6.14.11 Tuesday's Talented Twitter Find: Eric Dunetz


This Week's Tuesday's Talented Twitter find is Eric Dunetz.

Follow Eric on Twitter to keep up-to-date with what he's doing.

About My Tuesday's Talented Twitter Find: Each Tuesday (when I am not traveling) I will pick a talented photographer I find on Twitter - and promote the talented photographer here on my blog and on twitter, etc.

Nice work, Eric.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. If you are not following me on Twitter, click here to keep up to date with what I'm doing. And, keep posting interesting photo stuff on Twitter!

Painting Class Added to Croton Creative


My friend and neighbor, Joe Mullins, is offering an outdoor and painting class at the same time I am running my October 2011 Croton Creative Digital Photography Class

We'll get together for a nice welcome dinner and dinners throughout the week - sharing what we have learned and how we might apply the lessons to our individual craft. We'll also have a grand finale show at the end of the workshops. What fun!
Here's the scoop.

This course will incorporate basic sketching styles specifically for landscape painting. It will cover pencil, pen and ink, watercolor and charcoal. These sketches will be used as a road map to help the artist re-define the landscape in front of them. With these on-site drawings and sketches of the landscapes, the artist can continue their finished painting in the studio as many landscape painters do. All levels. All media will be covered, watercolor will be the focus.

Demonstrations will be given over a three-day period in different media to explain the usefulness of this process.

September 28 to October 1.

Limit 8 students. Cost: $800.


Day 1:
Participants will become familiar with their surroundings through sketches & drawings.  I will cover value sketches as reference for paintings. We will cover several different media as well as he importance of becoming familiar with a scene or an general area.

Day 2:
Continuing the process of sketching, we will develop more informational drawings that will stand as a road map for painting in the future. We begin to develop a finished painting or paintings.

Day 3:
Now that we have become familiar with our chosen scene and referencing the previous days studies we will develop a finished painting.



Materials List:

Easel,  any style that will adjust to a flat surface. Look for watercolor easels,
Palette / Tray
Water containers
Rags or paper towels
Brushes:
2” flat synthetic wash brush
1”  flat synthetic wash brush
Squirrel Quill Mop Brush No. 10
Round Kolinsky Sable No. 12 or a blend of  synthetic Round Kolinsky Sable No. 12
Round Kolinsky Sable No. 6 or a blend of  synthetic Round Kolinsky Sable No. 6
Winsor Newton Sceptre Gold II or the Cotman line are fine.

Tubed watercolors:
Cadmium Yellow Pale
Cadmium Red
Alizarin Crimson
French Ultramarine
Colbolt Blue
Perylene Green
Sap Green
Yellow Ochre
Burnt Sienna
Burnt Umber
Payne’s Grey

Paper
Sketch (bond paper) 11” X 14”
Watercolor paper:  90 or 140 lb is fine.  Try different brands and surfaces.  Rough, cold press & hot press are the 3 surfaces available in watercolor paper.  Cold press is the most popular. If you are a beginner, stick with cold press

See more of Joe's work on his site.

To sign up, shoot Joe an email.

Important Starting Points for HDR Images - and a Finishing Tip


I use both HDR Soft's Photomatix and Nik Software's HDR Efex Pro to create my HDR images. 

When I use Photomatix, I always start by adjusting the White Point and Black Point sliders. First, I move the sliders all the way to the left. Then, I move each slider to the right until I lose either Highlights (White Point slider) or Shadow detail (Black Point slider). Then, I move each slider back to the left just a bit.

The goal is not to lose Highlight or Shadow detail - which is the goal of HDR photography.


When using Nik Software's HDR Efex Pro, I first select a preset. Then, I adjust the Tone Compression slider. It's amazing what this simple slider can do . . . for you!

As a finishing tip... you'll find that your HDR image will probably need a bit of sharpening. I do that in Photoshop, using: Filter > Convert for Smart Filter > Unsharp Mask. Using this technique, you can sharpen selectively.

Whatever technique you use, sharpen selectively. For example, in the image below, there is no need to sharpen the sky.

You can get a discount on Photomatix and HDR Efex Pro by clicking here.

If you would like to see my latest HDR images (some below in a montage created by Dr. Dave Wilson), and learn more about HDR photography, check out my app, Rick Sammon's iHDR.



Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. If you are really into HDR, check out the Promote Controller. Makes bracketing images very, very simple.







Feeling A Bit Blue After A Workshop?


I've been back from my Plymouth, MA workshop (where I took the shots in this post) for a few days. It was non-stop shooting and great fun - and great snacking on Plymouth's lobster rolls.

As usual, I am having post-workshop blues: feeling a bit down after all the shooting and scooting and processing . . . and making new friends.

I am not alone. Several of the folks have emailed me saying that they miss the group and the shooting, etc.

This happens all the time after a workshop.

If you find yourself in this situation, here are a few ideas to chase away the blues.

1) Sing up for another workshop. It gives you something to put on your calendar.

2) Play with your pictures with plug-ins. I used Topaz Adjust's Spicify on the opening image for this post . . . to bring out the blue tones and texture in the image. Awaken the artist within.

3) Post your pictures on line and get feedback.

4) Keep in touch with the workshop participants. Ask them for feedback on your images. Get together for coffee.

5) Pick your best 5 pictures, and think about how they could have been improved.

6) Think about how you could have made the workshop a better experience . . . for you and your fellow workshop students.

7) Think about what you learned . . and be happy that you grew as a photographer.


We have a few spaces open on my August Plymouth workshop. Click here for info.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. For info on Topaz Adjust and discount on some plug-ins, click here.






Chris Klapheke Joins Us In Bosque del Apache for a Blast - and Blast Off!

Photograph by Chris Klapheke
Juan Pons and I are happy to announce that our good friend, and excellent wildlife photographer (and great cook), Chris Klapheke will be joining our December 2011 Bosque del Apache workshop as an instructor. 

We'll all have a blast . . . shooting the "blast off" that happens each morning at sunrise.

Chris took me under his wing, so to speak, on my first visit to Bosque - showing me the best places to shoot and the best places to grab a burger.

Here is a link that gives you an idea of what Chris brings to the party - and we will party after we shoot.

Check out this link, too.


Chris also owns Outdoor Photo Gear, which is a great place to shop for . . . that's right: outdoor photo gear. If you need some gear for the trip, contact Chris. Actually, you may want to contact Chris to see what gear he recommends . . . including hand and toe warmers! :-)

Explore the light,
Rick


P.S. If you are not tired of clicking on links and would like to read an article I wrote on my first trip to Bosque, click here.