Wind out of the WNW on Sunday was unusually high and steady for August in Madison on Lake Mendota, and the Kiteboarders were out in numbers. I didn't have a lot of time to take pics, but was able to capture a few just off-shore.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Max is always my best model!
My dog Maximus has always been my go-to guy when needing a subject to photograph. We were on a weekend getaway to visit family and friends at a river cottage near Joliet, and I was able to capture Max running on a sandbar. Using my Canon 7D and the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens, I froze the motion and water splashing. Max still doesn't like to swim, but he is getting more comfortable in the water, and shallow water, he's a rock star!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Animoto Craziness!
Summer is a busy time, and very difficult to put together slide-shows. I've given Animoto another try, and have been extremely impressed with the multi-media slide shows that they come up with. Basically, I take my images, videos, and time-lapse sequences and upload them to Animoto.com and they spit out a slide show that has music and everything! I've gotten very favorable reviews from the wedding videos I put together using Animoto, and the fact that it saves a ton of time makes it very easy to recommend. Here is my latest video day tubing in Washington, captured exclusively on a GoPro HD Hero Camera.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Photoshop Saves!
Sometimes as a photographer, you're dealt with challenging lighting situations. Here is an example where I didn't have an assistant to use a reflector, and not enough time to go get a fill flash and umbrella. The sun is overhead, but behind the Bride and Groom. This is where Photoshop can save a mediocre to bad image, and make it a keeper.
Basically, I created multiple layers for this image for the different sections. Sky, Mountains, Couple, and Forest, and Grass. Using layer masks, I was able to tweak each of these sections individually to make the hue/saturation and levels look the way I wanted. The key to this image is also ensuring that you do not overexpose the shot, thus losing image detail. You'll notice in the original, the Bride and Groom are dark and you can't see their faces. In the processed image, they pop off the screen. Looking at this, I see that I have some sun flares/spots to deal with, but I think that it's a vibrant image that would have been overlooked. Using Adobe Lightroom as the final step allows me to create a vignette, reduce the orange-ness of the skin, and add back a bit of clarity!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Alien Skin: Snap Art - A-Scow and Capitol
Believe it or not, I still get requests to "Photoshop" images for people. Anyone who know's photoshop, this could be one of a million effects, filters, and/or actions. Luckily, he had an image that I already doctor'd up as a base. I decided to try a few different effects on this image, as they all have a slightly different feel once processed. Here are some examples using the Alien Skin Snap Art plugin using Adobe Photoshop CS5:
Pencil Sketch Effect:
Posterization Effect
Color Pencil Effect:
Oil Painting Effect:
As you can see, the same image can be transformed into art with different styles very easily using digital image manipulation tools.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Darby & Tim: Multimedia Slide Show
Took some time today to get Darby and Tim's slide show online. Enjoy!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Eric & Tracy's Destination Wedding!
I was lucky enough to be asked to help photograph the wedding of Eric Brown and Tracy Tompkins at the Mountain Home Lodge, in Leavenworth, Washington. Regan Van Huffel Botsford was the other photographer for the wedding, and you can view her fantastic work on flickr by clicking here. This was my first destination wedding where I needed to take a flight since 2009, and I've accumulated a ton of gear since then. I really tried to pack light, but ended up taking more than I needed to ensure that I captured this event for my close friend Eric properly. 3 Canon dSLR's, 2 GoPro HD Hero's, a Canon G11 with CHDK, and a Sony HDR-SR1 HD camcorder. The goal was obviously to focus on photography, but I wanted to try and expand my photojournalistic skills. The ceremony was captured from multiple cameras and locations. Here is the list of shots:
- GoPro HD Hero on a Tripod using a Lawn Sprinkler timer as a panning device: Time Lapse
- GoPro HD Hero on mini-gorrilla pod on lawn directly in front of the alter: 720p HD Video 60fps
- Canon G11 on Tripod on elevated Deck (Right) running CHDK script: Time Lapse
- Canon 7D on Tripod on lower elevated deck (left): 1080p HD Video
- Sony HDR-SR1 on elevated deck: 1080i HD Video
- Canon 50D with 70-200mm f/2.8 IS Zoom Lens: Monopod
- Canon 5D Mark II with 16-35mm f/2.8 Zoom lens: -R-Strap
The goal with all of these angles and different media types is to be able to put together a slideshow with images, videos, and time lapse sequences, with music. Here is my first attempt at coming up with a worthy presentation:
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