Posts made in July, 2010
Digital Workflow for the Masses (of Images)
Going digital opened the door to countless legions of new photographers … including me. The software that followed the cameras gave us the ability to have a darkroom at our (computer) fingertips. We became mini-photolabs, able to do the most amazing things to good and bad images alike. No more lab processing also meant we could take photos to our hearts delight with no worries about processing costs each time we pressed the shutter. Take a bad image? Delete it at no cost. Take an image you just don’t care for? Delete it at no cost. Well, actually there is a cost — all those good images do need to be processed at least a little bit to make them look their best. And the processor? Well, that’s you.
It can be a beast of a task to spend an enjoyable day shooting 400 or 500 or even more images and then returning home to face the task of processing them. Working one at a time, repeating the same tasks over and over, can be more than discouraging. Never fear for today’s post has some good suggestions for getting the job done faster, if not a lot faster. Click here to read a concise article by Gavin Seim over at his website, Seim Effects. It will help you get organized and moving. As a bonus, Gavin has a section of free (yes, FREE) Lightroom actions to download. Just read the article to find that section. And, while you are reading take a look at some of his other (for sale) actions that just might be what you have been looking for to make your workflow faster and more satisfying.
Read MoreMore on HDRExpose
A result with the auto feature of HDRExpose.
I have been playing with the free trial of HDRExpose, as I posted a couple of days ago (scroll down for that post). Thom Hogan of byThom was quite complimentary on the program’s abilities, and my own limited assessment is that it probably is the best thing going right now for HDR. Above is the image I ended up with after combining seven shots from a small carnival in our area (click on the image for a larger view). Below is the middle (or ‘correct’ exposure I would have gotten without the HDR technique). HDRExpose did this one automatically for me, no tweaks or changes. And, I think it is pretty good.
The original, ‘correct’ exposure.
The sliders and controls take a little getting used to (every program has its own take on how to do things), but I picked up the main sliders quickly. There is a great deal of control offered, and the company offers a couple of getting-started videos on its website which make the learning curve a very short one. Overall, I am impressed. I have played with Photomatix and have tried my hand at the new features of Photoshop CS5. I think I am going with HDRExpose for HDR work, and make no mistake about it, the HDR process itself opens doors for our cameras that were previously closed.
Give HDRExpose a look by clicking here. You just may find it a must-have.
Read MoreJoin the Drawing
Click here for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate from Simplicity Photography Design. Just leave a comment and you will be entered in the random drawing for your choice of any design pack (up to your $100 prize). What could be easier? So sign up now!
Read MorePack up the babies and grab the old ladies ….
My Reserve Champion in the 8×10 color class.
The Monroe County Fair is in full swing, and there is something in it for the photographer in you. Approximately 140 images were entered in the Open Class competition, and that makes for a nice gallery. Images range from small to medium size, from color to black-and-white, from almost untouched to the most creative use of Photoshop. The judging is complete and there are ribbons galore.
Congratulations go out to all the winners. Amanda Fields submitted the overall Grand Champion, a black-and-white print, that earned her a nice $100 gift certificate from framemakers here in Bloomington. Overall, there is much to see and admire, so get on out there and take in a local photo show.
And while you are there stroll over to the 4-H building and take a look at the youngsters’ efforts in the photography classes. It is great to see so much interest in photography from our young people … and there are some very nice images to boot. Looking things over last night I would say the future is in some pretty capable hands. Take a look and tell me if you agree.
Read MoreMore on those pesky tourists
I posted previously on using the Median method to try to remove people from your photos when there is just no possibility of getting a shot without someone walking through (click here for a quick look at that post). Well, photographers all face the same problems and the Tip Squirrel (aka Michael Hoffman) has a nice addition to what I posted. His has some images to accompany his work flow and it is worth a look (click here to see his suggestions).
All of us are faced with trying to get a shot of some popular landmark or tourist destination without the darn tourists (whoops, that describes me on vacation!) getting in the way. This technique works and is pretty easy to do as long as you think ahead while shooting. Read the two posts today and give it a try next time you are out in the field. It just may get you the shot you want.
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