Photo of the Week

Congratulations to roni chastain for this ghostly photo of the week, ‘Ghosting Effect’!  You can comment on this photo here.

The Most Popular Stories from the Last 7 Days

•95 Amazing Photography Links – It’s been a great week in the world of photography, as usual, and Toad Hollow Photography has done a great job of bringing the best of it to you.  Each week, he scours the internet for the best tutorials, collections, photos and photography blogs and compiles it all into one place.  Tutorials featured this week include a video tutorial on how to fix skin tone in Photoshop, posing tips for facial expressions and props such as hats, getting the perfect photo of a cup of coffee and camera settings for HDR photography.  Special features included this week include a photo collection of the body in nature, silhouettes in a giant moonrise, photos from a Camaro car show, starting a photography business in our bad economy and more!  Also, be sure to check out the image collections, great photography and photography blogs.

•5 Tips to Male Your Photos More Compelling – We all want our photos to be as eye catching as possible, but sometimes it can be hard to know just how to begin improving them.  This article features a solid set of 5 composition tips that can be adapted to any skill level and style of photography.  The best advice of all is to simply slow down and really think about what you see before taking the photo, since getting the shot right in-camera is always ideal.

•How to Jumpstart Your Photography With Self Assignments – Looking for spontaneous opportunities to practice the craft of photography is great.  However, these impromptu photography sessions may not always be the most educational.  A self assignment is exactly as it sounds.  Whatever your skill level in photography, you can benefit from assigning specific photographic tasks to yourself.  This article is broken down into three sections each aimed at different levels of photographers.  So, if you are a hobbyist, serious amateur or pro photographer you will find something helpful.  Finally, learning the technicalities of photography is always going to help you further your ability, but be careful not to burn yourself out.  Enjoy yourself in the process.  Isn’t fun ultimately why we became photographers in the first place?

•How to Get Great Photo Effects With Camera Shutter Speed – Shutter speed is one of the three pillars of exposure in photography, along with aperture and ISO.  Thoroughly understanding it is vital to becoming an accomplished photographer.  The basic theory and application of shutter speed is discussed in this article.  How shutters work, what different shutter speeds do to an image and using shutter speed in panning are introduced.  However, as with all practical knowledge, it doesn’t do you any good unless you use it.  Practice.  Practice.  Practice.

What You Missed in the Light Stalking Community

Submit your photo to this week’s photography challenge – Details! Details can be large or small, but they are what make whatever you are shooting special in some way.  Perhaps they are abstract or perhaps they are realistic.  Whatever this subject means to you, we hope you share your photos of details with us in the forum.

We have had some great responses to our last few photography challenges on the forum.  Last week’s photography challenge was Light!  This is about as open ended as you can get when it comes to photography.  How do you interpret light in your photographs?  Do you have any photographs that show the creative use of light to share with us?

Also, check out the The Great Outdoors! challenge from the week before.  This subject is very open to interpretation.  It doesn’t have to be a wilderness or rural shot.  Anything shot outdoors counts.  So, please share your outdoors photos with us in the forum.

We’d love to chat with you! Add your opinions here:

•Fishing

•Church of the Holy Sepulchre

•Introduce Yourself  Here

•THROWDOWN: Street Photography

•Baby Shots

What Are Our Members Up To?

We have some amazing members here at Light Stalking that run the gamut from career professional photographers through to beginner enthusiast. Here’s what a few of them are up to in photography.

Great Shots Uploaded to the Light Stalking Community

Photo by tom dinning.  Tom can also be found on his blog, Facebook and Flickr.

Photo by Jake Owen.

Photo by David Chesterfield.  David can also be found on his website and Flickr.

Photo by Walter Johannesen.

If you’re not already part of the Light Stalking community then come and join the fun. We promise not to bite!

Author information

Rachael Towne

Editor at Photoluminary

is a professional photographer and editor of Photoluminary.

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The post A Ghostly Photograph and The Best of Light Stalking This Week appeared first on Light Stalking.

Perhaps, you might want to filter the image, either optically or electronically: a red filter to darken the sky, a green filter to light foliage, a yellow to lighten a person’s skin.

Another important point to consider is tonal value. The tonal value of your subject might influence how you frame it. What do we mean by tonal value? If your subject has the predominate colors green and blue, and they have the same reflective value, they will image at almost the same tonal value in black and white.

So, how do you learn to see in tones?

Back in the old days, (film), this was a trick we used to use. Find yourself a dark piece of glass. Sunglasses work fine. But they should be the very dark variety with no color tint. Close one eye and peer through the glasses with the open eye. The glasses effectively remove all color. you are now seeing the scene in tonal value (levels of light to dark).

So What Screams Black and White?

Let’s examine some photographic situations and discuss why black and white is an excellent choice.

black and white by Gianni Dominici, on Flickr

When your situation has unpleasing color balance

This photographic opportunity is extremely interesting. But, it’s a factory setting. The natural color balance in this type of situation generally isn’t ideal. You’re probably looking at fluorescent or sodium vapor lighting. Both of which create unnatural color shifts in your image. True, you could color balance. But if you’re using a flash fill it’s going to throw the color temperature on your flash off. It could be done, with gels and tinkering, but it becomes complicated. What makes this scene perfect for black and white is the action. By eliminating color, it forces your eye to the repeating pattern of the hands, and this is where the true interest of the photograph lies. Then, you take in the rest of the image as a secondary part of the composition. The choice of black and white imaging takes this ordinary situation and turns it into a graphic element.

My Dad in Shanghai :: iPhone by Jonathan Kos-Read, on Flickr

When there just isn’t a whole lot of color to start with

Sometimes, we find ourselves in situations where there just isn’t a lot of color around: a foggy day, an overcast day, a scene that is all  white, a scene that is all black, a scene that is all one color, a scene that has excessive contrast. The image above is a perfect example of black and white creating a strong visual statement, whereas a color version would have distracted from the man. The stark contrast of black and white draws you to the man in the foreground. His face becomes the focal point. The buildings, (despite their unusual shapes), are secondary points of interest. If this had been in color, the shapes of the buildings, combined with their color values, would have competed with the man; resulting in an image without a strong focal point.

Black & White Flower Pattern by VinothChandar, on Flickr

When you want to emphasize a repeating pattern

When you eliminate color, the elements of composition tend to focus more strongly on pattern, shape, and tone. If you find yourself intrigued by a subject that has the element of a repeating pattern, consider switching to black and white; especially if the color of the subject has little to do with what you are trying to say.

Thomas, Homeless (Black & White) by Franco Folini, on Flickr

Emphasizing facial features

Nothing does an interesting face more justice than a finely crafted black and white image. The very nature of the medium emphasizes skin and hair texture. The eyes of your subject become orbs of tone that penetrate into your viewers. In a picture such as this, imagine that this man is wearing a red sweatshirt. Would you be inclined to study his face as deeply.

No. Consider your subject, consider what you’re trying to say, and then decide if the color values add or detract from your photographic statement.

Black and white by Bev Goodwin, on Flickr

Strong graphic elements

We’re sure some folks might look at this photograph and say this would be just as strong in color. But we ask you to consider this- What if the dark strips on the stairs were actually yellow as a safety measure? What if the woman were wearing bluejeans and a blue coat, and, the man was wearing green shorts and a black jacket, do you think this image would have the same impact?

No, of course not, not in the graphic sense of composition that this black and white image portrays. This image isn’t about two people walking down a staircase. This image is about the lines of the stairs, the railings, and the walls, and the juxtaposition of pitch black body shapes against those elements. When you have strong graphic elements in your composition, consider neutralizing the color. Color can simply become a distraction. (This particular example has been processed with a tone; but the concept stands.)

Photograph by Kent DuFault

High contrast subjects

Sometimes you encounter high contrast subjects. Perhaps you’re photographing a building in midday sun, or, as in this example, the subject itself screams high contrast. The woman in this portrait sitting had jet black hair and eyes so dark they were almost pitch black. The photographer could have shot her in a normal contrast level but  decided to highlight her beautiful features through the use of high contrast. High contrast situations tend to produce poor color images. The camera has trouble recording accurate, pleasing, color when the mid-tones of a subject are missing. The use of high contrast black and white turned this ordinary head shot into an artistic statement.

Let’s review

Consider black and white imaging if…

1. Unusual, or unbalanced, color in your light sources
2. Your scene lacks visually pleasing color to begin with
3. You want to emphasize repeating patterns
4. You want to emphasize strong facial features
5. You wish to capture strong graphic elements and make those elements the focus of your image
6. You choose, or, are confronted with, a high contrast scenario and it works to your advantage creatively.

We hope you feel inspired and will now create some dynamic mind-blowing black and white photography!

And when you do, be sure to submit your images here at Lightstalking.com so that we can enjoy seeing them.

Author information

Kent DuFault

is a professional photographer and author. You can visit his website here.

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The post When A Lack of Color is the Perfect Answer appeared first on Light Stalking.

• Shoot What You Love - One of the easiest, least technical ways to create fascinating photos is to simply shoot what you love. Perhaps you love to go birding, or enjoy a good game of football, maybe you love people watch in bustling locations. Find what it is you love to do in your spare time and start photographing it. Since you love doing it, chances are you all ready look at it differently than others, which only means you are naturally inclined to photograph it in a different way.

Forever In Dog Years by Tiffany Mueller, on Flickr
• Pay Attention To The Background - Many times the background of photograph is more of an afterthought, if it was ever a thought at all. If you are not shooting in a studio which generally offers us the convenience of hand selecting our backdrops, make sure you are looking past your subject to see whats behind it. Avoid shooting a subject against a similarly colored background so the subject doesn’t become “lost” by blending in too much. Try to avoid any distractions that will take away from the story you are trying to tell with your image. If you can’t move to a new location, consider using a more shallow depth of field to help blur out the background and eliminate any eyes wandering to what are essentially unimportant details in the image.

Old Men Swimming by Jonathan Kos-Read, on Flickr
• Symmetry - Try incorporating symmetry into your images to give the photo a natural balance that is easy for the eye to take in. Alternatively, creatively interrupting the symmetry is a great way to add intrest and create a clear focal point which the eye is automatically drawn to. When you are out shooting, look for interesting patterns and lines in both man made and natural elements. They are all over, think brick walls, perfectly placed windows on a building, rows of crops, telephone and electricity poles. Symmetry is all around us, we just have to be willing to look for it at times.

Under A Blood Red Sky by Ian Sane, on Flickr
• Perspective - If you have an interesting subject all your images are coming out uninteresting, it won’t hurt to switch up your perspective. Move around your subject and photograph it from multiple points of view. Sometimes a simple change such as taking a single step to the side can turn a snapshot into a portfolio worthy image. Don’t be afraid to kneel down, stand on a chair, stretch you camera hand far to the side, just work the scene until your subject magically pops from the setting.

wishbone spiral by paul bica, on Flickr
• Avoid The Middle - As a rule, placing your subject in the middle of a photograph isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing composition. Instead, try adjusting your framing so that the subject is off to one side. The rule of thirds is a fundamental part of photography and is one of the more adamantly followed rules in art. Of course, that is not to say the rule of thirds should adhered to for every composition; however, if you have taken multiple shots of your subject and they all happen to have the subject dead center in the frame, try recomposing by sticking your subject to either the right or left 1/3 of the frame.

Still Life by Яick Harris, on Flickr

One last piece of advice: slow down. If you feel like photographs are just missing the target, despite correct exposure and other technicalities, by all means, don’t rush yourself. Take your time to fully evaluate the setting and the subject. Do all of your “cropping” in camera, by moving in closer to your subject, if possible. Take every little element of the photograph, right down to the most minute detail, into consideration and consider it’s impact as a whole on the photograph itself. You may find you need to remove something–be it a piece of trash or a crack in the sidewalk–and sometimes you will want to add something to it, such as a persons silhouette or a leading line in disguise as a paved road. Just remember, the most important thing to remember when trying to create compelling photographs is paying attention to detail!

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Tiffany Mueller

Tiffany Mueller is a professional music and fine art photographer. She has been published in multiple publications including magazines, art journals, and various photography books. She blogs at Life Is Unabridged.

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The post 5 Tips To Make Your Photos More Compelling appeared first on Light Stalking.

Before we go any further, lets explain why we need perspective control. As you will know, very often, in order to get an entire structure in frame, you will need to tilt your camera upwards. This causes, what we call “converging parallels” or the effect that the two sides of the building you are photographing are coming together like railway tracks in the distance. Whilst this can be used for creative good, often we are trying to get a more natural feel to the image, as our eyes would see it. For this we can use perspective correction.

Ugly converging parallels in the original image. Photo by the Odessa Files

So lets open an image in Photoshop and get started. The image you wish to correct must have some space around it, top bottom and sides. This is because we are going to use that space to straighten the verticals. We also need an images that does not have too steep a converging vertical.

So with the image open, from the Photoshop menu select Filter – Lens Correction. The image will open in a new window with a number of tools around it.

Get Your Horizon Straight!

The first thing we will do is make sure that the horizon is straight, there is no point in correcting the image if you have a wonky horizon. To do this we will use the straighten image tool, which is the second tool down on the top left of the window. What we do, is find a horizontal part of the image at around eye level and click and drag a line along it. This will bring the horizon straight. To aid us with this, make sure you have a Grid overlay switched on. This can be done from the bottom of the window by checking Show Grid.

Straightening the image. Photo by the Odessa Files

 Next from the tools on the right, click on the first tab called, Auto Correction. Underneath you can select your camera model and lens model. This will apply corrections for any distortion you lens may have.

Auto-correcting lens distortion. Photo by the Odessa Files

Now Move Onto the Verticals

Now click on the second tab, Custom. Ignore the controls at the top, we are looking for the Transform controls at the bottom. The most important of these is the Vertical Perspective control. To use the tool click and drag it left or right. For the most part you will have verticals that are converging upwards, to correct this, slide the slider to the left until the main verticals in your image are upright. You may also have Horizontal Perspective issue, these occur when the camera is not parallel to the subject. Use the horizontal slider to correct this.

Correcting the vertical perspective. Photo by the Odessa Files

 
You may now have found that important elements of your image have been cropped out. In our case the cross on the first dome. In the image we have spare space at the bottom, so to bring the cross back we will use the Scale tool. Sliding this left will zoom the image out returning our cross but as you can see there are now problems at the bottom. These we will simply crop out.

So lets finish with the Lens Correction tool by clicking OK. This returns us to the main Photoshop window, where we can see, the canvas showing through at the bottom. To remove this, select the crop tool and resize the image as required.

Image now needs cropping. Photo by the Odessa Files

The final result is a perspective corrected architectural shot without the need for an expensive PC lens. As we mentioned at the top, this technique will never replace a true PC lens, but with the right image it can create a very similar effect.

The final result. Photo by the Odessa Files

Author information

Jason Row

Jason Row is a British born travel photographer now living in Ukraine. You can follow him on The Odessa Files. He also maintains a blog chronicling his exploits as an Expat in the former Soviet Union.

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The post Photoshop Tutorial: How to Alter Perspective in Your Photographs appeared first on Light Stalking.

Caznaeux Tree Flinders Ranges South Australia by Jacqui Barker, on Flickr

TUTORIALS

How to fix skin tone in Photoshop: Video tutorial – this 10 minute video tutorial takes the viewer through the process of using a curves adjustment layer and its associated making layer.  Lee Brown’s comprehensive tutorial shares techniques that can be used in many other ways during post-processing, expanding the horizons of those who view this presentation.

Posing Tips: Expressions & Hats – a great article by Joe Farace that discusses the how’s and why’s of the importance of facial expression and props like hats for portrait photography.  This brief post shares some great insights into the topic, with the points being useful for a wide range of work.

How to Get the Perfect Photo of a Steaming Cup of Coffee – this 5 ½ minute video tutorial shows the viewer how to stage, light, compose and capture that quintessential steamy cup of coffee shot.  Commercial photographer Robert Grant takes you on a detailed and entertaining journey through the entire process, with phenomenal results.

Camera Settings for HDR Photography – this ten minute video presentation takes the viewer through the basic steps to get into HDR photography.  Richard Harrington and Abba Shapiro host this feature, both of them leaders in the field.

REVIEWS

Gitzo Series 1 Traveler 6x Carbon Fiber Tripod & Markins Q-Ball Q3 Traveler Ballhead – Edith Levy writes and delivers a completely comprehensive review of this tripod and ballhead combination, sharing some great insight into how versatile and stable these units are.  Use cases and features are discussed here, producing a well-rounded article that covers the topic.

SPECIAL FEATURES

The Body in Nature: Unusually Beautiful Photographs – the human body has been used as an art subject since the beginning of art itself, so it’s highly unusual to come across a body of work that takes on an entirely different perspective of how the body imitates the natural world through a composition focusing on the abstract.  The black-and-white photographs by Arno Rafael Minkkinen are just this, with many of the pieces leaving the viewer with many questions left unanswered.

Silhouettes in a Giant Moonrise, Captured Using a 1200mm Lens – the compression effects introduced by lenses with super-long focal lengths are exploited in the creation of this picture.  As a full moon crests over a hill, Philipp Schmidli positions himself almost a mile away and has a bicycle and rider ride in front, producing a striking result.  This is an absolute must-see post in this week’s list.

Camaro cruise in Cary – Jason Knight brings us along on an incredible adventure where we get to take in all the wonder and character of a car show dedicated to the notorious Chevrolet Camaro.  Jason’s incredibly large collection of photographs features broad views of the cars as they sit as well as a terrific series of detail shots focusing on some of the finer personal elements of the cars.

The Wonder Stuff – Islington Academy – Mark Blundell works his magic behind the lens at a rock show in the UK.  Mark does a terrific job in creating this set of photographs, showcasing the musicians in their natural habitats and their incredible personalities as they go about the business of entertaining a energetic throng.

Incredible High Speed Video of Lightning Captured at 11,000 Frames Per Second – super high frame rates produce incredible slow motion imagery, allowing the viewer to closely study in intricate detail the unfolding events in a one second lightning strike.  Six minutes of video is produced by using this technique, and the results are absolutely astonishing.

From The Forest To The Sea – a great series of black-and-white long exposure shots from two different photographers is featured in this post.  The work of Pierre Pellegrini and Volker Birke are displayed here, featuring incredible personal views of the landscapes they are presented with, producing a truly unique set of shots.

Starting a Photography Business in Today’s Economy – Zack Arias produces a video presentation and shares some of his expertise on how to successfully build a photography business today.  The real challenges that are faced by photographers building their portfolio are tackled head-on so the viewer comes away with a realistic view of creating real growth.

COLLECTIONS

Seeing Double: Breathtaking Mirrored Images Of City Skylines – two of my personal favorite photography elements come together in this breathtaking collection of images; reflections and architecture.  This collection contains cityscapes taken under varying lighting conditions, all of them reflected back in mirror-smooth bodies of water for extra impact.

14 Big Birds Captured in Action in Stunning 1150 Pixel Photographs – a completely epic collection of some of the most incredible bird pictures ever.  These super high-res shots are all crystal clear, showcasing these incredible creatures in their natural environs going about their business.  This is an amazing collection, and absolute must-see in this week’s list.

Contrasting effects of Day and Night Photography – 30 Snaps! – a great collection of shots featuring a series taken at night, and a series taken during the day.  These shots all exhibit great details and colors, making for a really enjoyable series to visit and enjoy in this week’s list.

Silky Waters by Nicolas_Goulet, on Flickr

23 Eerie Pictures of Beaches at Night – a really terrific set of shots taken of beaches at night.  This is a widely varied collection featuring all sorts of elements and landmarks that are a true joy to view and take in.

50 Magical Examples of Misty Morning Photography – mist is a terrific photography element that when captured in the right light can paint a compelling scene.  Mystical and sometimes eerie results can be achieved when photographing in these circumstances, as is evidenced by the wonderful collection of images.

GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY

Totally Run Off My Feet… – in what has to be one of my favorite shots of the week, we find a Wild Little Owl with a purpose in it’s stride.  Austin Thomas captures an amazing shot of this little bird as it runs across the frame with a terrific expression on it’s face.  Really wonderful natural tension is explored in this picture that is guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings of everyone who visits.

Unbelievable Composite Image of a Solar Corona During a Total Solar Eclipse – this is definitely something that you’ve probably never seen before.  Miloslav Druckmüller creates a spectacular composite of a solar eclipse using completely new processes and procedures, resulting in a shot that in my humble opinion reveals a few secrets of the universe.

Flying squirrel, falling snow – if you’re looking for great photo opportunities, head on outside!  This great shot by Jules Cox gives us a great view of a flying squirrel midair.  Incredible details in the little fur-friend are featured in a shot that defines tension in photography.

Courtyard Entrance.. – a lovely shot that features a garden door made of wood creating the perfect frame to guide the viewer into the picture.  Tony Matthews’ picture showcases the incredible textures in the surrounding brickwork as well as a peek into a garden beyond the door that adds a touch of artistic tension.

Gates – once again our very own Tom Dinning (@tomdinning) shares a photograph and some truly profound thoughts to accompany it.  The picture features a wonderful gate across the distance of a field, a beckoning sight that leaves the viewer wondering what lies behind it.

Painting the Arches – Mike Criswell and the NXNW 2013 crew come together in this post that features the epic formations at Arches National Park, Moab Utah.  Mike delivers a really fabulous pair of shots from this adventure, showcasing the incredible beauty of the place light painted for effect under the night’s sky.

death valley – Edin Chavez creates a great and totally unique shot taken in Death Valley.  Right after sunset Edin setups and captures a self-portrait of him standing, looking out into the vastness of the valley and the mountains in the distance.  Beautiful tones and hues in the sky add the most wonderful tint to the entire shot, finishing the picture off just perfectly.

Space and Time – I love gauges and watch faces, glinting light off their polished facades with numbers and symbols that provide meaning to those who read them.  This monochromatic piece by Kevin Haggith shares a set of watches sitting on a black background, and Kevin’s great composition gives the viewer a little of a sense that they are floating.

Heavy Metal in Cowichan Bay – local photographer Joseph de Lange brings us along as he explores the marina he calls home, coming away with a great series of mostly black-and-white shots featuring boats of differing shapes and sizes.  This is a great post, one that shares a little of the feel of the community itself.

Pacific Diffusion – Jim Denham shares a gentle seaside image in this post, with waves gently caressing the shores, brilliant soft hues in the fading light of the day and fascinating rocks with great details in the foreground.  This picture creates a sense of serenity instantly for the viewer, making for a shot that is a must-see in this week’s list.

Paris – subdued hues and tones bring the city of Paris to life in this shot by Jesús Sánchez Ibáñez.  An elevated perspective shares the sense of expanse with the world-famous Eiffel Tower in the distance serving as an anchor point and an element of context.

The Twilight Zone – a brooding sky hangs over a dramatic landscape in this fabulous shot by Mike Olbinski.  Mike stands in the middle of a road as takes this shot, with the road leading the viewer right into the frame naturally.  The best part, though, has to be the single headlight in the distance coming at the camera, adding a great sense of artistic tension.

Under The Boardwalks – Curt Fleenor captures and shares a great shot here featuring a set of boardwalks that take the viewer right into the center of the frame.  The soft skies above add a soft sense to the picture, completing the feel of being oceanside.

Old Energy – the incredible character and history that an old European windmill holds is explored in this fabulous shot by Len Saltiel.  This sharp photograph features the great textures in the stonework of the huge structure, as well as some context from the surrounding landscape.

Skiddaw from High Rigg – a shot that defines the epitome of drama with an incredible landscape covered by a brooding sky.  Tom’s fabulous composition with this piece highlights a building storm in the distance that almost looks like a very heavy object descending upon the landscape below.

Do I See You, or Do I See Me? – you know how they always say “eyes are the window to the soul”?  This incredible picture by Anita Megyesi features a little girl tightly composed in the frame looking back at the camera.  Her eyes are absolutely mesmerizing, full of a personal story based on her journey in life so far.  An amazing shot sure to be enjoyed by everyone.

stairway to hell – a terrific sense of raw tension is delivered in this texture-rich shot from david stoddart.  A concrete staircase in a derelict factory leads the visitor right up into a scene that disappears, leaving behind debris created by the natural weathering process of time.

On the Eastern Edge – Bob Lussier captures a stunning landscape photograph here taken in Dead Horse Point State Park.  As we look out over an endless vista, the various layers of mountains and peaks take on a dimension of depth in the softening tones of each layer, producing a picture that leaves the viewer feeling a strong sense of vastness and awe.

Old Father Thames – Chris Maskell’s masterful control of contrast and shadow helps to create a very dramatic black-and-white shot full of mystery and intrigue.  The extreme low-light conditions and Chris’ lengthened exposure time helps to smooth out the flowing waters of the river and produce gentle reflections of the contrast from above by the dark cloud formations.

BOOM! I’m Done Here! – Chris Nitz is well known for his use of toy props and incredible photography, creating a distinctive art form that sets him apart from everyone else.  Chris uses a toy Jeep and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle as anchors looking out over a seemingly endless vista, bringing the characters and the scene to life for everyone to really enjoy.

Untitled by j neuberger, on Flickr

Hide and Seek – a wonderful and terribly cute racoon peers back at Justin Lo as it clings to the side of a tree.  Justin’s spot-on depth-of-focus makes the little fur-friend stand out from the background, bringing all the spirit and personality of this little bandit to life.

Tamarama – Ewen Charlton captures and creates an abstract in this composition featuring a wave curling in the ocean.  The perfect composition and the incredible beauty in the natural curve from the wave as it crests work together harmoniously in this shot to deliver a mesmerizing and breathtaking piece.

secret garden . . . – rich greens from springtime in the garden are explored in this wonderful picture from the studio of dragonflydreams88.  As the city transitions from the grey and rainy skies typical of winter here, Victoria begins to come alive as spring arrives, changing greys into vibrant greens everywhere.

The Up Close and Personal Power of Trains – I never cease to be amazed at the ingenuity and collective intelligence of mankind when it comes to incredible engineering and machinery.  Spencer McDonald shares this love of large-scale machinery by sharing a pair of detailed, close-up shots of various bits of the train design.  Indeed, beauty can be found in the most amazing of places.

Autumn in May! – as autumn begins in the Southern Hemisphere, all of us up north look forward to summer.  This stunning picture by Sam Assadi features the vibrant colors of the fall leaves, framing a lovely ribbon of roadway that leads the viewer gently through the frame out into a terrific vanishing point.

After the rains – May 2013 – David A Lockwood captures a stunning piece here, producing an almost abstract feel by his composition and the natural elements in frame.  The proverbial cherry on top of the cake has to be found in the terrific reflection in the water, mirroring back the scene perfectly to the viewer.

Mercedes Convertible – the NAIAS show in Detroit is the perfect setting for a photographer who loves exotic cars.  Rachel Cohen comes away from the show with this terrific shot of a bright red Mercedes convertible, posing in a way that almost begs it to be driven.

Postcards From Cowichan Bay – the wonderful boats and marine elements that make up the lovely little community of Cowichan Bay are the prime focus for this post by Joseph de Lange.  This incredible town plays host to a fleet of all sorts of boats and nautical things, all reflected back wonderfully in the gentle waters lapping in the bay.

…and yet another day is done – a glimpse into our own minds and souls, as captured and reflected upon here by our very own Tom Dinning (@tomdinning).  Tom has a wonderful way of taking imagery to a whole new level with his terrific insights and personal thoughts, turning a picture into a profound look at the meaning of life.

Migration – silhouettes of new arrivals signal the beginning of spring and summer for Steve Beal.  I love the feel of this shot, with a lone bird against the bright sun and the deep contrast of the surrounding landscape to deliver a strong sense of hope and wonder for the pending new season.

Reflection of Skyscraper, Korea – the mesmerizing lights of the skyscrapers are perfectly reflected in the still waters in this incredible photograph by Woosra Kim.  The entire composition is filled with modern architecture under the deep blue skies of the day’s fleeting light.

“Cookies” – for the cookie monster in all of us, this week Howard Jackman creates something highly inventive and most perfectly executed.  For the sake of photography a single, new chocolate chip cookie is sacrificed to a hoard of hungry ants, who in turn find themselves in the crosshairs of Howard’s macro lens.

Urban Exploration ….. Milano ! – your eye makes it way back and forth, first following the leading lines and shapes created by the concrete pillars aligned just perfectly, and then to take in some of the finer details.  Davide Photographer uses muted colors within a perfect composition in creating a piece that might even seem abstract to some.

Rusty Drain – indeed, a wonderful rusty drain awaits the visitor in this great post by Jim Denham.  Jim uses a 60 second exposure time to turn the water of the bay into a silky smooth blanket, while maintaining the crisp integrity of the rusty drain as the primary subject.

Guten Morgen – this shot is so very beautiful, a gorgeous morning in Austria finds vibrant colors cresting over the peak of the mountains in the far distance.  Friedrich Beren’s spectacular and personal view of the vista also features an absolutely breathtaking reflection of the scene played back to the viewer in dead calm waters covered in a light mist.

The Last Goodbye – Rachel Cohen shares a highly personal and profound moment and image with everyone in this post.  Having just lost her father she returns to a favorite spot of his and captures an absolutely breathtaking sunset with some wonderful colors, and shares a private moment.  This post is tugs on the heart and shares something deeply profound.

Emergence – an absolutely profound picture created by a natural phenomenon that occurs just a few times a year.  Daniel Cheong happens to be in the exact right spot to find himself overlooking the city of Dubai as an early morning fog blankets the brightly lit metropolis below.  This is a breathtaking picture that takes on a strongly surreal feel.

Cisco | Cisco Trailer – Bob Lussier and his roving gang of photographer friends descend upon a town full of opportunity.  Bob finds a fabulous pair of compositions featuring an old abandoned van and a camper in a barren landscape, carefully processed with a vintage feel to deliver an authentic impression for the viewer.

Cisco UT…Ghost Town – Mike Criswell is out and about hanging out on an extended photo adventure, and ends up in Cisco, Utah with Bob Lussier featured above.  Mike’s great shots showcase how two artists encountering the exact same scene come away with such a distinctly unique set of images to add to their portfolios.  This ghost town serves as the perfect subject for Mike and friends and their photography skills, and any post from these guys is well worth the time to visit.

Textures of a Canyonlands Sunrise – an endless series of layers of landscape features creates a strong sense of depth and dimension in this incredible picture by Rick Louie.  Golden tones from the lingering sunrise glances off the surfaces and edges, exposing all the natural beauty of the vista for everyone to enjoy.

Blue Hour Pier – Edith Levy guides the visitor through the scene captured with a great natural leading line in the pathway she’s used in her composition.  As we join Edith walking along the pier we get to take in some terrific details in the city skyline in the distance and some really beautiful natural light from the effects of the blue hour.

High and Dry – boats are full of raw natural character, and in this case Steven Perlmutter has discovered quite the vessel lying prone in the shore, stranded by low tide.  The great personality of the boat comes alive in his shot here, which also features a very dramatic sky with a looming storm to add a layer of interest.

Myrmica rugulosa by Gilles San Martin, on Flickr

A Brief Respite – Andy Gimino delivers a fabulous photograph of a replica wooden boat sitting tied to dock, looking out over the water as the sun sets.  The very unique composition that Andy uses in this shot creates a strong sense of artistic tension, as if the boat is looking out over the water anticipating a voyage.

Germander Speedwell – for those who love beautiful flowers and vibrant colors, this is most certainly the post for you!  Andy Hooker (LensScaper) shares a pair of great shots of this delicate flower from different perspectives.  Wonderful details emerge in these pictures for those who spend time with them.

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin – an abundance of incredible architectural details are explored in this stunning photograph from the studio of Jim Nix.  Jim’s processing for this picture is spot-on, accenting all the textures and details in this historic church

Firsts – this is a wonderful picture featuring an old mill constructed of wood, full of character and great details.  Jerry Denham finds an amazing composition for this piece, showcasing the motion of the water through the mill and some of the great surroundings.

derelict army showerblock – a haunting and dramatic image of a long forgotten WWII shower block is presented here by david stoddart.  The window frame right creates an opening for light to enter this space, creating deep shadows that only serve to add to the inherent drama found in the scene.

Waiting for the tide – some great elements come together to make this a really wonderful photograph to view and enjoy, as shared here by Barry Turner.  The blue hues and the golden tones in the fading light come together to accent the sailboat featured here, capped off with a really fabulous gentle reflection in a still body of water in the foreground.

Slot Canyon Wall Color, Arizona – light and shadow play with color, lines and shapes of the walls of the Slot Canyon in Arizona in this stunning shot by Mark Paulson.  This great natural rock formation creates striking abstract scenes, and this image is a great example of this.

On A Wing and a Prayer – a completely certifiable individual perched precariously atop the wing of a moving airplane at the Manassas Air Show creates the perfect subject for Perry Bailey to photograph and share here.  A great vignette adds the finishing touch, leading the viewer right into the centre of the unfolding madness.

My…How Cavalier Of You! – Edith Levy takes her new Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM Lens around the block in this post featuring her pet dog Brady.  This lens produces amazing images as we really get to savor the character of Brady enjoying his day out and about.

Dual beauty – a lovely shot featuring a wooden little boat tied up to the skeleton of a tree in a still body of water, as shot and shared here by Ahmet Utgan.  Ahmet’s post-processing on this shot adds a touch of a yellow tint to the scene which produces a striking effect for the viewer.

St. Mary’s Church, Yonkers – Pulpit View – this is a really well composed interior shot of St. Mary’s Church in Yonkers.  Mark Garbowski takes us to a slightly elevated position where he overlooks the pews and fabulous details of the inside of this church.  The rich tones in the woodwork combine with the intricate details to reveal a scene full of features to enjoy.

Reflections On La Nana Creek – lighting changes the dynamics of a scene, and even though you might plan for a specific shot to arrive on the big day to find that Mother Nature has completely contrary plans and your light is lost.  Or so you might think.  Jim Denham finds himself in this exact situation, but I find the image he has come away with is quite spectacular with a great muted reflection in the still waters to anchor the entire setting.

Antique gas pumps – you’d best make sure your tetanus shot is up to-date before you head into this great post full of rusty and texturey goodness by Jim Nix.  These old antique gas pumps literally trickle character with great designs that are instantly recognizable, made better by years of weathering and rust.

Falls in Contrast – a picture so striking, it’s sure to amaze everyone who pops by to see it for themselves.  Chris Williams captures a highly dramatic landscape shot featuring Snoqualmie Falls in all their glory bathed in light from the fading day, then carefully processed in black-and-white to really draw all the raw drama out of the vista presented.

The 2013 nXnw Pros – Chris Nitz, one of the adventuring photographers we’ve been featuring in our list the past few weeks, shares a great post that showcases all the great photogs in the group.  Chris does a fabulous job of photographing the guys in action, featuring great black-and-whites of each of them.  He also introduces us to the team in a personal way.

Ross Bay Cemetery V – local photographer Ehpem shares a post that features a pair of shots taken in the locally famous Ross Bay Cemetery.  The gravestone being featured is that of a young girl, and Ehpem shares a little of what can be learned from putting the evident pieces together.  The first shot in the pair is really striking, guaranteed to leave everyone with personal feelings and insights.

Vette Dreams – for those who love car photographs, we’ve got a real stunner in this picture captured and posted by Michael Lewis Glover.  The latest generation Corvette has terrific lines, and Michael’s picture here takes the viewer across the car by following it’s natural flow.  This is a great HDR shot with rich, vibrant colors and details.

Reflections – one of the largest mosques in the world located in the UAE is showcased in this striking image by Achim Thomae.  The architectural study has cascading layers of arches to guide the viewer into the extended vanishing point, wonderfully reflected back in the still waters in the foreground.

Badlands National Park – the epic desolate landscapes of the Badlands National Park are explored in this pair of pictures from Keith Cuddeback.  Keith’s great HDR processing techniques expose all the dynamic range and details of the alien landscape, creating a compelling presentation.

its trustful face by jenny downing, on Flickr

Sheesh! – Derrick Birdsall posts a trio of great landscape shots, one of the blue hour, one of the golden hour, and a great architectural black-and-white of what appears to be a bridge.  The color shots exude vibrant colors and silhouettes from the fading light of the day, producing a destination for everyone to head to and enjoy.

Turquoise Ice at Northern Lake Baikal, Russia – an absolutely fascinating natural phenomenon is captured and shared in this post on the Amazing Things in the World Facebook page.  Turquoise blocks of ice peek out through the snow covered vista, producing a scene that takes on an alien element to it.

Panoramics – a breathtaking collection of panoramas showcasing all sorts of landscapes and other natural elements.  There are some really fabulous reflections in this collection, and some of the pictures take on an abstract feel.

Photographer Captures Detailed Photos of the Sun From His Backyard – a very narrow band of light is captured using a specific and complex technique, all taken in Alan Friedman’s backyard.  His focus on the sun allows him to create totally unique and spectacular images likely never seen before of the ball of fire we all rely on for life on planet Earth.

Sweetness – there’s something inherently innocent and beautiful in the face of a little kitten.  Beverly Everson does a fabulous job with this photograph, controlling both the composition and the depth-of-focus to really bring the viewer right into the heart of the frame, the delicate little face of a new and inquisitive life.

Red Mist – a deer stag stands tall, striking a silhouette against the morning sun.  Simon Roy finds a special moment, with the deer providing it’s profile as it breaths in the cold, morning air.  An astonishing shot, well worth the time to visit.

Dancing with the Clouds – Anita Megyesi finds herself on a beach at a magical time with a vibrant blue multi-hued sky and fascinating cloud formations.  The rolling surf creates a terrific natural leading line to gently guide the viewer through the frame producing a lovely picture that whisks the viewer away almost instantly.

Less than it was – once again we find ourselves engrossed in a fabulous post from Melinda Green Harvey featuring a great combination of photography and writing working together to paint a complete mosaic for the visitor.  This post focuses on an old sign, no longer in use and now long forgotten, that when viewed with Melinda’s humorous insights delivers a rather ironic and poignant piece.

Hasselt – Mathias Lucas takes us along as he explores the town of Hasselt in Belgium, sharing a few of the details that comprise the character of the community.  Each picture in the collection takes the viewer a little deeper into the experience, finishing off with a profound few pieces that wrap it up just perfectly.

INTERESTING BLOGS

Never ‘Work’ Again — On Following Your Passion with Photographer Ian Ruhter – for those trying to break into the industry, inspiration can be key to keep the creative processes running and moving those critical projects forward.  Chase Jarvis features a great video presentation on his blog, sure to motivate and inspire you to take on life and your dreams head-on.

Old Color Footage Shows What London Looked Like Back in 1927 – this mesmerizing piece of video footage literally takes the viewer back in time almost 100 years.  Claude Friese-Greene was a pioneer of the process created to produce color-like moving pictures, and this glimpse into life in the city of London whisks the viewer away for a place and time long ago.

What Louis Vuitton Can Teach You About Your Photography Pricing Structure – this series of points and tips reveals how being the cheapest photographer out there can actually hurt your business.  These straightforward points focus on quality and the strong impression of a brand, allowing you to concentrate on growing the core business you really desire.

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Toad Hollow Photography

I am a fine arts photographer that specializes in HDR techniques. Please feel free to visit our Limited Edition Prints site, our Online Gallery or our lively Photoblog.

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The post 95 Amazing Photography Links appeared first on Light Stalking.

Photo of the Week

Congratulations to Takeuchi Kuu for this dramatic and amazingly composed photo of the week, ‘Startrails of Mt. Shimen’!  You can comment on this photo here.

The Most Popular Stories from the Last 7 Days

•10 Ways to Change Lives Through Photography (And Where You Can Start Today)  – Photographers, as people, are a diverse lot and we all have our reasons for engaging in this particular art form.  Some of us are interested in documenting our family life.  Some of us are photographers because it grants us a much needed hobby or diversion.  Some of us earn our living taking photos.  Some photographers are immersed in many visual art forms and photography is only part of their artistic puzzle.  Whatever your reasons for taking photographs, you can use your skills to help others.  The ideas in this article are a great place to start if you are interested in practicing some photographic philanthropy.  Your skill level doesn’t really matter here since everyone can find ways to make a positive impact via their art.  Also, there are many ways to be of service to our fellow man that don’t involve the exchange of money.  Perhaps, giving of our time and talents is actually more challenging and therefore more meaningful.

•Rural Photography – The Road to the Forgotten: 16 Gorgeous Photographs – The saying “One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure” is certainly true for photography.  While there are many people happily nestled into their rural homesteads, there can something of an underbelly to rural areas.  Many long-ago abandoned homes and barns can be found if you are paying attention.  Photographing these sites, if you are really brave, can be a very exhilarating experience.  Just be careful not to get arrested or die under a collapsed structure!

•Review: Shooting Stars – How to Photograph the Moon and Stars With Your DSLR by Phil Hart – If you’ve ever wanted to take amazing photos of the night sky, but weren’t sure where to start, or even if you are already practicing this form of photography but want to learn more, then this book is for you.  Chock full of gorgeous example photos and easy to understand charts and diagrams , this book takes the intimidation factor out of learning a new form of photography.  Photographers are visual people and the author of this book really caters to the visual learning style.

•Case Study: An Example of One Photographer’s Workflow – Most of us probably have thousands of photos sitting on our computers.  If we aren’t careful, chaos and disorder can quickly take over and make our workflow much more complicated and frustrating than it needs to be.  You can always, through trial and error, establish your own workflow.  Likewise, you can just continue to wade through the photographic clutter on your computer and feel frustrated as a result.  If you do find yourself to be currently in the chaos camp with your photography workflow, perhaps it will pay off to learn from someone else’s experience and practice a little bit of emulation.  This article walks you through the process of downloading, organizing, selecting, processing and backing up your photos.

What You Missed in the Light Stalking Community

Submit your photo to this week’s photography challenge – Light!  You can hardly get more open-ended than this when it comes to photography.  Light , or the lack of it, can be used and interpreted countless ways.  Do you have any photos to share with us that demonstrate what light can do?

We have had some great responses to our last few photography challenges on the forum.  Last week’s photography challenge was The Great Outdoors!– We all have photos taken outdoors.  This one is definitely open to interpretation since there are so many subjects and types of landscapes that can be shot outside.  if you have any shots taken outside that you would like to share with us, we would love to see them!

Also, check out the Harmony! challenge from the week before.  Do you have any photos to share with us that represent harmony to you in some way?  Perhaps it’s the subject that is harmonious or perhaps it’s the way the individual elements in the photo come together that creates harmony.

We’d love to chat with you! Add your opinions here:

•How Do You Use the Site Now?

•Glascarnoch

•Thailand – Shy Passenger by the Train Window

•How to Upload and Share a Photo

•All the Fun of the Fair

What Are Our Members Up To?

We have some amazing members here at Light Stalking that run the gamut from career professional photographers through to beginner enthusiast. Here’s what a few of them are up to in photography.

There were so many great shots uploaded this week, that it was hard to choose which ones to feature!

Great Shots Uploaded to the Light Stalking Community

Photo by Huques Hardy.  Hugues can also be found on his website and Facebook.

Photo by German Koster who can also can be found on their website.

Photo by Mark Paulson.  Mark can also be found on his website.

Photo by Les.

If you’re not already part of the Light Stalking community then come and join the fun. We promise not to bite!

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Rachael Towne

Editor at Photoluminary

is a professional photographer and editor of Photoluminary.

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The post Star Trails and the Best of Light Stalking this Week appeared first on Light Stalking.

A self assignment is just as it sounds, an assignment created by you and assigned to yourself. Depending on your level of expertise and what style of photography you enjoy doing, the actual scope of the assignment will vary greatly. For example, a novice photographer will most likely have different goals than a full time professional.

this is no joke mr. yoke by Pixel Addict, on Flickr

Self Assignments For The Hobbyist Photographer

If you’re just getting started in photography, you don’t want to overdo it by asking too much of yourself right from the get go. Like anything, when you try rushing your education, you start cutting corners and missing things. At this stage of the game, it’s critical that you take your time and understand the fundamentals as you are building the foundation for the rest of your career as a photographer.

For hobbyists or novice photographers, a self assignment should be about getting you to think critically about how you are going to go about taking a photograph. It should have you thinking about the workflow of your practice time. Give yourself a project that falls within the realm of your interests–food photography, fashion, portraiture, whatever it is that you enjoy photographing.

Do not use over complicated light setups, in fact, the goal here is to simplify things. Before you even begin taking photos. Make a note of the shots you want to get and precisely how you plan on getting them. Will you use reflectors? How will the model pose? What ISO should you be using, and so forth…Some find it helpful to make sketches, or storyboards, of the shots they have envisioned.

Try not deviate too much from the plan, but don’t be afraid to experiment if you come up with an idea along the way. At the end of the shoot, compare the shots you created to the sketches you made beforehand and see how they compare. Chances are you will have run into some bumps throughout the process. Maybe you didn’t notice how distracting the background was or how the angle of the sunlight cast unflattering shadows across your subject. Make a note of all the little discrepancies you notice and think about how they can be prevented or remedied in future shoots.

World’s Favorite Sport by vramak, on Flickr

Self Assignments For The Serious Amateur Photographer

By now you’re probably pretty comfortable using your camera off it’s auto mode and perhaps even making all the decisions by opting to shoot on manual. You’ve got a solid grasp on the rudimentary elements of photography and are encouraged by how much all the hard work you’ve put in thus far is paying off with good images and positive feedback. Self assignments at this stage should be challenging and really force you to start stepping outside of your comfort zone.

You may want to try your hand at a style of photography you’ve never payed much attention to like miniature photography, or flower photography. Take yourself to the streets and only take photographs of things that have a specific shape–such as a circle or triangle. Do a photoshoot of a luxury car or try photographing a local musical event. Find something that interests you outside of photography and try interweaving it into assignment. But, whatever it is you choose, make sure you make it a challenge. Choose to work with complex light setups, shoot only at night, focus on fast moving objects to learn more about motion blur and panning.

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport – Revista Autoesporte Jan/11 by Fabio Aro, on Flickr

Self Assignments For The Professional Photographer

One of the downfalls of being paid to complete an assignment is we sometimes lose a degree of creative control over what we are doing. Your clients may already have an idea of what they want and they are paying you to make that idea a reality. It doesn’t always happen, but when it does it can be somewhat disheartening.

For someone who spends a higher than average number of hours taking photographs, a self assignment should be a project that is created as an effort to keep your creative self sharp and help keep your passion for photography kindled. Come up with a project that will break you away from your regular routine and give you the opportunity to “let your hair down.”

Becoming a better photographer is a never ending process. It’s important to not burn yourself out on all the technicalities. Test yourself, but do not allow yourself to become frustrated if you don’t see results immediately. Self assignments are just as much about having fun as they are learning.

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Tiffany Mueller

Tiffany Mueller is a professional music and fine art photographer. She has been published in multiple publications including magazines, art journals, and various photography books. She blogs at Life Is Unabridged.

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The post How to Jumpstart Your Photography With Self Assignments appeared first on Light Stalking.

How Shutters Work

So lets start with the basics, what is it and how is it achieved. There are a number of different types of shutters in cameras. Most common are focal plane shutters found in DSLRs and diaphragm shutters more often found in compact cameras. The principle is the same, the shutter opens for a set period of time, allowing light to enter the lens and expose the image, either to film or on a digital sensor.

How long we open the shutter will determine how bright the image will be. Imagine the sensor as a water bucket and above it a tap. This is the shutter. When we open the tap the bucket fills. Open the tap for too short a period and there is not enough water and so we get a dark, under exposed image. Open it for too long and we have an over exposed image. If the tap is on for far too long, the bucket overflows, these are your unrecoverable clipped highlights.

The typical range of speed for most shutter is from around 1-2 seconds through to 1/4000 or even less. For average everyday daylight photography we would be using shutter speeds of 1/60th to 1/1000th of a second depending on conditions, aperture and ISO, however it is the way that we use these and the other shutter speeds that allow us to define how our images look. Lets look at what effect shutter speed has on images.

What Do Differing Shutter Speeds Do to an Image?

Slow Shutter Speeds – Slow shutter speeds can generally be regarded as those of 1/30th of a second and more, all the way up to times in the minutes. For the most part, when using a slow shutter speeds you will need to be using a tripod as any motion in your body is going to be transmitted to the camera (and final image), when hand holding. The longer the focal length of the lens the more chance there is of this happening.

To increase you control over slow shutter speeds, it may be worth investing in a remote control unit for your camera, these allow you set very slow shutter speeds and also mean that you are not directly touching the camera, reducing the possibility of camera shake.

An ironic use of a slow shutter speed. Photo by the Odessa Files

Slow shutter speeds are a wonderful creative tool if used well. You can created ethereal effects in bodies of water such as oceans or waterfalls, or imprint traffic light trails over your cityscape images. One of the main problems in using slow shutter speeds, is actually having too much light available, even when you have closed the aperture down to its minimum. To solve this issue you can use neutral density filters. These are graded by the amount of light they reduce, an ND 0.3 will reduce your exposure by one stop, an ND 0.6 two stops etc, allowing you to reduce your shutter speed to get the required effect.

The use of a slow shutter speed to show light trails Photo by the Odessa Files

Fast Shutter Speeds – These can generally be regarded as speed of less than 1/500 of a second and are a powerful tool for freezing motion. Typical uses of high shutter speeds are in wildlife photography, to freeze the motion of an animal at speed and, for in sports photography where you can capture the action at its optimum moment.

Exposure wise we have the opposite problem to slow shutter speeds in that there may not be enough light. This is why you often see wildlife and sports photographers with fast, large aperture lenses. In low light even the fast lens may not be enough meaning that you have to increase your ISO to maintain the required shutter speed, which will introduce an increase in image noise levels.

Using Panning

A way around this in certain shots, is to use panning. When we pan, we follow the action of the subject with the lens, moving our upper body to keep up. This in turn allows us to reduce the shutter speed to a certain extent. For example if we where shooting a fast moving racing car, it may require a shutter speed of 1/1000 of a second or less to freeze the action. By using panning we can reduce this to 1/250 or even more with the added bonus of the background being out of focus, this conveys a sense of speed in the image that would be lost using a high shutter speed.

Freezing the action using a high shutter speed. Photo by the Odessa Files

Using a slower shutter speed and panning. Photo by the Odessa Files

This article only briefly touches on the power of shutter speed as a creative tool. As with all photographic techniques, the best way to learn and understand fully the effect of shutter speed is to go out and practice, then practice some more.

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Jason Row

Jason Row is a British born travel photographer now living in Ukraine. You can follow him on The Odessa Files. He also maintains a blog chronicling his exploits as an Expat in the former Soviet Union.

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The post How to Get Great Photo Effects With Camera Shutter Speed appeared first on Light Stalking.

No matter how potentially disparate each one of us may be from another in terms of our background in and particular use of photography, I think one thing we can all agree on is that photography constitutes an opportunity to do something good for someone else, to bring needed attention to a worthy cause, to possibly change a life.

Here are a few ideas to help spark your photo-related philanthropy.

Non-profit Organizations

• HeartsApart.org – Created in 2010 as a way to keep U.S. military personnel connected with their families, HeartsApart.org provides service men and women who are facing upcoming deployment with photos of their spouses and children. The unique thing about these photographs is that they are printed on waterproof cards that can be folded to fit snugly in a uniform pocket. You can apply at HeartsApart.org to volunteer your services as a photographer, make up artist, hairstylist, or wardrobe stylist.

Military Families celebrated by USAG-Humphreys, on Flickr
• PhotoPhilanthropy – The mission of this organization is simply to link photographers with established non-profits from every part of the world, creating opportunities for photographers to document the work done by the affiliated charitable groups, thus raising awareness of the corresponding issues. You can learn more about how to donate or become a volunteer at the PhotoPhilanthropy website.

Wooden Box Playpen by macisaguy, on Flickr
• The Giving Lens – The Giving Lens coordinates photographers to participate in humanitarian efforts in developing nations. Volunteers are organized into teams, each led by a professional photographer with travel experience. While the prime objective of these trips is to help others — from clean drinking water initiatives to women’s and girl’s rights work — everyone involved shares a passion for photography. The Giving Lens organizes several trips per year; find out dates and more information here.

Village Veil by Meanest Indian, on Flickr
• The Maple Leaf Mission – This Canada-based organization provides families free sessions with a professional photographer. Three types of session are available:

• The “One More Moment” session is designed for families who have a loved one (of any age) with a terminal illness and wish to capture a few final moments together.

• The “Your Moment” session is for families who have one or more members who are living with illnesses, injuries, or other conditions that significantly limit their physical, mental, or social capabilities, but who are determined to live life to its fullest. Amputees, transplant patients, and those with cerebral palsy are just a few examples of who qualifies for this session.

• The “Military Moment” session caters to both homecoming and pre-deployment events of military members and their families.

    Those interested in putting in some time as a photographer or volunteering in another capacity for the Maple Leaf Mission can apply online.

Paul by Andrew Czap, on Flickr
• Help Portrait – According to Help Portrait publicist Lori Mahon, “The idea behind Help Portrait is simple: 1. Find someone in need, 2. Take their portrait, 3. Print their portrait and 4. Deliver their portrait. Help Portrait takes place worldwide the second weekend of every December.” To get involved in this global project, head over to Help-Portrait.com and sign up.

Saravuth Inn by daniel_greenberg, on Flickr

Independent Efforts

• Offer your services to someone you know. This could be a young family who may not be able to afford a photo session with their newborn, or your elderly neighbors who are eager to show off the grandchildren they haven’t seen in years. I am sure there are opportunities all around you.

• Pass on your knowledge to aspiring photographers. You can hold free classes in places like libraries and other municipal establishments. Or you can hold them in your garage. If people are eager to learn, it won’t matter; they will appreciate your time and effort.

• Donate some gear. Especially if you know you’re one “spare” lens cap away from being considered a hoarder. Photography gear is expensive; if you see real passion and potential in someone — especially a young person — who could use some better equipment but can’t possibly afford it, do what you can to help make that a reality for them.

• Donate prints. Is there a school in your area that needs prizes for a raffle drawing? Is your local library having a book sale and looking for something other than just books to sale? Do you know of any locally-owned/small businesses around you that might want to spruce up their decor? If the answer to any of these is “yes” then all you’ve got to do is decide who will be the lucky recipient(s) of your masterpiece(s).

• Host a free exhibit highlighting a cause you are passionate about. Regardless of what the topic is, there are sure to be others who share your passion and will be interested in not only viewing your photography about the issue, but also in using your exhibit as an opportunity to learn more, which will hopefully lead to doing more.

Your skill level doesn’t exempt you from the responsibility of doing something good; no one is too much of an amateur or too much of a professional. There’s no excuse for not finding some way to use your art to make a positive impact on the lives of others. There are an endless number of ways you can help; the charitable organizations and ideas presented here barely scratch the surface of the possibilities that exist. No matter how great or small a deed, those on the receiving end will be forever grateful and you will be indelibly touched by the transformative experience of self-sacrifice. I’d call that the ultimate win-win situation.

Author information

Jason D. Little

Jason Little is a photographer (shooting macros, portraits, candids, and the occasional landscape), part time writer, and full time lover of music. You can see Jason’s photography on his photography blog or on Flickr.

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The post 10 Ways to Change Lives Through Photography (And Where You Can Start Today) appeared first on Light Stalking.

With time, I created a quite simple workflow that addresses all the above without actually taking much of my time and allowing me to dedicate more time to the real work of processing the pictures. Although I am aware that this workflow is not unique and that there are plenty of others around with various degree of perfection and success, this one is simple, uses only Adobe Bridge as the sole piece of software to assist me performing the whole trick and works both on Windows and Mac. Let me share it with you.

Downloading the Photographs

Obviously, the whole process starts with pictures stored in memory cards produced by a camera or cameras.

I use Adobe Bridge to transfer the photos via a small card reader attached to a USB port on my computer (the card reader is a basic one costing a few bucks but accepting all cards types available on the market). While downloading, Bridge already separates the pictures by date taken and deletes everything from the card at the end of the transfer. Alternatively, I could also use the camera or even a manual transfer but these operations do not give me the power and speed that Bridge gives me.

The resulting folders will most likely contain and correspond to the pictures taken at certain places or events.

ABOVE: The Photo Downloader from Adobe Bridge. Notice the selections like subfolders by date, the deletion of the files at the end, the destination folder, etc. The downloader is triggered from the menu File/Get Photos From Camera…

Organizing the Photographs

The organization by dates is just the beginning and I do not leave the pictures this way. Rather, I rename the folders according to the subject of the pictures. For example, “2013-03-15″ becomes “Rome” because the pictures were taken there. Then, in the “Rome” folder, I rename all the pictures from “DSC_XXXX” to “Rome_XXXX” as shown below.

Talking about the number “XXXX”, I keep the original one produced by the camera because it makes things simpler later. There are some photographers that renumber all pictures starting from “0001″ which is good but whenever I need to search a picture by its number, it will be much easier to find “5345″ than “0001″ everywhere. But, it is just my preference.

The Batch Rename tool. I perform a string substitution in the same folder.

Selecting the Right Photographs

I learned that all photographers of all degrees of experience make mistakes. Not only that, we all experiment with light and angles before taking a good photograph. Therefore, these pictures are pretty much useless and it is a good idea to get rid of them.

I begin by quickly inspecting the worst ones that are blurred, out of focus, repeated, experimental, badly taken, etc. Depending on the number of pictures, this can be done in no longer than half an hour working with Adobe Bridge.

After a coffee break to relax my eyes, I repeat the process but this time with a lengthier inspection by opening some of the pictures in Camera Raw and taking a closer look at them. Some bad details now become apparent and this helps me to remove some more pictures. Here, the temptation to further process the pictures is really big but I try to resist as much as I can so that I do not my lose my focus on the task to be done.

At this point, you could argue with me that I am cruel by deleting the pictures I do not like. Indeed, a few of them could be useful nevertheless provided that I put some extra effort on them. My experience tells me that rarely this is the case and the sensation of saving my time and the space on my disks is much greater than having these “bad boys” lurking around. Again, that is my opinion and I prefer deleting them. Maybe, you have a different one. No problem as it works both ways.

Identifying the Photographs

After this initial clean up, I identify and document the pictures with my personal information through the EXIF information – metadata – which is hidden somewhere in the picture. It is always a good idea to do it because it documents and helps to protect my work. There, I can register my name, my website, a brief and general description of the pictures, dates, etc, along with predefined information like the camera and so on. This work is selective as it depends of the purpose of the pictures: if sending to stock sites, some of them do not accept any information while others tolerate only parts of it. On the other hand, on special occasions like a wedding, it is recommended to write as much information as possible.

In Adobe Bridge, I created a few templates that define the proper metadata for the needs that I have (Tools/Create Metadata Template). I have one that has all information possible; another one for this or that stock site. Therefore, I just need to select the pictures desired (Edit/Select All) and then apply the template to them (Tools/Append Metadata).

The Processing

I do not process all the remaining photographs unless absolutely needed. Rather, I use a very simple method to select the ones that are worthwhile. Always in Adobe Bridge, I display their moderate size thumbnails and I move myself away about a meter (3 feet) from the screen. At this distance, I do not see details but I can see pictures that stand out and pictures that are, by comparison, somewhat dull and unattractive. This simple method saves me time and gives me a very good level of accuracy as what is left over does not give me much to work with.

There is another reason why I do not process every single picture: for average photographers like I am, it is common sense that for each set of 100 pictures taken, 30 can be immediately discarded (already done in the previous step), around 40 have an average quality or below, another round of 20 have a good quality, some more 5 are really very good and only 1 is truly outstanding. Do not worry if the numbers do not add up as they are approximate and vary from case to case and from photographer to photographer. The important thing to be realized is that I only need to process 20, maybe 35, if such.

Further Processing

Since I always shoot RAW, I keep the processed images saved in JPG along with the original pictures in the original folder (“Rome”, remember?). If I decide to use some of them on my website, I copy the ones I want to another folder called “Rome” somewhere else under a “MySite” folder. Or, if make them available for sale on specialized websites, I also move other copies to “Rome” folder under a “FineArt”, a “Flickr” or etc folder. In this way, I know exactly where each photo needs to go to or, conversely, where each photo came from. Note that each site has different requirements of resolution and size and, by doing the way I do, I can satisfy all needs without creating confusion. Also, it allows me to add a watermark and a specific EXIF information while keeping intact both the original RAW file and its corresponding original JPG.

The Final Step, the Backup

I constantly make backups of all my pictures. I usually do a full one every week and partial backups (only the folders affected, that is, new and changed ones) whenever I finish a work.

The backups go to external drives that I attach to a USB when I need to do the backup. There are several types of external drives that vary by capacity, speed, type, portability, sophistication, etc. After the backup, I disconnect the drive and save it away from the computer to guarantee the existence of my work.

I do the backup by manually copying and pasting the folders using dates and references to identify each backup. For instance, “2013-03-01-FULL” means a full backup made on this date. The reason I do it manually is because I know the internal structure of my backups (exactly like my working folders) and, if I need to restore something, I go directly to the point and copy what is needed (or all) back. Also, it is simpler and do not require any pieces of software (most of the time, these pieces use a special format that should be restored by the same piece of software).

This procedure is simple because it essentially reproduces my working environment located on my fastest computer at home which is connected by an internal secured network to other computers and laptops. No matter where we are, my wife and I can work with any pictures located exactly in the same place thus avoiding the existence of multiple copies of the same pictures in many places. I also maintain an old laptop connected to our TV that allows us to see pictures on a larger screen without copying files back and forth (an interesting remark here: sometimes I leave a random slideshow running with the pictures; it is amazing how forgotten pictures suddenly show up!).

Some Additional Steps

The above steps of my workflow are the ones that I routinely take. Sometimes, I take additional ones for special needs. For example, while in Rome, I could have taken some pictures of flowers. Although they are flowers from Rome, flowers do not tell the story of Rome though. Therefore, I move these flowers to a folder called “Flowers” but I still keep their original names as “Rome_XXXX”. In this way, I easily and immediately know everything about a particular picture in any folder even though they might not be originated there. Other candidates to reside elsewhere are HDR or HFR pictures (the results plus the original ones).

Sometimes, when working on a big project or when I come back from a trip, I start working on a temporary disk on my computer that is not the one where all the pictures reside so that I can have a clearer view of everything that I am working with. After the task is finished, I move everything to its final and correct destination.

Occasionally, I go back to previous folders created years or months ago and do a scavenge check on old pictures. There, I see things with a different eye or with a new Photoshop technique and often I redo some or find things that I did not see at first. It is a lot of fun for me because it allows me to rethink ideas, revise my experience and, why not, unearth a gem that was buried there all the time.

I just shared my processing workflow with you and, as I said, it is not the ultimate one nor it is perfect but it exactly suits my needs while not being on the way of what I most want: enjoy my time producing small pieces of art!

Author information

Celso Bressan

I see Life through my lenses and materialize it in small glimpses called photographs as though they just could tell a short story about what I am experiencing. They bring me back some emotions and encourage me to go forward and to have a much greater sensation next time! You can see more on my website and blog.

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