I just wrapped up a four-day workshop here in Colorado, where we explored creative outdoor photography. We started out by doing traditional landscape photography in Garden of the Gods, then we moved on to several unique locations for interesting compositions and shots. We had a great photo walk in Manitou Springs, and we were able to shoot inside the Miramont Castle, a unique Victorian building. After each morning’s shooting session, we held classroom sessions where we explored the creative aspect of post-processing, including HDR, Monochrome, and Color Efex Pro. We also learned how to use Photoshop layers to maximize our creativity and enhance our workflow with Nik Software plug-ins and Flypaper Textures. Continue reading Creative Outdoor Photography Workshop Wrap-Up→
Looking out the window yesterday morning, I saw a solid wall of gloom to the west. Pikes Peak was completely obscured by clouds, and it looked crummy for photography. By 9am, though, the clouds were breaking up just enough in the east to let light poke through once in a while. So I figured I’d take a chance and shoot in Garden of the Gods, my favorite local spot to “get away” to.
Normally, I have a pretty steadfast rule about overcast days. To make the shots work, you avoid getting sky in the shots as much as possible. But yesterday, I took a different approach. Since I was set up on my Gitzo tripod, I went ahead and made exposure bracket sequences. For the uninitiated, that’s when you shoot 3 or more shots of the same scene, each at a different exposure. By doing so, I had at least one underexposed and one overexposed version of the same image.
When I got back home, I ran the bracketed image sequences through Nik Software’s HDR Efex Pro plug-in to combine the exposures into a single high dynamic range image. The results were quite pleasing! Textures in what would have been a completely washed out sky gave my images a dark and moody feel.
Juniper and Gateway Rock
HDR brings out textures in incredible ways
Low clouds behind Gateway Rock take on new textures with HDR
Juniper on Rattlesnake Ridge; processed in HDR Efex Pro and Silver Efex Pro 2
Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak. 5-shot pano stitch (Click to enlarge)
Panoramic images are a current hot topic in the digital photography world. For the uninitiated, a panoramic image is any image that has an exaggerated aspect ratio; much longer (or taller) than it is wide. You can produce panoramic images in one of two ways:
Cropping
Stitching
While cropping can work great, you throw away image resolution when you do it. With stitching, you need to take multiple images and blend them together. Doing so gives you images with far more detail than you’d get from any single image frame. Consider a simple stitch with two shots from the 16 megapixel Nikon D7000, which produces a 4,928 x 3,262 pixel image. Simply by combining two shots end to-end, you’d get a composite image that was at most 9856 x 3262 pixels– 32MP. Continue reading Who needs a multi-row pano kit?→
Reflections of fall colors in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO
I’ve recently added some new and exciting photo safaris to my workshop schedule. I’m deliberately keeping the attendance low at these events so that you will get maximal contact time. We’ll not only be photographing some wonderful places, but you’ll have time for personal image review/critique sessions and post-processing instruction. I hope you can join me on one of these exclusive tours this year.
Photograph Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods May 13-15, 2011
This “landscape weekend” will have us photographing Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods park at sunrise. We’ll also learn how to do panoramic photography and HDR. We’ll also cover post-processing techniques for making fine-art images and prints. This class is limited to only six (6) participants, so you’ll get extra instructor attention– perfect for beginners!
On this trip, you’ll photograph some of the most unusual and interesting scenery in the western USA. We’ll be based out of Wall, SD, and we will cover all major digital landscape techniques, including HDR, Panorama, and Black & White. I’ll also be covering several Nik plug-ins, including HDR Efex Pro and Silver Efex Pro 2. Limit 10 participants.
Photograph Bear Lake at Rocky Mountain National Park Sept. 28-22, 2011
This class is limited to eight participants, and we’ll be photographing the stunning landscapes and wildlife of Rocky Mountain National Park. We’ll have five days of shooting in amazing alpine locations, including Bear Lake, Moraine Park, and the cabins at the Holzwarth historic site. You’ll have opportunities to master all the necessary field and post-processing technique for producing fine-art landscape images in one of the most amazing places on Earth.
To register for any of my upcoming workshops, please visit my workshop page.
I’ve been invited to visit Connecticut this September to present a series of digital photography seminars and workshops. Thanks to the fine folks at Milford Photo, I’ll be traveling to present three days of photographic instruction. I can’t wait to get out there and meet you!
Friday, September 10th, 7-9pm The Magic of Digital Landscape Photography(Free Seminar) Click here to RSVP
Saturday, Sept. 11th, 7am-2pm: Photo shoot and digital post-processing workshop (Shooting fees: $79.95/person) Click here to register online
Sunday, Sept. 12th, 8am-4:30pm: The Capture NX2 Master Class (Workshop fees: $149.99/person) Click here to register online
