Looking for Pictures

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Click image for larger view.

In reviewing my images from a shoot yesterday near Las Vegas, I got to thinking about what photographers look for when they are photographing.

On that shoot, I was looking for "animals and faces" in the rock formations.

What do you see in these two images? In the image on the right, I see a horse and a goat. The image on the left reminds me of two people kissing (or maybe two aliens kissing).

What do you see? Post your comments here. Also post a comment about seeing pictures if you like.

Both of these pictures were taken with my favorite landscape lens, my Canon 17-40mm lens.

Explore the light,
Rick


Going Overboard with Noise Reduction Can Be a Good Thing

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At Friday night's sold-out talk in Las Vegas for the Nevada Camera Club (thanks Brad Edwards for taking the bottom photo at the fun event), I talked about HDR photography. Lots of interest!

In discussing noise reduction in Topaz Adjust, I suggested going overboard (sometimes!!) when reducing the noise - which softens an image to the point where it looks like a painting.

Now, I could tell you exactly how I created the top image, but I think you'll learn more, and have more fun, trying to create artful pictures yourself . . . and you'll probably come up with your own artful creations and variations of an image. My pal Trey Ratcliff agrees (on the do-it-yourself/learn-it-yourself method) - although he does share lots of his techniques in his books and seminars.

If you come up with cool images, post a link here. I'd love to see it!

FYI: I took the photograph at Bodie State Historical Park in California with my Canon 1Ds Mark III and 17-40mm lens at the 17mm setting.

Explore the light,
Rick
P.S. More info on Topaz and HDR at the Plug-in Experience. Discounts, too,


The Name of the Game Is To Fill The Frame

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Hi Gang,

I am off to Las Vegas for a seminar tonight. Tomorrow, a few of us are going to shoot at a cool junkyard and then at Little Finland.

In getting ready for the junkyard shoot, I was looking at some of my HDR images from a recent junkyard shoot (a site on my Southwest Caravan). This image reminds me of the photo adage: "The name of the game is to fill the frame." Before taking this picture, I moved the piece of orange junk into the frame to fill up the dead space in the scene.

Filling the frame is good advice. However, there is a lot to be said for using "dead space," too.

Another tip: Make pictures, don't simply take pictures.

Explore the light,
Rick
P.S. I used Photomatix plus Topaz Adjust/Spicify to create this image. You can get a discount on Photomatix (and other plug-ins) at the Plug-in Experience.



Compact Cameras Hot Items at CES

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One of the segments on the 1.6.10 TODAY Show featured some cool digital compact cameras from CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas. It's amazing what these tiny wonders can do when it comes to image quality and user-friend features. And don't forget the affordable price!

Hey, I use my digital SLRs to make a living. However, I never leave home without my digital compact camera. In fact, I have been using a digital compact camera since the late 90s, when I took my first one to Nepal (top and middle photos).

I took the bottom two photographs with my Canon G10 last year. Wow - have compact cameras come a long way, in image quality, battery power and shutter lag.

If you learn how to see the light and compose and exposure carefully, and envision the end result, you can get get some pretty amazing pictures with a compact camera. Here is an article that illustrates this point.

If you are serious about having good fun with your compact camera and getting pro-quality results, check out my latest book: Confessions of a Compact Camera Shooter, listed on the Books page of my site.

Explore the Light,
Rick
P.S. Speaking of having fun, check out this fun article on having fun in Photoshop.