I went to shoot light and wine glasses, but the jazz was captivating. I had been introduced to Randy’s guitar playing before, so I knew the image was in ‘his hands’. I decided to shoot a really slow shutter, trying to capture the fulcrum of his finger in focus as the rest of his hand shook like a bird. His vibrato is stellar. I didn’t quite get it, but I got close. Close enough for Jazz. I will say I am looking (listening) forward to the next shoot.

If you are in the Denver area, you can catch Randy’s playing over a glass of wine here on Sunday nights.

http://www.indulgewinebar.com/

Or, you can visit his web site here:

http://www.randyrigby.com/

Capture Notes:

Nikon D300
Nikkor 35mm 1.8 DX AFS

Exposure: 0.125 sec (1/8)
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

Processing Notes:

Capture (1 image)
Aperture 3 (High Contrast Grade 5 B&W Preset)
Export for web
LightAsMagic.com

Tip: As a photographer, you get opportunities to engage people in a different way. One thing to live by, and this is a lesson I learned from an early mentor, is if you make an image of someone, and you promise them a look, make sure you get them a print or an email. It will make their day and it’s generally a nice thing to do.

I just got done with a brilliant Friday afternoon bike ride. If feels like spring is upon us! This is an image from several months back, an archival print from the dark days of January. You can find a larger desktop version of it over on the ‘Desktops’ page. Although these clouds make great candidates for HDR images, let’s hope there days are long gone.

Capture Notes:
Nikon D300
Nikkor 35mm 1.8
Gitzo Traveler

Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Processing Note:

Capture (7 images)
Photomatix (HDR Tonemapping)
Nik ColorEFX Pro (Tonal Contrast Boost Contrast and Desaturate)
Nik ColorEFX Pro (Bleach Bypass)
Nik Define 2.0 (Automatic)
Photoshop (Crop Resize)
Nik Sharpener (Display 30% Adaptive selectively applied to tree and foreground)
LightAsMagic.com

Tip: I’m not sure if this is necessarily a tip, but an interesting technique. I have discovered with trees like this is to use a bit slower shutter speed on a mildly windy day. The main trunk will stay stable and in focus, where the smaller branches will move around and blur. It definitely gives it a Tim Burton vibe.

A photographer friend of mine, whose images you can see over on flickr, likes to make images of landscapes within landscapes. He will find a small patch of grass and flowers, or an interesting rock amidst a much grander scene. He calls these images ‘intimate landscapes’. I really like the idea. He tells me that I am an ‘intimate urbanscape’ photographer. I am pretty sure it is images like this that compels him believe that.

Nikon D300
Nikkor 35mm 1.8 DX
Gitzo Traveler

Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Processing Notes:
Capture (7 images)
Photomatix (HDR/Tonemapping)
Photoshop (Curves Adjustment)
Nik Color Efx Pro (Bleach Bypass)
Nik Color Efx Pro (Vignette)
LightAsMagic.com

Little did this guy know that when he walked out of the cleaners, he would be walking into a foray of paparazzi. Seriously, when this guy opened the door there were 4 photographers set up with tripods shooting this brick wall. We were all on the monthly IlluminateWorkshops evening photo-walk.

I knew this scene needed something more than just the wall. I tried opening the door and staging myself in the scene, but it just wasn’t working. However, after waiting a while the man in the fedora walked out and I quickly snapped a frame. The frame I snapped was my metered exposure. Once the door closed and he was done asking questions I finished my sequence of 7 frames.

Nikon D300
Nikkor 35mm 1.8 AFS DX
Gitzo Traveler
Markins Q3T Ballhead

Processing Notes:
Capture (7 images)
Photomatix (HDR/Tonemapping)
Photoshop (Masked in the man and light)
Photoshop (Curves adjustment global contrast)
Nik ColorEFX Pro (Tonal contrast slight desaturation and brick texture)
Photoshop (Crop to 4×5 ratio)
Nik ColorEFX Pro (Vignette – Off center to enhance light’s shadow)
Nik Sharpen (Display adaptive 25% selectively applied to bricks)
LightAsMagic.com

Tip: When shooting a sequence of photos that are going to be used in an HDR image, pay attention to any moving objects. Try to capture the movement you want in the image when the movement you want coincides with the exposure that is appropriate for your image. That sounds a bit circular? Hopefully it makes sense. Feel free to email or leave a comment if it doesn’t.

This month’s evening photo walk was in a great part of Denver. The SOBO neighborhood is home to the Mayan theatre, great dining, and alleys full of character. I committed myself to keeping it simple. I spent the entire evening using my 35mm 1.8. Which on a DX camera is a normal lens, meaning it offers the same perspective your eyes see. This image was of interest to me because of the varieties of light sources. I white balanced the image for the closest dumpster. I felt the remaining lights added interest to the depth of the image because of their various color casts.

Nikon D300
Nikkor 35mm 1.8 DX AFS
Gitzo Traveler

Processing Notes:
Capture (7 images)
Photomatix (HDR/ToneMapping)
Photoshop (curves adjustment)
NIK ColorEFX (Tonal Contrast light texture)
Photoshop (Brightness/Contrast adjustment)
NIK Sharepen (Display adaptive 30%)

Tip: I have found that when shooting at night, I will try to commit myself to an aperture, a fairly wide one, and then adjust my shutter speed throughout the night. With my 35mm lens at 1.8 and an ISO of 800, I was able to achieve a shutter speed of 1/60 sec in even the darkest of allies.

A cold day of training reminded me of a tree I had been meaning to make an image of and I thought the storm behind it might do well for the backdrop. Nature’s studio cooperated. Sure, a bit dramatic, but after 5 hours of riding in the cold I felt dramatic!

Nikon D300
Nikkor 35mm 1.8
Gitzo Traveler

Processing Note:
Capture (7 images)
Photomatix (HDR Tonemapping)
Nik ColorEFX Pro (Bleach Bypass)
Nik Define 2.0 (Manual selectively applied to sky)
Photoshop (Crop Re-size)
Nik ColorEFX Pro (Vignette)
Nik Sharpener (Display adaptive selectively applied to tree and foreground)
LightAsMagic.com

Tip: I’m not sure if this necessarily falls under the category of a tip, but I had a friend of mine ask if I would write a bit more about my process. I wasn’t sure where to start, so I figured I would start with a concept I have decided to call ‘Creative Scheduling’. We are all busy doing everything but making art. That is one of life’s common denominators. My personal way of dealing with this is to schedule the creative process. It sounds crazy, but hopefully I can try to shed some light on it. I break my photography time into 4 broad categories.

• Photo Walks: These are times that I have set aside to grab my gear and throw myself into an environment. Just like meeting friends for dinner, or going to the doctor, the appointment is on the calendar.
• Photography of Opportunity: This is just a matter of being prepared. Put together a kit that your are comfortable taking with you wherever you go. It could be a small PointnShoot or an SLR with a select set of lenses. Just make sure it is portable enough that you like to have it around. That way, when the images show themselves, you are ready for them. Here is what I take.
• Travel: It is basically a blend of the above. When I am traveling I will conduct some forward recon on the net and schedule a couple of ‘Photo Walks’ during my vacation. The prior planning makes me very efficient when on location which still allows me plenty of time to hang out and relax with my family and friends. On vacation, I always have a Photography of Opportunity kit at the ready.
• Pre-Visioned: These are images that I have stumbled upon when I (or the image) wasn’t ready. These are things I see when I am out and about running, riding, or just too busy to stop. I will make note of these images and save them for later. In my mind’s eye I will try to imagine the ideal conditions for my vision. Then, when it fits into my schedule and the conditions are right, I will go make it happen.

Why use this post to describe my ‘Creative Scheduling’ process? Because it is an example of Pre-Visioning an image for later. I found this lone tree on a road I commonly ride and I knew that a southern storm would make the perfect backdrop for it. The storm arrived the same day I had to run an errand to the quarry. I grabbed my gear and stopped to make the image. Two minutes later I was back on the road, image in hand, and off to get some flagstone.

Recently I had reader and fellow photographer contact me regarding some mentoring (If you are reading this Fred, Happy Thanksgiving!). I try to publish tips on the site, but reading information here is no substitute for field work. No better way of sharing tips than taking a photo walk. A quick shooting session in Red Rocks park followed by some processing over a beer seemed to do the trick. Fred sent me his photos, and I think I like his better. He is a great photographer, and I think we can learn a lot from each other. If anyone else is interested in a photo walk on the CO front range don’t hesitate contacting me.

Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikkor 35mm 1.8 DX

Fred’s Tip: I tried a technique that Fred uses in his workflow. I will admit I kind of like it. This information if for folks that shoot in Nikon RAW. I’m sure it is applicable to other manufactures, I just don’t know the details.

Fred shoots his images in Neutral, then when he does his RAW conversion he will change the picture control in NX2 to either standard or landscape while converting to .tiff. He does this to boost saturation and contrast so he doesn’t introduce any artifact while making the composite image in Photomaitx. Thanks Fred. I enjoyed the walk and the tip!