My wife wanted to go out today to buy a few annuals for some of the flower gardens around the house. Naturally I thought this would be a great opportunity to capture some quick images of flowers and I volunteered to go with her. I know…I know…typical husband with an ulterior motive! I grabbed one of my Nikon 1 J5’s, popped on a 21mm MOVO extension tube and the 1 Nikon 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 lens, and we headed out to a few of the area nurseries. [Read more…]
Dissecting My Favorite Photos from 2015 – Part III
In the previous two parts (I & II), I describe the careful planning involved in creating those images. Sometimes, however, with some luck, elements and light come together in several ways, (often unexpectedly), and create lasting, memorable moments. During those moments, it helps to stick to the basics, follow the light, and let your heart do the work. This third installment describes the amazing two hours I had at Sandy Stream Pond in Baxter State Park. I created 3 of my favorite images from last year in that short duration- it was like being a kid in a candy store. Please read on for the description.
A Study in Vision, Light and Shadows
Three years ago, when I made my first photo tour through the magnificent landscapes of Iceland, I fondly recall an interesting dinner discussion with my fellow photographers. We had just returned to our guest house from a memorable photo shoot. As we shared good wine, food, and laughs, the discussion pleasantly turned to photography. After the seemingly prosaic and obligatory discussion of camera gear, we got around to more interesting topics such as light, travel destinations, and our individual exploits. One pleasant, wise, and well-traveled gentleman from Holland made an interesting comment that has resonated with me ever since. With a blend of delight and amusement, he said, and I paraphrase him:
How to Calibrate Dell Wide Gamut Monitors
In the past, hardware calibration feature was limited to premium wide-gamut models from companies like NEC or Eizo. Those models offer wide gamut, great uniformity and advanced calibration features…but at a fairly high price. Affordable wide gamut solutions with hardware calibration started in 2013 with Dell and after that other companies like LG, BenQ and Samsung begun to offer “similar” products with more or less success. It is important to point out that LG and Samsung wide gamut models cannot be properly calibrated internally with the i1Display Pro colorimeter using their software and the same applies to some BenQ models like SW2700PT and its Palette Master Elements software. The main issue with those models is that they bundle an outdated X-Rite SDK (Software Development Kit) in their software without GB-LED support, which is the current main* (see the footnote at the end of the article below) LED wide gamut backlight technology. Hence, their software won’t get accurate readings, which in turn leads to inaccurate calibration. The BenQ PG2401PT and its Palette Master software, on the other hand, come with proper GB-LED support.
Chasing the Light
More than any other fundamental aspect of photography, light is at the heart of every image you take. Without light, photography cannot exist; it is the foundation of every image, giving shape and meaning to each scene in your viewfinder. Personally, as a landscape photographer, my photographic decisions are shaped more than anything else by the lighting conditions that I encounter. From a soft mist to a dramatic sunset, whether at a mountain or a desert valley, my preferred approach to photography is simple: chase the light.
Captured by the Light: Book Review
You can tell by the photos of this book that it went through a lot of use in my hands. Back when I just started learning about wedding photography, I literally slept with this book left on my face. I figured it was only fair enough I added a review of Captured By The Light by David A. Ziser into the small stack of book reviews at Photography Life.
Nikon 1 J5 ISO-6400 test images at Bird Kingdom
I had a small break in my hectic schedule today and I used it to spend a bit of time at Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls capturing some high ISO test images with my Nikon 1 J5. While I wouldn’t normally use ISO-6400 for all of my images purposely, I did so today at Bird Kingdom. As you look at the sample images some of the EXIF data will look quite strange in terms of using a high ISO setting along with a fairly fast shutter speed. These rather bizarre settings are simply products of the test conditions and my goal to purposely shoot at ISO-6400. [Read more…]
Huge Discounts on Fuji Cameras and Lenses
While it was pretty sad to see Nikon recall its last round of rebates due to earthquakes in Japan, other manufacturers like Fuji are continuing to push pretty aggressive sales on both cameras and lenses to lure in more customers and increase their market share. I am a big fan of the Fuji X system (I own the Fuji X-T1 and a couple of X-series lenses – see my detailed Fuji X-T1 review), so when I saw all the available deals on lenses and cameras, I wanted to let our readers know about these deals. Although these deals are supposed to last until the end of June, if you have plans to purchase Fuji gear, I would suggest doing it sooner than later, since many of the lenses are already out of stock and it might take a while for your order to arrive if it is backed up too deeply in the order queue.
Postcard From Plovdiv
A city I’ve had the good fortune to visit no less than seven times so far, one short article cannot hope to do it enough justice. Having a beautiful female friend there to look after me is obviously a magnetic incentive but Plovdiv itself is Bulgaria’s second city and cultural capital, a juxtaposition of modernity and history with all the amenities one might expect, and simultaneously one of Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited cities.
Photoshop Layers and Layer Masking for Beginners
Arguably the most versatile adjustments in Photoshop are the layering and masking tools. Together, layers and masks make up a large portion of the work most photographers do in Photoshop, both for subtle and complex edits. However, if you are just beginning to work in Photoshop, these two irreplaceable tools may not be completely intuitive. In this article, I will cover some basic tips and techniques for using layers and layer masking in Photoshop – laying the groundwork for far more advanced post-processing adjustments.
