My Quick Tips on a Cool T-shirt

in , ,

My workshop and seminar participants are familiar with my one-liners, which some of my photographer friends call "Sammonisms."

These helpful photo phrases sum up some of the basic rules of photography than can help you make better pictures.

For those who want to keep my expressions handy, my photographer friend and workshop participant Spike (Mike) Ince at the Arizona T-Shirt Factory designed a cool "Rick's Tips" t-shirt.

Available in L and XL, the t-shirt are $20 each (includes shipping). Payment is via paypal to ricksammon@mac.com.

US shipping only.

Questions? Please email me.

My expressions:

The name of the game is to fill the frame.
Dead center is deadly.
When you think you are close, get closer.
The camera looks both ways.
Expose for the highlights.
Use your camera like a spaceship.
Light illuminates, shadows define.
Backlight = shoot tight.
Make pictures, just don't take pictures.
See eye to eye - shoot eye to eye.
Take the darn flash off the camera.

Explore the light,
Rick

HDR and Motocross Fun in Florida

in , , ,

Here's a post from awhile ago. I'm reposting because I am doing an Action Photography Workshop (motocross, horses and dancers) in the Tampa area Feb 15 -17 next year. Shoot me

an email

to get on the info list.

• • • • • 

I had a ton of fun yesterday here in Florida - the day after recording my new class for Kelby Training - 

Light, the main element in every photograph

. 

The class is a follow up to my class,

Composition, the strongest way of seeing

.

In the AM, my friend 

Randy Van Duinen

 took me to the nearby Air Stream Ranch for some HDR photography. The shot above is an untouched HDR image produced by the in-camera HDR system in the Canon 5D Mark III. Kinda amazing when you think about it.

Above: Randy's HDR pano. Quite cool!

Read about the HDR plug-ins that I use on my

Creative Plug-ins

page.

Here's a

movie

with some quick HDR tips.

In the PM, my friend Kathy Porupski set up a motocross shoot for me at

Dade City Motocross

. Kathy, a few of her

Strobist

pals and I had a blast shooting for about two hours.

Kathy and I are doing an Action photography workshop in February. Shoot me an

email

if you are interested. 

I took all the shots with my Canon 5D Mark III. The new AF system is amazing. I used my Canon 24-105mm, Canon 17-40mm lens and Canon 70-200mm f/4 lens. All my gear is listed on my

Gear Page.

The shot above is actually a pano, stitched together with Photomerge in Photoshop CS6. I was not sure if the technique would work, but I gave it a try. Try it, you'll like it. I got the idea from my friend Ted Maddux, who successfully used this technique when photographing bald eagles in Alaska.

And here's what the pano looks like with a bit of Photoshop work. I cut and pasted sections of other files into the pano.

Above: a screen grab of my original files for the pano.

Here's a tip: Get up close and personal with your subject . . . but not too close.

Above: My friend

Jim Sykes

took this shot of me getting down and dirty (very) to get the shot above this one.

Another tip: crop creatively.

Another tip: Subject, background, lighting and position are the keys to a good photograph.

Another tip (for riders): Be careful. PLease!

Above:  Another behind-the-scenes shot by my friend 

Jim Sykes

. Thanks Jim for the fun shots.

As alway, you'll find photo how-to info in

my apps

.

Explore the light,

Rick

P.S. We ended the day with chocolate martinis at City Fish, my favorite restaurant in Oldsmar, FL.

A Few Favs from My Coney Island Photo Walk

in , , , ,

We're just back from my Coney Island Photo Walk. Great light. Great fun! Great photographers.

The idea is to use Nik plug-ins and Snapseed to awaken the artist within, and to create perhaps more artistic images. Check out my workshops photo page tomorrow (and from time to time) to see the work of the participants.

New to Nik? You can get a 15% discount on all Nik products by using this code - RSAMMON - on the Nik web site.

Here are a few of my favorite images (all Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-105mm IS lens).

But first, I want to thank my friend and Photoshop/Lightroom Guru (and a heck of a cool dude)  Tim Grey for helping out on the photo walk. Thanks Tim. You helped to make it fun.

About the images.

Above:
Nik Color Efex Pro
Nik Bi-Color User Defined
Detail Extractor
Image Borders


Above:
Nik Snapeed
Vintage
Center Focus
Frame


Above:
Color Efex Pro
Vignette
Bi-Color User Defined.

I hope to see you on one of my photo walks or workshops.


Above:
Wow! What a fun group!

Explore the light,
Rick