Photos Still Coming In From St. Augustine Workshop

Workshop participant Wendy MacHardy just sent me this nice photograph from last week's St. Augustine, FL workshop. It's a nice example of a double profile, as well as the difference between taking a picture and making a picture.

The dates for my 2010 St. Augustine workshop are: January 17 to 19th. Info to come on the Events page of my site.

Explore the Light,
Rick
P.S. We had 30 folks last time. The limit. If you are interested, sign up soon after the event is posted.

Hudson River Photogrpahy Workshops Week III: Cool Low-Light Shot

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Workshop participant Jeremy Pollack took this VERY low-light shot last night at Bella Paula restaurant here in Croton-on-Hudson, NY with his Canon 5D Mark II, 85mm lens set at f/1.2. ISO was 3200. It's a hand-held shot.

Don't ya love the tack-sharp focus on the eyes and the blurred background - and of course the shallow depth-of-field.

Processing: Lightroom with a touch of Noise Ninja using Convert to Smart Filter so that the effect was only applied to the background.

We made the picture, asking Paula to pose in just the right light, hold the wine glass up to her mouth, turn her body and look over her shoulder, and give us a certain "look."

Making pictures is what we do here on the workshops - and what we encourage photographer to do.

Go out and make some great pictures this weekend. Share them on my flickr group: Creative Eyes and Minds.

Explore the Light,
Rick

Follow the Young at Heart

Okay, okay! I know I've posted a lot of stuff here on HDR lately! But here are two new shots: three exposures – 0, +2 and -2 EV. Photomatix with a touch to Topaz Adjust.

I have lived by the dam for 25 years. I never got a mist shot like the one on the right. It's the result of following a text message at the end of the day from a young workshop participant, Jeremy Pollack: "Incredible mist, get to the top of the dam ASAP."

Point of this homily: Follow the advice of young people. Jeremy and I were the only photographers from the workshop shooting - in 34 degree temp in the snow!

By the way: Slow shutter speeds in HDR work great with water, clouds and mist - but not moving leaves and people.

HDR info, click here.

Explore the light,
Rick

St. Augustine Workshop: HDR Fun!

HDR was a main focus of my St. Augustine, FL workshop this week - and will be a part of my January 2010 workshop. However, in that workshop we'll also cover Travel Photography, lighting, Photoshop, flash photography with reflectors and diffusers (you'll be able to master your flash), etc.

Here are a few images.

The top image was taken by Jeff Harrison. The bottom two images (before and after HDR) were taken by pro photographer Rob Knight.

Rob took a more artistic approach, while Jeff went for a more realistic approach. The group liked 'em both.

When you are creating an HDR image, try an image both ways: realistic and artistic. The more you boost the strength and saturation in Photomatix (the HDR program we used), the more artistic the look. Add a Topaz Adjust effect, such as Spicify, and you'll get an even more artistic image. Keep on going! Add a digital frame for an even more artistic image.

For more on HDR imaging (and discounts on some plug-ins), see the pluginexperience. The home page image is a combo of using: Photomatic, Topaz Adjust and PhotoFrame 4 Professional from onOne Software.

Explore the Light,
Rick
P.S. Rob and I are planning a Travel Photography workshop in Atlanta, GA. Stay tuned!