 Sunrise Wonders and Wonderful Waterfalls in Mt. RainierSeptember 26th, 2011 by Rick Sammon 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.
Competition in Nature PhotographySeptember 22nd, 2011 by Robert Rodriguez Jr.
This great quote captures much of what I have struggled with over the years, and how I think about the whole issue of comparisons these days. Competition is rampant in landscape and nature photography – it seems there are always contests to enter, and endless ways to compare ourselves to the “competition”. Just visit any art fair (or worse participate in one) to experience this first hand. The endless “I can do that” or “is my work good enough” really misses the point of it all. If you have something to say, then it should measure up against what you have said in the past. If it’s not making an impact, then it’s time to improve your vocabulary, or practice your story telling. Comparing our images to others doesn’t take into consideration many important variables like skill, dedication, practice, and most crucial personal experience. If you allow your perceptions of where you stand in the overall “rank” of photography to guide your creativity, then you’ll never develop your own vision. Is there a shortage of photography in the world today? Not by any stretch of the imagination – in fact we are over saturated with imagery. I would argue that what is in short supply are original voices willing to tell their stories about what inspires them. Don’t worry about competition, worry about whether you are getting any real responses to your work – often that comes when you forget about what everyone else is doing. Check out Robert’s website for images, workshops, webinars and more: LINK Photoshop Zoom BlurSeptember 21st, 2011 by Mike MoatsBack In February of this year I was in Carlsbad, CA. for a couple weekends teaching my Macro Boot Camps, and I went to the San Diego Botanical Gardens to do a little shooting with some of the people that attended the boot camps. When I saw this flower I thought it was a good subject for using the Zoom Blur filter in Photoshop. Here is the original image, I first did some clean up with the specks of debris, and filled in the gaps between the petals showing any background, and did a slight crop.
After doing the clean up in Photoshop Elements, I then clicked on Filters. In the next box clicked on Blur, and then clicked on Radial Blur. In the next box look for Zoom and click the circle next to it. Use the Amount slider to add or subtract the amount of the Zoom you want, and this is what I came up with.
After I got the zoom the way I wanted it, I went into Nik Software’s Viveza, and did some tweaking with the structure slider to bring out the details in the petals, and darkened and added structure in the dark center. Then popped the yellow a little more. What do you think? 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 Photographing Michigan Fall ColorSeptember 19th, 2011 by Steve GettleNote: if you are in the Louisville area Monday October 3, come see Steve Gettle speak at a free OPG/SmugMug event! Details here.
Due to the fact that I had shows scheduled on the weekends when Michigan’s upper peninsula’s fall color is at its peak, I really thought I wouldn’t be able to do any shooting up there this year. Luckily, I caught a break as we had an unusually wet summer and a very mild early fall. The color was a week late this year, so I was able to take a few days and go up and work fall color.
We struggled a little with the weather because we had bright sunny, windy days. We did however manage to get some shots, but we worked hard for what we got. I say “we” because I traveled up with two good friends. Nature photography is often a solo endeavor, and I really enjoy that part of it. While I enjoy being alone in the wilderness with my thoughts and chosen subjects, it is also very nice to be able to share these experiences with good friends. The friendships and camaraderie I have developed with other photographers as we traveled the beautiful spots of the world is very special to me. I would say in my travels I have met hundreds, no, probably thousands of nature photographers, and as a group they are some of the nicest people I know. Elephant Ears, Corn Dogs and 4H Barns = Good TimesSeptember 15th, 2011 by John BatdorffI’m going to admit it: I’m addicted to County Fairs. I grew up in a small town in Northern Michigan where summers meant getting into trouble, swimming in the community pool and wandering aimlessly around the county fair. And whenever I travel and see the words “County Fair,” thoughts of elephant ears, corn dogs, sticky fingers and the smell of 4-H animals seems like sweet perfume calling out, “John, stop now!” A few weeks ago I had the chance to visit the Madison County Fair in Twin Bridges, Montana where I spent the afternoon visiting with local farmers and 4-H kids. What I’ve grown to love about the fair is touring the 4-H barns and talking to the kids about their animals, science projects and especially perusing the photography contest. 
Madison County Fair 4-H’ers This young man was such a trooper; I could tell it was a bittersweet day for him as he explained with a little quiver in his voice how he raised his steer over the last year, feeding it several pounds of grain a day, and caring for it just to bring it to market at the county fair. You know he had been told not to get attached, but this young guy was brave enough to show he cared for his animal. 
Prepping the sheep for sale Keep Your Eyes Open For Cool StuffSeptember 14th, 2011 by Mike MoatsIf you spend enough time out in mother nature, she will occasionally come up with some cool stuff. I’m always on the look out for those unique opportunity to capture something special. I was shooting ice abstracts on Stony Creek Lake, and found this outline of a ducks head in the ice.
I saw this face, two eyes and a nose in a flowing river. Some say the nose could be a trunk of an elephant.
Make Eye ContactSeptember 13th, 2011 by Rick Sammon Just an idea for your next portrait photography session: work on making eye contact with your subject – work on making a connection with the subject.  Try this technique with animal photography, too. Explore the light, Explore all things Rick Sammon at www.ricksammon.info.  Product Photography: iPhonesSeptember 12th, 2011 by John Adkins After reading a thread in the Flickr Strobist group about a shot of two iPhones done by photographer Peter Belanger, I decided to see if I could recreate his photo, but instead of using studio equipment, I wanted to see if I could get similar results using just a single speedlight and reflectors. I decided to light the phones from the back (as I often do with food photography) and use reflectors to the sides and to the front to throw subtle fill/highlights back on the phones. So for my keylight, I used an SB-800 in a 24″ softbox almost directly behind the phones and at about a 45 degree angle. This might seem like nowhere near the size of the light source that the photographer used in the video, but a 24″ softbox used in close to the phones appears to the phones as a HUGE light source which created a nice soft light. I triggered that flash with my D300′s on camera pop-up flash. Next I added my fill lights (or fill sources). Since my softbox was so close to the phones and I was shooting on a piece of white foam core, which is relatively reflective, all I needed to do was add a few more pieces of white foam core around the phone which would reflect the light from the softbox back on to the phone. I simply added these to both sides and held one in front below the camera lens. To get the right amount of light I wanted from the reflectors, I simply took a shot, chimped a little, then moved the reflectors either closer or further away.  You can see in the setup photo (click on it for a larger view), my position of the reflectors except for the one in front. I was holding it, so I had to put down to shoot the setup folder. Also, I almost never shoot on a tripod but when doing product photography, I’ve that its really useful to use a tripod so you can keep the same framing, then adjust your subject(s) as necessary. Top Tips for Photograping WaterfallsSeptember 9th, 2011 by Rick Sammon “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. Hurricane Hal and I hope to see you at the California Photo Fest in October in California. Explore the light, Explore all things Rick Sammon at www.ricksammon.info.
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Working Close to Home
September 23rd, 2011 by Steve GettleNo doubt about it, outdoor photographers love to travel to new and exciting locations to capture the subjects they love. But truth of the matter is that most of us can’t be jetting all over the globe whenever we want. Most outdoor photographers I know are able to take one, two, or maybe three major trips a year. Sadly, I also know many photographers that only use their cameras when they are on one of these major trips.
But I would argue that those same photographers are missing one of the greatest locations available to them… their own backyard. Most of us live within a short drive of a local park or piece of undeveloped land where we could practice our craft. There are many benefits to working an area near your home. One of the greatest benefits is simply the ability to be out working more often. It is impossible to make great pictures if you are not in the field working. Another important benefit of working close to home is the ability to go out on a moment’s notice, say when the lighting is really nice, or during unique weather conditions. Also, you can get to know a smaller piece of land and its inhabitants more intimately. You can make sure you are there when the cardinals nest in that bush, or you can photograph that patch of wildflowers when they are at their peak.