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Category Archives: Articles & News
Backyard Bounty at the end of October? Relish it!
Garden Vegetables Photo Du Jour
I’ve never had so much still on the vines at this time of year in this growing zone. I should explain the garden is a very humble size, so this is pretty impressive. Yes, most are still green and likely won’t ripen very well so that means “home made relish”. We’ll talk about the photography part shortly. (Click of a larger view)
I picked everything as we’ll likely have a hardy frost this weekend. The latest photo here might remind you of the “What to do with all those tomatoes?” posted a while back. The set familiar?
The green peppers you see here are supposed to be sweet red. I’ll use the few red ones to add a nice dash of color to the relish. Last couple of weeks I also made some Apple Pear Pies. Had lots of pears from the backyard combined with apples I bought from Griffin, a cub scout who negotiated a price for a basket full.
Why Buy Seeds?
When you grow something you like, keep the seeds for next year and share some with other gardeners in the neighborhood. I always have extra plants to give away.
The Shot
It was actually after sunset and the room very dimly lit. A couple of strategic lights turned on. I’m using a tripod with a shutter release because the of the low light and slow shutter speed that would result in a blurry handheld shot.
The Lens
I have a few favorite lenses and this is one of them. It’s the Canon 24-105mm. A “Walk Around” lens for me. Nice and wide with a little telephoto range. Just right most of the time and for this counter top composition.
The lens also suggests that I’m shooting with a full frame sensor. You can find comparable focal lengths for your APS sized sensor digital SLR and get great results.
The Settings
I’m shooting with Aperture Priority so I can take advantage of a short depth of focus for that blurry background. That means if have the aperture setting dialed down, the lowest f-number = shortest depth of field (DOF).
You know what would have been the icing on the cake? Having couple of people sitting in those chairs in the back holding coffee mugs.
Setting the Stage
Even though this is the kitchen counter, simply being mindful of the background, even if it’s soft focused is important. remove any clutter and odd items. I cleared the counter and placed a few fruit near the upper right corner. I was aware for the shadow cast by the back of a country style dinning chair as a nice extra. Just enough interest to draw your eye through.
All I wanted to do was take a shot of some vegetables I picked. These mini projects are a great way to sharpen your shooting skills. The key to growing into a better photographer in to keep shooting, adjusting and experimenting.
…and having fun.
Need help, have a question or just curious about something? Ask me.
Classic Car Drive-By Shooting
It happens all the time. Shooting ops pop up everywhere. This last long weekend I spotted a classic car show sign off the highway. Dropped off the my passengers and headed right back. You can’t go wrong photographing classic cars. The origins of the art of motor vehicle engineering.
Here’s the photo-du-jour from that drive-by. Click on it to catch the finer details.
This is a backlit shot. You can tell be the cast shadow. However, the details look pretty good because I used High Dynamic Range processing with Photomatix Pro. But that wasn’t the only thing that helped. Some gear in particular, more ahead.
Here are the bracketed photos shot on the scene. +2, 0, -2 in Raw format. You don’t have to shoot your bracketed images in Raw, Jpegs are just fine too. In fact it was originally designer for bracketed Jpegs.
Take good look at the center photo. That would have been the average exposure. The blending of the three images gives me everything I need back in the details.
Overcoming Severe Back Lit Shots
The traditional way is to use a “fill in” or “forced” flash. Simply put, make the flash go off to fend off the shadows. That’s too easy, besides, HDR is a lot more fun to delight in the details.
I had some help with the gear I had a on hand.
Gear On Hand
The Tripod
Manfrotto Tripod. I have a mag-fiber version. Mag-fiber is only slightly weightier than carbon fiber but arguably stronger. The extra weight is negligible. The Carbon fiber are quite amazing too. I need something steady and portable that won’t jiggle with my larger lenses. I have a meaty 100-400mm lens the tripod can handle fairly well.
The Ball Panning Head
A ball panning head is fast. Quick and easy to adjust without fumbling with three different levers. The pistol grip styles are cool too.
The Ultra Wide Angle Lens
12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG ASP HSM II Wide-Angle Zoom Lens
Yes, when this baby came into town, I fell for it. This is still my standing favorite lens.
I set up low the ground for an interesting angle and perspective with the ultra wide lens. The HDR version wasn’t heavily processed. Just enough to make the photo more favorable with some color desaturation to “not quite” black and white.
That was my drive-by shooting.
Just in time, the show was over and they were packing up.
Happy clicking everyone!
Photo de Jour, Utra Wide 122 Degree HDR -
The Seneca Boat House at Sunset -
See a larger more detailed image, click on it (really, it’s juicy!)
Mother Nature springs things on you. Beautiful fleeting moments. Click, click click. I had but a few minutes and this would gone. Getting a good exposure on a strongly back-lit scene like this is rare. I’ll only know how it turned out back at the studio.
This was on the trails at the Seneca College King Campus north of Toronto, Canada.
I was taking a new lens through it’s trials. It’s the updated SIGMA 12-24MM F4.5-5.6 II DG HSM LENS (for full frame sensor). It’ll be reviewed here once I get a few hundred shots in to better determine what it can do.
How Did You Shoot This?
Footnotes off the top of head or what’s going on inside of it…
I use Aperture Priority (Av) almost exclusively. As I was moving along the water side trail taking photos, in some instances, the shutter speed was getting slower. I decided to move the ISO up to give the shutter a boost as I didn’t have a tripod. When doing hand-held shots, you need at least 1/30 of a second and a steady hand to avoid blurry camera shake. At this point on the trail, mainly forest shots in low light. When shooting the featured photo, that all changed shooting into a bright background, I could put the ISO back to 100, and because I was shooting really wide at 12mm, I lowered the f-stop (open the aperture) to speed up the shutter. Hind site, the f-stop could have been a little higher having achieved 1/320 shutter speed, but it changed with every shot and this scene is gone in minutes.
That above mentioned paragraph sounds confusing, but that’s what’s going through my mind as I’m moving along and assessing everything moment by moment.
Experience has been the best teacher of all.
My metering is Center Weighted, not to confused with Spot metering. So I’m taking several shots, recomposing. I partially depress the shutter button to engage the metering (and focus) near the setting sun, re-frame the shot and follow through pressing the shutter button all the way down. I don’t meter right on the sun, because then the background would likely become too dark. I’m trying to find a medium to medium light area to meter on. You just can’t tell from your built in camera screen exactly what the outcome is, so I focus and recompose about a dozen times moving the spot where I’m metering several times.
This is my typical mode of operation for outdoor photography.
I have to be fluid in this situation…in less than five minutes, the light is gone.
Actual Settings for this Shot
- Shutter Speed 1/320
- Aperture (f-stop) 5.6
- Metering Mode: Center weighted average
- Exposure Compensation 0
- ISO Speed 100
- Focal Length 12mm ultra wide (fish eye range)
- White Balance Daylight
- AF Mode – One Shat AF
- Drive Mode – Single Frame Shooting
The final stage was processing with Photomatix Pro for a very light application of HDR. Then my Lab Sharpening Technique and removing a speck. Time to clean my sensor, I’ll get right on that.
I’ll gladly entertain your questions.
Have fun, keep on clicking and try something new.
What to do with all those Tomatoes?
It’s been a good year with more vegetables to come. Started canning tomatoes in late July!
A List Of This Year’s Fair
- Tomatoes (Beef Steak, Florida Giants, Cherry, Brandywine and maybe some late Romano)
- Sweet Red Peppers, Carmen, Mini Round and something unknown
- Oregano and lot’s of Sweet Basil
- Black Berries
- Pears
The area where of the garden is only about 600 square feet. Actual garden space is only about 200 square feet. Here’s the layout.
Determinate and Indeterminate Tomatoes
So far we harvested lots of Beef Steak. These were determinate plants, that is, you get lots of fruit all at once and the plant doesn’t produce anymore. All the other tomato plants in the garden are indeterminate and will keep producing until the first frost. This was a good blend allowing us to get part of the harvest early.
I think I’ll do this again next year.
Pam, my neighbor across the street come over to share some garden vegetables Ben had planted and I returned back to them some home made salsa and tomatoes. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone in the neighborhood had a garden and we all traded veggies? I’d even buy it.
Here’s a shot of the first batch of Beef Steak Tomatoes.
Shooting Details Above Photo -1/4 seconds, f4/0, centerweighted average metering, no exposure compensation, ISO 200, lens Canon EF 24-105mm L f/4 IS USM, focal length 55mm, white balance Daylight.
Now that I have these beautiful tomatoes, I’ve been looking forward to preparing the salsa recipe from The Harrow Fair Cookbook. I tasted this salsa recipe at my mother’s and it was delicious! Moira Sanders who authored the cookbook with Lori Elstone and Beth Goslin Maloney is happy to share that recipe here with you. Thanks Moira!
Awesome Vegetable Salsa as Featured in The Harrow Fair Cookbook
If you’re a fan of food, this is a great cookbook. It’s a cookbook for everyone. Here’s the recipe straight out of the cookbook…
This Salsa has a lively, fresh taste and is great to have on hand in jars year-round. The recipe is from our friend Tara Meyer, who got it from Art Zitlau, the long-time principle at Harrow Senior Public School. Makes six 16 oz (500ml) jars.
10 cups (2.5 L) chopped fresh tomatoes- 2 cups (500 mL) chopped yellow onion
- 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) seeded and finely chopped fresh jalapeno peppers
- 1 cup (250 mL) finely chopped green pepper
- 1 cup (250 mL) finely chopped celery
- 1 cup (250 mL) finely chopped carrots
- 4 red hot chili peppers, seeded and finely chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 cup (185 mL) white vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon (7 mL) ground cumin
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) tomato paste
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) finely chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) fresh lime juice
Prepare six 16 oz (500 mL) jars, lids and rings for canning. Hold the sterilized jars in the boiling water canner until needed.
Place all of the chopped vegetables in a large stockpot. Stir in the vinegar, cumin, tomato paste, sugar and salt. Bring the salsa to a boil, then simmer over medium-high heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the basil, cilantro and lime juice. Remove from the heat. Fill and seal the hot jars one at a time, according the manufacturer’s directions. Process the jars in the boiling water canner for 15 minutes.
STORAGE Enjoy at any point, but use within 1 year.
>> If you are chopping hot peppers by hand, we recommend wearing plastic gloves. While working, be careful not to touch your face, especially you eyes.
Enjoy the salsa! Have fun.
Mr. Chimpanzee’s Chip Truck – A Little HDR
A Simple Shot of a Great Canadian icon – The Chip Truck
When applying HDR, you don’t always have to push it to that famous HDR stylish look. You can keep things real by applying just enough. I’ll share some details with you.
This chip truck is located at Brook’s Farm and the fries are tasty.
I’m using the usual 24-105mm Canon L Series lens, Av (aperture priority). I’ve enjoyed this lens a lot these last few years. It’s not a fast lens but it serves me well as I shoot mainly outdoors or using a tripod. So I really don’t need an f2.8 lens. Shooting with a full frame sensor, I find boosting the ISO not as detrimental as some of the smaller APS sensor cameras I had in the past. I never hesitate to get an ISO boost that speeds up the shutter.
I have test driven the Tokina 16-24mm f2.8 lens. I’ll have more on that very soon. Promise.
First, let’s look at the original shot as is…
It’s not bad. The sun is a bit intense washing out the nice lime green paint color that looked much richer and deeper to my eyes.
Mid day sun doesn’t favor photography in most instances, But some gentle HDR can help restore this while keeping things looking real and pumping in just a little more “dynamic range” that also reveals more details that our eyes are capable of seeing.
When I refer to HDR processing, I’m talking about Tone Mapping using Photomatix Pro.
Here’s The After (click to enlarge)
A Outline of the Process
- Single Shot Raw Format
- Open in PhotoShop Raw Editor, create 3 exposures (+2, 0, -2) and save as JPEGs
- Open all 3 exposures in Photomatix Pro and select Tone Mapping
- Using any of the presets will inevitably be too bold and highly stylized. Adjusting and experimenting with the settings will give you the best results for a gentler more realistic application of Tone Mapping.
I have some more goodies coming up!
Stay tuned and have fun. Yes, you guessed it…fun is good!
Questions? Ask me anything.
Bring Me Sunshine
Skip the evening news tonight.
There are better things that can upgrade your reality. This is also a great way to break up the workday.
Here’s a video as suggested by Warren Lobo.
The Jive Aces present: Bring Me Sunshine
Have fun. Fun is good. Have some everyday.
Thanks Warren.
Angel’s Guardian by Ryan Jaime
Editing Skills Take You To The Limits
The better a photographer’s skills in digital editing, the more they can present what manifests in their creative minds.
Over to Ryan…
Everyone knows the idea of a guardian angel, but what about an Angel’s Guardian? What protects an angel until it is ready to fulfill its purpose. Just a random thought that spiraled into this. Click the image below for a larger more detailed version.
I spent a lot of time on this project. Here is a video I created for this piece. Although not a detailed step by step (since I created it after the piece was finished) this video gives some simplified insight on the project process. Enjoy.
Ryan’s been a member of our friendly forum community for sometime. When he popped in recently, he showed us this remarkable art piece in our PhotosShop Lounge. I was impressed and ask Ryan if he’d like to share his work and he kindly obliged. We knew Angel’s Guardian would fit in nicely with the global talents we like to showcase at MAMAphotography.ca.
Ryan is a talented event photographer. Visit his website.
Thank you Ryan, always a pleasure!
Kids Rule! with Paul Ripke
“Grown Ups” is a hilarious photo switch up series.
This is pure digital fun! Paul has amazing and diverse talents, one of which is to entertain you through digital media. This is a series of photos with really tight editing. Wouldn’t this be a most awesome keepsake moms and dads? Surely you budding photographers and editors are going to give this a try. Paul joined art director Florian Schmucke and post production company POP to develope this entertaining series of head swapping fun.
Just click on any of these thumbs in the gallery to view the show.
Paul is from Germany and has a remarkable portfolio.
Now that you’ve had a chance to see his work here, do visit his web site. His breadth of digital talents are outstanding eye-candy. Enjoy!
Paul, thanks for sharing your work with us. You make minds bubble with ideas!
Fun is good.
New York City Goes Vertigo with Alfonso Zubiaga
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, Alfonso Zubiaga takes digital media and photography for a loop.
Alfonso’s technique creates architectural geometry that has a visually magnetic pull. It’s just plain cool! The photos were taken from the Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building and other New York City landmarks.
I contacted Alfonso a short while ago to get the OK to showcase his own creative perspective on one of the most photographed cities in the world. Kudos to Alfonso for becoming the photographer of the hour when it comes to New York. It’s not all he does. He’s very accomplished commercially and commercial work does not seem to interfere with stretching his creativity either.
The New York city photography is captivating using a technique of layering several images to make visual magic.
You can see more of Alfonso Zubiaga’s work here and here and here too.
Congratulations Alfonso. Very engaging work! Thank you for sharing and inspiring others.
Your comments? 
5 Key Facts About Twitter
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About 9% of adult Americans use twitter. Around 21 million versus 152 million facebook users. -
The average twitter user has 27 followers.
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25% of twitter accounts have no followers.
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40% of twitter accounts have never tweeted.
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18% of twitter users tweet once a day.
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Bonus fact – the average 4-year-old asks over 400 questions a day.
Click here for 5 Key facts about facebook.
5 Key Facts About Facebook
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93% of adult US internet users are on facebook. About 152 million. -
One out or every 8 minutes online is spent on facebook.
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The average facebook user spends 11 hours a month on it.
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Facebook is overtaking Google and Yahoo in total time spent online.
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Facebook has become the preferred way of sharing content online, second only to email…for now.
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Bonus fact – You are more likely to get attacked by a cow than a shark.
Click here for 5 key facts about twitter.
History Of Hip Hop In 4 Minutes – Sick Beat Box
This ones been doing well at well over 3 million hits on YouTube. You’ll see why.
French beat box phenomenon EKLIPS performs a 4 minutes history of HIP HOP for Trace Urban… In one take!
Take it away EKLIPS…
Over Exposed And In The Dark?
Rocky River Playground At Zion in HDR
Let’s look at the original first (see right >).
(The restored version is further down)
Not again.
Here’s a perfect example of those tourist shots that just don’t turn out. One part is too bright, the other too dark. The weakness of the digital sensor is in not being able to handle the most extreme instances of dynamic range of natural light.
HDR isn’t really designed to rescue photos, but sometimes you can be lucky enough if you’re just inside the fine line where you still have pixel information in the lightest and darkest areas of your photos. Then a rescue plausible.
That mountain in the background is fully exposed to the mid day sun. Yet most of the foreground is in the shadows. There’s a small section on the top of that mountain that is a little washed out. It might not be holding any details, but I gave the HDR processing a try.
The HDR recipe for this editing cookoff.
- Shot in Raw format.
- Open in PhotoShop Raw editor to create 5 exposures: -2, -1, 0, +1, +2
- Load 5 exposures in Photomatix Pro Tone Mapping and Save.
- Open in PhotoShop for final editing and Lab Sharpening Technique.
We’ve been able to open up all of the details on the river and the people enjoying it. I keep an “HDR To Do” folder on my desktop containing photos with potential. This was a coin toss as to weather or not HDR styling would work.
Click on this image for an even larger detailed version.
Aaah, that’s better.
What did you think? Was it worth a look? What would you like see more of?
Just ask. It’s that easy.
Have fun and keep on clicking!
The more you shoot, the more mistakes you make. If you learn from your mistakes, you’re a genius.
Clouds…Like Alien Landscapes In The Sky
Alien landscapes from above
Having clicked thousands of cloud photos from airplanes, I wasn’t that impressed until I changed how I looked at them. Imagine them as landscapes. More like scenes of mountains and glaciers. Then it dawned on me that composition could come into the picture, pun intended.
By approaching it more like landscape photography, taking shots of clouds changed.
Always a window seat. On a 6 hour flight, I can easily take 2 of those hours shooting out that little window. I’ll stop shooting once the neck twisting cramps start to settle in.
A lens with some wide angle focal range for cloud fields works for me, typically 24-105mm. You’ll likely not worry about ISO during the day as the scenes can be mighty bright, so your shutter speed with be plenty fast.
By clicking on any of these photos, you’ll see the enlarged version in greater details.
Islands in the sky
Ocean glaciers
It’s been fun and I’m looking forward to more.
What is a wide angle lens?
A wide angle (zoomed out, pushes scenes away) is typically about at about 50mm focal length and less. Over 50mm is telephoto (zoomed in, magnifies). A focal length is a range of zoom. For example 24-105 is a combination of wide angle and telephoto as some of it’s range is below 50mm down to 24mm (wide angle) and some of the range above 50mm up to 105mm (telephoto).
Want to take better photos and step outside of automatic shooting mode?
Want to join fun and friendly place to hang out with other budding photographers? It’s right here > Sharing Digital Photography Worldwide Forums.
Questions, comments? Don’t be shy. Ask me anything.
Exercise Your Shooting Skills – Photo Samples and Tips.
Everything But The Kitchen Sink?
Interesting photo ops are right under our noses…even in the kitchen.
Here are 3 examples. All shot in a kitchen. A demonstration that you can have fun shooting anywhere, anytime.
- Flowers in a vase on the kitchen table
- My breakfast
- Staging colored pencils on a white poster board
We’ll take a look at each one and I’ll share some quick easy tips you can experiment with.
Marc’s Starting Notes:
In automatic shooting mode, you may not be able to change basic settings. I would suggest the P (Program shooting mode). It’s the same as auto shooting, but you can make adjustments. If you’re a little more comfortable, these examples are well suited for Aperture Priority shooting mode, particularly “photo 2.”. Feel free to ask questions.
1. Flowers on the kitchen table (exercise in light)
Anyone who’s been engaged in photography for while realizes they begin to see things they’ve overlooked before. Like how soft natural light can gently envelop the petals of a flower. We naturally become better observers with experience.
Yellow flower photo using window light by Marc Mantha
Shooting tips for “Flower on the kitchen table”:
- Are you using Automatic White Balance? This might qualify for the Shade White Balance preset and maybe even the Sunny White Balance preset. Take a few shots using each preset and select the ones you like when reviewing. Custom White Balance will work best. “Presets” for white balance are a list of choices for different kinds of light. Look up White Balance Presets in the word index at the back of your camera user guide.
- The only light source in our example here, is natural from a window coming from the left at a distance of about 7 feet from a north facing window. Therefore the light is even more gentle and diffused than the direct light from a south facing window. The little details do change everything.
- The light is very weak and therefore using a tripod for still photos like this is perfect. By using a tripod (or even a box on the table to set your camera upon), we don’t need to be concerned with adjusting the ISO to boost the shutter speed like we would for a handheld shot.
- You can use the self timer (check the word index in your camera user guide, every camera has this feature). This way your hands are off the camera when the shutter releases. With a slow shutter speed in low light, even depressing the shutter button can slightly jiggle the camera and cause blurry photos.
- If you decide to take this kind of shot handheld, you may need to turbo charge your shutter speed so your photos don’t succumb to camera shake (blurry photos).
On to our next shot from the kitchen…
2. My breakfast (exercise in depth of field or setting the aperture)
Shooting with using a wide angle focal length and experimenting with the aperture setting.
Shooting tips for “My breakfast”:
- Do not attempt when hungry. You can’t eat the set until you’re done shooting.
- You can see there was some staging involved. I took my time, experimenting with composition and placement, while getting hungry staring at my breakfast for about forty five minutes.
- If you can, choose a position that leaves the background in the distance so it’s less detailed and softer.
- Well lit for this one, but I still used a tripod to keep my camera in one position as I adjusted staging various items many times.
- An exercise in aperture setting (f-number). Use Aperture Priority Shooting Mode.
- When you like the set up, take a number of photos at various apertures (f-numbers), then when you review your work, you can choose the amount of depth of field (DOF) you like best. In other words, the background will be blurred to varying degrees and you can select the preferred photo.
And one more…
3. Staging colored pencils on a white poster board (making like you’re a studio pro!)
This one is fun and easy. All you need is a set of colored pencils and a piece of white poster board. For the blog regulars and members at the Sharing Digital Photography Worldwide Forums, you’re familiar with this one, shot on a kitchen counter.
Staging colored pencils on white poster board.
Shooting tips for “Staging colored pencils”:
- Freshly sharpen tips laid in an interesting fashion.
- Have a bright light overhead.
- Good meditation as you carefully lay the pencils down.
- Are you going to use a White Balance Preset or Custom White Balance? Now you’re thinking!
- Note the consideration for composition. The circle of pencils is not in the center of the frame.
- Consider other interesting stagings and compositions.
- Return the colored pencils to the weeping children.
These kinds of assignments help remind us that there is so much more than automatic shooting mode. Once you break out of it, creative control is yours…muahaha!
Show us what you can do!
Your comments, questions and suggestions are welcomed!
Surfing On A Cheeseburger?
Welcome to today’s editing challenge. I have to create an entertaining graphic to go with an article about burger resurgence. I know, isn’t this a fun job?
“Can we have a surfer on a cheeseburger patty?”
Why of course, we can do that…I think. Let’s get started.
First, we go through hundreds of surfer shots for just the right angle with a nice wave. This is the original shot we used. The finished imagery is at the bottom of this article.
Here’s what we need to do with this photo:
Beach dude is getting a makeover.
- Take out the clouds
- Put a shirt on the surfer
- Punch up and change the water color
- Add some water drops in the air
- A plethora of editing retouches
Now we need a cheese burger surfboard:
- Go to the local market and pick up some sirloin burgers and cheese slices
- Set up the mini studio and lighting
- Prop the burger up on and inverted wine glass, we need some height for a matching angle
Note: The key is to shoot the burger patty at the same angle (nearly straight on) as the surfboard in the photo
The fun really begins!
Portable mini studio and lighting. Perfect for small product shots.
Burger on inverted wine glass for height...hey, whatever's handy!
Blending recipe using Adobe PhotoShop:
- By now I have prepared several layers containing elements like the surfer, the waves, the water drops flying in the air and the burger to name a few
- Place the burger layer in between the surfer and the waves. Now we have to make it look like it belongs being mindful of the direction of the sunlight
- Transform > Distort to size and add perspective to the cheese burger
- Shadow the underside of the burger
- Shadow on the wave below the bruger
- Make the cheese burger appear to merge into the water by using the eraser tool set to a soft brush. Then a little semi transparent cloning of water over it.
- Add some water drops on the cheese burger using the Clone tool.
All in a day’s work. Check out this interesting video about food styling.
So here’s how is all comes together…
Adobe PhotoShop is the world standard for creative image editing. The possibilities are endless for beginners and professionals alike. Join in the creative fun!
Wasn’t that fun?
Fun is good. Have some every day.
Look Sharp. Pop The Details! Part I “Web Images”
The secrets behind Marc’s Lab Sharpening Technique
Nearly every photo I’ve post online has the Lab Sharpening Technique applied.
Digital photos tend to shoot a little on the soft side even with on board sharpening which many digital cameras have today. You’ve seen photo online and might have wondered: “How did they get the details so fine?”.
This is a basic must know PhotoShop technique to sharpen up the fine details in your photos. Most budding photographer’s will use PhotoShop’s Unsharp Mask (I know, why do they call it Unsharp when it sharpens). That’s great but it can cause an unwanted halo effect on fine lines and details.
Here’s an example of the Lab Sharpening Technique. That little extra edge for fine details.
Here’s the full sized sharpened web photo.
Why the Lab Sharpening Technique?
Using PhotoShop, this technique applies the sharpening to the Lightness Channel in Lab Color Mode instead of all the image channels. It’s doing the same as the more commonly used Unsharp Mask, only better. This works great for adding a nice punch to the details for web posted photos or print. Be aware that Lab Sharpening for print and web are not executed in the same way. I’ll show you more in Part II coming soon.
Talk to me
If this sounds like an alien language, don’t worry. I’ll lay it all out for you. I want you to be successful.
This also applies to most any version of Adobe PhotoShop too. Although the video tutorial was produced using a Mac, the process is exactly the same with the Windows version. It just looks a little different.
I have a web-cast demonstration for you lower down.
Part I – Sharpening a web optimized photo:
- Change the color mode from RGB to LAB. From the file menu select Image / Mode / Lab.
- In the Layers Panel (aka Layers Palette) click on the Channels Tab. If not visible, from the file menu at the top, select Windows / Channel and it will appear to the left of your screen desktop.
- In the Channel tab are four Channels as follows: Lab, Lightness, a, b. Click on the Lightness channel to make it active. Your image will turn to black and white.
- Next, from the file menu at the top, select Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen and the dialog box pops open (shown right). The settings for Amount tends to be under 100% with a radius of about 0.5 when sharpening web sized photos.
- Optional, you can then add a small amount of Smart Sharpening to the overall image by clicking on the Lab channel as demonstrated in the web-cast.
The overall advantage of the Smart Sharpening the Lab Lightness channel is that it better avoids halos around fine details more common to using the Unsharp Mask.
NOTE: Once you have finished sharpening, you can’t save as a JPEG while in Lab Color mode. Simply go to the File Menu at the top, select Image > Mode > RGB. Now save as a JPEG if desired.
Watch the video:
Next, in Part II, we’ll look at Lab Sharpening for print sized images.
More to come.
Have a question?…that’s right, just ask.
Abandoned – Today’s Featured Photo
An abandoned farm. Something I’ve always wondered about in this photo that was right under my nose. Look on top of the tire. See the red view-master (since 1939)? I should have picked it up to see if there was a disk inside. In any case, I like that door made of patchwork wood scraps. The light has some interesting dynamics. Some of it coming from the holes in the roof and through the cracks in the door.
Photography is very disruptive to destinations, but makes for a more interesting journey.
Here’s little background on this photo.
Remember the first Canon Digital SLR? The EOS Rebel 300D. Six megapixels if I recall.
Shot in April of 2004. Camera introduced in 2003. A ton of fun back then!
Morning light, just before 10AM using a kit lens, 18-55mm. The focal length was 27mm, shutter 1/60 of a second, aperture or f-number 6.3. Lots of folks knock that old kit lens. It was cheap ‘n’ cheerful and entertained me very well.
Punch it up!
Added some HDR processing with Photomatix Pro. The original format was a single JPEG which can be opened as Camera Raw format in the Adobe PhotoShop Editor to create the multiple exposures required for HDR blending in Photomatix Pro Tone Mapping. Some additional adjusting in PhotoShop which would include my LAB sharpening technique.
Your questions are always welcomed.
Have fun and keep on clicking!
Shooting Strangers?
I was sitting with photographer Robert Brown and he asked if I had ever been confronted when taking photos in public. Yes, well kind of. Most people don’t pay attention, some are politely curious. I can only ever recall a few occasions that might have been out of the ordinary.
One situation was a wobbly young man with slurred accusations. That was easy. Pick up and walk away. You can’t negotiate with a giant walking martini.
“Like a showdown at the OK Corral we were shooting each other.”
Another interesting event was in the heart of downtown Toronto. A security guard came out with a camera and began taking my picture, so I took his. I was in a public space on a sidewalk and well within my rights like any tourist, from a courtesy and legal perspective . He was clicking away and walking towards me. Like a showdown at the OK Corral we were shooting each other.
Face to face, he began asking questions and asked for personal information – out of bounds lets say. However, I gave him more information than he might have ever wanted including my business card with an invitation to visit some of my websites and maybe join me for an online course. And don’t forget, the secret weapon – smile.
In my mind, barely a confrontation.
Most strangers are just friends we haven’t met yet.
Would you ask a stranger on the street if you could take their photo?
Photography is a great way to engage others. People are so much more than what we see on the surface. It’s marvelous how total strangers on the streets of a big metro city can be so open and willing to share.
How to approach someone you don’t know about taking their photo.
How do I ask?
When taking photos in public places, anyone can see what I’m doing. And it strikes their curiosity. They want to get in my head. What is so interesting? Take your camera into a busy place anywhere on the planet, point it up to the sky and you’ll notice many heads will look up with you.
Always smile. Say “Hello” and “How are you?”, get some small talk going. More often than not, the person asks me something about what it is I’m photographing. Great segue and a good sign. I prefer not to rush into asking them if I can take their photo. That’s personal. You can build a lot of rapport in five minutes. I haven’t been turned down.
What are you going to do with the pictures?
My explanation goes something like this:
“I take a lot of photos. Most of them get deleted. Occasionally, some turn out really well. I don’t expect to do anything with these commercially, because this is casual photography I do just for fun. If you like, I’ll give you my card or I can take your contact information. If something turns out nicely, I’ll let you know. I’d gladly give you a print.”
That usually seals the deal. I’m not spelling this out so you can have a script.
Just tell it like it is.
Getting serious and using a release form.
I have list of ideas for photo imagery I want to create that will involve people. I might want to use a release form. These creative projects would be staged, perhaps in the studio or other locations. Still casual and for my own amusement and self promotion. I would likely consider using a release form. Most people are enthused to participate in creative projects and I would certainly provide them with a print of the best outcome(s). Commissioned commercial photography is whole different show.
A sample release form.
Here’s a very simple sample release form. Click this link to download. I’m not a lawyer although I do play one on TV, so do your homework and have fun.
Thanks for sharing your questions and comments here on the community blog. That’s a wrap!
Commando Style Hit and Run Photography -
Anything can happen. Anywhere, anytime.
Getting a good shot can be unexpected. Sure sometimes you’ll take your time to consider and set up for a shot, yet other times it’s a commando style hit and run.
Sometimes an interesting photo will do just fine.
Not every photo has to be great. Yet on occasion, you can surprise yourself.
Here’s a quick walk-by shot. Quick stop, small town…click! In my mind this photo has unanswered questions and I find that appealing. I don’t know at length what it is about this one, I just like it. Photography is like wine and any fine art, subjective.
Know your camera.
Knowing your camera really well is going to help you get out of automatic shooting mode. It’s only a matter of changing your habits. Ease into it by just looking up two functions for starters. Get your camera manual out. In the word index at the back, look up:
Give each function a read, find them on your camera and change them. Take a few clicks with different settings then review them on your computer. That’s pretty much where I started when I decided take creative control. You can too!
Help me, I can’t find my camera manual.
In case of emergency, click here!
Keep your manual with you at all times.
Like so many others, I was never a fan of any manual. That all changed when it came to photography. There really isn’t anything more important than that camera manual if you expect to get more out of photography and your camera. Creative control might seem a little complicated at first, but once it starts to click (pun intended), you’ll be glad you did.
The word index.
At the back of your camera user guide, the word index is a great way to pinpoint what you’re looking for. Keep your manual at your side to look up the basic terms that pop up in the lessons. This will speed up your photography IQ. I still take my camera manual with everywhere. It’s a life saver when situations pop up for some lesser used functions I might need on the go.
Did you do a hit and run lately?
What is it you wanted to ask me?
Big Time Debate in Babyland
What do you think these babies are talking about?
Just because children can’t speak doesn’t mean they aren’t aware of how adults behave. These two are acting like they’re at the office water cooler talking about which way share prices are going to go for Proctor and Gamble with the latest mega absorbent diaper product launch.
Either way, it’s quite humorous and remarkable.
Have fun and enjoy the show.
Today’s Photo Quackery? White Balance
These ducklings set themselves down to nestle in a narrow beam of sunlight for warmth.
In the original shot, the color, although seemingly natural wasn’t quite right. Somewhat lacking the vibrancy of the warm afternoon sun. Perhaps my choice of White Balance setting took away the warm hues of the afternoon sun? Yes, I am human. In any case some post editing know-how took care of that.
White balance is the key to color trueness. The white balance setting is familiar to most every digital camera on the planet. Here’s more on white balance and how to use it.
Every time I pick up the camera, one of the first functions I always check is white balance.
The revised shot. Warmer colors. Click to enlarge.
Please help me get out of automatic shooting mode!
Find all those buttons and functions intimidating?
Most anyone can take better photos by applying simple photography basics.
Once you begin getting comfortable with some simple experimenting, you start getting used to changing some basic settings. You’ll get familiar. No more fumbling.
You’ll start developing a second nature just by practicing and having fun. That’s going to result in some photographic gems happening more often.
Click, click, click.
Bad Weather, Better Shots?
With digital, if you learn from your mistakes we can all be geniuses.
It’s a bright sunny day with blue skies…blah?
I’ll take a questionable weather forecast anytime when it comes to nature photography. Cloudy with a chance of rain is perfect. A sky full of clouds is texture, drama and so much more visually emotive than blue space.
I just don’t have to deal with messy darkroom chemicals. I tried film developing long ago. It was fun watching images come to life in the chemical bath. I found it expensive to learn from my mistakes. With digital, if you learn from your mistakes, we can all be geniuses. You can experiment to your hearts content, click, click, click and view the outcomes.
So take lots of shots and experiment. Pure experience is the best teacher of all.
Top it off with a smattering of HDR and a pinch of PhotoShop.
The Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, Canada, 2003.
You aren’t shy are you?
Comments, questions, discussions are always welcomed. Have fun, take lots of photos and share them. Photos are meant to be seen.
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun! Ft. Heather Clemons
A fun and creative approach to great portrait photography.
Heather Clemons
She’s refined her craft, grown her experience and the playful creativity is an eyeful of fun. Heather is masterful in the studio with lighting and at getting the most fun out of her subjects. Fun is good.
We interviewed Heather to find out a little more about her and what she does best.
Hi Heather, thanks for taking this time to share your photography with us. Tell us about yourself and what got you started.
I majored in photography at Middle Tennessee State University, but started college as a vocal performance major with dreams of being a famous opera singer. I soon discovered that saying you want to be a famous opera singer is like saying you want to be a dinosaur when you grow up. Photography was the best decision I ever made. I felt at home when I first picked up my camera. I have a lot of other weird hobbies: Singing, belly dancing, and sword fighting. Sometimes in front of an audience, so I’m a unique kind of crazy. Photography is my one true love and what I always “come home to”, if you know what I mean.
Do you have any tips for directing your subjects to get the kind of shots you’re looking for?
I’ve worked a lot in portraiture with a company and on my own. I’m a HUGE people person. The goal is to get to know my subject through photography. I like to be organically and emotionally connected during a shoot and though I’ve been told I’m great at directing, I’ll only tweak a little when needed. I treat direction like regular conversation, letting ideas flow. My best shots were made when we all just goofed off and tried ridiculous things. I have a lot of creative, amazingly talented friends, so that helps too.
When it comes to lighting, in your more recent work, are you using studio lighting? What works for you?
Oh god yes, I use studio lighting. In college, studio lighting was my favorite class. I still use equipment from the University a lot of the time because they have some amazing stuff. I like keeping it simple with lighting setups because I believe the simpler, the better. The equipment I generally use is Profoto, and my favorite thing ever in the whole world is the Octolight. It’s magical, I swear.
What about outdoor / natural lighting? What’s your take on that?
I let natural light speak to me. Sometimes the cosmos is creating perfect lighting conditions just for me, or in some cases, that I’m challenged to find it myself. Am I getting a little too philosophical? I promise I’m not actually insane, only slightly. I like to take my time outdoors as well with bracketing exposures, trying different angles and seeing what creates the most striking effects. I obsess a little, both behind the camera and in post-process. I play around in Photoshop like it’s a video game, because it’s fun.
What’s your preferred portrait lens(es) and/or range of focal length(s)?
A 50mm f/1.8 lens is just about the most versatile thing in the whole entire world for me. It got me through college. I have a Sigma 55-200mm lens, but I really don’t use it as often. The 18-55mm kit lens that came with my Nikon really isn’t that bad and has gotten me through. I’d like to venture into a super nice wide-angle lens. I’m not exactly rolling in the Benjamins and these things take time. I’ve learned to work with what I have. It’s not the equipment you have that makes you a great photographer, it’s what you’re able to create with what you have that matters.
When it comes to camera functions and features, what are the settings you pay most attention to?
The basics. Aperture, shutter speed, ISO. If you can control them with a basic knowledge of the zone system, then it almost doesn’t matter what kind of fancy specs your camera has, in my opinion. It all comes down to understanding light, how your camera captures light and how you can manipulate it. If you can do that – shazam, great photographs! The only other thing I care about, is being able to quickly change/navigate those settings on my camera.
Is there anything new you want to explore?
I’ve really been exploring the world of multiplicity and I want to take those concepts outside the studio to expand my portfolio. And I really wanna experiment with HDR photography, a desire which actually started after I read your blog and researched more about the possibilities. I started my obsession with multiplicity the same way. After I started blogging, I learned a lot and have found much inspiration while writing, making me better at my craft everyday. I’ve been humbled by those that come to my blog looking for expertise, because it’s such a source of growth for me too!
Ultimately, I just hope to keep pushing myself past what I thought I could do and eventually, take over the world.
Heather, it’s been a pleasure getting to know you. We’ll be watching you and your work in the years to come. Thank you for sharing!
Heather Clemons inspires other budding photographers with her approach in creating imagery that entertains and draws you in.
Check out Heather’s blog and her photostream at heatherclemons.com.
The Bruce Trail, Today’s Point and Shoot Photo
It’s was an awesome journey.
The Bruce Trail in Ontario covers over 800 kms (about 500 miles). The south terminus is in Niagara Falls, Queenston Heights Park. The north terminus is at the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula in the town of Tobermory.
Canada’s oldest and longest footpath, provides the only continuous public access to the magnificent Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. It is one of only fifteen such reserves in all of Canada.
It is entirely built and maintained by volunteers for the purpose of protecting the Niagara Escarpment, the most significant land form in southern Ontario.
This photo is from the Hamilton, Ontario area of the trail.
The kicker…
This was taken 11 years ago on October 30, 2000 with a 3.1 megapixel point and shoot camera.
I was somewhat surprised when reviewing the exif shooting data expecting it might have been shot using one of my first digital SLRs, but no. A simple fixed lens point and shoot dinosaur. It sort of drives home the point made with the You Can Create Point and Shoot Magic! article.
Always work a “copy” of your original photos.
Two things will always change:
- Your editing skills
- and editing technology.
You will always get better results working on an untouched original digital photo, then one where the pixels have already been pushed around.
Some editing savvy helps too.
Of course there’s always some editing magic!
It’s a JPEG opened as Camera RAW. Know where I’m going with this? Yep, created 3 exposures in the PhotoShop RAW editor, then off the Photomatix Pro HDR Tone Mapping / Fusion using those exposures to be blended together, maximizing details.
Now, back to PhotoShop with a little Clone Stamping to fix some minor hot spots (blow outs). Then some very selective light Dodge and Burn for contrast in the cracks of the rocks. Just about done with a touch of selective color desaturation and saturation. Lastly, the final topping is the Smart Sharpening.
Thanks again for dropping by. If you have any questions or comments, you’re always welcomed to share.
Niagara Falls
This view is from the Canadian side looking across to the left section of Niagara’s famous Horseshoe Falls.
I’ve no idea how many thousands of images I have to go through, but scavenging is always a lot of fun. Recently the system was upgraded to a 2TB back up with a 1TB external media drive and a few older hard drives in storage.
Here’s today’s photo.
(Click the image to view larger version)
What did you shoot today?
Questions are always welcomed.
Meant To Be In Black & White
I reworked a few photos of Daniel for the first time in black and white (slight residual color). They were meant to be like this. Stripping away the distraction of color changes everything.
Some background to these photos
Daniel is a free spirited war veteran, street wise and most often quite comfortable with his way of life on the streets. He muses at the hustle and bustle of us city folk everyday. He’s had his panhandling corner for a very long time and everyone knows him. Daniel had plenty of support from people in the adjacent office tower, the police and even lawyers at the Law Society up the street.
On my trips down to the city, we sat and talked on many occasions. Well, mostly I listened. Daniel had a colorful life filled with adventure and mischief. He spoke like a gypsy philosopher and was a sort of renaissance man with diverse talents.
I look to the corner where I used to delight in his stories, hoping I might by chance see him.
I haven’t seen Daniel for a few years now. Still when I pass, I look to the corner where I used to delight in his stories, hoping I might by chance see him. Word was that Daniel and his wife were off the streets having been able to obtain some kind of government assistance with the help of others. That may have taken some convincing knowing Daniel.
Stay well Daniel.
Marc’s Workflow Notes:
- Shot in RAW format
- Open in PhotoShop RAW editor
- Save three exposures +2, 0, -2
- Open and process all exposures in Photomatix Pro, Tone Mapping / Fusion (Fusion used to be Details Enhancer)
- Save HDR result as JPEG and open in PhotoShop
- Lab Sharpening Technique (I’ll reissue this technique here at MAMA in an upcoming article. It’s a must know basic for all budding photographers)
- Image/Adjust/Hue and Saturation and move Saturation slider left
- Dodge Highlights, burn shadows at about 11% with a soft brush to punch contrast.
Have fun and make photography an adventure. Try new things!
Same Shot, Two Different Nature Photos?
We’ve all done this at one time or other.
If you have a favorite shot, you can create vastly differing variations of the same scene.
A different time of day and more dramatically, a different season.
More recently the winter photo below with an entirely unique feel from the original summer capture lower down.
Some nature photography tips included.
Nature Photography Tips:
Think of it as “Mining for visual gems.”
- Don’t forget, you can turn the camera sideways for portrait orientation. Portrait orientation adds lots of visual depth to step into with your eyes, namely at the base of your scene composition all the way through to the distant horizon.
- Move the zoom in and out and scan from side to side, picking out and clicking the compositions you like.
- You can zoom out a little when you find a scene you like that might need a little cropping. Better to have more than not enough to work with.
- Wide angle focal lengths tend to be favorable for nature scenes and full focus from front to back.
- To keep everything in focus from front to back, move the aperture’s f/number setting higher (using a wide angle lens and focal length is under 50mm).
- Keep an eye on the shutter speed as you up the aperture f/number. If you start getting down below 1/30 of a second shutter, you might want to use a tripod or risk blurry hand held shots. You may still be able to shoot hand held and compensate by increasing the ISO setting which in turn boosts your shutter speed.
- Change your physical position. When shooting wide angle, just a few steps in any direction can change your scene a lot. Look around, try different locations. Look at the landscape for different elevations too. You can get a lot out of a favorite spot by moving around.
The Canadiana Photo Compilation has a number of wide angle scenes. You’ll find some tips here too on wide angle drama.
Get inspired, get out there and shoot. Practice your craft and have fun!
What do you think? Have any of your own tips to share? Your thoughts…
Featured Portrait Tip by Alison Greenwood
Alison Greenwood is getting attention.
She had one of her photos featured on the famous Times Square marquee in New York City. I’ve known Ali for a few years and have watched her grow into a masterful photographer with a reputation for extraordinary portraiture.
Here’s a notable portrait we just spotted and Ali has always been generous in sharing her techniques with others.
Here’s a recent portrait followed by how it was set up:
How’d she do that?…
I highly recommend visiting Alison Greenwood’s website.
Thanks again Ali!
Earth From Above
“Earth From Above” is the result of the aerial photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s five-year airborne odyssey across six continents. It’s a spectacular presentation of large scale photographs of astonishing natural landscapes. Every stunning aerial photograph tells a story about our changing planet.
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
“With Earth from above, I simply want people to see the Earth as it is today, as faithfully as possible. What motivates me is the impact a photograph can make within the framework of environmental preservation. The great novelty of our time is that mankind has the power to change its environment and I want my photos to testify to this fact so people can realize this.”
~ Yann Arthus-Bertrand
“Earth from Above” has been seen by more than 120 million people as a touring exhibition; as a lavish coffee-table book it has sold more than 3 million copies in 24 different languages.
Coal mine in South Africa
Favelas in Rio de Janeiro
Ruins of the medieval city of Shali, Egypt
Military cemetery in Verdun, France
Mountains near Jengish, Kyrgyzstan
Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany
Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa
Suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark
Tasmania, Australia
Freeways in Los Angeles, USA
Yann Arthus-Bertrand, born 1946 in France, has become globally famous as a nature photographer. During his career he discovered the beauty of the world as seen from above when he became a hot air balloon pilot and began experimenting with aerial photography.
Besides photography, Yann passionately engages in non-profit projects for different organizations. As an artist, documentarian and advocate, Yann Arthus-Bertrand demonstrates the power of images to convey universal emotion, understanding and shared appreciation for our planet and its inhabitants. For this reason, he is recognized worldwide as one of the most important and respected environmentalists of our time.
Please visit Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s website
An Awesome World – Photography by Fabio Celeita (HDR)
It’s not just the HDR effects. A great photo gets things started.
After flying under the radar for a while, Fabio Celeita surfaced again and dove into HDR photography. He picked it up at a pretty intense pace. He’s been inspiring his friends on facebook and back at the Sharing Digital Photography Worldwide Forums.
HDR = High Dynamic Range.
What is HDR Processing?
Any camera, film or digital, is unable to register the range of light in a manner that the human eye perceives it.When you have a photo with hot spots or blow outs (opaque white areas that other wise has details you could see) or the inverse of solid black areas with details you could see with your eyes, these are the typical shortfalls of photography. HDR processing help resolve the expansive dynamic range of light by using a range of exposures and taking the best of lightest and darkest details, then blending them with the average exposure.
Given that most HDR processing often has the appearance of an illustration, the dynamic range can be more realistic. One thing is for certain. Most find it visually engaging.
Let’s view of some of Fabio’s personal choices and ask some questions.
So what attracted you to trying HDR? There is something about HDR that I find surreal and very appealing. It is also unique, although some dismiss it as a technical flaw in digital photography; I believe it actually enhances the realm of possibilities within digital photography.
What or who were some of your influences in getting started? My original inspiration for learning HDR was you Marc. I’ve always been amazed by your photography, and although I lost touch for some years due to my career keeping me extremely busy, I always took peeks at your work from time to time. One day I saw your HDR section and the rest is history. I was hooked from the first image!
It’s not easy, but what are your 3 favorite HDR shots, why?
Favorite #1 Grandpa & Sofia: One of my favorites because I feel it captures a very tender moment between my dad and my oldest daughter.
Favorite #2 Huntington Beach Pier: An amazing sunset in California in which the HDR enhanced the beauty of the sunset.
Favorite #3 Sofia: One of my first "portraits" in HDR. It enhanced the sky and clouds leading to the subject. Add her dramatic pose and it makes for one of my favorites!
What range of focal length or lenses do you tend to use? I use all sorts of different lenses ranging from the 18-55 IS kit lens, the Canon EF-S 10-22mm (a favorite) but now replaced with the Canon EF 17-40mm L and EF 70-200mm F/4 (Non-IS) version. If I were to venture and guess the actual range that I enjoy shooting in the most, first would be the 10-12mm range for wide angle photos, then the 35-60mm range for portraits, as well as 70-100mm ranges.
Any ideas you have in the back of your mind you’re thinking about trying? I would like to try aerial photography in HDR. Also structure photography with a “tilt” lens in HDR format. I’ve yet to find photography of either in HDR format.
When you look ahead, what do you want to accomplish with photography? I’ll to continue to chronicle the lives of my 2 daughters as they grown up so they can have those memories. I’ll continue learning more about photography and feel that my skills are still at the novice level. I’ll continue to grow and enhance skills. The ultimate personal goal would be to leave my corporate job and become a full time photographer.
Are you having fun? I am having a blast and I believe that it shows through my photographs. Photography is an outlet that allows me to escape the hustle and bustle of the business world with a way to express myself and share what I see on a daily basis through my camera lens.
Here’s more HDR eye candy for you courtesy Fabio Celeita :
Special thanks to Fabio Celeita for sharing his fine work with here at MAMA.
Know any remarkable photographers on the rise? Let us know. They could get a feature here!
Anyone is welcome to join in and share comments.
Back To Main Street Part 2 -
It was suggested by R J Smith that a previous panorama scene might look nice if it was snowing. I did return but only after the snow fall. The winds were otherwise too strong. One day, I’ll get the soft gentle flurries.
This panorama is wider than the first with a full 360 degrees. One personal critique is that I might have preferred tops of the two center buildings not be merged past the top edge. Still had fun experimenting.
(Click image below to view enlarged 2000 pixel wide version)
Note: If your browser re-sizes images to fit your browser window, you may not be viewing the full 2000 pixel width.
The conditions were overcast (cloudy) early sunrise. The light was very different from the first version even though it was overcast on that day too. Mid-day overcast is still much brighter than early sunrise overcast.
It was just after 6AM on a long weekend. I was able to take this 360 series of panorama shots set up in the road.
The Shooting Workflow:
- Check camera settings: aperture, white balance (set and test shots), ISO set to 100
- Set up tripod, mount camera on ball panning head, plug in remote shutter release
- Set panning head to 90 degrees portrait orientation and level
- Take sequential overlapping photos to complete one full turn (360 degrees)
- Review, recheck settings and re-shoot two more times.
The Processing Workflow:
- PhotoShop Photomerge to digitally stitch and save panorama as JPEG
- Open as Camera Raw format in PhotoShop Raw editor
- Create and save three JPEG exposures +2, 0, -2
- Open all exposures in Photomatix Pro (HDR) Tone Mapping / Details Enhancer
- PhotoShop various adjustments: dodge, burn, clone, blur, add noise, select area saturation / desaturation, lab sharpen.
That’s a wrap for this one, but…
Something about this spot. I’ve a feeling I’m done with this area yet.
15 Favorite Quotes by Famous Photographers
Imagine, a blog entry here with no photo.
There are many thousands of quotes by the great photographers of the world. A few quotes noted here are by authors unknown. A number of them are by Ansel Adams, a master and personal favorite.
If you feel a vibration, it might be the words resonating.
Enjoy.
Here are some favorite quotes:
The photograph itself doesn’t interest me. I want only to capture a minute part of reality.
~Henri Cartier Bresson
I’m not a particularly verbose person. I think that’s why I like taking pictures… they speak for themselves.
~Jeb Dickerson
I never question what to do, it tells me what to do. The photographs make themselves with my help.
~Ruth Bernhard
The goal is not to change your subjects, but for the subject to change the photographer.
~Author Unknown
The camera can photograph thought.
~Dirk Bogarde
Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon of a moment, too late to expose film, only time enough to expose our hearts.
~Minor White
A photograph is usually looked at – seldom looked into.
~Ansel Adams
A good photograph is knowing where to stand.
~Ansel Adams
There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.
~Ansel Adams
Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.
~Ansel Adams
You don’t take a photograph, you make it.
~Ansel Adams
I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them.
~ Diane Arbus
My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been.
~ Diane Arbus
The thing that’s important to know is that you never know. You’re always sort of feeling your way.
~ Diane Arbus
One photo out of focus is a mistake, ten photo out of focus are an experimentation, one hundred photo out of focus are a style.
~Author Unknown
Marc’s Macro Photography
Flowers are the most photographed subjects. I like bugs. Maybe it’s that little boy who still lives in me. What ever you prefer, the world of macro photography is fascinating.
In an upcoming article, I’ll discuss with you some considerations when buying a macro lens depending on your intentions and what you want to accomplish as a budding photographer.
Much of what I photograph is in the 24 to 105 focal length range. Next in line would be macro, followed by telephoto.
Magnification
Full macro magnification is described as a 1:1 magnification, but often requires being very close to the subject. I use a 1:2 magnification in all of the photos shown here. That’s not quite enough to get the fine detail of a bugs eye. The advantage of the lens I’m using is that I can still get remarkable magnification at just over three feet of distance and that’s important. Why? This is more ideal for small animals and insects in nature.
If you’re Photographing objects, because they’re still, any 1:1 magnification macro lens will do fine where the minimum focusing distance can be just a few inches. However, in the great outdoors, there aren’t a lot of great looking bugs that will let you get so close.
Macro fascinates most everyone and is exciting when you first begin to explore it.
Macro Shooting Tips
Want to learn more about macro shooting? – featuring photos by Eric Diller Click here.
Have fun clicking away and look for more on choosing a macro lens in the coming days.
Thank you all for your ongoing support and emails. Feel free to share your comments and questions anytime.
Macro Photography – Back to Basics
Featuring Photos by Eric Diller
The possibilities are spectacular. It opens up a whole new world of the minuscule. You just have to try it. You’ll need a little persistence though. Top this off with some fairly easy technique and you’ll get it. On occasion you will capture a “wow” moment.
Photo by Eric Diller
The trouble with macro photography:
- Why are my close ups always out of focus?
- Why can’t I get the focus in the right place?
- Why does the Auto Focus keep zooming in and out?
- What lens should I get for my digital SLR?
Help me please!…and we will. Some tips and inspiration ahead.
Whether you have a point and shoot (fixed lens) or digital SLR camera (interchangeable lenses). The challenges are the about the same.
Marc’s Dragonfly Tip: If you see a dragonfly and it flies away, it’s usually just for a few short seconds. They will almost always return to the exact spot.
Let’s take a look at some photos. Then we’ll discuss techniques and camera feature combinations to have some fun.
Macro Photography by Eric Diller (click any photo to enlarge).
“The best thing about macro photography is that it brings every thing into a new perspective. Being able to get so close to your subject brings a whole new dimension on details. I usually photograph wildlife with a 500mm lens so going to macro is such a big contrast.The fact you have to get so close to your subject makes it even more challenging sometimes. My favorite subjects for macro are dragonflies and Lizards. For me its all about the hunt and waiting patiently for the right moment to capture.” ~ Eric Diller,Web Site: www.ericdiller.com
The main challenge with macro photography is focus.
Tips for Macro Shooting Success More Often
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Minimum Focus Distance
- Every fixed lens “point and shoot” camera or digital SLR lens has a minimum focusing distance. If you get closer than that distance, the lens is not capable of clear focus. Know what that distance is by looking in the lens user guide.
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Auto Focus Control
- Most every camera will have multiple AF (Auto Focus) points. With macro photography the depth of focus is so thin, getting the focus in the right place is critical. If all AF points are engaged (default) the camera takes a guess on where to focus and even gets confused zooming in and out repeatedly. This is a typical issue with macro shooting. Check your user guide to see how to select an AF point. I’ll suggest you use select the center AF point to start. Now you can use that AF point to target specifically the exact spot to focus. Typically the head or eyes for extreme macro close ups.
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Metering
- Consider Center Weighted Metering. Combined with the center AF point selected this will better help ensure your subject is well exposed and in focus. Two important technicals for a great shot.
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Thin Depth of Field
- You might think you have the focus in the right place and still find the results show other wise. That’s because when you are holding the camera, slight movements and the very thin depth of focus means you might have to try a number of times to get the shot just right. The simple action of depressing the shutter button moves the camera ever so slightly. It’s challenging even for the experienced photographer. For still photos using a tripod, not a problem.
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Patience Pays
- If you get some great shots of your first tries, you’re lucky. Patience and taking up repeated opportunities will yield you prize shots from time to time.
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Simplify with Manual Focus
- If you want to simplify the overall shooting technique. Some point and shoot fixed lens cameras, and all digital SLR lenses can be set to manual focus. For digital SLR lenses, the manual focus switch will be on the lens. Now set the lens yourself to the focus distance you want while looking. Now when shooting, you control where the macro focus falls more precisely by moving slightly back and forth. My preferred way of shooting macro.
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Setting the Aperture for Wider Depth of Field
- If you want to have more of the depth of your subject in focus, you can select a higher f-number. But keep an eye on the shutter speed. As you set the aperture to a higher f-number this slows down the shutter speed with each step up.
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Every Point and Shoot Fixed Lens Camera has Macro Shooting Mode
- Usually the setting is flower icon on the shooting dial located on the top right of the camera. Switching to this mode further enhances the camera’s close up focus ability.
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The Last Step
- Have fun! The best teacher is practice.
Have any burning questions? Ask me.
Vilma’s Hot Bake and Shark – Photo Du Jour
My dear Vilma has been serving me bake and shark for almost two decades.
Bake and Shark is Trinidad’s finest Caribbean junk food and a must try. You’ll have lot’s of condiments to choose from. The tradition is a dab of pepper sauce and a splash of shado beni (or shadow benny), then work it up from there with whatever you like.
Three things I can count on:
- The sunrise
- A great bake and shark
- Vilma’s warm smile
Vilma has been the most reliable vendor at Maracas Beach all these years. Seems she’s always there 7 days a week. Most vendors are only open on the weekends.
Next year when I return, I’ll bring her a framed print. Shhh…keep it on the down low.
(Click to enlarge)
Vilma and her son.
Thanks Vilma, I might catch you one more time before we head back!
Beautiful Eyes – PhotoShop Tutorial
Adobe PhotoShop is the world standard used by professional photographers and designers the world over. But it’s users also include an ever growing number of amateurs and hobbyist. Everyone wants in on the creative power.
Enhancing Eyes
Arguably the most important aspect of the professional photo touch up are the eyes. This tutorial by Sean Armenta is fairly extensive and shows the finer points of retouching. You can give ten PhotoShop Professionals the same task and no two work flows will be the same. Sean has some great techniques that are practical and achievable by most anyone with practice.
You can do this!
Have fun and enjoy the show.
More to come.
The Other Back Yard – Today’s Photo
While getting some vitamin D out in the sunshine I was alerted of the large lizard on top of the brick wall. After years of tropical and desert travel I finally captured an iguana. Not rare, just elusive to me.
Lens: 70-300mm Sigma Super Macro / Telephoto combo APO. Light (and very well priced), great for day tripping.
Settings 1st: Aperture Priority, 300mm, f5.6, 1/200 shutter
Settings 2nd: Aperture Priority, 300mm, f5.6, 1/160 shutter
(Click to enlarge for delicious details)
More coming on macro photography…
Have any comments or suggestions? Share them.:)
How About A Full 360 Photograph?
Found a great spot with the latest urban graffiti and street art. Return to the back alleys of Queen Street in Toronto – that’s the place.
The 360 panorama you’re going to see totaled about 25 shots and consumes significant computing power for digital stitching, HDR and editing in general.
First, some notes about how to view this.
About Viewing The Toronto Back Alley 360 Degree Photo:
The full width of this extreme panorama won’t fit in this blog without extreme reduction in the width dimension. So click on the image below to launch a full view. If you have dial up, it could take a couple of minutes to load into your internet browser. Cable and high speed should still be fairly fast for this 1 megabyte optimized photo. Then use the scroll bar to view the whole width.
(Note: if your internet browser resizes image to fit, don’t bother with this image link).
(Click on the image below to launch and view the full 360 degree photo)
How to shoot a 360 panaroma
What Marc used:
- Tripod
- Remote shutter release (Or use the Self Timer Function)
- Panning head on tripod
- Wide angle lens
Shooting the 360 degree panaroma
How Marc set up and took the shot sequence:
- Set in the center on two intersecting alleyways.
- Note your starting point for the first shot.
- Ensure that each shot overlaps content. Lots of overlap is good.
- This 360 was about 25 shots total.
- Use a relatively wide angle focal length. This was about 26mm.
- Set camera to Aperture Priority shooting mode and set a mid to high f-number, this was f13.
- This ensures everything is in focus from front to back of the scene.
- Check that your white balance matches the lighting conditions or set to custom white balance.
- Start shooting until your return to the same point of the last shot.
- Although this will be processed in HDR, I took one shot of each frame and did not use Exposure Bracketing common to HDR photography. More ahead in the next section.
Processing a 360 degree panaroma
Marc’s work flow:
- Shot in Raw format (habit). You can shoot in common JPEG format.
- I converted my shots to JPEG.
- Digitally stitched with PhotoShop Photomerge and save.
- Open the stitched as file type Camera Raw.
- In the Raw photo editor, save three JPEG exposures +2, 0, -2.
- Open the three JPEG exposures in Photomatix Pro and apply Tone Mapping / Details Enhancer.
- Save HDR processed file and open in PhotoShop for some final edits.
- Sit back and say “Coool!”
Let me know if you have any questions…always a pleasure. Comments are always welcomed too.
Did you have fun today?
What Does A Million Dollar Photo Look Like?
Anonymous Art Collector Purchases Peter Lik’s New England River Photo, ‘One,’ For $1 Million
Photo by Peter Lik
Taken just after dawn, amid breathtaking New England fall foliage, the photograph resembles an Impressionist painting more than any nature photograph. Says Lik, “I will never forget this morning for the rest of my life. It was calm, and the scent of the fall forest filled my lungs. The mist cleared, and a magical reflection in the river briefly appeared White birch trees, black trunks, a kaleidoscope of foliage combining to reveal an illusion of three dimensions. I pressed the shutter – once – and then the scene vanished with the morning breeze, never to be seen again.” The single opportunity, the unity of the elements, and Lik’s oneness with the moment and nature, inspired him to name the photograph One.
SOURCE Peter Lik http://www.prnewswire.com
Please visit Peter Lik’s blog.
The buyer, a private art collector represented by Joel Ehrenkranz of the law firm Ehrenkranz & Ehrenkranz LLP, completed the purchase in December and asked to remain anonymous.
Special thanks to Sherry Anderson (aka SherA) for reporting the story at Sharing Digital Photography Worldwide Forums.
Have you found something out of the ordinary? Tell us about it.
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