Posts from the ‘Tips’ Category
We had front row seats on the roof of our hotel in Cozumel for this one! Most of the time I leave sunsets in color, in all their glory. However, because of the smaller clouds dancing in the foreground I decided the contrasts would make a nice black and white composition.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D300
Nikkor 70-300 VR AFS
Singh-Ray 3stop Reverse GND
Gitzo Traveler
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/11.0
Focal Length: 300 mm
Processing Notes:
Capture (1 image)
NIK Silver EFX Pro (B+W Conversion)
NIK Viveza 2 (enhance the glow of the sun on the sea)
Photoshop (resized for web)
LightAsMagic.com
Tip: It might seem counter intuitive to shoot sunsets with a long focal length, but it is a great way to get up and close and personal with a setting sun. I always carry a 70-300 with me while traveling.
No better way to spend Valentine’s day than staying in a haunted hotel. After taking a 90min ghost tour, one that happens to have a stop near your room, you are expected to enjoy your dinner and get a good nights sleep. Well, that didn’t quite happen. I am still deciding if I really heard the sound of turn of the century nannies moving their steam trunks across the floors in the rooms above us. No kidding. I’m not 100% sure, but I am about 90% sure that is what I experienced.
You can read more about the Stanley Effect by clicking here.
Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16 ATX Pro
Gitzo Traveler
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 11.5 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Metered Shutter Speed: 2.0s
Processing Notes:
Capture (4 Images)
Photomatix (HDR/Tonemapping)
Photoshop (Curves adjustment – color cast, global contrast)
NIK Color EFX Pro (Tonal Contrast selectively applied to hotel and foreground)
Photoshop (Vibrance/Saturation boost)
Photoshop (Resize)
NIK Sharpener (Display 40% adaptive)
LightAsMagic.com
Tip: When working at night, especially cold nights, I have found that using mountain bike gloves does a good job of keeping my hands warm while still retaining their dexterity.
When I set out with my camera and nothing catches my eye’s attention, I force myself to look closer. On occasion I find something interesting.
Nikon D300
Nikkor 16-85 VR
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
Exposure Bias: -5/3 EV
ISO Speed: 800
Processing Notes:
Capture
Aperture 2 (Contrast/Saturation Adjustment)
LightAsMagic.com
Tip: When you are out and about with your camera, don’t hesitate bringing it to your eye and looking through the view finder. As a photographer, I don’t always know what I am looking for. However, seeing the world through a lens helps me find it.
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.
By no means do I consider myself a wildlife photographer, I don’t have the patience for it. If you want to see great wildlife photography visit Moose Peterson’s site. His name says it all. I discovered this little fox, along with his brothers and sisters, on my way to the post office. I had my camera with me and thought I would try my hand at ‘Dancing with Wolves’. After a deliberately slow approach, I settled into a seated position and waited. I would yawn, blink, look away, etc; Everything you might learn from watching episodes of the Dog Whisperer. The one thing I didn’t do was immediately start shooting. After about 20 minutes, a reluctant mom let her kits out of the den. She didn’t let them walk up and sniff me, but they were allowed to make eye contact and observe me from a distance. I stayed there as long as a 1 gig CF card would let me (in 2002 that was a boat load of memory). Actually, I stayed a bit longer than that. It was an experience I will always remember.
Nikon D1x
Nikkor 80-200 2.8 AFD
Processing Notes
Capture
Photoshop (Curves Adjustment)
NIK (Sharpen selective to the eyes)
LightAsMagic.com
Tip: In a situation like this you might be tempted to open your lens up as wide as it will go to try and soften the background and emphasize your subject. However, at 2.8 in this case I was barely able to get the eyes in focus if I was focusing on the bridge of their noses. I think f/3.2 – 4 might have been a better choice.
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.
On occasion, you just want to fill the frame with something interesting and click. This one was one of those times. The waves of clouds lit by the rising sun made everything on the ground meaningless, so I pointed my camera to the sky and……click. From my camera to your computers, with nothing in between.
Nikon D300
Nikkor 16-85 VR II
Processing Notes
Capture
Aperture (Raw Conversion)
LightAsMagic.com
Tip: To achieve a silhouetted foreground and a brilliant backdrop, you want to set your camera to capture the appropriate exposure for the sky which will leave your foreground dark and detail-less. To do this you can set your camera to ’spot metering’ mode, and meter for the sky. If you don’t have spot metering capabilities, you can use exposure compensation by reducing the metered exposure by several stops. Try making a couple image and review them in your LCD until you like what you see.
A neighbor friend of ours, who also happens to be a great photographer, was telling me about her cross processing techniques of days past. You can visit her site by clicking here.
I really like the Lo-Fi vibe you can achieve with this process, so I decided to go out and find a subject to experiment with digitally. I have had this building on the radar for a while, and I thought it would be the perfect subject for this technique. FYI, the cross processing I applied was compliments of my favorite digital toolset, Nik EFX, and free fo any chemicals like the days of yore. I like it. It’s as if I am blogging from the 70s.
Nikon D300
Nikkor 70-300 ED AF
Gitzo Traveler
Processing Notes:
Capture (7 images)
Photomatix (HDR Tonemapping)
NIK ColorEFX Pro (Tonal Contrast for texture)
NIK ColorEFX Pro (Cross Process for lo-fi vibe)
Photoshop (Re-size and prep for web)
NIK Sharpen (Display 30% Adaptive)
LightAsMagic.com
Tip: To get the height required to make this image, I had to set the tripod up on the top of my car. Two things I learned here. 1) Tripods don’t work well if they are on a moving surface. Turn your car off! 2) You might think you stand still, but you don’t. Get off the car and use a cable release from the ground.
You all know I missed its rise yesterday, so I to set my alarm to see if it was still there in the morning. Sure enough it was! The image has its flaws, but I hadn’t had my coffee yet.
Nikon D300
Nikkor 70-300 ED AF
Gitzo Traveler
Processing Note:
Capture (9 images)
Photomatix (HDR/Tonemapping)
NIK SilverFX Pro
LightAsMagic.com
Tip: Something I discovered this morning is that the Moon’s orbit is faster than you think. I bumped up my ISO to 400 so I could increase my shudder speed to get 9 images shot as fast as possible.
Telluride CO is to a landscape photographer, like a an exotic bird show is to a cat. Not only are the Grandscapes accessible, the food is great. This photo of the Bridal Veil House is a reminder for me to go back. Last time I was there I was mountain biking, hiking, and dining. I didn’t bring the photographer’s focus with me.
Nikon D1X
Nikkor 80-200 AFD 2.8
Processing:
Capture
Photoshop (Levels Adjustment)
Nik ColorEFX (Tonal Contrast)
Nik Sharpen (Display adaptive 30%)
Tip-A telephoto lens isn’t only good for bringing the subject closer to you, it is a great tool for bringing subjects closer together. Shooting images with a telephoto lens will provide the effect of compressing the elements of the image. It the above image, you can see this compression effect adds drama to the scene as the cliff appears to be imposing on the house.
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.
It was unexpectedly sunny today so I decided to take a break from the black and white images I had been posting as of late and find some warm colors. I spent the sunset in downtown exploring a couple of locations I have had on the radar. The sun fooled me and I headed out out without gloves or a jacket. I froze my lens cap off.
Once the tallest building west of the Mississippi, the Daniels and Fisher Tower continues to stand proud amongst its modern day peers.
Nikon D300
Nikkon 16-85 VR II
Gitzo Traveler
Processing Notes:
Capture (7 images)
Photomatix (HDR Tonemapping)
Nik ColorEFX Pro (Brilliance/Warmth 75% Opacity)
Nik Sharpen (Display adaptive 30%)
Flickr
Tip: Can’t afford a Helicopter to gain an elevated perspective of the city, use a parking garage.
The Speer blvd. bridge makes for a grand entrance to Denver. I had been wanting to make an image of the bridge for some time. Recently, while attending a local evening photo walk sponsored by Illuminate Workshops I was able to get the job done. Originally I planned on shooting the bridge from a distance using a long lens to compress it against the skyline. I did that. However, when crossing back across the street I stumbled across this view. I’m glad Starbucks was on the other side of the street.
For more on the Illuminate Workshops visit their site:
http://www.illuminateworkshops.com/
Nikon D300
Nikkor 16-85 VR II
Gitzo Traveler
Processing Notes
Capture
Photoshop (Levels Adjustment)
NIK Sharpener (Display)
LightAsMagic.com
Tip: When you are shooting at night, really pay attention to your lighting. The light on the right was turning off intermittently and leaving that side of the bridge dark. I didn’t notice it at first, but after a couple clicks I did and was able to capture the even lighting.
I was scared to setup my tripod at this overlook along Hwy 1. Actually, I was scared to get out of the car. The wind was howlin! My flapping clothes left me bruised. Whatever was over that hill was coming our way fast.
Processing Notes:
Capture
Nik SilverFX Pro (B&W Conversion)
Nik Sharpen (Display 30% adaptive w/ structure boost)
LightAsMagic.com
Nikon D300
Nikkor 60mm Micro
Tip: If you ever find yourself stuck in a dense fog bank along Hwy 1, thinking to yourself that this is hopeless. Don’t give up! Drive around the next bend. You might find a beautiful beach bathed in sunlight.
Now that the bites have healed I decided to post the image from the scene of the crime. While I was on vacation making this image I was attacked by a multi-species strategic insect task force. I am glad that I was able to get a couple of shutter clicks in before I had to flee (pun intended) the scene.
Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16 ATX Pro
Gitzo Traveler
Singh-Ray 3stop RGND
Tip: I was using a 3 stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density (RGND) to hold back the sun. Later I found that I probably needed to stack another 2 stop filter on top of it. Thankfully I was shooting in RAW so I could recover the blown out sun in post production. Make sure you meter the background and foreground independently so you can better determine your filter needs.
