Dad and me fishing in Florida

Today I want to give a big shout-out to my father who turns 75 years old. I often give my mother credit for my photographic roots that began the day she laid a Kodak Instamatic into my hand. But it was my father’s undeniable drive and passion for writing that has been the benchmark for much of my adult life. I have spent the last 35 years carving out my own identify, only to conclude it’s pointless, because we share so much in common, beyond just DNA.

A few things I love about my dad:

• He’s a dreamer and has an amazing ability to visualize a goal and bring it to fruition. He’s taught me that anything can be achieved as long as you put your mind to it.
• His love for writing and telling a good story has led to many well written and vastly exaggerated tales, some that have left me wondering. But the stories are so good, who cares!?
• He’s shameless. Truly shameless, but endearingly so. Probably where I got my self-deprecating humor. But we’re true to who we are.
• He’s forgiving to a fault, and for that he makes no apologies. I call it compassion.
• Sometimes I call him Dad, but he responds better to “Jack,” so you guessed it, Jack it is.
• He uses Ziplocs like the Anal Retentive Chef from Saturday Night Live and I sincerely believe he would feel better if everyone would follow his lead. And don’t forget to date and label them.
• He’s a very youthful 75 and as my 95 year old Grandma would say, “ He’s got plenty of time to get old.”

Happy Birthday, Dad. Love ya (in a dude sort of way).

30 years later still fishing.

May's free desktop wallpaper

I shot today’s image using a Canon 5D Mark III in combination with the Lee Big Stopper (10 stop neutral density filter) and my 16-35mm lens. I took several test shots but settled in at an exposure of f/20 at 41 seconds. The 5D Mark III has some really nice features that integrate beautifully with my workflow. The electronic leveling has really come in handy and now I find myself leaving my double axis bubble level behind. The Lens Aberration Corrections feature is very nice and once your image is loaded into into Lightroom it automatically enables the Profile Correction for the correct lens. And, probably one of my favorite features, is being able to give my images a star rating before importing them into Lightroom. The ability to assign a star rating is very nice because it allows me to sort and start working on the images I care about the most immediately upon uploading the batch. Overall, I’ve been very impressed with the upgrades Canon has made to the 5D Mark III. I’ve heard and read stories about people experiencing a “light leak” problem but I have yet to experience the problem and I hope it’s an isolated issue.

The image was later processed using Color Efex 4 in combination with Viveza 2 which I’ll be covering in my new book Plug In with Nik: A Photographer’s Guide to Creating Dynamic Images with Nik Software

Since the book is a work in progress, if you have any questions or things that you would like to know more about as it relates to processing with Nik Software, then feel free to leave a comment below or email me directly.

I hope everyone has a great May!

Each chapter is loaded with some of my favorite tips.

I’ve always believed that creating a great image starts with strong composition and ends when you’re able to translate your unique vision or style to your final image using post-processing tools.

Having a vision or “creative eye” can be a challenge for many of us, and that’s why I always suggest great resources like Composition: From Snapshots to Great Shots, Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision or The Photographer’s Eye.

But once you’ve captured that great image, how do you process it to create the unique look or vision you had in mind? I’ve struggled in the past with this exact problem and that’s why I’m so excited to share with you my new Peachpit Press book: Plug In with Nik: A Photographer’s Guide to Creating Dynamic Images with Nik Software.

I’ve been using Nik Software for nearly a decade, and the one thing I can tell you is it has changed my workflow for the better and allowed me to create the images I’ve always envisioned. This book is going to cover the entire suite of plugins:

-Dfine 2.0

-Viveza 2

-Color Efex Pro 4

-Silver Efex Pro 2

-Sharpening Pro 3.0

-HDR Efex Pro

I’ll be working with you through each program, discussing how it works, the best time to use it, and of course some of my favorite preset combinations. My goal is to help you create the images you always had in mind without wasting time trying to figure out the “how to.” I’m really looking forward to writing this book and sharing with you everything I know about creating dynamic images.

My book can be pre-ordered at the following locations.

Amazon by clicking HERE

Barnes and Nobel by clicking HERE.

I know Amazon does a Price Guarantee! If you order now and if the Amazon.com price decreases between your order time and the end of the day of the release date, you’ll receive the lowest price.

I’m currently in the process of writing the book, so if you have any suggestions or questions regarding Nik Software or how I process my images using Nik, then please leave a note in the comments section. Well, I better get busy because I have a deadline to make!

Killarney National Park

Ever since I can remember, I’ve always wanted to visit Ireland. I don’t know if the notion was first planted when I was a youngster downing endless bowls of Lucky Charms or possibly as a pubescent teenager first gazing upon Kathy Ireland’s cover of Sports Illustrated that burned the country’s namesake into my brain. What I do know as a photographer (and grown up) is that Ireland’s lush and rustic landscape has always been at the top of my list.

Last week’s trip was the definition of a whirlwind that stretched from Dublin to the Dingle Peninsula and back. I insisted on driving, and I would like to say that I saw a good part of the country in the 900+ miles that the car traveled, but that would be a lie. Instead, I spent a good part of my time focusing on staying alive as I’m not accustomed to driving on the opposite side of what felt like bicycle path wrapped around cliffs. (Note to self: when choosing a rental car on the website, if there are subcompact, compact, and economy options, chances are the roads are narrow!) I did eventually get better at the driving, and I’m glad I was able to see so much of the country from rolling green pastures, dotted with old castles, to the harsh yet beautiful southwestern coastline.

While I spent several days photographing in some of the larger cities such as Dublin and Cork, I think what truly made the trip was The Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula (simply spectacular). I totally underestimated the time needed in these regions and when I return this area will be major focus….Anyone up for a 2013 Ireland workshop?

I know I’m getting later and later with my wallpapers, but really don’t want to turn this into a production and would rather share images that I feel good about, so I hope today’s image from The Ring of Kerry region makes up for the delay.

Desktop Wallpaper from the Ring of Kerry

Final words: this trip was thrown together very quickly and a big thanks to all the people on Facebook that helped with suggestions on where to visit. I couldn’t have done it without you. A huge thank you to Staci (my squeeze) for organizing the trip down to the last detail including a night at a castle…

From Snapshots To Great Shots Podcast

Holy smokes! It’s been a ghost town at the blog and the only one to blame is me. I’ve been super busy writing my new book for Peachpit, creating videos, and working new images. I guess I’ve had a lot of balls up in the air and something had to give, so I apologize. But, here’s the good news… I have tons to report.

I’m really excited to announce the new Peachpit Podcast channel, “From Snapshots to Great Shots.” Make sure you stop by and subscribe to get the latest videos by yours truly. We’re looking to post ten in total from me as well as plenty more from other great photographers.

Socialize now!

Because I’ve been so busy I’ve really tried to post an image a day on my Facebook Page as well Google Plus. Now, if you want to follow me on a little more personal level or wish to share your images then feel free to hit me up on my public profile.

Travels

I leave in the coming days for Ireland and I’m super pumped to finally get an opportunity to photograph what I’m sure is going to be an amazing countryside. I’ll be visiting Dublin for a few days of street photography, then renting a car and making my way to the Southwest Coast. I’ll be posting images on the blog and Facebook so make sure to check back.

My Gear

I gave in to my desires and bought a new Canon 5D Mark III. Now, I want to make something perfectly clear: I’m not an impulsive gearhead that has to own everything that is bright and shiny. But I will say this… Damn, it’s a nice camera and I had to have it! When I wrote the Nikon D7000 book I remember thinking to myself, I sure wish Canon would learn a bit from Nikon and revamp their camera controls. Well, I’m here to report Canon did it right. The 5D Mark III has been revamped and the camera controls are much easier to operate. Don’t even get me going on the quality of the noise reduction. In the past, camera manufacturers’ battles were fought on a field built on megapixels, but now that field has been leveled and the new turf war is about higher ISO and lower noise.

There were a few surprises with this new model, which I’ll share in the next post, but for now it looks like I’ll be selling one slightly used, unconditionally loved Canon 5D Mark II because there’s a new body in my life.

I decided to focus on taking a few long exposures to capture the energy and beauty of the city. The great thing about a long exposure is there’s very little that can go wrong once you have the setup nailed. The key of course is having a sturdy tripod, cable release, and lot of patience. There’s a lot of math that you can do to help achieve the right exposure, but I’m a simple kind of guy (that means math dumb) so I prefer to set my camera on B (bulb exposure), select a higher f-stop and start taking test shots. I usually start at around a minute and work my exposure time up or down depending on available light.

City of Lights

City of Lights (ISO 100, 268 secs, f/16, 20mm focal range on Canon 16-35) — This image took a significant amount of time to expose properly, tipping the scales at nearly 5 minutes. Now, I could have stopped the exposure at around 3 minutes, but I wanted an image that almost appeared overexposed, because it’s much easier to add black back into an image like this versus bumping up the lights (highlights). Later I finished this image off in Color Efex Pro 4 using several filters to bring my vision into focus. In terms of composition, I decided to leave the airplane lights in the image because I felt it added to the overall “big city” feel and energy.

Lake Shore Drive

Lake Shore Drive (ISO 100, 27secs, f/16- Zeiss 50mm) — The hardest part about this shot is getting to the right location.  I guess photography shares the realtor’s adage…”location, location, location.” I took this image from a pedestrian overpass that gave me a glimpse of the John Hancock building to help solidify it’s Chicago identity. You might think you need to take this shot over a very long period of time, but in the world of long exposure, this is a very quick shot coming in at 27 secs.  Whenever you have a lot of fast moving lights the longer the exposure the softer and blurrier the lights will appear. Once again, I later processed this image using Color Efex Pro 4 and a few my favorite filters.

It was a wonderful evening and I hope you enjoy the images.

p.s. Side note: we still have a few spots open for my Chicago Workshops, where I’ll be discussing how to create images just like these. Hope to see you there!

I haven’t traveled much in the last few months (by design) so I’m stuck digging deep into my photo archive to find something for this month’s desktop wallpaper. Lucky for me, I have a nasty habit of taking 1,000 images and only processing 10-20 of my favorites. This leaves the rest to be mined at a later date. Today’s desktop wallpaper comes from an amazing afternoon following a small pride of lions around for several hours in the Serengeti National Park. I hope you enjoy.

New book:

I’m working on a new book and you’ll be the first to know when I can release the title. All I can say is I think it will be a great asset for photographers looking to streamline their workload and take their images to the next level.

Peachpit Snapshots to Great Shots Channel

I’ve started recording episodes for Peachpit’s new podcast channel dedicated to the Snapshot series of books. I am excited because I think it will provide a nice visual aid to some of the most important aspects covered in my books.  Plus, it gives me an opportunity to follow up on some of the most frequently asked questions.  If there’s something you would like to see or a question you might have regarding black and white photography or the D7000 camera, then please feel free to use the form below to drop me a note.

That’s a wrap and I hope everyone is having a great start to their March.

The International Kennel Club visited Chicago this past weekend and brought with them a host of photographic opportunities for canine lovers. I like to think of myself as a dog person, and I suspect the small pack I live with would appreciate that notion as well. I even toy with the thought that I’m Alpha, but all too often I’m reminded with daily nudges that my only real purpose is to provide belly rubs and snacks. Yes, I know what you’re thinking — there are moments I feel like I’m the one that was neutered. Yipe! Which brings me to the IKC. I figure these folks know what they’re doing, and they’re not pampering their dogs. Heck no, they’re demanding their pooches to perform and win ribbons — they have expectations! I needed a little bit of the IKC mojo to regain my foothold among the pack. So, I headed to the McCormick Place to check out how the pros do it because if you’re gonna run with the big dogs, you gotta get off the porch…

Well, it looks like I’m right on track…

Abraham Lincoln

In honor of President’s Day, here are my top five Abraham Lincoln quotes:

1. If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.
2. Don’t worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.
3. I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.
4. In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.
5. Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.