Aug 29, 2011 | Aviation, B&W Photography
Well, after the Liberty landed, I went looking for other subjects to put with the clouds. That’s actually a pretty common tactic of mine, I find a background I really love and then look for something to put in front of it. And when it comes to our fabulous summer thunderheads, the chase is on. So at the Minden Aviation Roundup there was a small static display they called a Zoo (planes with animal names) for the kids. I wondered over there since the light on the aircraft look good.First aircraft I came to is an old favorite, the Grumman G-73 “Mallard.”
The first thing I did was do a quick looksie through the lens to see if I liked the clouds in the background. Then, I moved backwards until I got the cropping I wanted of the Goose. Then I slid sidewise real slow until the center frame of the glass lined up with the tail. I then, using the grid in the E Scrn, but that line in the center of the line on the center line of the E Scrn. Click! While I really like the paint job on the Goose, I like it better in shades of gray with that sky. Finishing was a snap, Silver Efex Pro, a lot easier then waiting for the folks to move from the front of the Goose. That’s one thing you have to have when shooting is understanding. Shooting with the 200-400, not a soul knew what I was pointing at way back where I was standing let alone realize they were in my photo. But to compact the scene and get the cropping I wanted, the long lens was the only option.
Why the long lens? Most aircraft are taller then we are so the physically closer you are, the less your see in the cockpit and of the tail. The tail is everything I think so in order to lessen the angle, moving back and shooting with a longer lens permits you to see in the cockpit and the tail. So this Do-28 Dornier with the clouds reflecting off its nose instantly grabbed my attention and just like the Goose, I moved, slid and lined up the lines to make the shot. Finishing was just as simple.
Then I saw the thunderheads start to rise and wanted to find something to put with them. When I took this shot, I knew I wouldn’t like the resulting image but wanted to blog it. What do I think is wrong with it? The clouds look like they were put in using Photoshop. While that’s not the case, because of the perspective and depth of focus, they simply look phoney. It was a great start to what turned out being a great day!
Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR2 (handheld) on Lexar UDMA digital film
Aug 19, 2011 | B&W Photography
There we were in Warbird Alley as the sunset with a line of P-51D Mustangs glowing. There was a great photo there. The question is, how to get it? What my imagination was going to was an airfield in WWII, Mustangs ready to take flight. The only element of that I see in reality are the three Mustangs. How do I get the rest that my imagination saw? I knew that there was no way I could in reality get what my imagination was seeing in one click. And as Jake just posed in his blog, how much post is right to use?
That means that in order to get the final photograph my imagination sees, I will have to use Photoshop (one reason I love wildlife photography, I never have to think this hard). OK, with that thought, time to go to work. The subject is the line of Mustang canopies, gotta start with making the most of them. The lens on the camera was the 70-200VR2, looked through the viewfinder, not enough compaction. Switched to the 200-400VR2, compaction was good but….I couldn’t see all the canopies. They were all stacked up behind each other so the feel of “many” was lost. At the same time, there was of “junk” in the viewfinder that would simply take way too much time to remove. And the other problem many don’t think about when they know they have to work in post is, there wasn’t enough material to work with to make the junk disappear. How can I solve my problem?
Go Up! I looked around and behind us were the five row risers for the theater presentations. They were further back but they are the only elevation around. So I ran back to them and got up on the top riser. I looked out with my naked eye and liked what I saw. Put the camera to my eye and my heart sank. While I loved the canopies, the junk still remaining in the frame was a killer. The shutter speed was already down to 1/50 @ f/4 (ISO 100) so there wasn’t much time to do anything else. Click!
Keep in mind that my own personal standard is, if I have to spend more then two minutes with an image in post to finish, I abandon the image. I knew when I went click that this was going to take more then two minutes to finish. But it was real simple, how often have I seen three Mustangs lined up in killer light on a GRASS field like you might have seen in WWII? The time in post was worth the click. Keeping the subject in mind, the canopies, I took the image into post. I did my normal in ACR for aircraft (don’t know that that is, come to my session at Photoshop World in a couple of weeks) and then took the image into PS.
While when I took the click I assumed I had the skills to pull off the image, well, you know what happens when you assume. So the first thing I tackled to see if I would pull it off was reconstruction of the leading P-51Ds wings and wheels. Once that was accomplished I dealt with the middleground of the photograph. Last think I did was to take care of the background, the easiest. The entire time I kept one thing in mind, the subject. That’s why I filled in the trees in the background, created what looks like a taxi way in the grass and removed and rebuilt the elements. And the total time invested to get to this point, 8min, but I was liking what I was seeing on the Cintiq.
To get to the finished color image required a solid click to start with a basic game plan for finishing in post. Making the click without that knowledge, finishing in post would be near impossible. And all of that would have been not without the imagination creating the image to begin with. Because what I was looking for was an image reminiscent of an airfield in WWII. That meant going to B&W which was a simple single click with Silver Efex Pro. And that was that.
Do I like the final image? Yeah, I do, it fits what my imagination saw and it pulls at my passion for aviation. And I can hear what some of you might be saying right about now. “I no where have this ability.” Well, a number of years ago I didn’t either (ok, a decade ago now). How do you get this skill level? You gotta start by pushing yourself, take on challenges the simply make you sweat, have you doubting yourself and make them work. It’s not until you have a problem and then find a solution can you move forward. Now if a two day discussion on this very topic, looking and problems, solutions and applying them to your photography, Photoshop for Shooters is the class for you. You gotta start with your heart, add in imagination, sprinkle in camera gear and technical talents and you too will come up with those photos you desire. Push, take the time and make a great click this weekend and don’t panic when you can’t do it without post!
Aug 18, 2011 | Aviation, B&W Photography
“When do you shoot B&W?” It’s a continual question I receive most often after I blog a B&W image. I truly wish there was a little recipe I could post that one could follow and it would create success for photographers. But I’ve not run into such which is why I keep posting B&W images with the hope that if I babble on about how I shot it, something might click for you to help you with this incredibly dramatic medium. It also has me looking at those photographs of mine that are B&W asking myself, “What did I see that told me to go B&W?” And in this case, a resounding answer doesn’t come flying back. There is something about the light, but what exactly it is I can’t put my finger on. This photo is a good example of what I’m referring to.
At Oshkosh in the Warbird Theater are featured aircraft each day. They aren’t exactly simple clean shots, there is all sorts of “stuff” around making getting a clean background a challenge. Now I’m fascinated by the Focke-Wulf 190 because it’s very simplistic looks are misleading to its lethal reputation. So when I saw this parked in the circle I walked around and around and around it just staring at it. Of course I had my camera in my hand but making clicks was a bit of a challenge. When I was at this angle you see here, I liked the drama of the angle and was happy to see a clean background, but the clouds weren’t enough. The biggest obstacle though for me was the backlit fuselage. The paint pattern is lost in the backlit, that is until you go B&W. I would love to tell you that this thought process went streaming through my consciousness but that’s not the case. Looking at the elements I placed in the viewfinder, I think that’s what came together when I went click. All I know is that when I made this capture, I knew it was a B&W photo.
The finishing is for the most part pretty straight forward. The first thing I did was finish my normal way in ACR. Then in Photoshop, the first thing I did was to remove some “stuff” over the left wing. Then I used my favorite B&W tool, Silver Efex Pro (did you know you can get a discount buying it clicking on the button at the bottom of the page?). I did my usual move with Structure and then used 5 control points in the sky to darken it. Then in Photoshop I darkened the tarmac on the right. Lastly, I using Stamp Tool > Luminosity to remove some halo around the tip of the prop. And all of that took less then two minutes to do. And I think that is kinda the key to knowing if the image you thought would make a good B&W is really a good B&W. Of course you need a clean black and white in a B&W image, but if you have to spend a lot of time getting there, then perhaps the image doesn’t make a great B&W image. These are just some random thoughts that I hope click with some helping them getting involved in this very romantic pursuit.
Photo captured by D3x, 14-24AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film
Jul 5, 2011 | B&W Photography
As the thunderstorms leaving can be just as good as the coming. I love the drama as the energy is released!
Jul 5, 2011 | B&W Photography, Landscape Photography
We headed down to Crowley for out 4th of July picnic dinner prior to the fireworks like I’ve been doing for 51yrs. There simply is no betta! As we left the house, the skies were dark o’dark and on the drive rain started to hit the windshield. I love out summer afternoon thunderstorms. The smell of the wet sage and rabbitbrush, the moody skies and the great light, it’s simply paradise. But not tonight, it’s fireworks time, a pyros favorite night of the year! Well we got down to like the the skies and let loose enough energy that they started to clear a little. Of course I had the camera so I had to make a couple of clicks.
What you have here are back to back, handheld 5image HDR images. I shot them at f/22 to get the starburst around the run. With the could moving, I knew the odds of getting it were slim but I tried anyways. You can see in the top image, no cigar. In the bottom image, I not only got the starburst but look at the funny “ray” of light in the right lower corner. I have no idea what the light is striking, rain, rain & dust, no idea what but it’s cool. The finishing just took seconds using Silver Efex Pro 2. Great start to the picnic!
Photos captured by D3x, 24-120VR on Lexar UDMA digital film
Jun 30, 2011 | B&W Photography, Landscape Photography
John Muir has been a hero of mine since I was 7 and first read his work. Later, I was deeply honored with the John Muir Conservation Award. And it brings us great happiness to live right in the heart of his Sierra, what he correctly called The Range of Light. It’s days like today when the thunderstorms roll in that the drama in the light underscores John’s love for these mountains. If you’re a photographer, the inspiration of his words and the scenery before you are a monumental challenge. Without that passion then you can’t feel the passion and if you don’t feel the passion, those looking at your photographs won’t feel it either. There is a reason Ansel traveled up and down the Eastside (where Mammoth Lakes is located) shooting black and white. He felt the passion and he shared it with us, the viewers of his photographs. And that’s what Photoshop for Shooters is all about!
I received 14 emails today seeking help with B&W photography. “Seeing” a color image in B&W doesn’t come overnight. There is as much feeling and seeing to make a good B&W. When it comes to a classroom to explore this, there is none better then John Muir’s Range of Light, right where Photoshop for Shooters is being held. Currently, the location list participants are being provided is 7pgs long. It includes everything from locations, lenses, time of days, directions, everything you need to be in the right place at the right time. From your explorations we then explore in class your findings, talk about the click and then go to finishing those clicks. We will spend a heck of a lot of time with B&W, what makes a great B&W and how to finish that great B&W. What you see here is just a small sample of what you’ll see in your viewfinder and on your computer monitor by the end of the weekend. And best yet, you’ll have it in your heart to take home with you. We have an opening for July and a couple openings in October (760.924.8632). We hope we can share this magical place with you!
