Archive for the ‘Quick Tip’ Category
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
A nice feature to our digital cameras is the ability to change the white balance and adjust the colors depending on the light source hitting the subject. A color will actually change under various types of lighting, and the camera will make color corrections according to light source. So if you’re shooting in sun light, then you use the sunny mode, and cloudy days, use the cloudy mode, and inside under florescent lighting, use that mode, and so on. I find that my camera’s auto mode works great, and I use it most of the time.
If you shot a subject using the different white balances that your camera offers, you will see a difference in the colors of the subjects. Sometimes I will play with these different modes to see what kind of unusual color I will come up with.
Here is a rose that I shot using three different white balances, and as you will see each one has a different color.
So try this next time and see what different colors you come up with!
Same exact flower, same lighting, three different white balances and three different colors.
Same exact flower, same lighting, three different white balances and three different colors.
You can visit Mike's blog and learn about his workshops here: Tiny Landscapes
Mike's eBooks are available in the OPG store here: Mike Moats
Tags: Macro, White Balance
Posted in Lighting, Processing, Quick Tip | No Comments »
Friday, December 2nd, 2011
Beech leaves during the cold northern winters have a transparent look, and seem to stay on the trees till spring. I picked these off the tree the other day with this shot in mind. I used my light table that’s for viewing slides (which has no use any more) for the light provided under this arrangement. You can do all kinds of different setups and it makes for some pretty cool images. The leaves are curled when they come off the tree so place them in a book with a lot of weight on top to dry and flatten them, then you’re ready to go. You can use other leaves that will work just as well with the light table. Have Fun!
You can visit Mike's blog and learn about his workshops here: Tiny Landscapes
Mike's eBooks are available in the OPG store here: Mike Moats
Tags: Macro, Mike Moats, winter
Posted in Creativity, Macro, Quick Tip | No Comments »
Monday, October 17th, 2011
When people look at my work, one of the questions I get asked more often than any other is how I get such nice backgrounds. The answer is I work very hard to control the backgrounds in my images. I like to get nice monochromatic, out of focus backgrounds because this type of background makes my subject stand out. These monochromatic backgrounds are also free of distractions that would pull the viewer's eye away from the subject of my photograph.
The way I achieve these backgrounds is by making sure that there is separation between my subject and the background. This separation renders my subject sharp, and makes the background a nice out of focus blur. It also gives the image a sense of depth.
For the image of the Cedar Waxwing accompanying this post, the background is a line of trees 50 yards behind the bird. I shot this at f8 which is enough depth of field to cover the bird and its beautiful perch. But at f8 the trees are rendered as a completely out of focus blur of color.
Browse Steve's images, read his blog, and learn about his workshops at his site www.stevegettle.com
Tags: background, Steve Gettle, Wildlife
Posted in Quick Tip, Tips and Tricks, Wildlife | No Comments »
Monday, September 26th, 2011
Day one of the Mt.Rainier workshop that I am co-leading with DPE podcast co-host Juan Pons was spectacular. Here are a few of my shots - and a few tips.
Above: Expose for the highlights. Move the histogram to the right - but make sure you don't have spike on the right. Also, get up super early to capture the sunrise. You can rest when you are dead. :-)
Above: Use slow shutter speeds to blur moving water. Start with a 1 second exposure and then try 2, 3 and 4 second exposures.
Above: Compose with different lenses. Here I used a Canon 14mm lens on my Canon 5 D Mark II to capture an extremely wide-angle view of the this beautiful waterfall. The lens is actually "seeing" ahead and down at the same time.
Above: Look for texture. The moss surrounding this waterfall adds a nice texture to the flowing water.
Explore the light,
Rick
Tags: California Photo Workshops, HDR, Mt. Rainier, Rick Sammon
Posted in Articles, Creativity, Quick Tip, Workshops | No Comments »
Friday, September 9th, 2011
"Hurricane Hal," formerly known as Bull Schmitt from the Light Photographic Workshops, is here in Croton on Hudson, New York shooting with me - because Hurricane Irene washed out his B&H seminar.
Today we photographed waterfalls - large and small. Here are a few tips, from Hurricane Hal and me, for capturing the beauty of flowing water.
• Use a tripod - to steady your camera during long exposures.
• Shoot at 1 second or more to blur moving water.
• Pack a ND (Neutral Density) filter, which will let you shoot at slow shutter speeds in bright light.
• A polarizing filter can also reduce the amount of light entering the lens.
• Use your camera's self-timer or a cable release to avoid camera shake during a long exposure.
• Check your histogram to check your exposure.
• Bring a lens cloth to keep your lens clean.
• Use Live View to check your scene - composition, focus and exposure. Zoom in for precise focus.
Hurricane Hal and I hope to see you at the California Photo Fest in October in California.
Explore the light,
Rick
Explore all things Rick Sammon at www.ricksammon.info.
Tags: Rick Sammon, Tips and Tricks, waterfalls
Posted in Creativity, Landscape, Quick Tip, Tips and Tricks | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
Well we had another cool morning, no wind, and everything covered in dew. I’ve mentioned this before, but if you get out on these cool dewy mornings the dragonflies will hold their position allowing you to set up your tripod, move in as close as you like, and take your time shooting. The cool body temps and dew on the wings prevents them from taking off.
You can visit Mike's blog and learn about his workshops here: Tiny Landscapes
Mike's eBooks are available in the OPG store here: Mike Moats
Tags: Macro, tips
Posted in Macro, Quick Tip | No Comments »
Friday, July 29th, 2011
Monte Smith on the Madison
Everyone knows I love Lightroom, but one of my biggest complaints about the software is its lack of a simple send via email button. I mean seriously, Adobe built an incredible program that has amazing noise reduction features, cool presets, and social networking integration via it’s Publishing Services, but can you find a simple “send to email” button? No. I’ve used the built in export preset for email, but frankly I still find it to be a hassle.
Lightroom to Gmail plugin by Tim Armes
This week a good friend pointed me in the direction of the LR/Gmail plugin by Tim Armes. The plug-in allows you to export your images directly out of Lightroom and into Gmail with very little effort. You first need to download the plugin from Adobe’s Lightroom Exchange.
Once you’ve installed the plugin using Lightroom’s Plugin Manager then simply select a photo that you wish to export. Next, select LR/Gmail in the drop down menu next to Export To. The plugin’s configuration is pretty straight forward from there and I think the most critical piece of information beyond your Gmail account info will be image size. Remember, the smaller the resolution the faster it’s going to send, but the quality of the print will be worse so make sure to ask the recipient what the intentions are for the image. If it’s simply to post online (like Facebook) then 72 dpi will suffice. If it’s to print a 4×6, you’ll probably want a resolution of 200 dpi.
Tags: Adobe Lightroom, adobe lightroom 3, Software
Posted in Digital Editing, Quick Tip, Tips and Tricks | No Comments »
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