What's in the Sky?

Cloud Face

A photograph from a couple of weeks ago. I think I see a dragon's face in the clouds. Do you? It is more of an Oriental style dragon than a European style one if that helps.

As part of my learning how to use Photoshop, I purchased and have been using a couple of books. Brief reviews of them after the jump.

I have been using three books for educating myself on Photoshop CS4 and one for Lightroom 2. I have generally read them all of the way through, except for one, but they have all been instrumental in getting me up to speed on the applications.

Two of the books really form a nice set as they are written by the same author and are generally organized in a similar manner. The are The Adobe Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers and The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby and published by New Riders/Voices that Matter. If you have read any of Scott Kelby's books in the past, then you will be familiar with his conversational, straight to the point, step-by-step style. If you haven't then I will say that I find his style quite approachable and instructive. The only places were he wonders off on tangents are the chapter introductions which really serve only to break up what should be a monotonous subject matter. Taken together both books have served as good "kick-starters" to get oriented with the given applications and understand their capabilities. However, if you are looking for more textbook / reference style books, then these are not the books you are looking for. He doesn't linger too long on any given subject, but does give you the approaches and step-by-step methods he uses in his own image workflow and processing. I read these before the other books and found that they got me up to speed very quickly. You can download low-resolution samples off all of the images he uses in the book so you can follow along with him throughout the lessons.

The next book is Photoshop CS4 for Nature Photographers: A Workshop in a Book written by Ellen Anon & Josh Anon and published by Sybex. This book interested me as it focuses on using Photoshop CS4 with nature photography which is what a majority of my work has been thus far. I thought it might provide a bit more focus on those aspects of Photoshop CS4 that I would find useful then those areas that I wouldn't. Luckily, I was correct. It is a more traditionally written book than Mr. Kelby's. Which is to say that the prose is more lengthy and not as bullet-point oriented. It goes in to a bit more depth than Mr. Kelby's books which I appreciated. Still, the book is not boring to read and is written in a more modern, conversational style. It is definitely not a dry textbook style of presentation. It is well organized and includes a CD with sample images to use while following the lessons as well as several tutorial videos to help with some of the more important subjects such as making selections. The CD is compatible with both PCs and Macs. Another feature of the book is that it contains sidebars for people that are using the latest version of Photoshop Elements. These sidebars illustrate how similar results can be achieved in Elements' toolset. I thought this was a nice touch, but I am not certain that most Elements users would expect to find such information in a Photoshop CS4 book. Overall, I found the book to be a good compliment to Mr. Kelby's in that it goes into more detail in the areas that I am most interested in for nature photography.

The last book is Photoshop CS4: The Missing Manual by Lesa Snider King and published by Pogue Press/O'Reilly. The Missing Manual books are a series of technology books managed by New York Times' technology columnist David Pogue. They are intended to provide accessible, in-depth information on various technology subjects such as computer applications and devices. Many applications do not come with a manual these days or are packaged with a very minimal, bare-bones manual and/or a technophile oriented PDF file/help system. The Missing Manuals seek to bridge the gap the manufacturers leave in simply using an application and learning an application. I had the Missing Manual for Photoshop Elements 5 when and was impressed with it. Thus, I thought the CS4 version would be worth a look. Again, I was not disappointed. Photoshop CS4: The Missing Manual is a much larger book than the others that I have discussed here. It goes into much more detail than the other books and really does serve as the manual that Adobe didn't include in the box with Photoshop CS4. Like the other books here, it is written in an approachable style with amble directions and illustrations. Like Mr. Kelby's book you can download sample images to work on as you read through the book. If you only want to get get one book for Photoshop CS4, then this is probably the one that you want. It leaves no stone unturned in Photoshop, it is much more generally focused than the other books, and can serve has a reference manual that you pull off of the shelve when you get stuck on an image/technique.

I recommend each of these books. Indeed, I think I have learned different things from each of them as the authors' presentations and focus areas are just enough different that what one might gloss over, another will provide a useful insight in to.

Disclaimer: While I have provided links to the books on Amazon, I am not an Amazon affiliate. I don't get anything back from either Amazon, the writers or the publishers for reviewing the books. The links are simply provided for informational purposes. Where you purchase your books is entirely your decision.

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Playing around

Moon Painting

I've been playing around with Photoshop CS4 some more. I took a picture of the moon this weekend, but it seemed kind of bland with all of the black sky around it. I had watched a tutorial over on Planet Photoshop and thought I might try to apply some of that to this photo.

I might have overdone the lights a bit, but so what. It was really more of a practice thing than anything. Now, to figure out how to do some nebulae.

Keep shooting.

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Red Alert!

Firelight

A photo of the safety light in our quarters on board the Yorktown. I guess it was meant to provide a bit of low intensity light for people to move around after "lights out". I liked the color and shape of the light, although there wasn't much else about it or the immediate area that was particularly interesting. So, I treated the image with selective color to draw attention to the light itself. Not sure if it works or not in the end, but I am trying to experiment around more with my post processing.

More after the jump.

Speaking of post processing I just got Adobe Photoshop CS4! The FedEx man dropped it in front of my door yesterday afternoon. I am quite excited about it. Adobe is running an upgrade special for owners for Photoshop Elements 4-current where the full Photoshop CS4 is heavily discounted. I had missed the offer both times they had it last year, but thankfully a poster over at the DPS (Digital Photography School) forums mentioned getting an email about it. I searched for it on Adobe's site, didn't see it and was about to leave when one of their customer service reps started a chat session with me. I asked him about it, he confirmed that I had Elements 5 and gave me a link to the order page for the upgrade in the Adobe Shop.

As I said it arrived yesterday and I am already a Photoshop master! Ok, well maybe not even close. But I have been reading Scott Kelby's new book "The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers" while waiting for it to arrive. It is a great book like all of Mr. Kelby's that I have read so far. He walks you step-by-step through each of the PS CS4 programs (Bridge, Camera RAW, PS) in a results oriented way. If you want to see how to start doing things right away, I think this book is a great means for that. He gives you helpful tips and tricks throughout and discusses customizing the UIs for better workflows. If you are looking for more of a reference style book, then this one probably isn't what you are looking for as he writes in his conversational style and doesn't bog you down with technical details. I will likely get another Photoshop book of the reference sort as I get more comfortable with the applications. For now, this book is what I need to get kick-started into the wide and woolly world of Photoshop.

Right now I'm learning about Bridge. I like is so far. I think it will help with the organization, sorting, and image rating of my workflow.

That's it for today.

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An HDR Comparison

Poinsett Bridge - HDR

As I have mentioned previously, I have started experimenting with HDR photography and thought I would try a comparison between an HDR image and a standard photograph with my typical processing. This weekend my family and I went out along US Highway 11, aka the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway. Along the way we stopped at the Poinsett Bridge in Greenville County which is part of the Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve. The foothills were in full Autumn colors and we had a great afternoon drive.

More after the jump

While at the Poinsett Bridge I attempted to capture a few series of exposures to process using the open-source Picturenaut HDR software. The photograph above is the best of the attempts. It is seven frames of the same scene taken with the camera on the tripod and changing the shutter speed for each shot. I goofed up the exposure bracketing in the other attempts and didn't get acceptable results when I tried to process them.

I like the above photograph for a couple of reasons. It has a kind of dreamy look to it that is enhanced by the blurriness of the background trees and the foreground water and leaves. I think this happened because of the movement of the water between frames which also moved the leaves, and there was a wind which was moving the upper boughs of the trees. All of that movement combined to cause Picturenaut to average the tonal values on the various exposure together resulting in the blur you can see. I think it actually lends the image a painterly impression.

The quality that I like the best about the image is the lighting on the bridge itself. The highlights are fairly well controlled and the shadows are not too dark. However, even the bridge looks a tad impressionistic to a degree and required additional, selective sharpening to reduce that quality. I also tweaked the contrast and color saturation a tad in Capture NX2 for the entire image.

Pointsett Bridge

This photograph is one that I took "normally". It was hand held and exposed so that there were few if any blown out highlights on the LCD screen. I processed it using Nikon's Capture NX2 RAW processing software. While developing it, I added my normal contrast curve, boosted the colors a bit, and used the high pass filter for sharpening as I do with most of my photographs.

I like this version of the scene as well, but for different reasons. Everything is crisper and more clear in this photograph. It looks more like a photograph, I suppose, than a painting. However, I don't like the lighting on the bridge quite as much as the bright areas are just a bit too bright and bleed out some of the details. The differences in this quality can best be seen by looking at the keystone in the arch. In the HDR version, the keystone is nicely exposed/blended, while in the regular version it has lost some detail due to the bright sunlight.

Both images could certainly be improved with better field techniques and better processing knowledge. However, I think it does give a good look into the differences between HDR and normal processing. I am excited to continue playing around with HDR images. It seems to be an area that could broaden my processing capability.

In the end, both images serve their purposes and that is what it is all about.

Keep shooting.
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Some Books for the Weekend

I thought I would mention a few books that I have read or been reading over the past month or two. These are all books that I would recommend to photography enthusiasts to learn more about photography in general or just certain aspects of it. I will also link to the books on Amazon. However, the link is only for convenience and to show you the book's cover for identification. I am not an Amazon affiliate thus I don't get a portion of the sales of books you follow through the site. Buy them from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your local bookstore, borrow them from a friend or check them out from a library.

Ok, enough of the disclosures and on with the books after the jump.


Rick Sammon's Exploring the Light: Making the Very Best In-Camera Exposures by Rick Sammon and published by Norton. This book strives to teach you how to see the light on your subject, adjust your camera for the image you imagine, and use Photoshop to boost it "to the next level". It is a very easy book to read with good descriptions and excellent photographs. Mr. Sammon touches on all aspects of exposure in a digital environment including basic introduction to post processing techniques such as levels and curves, hue and saturation adjustments, color adjustments such as black & white, high dynamic range (HDR) images, and panoramic stitching. While he does discuss post processing to "finish" photographs, he doesn't approach it as a tool to "fix" photographs unless the light just wasn't with you when you were out shooting. Most of the book goes into explaining aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and how to use your camera's various modes to get the exposures you need for the very best images to "finish" in Photoshop.

Face to Face: Rick Sammon's Complete Guide to Photographing People by Rick Sammon, published by O'Reilly. Another book by Mr. Sammon written in his conversational style. It delves into how he goes about interacting with strangers on his trips to get them to pose for him, how he poses them, how he finds good backgrounds, what equipment he uses and how best to use said equipment. If you are a people photographer, or want to get better at photographing people, this book is an excellent primer.

The HDRI Handbook: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers and CG Artists by Christian Bloch, published by rockynook. I mentioned this book a few days ago but didn't link to it. It is a very technical book about HDR imaging in everthing from photography to motion film to computer graphics/animation. The book doesn't bog the read down in the technical details so much as it explains those details in an easy to understand way. The book discusses the pros and cons of several HDR applications for photographers and even includes a CD with some open source applications to get you started with HDR photography. There is a companion website over at hdrlabs where you can find discussion groups about the included software as well as HDR in general.

The Photographer's Guide to Landscapes: A Complete Masterclass by John Freeman, published by Collins & Brown. This book is just what it says it is. If you enjoy landscape photography then this is an excellent book to add to your library. Excellent photographs illustrate Mr. Freeman's discussions of landscape photography techniques.

Light - Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting, Third Edition by Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, and Paul Fuqua, published by Focal Press. This is one of those quintessential books that anyone serious about photography should read. It is about nothing other than how light interacts with objects, how to photograph that light, and what sorts of solutions you might need for various lighting situations. While most of the book uses studio photography due to the ability to precisely control light, the concepts are applicable to any style of photography. In the end, photography is about light and this book explains how to capture it.

That's it for now.

Keep shooting.


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A couple of Freebies

Bald Rock Panorama

This panorama was taken from the Bald Rock overlook on US Highway 276. It is comprised of three overlapping images taken with the wide-angle lens. I then used the new Microsoft Image Composite Editor to stitch them together into one image. It is a very simple utility to use. There are a handful of different algorithms you can choose from depending on if you took the images by rotating in one spot as with a tripod, or if you panned side-to-side as if you were moving in a vehicle. You can also crop the image as necessary. All in all I was quite impressed with it. A couple of cons that I noticed is that it didn't support RAW file types so you have to convert to TIFF or JPEG prior to stitching them together. Plus, it doesn't support the Mac OS. Still it is free, easy to use, and gives good results. Just a note, Microsoft Research is the same group that made Photosynth. Also, check out their Worldwide Telescope project.

Another free application that I recently found is Picturenaut. It is used to create High Dynamic Range (HDR) images. HDR images are created by taking several photographs of the same scene with each photograph being exposed differently. You then use a special application to blend them together to produce an image with greater dynamic range than can be captured with just one photograph. HDR photography has really started to pick up steam in the past couple of years and there are several mature applications that are commonly used for it. However, the choices available for those of use wanting to try HDR imagery without purchasing expensive software were quite few. Picturenaut is one such application. I have just started playing around with it and don't have any final, presentable images yet. However, so far it does most everything that I want for now. It is an open-source application with a small community growing around it. I hope to have some presentable images processed with it in a week or two.

I found out about Picturenaut as it was included on a CD in a book that I am currently reading. The HDRI Handbook by Christian Bloch is a fairly technical book that delves into imaging technologies in general and HDR techniques and uses in video, still photography and computer graphics/animation. While it does get into technical details in some chapters, the reader never really feels bogged down by them. Well, at least I didn't, but that might just be my science background coming out. If you want to have a better understanding of the theories as well as general applications of HDR imaging, then I do recommend the book. As mentioned a CD is included that contains the Picturenaut HDR application for Windows operating systems, an HDR application for MACs, and sample images you can practice with along with the reading.

Tonight is Halloween. Stay safe if you are going out.

Keep Shooting

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Favorite Links

I realized that I needed a centralized place to list my favorite and recommended links. I didn't want to use a link sidebar as those tend to get really long and distracting. So, here is a running compilation of my favorite photography related links. I will link to in at the top of the sidebar and will be adding to it as I find sites to recommend.


Photon Links

1001 Noisy Cameras is a blog that tracks the happenings among the camera manufacturers on the web. It is an excellent place to go to find the latest rumors as well as links to leaks and compilations of sales statistics.
bythom is Thom Hogan's blog and website. He is a professional landscape photographer. His site also is packed full of information about Nikon photography products. If you are a Nikon shooter, checkout his site.
David Tejada: A commerical photographer's blog with stunning photographs and excellent behind the scenes videos.
digial Photography School blog: A great resource for people learning photography or brushing up on their skills. Check out the forums while you are there.
Digital Photography Review is one of the quintessential websites for camera reviews. They have recently started reviewing lens as well. Their forums are very active and a good source of information and at times amusement.
Digital ProTalk: A reknowned wedding photographer with lots of photography, business and Photoshop tips.
FlashFlavor: Another wedding photographer that uses small flashes extensively in his work. Trash the dress!
Joe McNally: Lighting Guru, National Geographic/Life/Time/Sports Illustrated photographer, writer. One of the good guys.
Lighting Essentials: A lighting resource for both studio and location portraiture. He works mainly with models ... lots of pretty models at that.
Moose Peterson : A wildlife and research photographer. Great landscapes and wildlife shots here.
Pro Photo Life: Jim Talkington's excellent blog that discusses the business of photography as well as the technical side of it.
Photozone is a one stop place for lens reviews. If you are looking for a new lens, they have probably tested and reviewed it.
Rob Galbraith: Digital Photography Insights is a professional's observations on the industry and trends.
The Strobist: The quitessential site for learning how to use small strobes quickly and effectively.

Pixel Links

Dave Cross: One of the Photoshop Guys.
Epic Edits Weblog: Brian Auer's photography and Photoshop blog.
Photoshop User TV: The link to see the Photoshop Guys' shows. Great tips on using Photoshop and some of the other Adobe products.
Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider: One of the Photoshop guys and author of Photoshop and photography books.

Project Links

DIYPhotography.net: A good resource for do-it-yourself projects to try and save some cash on photographic equipment.
Lighting Mods: Another good place to search for DIY ideas.

Presentation Links

Flickr: The most popular photography sharing and social site.
Mpix.com: An excellent print lab. I love the Kodak metalic paper.
Pbase: A photograph hosting service which is a bit more upscale than Flickr.
SmugMug: A photograph hosting service which is a bit more upscale than Flickr.
Zenfolio: Another upscale photograph hosting service and the one that I use.








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David Ziser's Digital ProTalk

One of the many professional photographer's blogs that I read is Cincinnati, OH based David Ziser. He's a renowned wedding photographer and teacher. His blog, Digital ProTalk has a wealth of information about photography and post processing. I highly recommend visiting it if you have an interest in learning more about photography and Photoshop, or if you just enjoy beautiful photographs.

But, wait! There's more!



This past Monday, David made a post about his first foray into shooting with RAW files. He wondered why his two different viewers, Lightroom and IrfanView showed such drastically different versions of the same image. I left a comment explaining that one viewer was showing the embedded JPEG image an the other displaying the actual RAW image.

Well, yesterday David started a new "section" of his blog called The Confusion Solution. This new section is about the stuff that you don't find anywhere in the manuals. The first post was sparked by the comments he got about his RAW image display issue on Monday. Here is the neat part. In his post he quoted my comment from Monday! See it here! I was thrilled when I saw it. Thanks, Mr. Ziser! You made my day.

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