Today's Guest Blogger: Andy Smith

Thanks, Rick for asking me to do a guest post on how I made this sunburst image at Dead Horse State Park, Utah, during your 2013 Southwest Photo Caravan workshop.

All of Rick's 2015 workshops, by the way, are listed on his 2015 Workshops page.

Sunburst photos like this aren’t that hard as long as you follow a few simple rules:
1. Keep your lens clean to avoid excessive flares and dust.
2. Consider using HDR (where possible) to get the extremes of highlights and shadows from shooting into the sun with a back lit subject.
3. Keep your lens clean.
4. Use an aperture of f/22 to get the best sunburst effect.  This will aggravate any dust issues, so . . .
5. Keep your lens clean.
6. Place the sun right at the edge of an object to get an even better sunburst effect.
7. Did I mention you should keep your lens clean?

Here’s what happens if you don’t keep your lens clean!

Processing:

1. If it’s HDR, you’ll do the HDR first - watch the white and black points to get the best results around the sun flare, but otherwise process to taste.
2. Despotting in Photoshop - this can be tricky, as even clean, high-quality lenses can have flares.  You can use the healing brush or clone-and-stamp.  You don’t necessarily have to remove all of them, a few flares can be part of the dramatic effect.  If the flare is sitting over a hard-to-fill place, you’ll probably have to leave it it.  Again, it’s a judgement call on your part.
3. Final processing - use Lightroom/Photoshop/Plug-Ins as you wish.  I used Nik Color Efex Pro on the tree photo.

That’s really it.  It isn’t all that hard.  It’s a fun technique for a lot of things and can turn an otherwise poorly backlit subject into something interesting.  Here are a few more examples of where I’ve been able to use it.

Above: South Dakota on one of Rick's workshops.

Above: Double sunburst on locomotive.

Above: San Miguel sunburst.

Again, thanks to Rick, and I hope you can find some fun sunburst shots of your own.

For more of my work, please see:
andysmithphoto.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smithat
https://plus.google.com/102802068121793484291/posts

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This post sponsored by X-rite - the world leader in color management.

Save on Topaz Plug-ins - and awaken the artist within

I just finished my Topaz webinar: Awaken the artist within with plug-ins. If you missed it, here's the link for the one-hour presentation.

For now, you can save a few bucks (until March 30th) on these Topaz plug-ins when using my discount codes:

sammonweb6 - 30% off of all products, including the complete collection.
sammondenoise - 50% off of DeNoise only.

Use those codes upon checkout at the Topaz Web site.

During the webinar I shared some of my favorite images from my Route 66 trip. I created the opening images for this post with Topaz Black & White Effects. Below is my original image. I take you through the process in the webinar. You can see more of my Route 66 images in my Route 66 Gallery.

I teach digital imaging processing on all my workshops. I hope you can join the fun someday.

Above is a screen shot of the Topaz Black and White Effects control panel. If you want to get good at making black and white images, the first step is to learn about the effects of color filters on an image. The second step is to work with contrast.

Above: During the webinar I talk about reducing noise with Topaz DeNoise. It's the best way I have found to reduce noise.

Above: During the webinar I also talked about how I created this image with Topaz Restyle.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. I wanted to share this image during the webinar, but I ran out of time. I created it using Topaz Simplify 4 > BuzSim effect.

Today's Awesome Guest Blogger: Mike Ince

Hello to all, and thank you Rick for inviting me back again for a guest blog!

Today I want to share a moment I captured a few days before Christmas 2013. Actually, this moment lasted for a little more than an hour. During this time I captured a total of 120 shots and then merged them together in post processing to create the star trails you see here. I also must thank Rick and Juan Pons for introducing me to this location in 2012. It’s the Very Large Satellite Array in the midst of New Mexico and just happens to be a great place for night time/astro photography, not to mention loads of fun.

On this particular night the temperature was about 18 degrees when I started. The good news is, once you are set up and start this process you can jump in the car and take some cover. I spent about 20 minutes setting up, checking out the area and composing my shot. Then it was off to my Jeep to warm up and kill time on the trusty iPad once my camera was all set.

So what does setting up consist of? It’s a pretty straight forward process. You will need a fast lens, tripod and some sort of intervalometer/time lapse ability within you camera. Of course you can use an external remote to do this part as well and even apps now. The lens I use is fairly fast at f/2.8, but for these shots I actually shoot at f/4 most of the time. Once I have a rough idea of where I am shooting I will take some shots with the ISO cranked up very high, as I am simply getting my composition together at this point. Now that I have my shot framed, I set my ISO back down near 800, which is a good starting point for star trails. I then take a few shots to ensure everything is in order. All that’s left now, is to set my shutter time. You have a few ways to do this:

1.     Take a single exposure for the entire duration of your shot. Note you will be in bulb mode at this point controlling the exposure time with a remote, camera feature or even duck tape. (solid star trails, more susceptible to camera shake due to time, harder to eliminate plane streaks, quicker post processing/less post processing power required).

2.     Take multiple exposures (usually per 30 seconds) and “stack” them in post processing. (may have gaps in the trails, though they can be fixed, more control in post processing, but you will need a somewhat recent computer with power if using full rez images, and easier to recover from unexpected surprises like headlights)

So to recap - I am shooting at 800 ISO, f/4 aperture and 30 second shots. Both methods have pros and cons as you can see, and I would encourage you to try both methods to see what works best for you. If you have built in time lapse, some settings I found that work good are 30 seconds for the exposure with a 4 second pause until the next shot fires again. This gives the shutter plenty of time to open and close. One thing to note is that I got away with a decent ISO at the VLA because there was a half-moon rising behind me so it lit the scene up nicely. Experiment and see what works for you and your current situation/location.

Now that you have all your shots (assuming your took multiple shots) you can get your final piece by using an automated process, such as Starstax, which is free. This actually works very fast and smooth. You can also take a more hands on approach (but much more time consuming!), and import each shot into Photoshop within the same document. If you have access to Adobe Bridge, you can easily get all the shots into the same document, layered and ready to go. Your number of layers should equal the number of shots you captured. Select every layer except the bottom one and set the blend mode to “Lighten”. Note that on the Photoshop layers it’s now very easy to edit a layer one at a time and remove any plane trails or other movement I mentioned earlier using Photoshop’s masking abilities. For my V.L.A. shot, I had to do a lot of masking because the satellites were actually moving very slowly the entire time. They move so slow it’s hard to notice, but you can hear it the whole time! Check out my time lapse video to see how much the satellites actually moved in an hour.

Feel free to visit me on my Google+ page! It’s a new season for star trails and I will be posting more on Google as the nights go by, including processing tips.

For a final note, I use a lot of the same plugins as Rick to help post process these. My favorite is  Color Efx Pro. You can really pull out some nice details with this and get some great colors. I would encourage anyone to at least try the 30 day free trial. If you like it and want to purchase it, check out Rick's Play & Save on Plug-ins page for a discount code.

I leave Rick’s blog with a very recent shot from this last weekend about an hour from home in AZ! Thanks Rick once again for having me! Until next time, follow the stars and capture them in the process!

Some thoughts on reality - and I really hope to see you at Photoshop World

"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination." - John Lennon.

I agree, and that is one of my favorite quotes on reality.

Here is another cool quote on reality: "I am not interesting in accurate color, I am interested in my own color." Sorry, I don't remember who said that, but again, I agree.

On my recent Florida Photo Caravan Workshop, I was having fun creating my own photo reality in Photoshop, using standard PS features as well as some plug-ins. All the plug-ins I use are listed here. All the images in this post were taken on the Caravan.

I really  hope you can join me at Photoshop World in Atlanta in April, where I will be showing attendees how to alter reality - and create their own photo reality - using plug-ins.

I will also be giving presentations on travel photography and shooting in chilly conditions.

Have fun this weekend creating your own reality.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. I also help photographers create their own reality on my workshops. Good fun!

And now, a few words from my digital photography workshop participants

January 2014 Florida Photo Caravan Workshop Participants.

Over the past several years I have led international digital photography workshops to exotic locations, including China, Kenya, Iceland, Venice, Peru, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, France and Antarctica. In the U.S. I have lead photo workshops in Florida, California, Texas, Maine, Utah, South Dakota, Hawaii, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, Washington, New Jersey and New York. What a blast.

September 2013 Oregon Coast Photo Workshop Participants.

I have met a ton of interesting and fun photographers on my workshops. Here's what just a few of them have to say about my workshops. Click on their links to check out their awesome images.

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Doing a workshop with Rick Sammon is all about photography fun and getting incredible images. His down to earth style of teaching and his amazing eye for composition have been invaluable to me as I strive to improve my photography. In every workshop I have done with Rick, he has proved what a talented artist he is and what a great friend he becomes to his students.

Diane Eubanks

HDR Workshop in Atlanta, Georgia
Black Hills of South Dakota Workshop
Provence and the Camargue Horses, France
Iceland Workshop

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My experiences with Rick Sammon’s workshops have always been extremely positive.  I have learned so much from Rick about taking and processing photos, and have always had a great deal of fun doing it . We always  work hard but the workshops are well organized, with no wasted time. Rick does such a great job of making sure everyone is involved, learning, and enjoying themselves. It is also great to meet and work with others that are so passionate about photography.  

Richard  (Dick) Higdon
·        Croton Flash Photography Workshop (2011)
·        Plymouth, Massachusetts Workshop (2012)
·        Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Workshop (2012)
·        Tampa Action Workshop (2014)

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Rick's workshops are always informative, fast-paced and fun! He has a real knack for helping people tap into their creativity with a patient style that speaks to photographers on every level. His workshops are a terrific value to some of the greatest destinations and shooting opportunities in the world.

Glenn Taylor

Florida Photo Caravan
In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams
Old Car City/SE Railway Museum
Action Photography

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Mark Larson

Rick Sammon joined my "Dream Team" of guest artists (including John Sexton and Nevada Wier) for my Calif. State University Summer Arts travel photography workshop in Monterey in 2013. Rick says he doesn't specialize, but it was clear to me from working with him last summer (and from also having been a student in his workshops) that indeed he does specialize in providing outstanding professional teaching skills in workshops. I highly rate his clear, direct and entertaining presentations and his energizing field instruction that inspires creativity in his workshop participants.

I've also participated as a student in a number of Rick Sammon's workshops as part of the California Photo Festival in San Luis Obispo.

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While I could write volumes on the specific value of these workshops to me personally, I can summarize succinctly; comaraderie, goal-oriented, technical excellence, and artistic expression.  I learn from Rick's experience and his advice is targeted, simple, and effective. It doesn't get better.

Jerry Ranch
Bosque del Apache, Oregon Coast Caravan
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ranchjp/

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I was excited when I heard Rick was leading a workshop to photograph the white stallions of southern France and was not disappointed.  Rick went out of his way to make us feel comfortable and he worked tirelessly to be sure every student got killer shots.  Both my wife and I had a great time, learned a lot and I highly recommend Rick's workshops and seminars.  He has a gift for taking your photography to the next level while enjoying an incredible experience.

Ed Cooley
www.edcooleyfineart.com

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Rick was a fabulous leader and I learned a lot—I was amazed at his insights and help.  More importantly, it was a lot of fun and I also enjoyed and learned from some other photographers who were at my level.  It was a week I’ll never forget!

John Van’t Land
Southwest State Parks
www.southwestgreetingcards.com

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I have been on 3 workshops and 1 photo caravan with Rick. I have also been to 3 of Rick’s seminars. My experience with Rick is, he is a master at teaching his workshop attendees how to take advantage of light and composition. I want to put emphasis on master and teaching.

He has spent many long hours in post processing with me and others in the workshops, building technique with lightroom, photoshop, Nik filters and other plug ins.

Lastly, I have always had fun when going on a workshop with Rick. That is very important to me, that I learn how to create great images and have a great time doing it.

Thanks,
Mike Cullivan
http://www.spurwinkriverphoto.com

    •    Bosque Del Apache Workshop
    •    Alaska Eagle Photography workshop
    •    Iceland workshop

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Rick is a photographer who loves to teach. He is full of information and shares it readily. We faced a relatively difficult time because the parks we were scheduled to visit were closed, but Rick and Susan improvised, kept a great attitude and were generous leaders and teachers.

Bob Wolverton
Southwest Photo Caravan 2013
http://www.rlwolvertonphotos.smugmug.com

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Workshops with Rick Sammon. I have taken 6 workshops with Rick, why so many. Great locations, excellent photo opportunities, good post production input, and just good people! Few people have really had an impact on my life, Rick has. Rick has said many time, "It's not to late to become the person you have always wanted to be." I am working on becoming that person, thank you Rick for many years of mentoring.

Ted Maddux

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My experience with Rick's workshops has been that there is a high level of planning, organization and communication before the workshops even begin. During the workshops, Rick is super hands-on with providing direction, hints and tips. He also does a great job of over-communicating what "the plan is" for the day. His "I don't specialize in anything" style of photography fits well with me as I like to shoot everything. The evening social aspects of his workshops are always filled with great digital darkroom help and fantastic dinner conversations. I sometimes wonder where Rick gets all his energy from. Hard to keep up with!

Idene Attaran
Florida Caravan (January 2012)
Iceland (September 2013)

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Great photo opportunities!  Great teacher!  Lots of fun!  I don't remember when I have learned so much, or had so many interesting and new opportunities than I had during this week.  Can't wait to do something else with Rick and to take advantage of Susan's excellent planning.
Florida Photo Caravan Workshop
Charles Gattis
www.cfgattis.com

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I decided to take part in Rick Sammon's Florida Photo Caravan Workshop because my photo batteries needed recharging. Rick's knowledge, enthusiasm and love of photography is infectious and I'm glad to say I caught the "bug".

Dawn on the beach with horse and rider was an unforgettable experience, I have over 2500 images to review. Thanks for a great workshop.

Florida Photo Caravan Workshop
http://www.shellysphotoart.com/

Sheldon E. Goldstein

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I recently participated in Rick Sammon's Florida Photo Caravan. The workshop was well lead, well organized and provided a positive interactive learning experience. The teaching methodology that Rick employs is appropriate to a variety of levels of participant competencies. While it was a group workshop, Rick's time, patience and individual instruction made it most worthwhile, and I highly recommend it to anyone.
Florida Photo Caravan Workshop

Laura Knight
http://www.lauraknight.com

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"Rick Sammon delivers!  The workshops helped me to focus on making high quality images with IMPACT.  The personal attention and post-processing hands-on were simply terrific. Don't think about it.... just GO on one of his workshops!"

Gary Potts
Oregon Coast Workshop 2013
www.imagesbygarypotts.com

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I have been in 2 Rick Sammon workshops in the past 2 years. Both have been fabulous learning experiences. Rick had helped me grow as a photographer and added real life lessons to my growth as a photographer . The interactions are very personal and I can't wait for our next interaction.

Steve Hirsch

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The workshop experience with Rick is one that I will never forget.  Rick's attention to detail, the continuous flow of photographic knowledge, and genuine care for his students made this the most enjoyable time I've ever spent behind (and in front of) a camera.  I look forward to more of these interactive and fantastic learning experiences in the future!
 
Rusty Parkhurst
Southwest Photo Caravan
www.rustyparkhurst.com

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I could write on and on about my life changing experiences with Rick Sammon’s workshops but in a just a few sentences:  I learned all I was ready to learn and much more! He quickly ascertained why I was there and made absolutely sure he over delivered on his promise to make my experience all I dreamed it would be. Each day was full of exceptional photo opportunities at the best places at the right times. He stayed close to me and constantly looked at the back of my camera to be sure I was getting the shots I saw. He pointed out the areas where it would be best to set up and never left my side until he was confident that I knew what I was doing. Rick is genuinely interested in helping me reach the next level and then some. He stays connected to my work even after the workshops I have attended saying that I will always be a lifelong student of his. Of course, it is not just me that he does this for. Many of my fellow workshop students stay in touch and share the same thoughts about this outstanding teacher.

My name is Byron West

I have attended The Florida Caravan Workshop, The Bosque del Apache workshop and the Oregon Coast Caravan Workshop
www.newwestimages.com

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Met Rick in 2009 at his Croton On the Hudson Workshop. Great teacher. Very organized sessions with class sizes small enough to receive one on one attention.

Learned a lot about composition, HDR, and light painting. Really helped me in making me a better photographer.

Bruce Himelman
Croton On the Hudson; Summer in Times Square and Central Park
www.oneiron.smugmug.com

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This last September I went on the Oregon Coast Workshop with Rick Sammon.  It was the most enjoyable week of photography I have ever had.  The location was wonderful, the attendees were  great and Rick was the best.  We went to places I never would have gone to on my own, the instruction and training was just what I needed, and we really enjoyed the friendships we developed.

Oregon Coast Workshop – September 2013

Allan Duff – Las Vegas, NV

https://allanduffphotography.shutterfly.com/

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