Practical HDRI: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers

Practical HDRI: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers Review

In this book, well-known expert Jack Howard leads you on an exploration into the exciting new frontier of High Dynamic Range Imaging. HDRI is a method to digitally capture, store, and edit the full luminosity range of a scene in ways that are just not possible with a single captured image.

Jack's illustrated text is easy to understand as he takes you from the initial image capture and into the digital darkroom. Here is where you will learn to use this cutting edge photographic technique to achieve spectacular results.

Covered are the most popular and effective HDR programs such as Adobe Photoshop CS3, FDRTools, Dynamic Photo HDR, Photomatix Pro, and more.

Topics include:

• Illustrated step-by-step tutorials
• Basic and advanced workflows
• Post-production optimization for both web and print
• File management
• Advice on cameras and software
• A wealth of HDR images, ranging from subtle to surreal
• Real-world shooting tips from Jack's personal experiences as both a creative photographer and photojournalist.

HDR imaging for the photographer can be challenging and frustrating for the uninitiated, as it involves both field and computer expertise. However, Jack Howard explains this complex subject matter in a practical way that will not intimidate the beginner, nor bore the experienced photographer. The emphasis is on the creative process and how to make it work for you-rather than the science behind it.

Aging with Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives

Aging with Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives Review

In 1986 Dr. David Snowdon, one of the world’s leading experts on Alzheimer’s disease, embarked on a revolutionary scientific study that would forever change the way we view aging—and ultimately living. Dubbed the “Nun Study” because it involves a unique population of 678 Catholic sisters, this remarkable long-term research project has made headlines worldwide with its provocative discoveries.
Yet Aging with Grace is more than a groundbreaking health and science book. It is the inspiring human story of these remarkable women—ranging in age from 74 to 106—whose dedication to serving others may help all of us live longer and healthier lives.

Totally accessible, with fascinating portraits of the nuns and the scientists who study them, Aging with Grace also offers a wealth of practical findings:

• Why building linguistic ability in childhood may protect against Alzheimer’s
• Which ordinary foods promote longevity and healthy brain function
• Why preventing strokes and depression is key to avoiding Alzheimer’s
• What role heredity plays, and why it’s never too late to start an exercise program
• How attitude, faith, and community can add years to our lives

A prescription for hope, Aging with Grace shows that old age doesn’t have to mean an inevitable slide into illness and disability; rather it can be a time of promise and productivity, intellectual and spiritual vigor—a time of true grace.

Protecting Your Parents' Money: The Essential Guide to Helping Mom and Dad Navigate the Finances of Retirement

Protecting Your Parents' Money: The Essential Guide to Helping Mom and Dad Navigate the Finances of Retirement Review

Are you ready for the inevitable day when you will have to act as parent to your parents?

Protecting Your Parents’ Money is the essential financial handbook that will help you navigate this confusing and difficult transition, providing a game plan for tackling complex issues like estate planning, retirement income and savings, and long-term health care. Most important, it will help bridge the communication barrier between parents and adult children, which often makes the process much more difficult than it needs to be. Important topics include:

• Personal Finance 101, the Senior Years: The essential definitions and workings of the myriad investment options and financial requirements your parents will deal with in retirement.
• The Move: How to find the right nursing homes or retirement communities, comparing costs and factoring your parents’ assets into the mix.
• Understanding Medicare: What it is, how to qualify for coverage, and what it means for your parents’ finances.
• Elder Fraud: How to look for telltale signs that your parents have been victimized.

Protecting Your Parents’ Money provides the comprehensive guide every loving son and daughter will need to understand and help manage Mom and Dad’s financial concerns.

29 and Counting : A Chick's Guide to Turning 30

29 and Counting : A Chick's Guide to Turning 30 Review

Just when a woman's learned how to wind her way through a life of temp jobs and commitment-phobic boyfriends, she has to face the biggest nightmare yet--turning 30. What with everything on that "To Do Before 30" list still left undone and and the biological clock ticking all too loudly, even the most sensible chicks come a little unglued when their fourth decade is upon them.

Luckily, humor writer Julie Tilsner is here to help. A Business Week editor who ditched New York City and a successful career for a kibbutz in Israel when the big day closed in on her, Tilsner recounts her experience and those of many other women in this pithy, insightful, and uproarious self-help book.