Your Photo Vision

Teenage Barrel Racing Champion - Chevy Assignment

2012-01-19T09:47:00.014-07:00

Recently, Chevrolet asked be to complete a photo set for their latest website RoadWereOn.Chevrolet.Com. Take a look! This year is Chevrolet's 100th anniversary.

I had a great time photographing 15-year old MacKenzie and her dad, Karl, who use their family's Chevy 2500 pickup truck to haul MacKenzie's horse, Wrangler, to an equestrian park nearly every week so she can practice for her rodeo competition in pole bending, barrel racing, and goat tying. I hope you'll take a look at the complete series on the Chevy site.

Chevrolet asked several regional photographers around the country to give their photo interpretation of how people use their Chevy's in real life. It was a fun gig. (Tweet #Chevy100 to see how other photographers interpreted their assignment). One of my favorites was "Girl's Day Out" by a photographer named "Rania".

How can I get cool photo assignments like this? Everyone of these photographers, myself included, appear to be active in social media: In most cases they had a Flickr account, a Facebook account, a Twitter account, and a blog -- and they are active in most of these areas. This is how photographers get seen in today's marketplace. (There are plenty of other photographers who are more talented than I am, but you can't find them when the job needs to be done ;-)

You can also view my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr to see more of "My Vision".

MoonScapes - Photographing a full moon with an evening landscape

2012-01-12T15:38:00.014-07:00

Here's a photo I took earlier this week: a big yellow moon as it passes through a cloud, surrounded by a cold, blue winter sky. Only five minutes later the same full moon begins to set behind the Oquirrh Mountains, near Salt Lake City, Utah.

My "Nightscape" Moon Photography Tips: If you want to record good detail in the clouds and landscape near the moon, you need to know two important re-occurring facts: 1. The night before the full moon, the sun sets just as the moon is rising; and 2. the morning of the full moon, the moon sets just as the sun is starting to rise. During these two periods, there is just enough ambient light from the setting and rising sun to give detail to the surrounding landscape -- otherwise, it is too dark, and the contrast range is too great to record anything but blackness around the moon -- like you see in these two photos:

You can't have it both ways: either you get a washed out (overexposed moon) in order to see the clouds and surrounding landscape detail -- or you get a correctly exposed moon, and lose all the surrounding detail -- that is, unless you follow these "Nightscape" tips.

Moon Charts: I use the Old Farmer's Almanac moon phase, rise, and set charts to plan my shoots. (All times are based on sea level, so they must be adjusted slightly for mountainous terrain -- the moon will set sooner because of mountains, and the sunrise will be delayed because of mountains, and etc.) Using these charts, I can often get at least one moon rise and one moon set per month (weather permitting) that allow for good, full moon photography.

An example of how I did it: Based on my Zip Code, the full moon was to take place on January 9, 2012 at 12:32 AM. The sun was suppose to rise on this day at 7:51 AM, and the moon was scheduled to set at 7:54 AM. Because the eastern mountains around Salt Lake City are about 6,000 feet higher than the valley floor, I figured (by experience) the sunrise would be delayed about 30 minutes. And because the western mountains are about 3,000 feet higher than the valley floor, I estimated the moon would set about 15 minutes early. I figured right on both accounts. This photo was taken at 7:30 AM, with just enough predawn twilight behind me to add detail to the western sky (change it from black to a dark blue) and western mountains.

Mirror Lock-up. One other important thing: Even with a sturdy tripod and a remote release, the vibration from your mirror going up just before your shutter release can blur or degrade your shot. That's because the magnifications are so great (12X in this shot) and the shutter speeds are so slow (about 1/4 second in this case). Read your manual on how to do this for your camera. Once it is set through your menu, the first press of the shutter release will lock up the mirror, and the second press will release the shutter, and return the mirror. Even with a remote release, you should wait about three seconds for the vibrations to dampen before pressing the release the second time. So many things to remember! I also find I have to manually focus, and set all my exposures manually for best results. (For super accurate focus, I switch to Live View through my LCD screen, and magnify it to 10X. Once set, I switch back to regular view to conserve battery power.)

Technical info on top two photos: Canon EOS 7D with EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens @ 400mm (35mm equivalent is 12X)
f8 @ 1/4 sec ISO 100

You can also view my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr to see more of "My Vision".

Using Digital Negative (DNG) to archive your raw image files

2011-12-05T18:36:00.008-07:00

Five, 10, or even 40 years from now, will you be able to open one of the proprietary, raw image files from your digital camera? You will, if you have converted your raw camera files to DNG (.dng).

Why shoot in raw? Raw image files are sometimes called digital negatives, as they fulfill the same role as negatives in film photography: that is, the negative is not directly usable as an image, but has all of the information needed to create an image. Like a photographic negative, a raw digital image will usually have a wider dynamic range (16-bits per color channel) and color gamut than the eventual final image format (usually a JPEG, or .JPG, which is an 8-bit image). The purpose of raw image formats is to save, with minimum loss of information, data obtained from the camera's sensor. Here are three examples (one, two, three) of why you should be saving your camera's raw image format file -- if you aren't already.

Reading the raw file. Nearly every time I have purchased a new digital camera, I have had to purchase the latest version of Photoshop, or a new raw converter plug-in in order to read and open the new raw image files produced by that camera. Examples of proprietary raw image file format extensions are .CR2 (Canon), .NEF (Nikon), .ORF (Olympus), .PEF (Pentax), and .RW2 (Panasonic).

Free raw file converter. A year after I purchased my last DSLR, I could not open the raw camera files with my current version of Photoshop. I was not ready to upgrade to Photoshop CS5 (and pay another $200), because I had just done that the year before, when I upgraded from CS3 to CS4. A friend suggested that I get Adobe's free DNG Converter, and convert all my new camera raw files to the universal DNG format, which is supported by all the versions of Photoshop (back to the original CS), Elements (back to version 3), and Lightroom.

Reduced file size. Not only is the free Adobe Digital Negative Converter fast in its conversion, but it typically reduces the file size of my Canon ".CR2" files by 20% when they are converted over to the ".dng" format. I am now, systematically, taking all my old CR2 files, converting them to DNG, and throwing away the old CR2 versions.

Archival peace of mind. The best reason to convert your camera raw files to the universal DNG format is long-term compatibility. Because cameras can use many different raw formats -- the specifications for which are not publicly available -- this means that not every raw file can be read by a variety of software applications. As a result, the use of these proprietary raw files as a long-term archival solution carries risk.

DNG is an open raw image format owned by Adobe. DNG is based on the TIFF/EP standard format. Exploitation of the file format is royalty free. It was launched in 2004 after requests by many photographers and photo trade associations (i.e. the American Society of Media Photographers, or ASMP) that there be a universal raw format standard. The US Library of Congress recommends DNG as the preferred alternative to other "less desirable" raw image formats. In their "Digital Photography Best Practices and Workflow" (dpBestflow) project, ASMP (funded by the US Library of Congress) stated that "DNG files have proven to be significantly more useful than the proprietary raw files in our workflow." With this kind of support and recommendation, we should expect the DNG format to be around for a long, long time!

You are invited to see my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr (based on popularity stats).

500px vs. Flickr - a constructive review

2011-11-25T08:23:00.021-07:00

Another title I could have used was, "How I received 1,500 views in just 1-hour on 500px.com" -- and that is compared to only 453 views that I received on Flickr, over a period of 28 days for the same Double Arch photo (see below)! The above screen capture shows my hour of fame on 500px's "Popular" first page.

The big difference between the two is Social Networking. Flickr is more about social interaction with your photos, whereas 500px is more about showcasing your images. I reached the most popular position on 500px within 18 hours, without having enlisted a single follower or contact. By comparison, Flickr's Interestingness algorithms often reward social networking more often than quality.

Despite my beginner's luck on 500px.com, I continue to find many endearing things about Flickr.com that I like and appreciate. For a more complete comparison of 500px and Flickr, go to this page on my Flickr photostream.

You are invited to see my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr (based on popularity stats).

New book featuring photography of Grand Teton NP

2011-10-28T22:52:00.050-06:00

After selling thousands of my photos over the years for use in books published by others, I finally published my own photo book, featuring my vision of Grand Teton National Park. You can see a preview of this 40-page book by clicking on the book below. To see the book full screen (highly recommended), click on the button just to the left of the blue "blurb" icon. (The pages turn by clicking the tabs on the left and right of the book.)

Grand Teton National Park - Photography by Royce Bair

My purpose for this first photo book: Although this is a beautiful little book, I doubt if I'll sell very many copies. That's because self-published photo books via a print-on-demand publisher such Blurb are about 50% more expensive to produce than books produced by traditional printing. The quality is just as good as a regular book, but the printing-on-demand costs for this 40-page, 7x7 inches book is almost 16 dollars for soft cover and almost 28 dollars for a hard cover edition. I have Blurb add on a profit for me of only $4.00 and $7.00, respectively -- making the final sale price of $19.95 for soft cover and $34.95 for hard cover.

I suspect most of the purchases of this book will be made by me. Some will be used as gifts, but most will be used as stock photography catalogs, where I will give the books to prospective photo buyers, i.e. photo editors and art directors of magazines that I have worked with in the past.

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Prints and image downloads (stock photo licensing) of photos in my new book can be ordered at my SmugMug website.

You can see a daily blog of my photos on my Flickr photostream or view a slide show of my ''most interesting'' images.
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PPUBLISHING YOUR OWN BOOK: Most print-on-demand (POD) photo books are not produced for volume resale. The majority photos books are personalized records of weddings and family events, where only one or two books are ordered for the couple or family members.

Despite the greater expense, digital POD is now allowing many photographers to self-publish photo books for resale, where they would never have attempted to do so before. That's because Blurb and similar POD companies have made self-publishing less daunting, with low initial investment and easy-to-use, online layout software.

Sales and marketing: Many photographers who decide to self-publish through POD publishers, like Blurb, will let the publisher to handle all the sales and shipping (and Blurb has one of the more established systems for helping you announce your new book, market it, and track your book sales). Other, more adventuresome, photographers will pre-print small quantities of books and take them to book fairs or try to place them directly in book stores.

Pricing: While most POD publishers offer discounts for volume orders (i.e. a 15% discount on orders of 50 books), your costs are usually still higher than traditional offset printing (where the initial print runs are 1,000 or more copies). This means that your POD-made photo books will probably be priced slightly higher than traditionally produced books, or you can mark them up less in the beginning while you build interest in your book.

Testing the water before jumping in: The biggest obstacle that POD has overcome is the initial investment. Photo book publishing once required making an initial offset print run of at least 1,000 to 3,000 books (not mention the costs of typesetting, scanning, and color separation for all the pictures). This initial investment usually was over $10,000 -- just to find out IF there was any interest in your book idea!

With print-on-demand, a self-publisher can test the interest in a book before making a huge upfront investment through a traditional printer. If one's hope is to get published through a traditional publisher (and their distribution channels), starting with a limited number of POD-made books can help you get some credible sales information before approaching the publisher and asking them for a book contract.

Other photo book POD publishers: Blurb was one of the earliest and is probably the largest, but there are now dozens of choices. Here's a great review by PhotoBookGirl.com of Blurb vs. MyPublisher vs. Snapfish vs. MPix.

Definition of ''Photo Books'': Please keep in mind that we are talking about "photo books" -- books with lots of full color photos. If you want to publish a book with just text and a few black and white photos, your costs for traditional printing or print-on-demand will be about one-half of the prices I have been quoting. Two good POD publishers for B/W are Lulu and Diggypod.

You are invited to see my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr (based on popularity stats).

Flickr EXPLORE and how to get Explored on Flickr

2011-09-13T12:52:00.020-06:00

Flickr is the world's most popular social media site for photographers. Explore is Flickr's way of showcasing the most interesting photos within a given point in time -- usually over a 24 hour period.

Flickr receives about 6,000 uploads every minute -- That's about 8.6 million photos a day! From this huge group of images, the Flickr Interestingness algorithm chooses only 500 images to showcase for each 24-hour period. That's only one image in every 17,000! Getting Explored can greatly increase that image's exposure to the world.

For a professional photographer, like myself, this visibility can translate into income. One of my images was recently Explored to the #15 position (out of 500). Within a few days it had received over 4,000 views, and the Google search engine had placed it in the #1 position (based on the keywords associated with it).

How to find out if your photo was Explored by Flickr: Big Huge Labs has a web-based app for that, called "Scout".

How to get explored on Flickr: Flickr says, "There are lots of elements that make something 'interesting' (or not) on Flickr. Where the clickthroughs are coming from; who comments on it and when; who marks it as a favorite; its tags and many more things which are constantly changing. Interestingness changes over time, as more and more fantastic content and stories are added to Flickr."

The flickr group, Secrets of Explore has discussions on what are the measurements of Flickr's "interestingness". They have also included a link to Flickr's Patent Application that explains how Explore chooses images (if you want to be totally bored and confused ;o) .

Fellow Flickrite, Thomas Hawk, has several suggestions from his Digital Connection blog about gaining popularity on Flickr (much of which applies to Interestingness):

"1) Take great pictures. ...quality does matter. If you want people to look at your stuff, make your stuff worth looking at. 2) You get one shot a day...that matters. Choose it wisely. Make sure that the last shot you upload is your best. ...If you upload more than 5 at a time make sure your last five are your best and your last one is the best of the best. 3) Despite the top secretness formula of interestingness, it is really not that complicated to understand in broad terms. Your photos are deemed interesting when they have activity. When people tag your photos, comment on your photos, view your photos, leave notes on your photos, and especially when they favorite your photos you increase your interestingness rank. 4) Fav lots of photos. Be very liberal with your favs. ...If you see a photo you like on Flickr, fav it. Don’t be shy. It’s as easy as clicking on the little star above someone’s photo. Favs mean more to other Flickr users than comments or tags or notes or anything. 5) Post your photo to lots of groups and participate ...Don’t spam the groups, but if you have a photo of a bridge, put it in the bridge group. 7) Tag your photos religiously. Flickr allows users to search by tags (and especially to then rank their search by interestingness). 8) Above all, have fun on Flickr. Never take it too seriously."

[Note: Numbers used are mine, and do not completely correlate with Thomas' blog article.]

From the Good 'ish Explore Missed group comes this quick advice:

1. Choose your uploads wisely. Uploading 5 images a day won't help that 1 amazing shot.
2. Tags! Tag your images and let search do it's thing! SEO sucks!
3. Don't put your image in more than 5 groups, the more groups you are in, the less chance your photo will be explored. [Make note that Thomas Hawk's advice of posting to "lots" of groups is more about gaining "popularity" on Flickr and not about getting Explored.]
4. Love people in hopes that they will return the favor and love you back. Generosity is key.

[Most of this mirrors what Hawk has said, but in fewer words. They just forgot the most important ingredient: Take great photos!]

Explore Don'ts:
1. Do not re-post your image over and over again on the same day (moving it up in time so that more of your contacts will see it and comment on it). It's okay to delete an image and re-post it the same day, or to take an old image and re-post it under a new title, to see if you think you can develop more interest in that image. What Interestingness will ban you on is using the Actions > View EXIF info > edit "Posted to Flickr" time to re-post your image on Flickr to the current time in order to have it reappear to your Contact over and over again throughout the day. This is a form of spamming. I do this occasionally on old photos that I want to revive (if I think it never received the exposure it deserved), but don't do on new photos or Interestingness will ban you.

2. Do not place your photos in the groups that force you to comment on images within the group, i.e. the "Post 1, Comment on 5 - or get banned" groups. Groups like 1-2-3 are okay because they ask you to make three comments for every image you post, but they do not require you to make those comments.

3. Do not post your photo to more than five (5) groups. This has already been mentioned, but it is a good idea to post your image in at least two or three groups for Interestingness sake. BTW, posting to a few more than five groups will not completely ban you from Explore, but it will lower your Interestingness score. I often increase my number of groups after the image is no longer eligible for Explore, because placing the photo with the right group (look for group names using keywords that describe your image) can often increase it's search engine rankings.

Thank you! By the way, let me thank all my Contacts for helping me get Explored yesterday -- that's the sixth time in the past 14 days!

(The top image adapted from 'Stars, Milky Way, Jackson Lake, Grand Teton NP'.)

Grand Teton Pinnacle Sunset

2011-08-31T09:42:00.023-06:00

Last week I spent four days photographing in Grand Teton National Park. This area always rejuvenates and lifts my spirits, so I wanted to illustrate that feeling in a photo (click on image to see larger).

In this photo the rays and shafts of light are dancing behind the peak of the Grand Teton mountain (13,775 ft (4,199 m) as the sun begins to set directly behind it. This was photographed just as the sun dropped behind the peak. Because the mountains rise almost 7,000 feet above the valley floor, it will be another 30 - 40 minutes before the setting sun starts to cast its orange and red colors in the sky. This is why the sky is still blue near the corners of the photo.

Technical Stuff: When the sun is starting to set behind a peak, you can often run or drive to a position that will put you in the shadow of the peak. Just a few feet or a few seconds can really make a difference. Here's an example of the lens flare that happens if the sun isn't completely covered by the peak:

Although this can be pretty in its own right, it's not exactly what I had planned--but I like experimenting anyway, just to see what I can create.

Controlling Lens Flare: In this photo of the grazing horses, the sun was just above the mountains. Lens flare would have greatly degraded this image if I hadn't used a gobo to keep the sun from glaring into the lens. Lens hoods are not enough when you are aiming the camera this close to the sun. Gobos are like the visor that you drop down behind the windshield in your car when you are driving into the sun. Click on this photo and read the "Technical Stuff" under the Flickr photo if you want to learn more about gobos and French flags.

You are invited to see my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr (based on popularity stats).

Phil Koch's 'Horizons' Wins by Breaking the Rules

2011-08-29T15:00:00.021-06:00

Click above image to see 17 other 'Horizon' photos by Phil Koch.

Can a photographer create his own style and following by breaking one of the basic rules of composition? Phil Koch did.

On Flickr, you can curate galleries of images that feature the work of other photographers you like. There are three unique things about my new Flickr gallery of Phil Koch images: 1) every image was photographed by Phil in Wisconsin, 2) every image is a vertical, and 3) every image has the horizon line almost dead center -- breaking a major rule of composition. Because of Phil's unique composition, he has created a style that is starting to get attention.

"A little over a year ago I bought the Canon 7D with a standard lens," said Phil in a recent interview. "I bought the camera for film [video] making but started shooting rather boring landscapes. I always wanted to try to shoot a good vertical landscape because I have noticed very few do that. So my goal, a little over a year ago now, was to take one good vertical a day, forcing myself to really look at both the sky and what was on the ground in front of me. I call them vertical "Horizons" because I split the photo in half. So many people think I am breaking the basic rule of photography doing this, but if you stand in a field and look at the world in front of you the horizon is always dead center of vision no matter how tall you are. Now blow this image up to say a 20x26 and its as if you are there and can walk into the photo."

Although Koch has only sold a handful of prints so far from the 'Horizons' project, its exposure has resulted in a new assignment to start traveling the country to shoot both photography and video. You can see more of Phil's 'Horizons' work at MyHorizonArt.com

Aerial landing on Oahu North Shore

2011-04-01T06:12:00.001-06:00

Aerial landing on Oahu North Shore a video by IronRodArt - Royce Bair on Flickr.

This 38-second video was taken with a GoPro Hero camera, mounted near the left wing of a rented Breezy aircraft. As we bank and turn across the ocean shores, watch the shadow of our unique aircraft follow and meet us as we touch ground ...landing at the Dillingham Airfield -- just a few miles west of Waialua, Oahu Hawaii. (I was shooting with 3 cameras: this GoPro mounted near the left wing, a second GoPro mounted just above the front landing wheel, and my hand-held Canon 7D.) This video was shot in 1280 x 720 HD @ 60 fps (the GoPro can also shoot in 1920 x 1080 HD @ 30 fps).

Yellow Daffodils

2011-04-01T06:03:00.004-06:00

Yellow Daffodils, a photo by IronRodArt - Royce Bair on Flickr.

These flowers were looking straight into the early morning sun, which intensified their yellow color even more (no saturation adjustment used here)!

I isolated these blossoms with my 400mm lens. I like how shooting with this long lens flattens perspectives, and provides very shallow DOF when shooting wide open. (The daffodils near our front door started blooming last week, and it reminded me that I had taken these photos of the same patch a few years ago, but had never processed any of the images!)

Blue Hawaii - Changing moods with RAW files

2010-12-06T08:02:00.023-07:00

Photographing in RAW can give you many future options for changing the mood of your photos, allowing you to create new markets for your prints. If you're not shooting in RAW, you're missing half the fun, and throwing away your DNG (Digital Negative)!

Changing day to night. This romantic evening view of a tropical beach was originally a daytime photo. I photographed these silhouetted palm trees almost seven years ago when I was in Hawaii. This idyllic beach is on Maui, near a great restaurant along the north shore (Hwy 36, in Paia) called 'Mama's Fish House'. I am glad that even in those early digital days, I had the good sense to set my camera's menu to capture the image in RAW as well as in the typical JPEG (.jpg) mode.

Yes, shooting in RAW produces larger files, that fill up your memory cards quicker. However, the end results can often save your neck or give you more options later on. That's because a RAW file is a digital negative that contains much more information than a regular JPG file. Today's RAW files typically contain 16-bits of information per color channel (48-bit RGB) vs. the 8-bits found in JPG files. This extra information can often salvage an over or underexposed image or allow dramatic color changes without producing ugly noise or banding problems.

How I did it: The image on the left is the daytime original. The "evening" image on the right was created by taking the RAW file and sliding the color temperature from daylight (5000 degrees Kelvin) to a cool 2000 degrees within Photoshop's Camera Raw plug-in. That's it! (Click on images for a larger view.)

View my most interesting Flickr images on Flickriver.

Autumn Along the Mount Nebo Scenic Loop Byway

2009-10-21T08:09:00.029-06:00

The Loop is one of the most beautiful scenic drives in America for Fall colors. As you climb the Loop, maple trees in the valley give way to aspens, and they finally give way to the conifers.

This scenic byway goes from Payson, Utah in the north, to Nephi in the south. You can return the same way you came, or if you're in a hurry, you can drive home via I-15 (at 75 mph). If you enter the Loop via Payson, you'll quickly be greeted by arching groves of Bigtooth Maple trees (Acer grandidentatum) ablaze with autumn colors.

Within a few miles, the Quaking Aspens (Populus tremuloides) will begin to appear. This photo was taken at about the 6,000 feet level, and includes a rustic fence make from older aspens.

Forest Ecology: At about 7,000 feet the conifers begin to crowd in. Aspens are the "nursing mothers" for conifers -- they actually allow conifers to take hold in an area. Sometimes the conifers will eventually push out most of the aspen and become the dominant species!

Wilderness Area: The above photo is actually within the Mount Nebo Wilderness Area. Elevations in the Wilderness range from 5,000 feet to 11,928 feet atop of Mount Nebo, the highest peak in the Wasatch Mountain Range. This wilderness area is located about 2 1/2 hours south of Salt Lake City.

From Film to Digital: These are "resurrected" images -- scanned from older film transparencies. They were photographed on Fujichrome 50 with the Mamya RB67 (6cm x 7cm) camera. (Scanned with the Imacon FlexTight Precision II.)

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision." Or, view my most interesting Flickr images on Flickriver.

Autumn Leaves on the Forest Floor

2009-10-20T13:46:00.014-06:00

This close-up detail of maple leaves was taken several years ago, and was recently "resurrected" by scanning the original color transparency and converting it to digital. (Click on image for a larger view.)

The image was originally photographed on Fujichrome 50 with a Mamya RB67 (6cm x 7cm) camera. I had used a spray bottle and water to mist the grass and leaves to give the appearance of early morning dew.

A local printer had used this photo as a promotional poster to show off their new 5-color press; but until now, the image has just languished in my files. I think it's about time it start working for me, so I've sent it off to several of my stock photo agencies! Years ago this would have required the making of costly duplicate transparencies. Today, just a few mouse clicks and some uploading time are all that is required. The hardest part is the prep work: making good scans, cleaning and tweaking the image, and creating descriptive captions and keywords so that potential buyers can find the image through search engines. (Want to learn more about stock photography?)

The photo was taken in Millcreek Canyon, near Salt Lake City, Utah; and the leaves are Bigtooth Maple (Acer grandidentatum).

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Chinese Silk Industry - My Vision

2009-09-07T10:31:00.021-06:00

In March/April 2008 I traveled to China with a group of U.S. business owners. We were given access into selected Chinese industries. It was interesting to note that in some of China's ancient art craft industries, i.e. this silk rug factory, much of the work that could be mechanized is still done by hand, simply because their most abundant resource are "people".

It's important to be able to tell a story with your images so that magazines will be able to use as many images as possible (see other images in this series) I've tried to show silk rug making from raw silk cocoons to finished rugs. The silkworm caterpillar spins about 1 mile of filament to make a single cocoon. It does this in a 2 to 3 day period. The silk farmers then kill most caterpillars by heat, leaving some to metamorphose into moths to breed the next generation of caterpillars.

Below, are skeins of dyed silk thread in various colors at a silk rug factory in Shanghai, China.

Here were some of the silk rugs on display and for sale in Shanghai. I asked an American tourist to stand in this picture to give a size relationship to the rugs and to appear as a potential customer. Be sure to click on the images for a larger view, as the detail of the designs are exquisite!

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Wild Blue Asters - My Vision

2009-08-31T07:05:00.012-06:00

I found this patch of wild asters near the top of Mill Creek Canyon (near Salt Lake City, Utah USA) a few weeks ago. This was an early evening exposure, with very little post-processing. The exposure has a +5/3 EV bias (one of several exposures for later HDR processing). I like it just the way it was, so I left it as is -- without the HDR post-processing. (Click on image for a larger view.)

These flowers are normally a more purple color, but the early evening light changed the color to more of a blue shade. Normally, I would have changed my white balance on my camera to 6500 degrees Kelvin to compensate for the cooler light, or warmed up the image in post-processing. But again. I like it this way.

I hate fussing with things when there's no need, don't you? Simple can be best.

BTW, I used the widest aperture my 17mm-85mm lens had, and let the camera set the shutter speed (Aperture Priority). Manually focusing on two blossoms, I let the other flowers blur. I increased the camera's ISO setting (to 640) until I had a shutter speed of 1/25 of a second -- about the slowest I dare use for a hand-held shot, using my len's built in image stabilization feature. I could have put the camera on a tripod, but the wind was blowing enough to blur flowers taken at slower speeds.

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Expressive Little Girl - My Vision

2009-08-24T11:42:00.020-06:00

Last Saturday I went to a neighborhood picnic where some of the teenage girls were offering free face painting to the younger children -- can you say, "Photo Op?!". (See my "photostream" to view eight other images in this series.)

After having her face painted, this little girl made a funny face to her friend who was standing nearby.

Almost missed it... I nearly lost this shot because I didn't have my camera set to my standard default settings -- which is to keep my camera on Aperture Priority, and my lens set for the widest aperture.

Establishing a default setting: I also keep my ISO at 640 and my white balance on "Average" (my image file is always set for Camera RAW, with a Large JPEG for rapid reviews). With this setting, I'm ready for most action situations that I come upon. By using Aperture Priority, with the the camera/lens set to widest possible aperture, the camera will automatically give me the fastest shutter speed for that aperture and ISO. (I realize that "640" is a pretty high default ISO, but its one that gives me "controllable" noise with this camera, and enough speed to handle most surprise and unplanned situations.)

With people shots, you rarely need a lot of depth of field. In fact, shallow focus is most often preferred. But what you do want is a fast shutter speed to stop action and camera shake (even if you have image stabilization). Except with landscapes, architecture, and other "tripod" type shots, having a lot of depth of field is not as important as having SOMETHING tack sharp by using the fastest shutter speed possible. (Remember, you can have great DOF, but if the shutter speed is not fast enough to stop the action or freeze your camera movement, you will still have a soft and blurry image.)

I had done a landscape shot the day before where I did need a lot of depth of field. Instead of changing all my camera settings to my standard defaults before putting my camera away, I had left the F-stop at f13. If my next shot had been a still life or another landscape, this would not have been a problem. That's because these type of shots are often quite relaxed, where I have time to THINK about what I'm doing. However, when I see a candid portrait opportunity developing, I sometimes jump into it and start clicking away before the expressions flee -- like I did last Saturday with this little girl.

Luckily, even at f13, I still had a shutter speed of 1/100 of a second, and I caught her fleeting expression without any head movement. The extra depth of field in this shot created post-production problems, though. It took over 30 minutes to blur the background in Photoshop (having to create a mask around her hair), so that it was no longer distracting and competing for attention.

Another great example of using Aperture Priority and the widest aperture possible is this helicopter shot of the Chicago skyline by Trey Ratcliff. This photo was taken at the lens' widest aperture (f2.8), giving the camera an 1/8,000 second shutter speed with an ISO of 800. Here's the full resolution file on Flickr if you want to view the incredible detail of this image (yes, it's a little noisy in the shadow areas, but he GOT the image).

You are invited to see my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr (based on popularity stats).

Piles of Money - My Vision

2009-08-22T06:57:00.015-06:00

This iconic photo of piles and stacks of cash (US dollars and coins) has been one of my best "conceptual" stock photography sellers. (Click on the image for a larger view.)

Although it looks like a ton of money, there is only $10,000.00 dollars here in real money. (Even so, we were happy to get this much cash safely back into the bank when the shot was over!). Those are real money bags (with coins) from the Denver Mint and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. And those are real $100 bills (before the recent design change). We were able to style this shot using only 10 grand because many of the stacks of $100 bills have ones underneath. It takes a couple of hours to style a shot like this, but the stock photo revenue it produces is worth the effort.

This is my third image in this "money series".

You are invited to see my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr (based on popularity stats).

Stack of $1000 Dollar Bills - My Vision

2009-08-20T08:44:00.016-06:00

This is a real stack of U.S. $1,000 bills, with a little wide-angle distortion added for impact. Well, sort of...

Full Disclosure: The top bill really is genuine (and as a collector's item, is worth much more than $1000); however the bills underneath are $1 bills -- they were added just for effect. A friend lent the bill for this still life (and stood by while I photographed his little treasure). This has been a great conceptual stock photo seller.

Lighting & Post-production: The stack was lighted by one large (48"x48") softbox strobe, about three feet from the pile of money. The white seamless paper worked as its own reflector "fill" for the soft shadow effect. (This type of product lighting allows graphic designers to easily "float" the image anywhere on a page. In post-production, you have the responsibility to select any of the not-so-white background and clip it to pure white within Photoshop's "Levels" -- being careful to feather the selection around the shadow area.)

Interesting tidbits: The $1000 bill featured a portrait of Grover Cleveland from 1928 to 1946. Today, the U.S. Treasury Department no longer prints large denominations. In 1929, a $1,000 bill would have been equal to $12,440.55 in our current purchasing power!

(Click on the image for a larger view.)

You are invited to see my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr (based on popularity stats).

Red Rose with Helen Keller Quote - My Vision

2009-08-19T06:59:00.016-06:00

I recently made a gift of one of my rose close-ups to a young women religious group. We made about 100 4x6 prints, and ended up giving them out to a lot of friends as well.

My wife suggested a quote to overlay on the image by the late Helen Keller, "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart."

We may decide to do this more often with our images. It was very satisfying to share something that causes people to pause and reflect on their lives and how they interact with others.

(You can view it LARGER or see it without the quote.)

You may freely download and use the image with the embedded quote if you give copyright credit to "Royce Bair" and give a link to "www.RoyceBair.com" - no commercial use without permission (This Creative Commons License is called an "Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives" license.)

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Cattle Grazing in Lush Pasture - My Vision

2009-08-15T10:38:00.012-06:00

These are Black Angus beef cattle grazing in a pasture near Afton, Wyoming (USA).

Bigger is not always better - a composition tip for increasing your stock photo sales: You'll note that this image has a lot of blank space, making the main subject, the cattle, smaller. This is not only a composition choice (following the "rule of thirds"), but I have found over the years that many of my stock photos sell much better if they have space for designers to place type or other photos. By giving the designer this option, I often see my images published as the main photo in a story rather than being used as one of the smaller, accent or filler images. And if you'd like to see your images reproduced full-page, don't forget to shoot the same scene vertically as well as horizontal (see below).

The larger your images are reproduced, the more money you'll make (that's when bigger IS better). It don't matter whether you're licensing your images under a rights-managed model, royalty-free, or as microstock, larger uses make you more money. At many microstock agencies, the prices for "large" or XLarge download sizes are three to six times greater than those for "small" or medium downloads!

Another stock photo tip: if you'll looking for additional ways to increase your sales, read this short article I wrote about shooting on "spec".

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Coy Little Kitten in Tall Grass - My Early Vision

2009-08-13T09:25:00.010-06:00

A coy little kitten poses under a clump of tall Cat Tail Grass. This photo was my first ever attempt at "serious" photography. Let me explain... (Click on the image for a slightly larger view.)

A Walk Down Memory Lane: I came across this photo yesterday, and decided to publish it on my blog. I took this picture when I was 17 years old -- that was 43 years ago, in the summer of 1966. The kitten was a little barn-yard friend who followed me around during my milking chores on the family farm.

I had been in love with photography for a little over a year, and I had read every book my small town library had on the subject. I came across an article in an old Popular Photography magazine (given to me by a high school teacher) about how to improve your outdoor photos with light reflectors made from crumpled aluminum foil, flattened and wrapped around a sheet of corrugated cardboard. I had to try it out!

I transplanted the grass onto a table I made so that it would be easier to photograph my subject (hey, that also makes this my first attempt at "table-top" photography ;-). I used my father's old Argus C3 35mm rangefinder camera and a roll of Kodachrome film*. I rotated the table so that the late afternoon sun was back-lighting the grass and my kitten, and then illuminated him from the light of my homemade reflector (placed between the kitten and the camera, and slightly to the left).

My little kitten friend was a real sweetheart that played well to the camera, don't you agree?

BTW, some call this foxtail grass, but my neighbor calls it "cat tail grass" -- wouldn't that be a coincidence!

*I only took two or three shots on that roll, so it was a couple of months before I finished the roll and could afford to have it processed, in order to found out if I had been successful.

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Hand Protecting a Young Plant - My Vision

2009-08-10T14:10:00.004-06:00

I could have title this post, "How to breath new life into old photos". This was originally a black and white photograph, taken several years ago in the studio, on 4x5 B/W sheet film. I asked my next-door neighbor to be the hand model (cheap ;-).

I recently scanned the negative, and colorized the image in Photoshop. It has become one of my best stock photo sellers!

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Dancing Aspens - My Vision

2009-08-08T18:38:00.019-06:00

This wide angle photo of aspen trees in a golden meadow was taken near Kamas, Utah just before sunset. The image was used to make one of my very first fine art giclee prints. (Click on the image for a larger view.)

At one time I owned the first and only commercial fine art gallery in Salt Lake City devoted solely to photography (Aperture Photo Gallery). We were one of the first photographic galleries in the country to accept giclee prints.

Photo or Giclee Prints? Although I love true photographic prints (via the wet silver halide process), I'm a firm believer that the giclee process offers greater flexibility (more substrate and surface choices), a much wider color gamut, and more archival permanence.

I also was a giclee printing consultant for many yours for Inkjetart.com. Here's an interesting interview with Mac Holbert of Nash Editions, one of earliest printers of giclees. Nash Editions prints for photographic artists i.e. Robert Farber, Milton Greene, Douglas Kirkland, Winston Smith and Charles Wolfe.)

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Continental Breakfast Setting - My Vision

2009-08-06T10:56:00.006-06:00

Here's a continental breakfast still life of coffee, pastry, and fresh fruit that I photographed while on a cruise to Alaska. This image is my second attempt (see the first image below). I think the selective focus (with shallow depth of field) on the pastry makes for a more interesting shot.

I love to go on cruises. It's a truly relaxing vacation -- everything is taken care of for you! And, you have many choices for meals. I often will take the opportunity to photograph my food, or in this case, a friend's breakfast. The income from my stock photos helps to defray the cost of my travel (and I sometimes teach photography workshops on my cruises).

People around me may think I'm strange, photographing my food, but I try to always sit with my wife in a quiet corner where I won't cause a problem or draw too much attention. Photographing details and still lifes on a ship is a great opportunity for photography. Even simple food like this is usually beautifully prepared by the ship's staff, and there are often many elegant surfaces, backgrounds, and props sitting around to add to the ambiance.

My wife added the twisted blue napkin around the plate of fruit -- a very nice touch. (I think she also added the three crumbs to the side of the croissant.) However, I think our second shot (above) has a better mood, and has sold twice as often as a stock image. (Click on any image for a larger view.)

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Apple Orchard Harvest - My Vision

2009-08-05T09:14:00.011-06:00

Here's an old-fashioned apple orchard harvest (Jonathan and Delicious) I photographed a few years ago around the end of September. You can see another cluster of bushel baskets in the distance. (Click on the image for a larger view.)

While through Payson, Utah a few years ago, we came across a small, family farm that raised apples (it's on the right side of the road, just before you drive up Payson Canyon). Ever since that first visit, we've tried to stop by around the last week of September.

Styling: As a former commercial photographer, I rarely photograph a shot just as I see, except when I'm doing editorial or environmental photography. My wife and I polished the top layer of apples (taking off the haze and dust) in the four or five closest baskets, in order to increase the color saturation; and I rearranged the position of the baskets slightly to make the shot more visually appealing.

A little styling BEFORE the shot will dramatically improve most photographs. I strongly believe in "fixing" problems before you start shooting, instead of trying to correct it later in Photoshop. The difference between a polished apple and an over-saturated apple in Photoshop is the difference between "appealing" and "garish".

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Portrait of a Little Red Headed Girl - My Vision

2009-08-04T08:39:00.008-06:00

(Click on the image for a larger view.)

Amelia has many different moods. Three other images from this portrait session show some of those interesting sides of her.

Props & backgrounds: One of my favorite props for doing portraits is an old Bentwood chair (often used in bars and restaurants between 1860 and 1930). If you'll turn the chair around backwards, and let people relax or naturally place their arms on the back of the chair -- you'll often get some interesting body positions and expressions.

The background is a hand-painted autumn forest scene that goes well with her reddish complexion and hair, don't you agree?

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Dramatic Portrait of an Actor / Model - My Vision

2009-08-03T11:04:00.013-06:00

Earlier in the week I had been photographing glassware using a portable table-top background cyclorama, similar to a Kaiser studio kit (but one I had built myself, using translucent plexiglass, and light from underneath with strobes). I asked Gerald, the model / actor, to step over to the table-top cyc, lean over and rest his arms on the table-top background. The effect was quite dramatic, and similar to what one might see in a theater production. (Click on any image for a larger view.)

This Kaiser portable table-top studio background is a small cyc (cyclorama) that you can buy for about $1300. I build one myself using a translucent white plexiglass sheet (about 3/16" thick and about 3 x 5 feet), and a 2x4" wooden frame (minus the attached lights you see in the photo below). I would then light the table from underneath using strobe lights. It was great for doing glassware photography.

Self-Learning Tip: Always look for the catch-lights in the eyes, and you can often figure out how a photographer light a subject. You could do something similar to this by using a light table, or a lightbox positioned below (and slightly camera left) and pointed upward.

Sidebar: Some time ago, a talent agency asked me to photograph some of their clients. They mainly wanted "head shots" for their talent books. Although the money they were offering to pay me wasn't that good, I saw it as an opportunity to experiment with people who were willing to try new things, and built portfolio images for both of us. Since some of these people had backgrounds in theater, they also had access to some interesting wardrobe pieces, which can really help liven a portrait. "Trading" talent has been a tool I've used over the years to increase my experience and build my photographic reputation. This image is part of a series that has resulted from these talent trades.

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Wildflowers in Albion Basin, Utah - My Vision

2009-07-31T15:54:00.017-06:00

I photographed these high-mountain meadows (at about 9,500 feet) of wildflowers early this morning with my new iPhone 3Gs! The new iPhone is a great little 3MP camera, wire-less phone, and is my mobile connection to the Internet (my 21MP Canon 5D Mark II images will follow when I get time to process them ;-). The red flowers are Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja rhexifolia), and the prominent yellow flower you see in the picture below is called the "Little Sunflower" (Helianthella uniflora).

This meadow is in Albion Basin of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, in Utah (Albion Basin is situated just above the Alta and Snowbird ski resorts, in the Wasatch Mountains).

We've had a lot of rain this spring, and this has been an unusually lush and verdant summer for wildflowers in the high mountains. I can't wait to get up there again. The temperatures are a cool 65 degrees (F.) in the shade, and about 80 degrees in the sun -- perfect weather!

By the way, one of the reasons people love Salt Lake City, is because of areas like this: "...one of Salt Lake City’s recreational havens, a multi-seasonal destination offering some of the best skiing, hiking, bike riding, tram rides, camping, and wildlife viewing in Utah – all within 15 miles of the city center." (Source: U.S. Forest Service Web site.)

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Gypsy Fortune Teller - My Vision

2009-07-30T06:12:00.016-06:00

Linda and I had a lot of fun creating this photo of the Gypsy fortune-teller with crystal ball and reading cards. Linda is my wife and the stylist for this shot. She choose all the fabrics and gathered all the props for this image, to help create the illusion of coming into a fortune-teller's shop and receiving a psychic reading.

(Click on any image for a larger view.)

The slightly blue halo emanating from the crystal ball is produced by a Nikon #1 Soft (flare) filter. This image was scanned from film, and there is virtually no Photoshop work done to this photo.

Here is the studio lighting (all strobe) set-up for the Gypsy fortune teller photo (that's Linda, sitting just to the left of where the model had been sitting):

1. Main light - a 48" x 48" soft-box (slightly below the model and pointing up to simulate the lighting coming underneath from the crystal ball.
2. Fill light - 36" x 36" soft box.
3. A projection spotlight to illuminate the eyes of the Gypsy model.
4. The crystal ball had a light coming up through a hole in the table.
5. Camera position through that narrow slit (made by two scrims that keep light from spilling onto the foreground -- the table and cards). There are three other scrims in this set-up, and they are covered with black velvet cloth.
6. Not shown, are lights behind the draped fabric backdrops, positioned to shine through the fabric.

Sidebar: Some time ago, a talent agency asked me to photograph some of their clients. They mainly wanted "head shots" for their talent books. Although the money they were offering to pay me wasn't that good, I saw it as an opportunity to experiment with people who were willing to try new things, and built portfolio images for both of us. Since some of these people had backgrounds in theater, they also had access to some interesting wardrobe pieces, which can really help liven a portrait. "Trading" talent has been a tool I've used over the years to increase my experience and build my photographic reputation. This image is part of a series that has resulted from these talent trades.

You can also view my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr to see more of "My Vision".

Sophisticated, Surprised Old Lady - My Vision

2009-07-29T06:37:00.005-06:00

With a little coaching, Lois Bartel, is a great character actress. You can almost hear her say with surprise and indignation, "Why, I never heard of such nonsense!" Don't you love all the props and styling she brought to this shoot -- the spectacles, sequined dress, feathered wrap and gloves? She's a jewel.

Sidebar: Some time ago, a talent agency asked me to photograph some of their clients. They mainly wanted "head shots" for their talent books. Although the money they were offering to pay me wasn't that good, I saw it as an opportunity to experiment with people who were willing to try new things, and built portfolio images for both of us. Since some of these people had backgrounds in theater, they also had access to some interesting wardrobe pieces, which can really help liven a portrait. "Trading" talent has been a tool I've used over the years to increase my experience and build my photographic reputation. This image is part of a series that has resulted from these talent trades.

(Click on image for a larger view.)

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Ballet Legs Perspective - My Vision

2009-07-28T07:42:00.014-06:00

This is a wide-angle photo of a woman's legs - with her upper body disappearing from view through the principle of diminishing perspective.

Below, is the studio set-up for this image. Photography was done with a Mamiya RB67 film camera, using a 50mm wide angle lens (similar to a 24mm on a full-frame 35mm SLR camera).

(Click on any image for a larger view.)

No fancy Photoshop work was used here, just straight photography and good lighting.

Sidebar: Some time ago, a talent agency asked me to photograph some of their clients. They mainly wanted "head shots" for their talent books. Although the money they were offering to pay me wasn't that good, I saw it as an opportunity to experiment with people who were willing to try new things, and built portfolio images for both of us. Since some of these people had backgrounds in theater, they also had access to some interesting wardrobe pieces, which can really help liven a portrait. "Trading" talent has been a tool I've used over the years to increase my experience and build my photographic reputation. This image is part of a series that has resulted from these talent trades. (Debbie Cox was the model for this shot.)

You can also view my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr to see more of "My Vision".

Slapstick, Laughing Woman - My Vision

2009-07-27T08:08:00.011-06:00

(Click on image for a larger view.)

One of my photographic "tools" is trading talent. Let me explain...

Some time ago, a talent agency asked me to photograph some of their clients. They mainly wanted "head shots" for their talent books. Although the money they were offering to pay me wasn't that good, I saw it as an opportunity to experiment with people who were willing to try new things, and built portfolio images for both of us.

Since some of these people had backgrounds in theater, they also had access to some interesting wardrobe pieces, which can really help liven a portrait.

"Trading" talent has been a tool I've used over the years to increase my experience and build my photographic reputation. In future blogs I hope to showcase a series of the images that have resulted from these talent trades.

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Little Pioneer Girl - My Vision

2009-07-24T07:19:00.008-06:00

(Click on image for a larger view.)

It's "Pioneer Day" here in Utah, so I thought I'd upload a photo I took on a previous year of celebration. The little girl is my 4-year old grand daughter wearing a bonnet her grand mother made for her. In fact, her grand mother made bonnets for all her grand daughters, had they all had a little parade in our back yard! (Parades are "the" thing here in Utah on July 24th.)

It took a lot of Photoshop dodging (and burning down the highlights) to open up those shadows under that lo-o-o-o-ng bonnet brim! Good thing I had a raw camera file to work with (you can often recover up to two stops of shadow detail without incurring any noticeable noise).

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Colorful Chili Peppers Produce - My Vision

2009-07-23T09:02:00.011-06:00

(Click on images for a larger view.)

This is a continuation of my last blog where I stopped at Seattle's famous Pike Place Market. I took this series of open-air produce photos (scroll down to see all nine pepper images).

The colors on these peppers were intense. It was definitely "eye candy" for a photographer!

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Fruit at Seattle's Pike Place Market - My Vision

2009-07-17T10:21:00.009-06:00

(Click on images for a larger view.)

While traveling through Seattle, I stopped at the famous Pike Place Market, and took this series of open-air produce photos (scroll down to see all seven).

This "farmer's" market has been around since 1907, and has become a popular tourist destination. Pikes Place original started as a fresh fish market, and has become a delightful place to visit or shop. Many of the shops are in the open air, and it is fun to mingle with the merchants, farmers, and buyers. The produce, cut flowers, and fresh fish are top quality. All the colorful and fresh food make great subjects for photography!

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Peaceful Conclusion to a Summer Storm - My Vision

2009-07-16T10:27:00.011-06:00

(Click on image for a larger view.)

This is my final and favorite image in this series about a fast-moving summer thunderstorm that rolled over the Grand Tetons two weeks.

I love the angry and brooding look of the clouds, yet there is a peace and calmness that is starting to settle in as the blue skies push away the blazing clouds.

There are four images in this series (scroll down to see the time line) that took a little over 35 minutes to come and go.

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Thunderstorms Offer Dramatic Light - My Vision

2009-07-13T11:48:00.010-06:00

(Click on image for a larger view.)

This "angry" thunderstorm was fun to watch as it rolled over Grand Tetons in late June. The sun was just setting (note the shaft of light shooting across Mount Moran).

I love the dramatic light changes that happen during a summer thunderstorm! If you watch and record what happens about every five or ten minutes, you'll be surprised at the changes, when you review your images. It's interesting how the color of the mountains changes, depending on the light reflecting down from the clouds.

Compare it to this photo that I took a little over 20 minutes later (posted last week):

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Thunderstorm Rolls Over Grand Tetons - My Vision

2009-07-10T07:27:00.029-06:00

My very first HDR image (click on image for a larger view).

Here's the normal (or middle) exposure for comparision.

This image is my first attempt at HDR imaging. Two weeks ago I went to Grand Tetons National Park to captures some images of the Tetons that would make great HDR photos (High Dynamic Range imaging). From previous attempts, I knew the effects of some lighting conditions could not be fully captured without the extended range offered by HDR.

I had only heard about HDR photography two months ago, even though I have used its principles for many years: taking elements from both an underexposed image and an overexposed image and combining them the normally exposed image so that I retained more of the highlight and shadow detail that I saw in the original scene.

Now, software programs like Photomatix allow you to easily (relatively, compared to the masks and layers that I had formerly done in Photoshop) take three or more auto bracketed exposures and combine them into one image.

Photomatix has made the process so simple, and with so many controls, that HDR has developed a huge following in just the past two years. Many of these images don't need the benefits of good HDR techniques, it's just a new gimmick they have to try out. Unfortunately, some of the images we are seeing are so over-controlled that they are garish and very unnatural, which in some cases IS intentional. This whole popularity of HDR sort of reminds me of the Cokin colored filter craze of the 1980's. (Professional videographers still use the Cokin graduated neutral density filters to compress the exposure range of a scene, much like HDR does in a digital way.)

Yesterday I bought the Photomatix online, spent about three hours learning the software and developing techniques to make my final images as natural as possible. And, that is my goal: I don't want my HDR images to draw attention to themselves; I only want them to record a rendition that was closer to what my eye saw. (Your eye sees more than a 12-stop range. Film was lucky to record 5-7 stops. Digital can record 6-8 stops. With HDR, one can capture a 10-12 stop range.)

For the majority of my photography, I like trying to fit the scene into the limited dynamic range of regular digital and film-based photography. I like the unnatural way it renders most scenes; and over the years this rendering has become my reality. HDR will be just another tool to render "My Vision" -- but, only when I think it is needed.
- - - - - - - - -
Here's a view from the same spot, about 20 minutes earlier (my 2nd HDR image):

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Cow Moose Nurturing Calf - My Vision

2009-07-07T12:51:00.024-06:00

(Click on image for a larger view.)

I just returned from four days of photography at the Grand Tetons National Park. My main focus was on the Teton mountains, but whenever the sun and the clouds didn't cooperate, I tried to make good use of my time by searching for wildlife to photograph.

The last morning I was there, I came across this cow and calf moose. The cow was feeding out of a tiny pond, so small you can't see it in this image. The brush around the couple was so dense I was having a difficult time seeing them clearly. This certainly wasn't the idyllic, open, lily pond setting that we dream of when hoping to photograph a moose!

I had to do several minutes of stalking to maneuver myself into a position that gave a clearer picture of both animals, and placed the mother and the calf into a fairly close proximity, just in case a relationship was able to develop between them.

During all of this, a crowd had begun to gather from the road behind me. Most tourists are content to take their photos from the road (about 300 feet away) with their point and shoot cameras. A few, with TTL cameras and telephoto lenses, will capture larger and more recognizable images; however, most don't realize (or want to take the time or effort) that some stalking and a lot of patience and persistence is required to position yourself for the best shots -- no matter how long your lens is.

After about a half hour of stalking, re-positioning and waiting, the cow lifted her head, and stretched her neck in the direction of the calf. I was ready and finally rewarded with the shot I wanted.

Equipment and exposure details: This image was taken from about 150 feet away with the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens, zoomed to 280mm; exposure was set at F5.6 (aperture priority), and the camera set the shutter speed for 1/200th second; I set the exposure compensation at +1/3 and set my white balance at 6500 degrees Kelvin to compensate for a strong overcast on an early morning (7:30 am). I typically use a carbon fiber Bogen monopod with a ball head to steady my lens. With the monopod, I keep the IS (image stabilization) on, and shut it off when using a true tripod. I use my Canon EOS 5D Mark II more for landscape work, and my smaller, Canon EOS 40D for wildlife work. This is because the smaller image sensor on the 40D gives me a 1.6X magnification with my Canon telephoto lenses -- which means that my 10 megapixel 40D images are almost as large as a cropped image would be from my 21 megapixel 5D camera.

Stalking wildlife: The park service warns that extreme caution should be taken when approaching large animals like moose, elk and bison. GTNP's rule is to maintain a distance of at least 75 feet from these animals. You should never come between the mother and her young, and your approach should never cause them to change from their normal behavior. A few seconds after I took this shot, the calf laid down, and the cow continued her feeding. The "relationship" that I was trying to capture was now gone, so it was a good time to go meet my wife for breakfast!

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Lighthouse Beams Across Stormy Sea - My Vision

2009-06-24T09:23:00.013-06:00

(Click on image for a larger view.)

The Oregon coast is one of my favorite vacation spots, and Heceta Head is probably the most photographed lighthouse in Oregon. Some of the most beautiful photos are taken at or near sunset. However, in this image I wanted to show the real purpose of a lighthouse: to guide seafarers at night. (I'm a stock photographer, and conceptual images SELL better than "pretty" pictures. I've also learned to leave room for type.)

To make this iconic image, I started with Kodak Ektachrome film, using a Nikon FM2, with a 200mm lens. I used a Kodak #47 (dark blue) Wratten Gel filter in front of the lens to enhance the feeling of a night time scene. The base exposure was 1/2 second @ f4 - followed by 16 separate exposures of the rotating lighthouse beam: I held a black card in front of the lens, and every time the beam rotated to the left position and flashed across the ocean, I pulled the card away from the lens (which was now stopped down to f11). The 35mm vertical image was then scanned and cropped to this square format.

One might think that this image could have been taken much easier if I had done it digitally (the way all my photos are taken now), but that's not true. The multiple exposure steps would be the same. The only change would have been the blue filter -- which is a simple step in Photoshop!

You are invited to see my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr (based on popularity stats).

Portrait of a Young Dancer - My Vision

2009-06-23T13:29:00.009-06:00

(Click on image for a larger view, or click here to see the series.)

Some time ago, I offered to do a portrait setting for some friends of their 13-year old daughter, "Mindy". Mindy was studying ballet, so I suggested that we do the session in her dance clothes.

Mindy was a delight to work with. She's a smart young lady, with a bubbly personality. Although the studio offered me beautiful, controlled lighting and a hand-painted background, I'd love to do an environmental-portrait session with her on location, in a dance studio.

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Lightning Makes A Striking Pose - My Vision

2009-06-18T12:48:00.026-06:00

(Click on image for a larger view, or click here to see a series of four images on my Flickr photostream.)

I think lightning photographs continue to amaze people because of their awesome force, and because they are a very graphic icon of nature's power that is often used to represent power in modern technologies. And because of this relationship, I've made many stock photo sales from my lightning images.

Photographing lightning is relatively simple: the camera's shutter is manually opened until one of more lightning strikes occur within the camera's field of vision. The lightning itself acts as an electronic flash -- exposing itself or freezing the image onto the digital sensor or film. (An manual exposure setting of f8 for an ISO of 100 will work as a starting point under most conditions.)

The real trick is guessing where best to aim the camera, and how long to leave the shutter open. Pointing the camera where recent lightning strikes have occurred is the best wisdom, with adjustments based on the storm's speed and direction. Some photographers will shoot "wide" and crop in using Photoshop. (All of my lightning photos are uncropped.)

Time exposures can be often produce surprises (good and bad). The longer you leave the shutter open, the more lightning strikes appear in the image, usually making for a more dramatic image. And the movement of the clouds during a long exposure can produce some dreamy effects. However, leaving the shutter open too long can also wash out the details of clouds and surrounding landscape, especially if there are bright city lights or leftover twilight from a sunset (or impending dawn).

If all this seems too technical, don't worry, most point-and-shoot cameras will automatically set the aperture or "f-stop" and close the shutter when enough light has reached the camera's image sensor (just keep in mind that most P&S cameras cannot time expose longer than 30 seconds, so some of your options are limited). Consult your manual for time-exposure menu settings. (It should go without saying that all this requires a steady tripod.) For more technical information and tips on lightning photography, refer to this Matthew Cole page, this LightningBoy page, or Guy Tal's Mountain Trail Photo Blog.

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Moonlight Reflecting Across the Ocean - My Vision

2009-06-16T08:30:00.012-06:00

(Click on image for a LARGER view.)

This photograph was from the deck of a cruise ship, while cruising the Mexican Riviera in early December. I was teaching a photography workshop on this trip, and I took this shot in between classes. The idea in my mind was to create a romantic, moonlight evening view of the ocean, as one would see from the elevated deck of a cruise ship.

This shot is only an illusion to the nighttime. The image was taken in the daytime, with the sun just outside the camera view, so I had to shade the lens with my other hand. Photographing the reflection of real moonlight across the ocean would have required a time exposure that would have blurred the ocean waves to almost complete smoothness -- not to mention the fuzzy horizon line due to the ship's motion.

The original photograph was mainly shades of gray, with very little color. Post-production of the raw image in Photoshop changed the scene into millions of shades of blue. The sky also had to be darkened considerably. The final touch was to give the image a slight pinch-cushion distortion to increase the curvature of the ocean horizon. This less than 3% curvature has an amazing effect on the mind. The image becomes less static, more recognizable, more memorable, and more exciting.

I photographed some stunning locations on this trip, but this simple, conceptional icon has made more stock photo sales that any of the other images I took.

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Spouting Horn, Kauai - My Vision

2009-06-09T08:39:00.031-06:00

Click the images to see larger views.

Spouting Horn is a blowhole on the south shore of Kauai, Hawaii. This natural water wonder is a popular tourist attraction that is often photographed quite badly, because most people visit it midday when the light is very flat and uninteresting (see for yourself in this Google search for 'Spouting Horn').

The most dramatic images of this natural water wonder come later in the afternoon or close to sunset when the sun's rays are more slanted (this gives more definition to the spray, and separates it from the ocean background and rocks). To obtain more power and height to the spray, it is also best to come at high tide.

Most of us just take "record" shots of the things we see on our vacations. However, with a little planning, you can schedule yourself to be at many locations when the odds for better pictures will be in your favor!

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Tracking Twitter with bit.ly - My Tools

2009-06-08T09:08:00.033-06:00

If you often wondered how effective your tweets were on Twitter, now you can find out!

Because of the 140-characters limit on Twitter, most everyone shortens their long URL links with services, i.e. TinyURL. A more recent URL shortening service, bit.ly, offers at least one additional free service that I find very useful: tracking your links.

Here's an example: Last week I posted a blog about some photos I shot at the Hubbard Glacier in Alaska. On the same day, I did three tweets on Twitter about my blog post. Each tweet was about five minutes apart and worded differently, but each used a bit.ly shortened URL that referenced my blog post on the glacier photos. Because I had registered with bit.ly (very simple), they tracked the number of click-throughs that each Twitter post (one, two, three) received. (I get a kick out of refreshing the browser every couple of minutes and watching the numbers rise.):

(Click on the images to enlarge)
From that same report, you can also click on the blue numbers to generate a minute-by-minute time line of when the clicks are coming:

As you can see in the above time line, the third Twitter tweet received 52 clicks within about 37 minutes. This is because it was re-tweeted by two of my followers, just minutes later. Wow! this is as close as it gets to instant gratification. (F.Y.I.: my YourPhotoVision Twitter account had about 1,800 followers at the time of these posts.)

Josh Sellers, in his blog, New Media Photographer, has suggested (31 things you are not doing) that photographers should re-releasing some of their older (better) blog posts on Twitter from time-to-time as they pick up more follower. When I do re-post this blog on Twitter, you can be sure that I'll use the third, and more effective tweet!

Hubbard Glacier Calving - My Vision

2009-06-05T09:35:00.016-06:00

(Click on photos to see a larger image.)

The calving sequence only lasted a few seconds. A park ranger, standing nearby, told me it was the largest calving he had ever seen.

About the Glacier: Hubbard is the longest tidewater glacier in Alaska, and its open calving face is over ten kilometers (6 miles) wide. The face rises an average of about 200 meters (600 feet) above the water (Disenchantment Bay). The ice chuck that just fell and produced this splash was over 100 meters (300 feet) high, or the height of a 25-story building. The glacier routinely calves off icebergs the size of a ten-story building.

Photography Tip: There were hundreds of people on the deck of the cruise ship (almost all with cameras), but I don't think anyone got this sequence, or even the climax. Most people put their cameras away when it's raining (read more below). I've found that you have to concentrate your attention in one general direction, and ready your equipment. Little chunks of ice will usually start crumbling and falling just before a big 'berg is calved. As soon as you see any falling ice or splashes in the water, you need to quickly compose onto that area (it takes about 2-3 seconds for the cracking and splashing sounds to travel from the glacier to the ship). If you wait until you hear the crack or the splash, it's too late to position your camera and lens for the big one.

The Blue Color & the Rain: This is the actual color of the glacial ice (centuries of compression drive out the oxygen, changing the ice to this color). The color might be a little more saturated than normal, because it was raining (a constant, light drizzle). In fact, my Canon EOS 40D quit working after this calving sequence (I'd been out in the rain for two hours). It took about an hour with a hair dryer to get it working again! (The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens functioned flawlessly, because it has more weatherproofing seals -- should have used my Canon EOS 1Ds body because it also has more weatherproofing. ;-)

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Extreme Photo Publishing Tools

2009-05-08T09:15:00.020-06:00

In January of this year, two very different digital images made national and world news. One was only a 2-megapixel photo and the other was a huge, 1,474-megapixel photograph. Both photographers used the power of the Internet to distributed their images; however, the publishing tools were extremely different. One use the power of the Twitter social media network, and the other used a new panoramic interface, called GigaPan.

The 2-megapixel photo was taken with an iPhone by Janis Krums of the U.S. Airways jet that crash landed in the Hudson River in New York City on January 15, 2009. Janis was on one of the ferries that came to the rescue of the jet passengers in what has become known as the "Miracle on the Hudson." Janis took several photographs of the passengers standing on the wing of the floating plane. He posted a message with one of the pictures on his Twitter account, and within minutes it was linked around the world.

Nearly 40,000 Web users viewed the photo within the first four hours. Krums photo was able to bring comfort to many of the relatives of the passengers on the downed jet. Thousand of Twitter fans congratulated Janis on his foray into citizen journalism. The Associated Press picked up Krums' photograph and it was published by many newspapers in both print and on their websites. The Los Angeles Times used about one-third of the tiny image to span all six-columns of its front page! While this cropped version was less than 1-megapixel, its newsworthiness far surpassed its technical quality.

The 1,474-megapixel image was taken at the inauguration of President Obama by David Bergmann fives days after the Hudson River landing. As a freelance photographer, Burgmann had already photographed five presidents and covered other big events like the Olympics and the Super Bowl. But this was inaugural address was expected to draw the largest crowd ever, and he felt it deserved a big photo. Bergmann made a panoramic image of the nearly 2 million people watching Obama's inaugural address. Within hours of it being posted on the Web, it was viewed by millions, and has became the most popular picture of the inauguration.

What make David's panoramic image interesting is that the image is so huge, many of the 2 million people in the photo can be identified when one zooms in on the image. Yet the GigiPan interface allows the 1,474-megapixel image to be easily transmitted across the Internet!

David Burgmann's panoramic image was made using a Canon G10 prosumer camera (14.7-megapixel) attached to a GigaPan Imager -- a robotic camera mount that allows one to take multiple images and stitch them together. David's final photo is made up of 220 Canon G10 images and the file is 59,783 X 24,658 pixels or 1,474 megapixels. It took more than six and a half hours for the GigaPan software to put together all of the images on his Macbook Pro and the completed TIF file is almost 2 gigabytes!

Nature's Best Backyards photo awards - Featured Vision

2009-04-22T05:15:00.008-06:00

Who says "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence?" Here are some great nature photographs where some of the photographers never traveled further than their own backyards!

Nature's Best Photography magazine publishes the winners of the Nature's Best Backyards 2008 photo contest. The contest is also sponsored by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Canon, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Discovery Channel.

Daily doses of Featured Vision can be found on my Twitter tweet: YourPhotoVision. They are also archived on Twitter, under the hashtag: fotoINSPIRED (#fotoinspired).

Inspiring Redwoods - My Vision

2009-04-15T14:08:00.027-06:00

When I drove to northern California a few years ago, I had a idea in my head of how I want my picture of the redwoods to look. But I wondered if I could pull it off. A lot depended on luck. I had this vision of sunlight bursting through the mist that often hangs around these magnificent giants.

The redwoods along the northern coast of California receive about 70 inches of rainfall each year just from their own needles and branches -- water that condensates and collects from the fog that shrouds these huge trees. As the fog rolls in from the ocean each day, droplets of water condensate and build larger on the needles until they drop to the forest floor. As the fog rolls further inland, occasional breaks in these low-hanging clouds allow sunlight to burst through between the branches.

The key is to be there when these rare breaks in the fog and clouds occur. Driving back and forth along the coastal highways, looking ahead for possible upcoming breaks increases you chances for success. And that is what happened on this late August day, just a few miles south of Crescent City. The break came in an instant and last for only about 90 seconds. Jumping out of my car, I was able to get off about a dozen shots before the rays of light were gone.

About 15 years ago I started a stock photo project of trying to discover and photograph "conceptual icons in nature." The idea was to find and photograph simple and dramatic concepts in nature that were instantly recognizable, even when reduced to a thumbnail size. "Inspiring Redwoods" is one of those successful images that follows those principles. It was a lucky shot, but I had envisioned the concept and prepared myself to capture the image when it appeared.

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Super Safe Drobo Data Storage System - My Tools

2009-04-08T12:22:00.030-06:00

ANALOG to DIGITAL: Seven years ago, I had about ten 4-drawer file cabinets full of color slides. When I went completely digital with my photography in 2002, my computer hard drive was filling up about every six months.

DATA STORAGE & BACKUP PROBLEMS: The solution to this huge data storage problem was to hook up two external hard drives to my computer and copy my digital camera files to one of the external drives, and duplicate those files on the second external, just in case there was a hard drive crash. When I filled up the two externals, I replaced them with two larger capacity drives or added two more drives. Copying every file twice is time-consuming, but necessary. I have found by experience that there are only two kinds of computer users: those who have lost their data, and those who are going to lose their data (unless they back it up)!

I keep my computer's hard drive free of digital camera files, except for the Photoshop versions that I'm currently working on. Once I've chosen the best images from a photo shoot and have processed those images, those files have also been save to and backed up onto the two external hard drives.

ENTER DROBO: That dual backup system changed when I bought the Drobo last Fall from Data Robotics. Now, I only store my digital camera files on ONE external hard drive - the Drobo. That's because Drobo gives me automatic redundancy (automatically writing the files on two separate drives within the Drobo unit). Even though my Drobo has two separate hard drives inside the unit, it acts and appears as one drive to my computer. Drobo goes beyond RAID array storage technology to protect data against a hard disk crash. As long as you have more than a single disk in Drobo, all data on Drobo is safe no matter which hard disk fails.

VIDEO DEMO: Drobo holds up to four hard drives and can expand at any time. Drobo supports up to 16TB on a single volume as disk sizes increase. To understand how simply Drobo works, watch this short video featuring computer geek, Cali Lewis. (It was Cali's demo that sold me on the Drobo).

COST: A 4-bay Drobo unit costs $499. With two 1TB Western Digital hard drives the cost is $749. With four 1TB Western Digital hard drives the cost is $999. As your drives fill up, and storage becomes cheaper, you can switch-out the 1TB drives with higher capacity drives (up to 4TB each) for a total of 16TB.

The second most searched term yesterday on Twitter.com was "DroboPro," Data Robotics' newly released storage solutions for business environments. The DroboPro can hold up to eight hard drives and is ideal for workstations and servers. Its cost is $1,299 without any hard drives.

OFF-SITE BACKUP: I'm confident Drobo will keep my data safe from a hard drive crash, but it will not protect me from a fire or theft. To protect against these possibilities, I burn DVD's backups and store them off-site. This has become somewhat cumbersome, as a 4GB memory card will completely fill one DVD!

My new solution is to backup the best shoots from each shoot on SmugMug (starting at $40 per year for unlimited storage). They back up my high-quality JPEG images onto a network of servers, and these files can be retrieved at anytime. I have a Pro account with SmugMug ($149) which also allows me sell prints and stock photo downloads of my images. For Photoshop, RAW, TIFF, and other computer data, you can use their SmugVault service for an additional 22 cents per gigabyte per month.

TRY SMUGMUG FOR FREE: You can try out SmugMug free for 14 days, and then if you decide to join, you can take $5 off your subscription by entering this coupon code: AMn9xxwwOuybE

Vintage Easter Collection - Featured Vision

2009-04-06T06:12:00.020-06:00

These vintage Easter images are part of OldPixels.com, a collection of Victorian Era art that I've been researching and acquiring for about 20 years. I enjoy collecting and sharing the vision of these vintage images almost as much as my own photographs.

A collection of 30 vintage Easter images is available on Flickr for sending e-greetings to your friends (to share or download, click the magnifying glass above the image). I enjoy collecting the traditional symbols of Easter: the eggs, chicks, and bunnies, but the reason for Easter is still one of my most popular downloads.

My collecting includes both photographs and chromolithographs (chromos) from the period of about 1880 through about 1915. Chromos were printed from hand-engraved limestone blocks. Many of these chromos required over a dozen stone masters, with a different ink color for each block; and each color had to be printed within a registration accuracy of less than 1/64th of an inch.

Many of the photographs are photo-postcards. They are real, black & white, photographs that were often sepia-toned and then hand-tinted by the members of the photographer's studio staff (usually women), and then sold to locals and tourists.

Sending and collecting postcards was extremely popular worldwide, from about 1893 to about 1915. During this period, in the United States, a postcard could be mailed for one cent -- hence the term, the "penny postcard."

Many of my collected images come from estate purchases, where the prized postcard collection of a great aunt or grandmother is found and sold, because no one in the family has interest in the collection.

I invite you to share these reflections of the past with your family and friends. This was a time when virtue and honor were fashionable and sought after. A simpler time when you didn't need a Zip Code to mail a post card -- or even a house number for that matter!

Daily doses of Featured Vision can be found on my Twitter tweet: YourPhotoVision. They are also archived on Twitter, under the hashtag: fotoINSPIRED (#fotoinspired).

Photographer Makeover - Featured Vision

2009-04-01T10:56:00.016-06:00

Jack Hollingsworth has been a well-known world travel photographer for about three decades. He was one of the first photographers to embrace RF (royalty-free) stock photography in the 90's. In the past decade, he's been a major contributor to more than a dozen stock agencies, and has build his own brands -- several with a specialty in Asian lifestyle.

A couple of years ago, Jack noticed his stock photo sales were starting to slip. Instead of just casually wondering what was happening, Jack decided to do some extensive research. Because he still had a steady income stream, he was able to take a year off from active shooting and study what was happening in the stock photo market.

Jack discovered that the emerging Web 2.0 Revolution was changing how corporations and publishers were using photography. Electronic media was quickly replacing print. Advertisers were starting moving away from traditional publications and more to Web sites that embraced social networking.

When I last met Jack, in November 2008 at a PhotoPlus conference in NYC, he was showing a digital slide presentation about these changes and hinting how he planned to re-invent himself (which he typically does about every five years).

That re-invention has started to reveal itself at his web site (after several months of hidden re-construction). He's now telling professional photographers how they can do their own Photographer Makeover and take advantage of the major marketing and social interaction shifts taking place in the Web 2.0 Revolution.

Photographer Makeover is a 4-day workshop bringing together the experience and advise of 10 top photographers and consultants. It promises to teach you a new way of seeing and working in the new hybrid, cross-platform media. If you miss the workshop, just continue to follow the makeover URL for an upcoming e-book.

The makeover is one of two boot camp / workshops that Hollingsworth will be doing this year. He also has plans for monthly webinars, and seven international photo tours for the community that follows his Web site.

You can also follow "Photojack" on Twitter.

Daily doses of Featured Vision can be found on my Twitter tweet: YourPhotoVision. They are also archived on Twitter, under the hashtag: fotoINSPIRED (#fotoinspired).

Featured Vision: getting publishing via Fotoblur

2009-03-30T08:05:00.032-06:00

Fotoblur is an online photography community and a published magazine. Its focus is on artistic, progressive photography.

Anyone can submit digital photographs to Flotoblur. Published photos are selected by the Fotoblur community and Fotoblur Magazine editors. Selections made by the community determine which images are of the highest artistic quality. The Fotoblur is currently working on Issue 2 of the magazine.

The magazine typically has a 45-day submission period for each issue, followed by a 15-day selection period. During this 60-day period, members of the community can comment and vote for the images they like best. Members can also "promote" or list favorites on their own gallery. Statistics (views, votes, comments, and current ratings) are viewable to both members and the public.

Printed Magazine. After the selection period, the editors use the stats to make their final decision for the printed version of Fotoblur: Fotoblur Magazine. In order to present a variety of images (ie landscapes, waterscapes, street, portraits) Fotoblur Magazine editors make the final selections for publication.

The Fotoblur Magazine is a printed on-demand magazine by MagCloud. You and other visitors to the Fotoblur Web site can buy copies of the magazine. It is NOT available on newstands or by subscription. So far, only one issue, The Beginning - Spring 2009, is available (including an online preview). The cost for the 56-page magazine is just a little over $16. Comments from those that have ordered the magazine say that the printing quality is very good. Lance Ramoth, who has had images published both in Smithsonian and B&W magazines said, "The print quality ...actually exceeded my expectations. Each image is crisp and the color is amazing."

Unlike a "vanity" magazine which you could produce and publish yourself (using MagCloud), Fotoblur adds credibility, because your peers do the choosing. Fotoblur also provides exposure, promotion, and distribution that you don't have to pay for -- unless you want to buy some extra copies to give to your mom ;-)

Daily doses of Featured Vision can be found on my Twitter tweet: YourPhotoVision. They are also archived on Twitter, under the hashtag: fotoINSPIRED (#fotoinspired).

Courting Trumpeter Swans - My Vision

2009-03-27T06:59:00.013-06:00

Four years ago I started a project that I'll probably continue working on until my eyesight or my legs give out: photographing the habits of the Trumpeter Swan. This is a bird that mates for life. These graceful birds are a joy to observe and photograph, and one of the best spot in the world is only about 300 miles or five hours from my home in Salt Lake City: Grand Teton National Park.

Unfortunately, because the busy schedules we all have, I rarely have a chance to break away and visit the park more than a couple of times a year, even though it is relatively close to me. I hope to set my priorities straight and increase my level of commitment on this personal project.

When I do photograph the swans, I can wait and shoot all day without seeing or catching the behaviors that I'm looking for. However, in each trip I learn something more about these amazing creatures that makes me more prepared for my next visit.

The above photograph was taken on my first trip in 2005. You'll see more images of these birds, as well as images from other subjects (about once a week) as I share "My Vision" with you in this blog.

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Featured Vision: Rosie Hardy

2009-03-26T07:44:00.027-06:00

Rosie Hardy is an 18 year-old expressionist photographer living in Manchester, England. Her Photostream has some of the most commented-on images at Flickr.

Words like, "inspiring, ...original, ...incredible, ...creative, and ...magical" are typically used to describe her work, and are well-justified.

(Viewing tip: when viewing images on Flickr, move your cursor across the image and stop just to the outside of the featured image to get rid of Flickr's "Add Notes" feature -- those annoying boxes that clutter her images.)

Rosie is becoming well-known for the conceptual imagery residing in her photographs and her use of natural light. She is regarded by many as one of the few young photographers making captivating pictures. Her photographs are based on original ideas and imagery, rather than a focus on equipment.

Other than her camera, her most used piece of equipment is her tripod. That's because the female model in most of her current photographs is Rosie, herself!

Recently, Rosie met another photographer on Flickr, Aaron Nace, and they have teamed up to form ARF Fotography.

Daily doses of Featured Vision can be found on my Twitter tweet: YourPhotoVision. They are also archived on Twitter, under the hashtag: fotoINSPIRED (#fotoinspired).

Why Should I Enter Photo Contests or Shows?

2009-03-25T05:15:00.025-06:00

Participating in photo contests and shows is a good way to share your photo vision with others. It can increase your recognition and reputation; and for some people it can provide the incentives and the competition to drive the creative process.

A few words of caution: 1) Be careful not to give away your rights. Read the rules and fine print. Avoid those contests that have language such as, "...all entries become the property of..." These contests are just a way for publishers and corporations to obtain cheap images. Reputable contests and shows will never require you to give up your copyright.

2) Make sure the prize(s) are worth the effort or the entry fee(s). In some cases, just the recognition of winning or even being selected to hang in a prestigious show or gallery (in the case of a fine art contests) are more than enough compensation. If the judge is highly respected, just being able to mention in your resume that your photography made it into the show can be a real feather in your cap.

3) Start small. In the beginning, enter local or regional contests or shows rather than at the national level. The competition at national contests can be fierce. The number of entries in a contest like The Great Outdoors Photo Contest is often in the tens of thousands. Setting your sights too high in the beginning, and having a long series of disappointments at the onset, could smother creativity.

My first contest was a regional contest among my local peers, the Intermountain Professional Photographers Association. I walked away with the "Photographer of the Year" award. There was no prize money, but the local press coverage (which included running the above picture and my face) really helped to jump-start my reputation in the community and the confidence in my photo vision.

The Great Outdoors Photo Contest

2009-03-24T21:25:00.016-06:00

National Geographic Traveler (NGT) and Photo District News (PDN) are sponsoring "The Great Outdoors Photo Contest." The entry deadline is less than a month away: April 20, 2009 -- but you can extend the deadline to May 4th, if you're willing to pay an additional $10 per entry.

The contest is open to both amateur and professional photographers. There are five categories: 1) Parks and safaris, 2) plants, animals, insects, and gardens, 3) beaches, islands and underwater, 4) scenes of the natural world, 5) outdoor sports and activities. Entries will be judged on basis of creativity (34%), sense of place (33%), and capturing the moment (33%).

There will be a prize awarded in each category, (for both amateur and professionals), and a grand prize awarded in both the amateur and professional contests. The two grand prizes are five-night stays for two at Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya Hotel in Mexico (with a retail value of $6,000).

Entry fees are $12 per entry for amateur submissions and $35 per entry for professional submissions. Winners will be selected on or about June 1, 2009, and notified by e-mail by June 15, 2009. The Amateur Contest winners will be published online by NGT after June 15, 2009; and the Professional Contest winners will be published in the August issue of PDN.

Contest entries are to be submitted electronically to the web site, www.TheGreatOutdoorsPhotoContest.com, where full details are available. You can also get an idea of your competition because the site has images of the "Latest Entries" (the contest began on February 6th)!

My Comments: Typically, I'm not a big fan of photo contests, because many are just a cheap way for publishers and corporations to obtain use of your images; however, NGT and PDN are top-notch companies and assure that "You retain copyright to your photograph and the Sponsors may not sell your photo entry for a fee."

Featured Vision: Lothian's Foto's

2009-03-23T06:04:00.016-06:00

"Lothian's Foto's" is a Flickr Photostream by Richard Brocken, the father of two children, Thomas and Eva. They live in the Netherlands. Richard plays the clarinet in an orchestra for a living, yet the photos of his children, especially his daughter Eva, are some of the most striking I've ever seen. I'll let some of the testimonials on his site echo my observations:

"Lothian's photos are simply phenomenal. He combines his excellent technical ability with an extraordinary ability to see something profound in his and his children's every day lives, and creates works of art which are moving and inspirational."

"A photogenic model is important, but it takes a great photographer to make it a great portrait. Personally I think the Lothian portrait's of his daughter are among the best i've ever seen."

"Lothian's Foto's is one of the most creative artists at Flickr that I have encountered. ...his work goes beyond photography and standard portraiture work that is prevalent throughout this community. ...His eye for beauty is keen and the way he captures his subjects is unsurpassed by few."

Daily doses of Featured Vision can be found on my Twitter tweet: YourPhotoVision. They are also archived on Twitter, under the hashtag: fotoINSPIRED (#fotoinspired).

Improving Photos with Perspective and Size Relationships

2009-03-21T09:22:00.006-06:00

In February I went to Kauai, Hawaii. I can't wait to return to that "Garden Island." You'll see more images in future blogs from this beautiful and diverse paradise that has been the background for dozens of Hollywood movies. My wife and loved the more relaxed and less commercial feeling of this island.

When I photographed these Giant Fig Trees Roots (Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) a Banyan tree native to Australia), I wanted to emphasis it's massive roots. Their size and sprawling nature were accentuated by forced perspective, achieved through using a wide angle lens (17mm, or 24mm equivalent). Including the round lava rocks in the foreground also adds interest.

The image still doesn't communicate how massive these roots are until a known relationship is add to the image. When I saw a couple posing for a picture, I asked them to stay a minute longer and keep looking at the man who was taking their picture, while I compose a different image of them. Using the same wide-angle perspective, I included them near the top of the image and to the right (following the "rule of thirds"), tucking them between two huge roots.

Their size relationship to the trees really makes the image speak for itself.

Camera Battery Power More Important Than Memory

2009-03-21T03:14:00.003-06:00

Avoid a common error in lost picture-taking opportunities.

When it comes to buying accessories for your new digital camera, the first priority that comes to most people's mind is getting additional digital memory cards. Few people think about getting extra rechargeable batteries for their camera. This can be a big mistake.

When I review real life photo-taking situations with other photographers, they will tell you that they have had more lost photo opportunities from exhausted batteries than from full digital memory cards. Why? For one thing, a person can always review their images and free up more memory by erasing pictures they don't think are as important; however, when your [last] battery is dead, you're totally out of business.

Maybe it's because memory has become so cheap these days that we typically end up buying additional cards, yet many of us fail to purchase the more expensive (and I believe), and the most important accessory: extra camera batteries.

Some digital cameras still use AA alkaline batteries that are easily obtainable almost anywhere, but the majority of cameras today require proprietary lithium-ion batteries (or Li-ion) for their power source. Rechargeable Li-ion batteries are much cheaper than AA alkaline batteries in the long run, but can be quite pricey in the beginning, and virtually impossible to find when you are on vacation or on location at a professional photo shoot.

I recommend getting at least one extra Li-ion battery for your digital camera, and keep it charged. As soon as your camera indicates that your battery's power is starting to run low, switch out the battery with the fresh one, and start recharging the nearly exhausted one when you get back home or to your hotel. You don't have to worry about battery "memory" problems with the newer lithium-ion batteries. Unlike older battery types, Li-ion batteries don't require you to completely discharge the battery before you recharge it (to maintain maximum capacity).

In fact, it's better if you don't fully exhaust a Li-ion battery. This battery type prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Because frequent full discharges should be avoided whenever possible, I'd even suggest rotating your batteries, and starting out each day with a freshly charged battery when you leave your hotel or your home. Professional photographers will want to switch out whenever there is a lull in the shooting, or just before an important session. I typically carry four or more batteries on a shoot.

Like I said in the beginning, extra batteries can be expensive. An extra battery for my new Canon EOS 5D Mark II costs about $80, and the typical Li-ion battery for many point-and-shoot digital cameras will run you about $40 or more. One of the most popular digital cameras under $150 right now is the Canon Powershot SD1100 IS. However, an extra Canon NB-4L battery will cost you about $60 -- more than one-third the price of the camera! It's no wonder many put off getting this important accessory.

Low-cost alternative: I suggest you buy an after-market brand battery that meets or exceeds the OEM (original equipment manufacturer's) specifications in their "mAh" rating. But, be careful. There are some poor quality after-market battery products out there. One company that I've used for several years, with good success, is CCS - Calcellular.com (also found under www.cs-power.com). They are a leading after-market supplier of cell phone, laptop, camcorder and digital camera batteries. Their replacement Li-ion battery for the Canon NB-4L is under $7. And since the shipping will probably cost you about that much, you might as well buy two or three! Another cost-saving example is their replacement Canon BP-511 Li-ion battery that has been used in more than three dozen Canon digital cameras. Whereas the Canon product typically retails for almost $70, the CCS replacement is less than $9.00!

News Flash: Currently, no after-market companies have tooled-up to produce a replacement battery for my new Canon EOS 5D Mark II (21MP), so I'll have to buy the expensive, genuine Canon original. In fact, Canon is so behind on producing these batteries that they are back-ordered all over the country. In some cases, pros are willing to pay over $115 (retail is $79.95) to get additional batteries!

Your Photo Vision STATEMENT

2009-03-20T15:13:00.005-06:00

Welcome to my blog! Whether you're a beginning photographer, intermediate, or a professional, the reason you take pictures is because you wish to share your photo vision -- your view of the world with others. In this blog I will talk about ways in which each of us, no matter our level of experience, can improve our methods of capturing our vision and sharing it with others.

I've been a professional photographer for over 30 years and I still enjoy learning new ways to capture the vision I have. I strive constantly to make my camera a seamless extension of my eyes. For most professionals and some intermediate photographers, this has been accomplished -- what we see on the LCD screen (and in our final digital images) is pretty close to what our eyes saw. We've finally mastered the technical part of photography.

But the most challenging step sometimes still eludes me, and that is trying to capture what my brain has envisioned -- trying to capture ideas and thoughts onto digital "film." Reaching this last level is the most fun. Some beginning and intermediate photographers want to go straight to this level without conquering the technical part. This leads to frustration and disappointment. At the same time, some intermediate and professional photographers can get so caught up in techique that their images are stilted and without soul.

As I have taught photography classes and workshops, it has often been an inspiration to me to see beginning photographers who have an amazing vision to share. Their images shout with expression and enthusiasm, even when their technical skills are somewhat lacking. Others, with more skills, produce flawless images, but they have nothing to say -- their pictures do not speak to you.

My goal in this blog is to 1) share my photo vision, 2) share the vision of others that I admire, 3) review products and teach skills that will improve your technique, and 4) share ideas that will increase the flow and enthusiasm for revealing your photo vision.