Roku Channel
Enjoy our Roku channel! On your Roku, just go to the “Channel Store” and find the Stuck In Customs channel.
Don’t have one? Check the latest prices for a Roku on Amazon. They are great! We use ours to watch Netflix, Amazon, and of course our own screensaver!
What is on the Channel / Screensaver?
The Stuck In Customs channel allows you to flip through our unique photos and use them as your Roku screensaver on your television!
After you are in the channel, you can flip through thumbnails before zooming in or starting the screensaver.
Once it goes full screen, it's all high-def and beautiful. Whether you are in screensaver mode or not, you'll get all kinds of pretty action on your TV to make your home more beautiful!
We've broken the photos down into four different categories. BTW, the 'World' category contains everything and then some...
There we are... what else do you need besides the TWIT channel and the Stuck In Customs channel? hehe...
Once it goes full screen, it's all high-def and beautiful. Whether you are in screensaver mode or not, you'll get all kinds of pretty action on your TV to make your home more beautiful!
How do you make your photos look like that?
“Anyone can do this!” This is what I always tell people when I speak at universities, photo clubs, seminars, and the like, and I mean it! I am very open about my process, and I made an HDR Tutorial here on StuckInCustoms.com that describes the step by step process.
What is HDR Photography?
HDR is short for High Dynamic Range. It is a post-processing task of taking either one image or a series of images, combining them, and adjusting the contrast ratios to do things that are virtually impossible with a single aperture and shutter speed.
An HDR image is commonly made by taking three photos of the same scene, each at different shutter speeds. The result is a bright, medium, and dark photo, based on the amount of light that got through the lens. A software process then combines all the photos to bring details to the shadows and highlights both. This helps to achieve the same task in the final photograph that the human eye can accomplish on the scene.
I would say that about 75% of my images use the technique, and if you are new to it, then you may notice a slightly different “look and feel” to the photographs. There are all kinds of nerdy technical things I can say about HDR, but in case you are like me, you can learn best by example. I posted a bunch of my HDR photos below.
To me, the HDR process helps the photos look more… let’s say… evocative.
I can talk a little bit more about the philosophy behind the photography style here for a quick moment. You might consider that the way the human brain keeps track of imagery is not the same way your computer keeps track of picture files. There is not one aperture, shutter speed, etc. In fact, sometimes when you are in a beautiful place or with special people and you take photos — have you ever noticed when you get back and show them to people you have to say, “Well, you really had to be there.” Even great photographers with amazing cameras can only very rarely grab the scene exactly as they saw it. Cameras, by their basic-machine-nature, are very good at capturing “images”, lines, shadows, shapes — but they are not good at capturing a scene the way the mind remembers and maps it. When you are actually there on the scene, your eye travels back and forth, letting in more light in some areas, less light in others, and you create a “patchwork-quilt” of the scene. Furthermore, you will tie in many emotions and feelings into the imagery as well, and those get associated right there beside the scene. Now, you will find that as you explore the HDR process, that photos can start to evoke those deep memories and emotions in a more tangible way. It’s really a wonderful way of “tricking” your brain into experiencing much more than a normal photograph.
What kind of camera do you need to make HDR Photos?
Really, the hardware does not matter… The bulk of the look comes from the software process, as described in the aforementioned tutorial.
I have a Nikon D3X, but it does not require a camera that beefy to make photos like the ones you see on the site. In fact, many of my photos were taken with a camera that only costs a fraction of this beast. I have a full rundown of some HDR camera recommendations here on the site as well. You can get started in this hobby fairly cheaply! 🙂
What is your philosophy behind art and photography?
Ahh! That is a good question, even if I did write it myself! Well, the answer is too long for this format, but you can find a few nuggets of truth inside this article I wrote entitled “10 Principles of Beautiful Photography“.
And here are some HDR photos for you:
