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Quite literally! I guess this past week I have been shooting a lot of "motion" shots. I didn't really realize until I picked a few shots for this post and thought..wow, out of the past five days, three of them I've shot photos that depict movement or motion....interesting. So in light of these ideas, I know proclaim this week "Speed Week"...in my world anyhow. I set up the skateboard shot on Monday, first I found some fresh pavement so that the ride would be as smooth as possible, then I set my camera to Aperture Priority, chose an F-stop that allowed me to have a shutter speed that would be less than 1/10 of a second..and then I just fired away until I found the composition and blur that I liked. Finished it off in post with some contrast to the pavement and clouds, then converted to Black and White..and done! Next!!
The train shot was fairly simple as well. Same scenario as above, but I just panned with the train as it sped by. In an ideal world I would have liked to get at least part of the train in focus, but I think my shutter speed was a bit too slow for this attempt, and the whole thing is pretty blurry. I still like the shot though, the colors and composition make me smile. Enjoy!
Photos: Nikon D90, 10.5mm f/2.8, 17-55mm f/2.8
I know, and have met quite a few photographers in the short time that I have been shooting, and, for the most part, we all have one thing in common.... We're "Gear Heads" or "Gear Junkies". If there is a new camera body, or lens, we know about it, and know the specs before it even hits the shelf. We've read a blog from a "Pro" who has been shooting with it or using it for months, and we just have to have it..or we really want it. For most of us, those are just pipe dreams, but for those with untold amounts of cash, they get whatever they want, while the rest of us drool. I'm no different. I love gear, I love techie things, if it's got "bits and pieces", I want to know what those "bits" are, and how those "pieces" work. I personally am not yet a "Pro", or a "working photographer"..but who knows, someday my path may come to a crossroads where I get to take that road. In my "normal" job, I work with gear everyday, climbing gear to be specific. Climbing and outdoor gear. There are just as many "needs" and "wants" in that business too, but luckily, through my job, I've gotten over that stage of the industry.
Now..."where the @%*$ is he going with this?" is what you may be asking..Here we go... Over the past few months, the geniuses at Adobe have been releasing small videos of the upcoming features of their new Creative Suite, CS5. Being the nerd that I am, I've been keen to check out the new technology. A few weeks ago, Adobe officially released CS5 to the masses, and now it's glorious tools are available to the whole world.
The first day it came out, I was there.. at adobe.com downloading the trial version of Photoshop CS5 Extended to check it out to see if it will be worth adding my desktop on a permanent basis. There are two things specifically that I wanted to check out, Content Aware Fill, and HDR Pro. Content Aware Fill is an amazing new tool that will allow you to select any part of your frame, say a tree that's in the way of a mountain, and then you use the Fill Dialog Box (Shift+Backspace (PC)), select Content-Aware, and within seconds, BLAM, the tree is gone and you have a seamless mountain. WOW..the first few times I used it I was blown away. It took a little bit playing around with to get good at making the proper selection for each "problem", but the results are amazing considering that it would take most people much longer to get that done by various other methods.
Second was the HDR Pro tool. I'm a huge user of blending images together. I make grungy images from the city, and I bracket my landscape shots most of the time to get the best tonal range. For the past few years I've been using Photomatix Pro, and I love it. I have recently started using Photomatix's "Fuse Exposure" method, to blend my images, and, for landscapes, I find I get much more realistic looking images, and people say "Oh...that's an HDR?" and that's the response I'm going for. I have only done a few tests with the HDR Pro, but so far...I'm sticking with Photomatix.
Above is a comparison of an image that I originally didn't like, and was not going to edit, until I got CS5 and used Content Aware. The difference is amazing. The first problem was that I was trying to handhold my ND filter in front of my Blue/Gold Polarizer, and you can see the filter and my finger in the shot. With a quick selection around the problem area, a few seconds wait..presto.. problem fixed. Second, was a big grease spot on my sensor....just as simple, and fixed quicker.Third was the tree..totally blocking that beautiful mountain in the distance. Stupid tree...wait a minute... Content Aware Fill to the rescue...ahhh Fixed!! So there ya go, an image that was on it's way to the trash was saved by technology. And that brings me to my final point, and the point of this whole post, that I have been planning and thinking about for days now, which is.. Is this even a photograph anymore?
I love filters, I have no problem with blending exposures to get the best tonal range the scene provides, but using Photoshop to fix stuff that should just be avoided in the first place. I don't know how I feel about that. I would never alter an outdoor scene to make an image better, I want to bring the beauty of the land to people through my photos, but never at the cost of damaging that place. So does it make me more "environmental" if I just "remove it in post"? All I'm getting at is that I don't want to see this technology abused by people who know how to use a computer, and don't want to put the time into learning to take proper pictures in the first place. I for one will always enjoy an image that was created and captured "on location" or "as I remember it", before I take the time to learn to be a better "Photoshopper". That's my rant for today..and most likely the last one for a long time! I for one will most likely not be upgrading to CS5...but it's mostly due to the fact that I don't have the money right now....I'll need a new camera before I'll need new software!
PS...in case anyone is wondering...the last image was did not touch CS5. It is three images blended in Photomatix Pro, then I added a little saturation and contrast. I also used a Polarizing Filter, and a 2 stop ND Grad Filter.
That's the title of a Neil Young song that I really like, Dave Matthews did a cover of it when I saw him and Tim Reynolds in Las Vegas a few years ago. It's great song, look it up, but I think because of the lyrics my wife isn't the biggest fan. Oh well, I still like it. I found this little Crocus down by the river at Tekarra Lodge, just south of town. It's the first of the spring flowers I've seen this year. That's not really surprising though, as it got pretty cold for a couple weeks, after a long warm spell.
This other shot is another one of those "just off the highway" shots. I'm so lucky to live in this park. I need to pinch myself some days, to make sure I take in the beauty of the land, and make sure I don't take it for granted. It's moments like this though, watching the water rush by, hearing nothing but birds and rapids, that I really feel like I'm capturing the essence of the land. Maybe not everyone can feel it, but these are feeling that I'll have with my forever, and can only hope that viewers get a glimpse of that in my photos. Only time will tell....
After the seminar ended, and the weather cleared, I decided to skip dinner and go for a drive. I had never been through Highway 40, in Kananaskis Country, before, so that's where I headed. At first you head East of Canmore, and think "So I should have stayed in the mountains", but then you turn down the highway, and withing a few kilometers, you're right back in the middle of the mountains, and it's beautiful! I was blown away. It's still pretty brown and "spring like" there right now. I didn't have the time to hike around to look for spring flowers or anything like that, but the scenery alone was great. I'll definitely be making a summer and a fall trip down here.
While at the SNAP seminar I purchased a book by Darwin Wiggett called "How to Photograph The Canadian Rockies". It's a great little pocket sized book that highlights all the great photo stops from Kananaskis to Jasper, with a little bit of B.C. in there as well. I had picked up a few free maps when in Canmore, and marked all the spots from the book, so when I head down later this year I'll know where I'm going, and not miss a photo op due to poor directions...smart thinking..I know!
On the way home I made the trip up the Bow Valley Parkway, or the old #1 Highway, to avoid some construction, and have the road to myself pretty much. I stopped at a great little pull out called Morant's Curve, which was made famous in the 40's by a photographer, Nicholas Morant, who was hired by CP Rail to photography the rail system in the Canadian Rockies. I think I lucked out at this spot, in regards to my timing. Shortly after I set up and had the proper exposure figured out, no more than 10-15 minutes passed and a train came down the tracks! Lucky day for me! I'm sure I'll be back to this spot in the future as well!
So I've been back from the SNAP Seminar for a few days now, back to work, and back to reality. I had a pretty good time at the course, there was lots of material covered, all kinds of different subjects, from what gear the Pros used and why, to how to get published in a magazine, and lots of shooting tips and info along the way. Overall the atmosphere of the whole thing was really light, there were lots of jokes between the speakers, and with the crowd, and a fair bit of humor within the show itself. That was nice to see, as the last thing you want to do at a first time seminar is intimidate everyone there, that will never help to sell out future seminars.
I think I got the most from a section Sam did on The Use of Composition and Design. It was all about the use of tones and colors in your compositions, as well as the use of lines, shapes, patterns, textures, and perspective to add more strength to your photos. Overall it was great time, and I would probably do it again! An added bonus was that I got out to shoot a bit while I was there, the first day I spend the sunrise at Vermillion Lakes, but the sunrise was less than spectacular, so I shot some Ice Detail shots, seen above. And at the top of the post, you can see the storm moving in on Saturday afternoon, which hung around until Sunday morning, so I didn't do much shooting that night or next day. More in another post....
That's right... I'm off for a couple days for a bit of a photography learning experience. I'm headed to Canmore, AB to attend the SNAP Photography Seminar, with Darwin Wiggett, John E. Marriott, and Samantha Chrysanthou. The course will cover everything from shooting in the field, down to the nuts and bolts about the business side of photography, with a few fun things thrown in I`m sure. Seeing as I'm only getting started on the business side, that is what I'm most excited to learn about, but being around a few seasoned pros can only bring good things to your craft if you`re open minded and willing to try some "outside of the box" ideas.
On another note... It seems that tomorrow will mark the end of my 1st year blogging!! And I'm still doing it! I was looking back through some posts the other day and it brought back some memories of the past year, which was cool, and I've learned a few things along the way as, I think. So here's to another year, maybe a few extra readers this year, and lots and lots more photography! Cheers!!
I saw a photo this morning that reminded me of one that I shot last fall, shortly after I got my 70-200 f/2.8 lens, and I decided that I wanted to rework it to try a new technique that I've been playing around with the past few weeks. I think I like it, but I'm not sure if the effect would work on all photos, I know I've found a few that were better off left alone. This one I like though.
Photo: Nikon D90, 70-200 f/2.8 VR
