One of the ways I try to push my photography forward is to look at previous images. I routinely do this when I’m about to head out for a shoot. Be it wildlife, landscapes, people, aviation, I find ways I can improve by looking at images I’ve already taken. Just gotta push constantly, I don’t know any other way. Right now, I’m getting my presentations for the next two months prepped and created so I’m looking at my files for teaching images. Looking for images that are before and afters, showing the ying and the yang as it were. It never fails that when I do that, I see a couple of images that didn’t catch my imagination at the time but do now. Ever do that, ever wonder why?
I know for myself, this typically happens simply because of emotions. There are always images that represent for me that moment of shooting which, after the emotional high calms down, other images with subtle impact can be seen. One issue I have is a shoot so much all the time, I don’t afford myself the luxury of time to always go back and look for those images. That’s why I always look forward to and allow extra time when looking for teaching images. I always find those images missed before.
These are just three of the images I came across yesterday pulling images for presentations that fit this category. While what you see is what I saw in the viewfinder when I went click, they didn’t have the finishing polish yet. Looking at “older” images, I tend to look at them with my current digital darkroom finishing eyes. That makes a huge difference because more and better ways to pull out subtle detail (lots of subtle detail adds up to being drama) is becoming available to us like this:
Along with that, Nik’s Color Efex 4 has vast improvements which I like. These three images were all finished using CEP4’s Detail Enhancer & Pro Contrast. Those two filters brought out the subtle detail I was looking for to make them pop. One of the best things about photography is the knowledge that tomorrow, we will be better photographers. The trick is to recognize those little things that do make us better and to keep working on learning from yesterday. Well, I’ve gotta get back to pulling images for new lessons to teach…
Like many of you, I anxiously await the arrival of the D4 in my office. I have not been fortunate to hold or see one of the IP models that is in the states. I have received no less then just shy of 2000 emails asking me various questions about the D4. I truly wish I had all the answers right now, I really, really, really do but I don’t. I can answer some of the more general ones though like, “Did you sell your D3s (2 of them) in anticipation of the D4?” That’s a duh, having 5 camera bodies is a bit overkill. So that’s a yes, D3s out (all but 1) and D4s in. “What feature in the D4 makes you want to buy one?” It’s new! Sorry, cheap shot. I have a critter project where high ISO video would make the difference between getting the data the researchers need. So that’s a done deal for me. And a personal note, having the metering switch removed from the prism to me is worth the $6k, it drives me nuts on the D3 series! “Will the investment in the D4 make you money?” I don’t know but if it get’s the answers the researchers need for the critter then it’s worth its price 100 fold! “Are you going to get rid of your D3x?” Probably not, it’s what we use for all our cockpit panos. “Do you recommend the D4 to other photographers?” While I understand where this question is coming from, how can I recommend something not in my hands yet. “Do you know when it will be released?” I do not have that information but B&H is saying sometime mid to late February. You can preorder your D4 now and if you want it sooner rather then later, preorder now! Another common question is if I will create a D4 website like I did for the D3? Right now, I doubt it and the main reason is because there are so many other great resources now for that so I can put my time into other educational, informational resources for you in regards to the photographic problems the D4 can solve. After today’s Google+ live broadcast from Scott Kelby and the NPS guys, it is obvious there is a TON of features in the D4 that were left out of the brochure and spec sheet. I can honestly say that now, two weeks after the announcement of the D4, I am excited and anxious to get one. Come on Mr Ups…drop one off soon!
Nobody tells the story of a person’s soul in a click like Joe McNally. Period! He’s now taken his incredible talent from stills to video in The Blues in His Shoes. You just simply got watch it. But I bet you can’t watch just once! Oh, and be sure to check out the AMAZING still he took at the bottom of this page.
I just got this in…thought I would share it with you. The video below tell you how I use this product.
I run a photography deals site called PhotoWhoa and we just partnered with Tal Ninio at PSKiss for a really large discount on their software until the end of the week – basically, $59 for a $130 product for a few more days. Since you did previously recommend their software, I thought it might be good to let you know about this. The deal page is here:
