hi, my name is paul and I've been with flickr since 2007. initially I joined it to keep a private family album, and then to watch from the shadows for the first year or so, then I got inspired by the talent here

I became addicted after I bought my DSLR (Olympus E3) in May 2008. I always use a tripod and capture JPGs of all available dynamic range (complete white to complete black) which is an average of about 10 images per scene during the day, and 7 at night; the exceptions are very rare: when I'm on a moving vehicle and I'm forced to shoot 1 RAW; for post processing I use photomatix for some HDR work and photoshop for (relatively slight) contrast / saturation / sharpness adjustments, and IR experiments but basically I'm an amateur - never took a course and I do this out of pleasure and no pressure :)

please don't be offended if I don't add you as a contact because most of my time is taken by work and I don't get to comment as often as I should for the contacts I already have...


some notes about using my images on the net (may 2013 update):

I make use of a CC (creative commons) license on all my images. simply put, you don't have to buy them to use them but you must provide the credit

this is an easy concept: if you took a picture you'd want to be acknowledged for it. the CC license is the most flexible available: attribution - can be used anywhere and modified by anyone (including personal blogs, website templates, for-profit and non-profit companies alike) as long as you provide the credit with a link to my stream



here is a simple credit:


photo by paul bica



you can make it with this html code:


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dexxus/4652641178/" title="first light by paul bica, on Flickr" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4020/4652641178_dcc614bb1f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="first light"></a>
photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/dexxus" target="_blank">paul bica</a>



the "<a href=" parts are links; if anyone clicks the image will be taken to its source on flickr

the "target" is so the click will open a new browser window
(users don't move away from the initial page in the main window)

the "<img src=" will show the actual image from flickr
(this and the first link are the parts that need to by updated for each particular image)

the credit is the "photo by" part which will take readers to the first page of my stream if they click on my name

let me know if you have any problems or need more details


ps.
just wanted to thank all people who told me where and how they used my images :)
out of the thousands of sites I found them in use there wasn't ONE context I didn't appreciate (some didn't relate much but who cares)

pps.
very often people ask me for higher res images and I'd like to provide them but I don't have the time...

flickr didn't allow higher res images in previous years (the max used to be 640 x 480, and now it's 2048 x 1536). when they increased the limit I started uploading larger sizes as well and I'll continue to do so for new images

ideally, I'd like to go through all the smaller ones and replace them with 2048 but one problem is that I can't replace images in a free account (and I don't want to upgrade to pro), the second problem is that even if I could, I wouldn't have the time to do it...

my secondary flickr account: www.flickr.com/photos/dex2




this is what I use:

cameras
- 2011 - Olympus E5 (better quality than E3)
- 2009 - Canon PowerShot SX10 IS (backup)
- 2008 - Olympus E3, ED 7-14 first dslr camera
- 2007 - Olympus Stylus 790 SW - dominican, swimming with the fishes...
- 2006 - Canon PowerShot S3 IS - most pre dslr pix (great camera)
- 2005 - Canon PowerShot S1 IS - earliest pix on flickr (2007)
- 2004 - Olympus D-580 Zoom - first digital "steps"...
lenses (Olympus)
- 2011 - Zuiko Digital ED, 50-200mm, F2.8-3.5 SWD (100-400mm equiv zoom)
- 2010 - Zuiko Digital ED, 50mm, F2.0 Macro (50mm fixed focal length)
- 2009 - Zuiko Digital ED, 7-14mm, F4.0 ultra wide-angle lens (not fisheye)
- 2008 - Zuiko Digital ED, 12-60mm, F2.8-4.0 SWD (24-120mm equiv focal length)
filters
- Genus GNDF72 ND fader circular filter (variable neutral density)
- B+W ND10 - Neutral Density filter - 72mm, 110 Glass 3.0 (1,000X, ten f-stops)
- Hoya ND8 - Neutral Density filter - 72mm (broke it in hawaii...)
- Hoya R72 - Infrared (IR) filter - 72mm; near infrared (720nm)
tripods and remote
- Induro AKB2 Adventure Series
- Induro AB2 Adventure Series Tripod Kit (model 470-002)
- Induro AB1 Adventure Series Tripod Kit (model 470-001)
- Sunpak 9001 UT
- timer remote for olympus


some notes:

- learn the rules so you'll know how to break them (if you care)
- be unique: do the opposite of what is taught (experiment)
- shoot into the sun, or include light sources with the subject
- shoot at night / paint with light
- use long exposure - compress time, capture movement
- find the hardest spots - not many others will
- make all possible mistakes, except for being boring

a few rules I'm aware of:
- a long time ago I was told to always have the sun behind the camera. as far as I'm concerned this is the most uninteresting thing you can do; I avoid it whenever I can
- rule of thirds: keep the subject close to the intersection of the 2 equal vertical and horizontal dividers of the image. this usually works, but there are cases when symmetry is beautiful
- fixing perspective distortion. this is how our eyes see the world. it's like using isometric perspective in art! an isometric view is used to show accurate dimensions of all sides of an object or building in architecture or technical drawings...


the most basic info about photography - exposure:
the camera is like the eye
- aperture: iris size:
-- iris open (wide) - allows more light / shallow depth of field (focus)
-- iris small (narrow opening) - allows less light / everything is in focus
- shutter speed: like eye lids:
-- blink fast, capture a small fraction of time
-- blink slowly (longer interval), the sensor will save every position of a moving object
- ISO - sensor or film sensitivity
-- in the dark the eye can notice weaker lights at low quality (ISO 800 and above)
-- during the day the eye has enough light to capture the finest details (ISO 100)



I'd say that to get started and enthusiastic about this hobby all you need is a point and shoot, but with compacts or ultra compacts you'll quickly start wishing for "a few more settings" so you can get better control in different situations

in my limited experience I found the "SLR-like" cameras (high end compacts) to be absolutely spectacular and relatively inexpensive compared the full blown DSLRs with interchangeable lenses. with some of them you get an unbelievable zoom range (super wide-angle 22mm to 800mm equivalent) that would cost thousands in separate lenses tied to the brand

literally: my ultra wide 7-14 (olympus four-thirds system only) was $2,000 w/o taxes - more than the E5 body itself. for pros olympus has $7,000+ zoom lenses (300mm, f2.8)

the only limitations I can see with compacts:
- smaller prints (but more than enough for family prints or web/flickr)
- lower ISO limits - to keep high quality in low light you need longer exposures
- lower limits for shutter speed - a max of about 1/3000 sec instead of 1/8000 sec

printing: how many amateurs with an artistic side will need to sell very large prints?

the ISO limit is not that high... so what; out of habit I always shoot at 100 ISO regardless of the camera, and if I need more light I use longer exposures and a tripod (but this depends on the subject)

lower shutter speeds: are you into sports or fast action shots? if so you may need a DSLR and a fat wallet



camera features wish list:

- fully articulated screen (very happy with olympus e3 and e5 :)
- quiet and discreet operation
- long shutter life
- 10 step AE bracketing
- bracketing steps: from lightest to darkest
- timelapse recording
- built in geotagging (PLEASE !!!!) ( see www.air-semi.com)
- illuminated buttons
- integrated level indicator (on screen) (olympus did it :)
- elctronic zoom control for zoom bursts
- laser or sonic assistance for low light focus
- able and willing to bring beer


my flickr summary and full stream on black:




june 2008 - decided to open my own group to acknowledge the talent that inspired me:

best of flickr (ID: 799505@N23); created June 20, 2008



I've traveled flickr far and wide and I still have miles to go but I think I've managed to collect quite a few remarkable images; you might be pleasantly surprised if you view my faves as a slide show



also, I can help any group admin with HTML invite/comment codes in this group:

Code Help (ID: 929425@N25); created May 15, 2011



in my spare time I can also provide scripting support for JavaScript, VBA (Excel, Access), Unix, and a few more... (in other words I'm fluent in geek and several dialects of nerd)




... this is my profile page and I'll rant if I want to, so:

I am a perfectionist and minimalist (in spite of this profile page)

I don't like paper - everything should be in electronic format (almost everything)

life has become abundant and excessive, so I strive for top quality

I think countries should exist only for location purposes:
- one language - equalizer in availability of information, and standard of communication that would put the focus on intelligence
- one currency - no discrimination of physical and intellectual effort
- no embassies, passports and visas - embrace all cultures and learn from differences
- universal social standards (privileges and responsibilities)

but maybe all this would simplify things too much - we'll have to think really hard to come up with good reasons for war. I may be a dreamer but I believe someone wrote a song about this: imagine; I guess I'm not the only one

a few more details about me (first comment)





Tutorials and Utilities ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HDR / Orton tutorials
IR tips
Scout - Find your photos in Flickr's Explore pages (bighugelabs)



flickr apps:

group sweeper

flickrhivemind.net

www.flickriver.com

en.flickeflu.com

www.fluidr.com

DeepDive



monitor calibration:



if you don't see 8 squares make very fine brightness / contrast adjustments
(till you get a headache like me, and only at the point of exhaustion will you reach enlightenment and see all pictures in psychedelic colors)

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these counters are for this page only:




Stats



made accounts with other sites to reserve the name, but I'm not too active on them:

Getty:   pauldex
Panoramio: ... (I somehow managed to lose my reference, or maybe my account was deleted; if anyone finds it... whatever...)
Friendfeed: dexxus
RedBubble: pauldex



Wikipedia: paul (dex) (mostly contributing to the toronto page)
Facebook: dexxus
Twitter: paul_dex
(not consistent with the names, but consistent with my inconsistencies)

favorite movies:
The Reader, 2008, Kate Winslet
The Snow Walker, 2003, Annabella Piugattuk
Wit, 2001, Emma Thompson
Somewhere in Time, 1980, Jane Seymour



Visited 17 Countries (7.11%)

flickr user ID: 99771506@N00

(I've also used "dexxus", "dex", and other variations like "paul (dex) bica", but a google search of simply "paul bica" will bring up my flickr account)