the second best is to wear the proper protective gear such as a veil or  bee suit. Some beekeepers even purposely get stung around ten times a season to build and keep a tolerance to bee venom, causing intermediate stings to hurt and swell less.

 * How many people in the US die as a result of bee stings?
 * Statistics show that lightning is more likely to lead to death than bee stings.

 * I was stung by a bee, how should I remove the stinger?
 * The stinger should be removed as soon as possible by scraping it out, such as by using a finger nail or credit card. Squeezing the stinger, and attached venom pouch, may cause the release of more venom in to the skin.

 * Do bees really die after stinging a person?
 * Yes, if the bee that stings is a worker bee it will lose its life shortly after stinging. A  queen bee may survive after stinging, however it is extremely unlikely to be stung by a queen.

 * I was stung by a bee and received some redness and swelling in the immediate area, was this an allergic reaction?
 * No, this may be a standard reaction to a bee sting, however consult a doctor to be sure.

Hive Population

 * How many bees live within a colony?
 * There may be any where between 10,000 to 80,000 bees in a colony. Population is highly dependant on the activity and season of the bees.

 * How many queen bees exist in a hive?
 * Normally there only exist a single mated queen bee within a hive, though it is not unheard of to have two, but it is even rarer to have three.

Bee Flight

 * How fast can bees fly?
 * Bees can fly between 12 and 20 miles per hour.

 * How far do bees fly in a life time?
 * Worker bees may fly up to 500 miles during their foraging existence which may last on average between 5 and 30 days.

 * What is the radius bees will fly from their home site in order to forage?
 * Bees will only fly as far as they need to, but may fly as far as 5 to 10 miles from home.

Nectar Collecting

 * What percentage of foraging bees collect nectar?
 * Around 50 to 80 percent

 * How many trips will a single bee make a day to forage for nectar?
 * As many as 30 trips for a single bee have been recorded

 * How much nectar can a bee collect during a single trip?
 * A full load of nectar may weigh about 85% of the body weight of a bee.

Pollen Collecting

 * What percentage of foraging bees collect pollen?
 * Around 15 to 30 percent

 * How many trips will a single bee make a day to forage pollen?
 * As many as 50 trips for a single bee have been recorded

 * How much pollen can a bee collect during a single trip?
 * Rarely more than 15 mg

Queen Bee

 * Does the queen sting and lay eggs with the same body part? (Submitted by AlbertCahalan 25 Apr 2005)
 * Yes, other than its use to deposit eggs in the center of an empty cell, the queen bee's stinger secondary function is inject other competitive queens with venom in order to eliminate them. The bee’s stinger is a modified ovipositor, which developed in to a defensive mechanism.

Eliminating Bees

 * How can neighbors be prevented from keeping bees? (Submitted by AlbertCahalan 25 Apr 2005)
 * In most areas there is no legal way to prevent a neighbor by force from keeping bees on their own property. If a law does not already exist preventing beekeeping in your community, you may wish to speak to a local government representative in order to instate one. However, there is often no good legal reason to instate such a law and beekeepers associations tend to fight as a group preventing any such law from being created. Checking zoning laws may be a secondary option, but most allow beekeeping as long as the hive population is below a certain level, which is often in the hundreds. The best option is to speak to your neighbor and explain your grievances in order to work out compromise, though be aware that in most cases they have no legal requirement to make you happy.

Honey

 * Isn't it somewhat unsafe to eat honey produced in residential areas? It could be contaminated with rhododendron or azalea nectar, and thus poisonous. (Submitted by AlbertCahalan 3 May 2005)
 * While it is true that bees can forage nectar from plants with human toxic nectar, you have to consider the distribution of such flowers. If poison-nectar plants are the predominant source of nectar for forming honey, don’t eat the honey produced. However, in most cases such nectar sources are few and far between on the foraging path of honeybees. This in combination with the sheer amount of nectar that must be gathered to make a small amount of honey makes the occurrence of honey poisoning extremely rare. Experienced beekeepers should be aware of possible toxic honey their hive may produce, this honey is often collected and used only for feeding back to the bees. If there is any question, avoid using any honey that you don’t trust.

 * Is it a good idea to feed infants or people with immune deficiencies honey?
 * No, honey should not be fed to infants under the age of 1 or to people with severe immune system deficiencies. This is due to possibility of botulism spores being present within the honey. This level of botulism present should have no ill effect on a healthy person.

title: Beekeeping/Frequently Asked Questions


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Talk:Beekeeping/Frequently Asked Questions

It is said, “if you ask 100 beekeepers the same question you will get 101 different answers.” Though some beepers may disagree with that statement, which does not change the fact that there will be different opinions as to the correct answer to a question. Because of this, hopefully more than one answer may be supplied for each question. If you choose to answer any questions, and I ask that you do if you know the answer, please do not simply remove answers you disagree with, rather add reasons to support your decision and let the module’s reader gather information and decide the best advise to take.

If you have a particular questions that has not been answered within the overall beekeeping wikibook, or a question exists that is not in the faq module of beekeeping, this is the best place to submit it. Hopefully once fully realized, it will be answered in the faq section and be made a part of the ongoing evolution of the beekeeping wikibook. If you desire you may attach a date to your question, and hopefully the oldest questions will be answered first.

Answered questions should be noted or removed from this page and placed to the FAQ section.

Unanswered Questions

 * 1) How can I keep bees away from the flowers and water in my yard? -AlbertCahalan 04:58, 3 May 2005 (UTC)
 * I personally am unaware of any sort of bee repellant, but I will see what I can find out. My best advise is not to plant flowers that are attractive to bees. There is not much you can do in regard to water, other than not letting it stand uncovered. If the simple presence of bees worries you, keep in mind that lightning kills more people than bees do. Once I get around to it, and assuming some one else dose not first, I will write and post an article addressing the issues of the (lack of) danger that bees pose. -Robert Engelhardt 02:36, May 4, 2005 (UTC)
 * Well, that would be wrong. Bee stings can lead to infection. I had to get antibiotics and a tetanus vaccination the last time I was stung. My toe swelled up terribly, over a few days following the sting. Probably I would be dead if I hadn't gotten some modern antibiotics. Had I died, I'm pretty sure the bacteria would have gotten credit for my death, thus underestimating the danger of bees. AlbertCahalan 02:49, 4 May 2005 (UTC)
 * I more specifically, should have said that bee venom as the direct causes deaths less likely than lightning. As true with any wound, infection is possible and secondary effects may occur, which should be treated if necessary. The wound created by a bee sting should be treated as any other wound. In cases where allergies do not exist, it takes about ten stings per pound of body weight to administer a lethal dose of venom. More statistics relating to insect sting deaths can be found here or from the World Help Organization. If allergies are a problem, you should, as I advise everyone with that problem, carry an epinephrine pen. Remember that Epinephrine only treats a symptom and reduces the profusion to your tissues thus reduces swelling and allows your airway to re-open, it does nothing to stop the underlying problem. -Robert Engelhardt 03:36, May 4, 2005 (UTC)

Answer Discussion

 * How is a bee supposed to hold 0.5 mL of necter? That's 1/2 cc. A bee is about 1/4 cc total. They don't bring buckets with them. A hummingbird might, just barely, be able to hold this much. from AlbertCahalan on 20:45, 25 Apr 2005)
 * A full load of nectar may weigh about be about 85% of the body weight of a bee. This may seem like a lot, but bees are more than adequate to complete the task. Keep in mind that an adult bee can easily carry away hive debris many times her size and weight. The only thing that limits the amount of nectar that can be brought back is the size of the bees honey stomach. According to my source, which I now see is wrong, claims that .5 mL is about the size of a drop from an eyedropper. I did not initially see the error as I don't normally use SI, I removed that segment of the answer and hope someone has a better one. --Robert Engelhardt 21:42, Apr 25, 2005 (UTC)

 * Is it better to leave a bee stinger in until a proper tool can be found, or to just crudely squeeze at the stinger immediately? -AlbertCahalan 04:58, 3 May 2005 (UTC)
 * See the answer to the question “I was stung by a bee, how should I remove the stinger?” under the bee stings category. The short and sweet answer is use a finger nail to scratch it out and avoid squeezing the stinger if possible. -Robert Engelhardt 02:36, May 4, 2005 (UTC)
 * Well yes, but the problem is that I don't carry a proper tool with me. My fingernails are often very short. So, do I search for a proper tool or just squeeze the stinger with blunt fingers? AlbertCahalan 02:49, 4 May 2005 (UTC)
 * I too keep my nails rather short, in fact I just clipped them last night. As luck would have it, I was stung this afternoon during an inspection. (I nor any of my family has been stung unless we were directly distressing a bee, in this case I had the hive open and was not paying attention and crushed a bee) The stinger came right out with a flick of the finger. If you don’t have the proper tool, such as a credit card, a knife or even a pen or a business card, you can pinch the stinger between your fingers and remove it. However, doing this you are quite likely to cause more venom to be introduced to the wound. Time is also an issue, as the stinger will both pump more venom, and work its way deeper into the skin if given the chance. Depending on how quickly you can get access to the proper tool may depend on your choice of removal. Also remember that bees leave behind a chemical scent marker when they sting, possibly encouraging more bees to sting the general area, so leave the area, and mask the scent if possible. -Robert Engelhardt 03:36, May 4, 2005 (UTC)