This photo of an old windmill in Kinderdijk, Netherlands was shot in RAW, with my Canon 5D Mark III. The settings were: 1/200 sec, f/8.0, ISO 125, shot in Manual mode. I then imported it into Lightroom Classic CC to process it before exporting it as a JPEG. The RAW file is flat and dull looking. The processing allows you to turn that flat photo into art. To see a larger version of the processed photo, click here.
Welcome to the fourth post in this series.
In the first post, I explained what Photoshopping is and that, usually, an intention to deceive is involved. In the second, I talked about compositing, a method of combining photos to create something new. The third post exposed the myth of straight-out-of-camera photos being unprocessed.
With this post I address the art of processing. Ansel Adams, the famous photographer and environmentalist, said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” He was referring to all the steps involved in photography, from visualizing to shooting to work in the darkroom. He also said, “Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.”
With those words to inspire us, it’s time to look at what you can achieve in the digital darkroom. Read more →
If you follow photography on the web, you’ll find stories about photoshopping on a regular basis. Is it the same as processing, editing, or compositing? Or is there a difference? The answer, in a word, is yes… They are different. But, it’s not that simple!
This is the first of a four-part series about this complicated question.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room: photoshopping. According to Merriam-Webster, to photoshop is “to alter (a digital image) with Photoshop software or other image-editing software especially in a way that distorts reality (as for deliberately deceptive purposes)”. The important part to note is the intent to deceive. (By the way, the elephant in the photo is not photoshopped. He really was grazing in the wild in Sabi Sabi, South Africa. I don’t photoshop my photos.)
Examples of photoshopped images abound. For years, models have been photoshopped to appear extraordinarily thin. Read more →
Vervet Mama and Baby at Lake Naivasha, in the Rift Valley in Kenya, taken with intention and my Canon 5D Mark IV, just before she decided to enter my room and have a look around… Can you guess what f/stop number I chose to blur the background. Click on the photo to see a larger version. (Photo details at the end of the blog post.)
I love my iPhone camera! Ever since Apple introduced the iPhone 4s in 2011, with it’s improved camera and technology, I’ve been hooked on the convenience and quality. Before that, when I traveled, I carried a small digital Canon Elph point-and-shoot camera, set to auto mode, to grab photos quickly. Now, I didn’t need to carry an extra camera. I had the perfect tool to feed my “shoot and run” habit. Read more →
Napoleon, the French Bulldog, posing for a portrait in autumn leaves. Click on the photo to see a larger version.
It’s almost December. Do you send out Christmas or holiday cards? Have you ordered them yet? (True confession… I have not… 😩)
I thought I’d share some tips for getting a good shot of your dog for your card. These portraits can also be printed and framed. You don’t have to use them for cards!
The perigee super moon shown rising above the Dreampalace building in Seoul, South Korea on May 5th, 2012. Click to see a larger version.
This weekend of December 2-3, 2017, the moon will be full. Best of all, it’s a perigee or super moon, which means that it will appear larger in the sky. On top of that, in the northern hemisphere, it’s winter, so humidity levels may be lower in the air. All in all, it’s a great time to go out and practice shooting the moon!
If you’ve ever tried this before, only to come home with photos of a glowing white orb in the sky, this time will be different. Here are some hints for getting the detailed shot of the moon that you wish you’d taken before.
and edited in Lightroom CC. Scenes like this are what Slow Travel is all about.
Click here to see a larger version of the finished photo.
Sometimes, your iPhone can be your DSLR’s best friend. And, better yet, it can make your travel easier, too!
Skip and I like to indulge in something we call Slow Travel. When we’re going on a trip that has no time contract, we like to pad the dates and slow down a bit.
In July, we were invited to a party in Cleveland, Ohio. We had nothing planned for the days just before or after the party, so we decided to drive there from Virginia, instead of flying. Then, Skip set about designing a road trip that would spend most of the time on state and U.S. highways, rather than interstates.
Back in the old days… before the 1950s… these were the roads you drove to go places in the United States. They could be slow, Read more →
A long exposure shot of a waterfall along the Cheonggye Stream, in Seoul, South Korea. No tourists… or are there??? Click on the photo to see a larger version. (F/20, ISO 400, 30 sec)
I love to travel! And I really love to shoot travel photography!
However, have you ever noticed how hard it is to arrive at a site at the perfect time for photography? It seems like either the light is wrong or the venue is crawling with tourists or both!
In my blog post about creative inspiration , I promised to share a secret or two for making tourists disappear.
Friends sharing a bench, sitting on Men Sharing A Biscuit by artist, Ku Bom Ju, in front of the Bukchon Art Museum in Seoul, South Korea. Click on the photo to see a larger version. ( f/8, ISO 200, 1/160 sec)
Now, it’s true that you may want to include photos of your friends on the trip. A photo book of the trip would feel pretty sad without shots of the people. And sometimes, the irony is worth the photo, like the fun shot we took of our group on a walk around the Bukchon Hanok Village in Seoul, South Korea. Some sculpture just begs to be sat upon, especially when it’s designed to be a bench!
Patrick Henry answering questions at the Opening Meeting of the Kingsmill Women’s Social Club (TheKWSC.org). Click on the photo to see a larger version.
As many of you know, I’ve spent the past two years volunteering on the board of a local organization. I joined to make friends and become involved in my new community, Williamsburg, VA. What started as a part-time job morphed into a full-time one and more… During this time, I served as their photographer and membership coordinator. I did their marketing, wrote their news for the local magazine and helped establish their new website. Needless to say, I learned a lot!
Time is passing… Clock at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, England. Click on the photo to see a larger version.
Now, my time on the board is almost over, and I’m studying how use the time I will suddenly have on my hands. I don’t want to fritter it away…
So, I’ve decided to do some research. Read more →
I modified the aperture shape to create the stars in this photo of the three kings in front of our Christmas tree. Details: f/2.8, 0.8 seconds, ISO 100, 100 mm. Click on the photo to see a larger version.
Since Christmas, I’ve been sharing tips and tricks for shooting better holiday photos on my Facebook page (Caroline Maryan Photography). I called the series The Twelve Days of Christmas. Yesterday, it was the last day, and I posted this photo of three bamboo kings, from our creche, in front of our Christmas tree. I decided to have some fun with bokeh while I composed it.
Today, I want to share how I created the stars in the background. I hope you’ll give it a try, but be forewarned… it can be addictive! You’ll want to set aside part of a day when you can play around with no distractions.
The stars are really nothing but bokeh, but I had to modify it as I shot. Here is some background into how I shot this photo. Read more →
This photo of Mont Saint Michel was shot after sunset, using an 8 second exposure.
When you get a group of photographers together and mention tripods, you’ll hear a lot of opinions on when to use them. Some photographers won’t take a photo without one. Others, like me, use them only for specific shots. But, no matter the opinion, they all can agree that there are tricks to using tripods. In fact, if you don’t know them, your photo may be worse than if you had just shot hand-held! So here are some tricks that will really improve your tripod shots.
Setting Up Your Tripod:
1) If at all possible, do not extend the center column of the tripod. Huh??? Then why is it there? I carry a small Gitzo Tripod (Amazon affiliate link)because I’m small and try to reduce the weight I carry as much as possible. Depending on the shooting situation, I might have to extend it, to get the camera to a height I want. But, the steadiest place to put your camera is right at the apex of the tripod. That is where the three legs come together.
Read more →
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