https://apalmanac.com A resource for working professional photographers and design industry professionals featuring news, commentary, equipment resources, and original articles Tue, 02 May 2023 07:00:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 156681027 https://apalmanac.com/business/photographing-a-project-over-the-course-of-two-years-the-hungarian-house-of-music-180920 https://apalmanac.com/business/photographing-a-project-over-the-course-of-two-years-the-hungarian-house-of-music-180920#comments Mon, 01 May 2023 12:00:00 +0000 https://apalmanac.com/?p=180920 It’s very difficult to start telling a story when you don’t really know where to start. Maybe it was in 2015 or 2016 when I first came across the visual designs, which immediately piqued my interest. An incomparable building was visible on them, one that I had never seen anywhere before, let alone in Hungary — it was a rendering of the future Hungarian House of Music.Rendering]]> https://apalmanac.com/business/photographing-a-project-over-the-course-of-two-years-the-hungarian-house-of-music-180920/feed 2 180920 https://apalmanac.com/gear/can-you-use-a-canon-50mm-tilt-shift-lens-on-a-nikon-mirrorless-camera-178515 https://apalmanac.com/gear/can-you-use-a-canon-50mm-tilt-shift-lens-on-a-nikon-mirrorless-camera-178515#comments Wed, 09 Nov 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://apalmanac.com/?p=178515 Ever since I started my journey as an architectural photographer, I’ve had to face a big dilemma. I learned the basics of photography with Nikon cameras, so when I got to the point where I really needed to use tilt-shift lenses in my architectural photography work – I was left wanting.]]> https://apalmanac.com/gear/can-you-use-a-canon-50mm-tilt-shift-lens-on-a-nikon-mirrorless-camera-178515/feed 3 178515 https://apalmanac.com/post-production/which-sky-replacement-software-works-best-177949 https://apalmanac.com/post-production/which-sky-replacement-software-works-best-177949#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2022 12:45:07 +0000 https://apalmanac.com/?p=177949 Sky replacement is a tool every architectural photographer needs to know. I personally use it very rarely, but there are times when this type of knowledge comes in handy.If you’ve ever seen Mike Kelley’s Where Art Meets Architecture series, then you know that he talks about sky replacements in-depth in the second part of WAMA 2.]]> https://apalmanac.com/post-production/which-sky-replacement-software-works-best-177949/feed 1 177949 https://apalmanac.com/gear/dji-mavic-3-it-is-finally-as-good-as-we-wanted-177469 https://apalmanac.com/gear/dji-mavic-3-it-is-finally-as-good-as-we-wanted-177469#comments Mon, 25 Jul 2022 12:00:00 +0000 https://apalmanac.com/?p=177469 I wrote about the DJI Mavic 3 drone in March, and at the end of the article, I shared my wish for its improvement, saying “There are many unique benefits we get with this new drone, but there are still flaws. I hope that the Mavic 3’s issues can be resolved with software updates down the road, as they have done so far.”]]> https://apalmanac.com/gear/dji-mavic-3-it-is-finally-as-good-as-we-wanted-177469/feed 4 177469 https://apalmanac.com/gear/dji-mavic-3-is-it-worth-the-price-176193 https://apalmanac.com/gear/dji-mavic-3-is-it-worth-the-price-176193#comments Tue, 15 Mar 2022 12:00:00 +0000 https://apalmanac.com/?p=176193 The first DJI Mavic Pro was announced in September 2016 and released in late 2016. The small size and the foldable design made me absolutely love it. I used the Mavic Pro for 2 years, and I was very pleased by its capabilities. I even won an architectural photography contest here in Hungary with an image created using that drone.]]> https://apalmanac.com/gear/dji-mavic-3-is-it-worth-the-price-176193/feed 8 176193 https://apalmanac.com/business/how-to-create-an-architectural-photography-book-budapest-edition-part-one-175016 https://apalmanac.com/business/how-to-create-an-architectural-photography-book-budapest-edition-part-one-175016#comments Mon, 06 Dec 2021 14:19:43 +0000 https://apalmanac.com/?p=175016 Just writing about my first book – Budapest Architecture – here makes my heart beat fast.Before I jump into sharing the how behind this project, I think it is important to tell you the why. Since you’re reading this post on Mike Kelley’s APALMANAC, I assume you’ve already come across his book New Architecture Los Angeles.]]> https://apalmanac.com/business/how-to-create-an-architectural-photography-book-budapest-edition-part-one-175016/feed 3 175016 https://apalmanac.com/business/dear-appy-should-we-trade-images-for-access-17423 https://apalmanac.com/business/dear-appy-should-we-trade-images-for-access-17423#comments Mon, 06 Sep 2021 12:00:00 +0000 https://apalmanac.com/?p=17423 An APA reader asks: I was hired by a development company to photograph a handful of specific angles of a project that is completed. The images were delivered to the original developer client, and they are happy with them. I’ve already been paid for the job and figured it had been put to rest with everyone involved being happy.]]> https://apalmanac.com/business/dear-appy-should-we-trade-images-for-access-17423/feed 5 17423 https://apalmanac.com/post-production/post-production-from-start-to-finish-how-i-manage-and-process-a-large-number-of-images-in-lightroom-15478 https://apalmanac.com/post-production/post-production-from-start-to-finish-how-i-manage-and-process-a-large-number-of-images-in-lightroom-15478#comments Wed, 31 Mar 2021 12:00:00 +0000 https://apalmanac.com/?p=15478 How do I start this? The question has been haunting me for weeks now. First, I want to thank you for the many great responses to the previous chapter of this series. In my last article, you saw my process for achieving a large number of images for at least four different clients — taken care of all in the same shoot.]]> https://apalmanac.com/post-production/post-production-from-start-to-finish-how-i-manage-and-process-a-large-number-of-images-in-lightroom-15478/feed 3 15478 https://apalmanac.com/commentary/post-production-from-start-to-finish-my-workflow-on-location-9410 https://apalmanac.com/commentary/post-production-from-start-to-finish-my-workflow-on-location-9410#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2021 13:00:00 +0000 http://apalmanac.com/?p=9410 When I wrote the first part of this series, I intended to only talk about post-production, but the way I tend to photograph projects affects a lot of my post-production techniques. I’m the guy who likes to shoot as many angels as I found interesting enough to photograph, which ends up being a selection nightmare as I sit in front of the computer.]]> https://apalmanac.com/commentary/post-production-from-start-to-finish-my-workflow-on-location-9410/feed 30 9410 https://apalmanac.com/commentary/good-news-from-hungary-10592 https://apalmanac.com/commentary/good-news-from-hungary-10592#comments Tue, 19 May 2020 17:42:17 +0000 https://apalmanac.com/?p=10592 I hope everyone has been able to stay healthy through these past few months and that you’re looking forward to working again. Over the last few weeks, as restrictions have been relaxed here in Hungary, it feels wonderful to be able to get out and shoot, even if precautions and distancing have kept things a little bit different than normal.I]]> https://apalmanac.com/commentary/good-news-from-hungary-10592/feed 3 10592 https://apalmanac.com/architecture/the-house-that-architectural-photography-built-shooting-my-own-home-during-coronavirus-quarantine-9474 https://apalmanac.com/architecture/the-house-that-architectural-photography-built-shooting-my-own-home-during-coronavirus-quarantine-9474#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2020 22:25:56 +0000 http://apalmanac.com/?p=9474 Architectural photography started for me as a hobby, but from the very beginning of the ‘photographing my hometowns cityscape‘ stage, I called my photography Facebook page György Palkó Architectural Photographer. That name led me to my first contract.]]> https://apalmanac.com/architecture/the-house-that-architectural-photography-built-shooting-my-own-home-during-coronavirus-quarantine-9474/feed 7 9474 https://apalmanac.com/business/bidding-and-estimating-how-i-landed-a-dream-assignment-in-europe-8699 https://apalmanac.com/business/bidding-and-estimating-how-i-landed-a-dream-assignment-in-europe-8699#comments Tue, 25 Feb 2020 07:47:47 +0000 http://apalmanac.com/?p=8699 Since the beginning of my photography career, I’ve had a list of projects that I dreamed of shooting. While most of the projects were out of my reach at the time, as my career has grown, buildings on my “dream assignment” list have become more accessible — while my goal list has grown!]]> https://apalmanac.com/business/bidding-and-estimating-how-i-landed-a-dream-assignment-in-europe-8699/feed 9 8699 https://apalmanac.com/post-production/post-production-from-start-to-finish-file-organization-and-importing-8195 https://apalmanac.com/post-production/post-production-from-start-to-finish-file-organization-and-importing-8195#comments Tue, 21 Jan 2020 14:45:08 +0000 http://apalmanac.com/?p=8195 A new year gives us all an opportunity to rethink our processes and see if we are doing the tedious back end parts of our jobs in the most efficient way. In 2018, I started a new — and more organized — system of organizing my files, and so far it has been working out really well for me.]]> https://apalmanac.com/post-production/post-production-from-start-to-finish-file-organization-and-importing-8195/feed 14 8195 https://apalmanac.com/architecture/lightrooms-hdr-merge-in-depth-8011 https://apalmanac.com/architecture/lightrooms-hdr-merge-in-depth-8011#comments Mon, 13 Jan 2020 14:19:00 +0000 http://apalmanac.com/?p=8011 In my previous article, I admitted to both using Lightroom’s HDR function and showing that it’s a viable solution for professional architectural photography. There are many benefits to post processing with this technique, because what you end up with is still a RAW file, you can play with white balance, shadows and highlights exactly like on a single capture, but with the extended dynamic range offered by a blended HDR file.]]> https://apalmanac.com/architecture/lightrooms-hdr-merge-in-depth-8011/feed 9 8011 https://apalmanac.com/architecture/how-to-use-hdr-and-get-away-with-it-6876 https://apalmanac.com/architecture/how-to-use-hdr-and-get-away-with-it-6876#comments Wed, 20 Nov 2019 06:18:53 +0000 http://apalmanac.com/?p=6876 HDR has become a dirty word in professional architectural photography. We’ve all seen the over-processed HDR real estate photos where the colors and tones are off, and everything looks crispy and awful. Don’t get me wrong; tasteful HDR like the work of Trey Ratcliff as an artistic choice, now that can be cool.]]> https://apalmanac.com/architecture/how-to-use-hdr-and-get-away-with-it-6876/feed 16 6876 https://apalmanac.com/gear/can-you-correct-tilt-shift-lens-distortion-using-built-in-profiles-in-lightroom-6097 https://apalmanac.com/gear/can-you-correct-tilt-shift-lens-distortion-using-built-in-profiles-in-lightroom-6097#comments Mon, 21 Oct 2019 14:53:51 +0000 http://apalmanac.com/?p=6097 Short answer? There is no lens correction profile in Lightroom specially dedicated to tilt-shift lenses. Okay, then why am I writing about it? Because contrary to popular belief, there are some profiles that can be applied, and they actually correct most of the major issues. ]]> https://apalmanac.com/gear/can-you-correct-tilt-shift-lens-distortion-using-built-in-profiles-in-lightroom-6097/feed 11 6097 https://apalmanac.com/gear/isnt-long-enough-good-extender-5223 https://apalmanac.com/gear/isnt-long-enough-good-extender-5223#comments Mon, 16 Sep 2019 15:32:17 +0000 http://apalmanac.com/?p=5223 There are many situations where the 24mm TS (Nikon or Canon) — our standard lens for architectural photography — isn’t quite long enough. Maybe you want to make a detailed vignette. Maybe you’d like to hide the side of a building which doesn’t look so great.]]> https://apalmanac.com/gear/isnt-long-enough-good-extender-5223/feed 4 5223 https://apalmanac.com/uncategorized/photographing-a-hungarian-countryside-home-part-3-the-kitchen-shot-4824 https://apalmanac.com/uncategorized/photographing-a-hungarian-countryside-home-part-3-the-kitchen-shot-4824#comments Thu, 05 Sep 2019 19:03:19 +0000 http://apalmanac.com/?p=4824 We have arrived at my third and final image in this series, and this time, we’re photographing an interior. In the first two articles, I showed how I create twilight and daylight exterior images. To create this image, I used just a handful of techniques, such as blending different exposures, cloning, cropping and making some color adjustments.]]> https://apalmanac.com/uncategorized/photographing-a-hungarian-countryside-home-part-3-the-kitchen-shot-4824/feed 14 4824 https://apalmanac.com/uncategorized/with-or-without-me-how-i-photographed-this-contemporary-home-in-the-hungarian-countryside-part-2-4188 https://apalmanac.com/uncategorized/with-or-without-me-how-i-photographed-this-contemporary-home-in-the-hungarian-countryside-part-2-4188#comments Tue, 20 Aug 2019 07:00:36 +0000 http://apalmanac.com/?p=4188 In part two of my behind-the-scenes series in the Hungarian countryside, I’m going to jump into (ha ha…) a more complicated daylight image that I created. This image, like anything in architectural photography, contains quite a bit more than meets the eye, and utilized many different techniques to put together a visually harmonious image.First]]> https://apalmanac.com/uncategorized/with-or-without-me-how-i-photographed-this-contemporary-home-in-the-hungarian-countryside-part-2-4188/feed 6 4188 https://apalmanac.com/commentary/commentary-postproduction-3661 https://apalmanac.com/commentary/commentary-postproduction-3661#comments Mon, 29 Jul 2019 07:48:50 +0000 http://apalmanac.com/?p=3661 My name is György Palko, and I’m an architectural photographer based in Hungary. For my first post on APA, I’m going to share how I edited one of my favorite twilight images. To perfect this image, I used a wide range of techniques including exposure blending, color correction, cloning and sky replacement.This]]> https://apalmanac.com/commentary/commentary-postproduction-3661/feed 5 3661