perjantai 3. syyskuuta 2021
torstai 2. syyskuuta 2021
PictureCorrect.com: How Nature Can Surprise Even Veteran Photographers
Many times when we’re shooting out in the field, there are times the conditions don’t feel just right and we end up calling it a day. Sadly, unless the conditions are extremely bad, this decision usually ends up being shortsighted. Nature usually has a habit of surprising us in the most unexpected ways. In today’s video, nature photographer Simon Baxter shares some instances of when he thought his day was over—but right when he was about to call it quits, nature surprised him.
The important thing to understand here is that no matter how much we think we understand nature, there’s still plenty we cannot know or predict.
Take, for instance, when rain is pouring heavily, but suddenly the sun breaks through the clouds. We’re sure you’ve witnessed this many times. Or, just like Baxter shares in the video, a woodland that seems clear from the outside can have fog lingering all over the inside. The lesson here is that we’ve got to be patient with nature and learn not to jump to conclusions.
“Even if the camera never comes out of the bag, there’s an opportunity to learn, and at the very least I can be present and enjoy a walk.”
Even if nature does fail to turn up, there is absolutely no harm in that. It’s not always necessary that you have to take photos. Just enjoy the walk and let all that stress out.
Are there any instances of nature surprising you during your photography trips? We’d love to hear your stories in the comments below.
For help with photo editing: The Landscape Photographer’s Lightroom Presets
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keskiviikko 1. syyskuuta 2021
PictureCorrect.com: Top 12 Image Editing Skills Every Photographer Should Know
Before you start editing, make sure that you have a good image work flow. This means saving originals in a separate place to prevent you from damaging or destroying the original image. And get familiar with your program’s UNDO capability–usually the Ctrl-Z key is a shortcut to undo the most recent image change. Don’t forget Save As, which allows you to save a copy of the image with another name so you don’t disturb the original.
Photo by Shawn Clover; ISO 100, f/8, 1/60-second exposure.
Crop. This tool allows you to remove some of the image. Generally, you shape a rectangle around the area you want to keep and the rest is removed. The area inside the rectangle becomes your new image. Related to this tool are the rotate and straighten tools. Rotate allows you to rotate the image, and Straighten does a similar task, allowing you to specify a horizon line or reference point. I recommend to rotate first and then crop after you have the proper orientation.
Brightness and Contrast. This tool lets you increase or decrease the relationship between brights and darks (contrast), and increase or decrease the overall brightness of the image. Combinations of brightness and contrast settings can have very dramatic impact to your image, adding extra “punch” or softening the visual impact. It can also add emphasis to sunsets and other scenic shots. If your image appears flat or dull, this is a good tool to try.
Saturation. This tool is used to increase the color of an image. Used to excess, the result can be artificial, and skin tones can be made to look unnatural. But for floral and outdoor images, this tool can be used to sweeten the color impact of an image.
Resize. This tool is used to change the size and number of pixels, or image dots, in an image file. When sending something to a website for instance, you may want to reduce the image size so that it does not take too long to load. When sending an image to be printed on a large size, you may want to size it larger. Many programs will try to fill in the missing spaces if you attempt to resize an image beyond its original pixel dimensions. Called interpolation, this program can deliver mixed results if you are trying to increase the images size too far beyond its original dimensions. Combined with Crop, this is a good way to preview and prepare an image to be printed in a specific paper size.
Color Temperature/Color Adjust. This tool lets you adjust the image’s color temperature. If your camera’s white balance was not matched up to the color temperature of the predominant light source, the resulting image can have a color cast that is undesirable. Using this tool, you either choose a color neutral selection (white or grey) in the photo and let the tool shift the color balance to match, or you tweak some settings or sliders to make the image “warmer” or “cooler”. It’s better to get it right in the camera, but this tool can help rescue photos that otherwise have improper color casts.
Photo by Farrukh.
Curves and Levels. These tools are a more sophisticated version of the Brightness and Contrast tools. Levels allows you to change the white, mid and black points of an image and it will shift the image accordingly. It is useful in pushing darks darker, whites whiter, and adding some lightness to midtones. It is useful to bring up skin tones on faces while keeping very bright elements unchanged. Curves is even more flexible, where you can describe a very sophisticated transformation of the original image’s characteristics. Both of these tools can also be used to excess, and the result is often surreal or abnormal in appearance.
Clone/Rubber Stamp. This tool lets you remove items from the image or otherwise retouch the image. For example if you have a telephone pole in an otherwise perfect rural image, you can use this tool to duplicate the part of the picture next to the pole and paint over the pole with that section. With some practice, you can edit out glare on glasses, braces, background objects and much more. Related tools include Scratch Remover and Object Remover in some programs.
Eraser. This tool lets you remove sections of an image. This leaves behind a blank spot or hole. It’s useful to isolate an object to place on another image, for example, to cut out a person so you can drop them into a location that was not in the original image. A variant of this tool is the Background Eraser.
Layers. Learning to use layers opens up an entirely new world in editing. Basically you create two or more overlays that can have varying amounts of transparency so that you create a new image combining parts of these layers. You can specify how the layers interact with each other, so that one may enhance the color of another. That feature is called the “blend mode”. You can also use layers to superimpose items on each other, for example to put your subject in a new location.
Sharpen. This tool lets you increase the edge contrast of the image, which makes small features stand out more. You will generally sharpen only as a last step after resizing, because sharpening emphasis will change with the image size. You can selectively sharpen parts of the images, such as eyes, to draw attention to them. You can also apply a sharpening to the overall image. The Unsharp Mask will let you specify just how small and how much to apply the sharpening effect.
Photo by Kokorowa Shinjin.
Channel Mixer. This is a tool that allows you to change the amount of red, green and blue in the image. But its real value is in being able to tailor a black and white conversion to include specific amounts of red, green and blue. If you choose “monochrome” as the output, you can mix the red green and blue channels to bring out features that a straight black and white conversion will not be able to do. The defaults include 33% each of red, blue and green. Experiment with 80%/10%/10% of various modes and see how elements like bricks or blue sky or green leaves will change from dark to light in relation to other objects in the image.
1-Step Fix/Smart Fix. This tool often combines much of the above tools into an easy to use dialog that will let you play with many things at once to improve an image. Even if you use this tool most of the time, remember that the individual elements above can be utilized individually to create image enhancements that the simpler tools cannot provide.
Want to learn more? Take a handful of images that you are not totally pleased with, and spend some time using each tool to see how you can expand your creative and editing skills to produce truly great works of photographic art!
About the Author:
John Huegel is a photographer in the Erie, Pennsylvania area who specializes in Seniors, Dance Studio, Families and other groups. He is active in many charitable and volunteer activities in the Erie area.
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PictureCorrect.com: Interesting Photo of the Day: Pelican Nebula
In the constellation Cygnus lies an emission nebula whose gaseous contortions resemble a pelican. Aptly, this formation is called the Pelican Nebula, and researchers are fascinated by its active mix of star formations and evolving gas clouds. Due to the continuous changes the gaseous body goes through, after a few million years, the name will no longer be relevant. But in the meantime, it works. Astrophotographer Joels Fallon took the following incredible image of the Pelican Nebula, which clearly shows how the universe is no less than a work of art:
“The Pelican Nebula” by Coty Spence (Via Reddit. Click image to see full size.)
If you’re into astrophotography, here’s what he used to photograph this brilliant photograph: a SkyWatcher 190MN, Sky-Watcher EQ6r-pro, ZWO 1600MM-pro, ZWO ASI290-MM, ZWO EFW and ZWO filters, ZWO OAG with ZWO helical focuser and a self-made ZWO EAF Moonlite CR2 adapter. We don’t pretend to know what all those are, but professionals and true enthusiasts should appreciate the in-depth knowledge.
Further, the image is a composite of 330 exposures, each exposure being 180 seconds, thereby totaling 16.5 hours of exposure time. From this data itself, you can imagine the amount of hard work and patience Fallon put into making this image. And it seems everything has paid off handsomely.
“Not only are stars bathing the nebula in ionizing radiation, causing different elements to glow like a neon sign, but some are also tearing it apart with their narrows stellar jets, called Herbig-Haro objects. A super interesting target.”
It’s truly mesmerizing how he has captured such a detailed photograph from the comfort of his garden. The number of stars that we can see here is beyond comprehension. This makes us wonder further about the vastness of our universe.
What do you have to say about this image?
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PictureCorrect.com: How Landscape Photography Can Help Improve Mental Health
Mother Nature is an excellent healer. A beautiful vista, fresh breeze and the wonderful sound of faraway birds can do wonders whenever you’re feeling down. Taking time away from the city and hitting the nature trails can do wonders for your mental health. And if you’re a photographer, there are few better places than the wilderness to find inspiration. In today’s video, photographer Gavin Hardcastle shares how landscape photography has helped ease his depression:
With all the restrictions in place due to COVID, most of us have been going through stressful times. Travel bans have emphasized this problem, trapping many of us within the vicinity of our homes or cities. But now that millions of people are getting vaccinated daily, it might be a good idea to jump into nature’s lap and rejuvenate.
You can use landscape photography as an excuse to spend some time in nature and refresh your mind. Find a scenic place nearby and go for a hike. Trekking a mountain will not only lift your mood, but also raise your spirit. Imagine standing amidst the clouds taking photos—this can also boost your creativity and help you think clearer.
“One thing I can always rely on to give me the happiest of thoughts is when the light performs its magic.”
Also, taking that perfect image when the lighting turns magical is extremely uplifting. You can enjoy the magical moment in person and also document it as a photograph. You can then share the same feeling with others online.
Has photography helped you with your mental health struggles? We’d love to hear from you below.
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