As Friday draws to a close, lots is going on here – we’re packing up!
That’s right packing things up and rolling on outta here! Naw, not the blog, or the podcast – always here, but with my return to a full time position we realized two things: 1. We were kind of living beyond our means a little, and 2. The current house is pretty far from where work is for both of us.
Since Tracy is used to the RTD system now (and gets it free with her job) it just made sense that we consider looking in areas that are closer to where I am working so…the house is going on the market! All this means that much is being packed up into boxes, furniture being moved out to give a minimalist staged look to the house. (I guess all my photo gear “just looks like clutter” according to our realtor!)
So, the podcasting PC is being packed up, as is much of my photo gear. I am keeping the barest of essentials, one desktop and my laptop though – so blogging will continue – once all the rest of this gets organized, boxed, labeled, and cleared into a storage facility…(man I need a studio!). What that has meant is a light blogging week. The podcast that I recorded with Rich Charpentier last week has finally been spliced together and is being uploaded to the folks at PLM right now. It might not be available before midnight, but here’s the show notes anyway:
1. Industry News
Apple announces the iPad – I know so last week, but we’ve got some unique perspectives to share on how it could be used…
Canon announces it’s now made 50 million EF lenses (we are assuming they are also including the EF-S line) – congrats to Canon!
National Archives is prohibiting cameras – find out why!
2. Printing Pictures – dynamic range, papers, color spaces, printer gamuts, and lots more…
3. Listener Questions and Answers
Check out the show over at Personal Life Media (in about an hour – so slightly after midnight)…also don’t forget the February Giveaway is under way – Rich has generously donated a canvas print for the lucky winner! Stop over at his blog to thank him, then check out his website with some of the most amazing HDR work I think I’ve seen! Happy shooting all, have a great weekend, and we’ll see you back here on a more minimalized and organized Monday!
The most common questions I get here on the blog center around the idea of how to take better pictures. Whether those “better pictures” are better landscapes, or portraits, wildlife or events, everyone wants suggestions on how to approach the practice of taking pictures better. Esoteric and creative considerations aside, there are some fundamental “tricks of the trade” that, by and large, will almost always improve your craft in pretty much any genre. So, today, I thought I would take a moment to share 5 “tricks” I’ve learned that always lead to better landscapes: Continue reading “5 Tips to Better Landscapes”→
We all see them every day – the sun rises and the sun sets. Most of the time, it’s nothing too spectacular, perhaps some pretty colors are cast with various hues of orange and blue, or red and purple hazes…it’s all well and good. We may even see some spectacular ones…a crimson or scarlett red, or fire-y orange ones. They may also have an added impact if they are reflected in a lake, the ocean, or dramatized by their surroundings – palm trees, mountains, boats, or whatever happens to be there.
The spectacular ones are typically the ones we see in print, on calendars, and in magazines. Yet every day, we find our eyes gazing toward that first and last light…knowing that we could see something magical. Does this make the ones with more vibrant colors more magical? The ones with fewer colors less magical? Perhaps, but consider this – we are always looking for it. Consider this project: take a picture of the sunrise and/or sunset every day for a week, month, or even a few months. Take it from the same spot every day. Find yourself some nice vantage point with some nice accents to the main subject (that being the sunset). Then, after your specified time period is up, peruse the results and see how many “great” sunsets (or sunrises) you saw.
It could be a fun project not only to help you gauge when the sky will be well suited to sunrises and sunsets, but also to exercise some discipline in taking the same shot from the same vantage point, if only to understand when conditions are ideal. This could be termed “scouting” in a sense, because you’ve found a nice place, set things up, planned, and then you just wait for the right light. So many photographers talk about the light, and we hear terms bandied about like “seeing the light”, or “painting with light”. I’ve heard a few mention the idea of “waiting for the right light”, and it mostly has come from landscape photographers. This is what they do…they take the same scene over and over and over.
With practice, they can anticipate when the conditions will be favorable. Their sense are more attuned to things like clouds, weather, and distractions. Rather than relying on luck and serendipity, they plan, research, and study the scene for long periods of time before they find “the right light”. Sure, you can manufacture it, and we’ve all seen the wonder shots in the galleries of others – but if you think about the time and energy that goes into capturing that perfect sunrise or sunset, imagine all the “almost” shots, and the time and energy that went into them, I would suspect that many landscape photographers would say there is value in every sunrise or sunset. Because, even if they didn’t get the light just right in their location, someone – somewhere – when the sun set, nailed it perfectly!
Have you captured your perfect sunrise or sunset yet? Was it planned or by accident? Sound off in the comments and let me know if you think there is still value in sunrises and sunsets. If you’ve got a shot you would like to share, feel free to post that via the upload link too (also in the comments). Happy shooting, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow.
Oh yeah, did anyone in Colorado see the sunset today? 🙂 Nothing spectacular to write home about, but it was kind of cool colors, and worthy of showing here to indicate that just because it’s not a portfolio shot, sunset shots (in my mind) have value! What do you think?
P.S. Don’t forget, the January Flickr Giveaway is in progress…submit your photos for a chance to win a free copy of Photomatix Pro from the folks at HDR Soft.
I know – the blog has not gotten much attention lately. My apologies – but after the job loss, and pounding the pavement, my schedule has tightened up considerably, so the “planned posts” have pretty much been exhausted as I let myself get behind. The good news is that with several opportunities on the horizon, I am a little less stressed about “real world” economics, and can dedicate some time back to the blog. A few items of note:
#1 – The Year End Blowout Bash is underway – and LDP/Canon Blogger is giving away a ton of goodies. I posted details about this last week, but in the interests of giving it a little more “face time”, I would encourage everyone to start thinking about their “giving” themed photos – could mean some seriously cool prizes coming your way to start the new year off right! More details on the prize package and such here:
#2 – The 3rd edition of the LDP Newsletter is forthcoming – with some little known tidbits about the guests on most recent podcasts, including nuggets from David DuChemin and Andie Smith, as well as the monthly roundup, great quotes and christmas/holiday ideas for the photo buff in all of us.
#3 – With many things under way both professionally and personally for this time of year – the posting schedule that I had been adhering to for most of the year (hardware, software review, composition, podcast, etc.) is likely not going to be followed as strictly as things will be done more on a “catch as catch can” sort of thing. If you like tuning in for one thing or another – keep on reading because the stuff you like will be there, just maybe not on the schedule you are accustomed to.
#4 – Last up, I’d like to point out that the donations tab is still active, and all are welcome to contribute via that conduit – but in the interests of getting some tangible things back to the reader and listeners that have been so encouraging, I am going to be coming out with some short eBooks (5-10 pages max) and there is a new link for the website to bookmark for that content: https://canonblogger.com/store While I am getting a fairly good idea of things readers and listeners would like to see/hear, feel free to send in questions, comments, suggestions and the like for store content as I am open to input.
So, with the vegetables out of the way, I’d like to delve into the “meat and ‘taters” segment of today’s post and that lies in the title: bokeh
For those of you that may not be aware, bokeh refers to the blurred portions that are out of focus behind your subject matter. The quality and nature of that out of focus portion can really enhance a photo, and can even become the subject matter itself when looked at creatively. Now, I‘ve talked here on the blog about bokeh in the past, but in the spirit of the holidays, I thought it would be fun to share some samples of images where I actually forced the entire scene out of focus, to basically make the bokeh the subject:
The Beauty of Bokeh #1
The Beauty of Bokeh #2
The Beauty of Bokeh #3
The Beauty of Bokeh #4
The Beauty of Bokeh #5
As the samples show, you can make some pretty fun use of blur and bokeh. Shapes lend themselves well, and varieties in colors, as well as monochromes too. Another thing – when getting bokeh and blur – don’t worry too much about noise and crank the ISO if need be – it’s all about your creative mind. You can remove noise if you must, but the idea is to capture something in a new way and getting bokeh this time of year specifically can be a lot of fun. A few suggestions though:
Look for shapes, as suggesting what the subject might really be can catch visual interest by teasing the eye – you know what it is by the shape…
Look for light, because without much variation in light or bright spots, the bokeh will end up looking like just some smudges of a limited tonal range
Use your best lens(es) as these produce softer bokeh – less angular edges, and more rounded or smooth textures, which is usually better for bokeh (“better for bokeh”, did I just say that?)
Shoot wide open, then switch to manual focus and intentionally blur – push the lens further out of focus for variations on your bokeh elements. Watch what happens and adjust to taste.
So, there’s a few ideas for you – there could be an eBook coming out on this later with more samples and suggestions so let me know if this whets your appetite. Do you like the idea? Want to see more? Get more tips on shooting for the abstract? Do the photos above help or hurt the idea? Do you like them or think there are better samples? Got any of your own? Feel free to post links to your own libraries of bokeh and blur for everyone to enjoy – there might even be a newsletter mention in it for ya! 🙂
That’s gonna do it for today – coming up later this week, the aforementioned newsletter, another podcast, and much more, so keep on shooting, until then, may your batteries be charged and your memory cards filled with lots of photos this holiday season. Now get out there and shoot ya some! 🙂
Can capture detail as far away as 300 feet in most cases.
Can adjust to extreme low light scenarios in an instant
Can adjust to extreme bright light scenarios in an instant
Can capture HDR imagery with no post processing
Can capture 3-D in the truest sense of the word
Can capture images with no pixelation
Can capture the widest tonal range available in the visible light spectrum.
How much would you spend on these lenses? How much would you protect, treasure, and cherish them? We all love our high quality optical glass whether we be Canonites, Nikonians, Pentaxians, Olympians or whatever. Across all brands, we know the value of high quality optics, and also know that such optics do not come cheaply.
We also know that owning such gear requires regular maintenance. I know people who take a lens out of it’s case, place it on a camera, take a picture, and when done, replace it right back in the case. When the lens costs upwards of $5000 or even $10,000 for the super zooms, it’s understandable. Many would say that even the most expensive lenses in the market today do not meet all of the above 9 criteria. So, it’s kind of hard to put a price on such a hypothetical lens.
However, we are all given two of these lenses by default – even before we got into photography. What are these two lenses that are priceless? OUR EYES!
Think of all the time we spend cleaning our lenses, wiping them down, avoiding scuffs, chips, and keeping away from dust and dirt as much as possible. Then compare that to the amount of time we spend maintaining our optical health. It’s kind of ironic, eh?. So many of us take our eyes for granted. The moral of the story?
GET YOUR EYES CHECKED REGULARLY!!!
I just got back from my annual eye exam the other day, with some good and bad news. The good news is that the glaucoma and macular degeneration which runs in the family (both sides) has not reared its ugly head yet. The bad news is that apparently I am getting to an age in my eye health where I need a little assistance at both the near and far end of vision – in other words: bifocals! *shudder*
While it’s not the end of the world, and I certainly can swallow my pride, accept the fact that my eyes will see better and get the glasses, it is just another anecdote where a little education can come from it – to take care of your own lenses (your eyes). After all, without your own lenses, the rest of the lenses in the world won’t make a difference! On that note, let’s get out and use our eyes to capture the world around us! Happy shooting, have a great weekend, and we’ll see you back here on Monday!
We always are striving to make our images more compelling – to bring the viewer in closer, and to connect better wit our audience. I have had people ask me pretty much the same thing, but in may different ways and it basically comes down to the something like this: “I get the technical, but it’s the creative side of making compelling images that gets me stuck – what can you suggest?”
It’s the age-old question, and if I had all the answers, well, I’d be filthy rich! The reason this is the case is because what is compelling or inspiring for one person will be different for another, and yet another, and even a fourth or fifth person. The truth of the matter is that there is no magical silver bullet of what to do to create compelling images…but there are some things that we, as photographers, can rely on as starting points in our search for compelling captures. Here’s 5 compelling capture tips that I’ve come up with:
Color – striking colors are always noticeable. We see the world in shades, tones and nuances of color, so seek out those types of images where color is powerful. D0 this, and your chances of creating compelling captures increases exponentially!
Light – Surprise surprise! I’ve talked about light before, and it’s influence in photography (it’s all about light in photography, even the word itself translates partially as light). Find powerfully lit scenes and you’ve found a compelling moment.
Emotion – Photo journalism relies on this more than any other genre, but if you want to tell a story with your images, one way to do so is to evoke a sense of emotional connection. Bringing out the emotion in the viewer by presenting scenes that are filled with emotionally charged elements – whether it’s a controversial image of a war zone, or the passion of a mother and her unborn child, these types of scenes stay wit us for a reason, because of the emotion tied to it.
Action – In the words of Joe McNally, “action trumps everything.” Action shots also connect with the viewer because it speaks to a particular moment in time more than anything else. That moment a soccer player connects their foot wit a ball, or the moment a bullet shatters a wine glass – it’s something that sparks interest in the viewer, and cannot be ignored as a source of compelling interest.
Eyes – Spoken from the rulebook of a true portraitist, when you have the faces of people or animals in an image – make sure you can see their eyes. Remember, like the old saying goes, “The eyes are the windows to the soul”, and if you want viewers to connect with an image, one of the most compelling ways to connect with a portrait is to give a hint of what’s inside, and that is almost always done through the eyes of the subject.
So, there you have it – 5 ways to create compelling images. These are, of course, adages, and there will be exceptions to these rules at times, but as a general rule of thumb, these tips can help you create compelling captures. There’s also more to it than these 5 ideas, because you know that no single person can completely encompass the ideas behind what creates compelling captures. So, I would invite you to share your own ideas for what you look to in creating those decisive moments? Is it something here? Is there something else you look to for inspiration or to capture something compelling? What captures your interest when you look at pictures? Sound off in the comments!
Don’t forget, the November contest has started and a literal bundle of prizes is at stake for some lucky participant so get your creative caps on and throw an image (or two or three) in the Flickr thread. If you don’t play, you can’t win! 🙂 Until tomorrow then, keep on shooting those compelling images. Thanks for stopping in and we’ll see you then!
This week’s show is a doozy – I talk about the latest contest, (#3 for 2009), have a fun conversation with Jason Loucks, then tackle some tips on photography fireworks. Of course the show always takes care of a couple listener questions and answers, so it’s 45 jam-packed minutes of photography fun. Here’s the show notes:
The Third Photo Contest, sponsored by OnOne software. Rules and entry information are posted on Tuesday’s blog, and you can enter your photos here.
Here’s the sites and twitter folk we talk about during the show:
Make sure you have spare batteries (and fully charge all batteries)
Shoot with a low ISO
Set your shutter between 4-8 seconds for best results
Try adjusting the zoom in or out for attention grabbing light trails
Enjoy the show, hosted by the folks over at Personal Life Media! Happy shooting, and be sure to share your own tips and tricks for shooting fireworks by tomorrow and I’ll try to put all of them together along with some (hopefully) inspiring photos for enjoyment. In the spirit of the show, don’t forget the trailing question: What was your first camera?
For something new here on the blog, I thought it might be fun to share some of my favorite keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop. The idea here is that people will share their top five in the comments area and we can get an idea of many more keyboard shortcuts than we ever could have found out on our own (unless of course you are some Photoshop guru like The Photoshop Guys and the trainers/instructors of the world that do this for a living and already know all the shortcuts.)
So, anyway, here’s my Friday Fab Five Photoshop shortcuts and what they do:
CMD/CTRL+J = duplicates your existing layer
CRTL+ALT+SHIFT+E = Stamp Visible This takes all your visible layers and merges them onto a new layer. Increases file size, but very cool
CMD/CTRL+’ = (yes, that’s apostrophe) – it activates the grid in your preferences. Since my grid is set to every 33.33% and one subdivision, it basically shows a Rule of Thirds grid overlay on my images – very handy for compositional cropping
Left and right brackets – decrease and increase your active brush, whether it’s for clone stamp, healing brush, eraser, history brush – whatever
Alt+Eyedropper = you can drag the eyedropper outside of Photoshop to sample a color in another application (great for color matching)
So, those are my five for this friday – what are yours? Sound off in the comments! In the meantime, have a great weekend and happy shooting! I’ll leave you with my favorite What the Duck cartoon of the week:
This week I am going to talk about the lack of software in the weekly software review. That’s right – the lack of it! You may be sitting there wondering which software item I am going to talk about, promote, or diss in some way shape or form, but instead of that, I actually want to talk about the general trending of software, hardware, and system resources. Why? Because we demand a lot from our computers these days. Think about it – we want our computers to do many things from surfing the internet, to designing graphics, office functions, building websites, and yes, processing ever-increasing image file sizes. At what point do we say we are asking enough of our computers?
Lately my main desktop computer had been getting slower and slower and slower, and it seemed no matter what I did whether it was beefing up the RAM, adding a faster hard drive, processor, or the like, and even re-installing the OS every 6 months – it was just getting pathetic. At one point, I clocked abut 5 minutes for Firefox to start – on a fresh boot! The culprit? I am asking my computer to do too much. I finally said enough is enough – and am re-purposing the computers in the house. We have a grand total of five computers and each has a unique function: from Office to web, to image processing, and podcasting. And that’s just it – each computer has a task. Yet I have not been disciplined about asking the computer to only perform its assigned task. I revert to the one desktop and the one laptop. The end result: the systems s……l……o……w…… d……o……w……n…….
With a grand total of 78 programs at last count, it’s no wonder my cmputer was screaming “Mercy!”. So, enough is enough. I vowed to make each computer perform only one set of tasks, as explained above. The end result: removing about 50 applications from the main computer. It took the better part of an evening (4 or 5 hours) but at the end, the computer is now screamingly fast again – and Firefox loads in seconds, not minutes. The reason – purposing your computer for a specific software function.
So, instead of looking at adding new software all the time to your computers, you may want to take a look at the computer itself – is it doing the job you want, or are you asking too much? Think about purposing your resources more efficiently. Do you really need that HP 3600 printer driver on there from 4 years ago? What about that trial version of Elements you downloaded a few months ago? And the 4 instances of Tweetdeck you have there? Really? Clean out your software and watch your computer performance increase a notch or two as a result. It’s just like us humans – we can get more done when we’re asked to do less all the time! We’re faster, more productive, and yes, more focused on the task at hand.
So, check that installed software list and try cleaning things out from time to time – your computer will thank you!
Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!
One of the more popular posts here on the blog has been two that consisted of explanations on how to bracket multiple exposures in camera in order to capture a wider range of exposure values than is typically permitted in a single frame. Typically, these various exposures are then seamed together in some editor like Photoshop, Photomatix or other that is available to produce an effect called HDR – high dynamic range. You can get some impressive results with various techniques that appeal to different subjective perspectives.
Here at the blog though, rather than take sides on such post processing methods, it’s more fun to show people how to do things, and then let you all take your own liberties either with the approach or with your processing afterward, or both to get results that appeal to you! With that in mind, the feedback I’ve received from the previous discussions included a large number of people that asked for visuals of the process (I guess they are all visual learners).
Well, rather than take several dozens of images showing all the various settings and then explaining how I got toeach, a video seemed a more appropriate approach. So, here’s the video short for those of you that requested visual aids. It’s not the most professional but you should be able to get the gist.
This would also be a good time to remind everyone that we are in the dwindling days of the Adobe Lightroom contest. You can win your own free copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, courtesy of the folks at Adobe, simply by entering images you’ve taken in May over at the LDP Flickr thread. Limit two images per person, but there’s still room for many more entries (no limit on the number of PEOPLE that can participate!) just join the group for free and post your images. Good luck to all and may the best photo win! (Final results will be posted in June – I’l send my top ten picks back to Tom Hogarty for final judging when he’ll pick the winner!)
That’s it for today – I should have the podcast up tomorrow, but as always, no promises as my schedule has been fluctuating at work lately. Happy shooting, and I will be back with more news, information, insights, tips and tricks tomorrow, whether in written or audio form. Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!
