Tag Archives: Vision

Another year bites the dust…….

December 31, 2014 by admin | Comments Off

Well another year is in the process of slipping into the record books. Overall I think it was a good year, there is always room for improvement but in general things went ok. I am left filled with my usual feelings of not getting everything I wanted to get done, done. Oh well that is part of life’s rich pageant. I think having lots of tasks makes for a busy and fulfilling life, so I am not too worried that not everything was finished, they will be added to the next year’s agenda.

I am not usually one for lists or making “resolutions” but I try to set goals for myself, a subtle but real difference for me. Resolutions always seem like they are more trivial to me, easily broken and ignored.  Perhaps they should have more staying power and meaning but that is not what happens.  They seem easier to rationalize breaking.

Some of the things I want to accomplish in this coming new year,  and in no particular order. I need and want to revamp this website, I really need to add some images and replace a lot of them with better versions and better compositions. I also am going to try and write more articles and perhaps that will get down to a lot more commentary but the goal is to be a lot more active with the blog. I have not done a lot to promote it, mostly because I think the site still needs a lot of work. I also want to refine my image post processing, take my time to do what is best for my sense of vision. I want to refine my vision and be more deliberate with my art. Do more starscapes, and also do more photography in general, but then I always want to do more photography! It is a standard year to year wish, and pretty much goes without saying…..

I also want to make better and more productive use of my time. Time is fleeting and never seems to be a lot of it left at the end of the day, but I want to make it memorable and productive.

It is always easier to second guess and have perfect hindsight, but I am really lucky to have my family, friends, and a decent job. I am also especially lucky to have my wife. She is my companion, fellow photographer, friend, lover and confidant that gets me back on track and helps me stay focused.

And I will leave you with the last sunset for me this year and best wishes to all and hope that the New Year will bring much pleasure and happiness.

Thanks for reading. I will leave you with the last sunset for me in 2014…..

 

The last sunset for me in 2014

 

Portraits of Earth – a new ebook

September 5, 2012 by admin | 2 Comments

Portraits of Earth is the new ebook from David DuChemin. David is a photographer who has been known for taking people portraits and showing the human side of events, so what is he doing writing a landscape photography book? Well, like David mentions in his ebook, landscapes are really just portraits of the Earth. They can inspire as well as inform the viewer, emotions can come into play and just the sheer beauty of nature is something to share. This ebook is not so much about gear, but about looking for the possibilities and crafting your shot with more care to complete your vision. He also gives some tips for gear, and how to use it to capture the light that you see when exploring new vistas. He talks about filters and how they can enhance an image and the best ways to use them. He also talks about some general gear, like tripods and other useful items.  He also goes into details about how to handle specific types of scenery, like fog and snow. Also there are some nice tips for some processing techniques and can give you some ideas to try in your own images.  The book is filled with pictures from his travels around the world, visiting places most of use are not going to see, I know I wish I could go to some of these places. So does that mean you have to travel to exotic locations? No it does not, but he does show you through examples of how to apply leading lines and to use light to tell your story and capture your vision as well as composition topics and some discussions on why and how he made the images as well as the exposure information.

So why should you consider this ebook? Well for me I like the way David writes, his writing style is easy to read and understand and you feel that you are having a conversation with him, he explains his motivations and tries to not make it too technical. Photography is a an artform that requires some technical knowledge but it also requires the artist to “see”, so there are fuzzy concepts to go with the  geek. You can purchase this ebook for a very low price of $5, however if you click on the link and use the code EARTH4 before Sept. 9, 2012 you can get it for $4, Click here for Portraits of Earth While you are on the Craft And Vision site you might want to check out their other ebooks. I have personally found the following titles to be very useful, The Power of Black and White, Light and Land, Exposure for Outdoor Photography, and Close to Home, all of the ebooks on the site are well written and informative, and if you want to get several ebooks use the code EARTH20 for a 20% discount on 5+ ebooks, this code also expires Sept. 9, 2012.  So get some good, cheap, informative ebooks and inspire yourself to get out use what you learn. I know I have.

 

Dodging and Burning – An essential skill and a new ebook to help learn the basics…..

July 17, 2012 by admin | Comments Off

Many of us “old timers” got our start with film cameras and darkroom work with chemicals and all kind of trial and error methods to bring out the details in our photos like dodging and burning. I remember having all kinds of funny shaped cardboard pieces on little pieces of wire and cardboard with cut outs and sometimes just using your hand to help bring out details in a print. In newer terminology to bring the full dynamic range to view on a nice print. Today, of course, we can use computers, so instead of throwing away trial prints we can edit and experiment. Especially with tools like Lightroom, the changes are all parametric and we can always go back and re-edit. You can still do that with Photoshop but it takes a little more effort. Now we use pen tablets and a mouse to apply and change the areas, to make the highlights and shadows as we remember the scene or how we want it to look. All of us go through various learning curves and it is always useful to learn new techniques, so that brings us to the subject of this post. Here is a new ebook, available from the fine people at Craft and Vision. This new ebook is quite a package, it includes an ebook on Dodging and Burning, including lots of examples, but it also includes some Actions for Photoshop and a custom Panel for interacting with the Actions. The sample images discussed in the book are included so that you can follow along exactly with each step. These are set up for Lightroom 4 or Photoshop CS6, while they will work with earlier versions these are recommend because of the improvements that were implemented with the new Image Process in Camera Raw. Trial versions are available for download from Adobe. In case you are wondering about cost, the normal cost for this fine package is $10, however if you use the code “DODGE8” during checkout, it will only be $8. This is only for a limited time, so go and get the Dodge&Burn ebook through this link and use the code before midnight on July 22, 2012. The Craft and Vision book store also has a package deal, for the same limited time, in which you can get 20% off 5+ ebooks from the site, the code is “DODGE20”.  All of the books are worthwhile, however I recommend in addition to the Dodge&Burn, ebook to take a look at Up Close, Exposure for Outdoor Photography, Making the Print, and the Power of Black and White. There are many others that are excellent but those will give you some great information.

So be sure to check out the ebook, and learn how to Dodge and Burn effectively, bring up those shadows and modify the highlights to match your initial vision when you took the picture.  This is an art that does take practice and there is certainly many ways to accomplish the same effects but this book will give you a great start and some insight into improving your images. Not only are the traditional type of modifications discussed but also uses of sharpening, and tonal effects to add some depth to your vision. How to effectively do it in a non-destructive fashion in photoshop, but also how to use some of the tools from Nik Software as a way of making it more efficient.

 

Image of the week #15

April 16, 2012 by admin | Comments Off

Spring is here, flowers are out and the weather is definitely getting warmer, and warmer. Since we seem to go into extremes, cold then hot, it can make it rough on finding spring flowers. So when the wildflowers are not producing, the gardens get worked. This is from Descanso Gardens, they always have a nice display of tulips.  The was taken in a patch that was partially shaded and what I did was accentuate the shadows and the highlighted areas.  The translucent appearance of the tulips when backlit caught my eye. Taken with a Canon 5DmarkII and 70-200mm f4 at f4 and 163mm. Enjoy.

 

Improve your photography – for FREE!

December 1, 2011 by admin | Comments Off

Well it may not be a completely truthful statement, it is however, still a free item. What I am talking about is the new free ebook from Craft and Vision. The ebook is called Craft and Vision, and if you click on that link you can download it for free. This book contains 11 chapters by 9 different authors that will give you tips and suggestions that might improve your photography and help you get to the next level. While it will not work miracles, it can provide food for thought.  Looking at new concepts and also re-enforcing standard techniques can help you help create better images.

There are chapters on how to read a histogram, on how to direct viewers eye to emphasize your intent, and composition. There are chapters with valuable advice, like how to take better portraits and make your images more dynamic, and much more. Is this a worthwhile ebook? Definitely and the price is certainly right, you cannot go wrong. While you are there you can check out the other volumes that are available, all for $5 each. There are some great informative titles.

One of the reasons I am recommending their books is that I have found inspiration from them. I have read many of them, and it has helped me get over a creative hump. I was getting tired of reading endless forums debating the same hardware issues, the same questions over and over, call it a form of burnout. I am now thinking more about the creative aspects, and looking at and seeing things in a different manner.  Trying to improve my craft. There is some great advice in these books and the price is reasonable which is refreshing in this day of over commercialism. So check out their free ebook by clicking on this link to the Craft and Vision free ebook.

Feel free to send a link to this blog post to all your friends and camera buddies, help them improve their photography. Feel free to comment here as well. I hope you find it useful. 

Studying composition is a good thing…..

November 15, 2011 by admin | Comments Off

I think every photographer goes through periods of change, ruts develop, distractions happen, and sometimes life just moves on seemingly without any control.  I know I go through periods when I can’t seem to get a pleasing image, at least in my opinion. Is this from lack of trying, or maybe trying too much? Sometimes a spark is needed to help provoke a new way of looking at the world. A type of creative spark, something to break out of the mundane.  I know personally I have been kind of uninspired in my photography, oh I still enjoy it, but maybe I needed such a spark. One thing that has been a distraction is my love for gear and things that are technical. I get wrapped up in it, and soon I am playing more with the gear and hanging out in the forums looking and reading about gear. While gear is good, gear is just a tool. The main part of the equation is the image.  So lately I have been trying to avoid the gear and focus more on the photography. In the field I am carrying fewer lenses and less gear and that is making things a little easier, easier to be creative. To use the tools that I have with me, rather than rummage through all the equipment.

I stumbled upon the Craft And Vision website and David DuChemin’s posts on the Pixelated Image Blog and a lot of things he had to say resonated with some of the feelings I have been having and helped me to look at things in a different “light”.  Namely, photography can be difficult, and it really is not so much about the gear, but about the “vision”. The Craft and Vision website has a lot of inexpensive e-books about various aspect of photography and essays to make you think about the “craft”.

The most recent one to be released is Beyond Thirds – A Photographer’s Introduction to Creative Composition by Andrew S. Gibson. While this ebook is not intended to be a full treatise on composition, it does give some fuel for thought. The book for me was a gentle prod to make me think about composition when I am taking an image. I know I get pretty reflexive about using the “rule of thirds”, it has been ingrained into my thought processes from reading many other books and making conscious efforts to use that rule in some of my images. Well, as the book points out “rule” is a harsh term and that it really is more of a guideline. Not all images work well using thirds as a guideline, this book served to remind me that there are other considerations and other ways to compose an image. The book does go through and shows some nice images and discusses the merits of the particular composition selected by the author. It did make me think about how I am creating images and to think about how I want to capture my vision and intent.

I mentioned that it is far from a textbook but it is gentle prod to think about how to express yourself and how to improve your images. The price of the book is a very reasonable $5, Click here to purchase Beyond Thirds – A Photographer’s Introduction to Creative Composition by Andrew S. Gibson. If you use the code BT4  when you check out, the price is only $4, OR you can use the code BT20 to get 20% off when you buy 5+ PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST November 19th, 2011.

HDR photography: What’s the big deal?

November 1, 2011 by admin | 2 Comments

HDR photography or high dynamic range photography can generate a lot of controversy in some circles. Especially in the online forums; mention that you have taken an image using HDR techniques and you will get very polarized responses. This polarization is kind of funny, in my opinion. Photographers will either love it or hate it, although there some that are a little bit in the middle, but basically very polarized, they either love it or hate it.. I’m not so sure why this is such a big controversy after all it’s just a technique, a tool, that the photographer can use to process an image. This tool can be used in many ways. To me, it is a tool that is used to enhance an image to the photographer’s “vision”. So what’s the big deal? In reality it’s no different than using any other tool. There are lots of tools, and different filters and plug-ins you can get for Photoshop. For instance, Topaz Lab’s “Adjust” and Nik’s “Color Efex Pro4”. If you adjust the sliders and play around you can make a gaudy looking highly saturated low contrast images that are no different than some of the HDR photography! On the other hand, those same plugins can be used to make subtle changes, it is up to the user to control. If you mention that you used the plugins, the response is usually “toned down”, but if you label it HDR, watch out.  It all comes down to the photographer’s vision for the image, the story the photographer is trying to tell; the message to be conveyed. How the artist gets to the end result is through the use of tools, and how much or how little they are applied, again is up to the artist and what they envision.

My theory as to why it is so polarizing is some photographers have a preconception of what an image should look like. Not necessarily, what the human eye sees, but what they envisioned the sensor or the media can successfully capture. Is this right? Is this wrong? The only right answer is if it matches the photographer’s vision. Sometimes there is fear in new techniques that are not “mainstream”. The HDR technique is no different than blending exposures, it is just the method and how it is finally processed.  Many photographer’s blend several exposures to bring out details in the shadows or to bring back highlights that were blown out in the single exposure. Sensors can only capture so much light, so much dynamic range. So that leads some photographers to have this preconception that if you have details in the shadows and if there are extreme details in the highlights, with a very high dynamic range then it must be artificial. And if you label it HDR, then their bias slams to the front, the blinders come on and the wall is built. Then post that same image and mention that you took a couple of exposures and blended them together and often you will get a lot of constructive comments. Not always but generally it’s a much more relaxed and much, much less of a reaction then if you label it HDR. So I think this is just one of those biases that photographers will just have to get over. I think that you’ll see more and more high dynamic range imaging. And how it’s processed is up to the vision and skills of the photographer. It is, after all, used to show what they envisioned at the time capture. At some point in time, sensors will be capable of capturing huge dynamic ranges but until that time we will have to use the tools that we have available.

Yes we’ve all seen extremes in this type of photography. I have seen a lot of images that could have been captured with a single exposure but yet they bracketed and processed it as a HDR image. They might have very low contrast, very highly saturated colors but if the image is what the photographer is happy with, what’s wrong with that? Who is to say whether that’s right or wrong? It may not appeal to the vast majority of viewers, but it doesn’t make it any less valid of an image or “vision”.

Then there are images in which a single exposure could never capture the full range of values, and this is where the HDR technique really shines. You can then express to the viewer more of what you saw with your own eye, if that is what you want to share. It gives you greater latitude to express yourself. It is not evil, it is not a trick or something that is going to go away anytime soon. It does not need to be feared.

The funny thing is that when you talk to people who are casual users of cameras, the ones not hounding the forums, or avid photographers, they are very accommodating to the use of HDR techniques. Perhaps because they are evaluating the image, and not the way the image was processed. Perhaps they are seeing the vision that the artist was trying to convey rather than bogged down in techniques or what they deem to be acceptable. Maybe they are not as influenced by preconceptions.

To paraphrase David duChemin (Craft and Vision – Great ebooks at great prices), it is all about “the vision and not the gear”, or the technique. So again I ask, what’s the big deal?