Posts Tagged ‘learning’
Friday, August 19th, 2011
< Monument Valley, UT
 If you were to talk to many of my workshop attendees and they will tell you there are a few things I really espouse throughout the workshop, hopefully not to the point that its information overload. One of these techniques is DEPTH of FIELD. Some of of my attendees did not know what depth of field is, let alone how to achieve it. Some didn’t understand it and others thought it too complicated and therefore have never mastered the techniques. Well, it’s not complicated at all, once you understand it, and perhaps this essay will help explain it to you in as easy terms possible. I will state that Depth of Field is essential in every form of photography and must be understood and applied.
So, what exactly is depth of field? Simply, it is the amount of detail, within the image that is in focus. You, the photographer must decide on how much depth of field (DOF) is desired. Do you want the entire image in focus? Do you want the background out of focus ( often referred to as blown out—-I don’t really like that term as “blown out” might refer to overexposed, not out of focus).
Once you make the decision on how much of the image you want in focus, you must understand the technique that must be used to achieve your goals.
Decisions on setting to attain Depth of field are:
- The F-Stop (see below) chosen to make the image
- The focal length of the lens
- Subject size (the depth of field decreases as you decrease the lens/subject distance
- How far away is the subject?
LENS OPTIONS
Choosing a lens will have a dramatic effect on your depth of field. Lenses below the 60mm range are capable of attaining a large depth of field. (wide angle lenses) The DOF affect attained with lenses above 60mm will be less and when combining a 160mm+ lens on a DSLR, perfect Depth of field is virtually impossible. This is a principle of physics.
This old barn was photographed at F16 using a 80-200mm lens at 140mm. Notice the inability to make the background perfectly sharp
After reading this article, when in the field, try attaining a sharp image front to back with a 200mm lens on a DSLR. You will quickly see that it is impossible, due to the way the plane of the lens lies on the camera. It’s nothing you did wrong as long as the majority of the image is in focus. I’ll discuss options to attain DOF when using long lenses later.
CHOOSING APERTURE
I’ll try making this as simple as possible, but you need to understand exactly what aperture is, in order to be successful attaining proper Depth of field.
The aperture setting refers to the hole that the light passes through when the shutter opens, similar to the iris in our eyes. You can change this setting in camera. These settings are referred to as F stops. F-stop is the focal length divided by the diameter of the lens. F stops are typically written as F/4 etc.. meaning focal-length over 4 or focal-length divided by four.
 Each F stop one lets in 1/2 as much light as the previous one. The progression of F-stops, 1 – 1.4 – 2 – 2.8 – 4 – 5.6 – 8 – 11 – 16 – 22 – 32, are powers of the square root of 2.
In the field, you decide on how you want your image to appear. Do you want the image to be sharp front to back or do you want a sharp subject and less sharp background. If you make the decision to make the background less sharp, to accentuate the subject, what level of “unsharpened” do you want the background to be? (This is why we need to think when we photograph… slow down and calculate what you are trying to attain in each image).
Think about this…Not all great landscape images are shot at F22 !
Aperture setting dictates what shutter speed you have. F8 at a 125th sec is exactly the same exposure as… F at 11/ 60th … or … F5.6 at 250th sec… however the aperture (F stop settings) determine the depth of field.
Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Oregon Coast aperture=F16
|
Same as on Left aperture= F 5.6
|
 F 16 |
F 5.6 |
Which do you like?.. It’s really up to you!
Considerations:
1) On a windy day, shooting at F16 or F22 can you attain a shutter speed high enough to freeze the blowing grasses?
2) If a scene is too dark and you need a large Depth of field (F22) meter open enough to focus, then adjust the shutter speed for the aperture you want.
The rule of thumb is, the larger the F stop (F16), the smaller the aperture, and the more Depth of field you have. Conversely, the smaller the F stop (F4), the larger the aperture, and the less depth of field. Yes, there are counterintuitive to our thinking but you’ll get used to how these setting work pretty quickly.
SETTING THE DEPTH OF FIELD
USE YOUR DOF BUTTON !!
I strongly recommend that nature photographers use only two modes to make photographs on their camera. These are the manual mode or aperture priority mode
I strongly recommend that if you do not have a camera with a depth of field preview button, look to upgrade to one that does. This button is invaluable… What it does is that it stops the lens down to the shooting aperture and shows you, through the viewfinder how the depth of field will appear in the photograph. Without this button , when looking through your lens you’re looking at the widest aperture the lens will provide, not the depth of field that the aperture setting you’ve chosen will represent.
Note:—if your camera is set in the AUTO FOCUS mode——your camera will negate all your hard work setting the DOF manually. A while ago, I was conducting a workshop and a participant asked why when he focus correctly, and uses his Depth of Field Button (DOF) to check his DOF and his images still turn out blurry. Well he had his camera set to auto focus, and when he pressed down on the shutter release the lens went into auto focus mode, thus canceling out all the work he did manually to create the image he wanted.
Here is an easy technique to make images sharp from front to back, (remember this is a discussion when using lenses under 60mm!)
“OK, AT F16 my viewfinder is so dark when the DOF button is pressed that I can’ t see the image, let alone the adjust of the depth of field”
 At small apertures like F11, F16 the viewfinder does becomes too dark while depressing the DOF preview button.
Here how to make it work!
- Set your aperture to F8 or to a setting you can see the image through the viewfinder while depressing the DOF Preview button.
- Focus just above the 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of the frame on a subject closest to you, and then fine tune the focus, looking into the image itself, checking the background for depth of field.
If this area is in focus, you have a great chance of the entire image being in focus when resetting the aperture to F16, or even F22
Having done that accurately, I the reset my aperture to F16 or higher and make the photograph
Some cameras have a zoom capability in playback. Zoom in, using the LCD on the back of the camera on the background to check for sharpness.
To make a photograph using a subject that is sharp with an unsharp background you must
300mm lens at F8
1) Use your depth of field preview button to focus on the subject
2) Set your aperture where you want it to attain the desired background, probably less than n F8
To me this technique is a bit easier than having the entire image in sharp focus. I love photographing wildflowers with a long lens (300mm) to really make the flower the subject stand out, and make the background unfocused.( the longer the focal length lens, the more you can really make the background blurred out.).
OTHER HELP FULL HINTS to ATTAIN PROPER DOF
this image was made up of 7 images combined using Helicon Focus
1) There is a program available called Helicon Focus. Helicon Focus is a program that creates one completely focused image from several partially focused images by combining the images (you can use an unlimited amount of images) into one focused image. The program is designed for macro photography, micro photography and hyper focal landscape photography to cope with the shallow depth-of-field problem. Helicon Focus also aligns images as objects often change their size and position from shot to shot. This function is especially important for macro photography but works quite well in certain conditions in landscape photography as well. I am very impressed on how easy the software is to use. The software can be downloaded right off the web site www.heliconsoft.com.
It’s been my experience that you really need to know in advance, in the field if you will be shooting using the HF program. Not all images will lend themselves for Helicon Focus. Any movement at all will ruin the otherwise great results. This is a good tool to use when using longer focal length lenses, however all lenses qualify if the criteria of: 1) light not changing and 2) the subject matter is not moving is met.
 2) Not too long ago, lens manufacturers used to include depth of field guide marks on their lenses… but not any more. If you would like a handy little replacement for these marks, something that will let you can download Depth of Field calculators and determine the settings and effects of different focal lengths and aperture settings via the web and smart phone’s. I do not use these.(I’ll explain later)
3) I’ve seen folks with a depth of field calculator. I don‘t know who makes it but it’s a wheel that after you put in your aperture & shutter speeds, it will tell you how many feet out you need to focus. Again unnecessary.
Why do I think # 2 & 3 are unnecessary? Probably sometimes when the light is constant and you do have the time to figure these applications out they might be useful. Consider these 2 factors; 1) are you capable of gauging exactly how far, say 23 feet is from your camera? I don’t think I can. I may be at 24 or 22 feet or even further away from the target. 2) More importantly, during sunrise, sunset, the light is changing, you don’t have time to be there holding your smart phone, changing the aperture with the light, seeing out a reading that you probably can’t be accurate on anyway. You’ll miss the shot, or get it wrong. Try the method of focusing 1/3rd up from the bottom, it will work very accurately, once you get used to it.
4) Look into shooting large format cameras. These cameras, because of how their lenses work in relationship to the camera, and some other factors, will attain a large amount of depth of field using longer focal lengths.
Understanding and using these techniques are primary in your ability to make images the way you desire. Like anything else it takes practice and understanding of the concepts.
 - F22
 - F 5.6
Read more about Jack on his website here, and learn about his workshops here.
Tags: Depth-of-Field, learning, photography, techniques
Posted in Articles, Landscape, Tips and Tricks | 4 Comments »
Thursday, December 2nd, 2010
Hey Gang,
I first met Chris Klapheke, founder/owner/operator of Outdoor Photo Gear, during a workshop I was co-leading in December 2008, in Bosque del Apache, New Mexico. We met during the event that Chris eloquently describes below, and exquisitely illustrates above.
I was new to the area, but Chris had been there several times before.
Day one of the workshop: Not only was I freezing, but I needed some help with finding the best shooting locations. Chris took me under his wing, so to speak, and helped me, and all the members of the group, get some knockout images.
Chris is a humble dude. You never hear him brag about his photographs, yet he is one of the best outdoor photographers I know. Recently, I asked him to jot down a caption for the image you see here. Well, Chris is the kind of guy who goes above and beyond in everything he does (most recently when it comes to customer service at Outdoor Photo Gear). Below is the “caption” that Chris sent me.
• • •
My alarm clock went off at 4:30 am in the Super 8 motel in Socorro, New Mexico. A sleepy little town about an hour south of Albuquerque, Socorro is the gateway town to the Bosque del Apache national wildlife refuge.
At 4:30 in the morning in Socorro in December, it’s darn cold. Fumbling awake, I checked the temperature: 12 below zero. Great. No, wait a minute—Great! Yesterday was a nice warm day in Bosque, with plenty of sun. That means, with this brutally cold morning, that any water that was shallow enough to warm up would be emitting a rare substance in the desert winter—steam.
When you get a nice warm day and a shivering cold morning, you can have steam rising from some of the ponds in Bosque. And when you get that steam and a clear sunrise, you have a chance to capture one of the “holy grail” shots from Bosque —birds in a golden mist of light.
Bosque del Apache has an avian cycle that repeats itself daily during the winter. Tens of thousands of Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes spend the winter in Bosque. Each night, all those birds seek out water as a resting place for the night, where they are safe from predators such as the coyote. In the morning, through some hidden communication, the birds will start taking off out of the lakes and ponds. If you’re lucky, they will all take off at once, in what is called a “blastoff”. The sky becomes so thick with birds that sometimes the sky is nearly blocked out. It’s noisy, and you better wear a hat.
To experience this blastoff, and to get some fantastic images, photographers start setting up and jockeying for position in the cold dark. Depending on the wind and the light conditions, photographers scramble for the best views. You can glance down the road and it looks like the Olympics or a Space Shuttle launch—hundreds of long lenses pointed in the same direction.
But that’s not the shot I was after. Soliciting a few hardy members of our workshop, we were going to gamble. In trying for the golden mist shot, you are far away from the action of the refuge blastoff. Many conditions have to fall in place: a warm previous day, a cold cold morning, a clear sunrise, and of course, birds have to be in your chosen pond. You either get the shot, or you come away with a big fat nothing.
To have a chance at this shot, we would have to get off the road and crunch across frozen swampy grass to get close enough to a small pond. Leaving the road is strictly forbidden in the refuge. So, we scraped our windows, cracked open our chemical hand warmers, grabbed some coffee and headed in the dark to a pond along the road just outside the park.
Pulling off at the exit for the pond, we knew two of our four conditions—the warm day and the cold morning. Now we had to check the other two conditions in the pitch dark. Looking up, we could see the Milky Way spill across the sky. Good. A clear sunrise. As to the birds, it was too dark to see them. So we stood still and listened. We could hear their honks and grunts. The birds were there. All the conditions were in place, so if the birds hung around for sunrise, we’d have about a 60 second window, when the sunrise was just right, to try for the shot.
With hikers’ headlamps on, we carried our gear across the frozen ground toward the pond. We did not want to get too close, for fear of spooking the birds. Enough other things could do that, like coyote, leaving us with nice steam and no subjects. We used a compass to point where the sun would rise. Then we waited in silence (except for chattering teeth) for the sun to rise.
As the eastern sky lightened, our main concern was for the birds to stay put. They like to fly off at sunrise, and we needed them to stay long enough for the sun to pour over the hills and rushes to light the steam coming from the water.
The steam slowly gained color. In looking at my images in sequence, you can see:
Black gray gray gray gold gold GOLD! gold gray gray gray, all in a small amount of time.
Happily, the birds stayed, and the sun lit up the steam like flames. We snapped like maniacs. And only a minute later, it was over. Lots of LCD checks confirmed that we indeed had some good chances. We headed back to the hotel, freezing on the outside, but excited and warm on the inside.
I hope you enjoyed this "Story Behind the Shot"
Explore the Light,
Rick
Check out my blog here.
Tags: Bosque del Apache, Chirs Klapheke, learning, mist, photography, Rick Sammon, Travel Photography
Posted in Articles, Commentary, Photographer Spotlight, Vision, Wildlife | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
 Photographs © Rick Sammon
Juan Pons and I were recently acting as assistants on the sunset hula shoot at the Maui Photo Festival.
Great fun! Great dancers! Great light.
As usual, something interesting happened. After Juan and I set up the reflectors and diffusers to control the harsh light, I ask the crowd of maybe 40 photographers, “Can you guys see the difference in the light when using these accessories?”
Silence.
I asked again. Silence again.
Although I sometimes find it frustrating that no one answers (because I know the photographers can see the big difference), I am also understanding of the situation – because I know it’s not uncommon for people in crowds to remain quite when someone asks a question. Folks in crowds expect others to speak up for them. That point is mentioned in the book, The Tipping Point – which I recommend.
Also, some people are shy about asking a “stupid” question. On a workshop my friends, there is no such thing as a stupid question. Everyone is there to learn! And that includes the instructors.
Anway, you’ll get the most out of a workshop if you speak up, ask questions, offer suggestions, share your pictures on site - and stick like glue to the instructors. Keep in mind that the workshop leaders are good photographers and instructors – but they are usually not good mind readers.
Explore the light,
Rick
P.S. If you are interested in learning about lighting, my newest app, Light It!, is all about making professional quality people pictures using a flash and affordable lighting accessories – including reflectors and diffusers. For info and an intro video, click here.
Tags: DPE, learning, Photo Gear, Portrait, Rick Sammmon, Workshops
Posted in Articles, Viewpoint, Workshops | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
Much as been written on the web about waiting years and years for all the elements in a scene to come together for a “once-in-a-lifetime shot.”
That’s all well and good, and sometimes it’s true.
But sometimes a good shot is just dumb luck. Here is an example.
In the above photograph, the five subjects are completely isolated, the side lighting is wonderful, the reflection is perfect, the background is effective in adding to the “sense of place” of the image, the dog adds an extra element of interest, and the exposure is good.
I even like the way the cowboy has his leg slightly lifted, and the way we can see the cowgirl’s silhouette.
Now, I could say that I waited years for a picture like this one. But in fact, it was just a dumb luck shot.
You see, I was co-teaching a workshop in Oregon. One night during dinner, one of the participants said, “Hey, look out the window, there is a great shot.”
We all stopped chowing down, grabbed our cameras, walked out on the porch, grabbed a shot, and went back to eating our pork and beans.
This is one of my favorite dumb luck shots, and dumb luck stories – once of many such stories.
The thing about dumb luck, however, is this: you have to be prepared for when those dumb luck moments present themselves to you. Keeping your camera handy, and knowing how to use it, increases your luck. So does understanding light, compensation, and lenses.
Below is another dumb luck shot. I was just in the right place (Mongolia) at the right time (festival) in the right conditions (overcast and dusty) and in the right location.
Explore the light – and good luck :-)
Rick
Keep up with Rick and Juan Pons at the Digital Photo Experience.
Tags: learning, prepare, Rick Sammon, Travel Photography, visualize
Posted in Articles, Commentary, Viewpoint, Vision | 1 Comment »
Friday, June 4th, 2010
There was a time, many years ago, when my world revolved around being an outdoor athlete. I was a rock climber, trail runner, backpacker, mountain biker, long distance hiker, canyoneer, and kayaker. Sometimes I would combine them all when doing adventure races. I spent most of my free time training. I was obsessed with going far and getting there fast. I spent a lot of time in the outdoors, but it went by so quickly that I rarely had a moment to enjoy a sunset or notice the coyote yipping in the distance.
And then it happened. I fell in love with nature photography. I gave up adventure racing. I spent more time photographing and less time training. I stopped counting miles traveled each week and started counting rolls of film exposed. Everything just sort of slowed down.
Looking back I realize that photography has taught me some valuable lessons. I’ve learned that when you don’t train on a daily basis the size of your waistband increases. Actually, I’ll blame that on age. More importantly, I’ve learned a few things that are helpful to me as a member of the human race and I think they’ve made me a better husband, brother, friend and an all-around better person.
1) Have Some Patience - Through photography I have learned the art of patience. I have learned that it is okay to slow down. It’s not about the miles covered or the peaks bagged. It’s about getting up early and sitting in the desert watching an entirely new day develop in front of me. It’s about plopping down on a rock and waiting for the light to work its magic upon the landscape. It’s about slowing down and enjoying a moment, whether it’s while you’re creating art or spending a few unexpected minutes with your family. Life is entirely too short to spend it rushing from one place to the next.
2) Be Persistent - What would it be like if every time we took out our camera white puffy clouds filled the blue sky, dramatic light poured down over the landscape and an eagle glided through our frame? Sure, at first, it would be awesome but after a while it would become really boring. Okay, I admit – it probably wouldn’t. But the reality is that we often have to visit a location over and over before Mother Nature feels we’ve earned the right to witness her awesomeness. Those who persist will eventually be there when all the right conditions collide. Persistence reaps rewards not enjoyed by those who are easily discouraged. Know what you want and don’t be afraid to go after it with all you’ve got.
3) See The Light - Before photography consumed my life the only purpose light served was to illuminate the trail, rock or river before me. My first “a-ha!” moment occurred in the Sonoran Desert outside Phoenix. I was out for a trail run after work in the Squaw Peak Preserve when the setting sun backlit the translucent needles of a field of cholla cactus. It literally stopped me in my tracks. I stood there, jaw slack, staring at these beautiful cactus glowing in the late afternoon light. How many times had I run or biked this trail and never had I noticed how beautiful they were? I had only been concerned with keeping them out of my skin (not always successful). For the first time I stood there wishing I was peering through a viewfinder. Since that day I’ve had hundreds more moments just like that one. Each and every one has been just as special as the first.
4) Don’t Neglect The Details - It’s difficult to appreciate a tiny wildflower or the beautiful texture of juniper tree bark when you’re flying by in the middle of a long trail run. After moving to Colorado in 2002 I set a goal to spend more time developing my ability to find and photograph intimate landscapes. In my pre-photography days I never would have slowed down long enough to study a stand of autumnal aspen trees looking for the perfect balance of color, light and symmetry. Photography helped me to discover that if you enjoy life’s little details you’ll be even more appreciative of successes on a grander scale.
5) Art As Therapy - The year 2001 was not a stellar one for me. Early in the year I went through a difficult break-up, the events of 9/11 deeply affected me, my Mom passed away in November and I really didn’t enjoy my job. I was sinking into depression and it seemed I was on a path spiraling quickly downhill. I decided to move from Phoenix to Denver and use all the new free time associated with being single to immerse myself in photography. Eventually, my mood improved. It seemed that creating art was cathartic. By the end of 2002 I felt like I’d come back from the brink of a place I’d rather never revisit. Putting all my energy into art was a most intense therapy. Now, when I need to clear my head, I head out to the desert to scout a new location or make a few images. After a few hours I’m back in the land of the rational.
There are no accidents in life. I never suspected that picking up a camera would change my life. But it has, and I believe I’m a better citizen of the earth because of it.
Editor's note: We welcome Bret Edge as a contributor to our blog! We'll have more from Bret in the coming weeks and months. Bret is an adventure photographer based in Moab, Utah. His work has appeared in many publications, including Backpacker Magazine and Popular Photogaphy. Bret also conducts workshops and private instruction in the Moab area.
You can learn more about Bret, view his wonderful images, read his blog here: Bret Edge Photography
You can find out more about Bret's workshops here: Moab Photo Workshops
     
Tags: experience, learning, lessons, Nature, outdoors, photography
Posted in Articles, Landscape | 2 Comments »
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
Photograph © Rick Sammon. All rights reserved.
Here are some quick tips for portrait shooters. Enjoy
- Make a photograph — don’t simply take one. Work with the subject, props, posing and lighting to create a unique image.
- The name of the game is to fill the frame. In other words, crop out the boring stuff in a scene so that the viewer’s attention is drawn to the main subject — immediately.
- Crop creatively. More often than not, a picture can be enhanced with basic cropping in the digital darkroom. Experiment with different crops. Also try to see pictures within a picture.
- Remember that light illuminates; shadows define. That is the first step to lighting a portrait.
- Carefully light the scene. In this case, I used a combination of available light and the light from a flash to create a well-lit portrait.
- Choose your lens wisely. Think about how the focal length and f-stop will affect the end result. Use at least a medium telephoto lens (85mm) for head and shoulder shot. Wider-angle lenses are okay for environmental portraits (like this one).
- Carefully pose your subject. Pay special attention to where the subject is looking (toward or away from the camera). Also pay attention to the hands.
- Shoot RAW files because they are more forgiving than JPEG files – and because you can rescue more from overexposed highlight areas than you can from JPEG files.
- Use the lowest possible ISO for the cleanest (little or no noise) possible shot.
- Don’t over saturate an image in Photoshop (or Aperture or Lightroom or anywhere.) When areas of an image are oversaturated, details can be softened and lost. If the reds here had been over saturated, the detail and the folds in the dress could have been lost.
- Think selectively. Apply adjustments (especially sharpening) to select areas of an image rather than applying them globally (to the entire image).
- Always sharpen an image as the final step – before you save your file as a TIFF file or PSD files with all those adjustment layers (just in case you change your mind about how you enhanced your image.)
Explore the light,
Rick
Keep up with Rick at the Digital Photo Experience.
Tags: learning, Portrait, portraits, Rick Sammon, Tips and Tricks
Posted in Articles, Tips and Tricks | 1 Comment »
Monday, May 31st, 2010
Photographs © Rick Sammon
Canon 15mm lens (above). Canon 24-105mm lens (below).
Both: Canon 5D Mark II.
Last month my photography workshop brought us to the Sister’s Meal Festival in a remote area of China. It’s truly an amazing experience: hundreds of women get dressed in heavy silver and cloth outfits and perform a dance in the hope of attracting a husband.
The outfits weigh more than 40 pounds. Dancing in the hot sun for hours can’t be fun.
Anyway, the light was bad: harsh, direct sunlight. Adding to the challenge, the silver head dresses reflected the bright light, and the subject’s faces were shaded by the headdresses. Aaargh!
To remedy that situation, we used our flashes for daylight fill-in flash, and a reflector and a diffuser – accessories that compress the brightness range of a scene so that it can easily be recorded by a digital camera, without blown-out highlights and dark shadows.
Because we were prepared for the worst, we were able to get evenly exposed images like the one below.
To help capture and convey the excitement and size of the event, I used my 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens and held it above my head and tilted it downward for a unique viewpoint. This lens is great for capturing large groups, because it enhances the way a scene is recorded – capturing an extremely wide scene and exaggerating perspective.
The idea today was to “tell the whole story” of the festival. Telling the whole story can easily be accomplished simply by taking wide-angle shots and close-up shots – and everything in between. Everyone did a great job. More story-telling photos to come.
If you are interested in joining my 2011 China workshop, shoot me an email at email hidden; JavaScript is required. DPE’s Juan Pons will most likely join the fun!
Explore the light – and explore telling the whole story.
Rick
Keep up with Rick and Juan at the Digital Photo Experience.
Tags: china, learning, Photo Tips, Rick Sammon, Workshops
Posted in Articles, Quick Tip, Workshops | No Comments »
Monday, May 17th, 2010
If you are interested in Social Media Marketing (and in expanding your business), check out Rick's new iPhone App Social Media Marketing for Photographers (iTunes link).
Today, Social Media Marketing is marketing. Now, more than ever, photographers, as well as all those involved in creative endeavors, need to market their work, locally, nationally and internationally. That’s the focus of this comprehensive app. Juan Pons, the co-creator of the Digital Photo Experience, put this app together.
The app is an audio/video recording of Rick's Keynote presentation on social media marketing. It’s like taking a private 1.5-hour lesson on this all-important subject.
Movie times:
Part 1 – 24 minutes
Part 2 – 26 minutes
Part 3 – 17 minutes
Part 4 – 12 minutes
Part 5 – 11 minutes
Total: 90 minutes.
Rick recommends that you watch the movies in order to get the most out of the app.
Rick covers social media marketing tools such as Twitter, Tweetdeck, Google Analytics, Quitter and more. Rick gets you to think about marketing your work daily, and also touches on traditional book publishing and apps.
In addition, Rick has included a few of his favorite photography techniques!
The app is packed with marketing tips illustrated with Rick's photographs that relate to the tips given, to make learning fun.
This is Rick's second app. His first app, co-developed with Dr. Dave Wilson, is Rick Sammon’s 24/7 Photo Buffet. (iTunes link).
Keep up with Rick and Juan at the Digital Photo Experience.
Tags: DPE, iPhone, learning, Photo Tips, Rick Sammon, social media
Posted in Articles, Creativity, Tips and Tricks | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
"Flower Man" Savannah, GA
There are many ways to find your photos inside Lightroom. The Library Filter bar contains several tools that make finding specific images easier. You can apply these filters one at a time or in different combinations to see only the images you’re looking for. To apply multiple filters, command(cntrl) click on the filter names in the filter bar. This is a great way to find and organize your photos for creating collections, as filters can be applied to individual folders or your entire catalog.
To open the Library Filter bar, make sure you are in the Library Module and press the backslash () key. The Library Filters will drop down at the top of the grid window. It looks pretty unassuming at first, but let’s open the tabs and see what’s inside.
Here are the Library Filters with all of the tabs open. From top to bottom (and left to right in the bar): Text, Attribute and Metadata.
First on the list is ‘Text’. The graphic below shows all of the options expanded for the Text filter. This filter seems simple, but there are a lot of options that allow you to get very specific results.
Text filter with its options expanded
Next is the ‘Attribute’ filter. This filter is not as self-explanatory as the Text filter, but it makes sense when you open it. Here you can filter your results by pick flag, star rating, color label or copy status. If you click on the ‘≥’ before the stars you can change this setting from “greater than or equal to” to “less than or equal to” or “equal to”. I use pick flags, star ratings and color labels in my regular workflow, and these filters come in handy for me. Copy status allows you to view original photos or virtual copies separately.
The last filter is ‘Metadata’. This is probably the most powerful of the Library Filters because it allows for so much customization. You can search for everything from EXIF data to upload status. You can add or remove a column from the filter using the drop-down menu in the top right corner of a column. Change the metadata category using the menu in the top left corner of the column. You can select multiple entries in one column by command(cntrl) clicking on multiple categories.
Metadata Filter
Lightroom includes Custom Filter presets like “Flagged”, “Rated” and a few others, but you can add your own to streamline your searching and organization. Create a search or filter you would like to save, then choose “Save current settings as new preset” in the Custom Filter menu at the right side of the filter bar. You can apply filter presets from the Custom Filter menu, or from the drop-down menu on the right side of the filmstrip.
“Flower Man” photo shot with a Nikon D300s and an 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens. Black and White conversion made with Nik Software Silver Effects Pro.
Read more about Rob Knight at his website, and learn about Rob's workshops at Edge of the World Workshops.
Tags: adobe, filters, instruction, learning, lightroom, tip
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Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
Tundra Swans. Pocosin Lakes NWR, NC
Earlier this year I had the pleasure of assisting Juan Pons at his “Geese, Swans and Bears” photo workshop in North Carolina. Birds are not a frequent subject of mine, but I always jump at the chance to learn something new.
As photographers, we tend to concentrate our efforts on learning one particular type of photography. It could be wildlife, portraits, landscapes or any number of other disciplines. It’s great to develop a personal style and hone your skills in a specific area, but sometimes it’s good to make pictures that are outside of your area of expertise.
Exploring other disciplines can give you a fresh perspective on your work. Perhaps learning to create depth in a landscape photo will give you new ideas for dramatic portraits. Lighting techniques you learn for portraiture could help you make more compelling wildlife shots. Maybe taking your old Polaroid out will give you some cool post-processing ideas.
Dock Sunrise. Lake Phelps, NC. 3-shot HDR
The easiest way to try something new is to give yourself an assignment. It can be something simple… Go shooting with only one lens. Try shooting only with the lens you use the LEAST. Get together with friends and give each other assignments. You friends’ ideas could help spark your creativity.
A class or workshop is another great way to try something new. Unfamiliar techniques are much easier to master with the help of a good instructor. Workshops range from one-day seminars to two-week trips to exotic locations. Pick a class outside of your comfort zone and dive into it.
Top image captured with a Nikon D300s w/ 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR Nikkor lens.
Bottom image captured with a Nikon D700 w/ 24-70mm f/2.8G Nikkor lens
Read more about Rob Knight at his website, and learn about Rob's workshops at Edge of the World Workshops.
Tags: Advice, instruction, Landscape, learning, lens, Making an Image, Photo Tips, tip, Wildlife
Posted in Articles, Tips and Tricks, Viewpoint | No Comments »
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If you were to talk to many of my workshop attendees and they will tell you there are a few things I really espouse throughout the workshop, hopefully not to the point that its information overload. One of these techniques is DEPTH of FIELD. Some of of my attendees did not know what depth of field is, let alone how to achieve it. Some didn’t understand it and others thought it too complicated and therefore have never mastered the techniques. Well, it’s not complicated at all, once you understand it, and perhaps this essay will help explain it to you in as easy terms possible. I will state that Depth of Field is essential in every form of photography and must be understood and applied.
Each F stop one lets in 1/2 as much light as the previous one. The progression of F-stops, 1 – 1.4 – 2 – 2.8 – 4 – 5.6 – 8 – 11 – 16 – 22 – 32, are powers of the square root of 2.
At small apertures like F11, F16 the viewfinder does becomes too dark while depressing the DOF preview button.
When the Sun Ignites the Steam by Rick Sammon
Thursday, December 2nd, 2010Hey Gang,
I first met Chris Klapheke, founder/owner/operator of Outdoor Photo Gear, during a workshop I was co-leading in December 2008, in Bosque del Apache, New Mexico. We met during the event that Chris eloquently describes below, and exquisitely illustrates above.
I was new to the area, but Chris had been there several times before.
Day one of the workshop: Not only was I freezing, but I needed some help with finding the best shooting locations. Chris took me under his wing, so to speak, and helped me, and all the members of the group, get some knockout images.
Chris is a humble dude. You never hear him brag about his photographs, yet he is one of the best outdoor photographers I know. Recently, I asked him to jot down a caption for the image you see here. Well, Chris is the kind of guy who goes above and beyond in everything he does (most recently when it comes to customer service at Outdoor Photo Gear). Below is the “caption” that Chris sent me.
• • •
My alarm clock went off at 4:30 am in the Super 8 motel in Socorro, New Mexico. A sleepy little town about an hour south of Albuquerque, Socorro is the gateway town to the Bosque del Apache national wildlife refuge.
At 4:30 in the morning in Socorro in December, it’s darn cold. Fumbling awake, I checked the temperature: 12 below zero. Great. No, wait a minute—Great! Yesterday was a nice warm day in Bosque, with plenty of sun. That means, with this brutally cold morning, that any water that was shallow enough to warm up would be emitting a rare substance in the desert winter—steam.
When you get a nice warm day and a shivering cold morning, you can have steam rising from some of the ponds in Bosque. And when you get that steam and a clear sunrise, you have a chance to capture one of the “holy grail” shots from Bosque —birds in a golden mist of light.
Bosque del Apache has an avian cycle that repeats itself daily during the winter. Tens of thousands of Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes spend the winter in Bosque. Each night, all those birds seek out water as a resting place for the night, where they are safe from predators such as the coyote. In the morning, through some hidden communication, the birds will start taking off out of the lakes and ponds. If you’re lucky, they will all take off at once, in what is called a “blastoff”. The sky becomes so thick with birds that sometimes the sky is nearly blocked out. It’s noisy, and you better wear a hat.
To experience this blastoff, and to get some fantastic images, photographers start setting up and jockeying for position in the cold dark. Depending on the wind and the light conditions, photographers scramble for the best views. You can glance down the road and it looks like the Olympics or a Space Shuttle launch—hundreds of long lenses pointed in the same direction.
But that’s not the shot I was after. Soliciting a few hardy members of our workshop, we were going to gamble. In trying for the golden mist shot, you are far away from the action of the refuge blastoff. Many conditions have to fall in place: a warm previous day, a cold cold morning, a clear sunrise, and of course, birds have to be in your chosen pond. You either get the shot, or you come away with a big fat nothing.
To have a chance at this shot, we would have to get off the road and crunch across frozen swampy grass to get close enough to a small pond. Leaving the road is strictly forbidden in the refuge. So, we scraped our windows, cracked open our chemical hand warmers, grabbed some coffee and headed in the dark to a pond along the road just outside the park.
Pulling off at the exit for the pond, we knew two of our four conditions—the warm day and the cold morning. Now we had to check the other two conditions in the pitch dark. Looking up, we could see the Milky Way spill across the sky. Good. A clear sunrise. As to the birds, it was too dark to see them. So we stood still and listened. We could hear their honks and grunts. The birds were there. All the conditions were in place, so if the birds hung around for sunrise, we’d have about a 60 second window, when the sunrise was just right, to try for the shot.
With hikers’ headlamps on, we carried our gear across the frozen ground toward the pond. We did not want to get too close, for fear of spooking the birds. Enough other things could do that, like coyote, leaving us with nice steam and no subjects. We used a compass to point where the sun would rise. Then we waited in silence (except for chattering teeth) for the sun to rise.
As the eastern sky lightened, our main concern was for the birds to stay put. They like to fly off at sunrise, and we needed them to stay long enough for the sun to pour over the hills and rushes to light the steam coming from the water.
The steam slowly gained color. In looking at my images in sequence, you can see:
Black gray gray gray gold gold GOLD! gold gray gray gray, all in a small amount of time.
Happily, the birds stayed, and the sun lit up the steam like flames. We snapped like maniacs. And only a minute later, it was over. Lots of LCD checks confirmed that we indeed had some good chances. We headed back to the hotel, freezing on the outside, but excited and warm on the inside.
I hope you enjoyed this "Story Behind the Shot"
Explore the Light,
Rick
Check out my blog here.
Tags: Bosque del Apache, Chirs Klapheke, learning, mist, photography, Rick Sammon, Travel Photography
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