Florida Photo Caravan: St. Augustine, 3rd Shoot

in , ,
HDR Efex Pro Plus Topaz Adjust. Photography by Rick Sammon
Man o man, what a day in St. Augustine ... from horses running on the beach to the Alligator Farm to Old Town.

In Old Town, we focused on HDR, using Photomatix, HDR Efex Pro and Topaz Adjust on our images. What fun!

HDR Efex Pro. Photograph Rick Sammon
We had a lot of fun making HDR pictures. See below!

Original image - crying for HDR!

HDR Efex Pro to the Rescue! Photograph Rick Sammon
HDR Efex Pro Plus Topaz Adjust. Photograph Rick Sammon
Tomorrow after our sunrise shoot, we are off to Merritt Island. Stay tuned!

Tip: When making HDR images that include people, ask them to hold perfectly still (as we did here).


For discounts on HDR Efex Pro and Photomatix, and info on Topaz Adjust, click here.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. These cool images just in:

Photograph by John Davis
Photograph by Rona Zevin

Florida Photo Caravan: St. Augustine, 2nd Shoot

in
© Rick Sammon
The Alligator Farm was the site for our second shoot in St. Augustine. Good photo opps of birds . . .

© Rick Sammon
 . . . and gators . . .

© Rick Sammon
. . . and patterns (Topaz Adjust/Spicify used on the right) . . .

Photo by Susan Sammon
 . . .  and of some of our talented photographers, including photo-newbie Erin Masters, who head up the Florida Birding and Photo Fest!

Tip: Expose for the highlights, checking your camera's histogram to make sure you don't have a spike on the right. Also check your camera's overexposure warning.

Stay tuned for photos and tips all week!

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. Click here for info on Topaz Adjust. Save a bundle by ordering a bundle.

Florida Photo Caravan: St. Augustine, 1st Shoot

in , ,
© Rick Sammon
My Florida Photo Caravan workshop, with stops in St. Augustine, Merritt Island, Delray Beach and South Beach, is off to a great start. The group's first assignment, at 7 AM today, was to photograph horses running on the beach. We all got great shots - thanks in part to a fantastic sunrise. Good job group!

© Rick Sammon
I talked about the importance of seeing the light - looking for shadows and highlights, and getting the best in-camera exposure. Tip: Light illuminates, shadows define.

© Susan Sammon
Speaking of great shots, below is one from Bryon West.

© Bryon West
Stay tuned for daily updates.

For info on all my workshops, click here.

Explore the light,
Rick

From Drab to Fab - with a little help from two cool plug-ins

in , ,
 

Next week, we have a sunrise shoot scheduled at St. John's Pier in St. Augustine, Florida – the first stop on my Florida Photo Caravan. (The Caravan is full, but you can swing by my talk in Ft. Lauderdale.)

While preparing an email to the participants about getting ready for the early morning shoot, I thought that other photographers might like some quick tips on shooting a sunrise - or sunset. So here goes.

First, don't freak out of the sunrise (or sunset) is drab. You can turn drab to fab with a couple of plug-ins.

I created the opening image for this post using Nik's HDR Efex Pro and Topaz Adjust (Spicify filter). Click here for a discount on Nik Software's HDR Efex Pro and info on Topaz Adjust.

Here is the original, drab image. It's not the St. John's Pier, by the way. I took this shot near Los Osos, California.

Here is my HDR Efex Pro image.

So, the first tip is: Don't get discouraged when you don't get a spectacular sunrise. Help is on the way in the digital darkroom.

A few more tips:
• Bring a flashlight so you can see what the heck you are doing!
• Don't place the horizon line in the center of the frame.
• Don't place the sun in the center of the frame.
• Check your histogram! Avoid washed out highlights.
• Bring a tripod.
• As the light increases, dial down your ISO.
• Use a foreground element (like a pier) to add interest to the image.
• Be careful when changing lenses around salt spray. 

Here is a cool flashlight for photographers:













Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. Horses running on the beach is also schedule. For tips, click here.