About CameraCarl.com

As you may have gathered, my name is Carl — welcome to my site. Although not a professonal photographer I am a passionate amateur who has gradually become hooked on all things photographic. In 2009 I made a New Year's resolution to become a better photographer using the equipment I already own — and I believe that I have come a long way. In 2010 I got even more serious and purchased some hard core gear. My photos improved greatly as a result of having better tools to work with. In 2011 I aim to become an even better picture taker. I'm determined to reprogram the way I view the world and to see the environment through the eyes of a photographer!

My Gear

In 2010 I took the plunge and updated my camera gear from a trusty and slightly miscalibrated Canon EOS 350D to a shiny new Canon 7D with an EF 24-105mm L series lens. In terms of image quality there is simply no comparison between the old and new cameras.

For quick snapshots I still have my Olympus SP550UZ Ultrazoom with a powerful 18x optical zoom.

For processing images I have a reasonably grunty dual monitor PC running Vista. I use Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom and Hdrsoft's Photomatix to process the images. In 2010 I purchased a copy of Portrait Professional - a simply amazing program.  Also I have acquired a monitor calibration device that allows me to better work on images on the computer.  Over the past couple of years I have been creating photobooks from my pictures through Blurb.com. Although generally happy with the results some of my images printed a bit dark.  It turned out to have nothing to do with the printers. Rather my monitors were not properly calibrated. Some images I processed on my desktop and others on my laptop and this became apparent in the final printed book. With a properly calibrated monitor I will be able to get a more consistent printed result.

About this Site

I have learnt a lot about photography and digital darkroom techniques by surfing the web. Having received so much good information I feel guilty in that I have never given something back. So, this site has been developed to give something back and thus ease my conscience.