 River Docks, Hudson River in Lightroom 4March 13th, 2012 by Robert Rodriguez Jr.
River Docks, Hudson River Canon 1DS Mk III, 24mm, 25sec @ f/11, ISO 100 I processed this image entirely in Lightroom 4, and I’m really loving the new tonal controls and soft-proffing. I’m working on a video tutorial of my workflow, and some of the features I like best about this new version. If you use Lightroom, this update is well worth it. Check out Robert’s website for images, workshops, webinars and more: LINK Fotobug Everglades Podcast VideoMarch 9th, 2012 by Jim CaldwellFollow Jim Caldwell and Fred Rogers as they make a two day dash through the Everglades, with Chris from OPG tagging along! You won’t want to miss the footage Jim took from his remote control quad copter. Jim is leading a workshop to Costa Rica this May for an unbeatable price! Check out the details here: Creatures of Costa Rica Painting Water with LightMarch 8th, 2012 by Rick Sammon
I had some fun the other tonight painting the New Croton Dam with light. A bright moon and cloudy sky were bonus elements. Some basic tips: Info: Explore the light, P.S. My next class on Kelby Training is all about light. My current class in on composition.  Want to have more fun with your photography? Check out Rick’s photo workshops.What A Difference A Day MakesMarch 7th, 2012 by Denise Ippolito
Image © 2012/Denise Ippolito Photography I made a last minute decision yesterday to head back out to Ocean City NJ to photograph the 59th Street Pier this morning. Friend/client Kate Ryan met me out there and I was glad to have the company. It was a heavy overcast morning with moments of the sun breaking through. The colors were not as intense as they had been on my first visit last week, so I decided to change my view up a little and work a little tighter, concentrating on the front piers as apposed to the entire pier. This image was processed using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2. In situations where the color does not appeal to you or doesn’t fit the mood consider going with B&W. You can see Denise’s website at www.deniseippolito.com. Camera Awesome is Awesomely CreativeMarch 6th, 2012 by Rick Sammon
I downloaded a new iPhone app this morning: Camera Awesome by SmugMug. Above is my first Camera Awesome image, created from the original iPhone photo below of the New Croton Dam.
Awesome, indeed. The free app (with paid options) offers unlimited creative control over photos you take with the iPhone, as well as photos that are in your Photos gallery on your iPhone. Getting back to “unlimited” creative control, the app has almost 300 presets, filters, texture and frames, but you can tweet them and combine them for endless, and original, effects. Thirty-six of the effects, more than enough to start your photo fun, are free. You can buy other effects in groups of nine for 99 cents.  For the opening image for this post, I used the More Wang effect, one of the man Presents. Other cool effects/options include: Awesomize, Transform, Filters and Texture. Rick Sammon talks Induro BHL Low Profile BallheadsFebruary 24th, 2012 by Matt DennisonCheck out Rick’s video and browse the Induro Low Profile Ball Heads in the OPG store. Hey, I’m Rick Sammon. Now, a lot of people ask me, “Rick, what is your specialty?” Well, I reply, I say, “My specialty is not specializing, because I do it all. I do people. I do travel. I do wildlife. I do studio. I do HDR.” Now, all of these specialties actually have something in common. Of course, you need a good camera. You need a good lens. You need a good tripod. But a lot of people don’t realize you also need a good ballhead. Now, the coolest ballhead I found is from Induro. It’s called the Induro BHL. Now I think that “L” stands for low profile, because these ballheads are smaller, lighter, more compact than most ballheads out there. They also support more than most ballheads, but I think that “L” also stands for love, because you’re going to love this ballhead. It’s going to make your photography more fun, and you’re going to get better pictures. Let me show you what I mean. All the ballheads come with a universal mount; which means you can mount them on any tripod. I happen to be using one of my Induro tripods. They also come with an Arka Swiss compatible quick release plate; which means you can very quickly, very easily release your camera or lens. You see here I have one plate mounted on my lens, my telephoto lens, and I have one plate mounted on the bottom of my camera so I can change lenses very quickly and very easily. But, and this is a big but, this is really cool. It has a double locking system. What I can do here is if I release this, watch this. The camera and lens is not falling out on the ground or in the drink, and it’s not falling forward. It’s kind of like a watch stem. You release it and then you have to turn it so this is really cool, and I’ve seen this happen, believe me, in a lot of my workshops where the cameras fall on the ground. So you lock it in very quickly and tighten this up and then you’re ready to shoot. So, get this. All of the Induro ballheads, just like all of … Cyclamen and Window LightingFebruary 23rd, 2012 by Denise Ippolito
Image © 2012/Denise Ippolito Photography CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE A LARGER SHARPER VERSION I photographed this Cyclamen with the use of natural light and a window! Many folks ask do I “exactly” use the window as a light source. Well I place my subject close to the window. I position a reflector behind the flower so that it bounces some light onto the other side of the flower to “even out” the lighting. Once I am happy with the lighting I start to look for the background. By positioning my camera up/down or sideways to include the part of the background I like. For the example image above I used the grass for the green background so I had my camera and lens positioned downward. If I wanted a blue or white background I would have positioned it towards the sky. Next I make sure that the background will be blurred. Because I am shooting from a window chances are my subject and background are far enough apart that I can use an f/8 or even an f/13 with out any problem of bringing in “too much detail” from the background. However I wanted the flower to be a little softer so I stayed with an f/6.3. Why a little softer? Well, in my opinion flowers are pretty and they lend themselves nicely to a softer look. If you get every detail in focus sometimes you will portray a hard look with out it being your intention. The same is true if you over sharpen or over contrast your flower images or even if you over-saturate your images. There is no right or wrong it is just a matter or preference and I prefer my flowers on the Softer Side. To learn more about creating a softer look for your flower images check out my eBook “The Softer Side of Macro” You can see Denise’s website at www.deniseippolito.com. We Have A Winner in our Gura Gear Contest!February 18th, 2012 by Chris Klapheke
We drew Justin’s name out of our “virtual hat” and emailed him the good news yesterday. And what do you know, it was his birthday as well. Double Bonus! By the way Justin’s a wonderful photographer, and you can see his stuff here.
We also handed out quite a few Gura Gear lens cloths and t-shirts. Many thanks to our wonderful pals at Gura Gear, and to all our customers and supporters! PowerEx 8 Cell Battery Charger OverviewFebruary 17th, 2012 by John Adkins
 Looking for a reliable battery charger? Well then, go get this one now, right now, I’ll wait. Seriously though, if you’re using speedlights (or any AA rechargeable battery consuming device) then you know what a hassle it is keeping them charged. At one point, I literally had every outlet in the house littered with little 4 count battery chargers that took all night to charge and sometimes wouldn’t even charge one or all of the batteries in the deck. So after a few years of frustration with small chargers, I finally sprang for the PowerEx 8-Cell battery charger.. and I am in love. This charger simply rocks! It has individual charging circuits for each battery and can charge either AA or AAA rechargeable batteries. What’s so great about the individual circuits is that you can mix batteries of different charge levels at a time. With most standard chargers (the cheap-o ones) if you have batteries of different charge levels, it won’t charge them. Another great thing about this charger is that you can charge your batteries in 1 hour!! When I first used this charger, I was able to charge 16 batteries in less than 2 hours!! That is awesome. Also, it has a “Soft” charging cycle which extends the battery life and only takes 2 hours to cycle. If you have a bunch of AA rechargeables lying around that won’t hold a charge anymore, this charger will condition old batteries and bring them back up to optimal performance. It also has a LCD display that tells you the status of each battery. There are many other cool features about this charger, but the ones I listed above were enough to sell me on this product. I seriously may buy another one soon. I haven’t yet switched to the PowerEx series batteries because I have so many Energizer batteries lying around that still seem to kick out the juice, but over time I am planning on slowly migrating to them. If you’re on the fence about getting a good charger, then go ahead and make the jump. I can’t believe I waited so long to get one of these, it simply makes my life easier. Win a Gura Gear 22L+February 10th, 2012 by Chris Klapheke
Be our Valentine! This Valentine’s Day we’re giving away a Gura Gear Kiboko 22L+ to one of our lucky customers!
The Kiboko 22L+ is one of the hottest photo backpacks on the market today, and has a value of $379. You can see more about the 22L+ here. The Valentine’s Day prizes don’t stop with the Kiboko. We’re giving away a bunch of Gura Gear t-shirts and lens cleaning cloths too!
Four ways to win—each way is a separate entry for you!
If you already follow us on Twitter or Facebook, you are automatically entered in our giveaway. Tweet or post a blog comment for extra entries!
We’ll pick the winner randomly from all entries on Feb. 15, and notify you by email.
Thanks for all your support, and Happy Valentine’s Day! |
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