10 Countries, 10 Days, 10 Tips: Day 10 - Cambodia

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It's Day 10 (last day) of my travel series here on my blog. Thanks for following along. If you missed a day or two, scroll down.

Location: Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

Tip: Get on site early to photograph this archeological wonderland from the path that runs along the reflecting pond near the entrance. If you are lucky, you'll get a nice sunrise.  Because you'll be shooting into the sun, shoot HDR.


You can't miss the path, and neither can dozens of other photographers, some with tripods! That's why you want to get there early. Bring a flashlight so you can see where you are going and what you're doing.


Inside the temple, shoot wide and shoot HDR. You especially need HDR when your photograph has both sky and shadows in the frame. I photographed this scene with my Canon 14mm lens. I converted it to B&W using Nik Silver Efex Pro. All the plug-ins I use are on my Save on Creative Plug-ins Page.


Of course, photograph the buddhist monks. I found them ready, willing and able for a photo session.

My #1 people photography tip: The camera looks both ways; in picturing the subject we are also picturing a part of ourselves.

My #2 photo tip: light the eyes.

You'll find more people photography tips in my app, Rick Sammon's 24/7 Photo Buffet.

I hope to see you on one of my workshops, in the US or abroad.

Explore the light,
Rick

Death Valley Photography Workshop: Day 1 - Sand Dunes

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© Rick Sammon
It's day one of my workshop with The Digital Photo Workshops here in Death Valley.

We had a blast this morning photographing the sand dunes.

A basic tip: You snooze you lose. You gotta get up early and stay out late to capture the beautiful shadows created by a rising or setting sun.

Remember: Light reveals, shadows define.

Also, envision the end-result and crop creatively. Here I cropped out the top and bottom of the frame to draw attention to the beautiful sand dunes in the center of the frame.

More images to come.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. For all my workshops, click here.

See You At the California Photo Fest - I Hope!

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© Rick Sammon
I leave one week from today for the California Photo Fest - one of the coolest photo events of the year. The main reason for the coolness is that there are tons of photo opportunities, such as horses running on the beach. (What could be cooler?)

There is still time to sign up for the photo fun (non stop) and learning (with more than a dozen instructors) and dozens and dozens of programs (Lightroom, photography, lighting, and so on).

I hope to see you there - on the beach and in the classroom . . . and in the fantastic restaurants!

Explore the light,
Rick



Thank You Croton Creative Workshop Photographers

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Just a quick "thank you" to all the talented photographers who participated in my fall 2011 Croton Creative Workshop (one hour from NYC). You all did an amazing job. What's more, we had a blast!

Above is our group shot, taken at one of my favorite shooting locations, a nearby Buddhist temple. Below is a cool shot (taken by John Dutsar) of the Buddhist temple.


I also want to thank the Croton Fire Department for letting my group shoot in one of the firehouses. I took the photograph below to illustrate the technique: the closer you are to a subject, the more intimate the picture becomes. Here I used my Canon 15mm lens on my Canon 7D.


And below is our group shot with Tom "Tex" Dinkler, who helped coordinate our shoot at the firehouse. Thanks, Text!


During my Croton workshops, I make a BIG print of a student's image that I really like. Below: John Virgolino and I are holding a 24 x 53-inch print of the Buddhist temple that I made for him on my Canon IPF 6350 printer. Nice work, John . . . stitching together 21 images for this super pano!


Below is my own favorite shot from yesterday. Yes! We do studio work, too! Click here to read about it.


Below: Nice shots Ned (left) and Bryon (right)!



I hope to see you soon on another workshop. Croton Creative Students: If you have a web gallery, post it in the Comments here on my blog. I would love to see more of your pictures!

I am currently setting the dates for two 2012 Croton Creative Workshops.

To get on my mailing list, click here.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S.


Of course we shoot at the New Croton Dam! Above is a wonderful image by Don Smith. I like the depth of this image. Below is a nice pano from Bernie Perry.

One Light Speedlite Wonders

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Today was the last day of my Croton Creative Workshop. We did it all during the past three days: indoors, outdoors, HDR, speedlites, reflectors/diffusers Lightroom, Photograph, people, etc.

This afternoon we focused on speedlite photography - using only one one light and one reflector. The main purpose of this session was to demonstrate different lighting techniques. Had this been a serious studio shoot, I would have ironed the background.

Above is one of my favorites shots. It illustrates that you can indeed get cool lighting with one light.



Above is a behind-the-scenes shots taken by workshop student Danel Hernendez.

Notice that the soft box is not pointed directly at the subject. Rather, it's pointed in front of the subject. In doing so, the light falling on the subject is soft and flattering. This is called feathering the light.

Also note: the larger the light, the softer the light; the closer the light, the softer the light.

The cool painted background was provided by Westcott.

The softbox on the left is a Westcott Apollo soft box.

The gold reflector on the right is from the Westcott 6-in-1 reflector diffuser kit.

I am shooting with my Canon 7D and 24-105mm lens.

The Canon 580EX II in the softbox is fired from the Canon ST-E2 mounted in the hot-shoe of my camera.

Here are the links to some of the gear:


Canon 580EX II Speedlite



Westcott 6-1 Kit
Westcott 1032 6-in-1 Reflector Kit 42in.




One of the cool things about my studio workshops is that the students can see the results of their work during the shooting sessions.

To get on the mailing list for my workshops, including my Croton Creative Workshops, click here.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. See more lighting techniques on my October creativeLive class.

What's The Most Important Thing About An Image?

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I just returned from teaching a workshop in Plymouth, MA that was expertly organized by my friend Amy Davis. Thank you Amy for setting up such a wonderful event. And . . . thank you to all the participants who joined the photo fun. I can't wait to be there for our August workshop - and more lobster rolls!

We shot in a several locations and covered landscape, HDR and fill-in flash photography. The group learned how to use reflectors and diffusers - and how to see the light. We shot sunrises and sunsets. We even had an opportunity to paint with light. Yes! We also downloaded our images, enhanced them in Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture, and had a group slide show.

My favorite location was the "mansion," and my favorite shot from that location leads off this post. I call it, "The Girl in the Red Dress."

I took the shot with my Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 17-40mm lens. I used an Induro tripod to steady my camera. All my gear is on my Gallery and Gear page.

Everyone got a very similar shot, by the way. Great job!

The photograph prompted me to ask the participants, "What's the most important thing about the image?"

Responses included:
- location
- subject
- subject within a subject
- color
- depth of field
- drama
- subject's pose
- and of course lighting, which was simply natural light streaming through an open door behind the subject.

All these elements added to the photograph, no doubt. However, I feel the most important part of the photograph - any photograph - is the idea. That's where it all starts . . . not with shutter speeds and f-stops and HDR programs, etc. It's all about the idea.

So my friends, keep this thought in mind: It is your ideas that will separate you from the crowd - not your gear.

Put on your thinking caps! :-)

Speaking of ideas, here is an idea I had while looking at my photograph, "The Girl in the Red Dress." Give yourself a self-assignment: over the course of several months, or even a year or more, take pictures for a themed project. That is what I am doing, as you can see from my photograph, The Girl in the Black Dress."


Explore the light,
Rick


P.S. Here is another tip, which is probably obvious by now: The subject's face does not always need to be visible in a photograph. I took this photograph, "The Girls in the Colorful Dresses," in Panama.

Mexico Photo Workshop and Seminar Set for June

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Photograph by Juan Jose Marquez
My friend Juan Jose Marquez and I are gearing up for my June Mexico seminar and workshop. My seminar will be held in Mexico City. The workshop will be held in San Miguel de Allende - one of the most picturesque and romantic places on the planet. We hope you can join the photo fun.

Speaking of fun, Juan Jose likes to have some fish-eye fun, as illustrated by the first two pictures in this post.

Photograph by Juan Jose Marquez
I like to use a fish-eye lens, too. Below is one of my favorite fish-eye shots, taken in San Miguel de Allende.

Photograph by Rick Sammon
Yes! During the workshop we will also be using other types of lenses. :-)

Below are two more of my San Miguel images. Both are HDR.

Photograph by Rick Sammon
Photograph by Rick Sammon
We both hope to see you in Mexico.
To see more of Juna Jose's work:

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. During my last visit to San Miguel de Allende, I rented a red VW for the morning and used it as a prop in eight different locations. Good photo fun!