Category: learning

Mask Pro 4.1

Jason3 Comments

Okay, I know the folks from onOne have been very generous with their contribution of a copy of the OnOne Plugin Suite for the latest giveaway here at Canon Blogger/Learning Digital Photography, but I have to say that I am literally blown away by this offer even more.  As I delve into each tool more and more, I am totally amazed at the functionality and how easily it really makes things.  For those of you that watch Photoshop User TV, you’ve seen what I’ve seen – ads from OnOne claiming that masking is made so super easy that you can swap backgrounds and composite images together in a snap – it’s a breeze, right?

Well, we all know that ads only show you the quick and flashy parts of things, not the nitty gritty.  Let me tell you here and now – the Mask Pro really has no nitty gritty – it really is that easy.  Take a look at these sequences:

First off, an image I merged together during a trip to SC last summer.  It looked like it could make for a nice HDR, so I did some tone mapping and got this result:

originalhdr

Needless to say, it didn’t really have the “wow” factor I was looking for.  (I should also throw a mention in for the folks at HDRsoft that produce Photomatix, the HDR software utility that I was testing at the time I originally put this HDR together – still working on a review of that – I lost the trial version after re-installing XP, but will get that back shortly.)  Anyway,  given the success I’d had with some other images in HDR and the background I tried, figured it was worth the effort to blend in a different background.  Here’s the results.

hackjob

Keep in mind, this was after literally hours and hours of painstakingly selecting branches, twigs, and  what not literally zoomed in to almost the pixel level.  Still, not that flattering a result and clearly a less than “stellar” job.  I relegated that to the “learn from your mistakes” folder and had not really touched it since.

So, this was my test for the Mask pro – could it do what I couldn’t after at least ten hours of agonizing masking selections and duping to repeated layers to start up the following day?  Well, let’s see, here’s what happened.

After installing Mask Pro, I loaded the tone-mapped HDR image into Photoshop.  Then, rather than taking any time to tweak, I went straight to Mask Pro (after all, it should do the work for me, right?).  After a short 7-slide presentation on the tools, my first screen looked like this:

maskpro1a

Before I go on, let me explain how the tools on the right ended up how they were.  You see, Mask pro gives you eye dropper tools to select the colors you want to keep and the ones you want to subtract.    So, I went and selected the green eye dropper to define the colors to keep.  I clicked a few parts of the branches and signage, which took the better part of 5 seconds.  The end result was this color set:

keep

Then I switched to the red eye dropper to define the colors to drop.  I clicked a few parts of the sky.  This took another 5 seconds or so.    The end result was this color set:

drop Lastly, I clicked the Magic Brush tool, from the Mask Pro tool panel maskpro_palette

and just started painting around the sky.  I certainly did not take my time, as I was running on my Windows desktop which has a single core 2.3 Ghz celeron processor (it chugs when I load my browser fer Pete’s sake).  So, I dealt with about 5 minutes of a magic brush tool as it calculated the mask to apply as I painted impatiently across the image.  (After all, I wrote these blog posts after dinner, so time = sleep here.)

So, after about 5 minutes and 10 seconds, I have a mask that looks like this:

maskpro2

Yes, that was after 5 minutes!  I could already tell this was a wickedly intuitive and powerful tool (and I mean that in the best of ways), so I just stopped there and decided to take it back to PS for final cleanup and adding the new background.  To do that, I simply clicked the File menu, then “Save/apply” (another 2 seconds)…

Now back in Photoshop with the original image.  It looks the same, but take a look at the layers palette:

layers2

I know the low-res and smallness of captures for the blog make this hard to tell, but at this point I am pretty much ready to bring in the new background.  My only last step in PS is to duplicate the layer I just created from mask Pro to clean up the big blotch in the upper right, and a few specks in the rest of the sky on the third layer.   So, now I am ready to bring in my starry background again.  I place the object in the PS document to get this (for the record, I went with a different starry background to go for a more realistic effect rather than the Harry potter look of my swimming pool shots):

layers3

Finally, I just pulled the stars layer to sit below the Mask Pro layer and here’s the resulting layout in Photoshop:

layers4

The last bit took all of another minute, tops (remember, I am working off a slow processor.  The final result, which took literally less than 10 minutes (the first took over 10 hours):

finalhdr

Such is the power of the OnOne mask Pro – just one of the multiple plugins that are available in this Suite.  If you want this kind of power and malleability in minutes, then enter the giveaway today.  it can literally save you hours, if not days, of post processing!  Here’s the Flickr page for photo entries and here’s the link to the rules.

What can I say – OnOne rocks!  Just to give you a true frame of reference – it took me about an hour and a half to write this post – and that includes getting the screen captures, then sizing them for the blog.  I also interspersed some Twitter time and surf time as well, so it’s not like I was really in any kind of “zone” or anything.  It was just another task in an evening of multi-tasking.  The original one took me over ten hours of processing and that was with no other apps running, seriously.  I was restarting the computer just to free up the RAM for usage only by PS every evening.

This feature alone can save you days of time in the digital darkroom.  Don’t delay and enter to win today! Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow.

Grab the Feed

Seven Super Summer Tips

Jason2 Comments

Since the podcast went live yesterday, the compositional theme was kind of put on the back burner, so I’d like to bring that back to the forefront today with something everybody likes…a list!

For some reason lists of bullet points seem to generate a lot of feedback, and garner the most interest, so here we go with a set of what I am calling “Seven Summer Super Photo Tips”

  1. Shoot early, shoot late – it’s the “Golden Rule” – and I think we all know about it, so this is just a reminder.
  2. Shoot often – seriously, the eye does not improve creatively without practice, so get out as often as you can
  3. Shoot outside your comfort zone – Like landscapes eh?  Shoot some portraiture, macros, or event work.  Nothing gets creative juices flowing better than a challenge.
  4. Shoot lower than you stand – or higher, whatever – take a different vantage point as that can make all the difference.
  5. Shoot with one lens – Preferably with a prime as this will force you to zoom in or out with your feet, changing your perspective and getting your skills down really rote on the focal length you chose.
  6. Shoot with a friend – nothing makes the post shoot high more gratifying than chimping your shots with a photo buddy.
  7. Shoot for yourself – often photographers are thinking of what clients want, what an editor would like to see, or what may sell well on a stock site.  While it’s true that money puts bread on the table, it’s often liberating to shoot without the pressure of a paycheck.  Your results may surprise you!

So, there they are – seven super summer shooting photo tips!  There’s got to be more thoughts out there though on how to get the most of your imaging eforts, so let’s here from everyone – what are your best tips and tricks for capturing the world around you?  Sound off in the comments.  As always, happy shooting and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.

Grab the feed

Reviews, Interviews and Vista Views

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The latest episode of the Learning Digital Photography podcast is now live and for those of you picking this up in your feeds, make sure you stop over to iTunes or the via PLM to download the show.  This week, I go into a little more depth on how I conduct reviews of hardware and software as there have been quite a few listener questions about that particular subject matter.  Thanks to everyone who wrote in to share their thoughts and feedback!

In the second segment, an interview with fellow photog and NAPP member, Erik Bernskiold where we talk about not only what we like about NAPP, but about how we are gearing up for the summer fun of photography, with tips, tricks and suggestions from Erik on everything from Floral Photography to Landscapes.  We also get a little insight into Eriks’ blogging and web design background as he’s become quite the expert on the subject matter!  Not too bad for someone who’s not even out of school yet!  For more details on Erik, follow these show note links:

Many thanks to Erik for taking the time out of his schedule to sit down and talk with me on the show.  It was a lot of fun!  For the remainder of the show, I throw out some additional tips on landscape photography, and tackle a few listener questions.  Lots to listen to, so be sure to tune in, either from the download over at PLM or via iTunes.

A final little asterisk on the show:  I mistakenly recorded the intro as episode #25, when it’s episode #24.  Also given that I forgot to add the theme music to the entire compliation – it might as well be called the “blunder” show…but rather than spend time on a few minor nits trying to fix it, I’d rather just get the show and respective notes out to y’all for your listening enjoyment.  So, on that note, happy shooting, enjoy the show, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

Write it down!

Jason12 Comments

Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday folks – for those of you that Twitter and have me on follow, you’ll know that we had our cars taken out from under our noses (literally while we slept) early Tuesday morning.  By the time I woke up and got dressed for work (at 6) they were gone…

Suffice to say, the wind has kind of been taken out of my sails here, and after an entire day of dealing with police reports, insurance claims, DNA testing (yes, they took DNA from us), finger printing, and pretty much feeling like our private living space was totally disrespected and violated, I didn’t have much of a mood to put anything together for Wednesday.  With another weekend looming large and trying to resurrect some excitement for Tracy’s pending birthday, I am afraid today’s post will be no picnic either, as this is more of a lecture on security.  To make it photo-related, let’s look at it form an inventory perspective.

Say you were the victim of a crime – all your photo gear was taken from you.  Could you produce the records needed to replace everything?  With cars it’s easy, as insurance is in place, titles are held, and banks have documents as well that you can fall back on – but what about other items?  It took some digging through the Mac, but I was able to find the serial number for my iPod.  Do you know your serial numbers?  What about that expensive zoom lens?  What about your SLR serial number?  When was it purchased?  What was the purchase price?  What about the computers?  Software licenses?  Think about it – you’ve invested some serious money into this, whether it’s a hobby or a profession.  Do you have the records to produce in that worse case scenario?  If not, take my experience with the cars and apply it to your gear – write info down!  Update your inventories, and keep records of everything!  Finally, don’t tempt fate – lock things up.  Get a lock box or some kind of safe – and don’t leave things out in the open – it’s just an invitation waiting to be seen and responded to, so take precautions now to avoid lots of heartache and headaches later.  Here’s a sample spreadsheet to get you started:

Inventory Spreadsheet (right-click, and select download or Save as and the file name is “inventory.xls”)

That’s it for today folks – so, sorry for the “downer” of a post, but felt there was something there that could be learned by all of us – so enough of the doldrums now – forget the past and move into the future with positivity – so get out shooting, and be careful out there!  (Hello Hill Street Blues! 🙂 )  We’ll see you back here tomorrow, and hopefully the podcast that I’ve been meaning to finish will go up early next week.  Until then, keep on shootin’ (photos)!

Nine is better than none…

Jason2 Comments

I had been working on a list of some of the more popular listener/reader questions and some answers to share for the podcast this week.  Since it is late getting out (notice the lack of a post at all yesterday), I thought it might be helpful to share an abbreviated list of some of the Q&A here…

1. What color space should I shoot in with my camera, Adobe RGB or sRGB?

A. Neither, shoot in Raw! Since defining a color space is only applicable if you are shooting in jpg rather than raw, if you shoot in raw, color space won’t matter. However, if you absolutely must shoot in jpg (or if you prefer to due to massive amounts of images for easier mass processing), use the widest possible gamut when you start for maximum flexibility. In this case, that means Adobe RGB. If your camera offers the Pro Photo color space, that is even wider so choose that if available. However, the best answer is to shoot in raw, and then specify your color space during post production.

2. What is the difference between full frame sensors and cropped sensors?

A: Full frame are built to mirror the traditional size of 35mm film, so the mirror is 24x36mm

3. What does “Bulb” mode mean on your camera dial?

A: The term “bulb” is a carryover from days of film when flashbulbs would have to be triggered manually after the shutter was opened but before it was closed. The process was to open the shutter, fire the flash, then close the shutter. Since advances in technology now allow us to fire flashes automatically as the shutter is also tripped, we no longer need to manually actuate the shutter in order to allow a flash to fire. However, we still may want to manually control how long the shutter stays open, so that feature persists.

4. What’s the difference between Lightroom and Photoshop?

A: I get this question a lot. At a fundamental level, Photoshop could be considered a pixel-based image editor where you have the ability to alter or edit the actual pixels of the image. Lightroom, on the other hand, is a vector-based editor where the information does not alter or edit the actual pixels. Lightroom would be considered more of a photo management software tool. While the latest developments have incorporated more features of photo editing in addition to the management tools, at its basic level, Lightroom is still a vector-based program, where changes are not made to the actual image, but to how vector based criteria are applied to the image.

5. What’s the difference between metadata and exif data?

A: Not much. When we talk about one set of data in this capacity the two terms are often used interchangeably. However, if you want to get technical, exif data refers to information about the shot such as shutter speed, aperture, ISO settings, camera body, etc. while meta data is more about other information like photographer name, location of photo, image editor used, tags that are applied for searchability, copyright information and other information that can be inserted into the tag fields for images.

6. What is geo-tagging?

A: Geo-tagging refers to adding the geographic location information to your photos, usually as a set of meta data tags. This practice has become more commonplace as GPS (global positioning system) units have come down in price and both hardware and software have seen developments where the information can be applied to images either directly in camera (from a GPs unit that is attached to the camera), or where it can be added afterward via special software programs.

7. What is sync-speed?

A:  Sync speed refers to the fast shutter speed you can set your camera to and not get the typical black bars from the shutter closing before the flash is finished firing. Typically the sync speed is 1/250th of a second, but with the development of high-speed sync, this traditional rule of thumb will likely become rapidly obsolete.

8. What color space should I save to?

A:  Another very common question – and the answer does depend on how you will be outputting your images. Because most web browsers are not color-space aware, they will default to the web norm of sRGB as it has the narrowest color space. So, if your output is to the web, sRGB is your best bet. If you are outputting to a printed version though, Adobe RGB is the best option. More and more though, as printers are able to print to wider gamuts, Pro Photo is becoming more feasible as well. However you plan to output your images though, it’s always best to work in a color-calibrated environment, so make sure you calibrate your monitors and printer profiles for consistency!

9. Which is better, APS-C, CMOS or full-frame sensors?

A:  None of these sensor types are inherently better than any other – but they serve different purposes. The full frame sensor is the digital equivalent of a single frame of 35mm film (although technically it is just a smidge smaller). An APS-C sensor is often referred to as a crop-sensor and generally has a crop factor ratio of either 1.5 or 1.6 depending on the vendor. APS-C stands for Advanced Photo System, type C and is just one of several different ways of building crop factor sensors. Other ways include the CMOS sensor and the CCD sensors (which mean Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor and Charge Coupled Device, respectively). The differences here are more in the manufacturing process, and really are technical considerations that most photographers shouldn’t even worry about. The only difference that 99% of photographers need to concern themselves with is whether they want to shoot full frame (where one substantial benefit is that due to the lack of a crop factor on their lenses, so wide angle lenses are really that wide) or on a cropped sensor (where one benefit is that zooms have an effectively longer zoom). Analyzing past this level is really something beyond the scope of most photography. With the differences explained you can hopefully see that one is not inherently better or worse than another – just that there are pros and cons for each, and those must be weighed against your needs.

If anyone has any questions that are not covered here, feel free to email or comment.  Thanks for all your continued support.  As always, happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Experimenting with Photomatix and HDR

Jason7 Comments

For a while now I’ve been meaning to devote some time to experimenting with HDR – specifically comparing Photomatix and Photoshop in their production of HDR photographs.  The industry preference toward the former is there for a very good reason.  Photomatix produces much better results.  Just look at this final shot (be sure to click the image for a larger view – the blog restrictions on size really don’t do it justice):

final_hdr_blog

Now, in the interests of full disclosure, I did do some additional post processing work even after the HDR processing to get the above results.  But Photomatix was superior for a number of reasons.    For starters – Photomatix gives you options in what type of output you want.  Here are the two results, side-by-side, that I got from Photomatix:

sidebyside

The first was the result of  processing from the Tone Compressor tab and the latter of Details Enhancer tab processing.  As you can see, the first produced a smoother sky, but left the foreground a little flat, while the latter had more texture and, well… dynamic range to it.  So, I decided to go with the latter in my post processing.  The Photoshop alternative, however, produced something even less desirable than either of the above.  Take a look:

ps_hdr

Not only are the luminosity levels less interesting, but there’s literally no tone curve application.  No color, no tone curve mapping, and decidedly no interest when you consider the options from Photomatix.  I am in the process of putting together a tutorial of how I got the final result, so be on the lookout for that in the next few days.  In the meantime though, I’d like to take a moment to say “Thanks” to fellow NAPP member,  Elizabeth Gast (a.k.a. Firgs,) for the kind thoughts she has over on her blog – Design by Firgs – where she talks up a shot I took a while ago that is premiering on hew new series “Accidentally Awesome” today, so be sure to stop over there and give her a shout-out!  Until tomorrow – Happy Shooting!

Cactus, Trigger, Zebra, Oh My!

Jason6 Comments

Remember the old game of password where you said a related word to one on your card to get your partner to guess it?  Well, here goes:  What do the words cactus, trigger, and zebra all have in common?  If you answered “flash photography” you’d be right!  As you may have realized, that does mean that the podcast will not come out today – I simply didn’t have time to get all my thoughts and notes together.  So instead, here’s a review of sorts that I did just earlier this evening.

A while back I decided to ditch the Canon ST-E2 wireless trigger for a number of reasons – those being:

  1. It relied on line-of-sight
  2. It didn’t have a very good range
  3. It wouldn’t work with non-Canon gear

I, like many others, have been salivating over the new developments in radio trigger technology.  And, at my last job, I had access to multiple lights, strobes, and such for experimentation.  So, in order to do said experimentation, I decided to invest in some Cactus Triggers that I purchased off an online web vendor (I forget the vendor off the top of my head – search the archives and I am sure it’s there…).  Much to my chagrin though, it would not work with my Canon 550EX flash.  So, when I left my previous job, it was back to the ST-E2.  In order to spur some motivation to invest in some more serious lighting gear on my own, I decided to sell the ST-E2 to fund the purchase of some Cyber Syncs.

Long story short, I ended up with no off-camera method to trigger my one flash unit.  So, I was back on-camera.  Needless to say, ambient light photography was a large focus for that time period.  Well, after the economy stabilized a little for the household with my state job, I decided to invest in the Cyber Syncs – but as a measure of insurance, wanted to make sure the devices would work in my 550EX (the 550EX does not have a sync port).  So, a quick email to them revealed that a neat little device from the folks over at Flash Zebra would make the Cyber Syncs compatible.  A mere $14 later and the device arrived late last week (while I was in SC).  So, next month the Cyber Syncs will be making their way to my doorstep.

In the meantime, I have these Cactus triggers, and I thought with the inclusion of a sync port, perhaps I could jerry-rig something together.  With the sync port going out to what looks to be an RC-mini, and the receiver also going out to an RC-mini, I needed a way to join two RC-mini’s together.  A quick dig through my various buckets of cables and connectors revealed a dual mini that is normally used to connect to headphones to a single audio.  Worth a shot, since it’s only about $50 total invested.  I connected everything together to get this:

lightcables

On your left is the trigger that came from Cactus, to the RC male.  A reducer on that took it to an RC-mini male.  In the center is the well-hidden PC-sync device that came from Flash Zebra.  (For a better picture, see below…)  A female sync port on that was able to connect to the male sync port that was included with my Cactus gear.  That also went to an RC-mini male.  These are both connected on the right to the y-connector that you would typically see two headsets connect to the same audio source.  The technology is the same, so it’s worth a shot right?  (No pun intended…)

I fired off a test shot from the 40D and it worked!  So, how well would it work?  What kind of reliability would there be?  I took the flash into the next room and fired the trigger from a further distance away…about 20 feet.  Flash!  Then I took the trigger around the corner and fired it.  Flash!  How cool is that?  Another set of tests was needed.  One where radio waves wouldn’t bounce all over the place – outside!  If you recall, I interviewed Scott Eccleston from Weekly Photo Tips a while back, and a recent post of his armed me with a good testing method of the Cactus triggers.  Armed with the inspiration of this video, I enlisted the aid of my wife and took to the great outdoors.

I began with a fresh set of batteries in both the trigger and receiver, as well as the flash.  Starting from ten steps away from the flash, I tripped the shutter – flash!  Twenty paces – flash!  Thirty paces – flash!  Fourty paces – nada.  Hmmm…tried again – nada.  So, I moved back to 35 paces – still nada.  A couple steps closer and it flashed again.  About four more tests at this distance and I had 100% flash rate.  Starting back to my wife, I counted the paces, 1-2-3… all the way to 33 paces.  At an average gait of 3 feet per pace, that’s an outside range of 99 feet!  Considerably better than the ST-E2 and at a third of the price!

For posterity’ sake, and since I am in a very casual way reviewing the PC-sync adaptor from Flash Zebra, here’s a better shot of just that device.

zebra

Also for posterity sake, here’s a view of the trigger that attached to the hot shoe of the 550EX:

trigger2

Thursday Thoughts with Kevin Mullins

Jason6 Comments

For those of you that visit the blog regularly, you know that Kevin has been a regular supporter through his kind, thoughtful, and well, supportive comments for the last few months.  We all know that reading blogs of others and commenting there is a good way to not only learn but to also generate traffic for your own interests.

Well, this week I am calling Kevin out, because he definitely is worthy of your traffic.  Kevin Mullins is an outstanding photographer, based out of Malmesbury Wiltshire (that’s in England, across the pond, or the UK for the geographically challenged…)  He’s had reviews done by friend-of-the-blog, Jason Moore, and most recently has launched a photography website for his wedding photography.  So, first off, welcome Kevin, and thanks for agreeing to come on the Thursday Thoughts Series.

Thanks’ very much for inviting me on here Jason.  It’s a great privilege.

Q:  I don’t know why people keep saying that, but thanks I guess.  It’s just fun to be learning from everyone thus far that’s been willing to contribute, yourself included.  But anyway, I digress…starting things off, I’d like to talk a little about your Wedding Photography – as you stated on your blog, wedding photography is your passion, and that is evidenced by the work you have put in thus far.  With so many areas to choose from, why did wedding photography stand out for you as a career path?  Well, it kind of “just happened”. 

A:  I have been taking photographs for a long time but around two years ago I knew that I wanted to make a career from photography.  I’ve often looked at wedding photos and thought “I could do that”, or, more often “If I was taking that shot, I would do it like this…”.  The interest continued to grow and I started forming my own style of shots in my head.  Contemporary artists such as Crash Taylor and Jeff Ascough really inspire me and I am in awe of the way they deal with light and composition in a wedding shoot.  Having your own style is key, and whilst those guys inspire, its building my own style that is really important to me.  I really want to give the bride (and groom) some photographic memories that they will cherish and will become a family focus point for years to come, but don’t just look like all the other photographs out there.

Q:  You have a definite journalistic flair in how you create your images, specifically as evidenced by the series from Andrew and Katherine’s photos, as well as those from Marie’s wedding (I love that shot of her under the arched trees).  You’ve mentioned Cartier-Bresson, Crash Taylor and Jeff Ascough as inspirational sources.  Any particular insights you’ve gained from these folks?

A:  Cartier-Bresson’s imagery is just astounding.  His use of geometry and shape in photography is out-of-this-world.  I have read his biography recently and to get an insight into his thought process is intriguing to say the least.  The “modern masters”, such as Crash and Jeff are the people I look to now for inspiration and technique. Both of them run very informative blogs with great great images that people like me can look at, disseminate, and learn from.  They are somewhat different in styles themselves so I look to Jeff’s work more for the documentary and natural-light experiences, and Crash for his awesome signature portrait shots of the bride and groom.  There are so many talented photographers out there and the internet opens up such a huge avenue for learning from them.

Q:   So, how have you adapted techniques from these resources to come up with your own “look”?  Or, better yet, do you have any particular images that you feel uniquely define your approach and/or style?

I aim to develop my own style of wedding photography and the new 5D MK II helps me do that to some extent.  I’m using purely natural light (the high ISO capability of the modern cameras lends to this type of photography.) and I try and use my 85mm lens as much as possible.  This lens is so sharp and the style I am trying to achieve uses a lot of depth of field.  This lens is f1.2 at its widest point and so it really helps in that respect.  Here are a few of my favorites:

portrait

bridge

wedding-3

Q:  As a fellow member of NAPP, how much have you developed your style from the support content and materials in sites like NAPP and other photography communities?

A:  To be honest, whilst I am a member if NAPP, I don’t use their forums as much as I should.  It is a great resource though, and the magazine and techniques online are very useful – especially when new versions of Adobe software come to the market.  I do use Kelby Online Training and I think that is a great resource.  I try and put aside an afternoon a week to “train myself” – although this isn’t always practical as I also run my own web development firm.  I find the POTN (Photography on the net) forum useful when researching gear and also for keeping an eye on other peoples work.  I also find the SWPP forum in the UK extremely useful as there are a lot of very knowledgeable people there too.  I really find most of my inspiration from trawling the net and finding great wedding photography.

Q:  I already know the answer to this, but I would imagine the readers may want to know – what kind of gear do you shoot with?

A:  I was lucky enough to get a Canon EOS 5D MkII back in December last year.  It arrived on the 2nd December just in time for a big family birthday celebration which was great as I got a chance to practice with it.  I have a number of Canon and Sigma lenses too but my favorite lens of them all is the 85mm f/1.2.  It is simply magical.  I also have a 100mm macro, 16-35mm, 24-105mm and 70-200mm which hopefully covers all my bases.  I haven’t really looked at the HD video on Mk II yet, but I am beginning to see some “fusion” wedding photography out there which is a mix of video and stills and this is something I would like to look at in more depth as the technology progresses.  That said, stills will always be my No1. priority.

Q:  Since your style journalistic in nature you obviously will take a large number of photos during any event, whether pre-wedding or the actual wedding day.  What kinds of numbers do you typically return from an event with?  How do you handle your post processing? (Computer/software/etc.?)

A:    I actually did a wedding shoot recently and I took in excess of 1500 shots, of which I will probably sift down to 250-300.  I would expect the Bride and Groom to select anything between 50 and 150 for their package.  I do all my first phase processing in Lightroom now.  It’s such a good tool for cataloguing and doing bulk adjustments.  Anything more detailed such as spot removal I will still do in Photoshop.  I would love to see Adobe integrate Lightroom and Photoshop to truly marry the non-destructive workflow experience.  I am off to a two day seminar with Jeff Ascough at the end of the month and hopefully I will gain an insight into his post-processing workflow as I know he uses Photoshop heavily to create his stylized shots.

Q:  Could you also explain a little more about the idea behind the “pre-wedding” shoot you discuss on your website?

Pre-wedding shoots are quite common here (I’m not sure about in the U.S).  Typically you spend an afternoon or so with the bridge and groom a couple of months before the wedding taking some natural portraiture shots of them.  The idea, really, is to get to know the couple more.  The last thing anybody wants on the big day is for any uncomfortable scenes between the photographer and the bride and groom.  The pre-wedding shoot gives us a chance to get to know each other more and also to go through some ideas of poses and how to work in front of the camera.  It gives me a chance to identify what types of shots I can encourage them to do on the day, and what will be the limits.  Some couples are outgoing and excitable in front of a camera and some simply want to get the process out of the way so it is important to gain that knowledge well before the big day.  If we can, I intend to do the pre-wedding shoots at the venue of the wedding.  That way, we can all scout the area together and look for great places and light at the venue and, essentially, rehearse for the big day!  The pre-wedding shoot is part of the wedding package, but if the bride and groom want to buy any prints or a frame or even a mini-album after, then even better!

Q:  Oh, and since we talked about photo gear and computer/software preferences, I would be remiss if I didn’t ask this:  Chocolate, Vanilla or Strawberry?

A:  Chocolate every time.  My wife bought our nieces some Easter Eggs and they lasted less than 24 hours in our house.  We ate them and will have to buy the kids more now!

Q:  We all know you’re a regular contributor to Canon Blogger – what about other online resources?  Are there any that you find particularly useful that you’d like to share with the blogosphere?

A:  I”ve mentioned a few in the article already, but I think some of the sites that are great are:

I have quite a few blogs in my reader (such as Canon Blogger, Michael Palmer, Jen Rinaldi etc), that I like to visit each day.  I comment when I think it’s appropriate and appreciate it when people comment on my blog too.  All of these blogs are part of the fabric of my learning and I’m always on the lookout for other blogs that inspire and keep me focused.

Q:  Last but not least – any final thoughts you’d like to share on the state of the industry, thoughts on the future of photography, or other “words of wisdom”?

A:  Well, I rely on others to give me wisdom, but if I had to look to the future I would say that we will be seeing a lot more video and still fusion work going on over the next five years or so.  The latest Canon announcement (the EOS 500D) will bring HD video to the consumer level DSLRs which infers that it is here to stay.  Oh, and I definitely recommend moving out of London to the countryside!  It has a great effect on your well being  😉

Excellent advice, thanks Kevin! That about wraps things up here so don’t forget to stop over at Kevin’s blog.to see and enjoy his particular vision and style of work.  In the meantime, tomorrow might be another “no-blog” day because I am doing a little bit of travelling – depends on how soon I can get home.  So, happy shooting all, and if I don’t get home in time for another post, have a great weekend!

Artist Statement Appeal – the power of the pen

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On this weeks show, I take a look at the power of the pen – the artist statement.  For those of us with aspirations of sharing our work with others via art shows, galleries, and contests/competitions, the value of the artist statement can make the difference between getting into a show, gallery or other event and buying a ticket.  So, if you want to learn what the artist statement is, how to write one, and things to consider, this is the show for you.  Here’s the show notes:

Another news item I forgot to mention in the podcast is an upcoming web seminar series for photographers, free, from Adobe.  Here’s the dates:

  • Photoshop: April 23rd
  • Lightroom: April 9th and May 7th
  • Both: May 14th

Link for more info and to register is here

Make sure you stop in and grab the podcast from the good folks over at Personal Life Media, and visit our show sponsor Lensbaby if you are thinking about the Lensbaby Composer.  Diggs from PLM and reviews from iTunes are encouraged, welcomed, and appreciated!  Happy shooting all and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!  🙂

Don’t forget, you can email me from the show link with any questions, comments, feedback or thoughts, as well as share comments here, and reviews on iTunes.  For those without iTunes or Zune, I can provide an mp3 version of the show on request.

Thursday Thoughts with… Rob Weiher

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Hey all, here’s what’s shakin’ for this Thursday.  Another “Thursday Thoughts” edition is ready, but me and the guestk, Robert Weiher, took a little bit of a different tack on thi go around, primarily because of how I came across Robert, and what he’s doing for a current project.  See, Robert is a fellow NAPP member, and has started a 365 blog as a project for 2009.   After seeing a few of his comments appear here, my logs pointed me back to him (it always pays to watch your comment links as you never know where the next gem may come from). Robert’s space is definitely a gem, and I thought it might be fun to take the Thursday Thoughts on a different tack this week. So, without further ado, here’s the latest edition with Robert Weiher!!!

Q: Hi Robert, and thanks for taking the time to sit down with me to share your thoughts and insights here. First off, since we’re doing things a little differently, let’s start with your 365 project. Could you explain what a 365 blog is, and what was your motivation for starting this project?

A:  Hi Jason, thanks for having me. A 365 blog or project is basically just taking at least one photo a day and in my case posting and writing a little about it. My motivation to start one was to get me using my camera again. I was in a rut and had hardly used my camera in four months after coming home from a long vacation and finding very few good photos out of several hundred taken on the trip. I was finding myself spending more time in Photoshop trying to fix photos and was getting frustrated with the taking the photo part. To help get motivated I signed up for a weekend seminar on lighting and photographing artwork. The instructor happened to be a national portfolio reviewer and he did a short review of some of my work and gave me some great feedback and some tips to get going again. One was to sketch with my camera, which meant to just go out and take photos. He said to not worry about subject or lighting…just take a photo of anything of interest and then use these to refer back to for more creative ideas. This got me started down the road towards the project.

Q:  Do you look for particular themes or have specific ideas in mind for each day that you have mapped out, or do you approach each day from a “whatever comes my way” mentality?

A:  I originally started out thinking I was going to take around an old pair of my army boots and use them as a prop around the old Army base I live on. This lasted about three days when I realized if I wanted to continue on with the project I was going to need to be more flexible and that lead to a much more free form mentality.

Q:  And what kind of gear do you shoot with (Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony, Olympus, etc.)?

A:  Canon 30D

Q:  What about post-processing gear (Mac, PC, Linux, etc.)?

A:  PC and when I post process Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Bridge.

Q:  And of course, the Chocolate/Vanilla/Strawberry question?

A:  As a kid I loved the chocolate/vanilla swirl cones but if I had to choose it would be chocolate.

Q:  Oooh, I’d forgotten about the swirl!  I loved that too.  Anyway, back to photography – how long have you been shooting?

A:  Since October 2007 after my wife, parents and sister chipped in to buy me my first digital camera for my 40th birthday.

Q:  So, about a year and a half now – well, you’ve got a great eye, and your knack for composition is really evident!    One shot in particular that I liked was done recently, on day 83 where you not only did your daily post, but also the setup with your homemade light box.  Are there any shots in particular from the project that stand out thus far for you?  (I know the bronze leaf was a popular one…)

A:  Day 66 or Red Tulips. Pretty much the first photo that made me pause and go     “wow” that turned out nicely.

Red Tulips - Day 66

I also like Day 73 or The Day I Retired My Baseball Glove. I was a huge baseball fan as a kid and played nearly year round. As an adult I played in different softball leagues over the years but hadn’t played for about 12 years before last year. My body took a beating so decided to retire the ball and glove and even though I didn’t mention that in my blog several comments were made about the emotion of the photo and that made me feel good that I was able to get that across in my photo.

Rob Weiher

Q:  Very nice.  Both are excellent and powerful images!  So, you’re about a quarter of the way through this project – any ideas for new projects that have come up you’re going to be pursuing?

A:  Right now my focus is to finish this project but start expanding into areas I haven’t touched on yet, like portrait. Part of the project was to also find out what style interests me so I want to explore all the styles I can. Not that I feel I need to limit myself to a specific style after my project is done but would like to figure out if there’s something that interests me the most. At the moment still life has caught most of my attention.

Q:  I’ve not seen a “for sale” sign on your blog…have you considered hanging out a shingle and actually putting some prints up for sale?  If someone wanted to purchase any prints from you, would you be open to that?

A:  Sure I’d be open to selling some of my prints. It’s been on the back of my mind and have explored opening a SmugMug account to host a portfolio of my best work. I hadn’t touched on it yet but all the photos on my blog are unedited, straight from the camera so I may need a little post work.

Q:  Any final thoughts on the project, photography in general, that you’d like to share?

A:  I think in the 3 months I’ve been doing this project I’ve come to realize one thing. No matter how many books and magazines I read, podcasts I listened too or websites I visited prior to January 1, 2009 I was not going to learn to be a better photographer until I put my hands on my camera and took as many photos I could a day. Not that having all those resources available is a bad thing…I just felt like I was approaching information overload. I decided to approach my project using Shoshin, or the Beginner’s Mind, which is having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject.

I put away the books and picked up the camera and made it my goal to make the best possible photograph in camera as I could. No post work so all my photos posted to my blog are straight from the camera and if I have issues with the photo I write about what I would do differently and highlight mistakes I made, such as forgetting to check my white balance setting or to make sure the horizon line is straight. Things that could easily be fixed in Photoshop but also just as easy to fix in camera. I also stepped outside my comfort zone and put myself out there for critique and feedback. This has helped immensely and I’ve made some great contacts via Flickr, Twitter and the blog. I still struggle with the putting myself out there more part but I think everyone wanting to become a better photographer should search out a community they feel comfortable in and ask for some feedback. The photography and Photoshop community are about the nicest and most helpful people you’ll ever find. I just hope to be able to be as helpful one day as everyone else has been for me.

Once again thank you Jason and thank you for being part of this great community.

The pleasure is all mine Robert.  Thank you so much for agreeing to take part in the “Thursday Thoughts” series, and I’ll be keeping an eye on the project as you go forward with the rest of it from here.  It’s been quite the enjoyable approach, and I’d like to wish you all the best going forward (us Canonite’s have to stick together! 🙂 )

Please take a moment to stop over to Robert’s 365 project at Unqualified to Blog as well as his Flickr Photostream and share your thoughts with his work over there.  Then, as Robert said, reading blogs and listening to podcasts isn’t going to do it all, so don’t forget to get out there and keep on practicing for real!  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.