Devil is in the the details

30. August 2015 · Comments Off on Devil is in the the details · Categories: Fall Colors, Locations, Taking care, Travel · Tags: , ,
detail, fixing the brightness

ADHD makes details difficult, luckily meds make a huge difference !  Never the less, the devil is in the details 🙂   Several things have been reminding me of this lately; some post processing work I have been doing, and planning the Columbia gorge trip with others.

The featured image of the Canadian Rockies  was originally to dark and the clouds were blown out.  I had it on my home page after fixing the too dark, but the clouds still bothered me because they were blown out -one of those details I had not taken care of….. This in turn had me looking at other photos from that trip (honeymoon) and finding more.  One of the other details that I found was halo’ing on the sky-mountain edges.  This in turn required me to revisit several other photos to deal with the halos.  In the photo below, notice the halo in the sky along the mountain top.

detail, fixing the brightness

Canadian Rockies

fixing the sky and halos

 

At least for me, it takes time and practice to notice the details, (and usually a goof or two as well). The fall colors to the Columbia gorge looks like it is a go, and I was talking with some of the others about it. In the course of the conversation, lots of details started popping up that need to be thought about.

  • rain cover for the camera
  • wool socks because our feet are likely to get wet, and wet cotton is awful
  • towel for rain, mist (from sky or water fall)
  • alarm clock to make it to sunrise on time
  • battery charger
  • which rental car agency so that we can have 2 drivers per car
  • AAA maps
  • which flights
  • where to stay for Silver Falls State park

And the lists go on.  But if there is a list, I am more likely to get taken care of than thinking of it, and then forgetting.

The grizzly below does not have a catch light in its eyes. Compare the difference in feel between the image without the catch light and the one with the catch light. The catch light is a small detail, but has a big impact.

After Lightroom

Waking grizzly

 

detail with catch light

Waking grizzly with catch light doesn’t seem as formidable as without; a warmer friendlier photo.

Good Photo Hygiene

08. August 2015 · Comments Off on Good Photo Hygiene · Categories: How to, Locations · Tags: , ,
Good Photo hygiene has been practiced

“Photography suits the temper of this age – of active bodies and minds. It is a perfect medium for one whose mind is teeming with ideas, imagery, for a prolific worker who would be slowed down by painting or sculpting, for one who sees quickly and acts decisively, accurately.”

by Edward Weston.

Yes, I admit that I had fun with the title ! 🙂  Photo hygiene is a catchy title for spotting photos.    It is seldom that there is not some spot on the photo, that while barely visible on the screen stands out like a huge zit on printed photos !  The lead image has been spotted to remove the worst of the spots, plus a minute or 2 of work in Adobe Lightroom (LR) and Adobe Photoshop.  Here is the original image.  Notice the spots over in the upper left. Distracting at best.  There are also spots in the center.  Below are some blow ups, for the spots I have both a blow up and an enhanced blowup to make the spots easier to spot (pun intended).

Pre photo hygiene

Pre photo hygiene

Lightroom has a nice spotting tool, and easy to use. after selecting the spotting tool, the size of the spot can be controlled with the roller on the mouse.  

Spotting tool used for good photo hygiene

Spotting tool used for good photo hygiene

                          After selecting the spotting tool, there is a a check box at the bottom of the window “Visualize spots” checking the box changes the image.  The result looks similar to the image below.  I have added the red arrows to indicate spots.  The check box makes it easier to find and fix spots, i.e. practicing good photo hygiene.  Use the spotting tool on the image in this mode and when unchecking the “Visualize spots” box the spots are gone. 2015-07-31_3-03-26-Visualize spots Here are the blow ups of the spots.

Spots from the left

Left side spots

Center spot blow up before good photo hygiene

Center spot blow up before good photo hygiene

Enhanced spot

Enhanced center  spots

                      This write-up on the spotting tool makes it sound more difficult than it is by far. The whole spotting exercise is less than 30 seconds of work. ‘Try it, you’ll like it, Mikey likes it.’ Here are the settings that I used after taking care of the spots to add a little more contrast and zip in the photo.

Lightroom Settings

Lightroom Settings

  Point Lobos state park just south of Carmel, Ca is a wonderful location, It was a favorite location of Edward Weston, hence the opening quote. On the day of the photos I was lucky enough to have have fog which certainly improved the image. Pt. Lobos is a locale that I continue to visit. Hint: arrive early, because the park fills up and then you have to wait for someone to leave to enter. Here are some other photos from that day. PL20070323-Big-Sur-3444-27 _MG_3429-255-Edit-3

Point Lobos

Point Lobos

Point Lobos

Point Lobos

  House Building

Cyprus Coast

Harbor seal warming itself

Point Lobos

Point Lobos

See more photos at Patrick Lynch Photography        

Using a Point & Shoot -Traveling Lessons

13. May 2015 · Comments Off on Using a Point & Shoot -Traveling Lessons · Categories: How to, Locations, Photography, Travel, Uncategorized · Tags: , ,
San Carlos de Beriloche, Argentina
Lake Traful, Argentina

Lake Traful, Argentina

“No photographer is as good as the simplest camera.”

Edward Steichen

I am in Patagonia (Argentina) for 10 days.  I debated taking the Canon 5Dii, but decided not to bring it because it would be a tempting target for thieves.  Instead I opted for taking a Point & Shoot (P&S).  Below are my pro and cons around using a Point & Shoot.

Reasons I don’t like a point and shoot

  • No tripod – a tripod would have helped, even in the wind I could hold it down

    It was windy

    It was windy

  • No polarizing filter; the sky has big beautiful puffy clouds that just are not coming out  IMG_2624
  • More resolution; to allow for cropping
  • Sharper lens.  There is a distinct curvature in the P&S images that is annoying.  Lightroom  lens correction helps, but it is not enough.  (see the  image of lake Traful, Argentina)IMG_2677  IMG_2530
  • Can’t hand hold something that light in the wind steady.  Yes, I could/should bring a tripod and put a plate on the Point and shoot, but the tripod ball head is practically as big as the P&S.  A tripod by itself would have done nothing given the high winds that were blowing us people around.   However, putting my weight on the tripod would have done better than me swaying in the 40 mph winds.
  • Lower dynamic range (see waterfall photo).  This is particularly an issue when traveling when it is harder to get the morning and evening hours of low light that decrease the contrast.  HDR helps, but it is not enough to compensate for the very high contrast environments.
  • Have to have higher ISO with more noise to account for the hand held aspect.

Reasons for using a P&S

  • Less likely to be mugged when travelling abroad because of big expensive camera.  This was the primary reason for bringing the P&S versus the Canon big glass.  If it is stolen, then less loss.
  • It is lighter and easier to use (not true) when traveling.  Yes it is lighter, and smaller which is a big plus.  But in the wind, and for the shots I want, it did not produce them.
  • Why take a tripod for a P&S (oh how foolish am I).
    • With a tripod it is easier to take exposure bracketed frames to increase dynamic range.
    • Not have as blurry a photo.
    • Use a lower ISO that has better noise characteristics.

 

So the conclusion is….

I need a new small, doesn’t look like big glass, lighter solution.  So, for the price of a single big glass lens I can get a body and lens. I got a Sony Nex 6,

When what you want (Fall Colors) – finding something else (elephant seals)

05. February 2014 · Comments Off on When what you want (Fall Colors) – finding something else (elephant seals) · Categories: Locations · Tags: ,
Mating

…
“And if you can’t be with the one you love
Honey love the one you’re with
Love the one you’re with”

Read more: Stephen Stills – Love The One You’re With Lyrics | MetroLyrics

November through March the elephant seals return to several locations on the California coast; Ano Nuevo, Piedras Blancas. At Ano Nuevo, North of Santa Cruz there are docents and guides, and your time and setting for photography is severely limited. At Piedras Blancas, because there is a low bluff separating the people from the elephant seals there is not a time limit, nor docents rushing you along, however, it is 3 to 4 hours from the San Francisco Bay area.

There are no fall colors right now, only cold and clear, or warm and clear of winter. The elephant seals are a fun alternative. Like fall colors, they occur every year, and like fall colors there are always opportunities to learn.

One of the challenges is that the elephant seal coloration is very similar to sand, and so there is not much color contrast. In Lightroom, it is possible to quickly maximize the color contrast (vibrance) which helps.

Low visual contrast

Low visual contrast

Another challenge, is finding the visual story to tell. There are lots of elephant seals, but what is a compelling image?

Males seeing who is more dominant

Elephant Seals,Piedras Blancas

Forlorn

Babies without a mom

Elephant Seals,Piedras Blancas

 

This year I tried adding a flash for lighting. I use a better beamer. I found that it helps by filling in some of high contrast shadows so that there is more shadow detail. Here is what the rig looked like.

The setup for shooting elephant seals

The setup for shooting elephant seals

I use a tripod and then weight the tripod to help hold it steady, in years past it has often been windy and the whole thing has wanted to blow over without the weight of the backpack holding it in place. The wind also makes it cold, so dress warmly.

This year we stayed in Paso Robles which allowed us to be there in the early morning which has better light than the afternoon shooting, and is not as windy.