Photoshop Artistry Savings Offer Expires Tonight (3/15) at Midnight

Hey gang, have you ever had an itch to create something seriously artistic?

If so, I just learned about this awesome learning opportunity that I think you might want to check out: "Photoshop Artistry: Fine Art Grunge Composition," with Sebastian Michaels.  

What especially impressed me is that none other than my friend and Photoshop Hall-of-Famer Dave Cross liked the course so much that he went and created a special supplementary course of his own to go along with it: "Non-Destructive Photoshop Techniques for Photo Artists."

Until midnight on Saturday, March 15th, 2014 Dave Cross is actually giving away his course (normally $97) as a free bonus to anyone signing up for the big Photoshop Artistry training (which is itself discounted right now by 41%, with lifetime access to over 60 videos and over 5 gigabytes in pro-designed bonus content).

The normally $297 course is only $174, again until Saturday night.

If you would like to move beyond simply editing your images, awaken your artistic side, and create stunning, intricately layered compositions perfect for fine art print or canvas — this is something I think you will want to check out. Today - and save!

Explore the light,
Rick

It's Travel Destination Thursday. Today: Croton-on-Hudson, New York

Every Thursday I post a favorite picture or pictures from one of my favorite travel destiantions - along with some photo tips. If you have been to the location, add a tip or comment in the Comments section.

This week: Croton-on-Hudson, New York - just one of the shooting locations on my Rick's Backyard Workshop.

There are two major photo locations in Croton-on-Hudson: the New Croton Dam and the river walk.

Dam Photo Tips:
• Bring your wide-angle zoom. Also pack a tele-zoom for close ups.
• A ND filter is necessary if you want to blur the water. Use shutter speeds from 1/5 of a second to several seconds.
• Yes! Bring your tripod.
• Shoot from the top of the dam, the side of the dam, and down near the water. Be careful when you are shooting near the water. It can be slippery.
• Try painting with light at night.
• You'll need a lens cleaning cloth to wipe the spray off your lens.
• When shooting from the lower bridge, be aware of vibrations caused by moving cars. Those vibrations can cause blurry shots at slow shutter speeds.
• As always, expose for the highlights. More on exposure in my

I shot the opening and close for my Photo Philosophy video at the dam.

River Walk Photo Tips:
• Sunset is the best time to shoot, as the sun sets on the opposite side of the river.
• Include an object in the foreground to give your photograph a sense of place.
• When shooting into the sun, try HDR - but know that HDR can ruin the mood of a scene.
• Remove all filters when shooting into the sun to avoid a ghost image of the sun.

Enjoy travel photography? Check out my digital photography workshops.

For more travel and photo tips, subscribe to my blog.

Explore the light,
Rick

Find the best light for your photographs and videos - anywhere on the planet - with my Photo Sun Dial app.

For the iPhone and iPad.

Today's Awesome Guest Blogger: Celeste Hope

I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Rick Sammon recently in Death Valley. Rick and Hal Schmitt were leading our LIGHT Photographic Workshop. These two photographers make a great teaching combo, and the locations, which we visited from dawn to dusk, were a photographer’s playground.

One night over dinner and drinks (the photo fun and learning is non-stop on these workshops), Rick and I talked shop – I like to call it “geeking out" over photos. I showed Rick  some of my images on my iPhone and he loved them! I was surprised and happy when he asked me to do a guest blog post. So here goes!

I’m fairly new to California and my most recent endeavors are creating images for my husband’s winery, Hope Family Wines. We both have creative minds and enjoy coming up with new ways to market the company’s brands. What better way than through imagery? Wine is to be enjoyed with friends anywhere any time of the year. Well I think almost anywhere…

Opening image:

My husband Austin Hope came up with this idea, I think it was a dream he had because he shouted “American classics are never left behind!” so loud I woke up and remembered his tag line the next morning. He explained his vision: “I want you to shoot this scene and you’re also the girl I’m holding over my shoulder." 

I do consider myself a muti-tasker but this seemed a bit challenging. All photographers are visual people. In order for me to really get something I have to see it, preferably through the viewfinde,r not on the other side of the camera. In the end this ad did work out effortlessly. We always use the people that work for Hope Family Wines in our images. Luckily Austin’s assistant is about the same size as me so she’s a perfect stand in while I compose the scene. Once lights are set up and people are in position I jump in… and into my husbands arms in this particular photograph.

We knew this photograph was going to show up in Wine Enthusiast’s Travel issue. I usually day dream about photographs or scenes I see in my head quite often when I’m supposed to be paying attention to someone or something else. One might call it ADD. I call it creativity. I envisioned a romantic scene on a train; people traveling to a far off place enjoying Liberty School Cabernet. During a marketing meeting someone suggested a plane instead. Good call- an empty train might have been hard to track down!  

I love Canon speedlites - so light and portable. Here I set up three of them, two with soft boxes to light up the front of the plane and our Hope Family Team. The third speedlite is inside the plane lighting up Robert, who is loading cases of wine for our “big trip."  With my camera on a tripod, our graphic designer and marketing manager directing us we nailed it. Creating these ads is definitely a fun collaborative effort.  The word Troublemaker was added in post-production a subliminal statement that we sneaked in. This is the brand name of another red wine Hope Family makes. I think it could be a new favorite of Rick’s. [For sure! - Rick.]

This image was my husband’s idea. Its very masculine yet expressive. The house was very dark and the living room compact.  It was a challenge to fit six people in the scene and light everyone in a manner where it didn’t look too staged or studio. We wanted it to look like a Speakeasy perhaps an underground poker game. Austin is winning big; the dead to Liberty School in his hand. Another small detail added is the Troublemaker poster hanging on the wall- again the subliminal sneak. I used two speedlites with soft boxes and lit up the cigar girl with a hot light.  To fit everyone in a confined space I used my Canon 16-35mm lens.

This scene I saw in a dream around the time we were brainstorming ad ideas for Esquire… girl walks through the front door alone to a holiday party but she’s bringing Liberty School with her. Going alone to a party is okay but never empty handed. The more people we add the more complex it gets. A light was set up to side light the entrance and speedlites were placed around the living room to highlight faces. I used my Canon 24-70mm lens, a favorite of mine. Getting all of us into character at the same time and keeping the character was a task. We’re not models. We’re co workers and friends enjoying the craft of wine.

Before I go, I'd like to share two of my favorite images from my workshop with Rick and Hal.

Above: Sand Shark

One morning I climbed up top of the sand dunes with Rick and waited for the sunrise. Waiting for the light definitely takes patience and some stamina climbing up the sand, but all worth it in the end. The landscape, textures, and colors are amazing. A must see for a photographer. I saw this formation of light and shadows in the sand… and thought “Shark." This image is one of my many favorites from the trip.

Above: Amanda channeling Diane

We had the pleasure of photographing Amanda Valena a model they brought to the workshop.  This image feels like a scene in a movie maybe because she reminds me a little of Diane Lane. I love the negative space of the blue sky and solid color sand below her. The lines are simple and elegant. The morning light is pretty perfect as well. Both of these images from Death Valley I shot with a 24-70 mm lens on my 5D Mark II. 

To see more of my work, please visit my web site.

Thanks again, Rick!
Celeste Hope

P.S (From Rick). Hal and I are running a 2015 Death Valley workshop. Stay tuned to the LIGHT Photographic site and my 2015 Workshops page for details. 

Ditch the Noise with this Teriffic 50% off Deal on Topaz DeNoise

Ditch the Noise with Topaz DeNoise - which is 1/2 price from today, March 11, to March 31. Use this code - mardenoise - when you check out from the Topaz web site to save 50%.

My favorite DeNoise feature: you can control the noise in the highlight and shadow areas independently - which is what I did on this iPhone image.

All the plug -ins I use (and teach on my workshops) are listed on my Play and Save on Plugs-ins page.

Explore the light,
Rick

What To Expect on My 2014 Iceland Workshop

I can't wait to return to Iceland this year for my third digital photography workshop with co-leader Tim Vollmer. We have one room available. Shoot me an email for info.

The basic info on this awesome adventure is listed under the Iceland Workshop on My Workshops page. For those new to my Iceland workshops, I thought I'd put together a list of what to expect.

But first, check out my Iceland Adventure Photo Gallery. We will make photographs in many of these locations.

You can expect to:

• Explore one of the most picturesque destinations on the planet - with a small, intimate group of dedicated photographers.

• Make awesome pictures of ice, waterfalls, scenery, Icelandic horses -  and hopefully the Northern Lights, which is why we scheduled the workshop for this time of year.

• Have hands-on, in-the-field photo guidance by Tim and myself. We will be teaching composition and exposure, topics I cover in my on-line classes. We will also help you with daily image processing, so you have awesome images for the group slide show at the end of the workshop. I can also help you with plug-ins.

• Have some downtime in the vehicle as we move from location to location. That's a good time to ask more questions and to get to know your fellow workshop participants. Me? I have been known to nap. :-)

• Hike with crampons for a few hours on a glacier. It's an awesome experience, and you need to be in good physical shape. It's really not that difficult. Everyone in our group participated in this activity on my last trip, but you can keep warm in the van if you prefer. I took the picture below on the right on that hike.

• Shoot in a glacier lagoon, which is what I am doing in the top left image, and where I took the opening image for this post. For these shoots you'll need waterproof boots - if you want to get in the water, which is not necessary. I recommend NEOS. I also suggest a camera cover and rain pants. You can get all this gear at Outdoorphotogear.com. You may also need your NEOS when we are photographing waterfalls. So, keep your NEOS in the van at all times.

• Have great meals in Reykjavik. Tim knows awesome restaurants. The food in the lodges is good, too. For those who like to have happy hour in their rooms in the field, we'll make stops at local shops.

• Have some jet lag if you are traveling from far away. That is why I get there the day before the workshop actually starts. If you come a day early, I am sure we will meet up for a meal and maybe a nature walk by the hotel, which is what we did last year. Some folks stayed a day after the workshop to relax, but most of those folks were ready to come home.

• Have your tripods packed in one area of the van. That is why I require that you mark your tripods - so they do not get mixed up and are easy to find. I use small, ID sticker from moo.com. In fact, I mark every piece of my gear, even my lens caps, so there is no mix-on site.

• Get warmer as you move around outside. Dressing in layers is the key.

• Have the lamb hot dog, which is an Iceland treat. I had a few on our last workshop, but they were nothing compared to the fresh fish we had in Reykjavik.

• Leave Iceland probably wanting to return. . .

Explore the light,
Rick