Today' Guest Blogger Betty Wiley Shares Her Vision of Cape Cod

I am so excited to be doing a guest blog post for Rick.  I have followed Rick for years. I remember attending one of his excellent and engaging presentations at Photoshop World in Boston many years ago which was about travel photography.  Traveling to great places, meeting interesting people and experiencing different cultures AND taking great photographs…well, lets just say that I wanted to be like Rick when I grew upJ

So here I am, years later writing this guest blog post and I feel incredibly lucky to have this opportunity. Thank you Rick!

While I do some travel photography, mostly for pleasure, I am a free-lance photographer based on Cape Cod and I am often called upon to photograph assignments for a number of the local magazines. My magazine assignments have included everything from scenics, gardens and interiors of beautiful homes to “lifestyle” features.  Many of my Cape Cod scenes have appeared on the covers of these publications.  Everyone tells me that my work is recognizable…and that my images have a “Betty Wiley” look and feel to them.

The Cape is known for it’s beautiful light and my not-so -secret sauce, so to speak, is the light but also knowing WHERE to go as well as WHEN is just as important.  I am usually out with my camera before dawn and again, at the end of the day when the light is soft and warm…however, I make a particular effort to get up early and head out before sunrise if there has been rain overnight as I love to capture a sunrise with beautiful cloud formations.  Similarly, if there has been rain in the afternoon and if it looks as though the skies might show signs of clearing towards sunset, then I head to some of my favorite spots based upon what the conditions are at the time.

Opening Image: Early morning at Paines Creek. It had rained overnight and it was still raining when I headed out in the dark before sunrise . . . it would have been so easy to stay in bed but I knew how good it COULD be if the skies cleared early.  As the saying goes, the early bird gets the worm.  Conditions were ideal…I knew the low tide at this location could provide beautiful reflections of the clouds.

Above: Approaching storm at Grey’s Beach. Some of my best photographs have been taken when a storm is approaching the area or immediately afterwards…I often tell people bad weather is GOOD because that’s when I get the really beautiful light and dramatic skies.  Summer thunderstorms can be particularly dramatic here on the Cape.  For this particular image, I had to shoot quickly and there was no time to set up a tripod.   Since I was hand-holding and because I wanted a smaller aperture to get sufficient depth of field., I had to crank up my ISO to ensure that my shutter speed was fast enough to ensure a sharp image.  When faced with low light in these situations, I don’t hesitate to raise my ISO if necessary because I can manage the noise in my post-processing work but I can’t rescue a blurry image.

Above: Double Rainbow over Cape Cod. As the storm was moving so quickly, I knew that it wouldn’t be too long before the skies would begin to clear – hmm – this usually means a rainbow…and living on the Cape, I know where to go to capture a panoramic vista and hopefully a rainbow as the skies clear.So, I jumped in my car and drove to where, geographically speaking, I would be in the proper position where I would eventually have the sun at my back as the rain and clouds were moving off-shore.   This meant waiting in the pouring rain but I was confident that my patience would be rewarded. it was…a double rainbow appeared and I was ready…this time I had set up my camera up on a sturdy tripod, and I was using a wide angle lens (16-35mm), cable release and a BW circular polarizer on the lens to enhance the colors.

Above: Pot of Gold. Rainbows don’t hang around for too long but I kept shooting…the light kept getting better and better…I switched to my 70-200mm, F 2.8 telephoto to get a tighter shot of the rainbow and boats in the harbor below. Again, I used my circular polarizer to enhance the colors in the rainbow.  I often start shooting a scene with a wide-angle lens then move in with my telephoto lens as I work the scene to get some of the tighter, more detailed shots.

So what is the take home message here?  Living in and knowing an area is really helpful… photo-sharing sites such as Flickr and 500px can be valuable resources, guidebooks are also a huge help as well as reaching out to other photographers who are familiar with the area…and knowing your gear and envisioning what it is you want to capture…and finally…patience and perseverance…sometimes you just have to wait for the right conditions…and sometimes it doesn’t always happen the way you want it to and then you go back or move on.

Above: Clearing Sky at Race Point. This is another image taken after a storm had moved through the area.  This was taken at Race Point, near Provincetown on the Cape.  I recently launched an ebook which details the how, when and where for many of my images.  This is a book for photographers written by a photographer and it includes GPS locations, technical information and settings for every shot as well as other shooting considerations specific to each location.  If you are planning on visiting the Cape, this will be a valuable resource for you. 

For more information and how to order, please visit these links:  

My new e-boook
and
My Web site.

Thanks again, Rick

Photograph the "Old West" on My Casper, Wyoming Photo Workshop

I am gearing up for my "Old West" photo workshop in Casper, Wyoming later this year. Can't wait, and I hope you can join the fun.

Fun? I run a lot of workshops, but this one will be a ton of fun, as illustrated in this video.

I took the opening image for this post on my previous Casper photo workshop. Yes! We got a horse in the Wonder Bar, and we'll do it again - for you!

In going though my files, I came across some of my favorite Old West images (from a shoot in Spearfish, SD) along with some captions. Enjoy.

Reflecting on the day. The most important element in a photograph is the mood, feeling or emotion. I created the mood in this photograph by “painting” the cowgirl with the light from a $5 flashlight. My goal was to create an image with dramatic shadows. Shadows are the soul of the photograph.

Lone rider. I like the feeling of  freedom that this image captures. That’s part of being a cowboy.

Looking for her. I am drawn to faces. It was the intense look on this cowboy’s face that inspired me to make this photograph. To add to the artistry of this image, I removed the color. When you remove the color from a photograph, you remove some of the reality.

Best friends. The eyes are the windows to the soul. It was this cowgirl’s beautiful eyes that first drew me to make this photograph, but then I noticed the look and “feeling” in the dog’s eyes. Both subjects seem to be having the same feeling, so I included both of them in my frame.

Daybreak on the range. I like shooting at the crack of dawn, capturing dramatic silhouettes against the rising sun. I like to challenge myself to make pictures in these high contrast situations, as the light changes very, very fast.

Good morning, pardner. The perfect silhouettes of the horses and cowboys drew me to make this photograph. Silhouettes add a sense of mystery to a photograph.

After the storm. I like the way the dark clouds create the mood in this image. Not every picture needs to be taking on a bright, sunny day.

Heading home. This cowboy was riding as fast as he could. To convey the sense of speed, I used a photographic technique called panning, which blurrs the background but keeps the rider in sharp focus.

Ride 'em cowboy (and cowgirl),
Rick

Today's Guest Blogger Steve Brazill Says: "Ignore the Noise"

Thanks, Rick, for the opportunity to do a guest post. As a long time fan of you, and your work, it’s an honor to be able to contribute here.

[Steve, you rock - in more ways than one! I encourage my readers to check out your work and site. - Rick]

When I met Rick recently at one of his seminars, he told a story that really resonated with me - a story about noise. As a concert photographer, I deal with noise every time I shoot, lots of noise - due to shooting in relatively low light. 

Generally speaking when it comes to noise, it shows up mostly in low light, in shadow and out-of-focus areas of a frame, at high ISO settings (but with high-end cameras, low noise is getting better and better) and with cropped sensor cameras, but that's getting better, too.

Sometimes, the worst noise isn’t even in the photos.

What Noise?

WhenI say "Ignore the Noise," what does that mean to you? Take a second and think about it, I'll wait.

The obvious choice, at least for us photographers, is digital noise, so let’s start there. The opening shot above, of the band A Day To Remember, was shot at ISO 5000, 24 mm, f/4, 1/200 - with my Canon 7D.

My Photos Have A Lot Of Noise

I can't tell you how many times I've heard the desire for good High ISO Performance referred to as a religion. Is it? No. Plain and simple, we as photographers, as creatives, want the best image quality we can possibly get. That’s not a bad thing, and digital noise does have a number of negative impacts on a shot, from loss of detail, to color and contrast issues.

The shot above, of Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson, was shot at ISO 2000, 24 mm, f/4, 1/500. I needed a fast shutter to freeze Nancy’s hair, and I was already wide open on the Canon 24-105 f/4, so the ISO was sacrificed. Oh yeah, the drummer is Jason Bonham.

If you shoot photos at high ISO, you've seen noise. And, if you shoot at really high ISO, like 3200, 6400, or higher, you've been disappointed when what could've been a great shot becomes just okay (again, depending on the camera). For many people, that means avoiding high ISO at all costs, but does noise really matter, and if so, is it ever OK?

As I mentioned, I shoot with a Canon 7D. Images shot at ISO 1600 on my camera do have noise, yet I shoot at that setting far more than I shoot at 100 - 400. I often shoot at ISO 3200 - and on occasion I even hit 6400! At 100% zoom (which is often recommended for accurate noise reduction) those images definitely have noise. Still, I do it. Why would I choose to shoot at such a high ISO knowing it will produce noisy images?

Photography is an art of compromise, and in live music photography your choices limited. Concerts can be one of the most difficult lighting situations you will ever face - fast moving performers, fast changing low light, and extreme dynamic range. Your choices are: A) Take a blurry shot of a fast moving artist, or a hair whip; B) Crank the ISO to get a shutter speed fast enough to get a sharp shot

You should always choose B, because a sharp noisy shot is always better than a blurry clean shot. There are tools to deal with noise in post production (Rick reommends Topaz DeNoise), but a blurry shot is always blurry. I will use a touch of noise reduction in Lightroom when needed, and on a rare occasion I will pull out Nik Define - which I almost always apply selectively using the brush feature, or masks. (Rick also and always recommends working selectively.)

This shot, of Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch, was shot at ISO 3200, 45 mm, f/4, 1/400, and it was flat and noisy. After a little Lightroom work, a little Nik Define brushed on the smoke, and a Pro Contrast pop from Nik Color EFX Pro 4 it came back to life.

Oh yeah, and I always check any noise reduction at 50% zoom too.

Another consideration is intended output. My work is generally used on the blog of the radio station I shoot for, and the images are exported at 1024px on the long side. The noise just isn't as visible at that size. I’ve seen people use so much noise reduction that healthy people look like they've had plastic surgery - and then they post low resolution copies on social media. At that size no one would have seen the noise, but they'll notice the plastic skin.

Don't misunderstand me, would I love a gift of a Canon 1DX, with its great high ISO performance? Heck yeah! But the bottom line is I get by just fine. This shot below, of Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, is one of the highest scoring images I’ve had in an image competition, and it was shot at ISO 3200, 35 mm, f/4, 1/320 on a Canon 7D. Don’t avoid high ISO, embrace it.

Here is some food for thought when it comes to noise: If people notice the noise in your image, then your image may have bigger issues. Think about that for a second. Some of the most iconic photos of our day are noisy, and we don't even think about it.

Just ignore the noise.

Noisy People

High ISO isn't the only noise issue. Everyone has an opinion, and sometimes it seems everyone on the Internet is an expert. Ignore that noise too. I'm not saying don't listen to valid criticism. For all you know the person giving the critique may have grown up surrounded by talent. Their father or grandfather may have been one of the great [your type of photography here] photographers, and their opinion may have a strong foundation behind it. But don't let internet comments dictate your work. Listen to it all, but put more weight on those people whose work you respect, and less on those you don’t. You're the one telling the story, your vision of the story, and some people just won't get it. In the end, it's your shot, so be true to your vision.

Take the shot above as an example. I actually pre-visualized it, and it is almost exactly what I wanted. I say almost because in my vision the hand wasn’t there. I was behind five rows of standing people upstairs at the House of Blues, shooting a great 16 year old performer named Gabbie Rae when she opened for Great White.

I was holding the 7D, with a 10-22mm, over my head and trying to get leading lines from the side balconies going into a blown out stage. After a few shots, I was getting close to the angle I wanted, and then… this guy put his hand up. In my head I screamed NOOOOOO - but then I saw the shot and actually thanked the guy. I love this shot, but not everybody sees it the same way. I entered this shot in an image competition where one judge commented “it’s just the back of a bunch of heads." That kinda hurt, until another judge came to the shot’s defense. To him, this was every concert he had ever been to - captured in one shot.

I think the second judge was right.

One of my favorite tech writers, Andy Ihnatko of the Chicago Sun Times, once tweeted: "Self-criticism is useful until it impedes your ability to identify a success"

Ignore the noise and let yourself succeed.

If you would like to check out more of my photography, drop by my web site. 

Thanks again, Rick!

• • • • •

Rick here - I agree 100% with my friend, Steve. Above is a photograph I made in Myanmar with my Canon 5D Mark III set at ISO 6400. Yes, the image has a bit of noise (easily reduced with Topaz DeNoise), but as my dad used to say, "If a picture is so boring that you notice the noise, it's a boring picture.

My New e-Book – Get Motivated and Stay Inspired – is Here!

My new e-book – Get Motivated and Stay Inspired – is now available for direct download to your tablet or computer. I'm very excited about this e-book, because I think we (and that includes me) all need some inspiration and motivation from time to time.

The cost for the 195 page e-book is $4.95. Click here to download from my on-line store. Here's the scoop on the book.

Throughout the year I enjoy giving seminars to audiences around the county. Most of my talks are how-to photography talks, during which I share my favorite photographs from around the world – each image is accompanied by a photo or Photoshop/Lightroom or travel tip.

One of my favorite seminars is Get Motivated and Stay Inspired. It’s not a how-to, technical seminar. Rather, it’s a seminar on how to get inspired and how to stay creatively motivated.

The talk is about an hour and a half long. I have taken the highlights of that talk – My Top Ten Techniques to Get Motivated and Stay Inspired – and put them into an easy-to-read e-book (just a few of the 194 pages shown here) with the same title, which you can read in less than ½ hour.

Although the e-book is photography-centric, I feel as though all creatives can benefit from reading it.

Yes, I hope the photographs (some of my favorites) themselves are inspiring, but my main goal with this e-book is to encourage you to be as creative as possible while getting motivated and staying inspired. Hey, I figure if I need inspiration and motivation, there are others who feel the same way!

I think you will enjoy learning about the Four Levels of Learning – levels we all go though. I also think you will find inspiration in the quotes, which include: "When you are though changing, you are through.” And, “If you think you can you can, and if you think you can’t you can’t.” And, “It’s never too late to be who you could have been.”

I also think you will enjoy learning about my “Six Steps for Creative Visualization” process, and the difference between seeing and looking. Big difference.

You will also find short assignments in the e-book. It's good to have assignments, and to challenge yourself to be as creative as possible.

I hope you enjoy the e-book - which looks great on the iPad. As with everyone who takes one of my classes, when you purchase the book you become a student for life. That means you can email me questions for the rest of my life.

Good luck with your photography and with your art!
Rick

7 Life Lessons From My Mother

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.

Moms are great teachers. Here are some important life lessons my mom taught me about life . . . lessons that can apply to your photography, too.

1) Someone is always watching. This is great advice to keep in mind in designing and posting stuff on your web site/blog. You never know who is watching. Someone may be watching who needs exactly what you have to offer. They may be a millionaire and may have a few bucks to spend on you! Keep your site/blog up to date with the best you can offer. Also: know your audience. Post, write and design for your specific audience.

2) Always sandwich a criticism with compliments.  If you feel as though you need to criticize another photographer's work, don't just jump in with criticism. Rather, try to encourage the person to do better - before and after you get to your point.

3) Never give up. Every time I got a rejection letter or email, I thought about this quote. Sooooo glad I followed my mother's advice. I know it sounds easy, especially when you are down. However, don't let others get you down. Also remember that timing is everything. A "no" today could be a "yes" tomorrow.

4) To thine own self be true. I really did not like it when my mother used this quote. However, it's really good advice for photographers. Be true to yourself. Follow your heart. Photograph what you love. 

5) Sticks and stones can break your bones, but names can never hurt you. Today, it's easy to hide behind fake names on the internet and post bad book, app and photo reviews. Don't listen to what others say while hiding. In fact, don't listen to negative comments from folks who just set out to be mean. Their comments often say more about themselves than you!

6) Don't curse. I vividly remember my mother washing out my mouth with a new, big and white bar of IVORY soap after I used a curse word. Well, I am not saying that today I am a saint, but I never use an inappropriate word on the web. I have dropped people from Facebook and twitter for doing just that. I don't want to be associated with 'em. So, keep it clean and you will not offend anyone.

7) Be a good listener. When I went on my first date, my mother told me to be a good listener. This was good advice, as I got a second date. :-)  Today, we must be good listeners on social media and in the comments section on our blogs. You can't just talk - you must listen. Get to know your audience. Along the lines of being a good listener, remember this: There is always room for improvement.

Happy Mother's Day!
Rick