May 6, 2012 | Field Reports
Until teaching CS6 this weekend to our Photoshop for Shooters, I had already taken for granted new features in CS6. There really is a whole lot, some are pretty darn big but the ones I really like are kinda behind the scenes. Simple things like the Save progress bar isn’t in the middle of your photograph anymore, hurrah!!!
The photograph above is another example of a new feature. Photoshop has a new Auto Save function with the default being every 5min. I had just finished this photo when we had a major power surge at the hotel we were staying. TVs went off and the notebook went dark. When I rebooted and launched PS, a few moment later the file came up and I just kept on going. Now that’s cool!
A biggie to me but in reality it’s a small thing is the Auto-Collapse Iconic Panels option (which you have to check). Since I like the photo to fill the whole workspace when I’m in Photoshop, panels like Actions or Mini Bridge staying open until you clicked on them to close them got real old to me. Having this option so they close with you click basically anywhere in the work space is GREAT!!! 
And as a teacher, I really like the Bicubic Automatic option when sizing files. It’s the default and while I’m still testing it, so far I found it to work really sweet. When I teach photography or Photoshop, I’m constantly saying the lots of little subtleties add up to big drama. These are little subtleties in CS6 which to me add up to big improvements!
May 2, 2012 | Field Reports
Light…it’s what makes photography go round. I have found the D4 sees and records light differently then anyother camera before it. While at first it threw me, now I really like it. It has changed the way I expose for HDR a tad and expanded what I can do which I like. What you see here is a 5 image HDR. With the D3 I would have had an initial exp comp of -1 but in this case, it was 0. The additional information the D4 provides makes a subtle difference in the final image, but I like it. That little extra info in the highlights and shadows just gives the image a tad more depth. This is a FG-1D Corsair shot just before the sun actually lit it. The ground fog had lifted but was still adding density to the air. It was a gorgeous morning and to bring out the detail from under the wing to the funky sky, HDR was the only way to go.
Now up to today, I was using HDR Efex Pro (and I like it!) for processing my D4 HDR images. Photomatix Pro just released ver4.2 and I LIKE IT! The Corsair was processed using 4.2 and my default settings (which you can find here). My settings for either HDR programs is only a very slight tweak of the their default. I’m going after a “realistic” HDR image that represents what my eyes could see and the camera could not capture. My point here is the D4 does a better job of capturing that light from the start which makes the finishing not only faster, but better. For me, it’s just another reason I like the D4. Don’t understand this D4 metering thing? I go through it in the upcoming D4 BT Journal issue :-)
May 1, 2012 | Field Reports
After the gorgeous morning at Myakka, we headed back into the city, an unique city. My bud RC introduced me to the magic and “special” life of Ybor some time ago and I like to visit it at least once a year. This is a real photographic challenge for me. It’s kinda tight quarters where photographs don’t jump out at you, you’ve gotta look for them. You also have to take the sensory overload and narrow down the final image into the viewfinder. I’m not the best at doing this but do know what doesn’t work when I see it. This photo wasn’t my find, a couple of other participants had found the scene and really loved it. But their photo didn’t look like this. What they showed me included the four walls of the “bombed” out bldg before you get to this scene. With 65% of the photo washed out exposed cement, I made a funny face and said in typical Moose fashion, it sucked. That went over like a lead balloon because within their minute with the scene, it would seem the formed an extreme attachment to this bombed out four walls. Then walking forty feet forward to make this click you see here and sharing that idea, went over as a lead balloon as well.
After being told I didn’t get it and didn’t see it, I came across this scene in a window and it made me smile. I think it kinda sums up what it is to be a photographer and at times, an instructor. You’ve gotta have courage and heart in photography. You’ve gotta have both with you go click. You’ve gotta have both when you share your photography and you really have to have both when you are asked to comment on a photograph. Yeah, I could have been a whole lot gentler in saying the photos suck, but it wouldn’t change the fact they suck. I don’t think the top image is worth blogging other then to tell this story. It’s a stick against a wall framing a stick with color. But here’s the deal…the only person you have to make happy with your photography is yourself. Period, end of story! That only changes when you ask someone elses opinion because when you do that, you are then seeking a gratification that might not come and that hurts. This is a challenge of photography, for myself just like anyone else wins and sometimes looses. And the best news, either way the sun will rise tomorrow! it’s only a photograph.
Apr 28, 2012 | Field Reports
Before you go gettin excited and think I know what I’m doing, what you see here are just 2 of the 14 sharp images I got last night out of the 168 images I took of Black Skimmers skimming. That kind of success rate sucks and I’m not pleased! What as the problem? That I don’t know because while I had the bird in the frame and the composition worked, the skimmers weren’t sharp. I started to play with the AF pattern of the D4 and while it improved my keeper rate (these were taken using D51), it still wasn’t consistent enough for me. Now the sun was almost down, the contrast range below the minimum, I wanted better. So, I have some more testing to do to figure out if it was pilot error, camera deficiency or a combination of both.
Apr 27, 2012 | Field Reports
K&M headed off to the sponge docks at Tarpon Springs when the light went bad. We went because well, I didn’t want to sit inside on a gorgeous day and wanted to challenge myself. Shooting these kinds of images while teaching is most definitely an uncomfortable place for me. My buds at NAPP had brought me here before so I wanted to take the D4 for a spin amongst the color.
I had a great time just goofin starting with some 5 image handheld HDR. The store fronts are just killer this time of day with Nik HDR Efex pro and then finishing with Silver Efex Pro. One trick I taught the folks is how to shoot glass door like this and not see yourself in the picture. Know the trick? No, guess you need to come on adventure with us. And not, it was done in camera and not in post.
Then it was the most important time of the day…ICE CREAM! While I was sitting there enjoying mine, I looked up and this is what I saw. This is a straight shot out of the camera. I love this! In fact, I think this sums up my whole time at Tarpon Springs and how I felt after going into the uncomfortable zone!
