The Perfect Tyme

How to Greatly Improve your Photography Skills

2011-04-03T11:55:00.004-05:00

D700

Many have asked me about what are the most basic things one needs to consider when taking a photograph that will greatly enhance its quality and content. Most of the newer digital cameras give you great opportunity to learn the basics of photography as well as unbelievable capability for taking breathtaking shots. The difference between a professional image and a novice is first to find an interesting image you can compose properly, then being there at the right time and adjust your camera properly rather than just put it on program mode. Exposure is very important, but its more than just letting your camera's metering system do everything. If you take an image and at first blush its too light or too dark, you can make an immediate adjustment with exposure compensation and re-shoot until you get what you like. If the colors aren't right then you can adjust the white balance and shoot it again until you get what you like. If it still doesn't look right then you can adjust the picture controls such as contrast, saturation or other finer points. Even if you make all these adjustments if you are not at the right place and the Perfect Tyme, then you will still end up with an ordinary looking image.

Sony Point & Shoot

D700

The two most important settings are exposure and color. Your camera can meter exposure based upon your inputs. I use either shutter or aperture priority. Taking sharp images is one of the most important technical factors of photography, as sharpness plays an important role in the quality of the image. The most prevalent cause of blurred or out of focus images is camera movement during the exposure. The best way to ensure sharp photos is to use a fast shutter speed. As a guideline I use is if you are using a 100 mm lens, the shutter speed should be at least 1/200th of a second or 1/250, or in essence doubling the focal length of the lens being used as a proxy for the minimum shutter speed. If I use aperture priority because I want to control the aperture such as when I want to blur the background as with portraitures, so I might use an f/2 to obtain that effect. Then I need to adjust the ISO to give me a faster shutter speed to avoid camera movement and maintain very sharp images. So after I take the images after I have used the metering system to get the right exposure with the settings I want to use, then I use exposure compensation to make final adjustments for it being too light or too dark.

D700

Sony Point & Shoot

I adjust color by the white balance settings. I start with a WB setting on auto with an A3 or the equivalent of shade setting for most of the images I take because I like a warmer looking image. Sometimes with just auto WB, I get images that are too bluish looking for my taste. You can greatly enhance your outdoor daytime and sunset images by using custom WB settings by pointing the camera at a blue sky to give more warm colors to your image, and the picture controls set to Vivid +3 to pump the colors up dramatically. You can always adjust the exposure compensation to lighten or darken the effect. This alone will dramatically change how your images come out!!!!!

D700

Sony Point & Shoot

I always set my camera on matrix metering and matrix focus for most everything and use spot focus for individuals where I want the eyes in a portrait to be very sharp. On outdoor images of individuals or portraits I always use a flash for fill light. With the Nikon metering/flash system the camera will attempt to balance the background and foreground and use the flash to fill in the foreground or faces in a portrait or group of individuals. With this system you will get proper exposure for both foreground and background so everything is properly exposed. Canon and other manufacturers also have similar systems, but I am just a committed Nikon user and have invested so much in lenses that it would be a major cost for me to even try or switch to another system.

D700

Sony Point & Shoot

In the days of using film, it required multiple trips back and forth to the developing lab just to find out you didn't like about what you did, so it required taking notes and a lot of expense to learn what you now can learn with a digital camera each and every time you go take pictures for almost no cost. At any of our workshops we go through all of these functions and when you leave just one workshop you will be very comfortable making all of this your everyday thought process. The images shown herein in this blog were some I took of a friend of mine Laura for her senior pictures. One set was taken with my wife's Sony Cyber-shot 13.6 mp, point and shoot camera and the final images I gave Laura were the ones I shot with my Nikon D700 with all the adjustments discussed herein. In just one workshop your work will reflect this same difference.

We have upcoming workshops in Alaska in June, at Bryce Canyon in October, and in Hawaii in January of next year. We will also repeat the Alaska trip in June of 2012 for anyone that can't make it work timing wise for the one coming up in a few months. I try and pick great vacation spots where you can take a week of vacation combined with 3-4 days of a workshop and the rest of the week for you and your family to enjoy however you wish. When you bring a spouse while they can't come to the workshop classes without paying for the workshop, they can come with us when we go out to all the shooting locations and enjoy everywhere we go, if they are willing to get up before sunrise and stay late for sunset everyday of the workshop. At the end of the workshop we will conclude with a presentation of everything all the students have done and spouses, friends and family are all welcome to attend that. They will be amazed at the quality of work you have generated yourself. Come join us on one of our next adventures.

Thanks Laura for letting me use your pictures in this blog. You are very beautiful and easy to photograph!

As always keeping looking for The Perfect Tyme to capture that killer image!

Kauai, Hawaii Workshop

2011-03-13T22:13:00.000-05:00

Kauai, Hawaii – January 27 - February 5, 2012

Join us as we are returning to the island of Kauai to capture the azure-blue ocean and lush green landscape of Hawaii. There is no place on earth more relaxing and enjoyable than Hawaii.

From the soaring cliffs of the Napali Coast to the vast chasms of Waimea Canyon, Kauai embraces the senses like no other destination You will discover 50 miles of heavenly beaches – from Piopu Beach to Hanalei Bay. Explore charming and historic towns like Hanapepe and Koloa, where no building is taller than a coconut tree. Come to Hawaii with us to capture the essence of paradise and learn the art of photography as you bask in one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

Waimea, an area situated on the western end of Kauai, offers history and as much adventure as you'd like. Waimea Canyon, nicknamed "Little Grand Canyon” by Mark Twain, is the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Waimea Canyon's vast views and its imposing stature share similarities with its mainland cousin, but this canyon has its own island personality. Waimea Canyon’s features envelop you with their grandeur, deep colors, and splendorous beauty. Yellow ginger, eucalyptus trees, Kauai's own mokihana berries, and other vegetation abound right up to the 3,500 foot elevation.

We’ll head to the spectacular Spouting Horn blowhole, one of the most photographed spots on Kauai’s South shore. Experience the ancient Hawaiian legend of the giant moo (lizard) that roared, its breath spewing as it guarded this Hawaiian coastline until a young boy outwitted and conquered the moo.

The Perfect Tyme Photography Workshop combines photography with a tropical vacation on romantic Kauai where you can extend your stay before or after the workshop. Although the workshop is Sunday through Wednesday, your discounted rooms at the fabulous Kauai Beach Resort.are available from the Friday before until the Sunday after the workshop Bring your spouse and stay the entire week, enjoying the romantic and tropical Kauai island. The entire island of Kauai is a fabulous spot for your vacation before and after this hands-on photography workshop.

When: January 27-February 5, 2012
Where: Kauai, Hawaii
Host Resort: Kauai Beach Resort

My Nikon D700 Camera Settings for All Occasions

2011-03-13T19:32:00.002-05:00

The newer DSLR cameras give you lots of capability to create unbelieveable professional images. For my D700, here are my settings that I use that provide me consistent image quality. The Nikon system allows you to setup and save your settings for the different types of photography you shoot. I will break down my basic settings that I use in all that I do, for you to try and consider. These are some of the fundamental things we discuss in every workshop, to help you get the most out of your camera!

For all shooting styles, I set Adaptive Dynamic Range (ADR) to Auto for everything I shoot and all conditions, except for shooting in a studio. I also use matrix metering and 3D focusing in most that I do, with few exceptions. I also use the following basic settings for all styles.

Color - Adobe sRGB colors for both landscape and for portraits
Image Size - Raw for landscape with 14 bit and Fine with 12 bit for everything else
Vignette Control - Normal
White Balance - Auto A3 for Landscape, Auto B1 or B2 for Indoor People (Non-Studio)

Most professional landscape photographers will set their white balance to "shade" to give it a warmer image, and you should too. In the end, what you like about your images is all that matters. Just make sure you get all that you can out of your camera, before you decide. The following is the process you should consider every time you take a picture.

Eric caught this little friend having an
afternoon snack in Costa Rica

First, once you focus on your subject and since we want perfectly sharp images (except for those situations that you intentionally want a blur), and before you click the release, if the focal length of your lens is 100mm you would want to use a shutter speed of twice that amount, i.e. 1/200 of a second to make sure there is no camera movement that would impact the sharpness of your image, then adjust your aperature. If you can't get a proper exposure with that shutter speed, increase the ISO to the point you can get correct exposure with the minimum shutter speed.

Eric caught a couple of Dolphins racing our boat, on our
deep sea fishing trip in Costa Rica

If images are still too dark or too light - change exposure compensation w/o changing anything else
If colors are not accurate - adjust white balance either warmer or cooler as needed
      Tungsten - makes image blue more than sunlight position
      Cloudy - warms up picture more than sunlight position (Auto A3)
      Shade - very warm - professional preferred choice for most situations (Auto A6)
If the contrast or saturation doesn't look right - then adjust picture controls

Here are the picture controls I use with this camera for a first start every time I go out to shoot any image:

Eric also captured this little friend out by the pool by our
house in Costa Rica, looking for a handout

Studio Settings
Contrast: Standard
Saturation: -1
Sharpening: 5
Hue: -1
ADR: Off

People Settings
Contrast: Standard
Saturation: +1
Sharpening: 5
ADR: Auto

Landscape & Everything Else
Contrast: Vivid
Saturation: +3
Sharpening: 5
ADR: Auto

Default Settings

Here is an image with my D700 camera set on its default Picture settings right out of the box for this landscape image and no color correction or anything in Photoshop, and the exact same exposure settings as used on the following image. Not a bad image if you didn't have anything to compare with, but perhaps a little dark. You could easily lighten it up with compensation adjustment.

Enhanced Settings

Here is the same image with this same D700 camera set as described above for this landscape image, only with Vivid +3 and white balance set to Shade or Auto A3. The colors are more vibrant, natural and the image is sharp.

Most newer digital cameras allow you to set and save these settings for easy changing from one style to another by the simple click of a button. Even the small pocket cameras can do some of this too, but their settings are pretty hidden within their menu selections.

Lori caught this little sloth sneaking
around our house at Costa Rica who
stopped to pose for the kids

These are the exact settings for the Nikon D700, however your camera may have similar settings for Contrast, Saturation, Sharpening, and White Balance. Find out what is the most pleasing for you and save your settings. Do not use landscape settings with vivid colors for people as they will look unnatural and your landscapes will look very bland when using the settings for people.

I have an upcoming wedding and here are the basic settings I will use with my flash unit for both inside and outside.

Wedding Camera Settings

Marti and me in Costa Rica on a Sunset
cruise with the same Outdoor settings
w/fill flash settings described herein,
that Garrett composed just perfectly.

Outdoors w/fill flash

Matrix Metering
ISO 200
Mid Range telephoto or 135mm fixed
SB 800 TTL BL, flash compensation -1
White Balance - flash B1 or B2

Indoors w/flash

Matrix Metering
ISO 400 or 800, as needed
SB 800 TTL, flash compensation 0
White Balance - flash, B1 or B2

Try these out and see if these small changes don't make a huge difference in your images.

Good luck chasing the light, and always keep an eye out for that Perfect Tyme for that killer image!

Photoshop Curves Adjustment Tool

2011-02-06T17:02:00.001-06:00

The Photoshop curves tool is the most amazing and useful image finishing tool within Photoshop, but is probably the most difficult to master for photographers new to Photoshop. It is the one single tool in Photoshop I will use on just about 99% of the images I process for printing. Since the art of photography is chasing the light at the time of capture and painting with light at the point of finishing the image, the curves tool is a critical tool in the photographer's toolkt to finish and enhance and even transform your images. The tonal qualities are what give the unique character to each image and curves is the tool to allow the photographer to mimic any film type.

The two most common curves used in curves are the S-curve and the inverted S-curve. The S curve adds contrast to the midtones whereas the inverted S curve does the opposite. Notice the changes in the histogram as well as how these changes influence the tonal qualities of the image. Curves lets the photographer better utilize the limited dynamic range you had to work with at the time of capture.

As Shot, Linear Curve

While our camera estimates the amount of light hitting each aspect of our subject(s) being captured, our eyes make their own adjustment to optimize visual sensitivity over the largest range of light. The camera has to apply its own tonal curve to the RAW file format in that each digital sensor has its own set of tonal curves when displaying images (gamma) that are proprietary to each camera manufacturer. Thus, using the curves tool, we can choose on our own to change what the camera sensor selected for what we believe creates a more realistic image that we actually saw with our own eyes. Thus, tonal curves are a must to properly finish each image prior to printing.

Keep in mind, that you can not add contrast in one tonal region of an image without decreasing it in another part of the image. Thus, to increase tonal contrast in the midtones, you decrease the contrast in the shadows and highlights. The photographer gets the final say to choose to spread contrast evenly (straight line diagonal curve) or by varying the slope in some manner, i.e. S-curve or inverted S-curve.

S Curve without Color Correction

In using the curves tool, there are 3 anchor points, one for shadows, midtones and highlights, in addition to the selection of the black and white points. Notice even minor movement of any of the anchor points makes major changes in the final image's tonal quality. Thus, small adjustments which produce smooth curves are how you should make changes in working with curves. You can also enlarge the curves window with the tab in the lower right hand corner which will allow fine tuning capability.

You can also choose various selections of tonal curves from the drop down box at the top as a starting place to see what you like about the impact on your image by each curve selection. If the histogram edges do not go all the way to the end of the total distribution, you will have unused tonal range that will minimize the trade off when trying to increase contrast by adjusting the black and white anchor points as done with the levels tool shown in a previous blog and this example. If gaps occur between tonal peaks, with curves you can decrease contrast in these unused tones, freeing up contrast to be spent on the midtones.

S Curve with Color Correction

Digital images may abruptly clip the highlights once the brightness reaches its maximum (255 for 8-bit images). This will create an unrealistic appearance in your image. Usually a smoother transition to white is preferred. The highlight transition can be made more gradual by decreasing the curve's slope at the upper right hand corner.

Color saturation can be greatly decreased by using the inverted S-curve and increased by using the S-curve. Changes in saturation may be desirable when brightening shadows, but in all other instances will be destructive to your image tonal quality.

Strong Contrast Drop Down

Another very important aspect of curves is to correct color balance. All the discussion prior to now have been using curve adjustments applied to RGB values, but they can also be used on each individual color channels to correct color casts. Changing the white balance or adjusting the overall color of one region of the image, would inadvertently be destructive to the other tonal qualities. The easiest way to color correct your images is to use the black eye dropper on the left of the curves module. Just click on the black eye dropper and touch it to a black portion in the image and you immediately color correct the image. You can also do the same with the white eye dropper if you actually have real white pixels to choose from. The most accurate of all to color correct is to have your subject hold a white-black-gray card image in one of your images to use in photoshop to color correct your images. Then use the eye dropper for each of the white, black and gray and just touch each respective eye dropper to the appropriate color on the WBG card in the image. Then you can save that setting to apply to all other images taken in the same lighting conditions.

Strong Contrast Drop Down

This one finishing adjustment is probably the only tool you must use to properly prepare each image for printing. You will see with each image an amazing difference and improvement in the tonal quality of your images. This is the one key element used by all professionals to obtain the tonal quality you see in their work.

Keep chasing the light for that Perfect Tyme!

Photoshop Level Adjustment Tool

2011-02-04T16:10:00.003-06:00

Levels is a tool in Photoshop which gives you the ability to modify the brightness level of an image's histogram. Since every photo's histogram is unique, there is no way to automatically adjust the levels for all your images you captured by the click of a button. A proper understanding of how to adjust the levels of an image histogram will help you to finish your image and better represent the tonal quality for your final image.

Today we are going to discuss some basic workflows you should plan to use with every image you want to try and finish in Photoshop. The first step in your workflow could begin by opening the raw or jpg image in Photoshop by simply selecting File-Open (CTRL O) and Browse to the location on your server or hard drive for the image you wish to work on. Once this image is viewable within Photoshop you can enlarge it to fill in the entire workspace by selecting View-Fit on Screen (CTRL 0) or CTRL + to zoom in or CTRL - to zoom out.

Then to create a new layer for the levels adjustment, go to the bottom of your layers panel on the right side of the Photoshop workspace, and select "Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer" and select "Levels". This will add a new layer for your levels adjustments without making changes on your original image. With the levels layer automatically highlighted after you selected it, the histogram will appear at the top of the layers panel. You can select from the drop down box, RGB for the composite, or each individual color channel, which you should do to determine if the highlights have been overexposed or blown out highlights by reviewing each individual channel.

Original Overexposed Image
(Notice the Blown Out highlights in upper left hand corner)

Please review a previous blog on how to analyze an image with histograms for more information about what specific information histograms are providing for us. If the histogram indicates the image is underexposed, you would see the black area not go completely over the to right side of the histogram. If the image was overexposed the black area would not only go all the way to the end of the right side of the histogram, but would show high values indicating serious over exposure of the highlights. In this image, you see a single line on the right hand side that indicates the image is overexposed. There is nothing you can do in Photoshop to fix this. If you had space on the right side where the image was underexposed you could drag the little White toggle switch directly under the right side of the histogram and drag it to the left until it meets the left edge of the black histogram data. Likewise if the left side of the histogram had black space on the left side you could drag the Black toggle switch directly under the left side of the histogram and drag it to the right until it meets the left edge of the histogram data. Once you have made those two adjustments, you can drag the center toggle to the left to lighten your image or to the right to darken to your taste as well as to add contrast to your image.

Thus, if when you were photographing your image you made compensation adjustments at the camera upon capture and dialed in negative compensation, your image here in Photoshop would show that the histogram data on the right side would not be all the way up next to the far right side of the graph. Then when you make the adjustments discussed above you could lighten up your image if it was too dark because of the compensation adjustment on the camera at the time of capture.

So with this image it was taken with no compensation, so it is overexposed, and the only thing I can do is darken or lighten the image and try to add some contrast to make it more interesting. Then I can click on the little "Eye" on the Levels layer to see my before and after changes. I can also click on "Levels 1" name and rename the layer or click on the Fill or Opacity toggles to allow me to control how much effect I want this layer and my adjustments to impact the final image.

Final Image
(Improved contrast but can't fix blown out highlights)

Then at this point, I normally save the image as a Photoshop image by going to File-Save As (PSD file) (SHFT-CNTRL S) so I can always go back and completely change the settings in the future if I wish as well as save the image as a jpg for posting on the web or emailing for others to easily see and view. When you save the images, try and rename them so you don't write over the original file. With all the changes in Photoshop, by not doing anything to impact your original image, you can always in the future go back to this image and completely redo the image in Photoshop with new tools that might be added in the future. If you save these changes over your original file, your original image is lost forever.

Try to make every effort to get that exposure right at the time of capture! Don't blow out the Highlights and forget to not make the compensation at the time of capture, in the hopes you can fix it in Photoshop later.

Have fun...Learn lots from every outing...Amaze yourself at how easy this is and the big difference it will make in your images when you apply these simple concepts every time you head to the field.

Have fun chasing the light to capture that Killer Image at the Perfect Tyme!

How to Use Histograms

2011-02-04T13:59:00.000-06:00

Marti and I were in Denali, Alaska one early fall several years ago, and we were riding on a train to get to the Denali park, and I saw a lady on the train with a very expensive Canon digital SLR camera with a huge telephoto lens and she was doing drive by photography with her camera clicking away as she held her finger down on the release button capturing hundreds of images of a single buffalo. I just wondered when I saw that thinking, who has the time to look at 100s of images to find one good one, when you could just take some time to capture one or two killer images. The sad part, is what if all you did is capture a 100 overexposed, blown out highlight images of the same thing. All of your images would just need to be trashed!!

To get perfect digital exposure you need to be accurate especially if using JPEG settings as apposed to RAW capture. SLR camera type metering is only technically accurate with an 18% gray card, because reflected readings require an 18% gray card. Incident meter readings rather than reflected, are best for portraiture since they read the light falling upon the subject and NOT reflected from the subject. For landscape photography we can get away using the metering within our camera, but it is helpful to consult our color histograms before we walk away thinking we have captured the perfectly exposed image because our camera metering said so.

No Highlight Clipping

Black Histograms

Let me start out by saying the most professional way to analyze an image is by viewing the image itself and not by totally relying on a histogram. A black only histogram is an option on most digital cameras to be a means or guide to evaluate exposure, but more importantly to identify over-exposure. It provides a measure of the amount of pixels all across the spectrum of black to white. Black is on the left and white is on the right of your B/W histogram graphic. The height of the graph represents the amount of pixels at each level of brightness. Darker images will move the graph more to the left, while brighter images will move it more to the right.

Clipped Highlights

Highlight Clipping

As mentioned the primary value of a black only histogram is to determine if any highlights have been clipped or washed out. Overexposure of an image may create an image with blown out highlights for which there is nothing you can do to improve or fix the image in Photoshop. When this happens the image has been irreversibly damaged. Thus, histograms provide a means to identify clipped or washed out highlights so that you can change the exposure or compensation settings and re-shoot the image to protect and enhance tonal qualities of your image.

When this occurs reduce exposure, by dialing in negative exposure compensation, anytime you see clipping and blown out highlights. If the image is too dark after making an exposure compensation adjustment then the dynamic range is too large to capture the image adequately. Thus, you will need to try and use graduated filters as discussed in a previous post or take multiple images and/or attempt to create an HDR image with the use of Photoshop also discussed in a previous post, anytime you have too large of a dynamic range to accurately represent the full tonal quality of the image.

If images are underexposed and too dark, compensation can be made in Photoshop to properly finish your image and lighten it up, by dragging the right slider bar in Photoshop's Level command to the left until it meets the edge of the histogram.

Color Histograms

Color histograms are actually three separate histograms, one for the red, green and blue channels which will help you more accurately determine the correct exposure. Just as looking at a single black histogram, with the color histograms, you want to look at each color histogram individually to make sure each histogram doesn't indicate an overexposed image before you can determine if the exposure is correct. Even when using cameras with a Highlight Warming System (HWS that blinks on your camera monitor showing the area(s) that are overexposed), those systems are typically looking at only one channel, so you could potentially be overexposed when the HWS doesn't indicate so.

White Balance

Correct Exposure

You can also read the white balance from a histogram. To do this, you need to take an image of an 18% gray card (fill the view finder completely with the grey card) under the same lighting conditions as the image you intend to photograph. You are neutral balanced if the spike appears in the same place in each individual color channel or the center of a black only historgram. Without using an 18% gray card, you can still evaluate the three individual color histograms, in that if all three stop at the same point on the histogram, then the image is balanced or neutral for the highlights. If you are shooting portraits, then you would want the spike to be dead center of the graphic to be perfectly exposed as if photographing an 18% gray image.

As discussed herein, getting the exposure right is NOT as simple as putting your camera on automatic and pushing the button to capture the image. When you have taken the time to go out and setup to capture the perfect image at the perfect tyme, you owe it to yourself to use ALL of your camera's features and capability to bring home a high quality image every time you snap the release. You will be impressed at your own work and others will be amazed at your work, if you make this kind of effort.

These steps only take a second or two, to make sure you got the image right, but avoiding them all together will more than likely still result in a "family vacation" looking photo, not matter how much effort you make in Photoshop.

See you out there one of these days when we are chasing the light for the Perfect Tyme.

Graduated Filters

2011-01-19T19:01:00.001-06:00

Image with Blownout Highlights

As we have mentioned previously in other blogs, digital images have exposure limitations and when you go beyond the range of your camera or film's dynamic range, you will literally have no pixel data and unfortunately an irreparable image. You can lighten up the dark parts of an image, but you can't do anything with blownout highlights. Using split grad neutral density filters is an easy fix to this problem of an image having a larger dynamic range than the camera or film's ability to capture.

Highlight Warning System in Photoshop
shows Highlight Problem Area

A graduated neutral density filter, also known as a graduated ND filter, split neutral density filter, or just a graduated filter, is an optical filter that gives the photographer the ability to vary the light transmission that the camera captures. It is used to tone down an overly bright part of a scene into the dynamic range of the fim or sensor in a digital camera. It can be used to darken a bright sky so that both the sky and subject can be properly exposed.

Neutral density filters are identified by numbers (0.3, 0.6, 0.9 by Lee and Tiffen) which tell you how many stops of light they reduce the brightness. You want to choose neutral density grads and NOT grey grads. Neutral density grads don't cause a color cast on the sky, whereas the cheaper grey grads will produce all sorts of unwanted colors. The old adage that you get what you pay for, is definitely true with regard to filters. For consistent results I recommend Lee Filters as the most widely used by professional landscape photographers. The one I use 90% of the time is a 0.6 ND soft grad.

ND Type Cokin, Hoya Lee, Tiffen
1-stop ND2, ND2X 0.3 ND

2-stop ND4, ND4X 0.6 ND

3-stop ND8, ND8X 0.9 ND

The purpose of using a ND grad filter is to control the exposure difference between the sky and the subject. To determine the strength of filter you need for a particular scene, you need to meter on the subject (landscape) filling up the frame without the filter. Then repeat this step pointing your camera or meter at the sky, filling the entire frame with sky only. The difference between these two readings indicates the strength of filter required. A one stop difference will require a 0.3 ND, a two stop a 0.6 ND and a 3 stop a 0.9 ND. The soft and hard feature just describes how abruptly the filter changes from darker to clear.

When you capture your image, you use the meter reading you took of the subject, when you set your manual exposure setting for the final image. This will allow you to capture a scene that has a range of 6-8 stops of light, with a camera that can only properly display 5 stops of light, without losing detail in either the shadows or the highlights. You can either hold the filter in front of the lens looking through the view finder to make sure you have placed it properly, or you can purchase a filter holder that attaches to the lens. I personally hold mine, because I am unwilling to buy a filter holder and/or adapters for all the various lenses I use and its another set of equipment I have to carry with me in the field. If your scene has in excess of 8 stops of light, your only choice then is using HDR methods in photoshop to merge mutliple images shot at different exposures into one composite image. I personally do not use any of the colored graduated filters, as they create unnatural color tone qualities in the images, in my opinion.

HDR Enhanced Image

ND Graduated Filters are a quick fix for images that have a bright sky peaking through the clouds and causing your Highlight Warning System to start blinking. You can use the combination of grad filters and exposure compensation on your camera to meet most needs in the field, especially if you are shooting early morning or late evening type of photography. During the noon or daytime hours you can easily be dealing with scenes with an excess of 10 stops of light, blownout highlights and/or no detail in the shadows, or both.

Pickup a 0.6 ND soft Lee filter at your friendly photography supplier, and try one out. If you like how it works, you can think about purchasing additional ones both soft and hard as well as the full range of stop coverage, and filter holders for ease of use, if you so desire. I think you will find it will make a world of difference in your landscape photography images. For the advanced photoshop users, HDR has come of age, and its many times easier to just take 3-5 images at varying exposure compensation adjustments, and merge them in photoshop than it is to mess with filters in the field. It used to be a fairly tedious process to do HDR in photoshop, but with the latest version of Photoshop (CS5) its pretty easy if you captured the images properly in the field.

Hope this helped you understand when and how to use ND grad filters on your next outing. The nice thing about digital cameras you can play with it in the field until you get exactly what you want from your image, as well as advance your knowledge and understanding of how best to use filters and their effect.

Keep in search of The Perfect Tyme for that killer image!

California Dreamin'

2011-01-17T15:15:00.000-06:00

While Marti had a work assignment in Los Angeles this weekend, I took the rent car and drove from Monterrey (Carmel by the Sea) to Malibu and tried to see what I could find along Hwy 1, listening to the Beach Boys blaring on my Iphone. What a gorgeous drive all along a two lane highway down the coastline. Here are a few samples of what I saw along the way.

Here is one of those easy sunset shots if you remember to meter your scene on the sky above the sun as mentioned in a previous post, which brings out all the colors so brilliantly. Actually, the sunset this particular evening wasn't that great, but by metering high in the sky, you can greatly enhance the colors of a less than exciting sunset.

Here is one of my favorite spots, with an old historic bridge just outside of Monterrey a few miles as you head south on Hwy 1. The timing was NOT perfect, in that a huge fog was over the entire area when I got there and I tried to wait for it to lift, but finally had to keep moving and this was all I had to work with. I will defintely want to come back and catch it another time when the light is just right!

Even when we try to capture our imges at sunrise and sunset, many times mother nature doesn't cooperate and we have to make the best of what we have to work with. If you can choose to come back another day when the conditions are more favorable, then you have a better chance of capturing the perfect image at the Perfect Tyme.

In this instance, which happens many times to all of us, you only have one chance to capture what you see and you have to work with conditions you are given. This is one of those where the HDR technique will have to be used, because the dynamic range is just too great for the camera.

This image shown herein is actually what I got right out of the camera without any photoshop work. I did capture multiple images at various exposures levels and when I come back to Houston I will see what I can do with it using the HDR techniques I also mentioned in previous posts and a technique we teach in each of our workshops.

The remainng images are just a few additional shots I saw along the way and had to stop and capture the memory and share them with you on our blog. The last one is a little friend I saw sunning on the beach when I distrubed him from his nap.

So take your camera everywhere you go, and be on the lookout for that surprising sunrise or sunset that pops up unexpectedly so you can capture a killer image just at the Perfect Tyme.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Highlight Warning System

2011-01-08T19:48:00.007-06:00

Take a look at this image and notice the loss of detail in the highlights, no tonal quality in the rest of the image and no detail on the tree. Even as a silhouette scene, the image's highlights are completely blown out and the sunset looks distorted. How could this have been prevented or corrected at the time of capture? This could have been a different image if the Highlight Warning System had been used.

In the first place what is a Highlight Warning System (HWS)? That is exactly what we are going to discuss in today's blog. Before digital cameras one had to mentally understand what will happen to our images each time we change the exposure settings for the lighting environment we are working in. The Highlight Warning System is a powerful feature on our new digital cameras which indicate the area of an image where exposure is beyond the capability of the camera. In this image it would have shown blinking lights in the white area surrounded by the orange sky, indicating the highlights are over-exposed or "blown out". On your digital camera you will have to go to your menu and make your monitor preview active with the HWS turned on. When this feature is activated you will visually be able to see where you have overexposed your image.

Digital images have exposure limitations just like conventional film and when you go beyond the latitude range of your camera or film, you will literally have no pixel data and unfortunately an irreparable image. You can lighten up the dark parts of an image, but you can't do anything with blown out highlights.

If you want to use a split grad neutral density filter, it’s an easy fix using your camera's monitor with HWS active. If your first image indicates you have blown out highlights, attach a split grad neutral density filter across the highlight problem area, and take another image. If you have no blown out highlights on your second image, then you have a perfect exposure.

An alternative way to make a correction for our blown out highlights, is to dial in exposure compensation to properly expose for the highlights. If after making the correction, you have no blown out highlights, then you have a correct exposure preserving all of your pixels. This may result in too dark of an image and lack of detail in the shadows. especially if you are out just before sunrise or after sunset, when low lighting conditions exist. If so, we could use the HDR method in Photoshop discussed on a previous blog to obtain a full tonal image, preserving all the highlight detail as well as in the shadows, by merging multiple images, or you could try a combination of both the split grad filter and exposure compensation to properly expose both highlights and shadows.

The HWS is a wonderful way to learn light and exposure as well as get high quality images every time you go out to capture the perfect scene at the perfect tyme.

Christmas 2010 in Decatur, Illinois

2010-12-31T16:07:00.001-06:00

Christmas 2010 was mostly an extended road trip from Houston to Decatur, Illinois. It began with a drive from Houston to Tulsa, to spend the evening celebrating with John (his wife Christi and daughter Sierra) and Lori (her husband Garrett, and their kids Ashley and Austin). Then with Eric and his significant other (Ashley) onboard we battled the holiday traffic to St Louis to pick up Mandi and Marti and then on to Decatur, Illinois to spend Christmas eve and day with Marti's (my wife) family, inluding her older brother Brian and his wife Debie, her mom Betty Watkins and daughter Mandi who flew in via St Louis, with Marti.

During this drive I saw temperatures drop form the 70's in Houston to the 40's in Tulsa to the 20-30's in Decatur. We were blessed with a white Christmas this year as it began snowing Christmas eve and didn't let up until it was time to return home.

Taking pictures with snow is a little difficult just using the automatic features in our cameras. To get the right color tones and exposure for a snow scene, you have to meter on a gray card or meter on the blue sky. In this case, the sky is not a blue, but rather an overcast gray sky. I tried metering on the sky but the image still looked underexposed, so I just added some over exposure with the compensation exposure adjustment on the camera. Wa La!! The snow looks white despite the gray skies. I also had to do the same with some corrective overexposure to get warmer colors for this squirrel having Christmas dinner in a nearby tree. You can also fix these images in photoshop with just minor color correction and everything will look as we saw it when we looked through the view finder.

Well from all of us to all of you, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

The Rule of Thirds

2010-12-20T23:02:00.002-06:00

The most basic principle of composition is the ‘Rule of Thirds‘. It is one of the first things that artists learn in their studies, as it is a core principal for well balanced and interesting images, whether viewing paintings or photographs. The basic premise is to imagine breaking an image into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 squares, 3 rows wide by 3 rows high. Some cameras actually have a grid that can be turned on, and for newbees, I would suggest doing this, just so it makes you stop and think about how best to compose your image every time you look through the view finder. Even some of the small point and shoot cameras also have this option of turning on a grid.

The ‘rule of thirds’ helps identify four important parts of the grid where you should consider placing points of interest, as you frame your image. The theory is that if you place points of interest at the intersections or along the lines, and your image becomes more balanced, and this will enable the viewer to interact with the image more naturally. Studies have shown that when viewing images, people’s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points more naturally than the center.

In addition, keep the 'rule of thirds' in mind as you edit your images. Post production editing have great tools for cropping and reframing images such that they fit within the rules. In fact the latest version of Photoshop, CS5, has the 'rule of thirds' grid come up automatically when you access the cropping tool.

Taking this one aspect of composition into account, will have a significant impact on your photos looking more professional. This principal will hold true whether capturing landscapes, wildlife or portraits. Try it the next time you are out and about, or just shooting your friends and family at Christmas.

Keep searching for the perfect tyme, to capture that killer image!

Thanksgiving 2010 - Big Cedar Lodge with the Crafts

2010-12-19T18:23:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving 2010 was a special time spent with our long time Tulsa friends where we stayed at Big Cedar Lodge in southern Missouri. As we drove across Arkansas and into Missouri we came across this interesting old one lane bridge and had to stop and take a moment to capture it. It was a cold brisk late afternoon as we came upon it, but it was so tranquil as we stared across the river hearing the breeze blow through the trees. Even with Marti's little Sony pocket camera, it has outstanding tonal quality and a lovely memory with only a color correction in photoshop to warm it up a little bit.

This is typical of what we all come across in our vacation travels where it is not the right lighting conditions, we are without our best camera equipment and we have a nice little image worthy of capturing. The sunlight above the mountain top is just difficult to deal with for this image, which results in blown out highlights no matter what you do. If you meter on the scene without the sky and pull up to include the sky, you will be faced with even more blown out highlights than shown. We had no filters to be able to calm down the bright sky, so this is the best we can do with the conditions we were dealt. Composition is not what we would strive to accomplish, in honoring the rule of thirds having the upper 1/3 of the view finder filled with the sky, but this was the compensation we made to minimize the bright light effect. If we had a tripod we could have taken 3 images with different exposures and then merged them together in photoshop for a great looking shot, but unfortunately we didn't have the proper equipment to handle the lighting conditions for this scene.

So what's the moral of the story, never leave home without an SLR digital camera and a tripod with a release cable. With just this minimal amount of equipment you can take great images in just about any lighting circumstance.

Keep chasing the light.....but always be prepared!!

Bryce Canyon, Utah

2010-12-15T03:54:00.000-06:00

Bryce Canyon, Utah - October 23-26, 2011

Come join us as we are headed back to Bryce Canyon in southern Utah! Bryce Canyon, a visual explosion of red, orange, and white geologic features, is a special place to me. A national park, Bryce Canyon is a giant natural amphitheater carved along the Paunsaugunt plateau by wind, water, and ice erosion. The vast expanse of vibrantly-colored hoodoos provides spectacular views for visitors and landscape photographers.

Settled by Mormon pioneers in the 1850s, Ebenezer Bryce homesteaded in the area in 1874. The amphitheater, about 100 yards from the Bryce Canyon Lodge, is easily accessible and beckons visitors from around the world to revel in its stunningly-beautiful majestic view.

Accommodations have been arranged at a discounted rate at a spacious and well-appointed hotel near the park. The discounted rate applies from Friday before the class begins to the following Sunday of the weekend after the classed ends if you prefer to extend your stay in the area. Lodging may also be available at Bryce Canyon Lodge, but like most national park lodges, availability is often scarce.

You may choose to extend your trip by travelling to Zion National Park, where the landscape is completely different from Bryce – and just as beautiful. The entire area of southern Utah is a fabulous spot for a vacation, from Moab to Bryce Canyon to Zion, with each offering a surprisingly different view of nature in all her glory. Because Bryce Canyon is most easily accessed from Las Vegas, you may decide head indoors, relax and enjoy the casinos for a day or two as well. Thus, you have many options to enjoy and experience while you are here for a photography workshop.

When: October 23-26, 2011
Where: Bryce Canyon, Utah
Host Resort: Best Western Bryce Canyon Grand

Landscape & Wildlife Photography Workshops

2010-12-15T03:09:00.003-06:00

The Perfect Tyme Landscape &
Wildlife Photography Workshops

Combines the Art of Photography with the Joy of Travel

Perfect Tyme Landscape & Wildlife Photography offers photography enthusiasts a unique opportunity to travel to fabulous locales, photograph world class images, and learn how to become an expert with Photoshop. Traveling only to exotic and unique locales, the Perfect Tyme Photography & Wildlife Workshops are the only digital workshops of their kind, taking a complete digital lab to each location to maximize your shooting and learning experience.

Designed for premier on-location photography and hands-on digital enhancement of your photos, photo shoots will be held at daybreak and sunset, capturing the best lighting conditions to create a majestic backdrop for your image. Each shooting opportunity is planned to maximize the learning experience as well as provide each participant with “take home” images that will rival the professionals.

During mid-day, the least-favorable lighting environment, you will learn how to enhance your images with Photoshop. The workshop is not a school experience, so while we will get up before sunrise each day and stay out past dark, you can choose to participate in whatever you wish. The class is designed to help you enjoy your time and improve your photography skills, not to be a harsh task master.

Everyone has a story to tell, a passion to promote, and each of us sees the world through a unique set of eyes. When you look through the camera lens, what do you see? What stirs your heart? What story do you want the world to see through your eyes? Photography provides a stage…to share your vision and heart with others. What do you see when you look at the world?

Shooting Locations

Each day we will take you to a memorable location, and you will be able to shoot anything you wish. I will try to give you some insights before you arrive, to prepare you to identify interesting shots to capture. My main goal is to provide you with a wide variety of photographic tools so when you are out on your own, you have all the tools necessary to capture the passions of your heart to share with others. At the same time, I hope you will capture some “killer” images of a lifetime in addition to learning professional tips of the trade at the workshop.

At the various shoots, I will assist you with setting up your shot. You may set up your tripod right next to mine, adjust your camera settings the same as mine, and even to look through my view finder to see if you have captured the “image” as I have, if you wish. I have no secrets to guard or inflated pride of authorship of what I see. While other professional photographers might distance themselves from class members and not share their camera settings, I will share my knowledge, settings, and perspective to help you capture some fantastic images and learn how to repeat the process after you return home.

I can’t control the weather, so day to day, I will adjust our plans and locations for shooting based upon the conditions presented. But even the worst weather conditions often provide better images if we get out there and catch the moment when others aren’t willing to go. I won’t cancel a shoot for bad weather, but I might change locations because of light conditions.

Photoshop Classes

Afternoons will be devoted to enhancing the images you took on location. Using Photoshop software, a premier tool of all commercial art businesses, on your personal laptop, we will enhance the images you captured from the previous location shoot. This doesn’t mean we will use digital magic to make bad pictures look great, even though that is possible to some degree with Photoshop. Rather, we will use Photoshop to “finish” your images so they capture a viewer’s interest.

Ideally, of course, our goal is to capture the perfect image every time we shoot on location without the need to enhance the photo. Thus, we will work on improving your professionalism as a photographer at the time of capture, capturing the perfect image with slow, deliberate, and painstaking care. As you learn to set up each shot on location and maximize the quality of the image without Photoshop, you will be well on your way to creating professional-quality images with every image you capture.

Reservations

Class sizes at these world-class travel destinations are limited based upon each particular destination and fill up quickly, especially the popular float-plane Alaska trip for bear photography that is limited to 10 people. Once a scheduled workshop is filled, there will be a waiting list in the case someone’s workshop reservation is canceled. The highly-rated and unique Alaskan bear photography trip is sure to be full early, so be sure to enroll before January 1, 2011 to secure your place.

Keep looking for that Perfect Tyme

Nikon D3X vs Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark III

2010-12-12T13:35:00.004-06:00

The 24MP Nikon D3X and 21MP Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark III are the two premier professional cameras at this moment in time, but they also come with the highest price tags, second only to the 39MP Hasselblad H3D-II.

Nikon D3X

First, Nikon is most always preferred by photographers over Canon, primarily because of Nikon's responsiveness to the professional community. Both camera bodies of these two cameras being compared, are each capable of producing amazing images, only limited by the lenses used. Sharpness is one of the most important characteristics of professional work, so it is imperative if you wish to purchase an expensive camera, you must also purchase high quality lenses that may cost more than the cameras themselves.

Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark III

Let me say right now, it is more important that you spend your money on high quality lenses than camera bodies, if you really want to see a profound difference in your images. All of the new digital SLR cameras by both companies will give you unbelievable images if used with high quality lenses. The photographers whose professional credability is distinguised by the tonal quality and sharpness of their images, require both a high end camera and a high end lens.

If you are not making a living from photography but desire to have high quality images for your own personal use, good lenses with either Nikon or Canon's cameras will accomplish your objectives. The distinguishing aspect between Nikon and Canon for professional use is the ease of use and Nikon with all of its lenses and camera bodies receives highest honors, in my opinion. This difference is minor, if you are not living with your camera in every day professional useage.

Hasselblad H3D-II

There are several wonderful cameras several notches down from these two that can be purchased for thousands of dollars less and still provide outstanding image quality, again if combined with high quality lenses. Both Canon and Nikon are coming out with newer versions of these two that will rival the Hasselblad 39 MP camera, and when they do, the two camera bodies I am comparing herein, will be available at a discount to the current price. Waiting for the new arrivals to hit the market might be a great buying opportunity for a very high end camera.

In conclusion, it is my opinion, that the Canon EOS-1 Ds Mark III has a slightly lower noise level, but this is unimportant if the images are out of focus, the camera is more difficult to use when you can get similar results out of a Nikon D3X using high end Nikon lenses with a 3 MP difference to boot. Neither of these compare to the Hassleblad in price or quality, as long as you are not concerned about flexibility and not dealing with fast moving shots. I think the D3X is the best thing there is on the market today that provides easy of use, outstanding repeatability, and the ability to move quickly, focus and shoot in any kind of possible scenarios. It is a workhorse for the professional photographer providing speed, accuracy, and ease of use for everything from weddings to sports and outstanding portraiture.

Try one out as a demo and see the difference yourself, in your search for the Perfect Tyme for that perfect shot!

HDR for Environments Beyond 5 stops of Light

2010-12-11T19:20:00.003-06:00

The technical balance of all three basic camera settings (aperature, shutter speed, and ISO) are required for a properly exposed image. A human eye can see 10-12 stops of light while a camera can only see 5 stops. This is the reason most images we take with our camera, later do not appear as we saw them with our eyes. With the camera limitation of 5 stops of light in an environment that displays twice that level, your image will either have the highlights blown out or no detail in the shadows. You have to think about how you intend to deal with the range of light you are trying to photograph. If you properly expose the shadows, the high lights may be blown out and result in a major distraction in your picture and destroy the quality of your image.

It is always best to catch the light in early mornings just before sunrise and just after sunset because the number of stops of light is closer to the range of the camera's capability, the images have higher quality due to the contrast as well as the quality of the light is so much more flattering at those times of the day. You can attempt to compensate when capturing an image at more harsh lighting conditions, using a Split Density (SGND) filter or you can use HDR techniques in photoshop, which is the topic I will discuss in this blog.

In order to use HDR in photoshop, you must capture the exact image multiple times to give photoshop the ability to merge the best lighting qualities from each individual image. Here is how to capture your images. 1) setup your camera on a tripod with highlight warning active, locked on the image you wish to capture; 2) set your focus to manual and not autofocus; 3) do not adjust your zoom lens between shots, if used, as focus and focal length must remain the same for each image captured; 4) take your first exposure to obtain your shadow detail (take as you normally would using your camera's exposure or light meter recommendations. The blinking areas from your Highlight Warning system, are the blown out highlights; 5) to capture an image with the highlight detail, adjust in 1-2 stops of "minus compensation" such that the blinkies have gone away and take another image; 6) if the blinkies still exist with the last compensation adjustment, keep taking additional exposures with additional "minus compensation" until the blinkies have completely gone away. Use only exposure compensation to underexpose your image and DO NOT change your aperature as decreased exposure by that means, will shift your focus point or depth of field. You can choose to use all of the images you took with your camera in photoshop or just the first and last images. The more images, the more time it will take for photoshop to merge the images into one perfect image, but not necessarily provide you with a better image. I always try first just using the first and last to see if I like what photoshop has done.

Once in photoshop we will combine the images to retain both the highlights and the shadow detail into one image. In our workshops we will go through step by step how to capture and then process your images in photoshop using its HDR capability, but for you that want to try it out now here are some of my starting points to try out. Keep in mind these don't necessarily work for all image types. Here are my typical starting points. Adjust color vibrance to about 60% and Saturation to about 50%. Open the curves tab and create a reverse S curve to darken down the sky and lighten up the shadows. If you zoom in on the image and see any distortion back down the detail slider. If you have an unwanted glow around any focal points within the images you might want to decrease the strength. Then click OK and photoshop will merge the images.

Then you need to go to HDR Toning as a secondary step for enhancing your HDR images. You can crank up detail, radius, strength and shadow sliders to your personal taste. Then use the preview button to see what changes you have made by comparing the original to the new and make additional adjustments as required.

It is amazing the difference you can make in your images that otherwise would be difficult to capture with the lighting conditions you may have been forced to accept.

Keep chasing the light even though it is often illusive.

Wildlife Photography in the heart of Bear Country

2010-12-04T16:22:00.006-06:00

Here is our premier workshop for next year and I promise it will be sold out by January 1, so if you want to go please don't hesitate to call right now....713-502-9235 to make your reservation!!!!

Homer, Alaska – June 4-11, 2011

Wildlife adventure is the heart of our trip to Homer, Alaska, where we focus on photographing bears in Katmai Park. Two small groups of just five workshop participants will experience the real Alaska! Your bear-viewing adventure begins as you take off in a float plane two days in a row to find and photograph bears. Check out what others have said about this adventure of a lifetime on Trip Adviser – only your trip will be even better as we focus on capturing professional images for you to keep forever.

Specifically chosen during the spring when the salmon are running and the bears are active, we maximize your opportunity to photograph bears fishing in the river as we sit on the nearby banks, watching mothers teaching their young cubs to fish and forage in the lush Alaska landscape.

This bear-photography adventure will be led by myself along with Craig & Sarah, Emerald Air’s experienced pilots and guides. We will have the floatplane secured for just our group!!

Accommodations have been arranged for Workshop participants only to stay at Majestic View, a highly-rated, 5-bedroom Bed & Breakfast. Guests of Majestic View have praised hostess Maria’s outstanding accommodations and “to die for” breakfasts. As you relax in the hot tub at Majestic View, you are almost sure to see Moose and their young grazing on the grounds nearby during this time of the year.

The back-to-back workshops run the first week of June 2011. The first workshop begins Saturday afternoon, June 4 and ends with a final banquet Tuesday night, June 7, with guests departing after breakfast on Wednesday, June 8. The second workshop begins Wednesday afternoon, June 8 and ends with a final banquet on Saturday night, June 11, with guests departing after breakfast on Sunday, June 12.

Although we focus on bears during this workshop, Homer, the Halibut capital of the world, also offers world-class fishing and other spectacular scenery, including Kachemak Bay, Alaskan glaciers, and "Ring of Fire" volcanoes in the Cook Inlet – each is a perfect backdrop for a photographic experience to remember and treasure. Come with us to Alaska where you will have the adventure of your life and images for a lifetime.

When: First Class - Sat-Tue – June 4-7, 2011

Second Class -Wed – Sat – June 8-11, 2011
Where: Homer, Alaska
Host Lodge: Majestic View B&B

Autopilot and Sunsets

2010-12-01T03:21:00.000-06:00

My wife has a great little Sony Cyber-shot which she wanted because it was small and cute and fits easily in her purse. In fact that little sucker is a 13.6 mega pixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lense, but none of that is impressive or especially interesting to her. She doesn't want to know how or why to set the aperature or shutter speed for the right exposure. She just wants to pull it out of her purse and put it on "Program" and shoot the picture....its just that simple. Then she asks when she takes a picture of a sunset, why did my picture turn out so ugly....this camera is worthless she cries!

Well for those of you that are into Program mode only photography at least take this small advice to greatly improve your sunset shots. When you see that beautiful orange sunset over the mountain top and you are just admiring the beauty of it all, put your camera on program mode and instead of pointing it at the sunset scene, point it up in the sky above the orange sunset and push the button half way down to set the exposure and while you are holding the button part way down locking in the exposure settings, lower the camera to show the mountain with the sunset and when composed the way you like it, continue to push the button the rest of the way down to take the image.

Wa La...what a beautiful image with brilliant colors that just jump off the page. So you ask why did that make such a difference? Well the camera's computer sees that bright light in the picture so it shuts down the lens to let less light in so when you take the picture you see the mountains or landscape but the highlights are blown out. If you meter only on the sky then it will have the correct exposure for the sky so that when you lower the camera the sunset will come out great but the rest of the scene will be dark or a silhouette type image. Since the sunset is what you want to capture, you need to meter on the sky rather than the landscape.

Photography is very simple. Its all about the light and do you want to see the shadows or the highlights of the scene, or maybe both. Sometimes you have to choose which is more important as to what it is you are trying to capture in your image. If you expose for the shadows so you see the detail in the darker part of the image, you may have the highlights blown out, and this is something you can't fix in photoshop or with your printing lab. Your picture is just going to be a disaster! If you expose for the highlights, then you won't have blown out pictures, but they maybe darker than you want in the shadows, where you don't see much detail. That's why you have to start thinking about taking it off "Program" to give you some flexibility to get better quality photos. We will talk about how to do this more in future blogs.

Enjoy chasing the light....that's what it is all about!

My First Post

2010-12-01T01:47:00.000-06:00

Well if Rhonda can do it, why can't I...

Welcome to my new blog, The Photography Workshop. This will host the activities associated with our photography workshops that will travel across North America to some of the most scenic locales you can imagine. First off, we are going to Homer Alaska to shoot grizzly bears in the wild and its set for June, 2011. Don't miss it as only 10 can go and it will fill up fast!! We will be sending out an early notice brochure this next week that will outline our 2011-12 schedule and what you can expect from all of our great adventures. Then on January 1, 2011 we will post the official schedule to our website, www.theperfecttyme.com for the public to be aware of our schedule. Email me at mike.cherry@theperfecttyme.com, if you would like to be added to our mailing list or to obtain more information about our workshops.

This blog is designed to also provide you with advice on camera equipment, how to use it, and how to turn your ordinary vacations photos into "killer" images you can display in your home or office and amaze your friends and family. Each workshop will consist of sunrise and sunset photo shoots when the "light is right" and then go indoors for photoshop classes when the "light is bad". Each workshop will take you to places you always wanted to visit, but were too afraid to go by yourself. And each workshop will blow your mind with the unbelievable vistas you will experience.

I will try and offer instructive advice with future posts and hope you find this blog interesting as well as informative. I look forward to posting the daily (hopeful) or weekly (more likely) blogs.

Keep chasing the light!!!