What is Calligraphy? 

Calligraphy, often referred to as the art of writing, is a type of visual art that produces elegant handwriting. The word calligraphy is derived from the Greek words 'kallos' (which means "beauty") and 'graphe' (which means "writing").

According to experts, calligraphy is a combination of an art form and a craft. In its simplest form, calligraphy involves writing letters in an artistic manner using a few or several direct strokes. A person practising the art of calligraphy is called a calligrapher. Such a person's objective is to express emotion and beauty in writing.

The ancient origins of calligraphy take us back to the cavemen days where the experiences in a caveman's life were drawn on the walls of caves. With the development of humans, such drawings also became more advanced and around 3500 BC the Egyptians created hieroglyphics - symbols that were based on humans/gods, animals and implements. Around 1000 BC, one of the first alphabets and writing systems were introduced by the Phoenicians, who spread this knowledge to every seaport they passed on their travels around the world. It is believed that the Greeks, who developed a writing form of their own, were influenced by the Phoenicians.

In ancient times, before man invented the printing press, calligraphy was used to produce books. Every copy of a book was carefully handwritten by a scribe using a quill and ink. With the invention of the printing press, faster printing of books was possible. However, handwriting skills continued to be in high demand as the printing press was not practical for daily correspondence such as letters and invitations.

There are three main styles of calligraphy widely found in the world today. They are - Western (also called Roman), Arabic and Oriental (also called Chinese). Over the centuries, calligraphy has withstood the challenges of a variety of man's inventions such as the printing press, steel and fountain pens, and more recently, the computer. Calligraphy continues to grow in calligraphic societies in the United States and Europe. Calligraphy is also a highly respected art form in both the Chinese and the Arabs cultures.

In modern times, calligraphy has a variety of practical use in day-to-day life. It is widely used in various occasions such as invitations for wedding and other events, greeting cards, font designing, logo designing, graphic designing, memorial documents, legal documents, business cards, maps, menus, cut stone inscriptions and even documentation such as birth or death certificates.


Learn Calligraphy

Calligraphy has always held a reputation for being a fine art. There comes a time in every individual’s life when they become interested in learning calligraphy. Therefore, we shall explore what it takes to learn calligraphy and how to get about it.

If you want to learn calligraphy in step by step detail, the best book to lay your hands on will be ‘calligraphy for dummies’. The book explains every step of the way in the deal in detail to make it easier on any reader to follow instructions. Those who are very serious about pursuing calligraphy professionally believe that they need to enroll in formal courses to learn calligraphy. But others who engage in calligraphy just for the fun of it, almost always learn calligraphy by themselves or through friends. However, some people have an inborn talent at it.

Among the many varieties of calligraphy are the popular ones such as Chinese calligraphy, Italian calligraphy and so on. If you want to master in learning a particular style, you will need some dedication and a lot of practice. After all, calligraphy is simply an art – an art where beautiful writing styles are used for various reasons.
Anyone who’s interested to learn calligraphy should get hold of professional calligraphy pens. The ink being used also makes a huge difference in the quality of the output. If you are a beginning trying to learn calligraphy, a chisel point pen of about one and half millimeters of width would be the best.

A steady hand is a must have when you learn calligraphy. Therefore, before you sit down to it, take a moment to relax and calm yourself. Focus is another important component in both learning and practicing calligraphy. If you are a complete beginning trying to learn calligraphy, it is a good idea to equip yourself with a calligraphy alphabet such as the uncial alphabet.

If you are good at drawing what you see, you may attempt to learn calligraphy just by looking at an alphabet. If you feel more comfortable in tracing an alphabet, in order to get the hang of strokes and curves, it is a good idea to start off by tracing. You may need some tracing paper at this point. A common temptation for many beginners when they learn calligraphy for the first time is to get in to fancy maneuvers immediately. No matter how tempting it is, you should not get in to it until you are comfortable with the basic layout. So first try to learn calligraphy in its most basic way before adding glitter to your writing!

Shutter Speed

Digital photography allows us to understand the world of photography, photographs resulted in a review can be directly through the LCD window, so we can evaluate the shots, because of technical data relating to catapult who had been seen and recorded, in contrast to conventional photography, where we have to print them first and can see , to review and evaluate the results jeperetan, any technical data it first we must note, that it took a lot of money and time wasted on who can improve our photography skills

Digital photography art can be described as painting with light, in this case the camera and lens that replaces the role of the brush and paint. There are two things that the most important role in the camera and lens, the Shutter Speed and Aperture

Shutter Speed is the length of time required to illuminate the CCD ato CMOS sensors on digital cameras, and film in conventional cameras. On the numbers listed Kemera 250,125,60,30,15 ff. This means that the duration of exposure is 1 / 250 sec, 1 / 125 sec, 1 / 60 seconds, and so on.

The larger numbers mean faster the time who used, this will create the effect of silent (freeze), for example, who we will be photographing a moving object, eg a car, with the effect of silence, we require at least a shutter speed above 1 / 125 second.

Conversely, if we will be photographing objects with moving effects, then the required shutter speed of less than 1 / 125 seconds, preferably done by following the direction of motion of the object, this technique called panning,

Two things also from the above depending on the speed of the moving object, the faster an object moves, it means that the higher the shutter speed required to obtain still or moving effects that we want, should be noted, the lower the shutter speed, will result in the greater also the possibility of camera shaking , who will cause shots to be rocking and not sharp.

To be safe, use a shutter speed above 30 or 1 / 30 seconds, if it wants a lower shutter speed, eg 1 / 15 sec, 1 / 8 seconds or undersell, use a buffer or use a tripod.


Aperture 

After discussing the Shutter Speed on the first section of this article, another element who are not less important in photography is to Aperture, Aperture is the size of the aperture that functions to enter and continue the light onto the film or sensor. size of regulated through the diaphragm. In general the camera contained 2.8; 4; 5.6 ff. angka2 is known as the f-number, so called aperture (aperture) f / 2.8, f / 4, f / 5.6 ff. The bigger the aperture the smaller the f-numbernya and the lesser diameter of opening, so it is smaller in diameter than f/16 f / 5.6

It works like a pupil aperture on the human eye, the more light coming in, the smaller the diameter of the pupil, and vice versa. Aperture very much associated with a sharp space or depth of field, the greater the f-number, eg f/22, sharpness will increasingly wide range. This means that objects behind and in front of the main focus has good sharpness. otherwise we will get blur effect / blur to objekdi front and behind the main focus when using a small f-number, eg f / 2.8

Shutter speed and aperture should be synergized to get proper exposure. ISO is also an important role, the higher the ISO is used, the sensitivity to light any bigger, so that at any dim lighting, shutter speed and aperture can still be used optimally. But keep in mind, the higher the ISO is used, the higher the level of noise or grain produced

To determine whether the exposure was correct or not, in conventional digital cameras available ato metering facilities. So that the occurrence of over-exposure (excess lighting), or under exposure (lack of lighting) can be minimized.

Once the basic technique can be mastered, the next is the flying hours required, because art is identical with the moment of photography, fine day and the moment was not easily repeated, skill determines the composition and angle of image capture can be developed as flying hours, then multiply references, books, internet, as well as other sumber2. How good and sophisticated a camera, just a tool, clincher is that those who were behind the camera

Here are some guidelines that can assist you in developing photography skills.

Always Bring Cameras
The main reason why you missed a good moment to be photographed is because you do not bring a camera. Make it a habit to always carry a camera with you wherever you go because you do not know the moments or the scenery, what scenery you'll meet later. Buy a camera bag or a place for you because it can help you bring the camera, besides it can also protect your camera from the things that are not desirable, such as scratches or collision with another object. Camera bag or place that has a foam and has a fairly tough outer layer is a smart choice for this.

Photos More Much More
If you think that you've pretty much take photos, not so, especially if you are the owner of a digital camera. Results from digital camera images stored in digital format (the files), so there is no harm for you to take more photos. Indeed the image is going to spend some space on your memory card, but later on you can easily remove it if you are not satisfied with the results of the photo. Why would you take a photo if you can take lots of photos? Do not be hesitant, as it may be a place where you took your photos will not visit again. Photo freely, because the scene / scenes of everyday can be boring to be historic for several years.

Believe in Your Eyes
Learning the rules of Composition is a good thing, but sometimes the rules do not apply and there are times when you must trust your eyes. When we will be photographing an object, move it or move the camera and explore the surrounding scenery. When you find the angle that you think a good portrait, Photo capture immediately.

Train Your Eyes
Look carefully and note the photos you take. Try to find shortcomings and criticize the results of the photo. Is the image in accordance with what we want when we are photographing? Whether you like him Composition? Activities for reconsideration by the results of your own photos is essential in improving your photographic senses.

Know Your Camera
You do not need to memorize every feature on your camera as soon as possible. Will more easily remember your features slowly try your camera features one by one through the photography of everyday activities. Analogues such as when we learn to change gears when riding a motorcycle or car. Make the ability to tamper camera features become your habits. Thus you may well know what features should be used when photographing an object or scene.

Always Working on File Copies
This applies to the new era of digital camera photography. You need to remember that before you make a photo copy of the photos you've got is a photograph of the only pristine. Get used to create a copy of the file image you want to fiddle with tooling. Some of the processing / organizing digital images usually include this feature.

Many beginners often ask, how to make the background becomes blurry when the photo-portrait? Actually, how easy, and not less than three steps. Previously, you need a digital SLR camera, for DSLR cameras have large sensors and you can replace it with a telephoto lens. However, you can try using a compact camera though the results do not maximal.

Step One: Set your zoom to the maximum point

For example, if you have a lens of 18-55m, then set your lens to 55mm zoom. If you have any telephoto zoom lenses, like 55-250mm, this is even better. Use of this lens and zoom lens set to 85mm to 135mm you. Focal range is ideal for portrait photos

Step Two: Place your models as far as possible from the background

The farther the distance between the background model with the model than the distance to the camera, the more blur the background of the camera.

Step Three: Set opening / aperture of your lens as big as possible

The bigger the aperture the more blurry the background, when you have 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. So, set your aperture to f/5.6 (this is the maximum aperture at 55mm focal range.

If you are not happy with the results of 18-55mm lens, I recommend to buy a 50mm lens 85mm f/1.8 or f/1.8. Although the lens can not zoom, but a very large maximum aperture, making it more suitable for portrait photos.