Collin Scott Photography

My First Big Wedding - What an Experience!

2011-05-19T11:09:00.004+02:00

So, in mid 2010, I was asked if I wouldn’t mind shooting a wedding in 2011, at the time the answer was a definite yes. I did not expect that in the time leading up to the wedding things would change so much. Needless to say, time drew closer and I no longer had a camera (mine was traded to a new owner, without consent from me, yes, I was a victim of crime). The stress of the commitment was unbearable. I mean a wedding photographer with no camera is unheard of. I had planned to own my very first DLSR, but that failed to materialize due to some unforeseen circumstances.

Well, time got closer still… then, my prayers were answered, by a generous and giving man, Mr. Brian Cheyne, in the dying times of planning, weeks before the travels to the wedding, he came to my aid. I could not believe what was happening here! A man whom I have never met in person, to me still quite the stranger, was offering to loan me his equipment. First thoughts were “what’s the catch”, there’s always a catch… strangely, there was none. None, this was new territory for me. I mean, there’s always a catch, always a sneaky little something, somewhere. Well, true to his word, there was no catch.

So, we arrived in Pretoria after the 16 hour drive from Cape Town, little sleep and unpacking to still be done. I got some rest in, 2 hours or so, then off to meet the man who saved my bacon. Upon arrival, there, on the table, was a backpack, stuffed with all the goodies I would need. 2 camera bodies (Canon 10D and 50D), and lenses, oh man, lenses. Everything I would need (and then some) for the wedding. You sir, are a true hero!

Ah, but wait! I have to learn how to use all this equipment, the wedding was less than 24 hours away! I’ve never used an attached flash, nor detachable lenses, come on, this is new territory to me! Anyways, after some fidgeting and button pushing, I started to get the hang of all this new fun stuff. I can understand why he loves photography so much. So, late to bed, with an early rise, to continue adapting to the cameras and lenses before the rush to the groom’s place. To shoot him, the bride had somebody with her. Then from the groom, to the venue, to shoot the bride a bit as well at the venue, then shoot the venue and finally… the wedding!!! I went into overdrive! I shot all angles, I shot anything that caught my eye, but never lost focus on the wedding and it’s most important guests… the Bride and Groom!

As you know, nothing flows smoothly, no matter how much planning you have done, there’s always a few surprises. Well, I had my fair share, but to me, these were all learning curves… an all new experience. Needless to say, I tip my hat to the pros who do this nearly every weekend. my legs just aren’t fit enough for all the crouching, squatting, running, bobbing and weaving and many other things I can’t think of right now to get that one shot that could make the wedding album complete.

Well, did the wedding, saw my good friends again, had a ball and then packed the bags and returned home. Now, so far in my mind (and the minds of many) everything was sorted and the editing could begin. I got stuck into editing to realize, but there’s images missing! Oh the horror!!! Worst thing you can do for the wedding is lose some vital images. I mean, I’m playing with the couple and their family’s memories here! Panic stations! A few calls and check here and there, I’d misplaced a memory card, it was still in Pretoria. It took some time to get those images here, I mean these are of the rings, the families and the whole group together! These, were some of the most important images. Well, all’s done and as you can read by this post, 2 months late, but complete nonetheless. Hopefully, if I do a wedding again, it won’t take this long for the couple to get their winning photos.

So, without any further ado, I introduce to you, the bride and groom… Mr. and Mrs. Engelbrecht… and a few images from the wedding.

-In no particular order-

Re-Adapting

2011-04-01T18:12:00.003+02:00

Each time you use another camera, one that you are unfamiliar with, it poses adaptive challenges, things work differently. But, if you are familiar with the features, it doesn't take long to get to grips with it and learn how to get what you want. These are few images taken with a Fuji FinePix. Only in my hands for a few hours and Got to grips quite quickly with it.

Autumn is approaching in South Africa.

Cape Town has a wet, rainy winter, much like some other countries come to think of it... hmmm...

Oddly, it is completely different to the lack of winter in Kwazulu Natal or the dry chilly air of Gauteng, Free State, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. South Africa, the land is as diverse as it its inhabtants. Anyways, a miniature rose, taken after a bit of rain.

Before n After - People

2011-01-31T11:34:00.003+02:00

Hey, just posting some before and after images. Some of the edits I have done in the past that have delivered satisfaction. In this photo I went from basic to extreme, personally, I like the middle one, not too much, not too little.

Now here was a nice fun shot to work with, this girl though very shy and nervous still managed to deliver some stunners. Here is the original image...

...and with a little touching up, magazine-like finish.

My niece came and stood by me while I was photographing some scenery, I think it's a cool shot... ...in black and white, with some shadow/highlight adjustments. Her sister, playing on the stairs, so I perched my camera against the wall and got this one... ... so after a lighting, contrast adjustment and a soft blurred layer (with some cleaning up) the result is quite pleasing and one for the books. A year end dance... shot the lovely couple and had fun. Downside, backgrounds were not always pleasing... ...enter clone tool! Some time to get it right without chopping an arm or anything of the sort.

Well, for now, just some retouch images.

Creating Fantasy

2010-11-21T10:16:00.007+02:00

So I've been a little quiet on the editing side of this blog. Wording the how-to's has been my mental block. But good news, some interesting reading without imaghes on the steps to follow...

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So, I was driving the Longtom Pass, Mpumalanga from Sabie to Lydenburg. It was along these lovely winding turns and bends that I watched as the sun set. Fortunate for me, winding these roads and having many a place to appreciate, I spotted this gem. A once off, a must-stop, rolled passed, quickly reversed and bounded out the car. Surveyed the area to see what sort of composition I could get out of this and well... after snapping here and there, crouching, stretching, tilting and eventually kneeling did I get the "luck shot" (only took me around a dozen attempts). Sun was perfectly positioned, The khaki weeds and this fire stricken tree all sitting uh, I mean, standing just right, allowing a channel through leaving the peak of the mountain and the sun well, near perfect.

Um, before I continue, the clouds you see, they're not clouds. There was in fact a huge fire just north of this location and it was churning smoke in masses. Oh man, this created such a perfect scene. Gave it drama, mood and a great breaker between the remains of the day and the beginning of night... Shot at 1/250 sec exposure, aperture F8 and ISO 100 while exposure bias remained 0. Yeah, off camera looks good... but I like rich, bold colours, it's my thing so you know what's going to happen next, right? Right.

So, in Photoshop(R) I just played around with the contrast/brightness and the usual shadow/highlights, like always. Am I getting predictable? Hope not... So with a few added layers, I adjusted the sky, Toned the hot-spot known as the sun and adjusts the curves just a pinch.

---o0o---

Yeah, so now it's nice, but if you've read some of my other posts, you'll know, nice isn't enough. I WANT MORE!! MWAHAHAHAAAaaaa... erm... okay, Dr. Evil laugh doesn't work for me either.

Anyways, back to task. Here goes...

1: Lighten the foreground... New (soft) layer, painted with white where needed. Remember to trim the excess if need be to add to the feel. You'll get the hang of it of you practice enough.

2: Darken the sky... What for? Because I said so, this is my pic and that's what I've done :). Okay, seriously, it was done to add to the mood of the image (these whit and black layers also double as dodge and burn). So, another soft light layer, painted black over the areas I wanted darker. Remember again, trim off the excess, there will be overflow (I did this to keep the outer area darker than the center closer to the sun to help draw the eye into the image). Don't use 100% eraser, keep it to around 30%, this way you can still get a nice blend and effect.

3: Start adding objects... For this one, I added a crow from a failed attempt at getting a BIF (Bird In Flight), positioned just right can make or break an image. Furtuantely for me, this one had blue sky all around so cutting it out was easy. Painted it black to get the silhouette. I duplicated the layer, blured that layer and set it to soft light. This creats a sense of OOF (Out Of Focus) and adds to the sense of motion. Now add another soft light layer and get your white paint ready, set to around 30-40% opacity. I did this to accentuate certain parts of the bird just slightly, creating depth and perspective.

4: Continue addining objects... Don't overkill on things added... if you have a good image, you don't want to destroy it altogether, just make it interesting. The planet/moon/anything else you might think it is was diffilultly easy. No, seriously, to get the angle, placement and lighting right, can be a challenge. What I did here, was to add a new layer, get a big white solid brush and smack it down, like a stamp, boom. Now I have a white dot on my image (removeable layer of course) which needed lots of tweaking. Step one, a soft brush eraser, around the same size as the paint spot. Cool, getting there... now I have a nice white crest sort of thing that fades, pretty much like the moon would... so, with this eraser (now reduced drastically in size and opacity) I dabbed the remains here and there (with different size brushes) until I'd creted some nice uh, let's call them craters... but, it's STILL WHITE!! That's just not going to do! Easy fix, eyedropper tool, picked an orange from my sunset and back to paint. I added a new layer again, soft light of course (don't worry about the white spot, getting back to that) and spread a soft brush of orange over the white, remeber to erase the excess, it looks funny if you don't. Awesome, looks good. Back to the previous layer again for final adjustments. This time, I played with the master opacity and master fill opacity to get the blend done. So that's it. Done.

Oh, wait!

5: Lens Flair... Good point, I nearly forgot. Okay, I duplicated the backround layer, added the lens flair (try make sure you get the position right or it will look out of sorts and make no sense). Once I had that done, it seemed odd, ah yes, eraser again, to trim it off the foreground some, the reason for that was so I could reduce the opacity and still keep the foreground. This also helped to make the flairs seem more distant than they should... adds mistery amd intrigue.

So, I'm done, the results are below. I hope I got you interested, if not, sorry... ask me and I'll go into my archives and try fill in the blanks.

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Share this on Twitter, or Facebook, tell your friends and get the word out on cool tricks.

Inspiration Regained

2010-09-19T22:47:00.003+02:00

Yes, I've been a little un-inspired lately... until this realy adorable couple approached me and insisted I am the one they want for their year end dance photoshoot... I agreed thinking the experience would be great... little did I know, just how much this would re-inspire me to go out and expand my skills. Not only that, but to expand my editing skills more...

Here's a few images for you to admire...

Roadsides of South Africa

2010-04-26T21:50:00.009+02:00

~o0o~

You know, travelling a lot can get quite tedious, boring and tiring… very tiring. But, if you have camera at hand, it changes everything just that little bit. Well, for me it does...

You see, I take some of the most boring roads in South Africa and seem to find beauty in them. It is finding the exceptional in the ordinary that makes the many hours in the car so worthwhile.

My secret? I challenge myself, if I can put it that way. What I do is look ahead, still watching the road, but also the sun’s position, time of day, and the scenery. If I spot something up ahead, I start to plan what’s around it, where can I stop, how is the lighting etc… if It all seems okay, I’ll slow down, double check my surroundings and the safety of the stop. If all plays out, stop, hazards on, get out and walk around to find the best composition.

Then I take a few shots, different angles etc because I still don’t get it right the first time and one take is never enough.

I have travelled quite a few roads and have impressed many people with my images.

Look, sometimes, I do the quick runaround thing because I do have timelines and thus get the images either under or over exposed but usually nothing that a little Photoshop can’t uh, fix.

So, next time you’re planning a short drive of more than an hour or between two cities with open countryside, look around, then look some more. Pull over, take a breather, sometimes you see things you wouldn’t usually see when you’re next to the car stretching your legs…

Bear in mind, these images are all shot with a compact camera.

HDR – An alternative process

2010-03-29T21:08:00.013+02:00

So, HDR is the way forward for post editing images these days. It’s a great way of converting your normal image into something more… a work of art if you’d like to call it that.

What is HDR? High Dynamic Range – more can be read ->HERE<-

There are various ways of doing HDR conversion. The primary (and said to be proper) way is to take multiple images of the same scene [set at different exposures] then using software like Photomatix or Photoshop to basically merge these layers together creating a final single image that has the fullest colour range, without all the bright bits of a normal photo.

Well, I do it differently.

I use one image that I blend and alter in various layers.

Okay, so the original, like this one below, is actually “not bad” to start with. Good light, nice colour and detail but it’s just another photograph… yawn… I started out just adjusting the colour for richness and a little more vibrancy. As usual, I got carried away and started to add more and more layers.

First port of call was to address the bright sky and darker foreground selectively, basically try to recover some of the detail in the clouds and lighten the trees and brick work. I did this in two additional layers. The first is just a light painting of black over the clouds, I set the brush opacity to around 20% and painted all the sky. It’s fine to spill over a little, that’s what the eraser is for. The second layer was to get a little light back over the foreground, darken some spots and lighten others. This is again done with black and white paint. I set this layer to soft light and painted areas like the paving and parts of the wall with black. I painted over the trees and the foreground shadows with white to lighten these up a notch or two… and then set the layer opacity to 40% (though this changes depending on image and how much I want it to reveal or blend).

Woops! Now I have it looking somewhat flat! My bad… okay not really. This is deliberate, you’ll see why in a bit. I now duplicated the original image and adjusted the exposure up a tad to brighten things up again and give back some colour [opacity remains at 100%]. I set this layer to soft light as well for obvious reasons. Now it’s starting to look more like a nice image with pretty colour and detail, right? I then duplicated the original again, set it to soft light too with opacity of 12% and it made the slightest of difference but will come into play later as it merely tones the image by that 12% colour wise.

Now, one of usual tricks is of course, the black & white layer (desaturation and brightness/contrast adjustments merged into layer). Soft light setting again and this time 35% opacity (yes, opacity will vary depending on how much shadow you wanting back). The problem with this layer is now the clouds become even brighter than before. No problem to my trusty eraser… be careful not to over erase though. Look! It’s really standing out now! How cool am I?

But, the sky, seriously, look at that sky!! Still too bright and clashing with the rest of the picture. New layer again and yes, you guessed it, set to soft light again (with opacity at 100). I used a heavy brush of black paint and got to painting all the light spots like the sky and all the pillars. You have to admit, it was needed, right? Okay, none of this is really needed, but I love doing it, so I will do it.

Looking good? Almost… I’m still not happy with those bright clouds. So, another [soft light] layer is added and more heavy paint work is done. This time, just to the clouds because the pillars look good to me. This has now gotten the colours and detail of the clouds to match the rest of the image quite nicely I think.

But, all this work comes at a price of course… in this case, it was light, the image is now a lot darker than when I started out on this project. So I played just a little more adjusting levels and then of course playing with the selective colour feature… as always… what can I say, I like to enhance the colours to give you this pretty little picture.

So, ladies and gentlemen, another tidbit to add to your learning curve. Remember, shoot wisely, plan carefully and always, always have fun doing it.

Oh, you can also drop me a mail on cdscott76@gmail.com if you’re keen on any prints or other queries you might have.

Catch of the day!

2010-02-10T20:42:00.007+02:00

This was a bonus for me, right place, nearly right time as my camera was but mere meters away from the action that started to unfold. I was just coming back indoors when this “commotion” caught my eye. Lo and behold, in the corner of the dog box, this fly had made its way into a spider’s web. A Feather Legged Spider had set up office in this little spot and as usually just gathering dust, until this fortunate moment. When I first saw this, the spider was still trailing its way down to the ever wriggling fly. By the time I had gotten back to the scene of the crime, the fly was already in the process of getting wrapped up. Below is a series of snaps that I got of this bad boy in action as he wastes no time wrapping his meal up for take-away. I wonder if it had a family to feed as that looks quite a bit bigger than him… or is it her? Hmm… curious.

The wind had picked up and drizzle had started to fall so I think both me and the spider had to act quickly...

Unfortunately, I missed the initial paralasis stage where the spider gives the fly the insuing sting while running for my camera.

These photos were taken in quick succession of each other so you can imagine this all went down quite quickly.

Now to tuck the wings back in.

Say your prayers little one...

Final stages of the process.

You can almost see the thorax movement as it works that web at a rapid pace.

Last inspection and closing of any open gaps...

Then all that's left is to grab it and haul it up to safety.

Safely home and into storage. by this time the rain was pounding down and the wind howling so in fear of equipment safety, I retired the camera for a cup of coffee.

I can now only still imagine what Frodo must have gone through when he was in the fly's position...

Among Giants

2010-02-10T09:21:00.008+02:00

Living among us giants, faeries still do exist. But, it is the rare few that see them, or at least where and how they live in these modern times... I don't know if any live here anymore as this old house seems quite abandoned. I wonder if they had to move because of all the development that has taken place around them over the last 6 or 7 decades. Sad actually, to think that once there lived the most magical of creatures and we as human beings have forced them out of their habitats...

Okay, not really, this was just me getting creative and adding to my artistic editing. You see, the image below is the original 30 second exposure that I took a few days ago. Note the skew horizon, the very dark foreground and all round poor detail.

While I was looking at this in my photo viewer, ACDSee Pro 2, I wondered what it would look like with lifted shadows and straightened horizon, it brought an intriguing look and feel to it and I wondered about the its potential. Hmmm... PhotoShop!

Okay, so I never did very much in PhotoShop besides a pinch more lighting and a colour boost to give it a bit more life... but I felt it had a void, something was missing, it seemed interestingly boring...

So, now I got creative. First thing I did was go into my archives of photos taken, I rememberd having the perfect picture of an old house that would work, cut and trimmed it to fit. I then had the task of making sure that the old house fits the colour tone and mood of the rest of the image, so some time later, I was happy. Gave the over-all image a complete boost of colour and contrasted brightness.

Threw in another image layer, a high-contrast B&W version which I filtered down to be barely noticeable but to add some more shadow.

Once I'd gotten it to look a little more intersting I decided to give it a more interesting and mystical look... by adding another layer, but this time with a gaussian blur (set to 12.5% blur) and filtered that layer over the others. It, of course, made the foreground a bit too blurry so I erased some (with a 25% eraser) just to add some sharpness back. The end result is quite impressive if I do say so myself. Let's take a look at that one again...

Well, not being completely satisfied (and a little curious), I went forth and converted... to black and white... just to see what it would look like. Well, that's it... another installment done... hope you all liked and enjoyed... take care... take pictures... and have fun!

Artistic Editing 3

2010-01-26T16:53:00.006+02:00

Well, another late submission on the how-to's.

Magic, as it has been called.

I was bored and wanted to just play around with ideas and concepts. Man, I have to play more and update this more often.

Here is the already quite impressive original image, but it looks boring...

The trick to having this one seem like it’s caught in mid-fall is due to balancing the coin on its side… on a sheet of glass. Now you’re probably wondering why there is no reflection off the glass, right? Well, it’s because I have the flash firing from slightly above and behind my “subject” reducing light glare. The sheet of glass was placed on top of an old sheet of white card-board (thus the reason for the ‘cracks’) and to reflect some light back up from the flash.

~0~

I took the image into my trusty Photoshop and got to playing with ideas. I didn’t know at the time of capture what I wanted to do with it but I soon got some ideas. I duplicated the layer 4 times and then got to work on each individual layer.

Okay, I’m going to assume you know how to navigate your way around Photoshop…

~0~

Layer 1: I boosted colour with selective colour and then a pinch of contrast, finally adjusting levels to make it a little lighter, to get the desired, rich colour toned, effect.

~0~

Layer 2: Converted to black and white (I did this by reducing saturation to zero, though there are other methods of doing this too) and adjusting brightness/contrast and levels somewhat so the coin itself had a nice silvery look to it. Okay, from here I made use of my eraser brush to erase everything around the coin. Initially I wanted the coin B&W on a coloured backdrop but when I erased a little too much I got another cool idea. So, I made the size of my brush much smaller (using the (Windows) square brackets [/] short-cut) and set the opacity to around 30% to create a nice faded effect (different opacities can be used too) and gradually erased parts of the coin, like the bird and the 5c until I’d achieved my desired effect. So now I’ve got a coin that looks well used but faded on the inside of the elevations of the coin as opposed to the outsides being faded.

~0~

Layer 3: Another colour version, selective colour to make the white slightly more yellowed (as I did on the first layer) and then just levels increase, more contrast to darken the background and that’s it. So now all that will be removed from this one is the coin and some of the shadow. I used my magnetic lasso tool to cut out the coin and then with my eraser, still set to 30%, I began to fade away around the edges of the coin and followed onto the shadow for effect. Remember, not too much otherwise you’re going to sit with a mess and not a decent blend. Also, adjust the size of your brush according to how much you want to erase.

~0~

Layer 4: Yet another black and white conversion and even more contrast to really darken it and enhance the cracks even more. I adjusted levels as well to darken the rest of the layer too. Once again, allot of erasing took place. This time I started on 50% and a reasonably big brush and erased from the coin outwards in a circular motion. I then adjusted the eraser to 25% and continued to erase away from the coin until I had a nice, rich blend between the colour and B&W layers. Last thing to do was to click ‘File’ and ‘Save As’ and saved it to get what you see below... an image that has folks saying things like "wow" and "it looks like magic" to name but a few.

A bit of work but if you’re after a nice artistic look and feel, it’s well worth it. So ends another in the series of artistic editing.

---o0o---

Landscapes From Recent Road Trips

2009-11-15T14:16:00.009+02:00

Recently I embarked on another couple of road trips. First was off to Mpumalanga region. Sabie, White River, Nelspruit through to Piet Retief and moolman before returning to Pretoria. Among the tall trees of Sabie, there are many roads such as this.

In between all the trees, roads and little of anything else, I spotted one of many old neglected houses...

They too had little roads leading into the forests. The guest lodge I stayed at had a pretty cool pool.

Just outside Nelspruit, the sky began to clear up. Taken amongst the hills and valleys of Mpumalanga. This Giraffe and Zebra were spotted along the side of the road, behind fencing of course on a game farm just outside Nelsruit. Up the hills and back into the contry side. Misty morning in Moolman, a tiny place not even spotted on a map, but 15 minutes from Piet Retief.

I then did Free State and Northern Cape regions. Quite different part of the world with much to see. For now I just posted some windmills spotted along the road.

Our land is as diverse as the people, if not more. You can travel 50kms and the colour of the earth itself will change constantly. This is typical Free State farm lands.

Nature's sculpturing is phenominal.

Artistic Editing 2

2009-11-15T13:43:00.004+02:00

Ok, upon a request from a friend, I'm posting this up, slightly (well, very) delayed.

I took this photo some time back and on camera it looked good until I got home and loaded it onto my pc. Oh, the shock, the horror! The sky looked good but the foreground was so dark and hard to distinguish what was what.

First thing I did was use my image viewer, in this case ACDSee 9, to adjust the shadows and highlights. Once I'd done that I could see the potential and possibility of recovering the image and making something worthwhile of it...

So, I loaded it into Photoshop CS2 and began to play around. I soon realised that I would have to work the sky and foreground in separate layers to create a nice balance between the two. So, I first ran the shadow/highlights in CS2 this time, not using the ACDSee version. After that, I duplicated the image layer and then hid it (by clicking on the little eye) so I could tackle the foreground. First thing was to adjust colours (selective colour) and then adjust brightness/contrast before desaturating it a tad to tone down the colours. Once I was happy with all the work I'd done, I selected the layers including the original image and then, with right-click, merged all together into the layer so that I can get to work with the sky.

The sky needed a different amount level of processing. So, for this I ran selective colour to adjust the cyan, blue and white to the desired effect. Of course contrast/brightness was used very subtly before running levels and another round of selective colour. Once I was again satisfied with the end result, I again merged all the layers into the image layer.

Now I have two completely different looking images of the same picture posted above but layering over each other. Time to erase...

Using my erase tool I set about erasing the land from the top layer. I use a spray type brush for my eraser that erases all in the center of it's brush but fades to the sides allowing room for errors. As I got closer to the horizon, I had to reduce the size of the brush so as to not over erase into the sky. An alternative to this would be to use the magnetic select tool )but isn't as much fun for me) and then select and delete. So, once I had my sky trimmed properly, I made the bottom layer visible again allowing me to see the difference my processing work has made.

Well, many are happy with the end results.

Hope you enjoyed another interesting insight and tip. This will be followed with more soon.

Artistic Editing 1

2009-10-19T20:11:00.004+02:00

Okay, so you have a nice photo taken. But, it's just a photo and you want to wow viewers with a different look, right? Sure you do... I mean, why have normal photos that do look nice if you can add a little something to make them so much more.

So, below is a couple of examples of 'how to' make your images a little more striking when printed and framed.

This first crop of a Rose and buds is nice, great background, detail and so on. But, the colour is a little "flat" and the image isn't nearly as striking as can be. Time for it to go into Photoshop.

Okay, I duplicated the same layer twice over the original. Then I started on the original layer with some shadow/highlights (Image, Adjustments, shadow/highlight) and selective colour (Image, Adjustments, Selective Colour) to lift the colours and lighting a bit to make it stand out more.

Then, on the second layer, I used the Dream Suite plug-in to add a ghost blur effect. Then, on this layer I used my erase tool, set to about 250 and opacity of around 25, to gradually start erasing from the centre of the Rose bud so as to fade it towards the edges. I did this to keep the detail sharp in the centre of the rose but blur it out to the edges to create a dreamy look and feel. It did take a couple of attempts, but got the dream feel I was after. So, now it started to look good... but that was not enough to complete this Rose image, it was lacking something... oh yes, the third layer. I de-saturated (Image, Adjustments, Saturation) this layer (removed all the colour to black and white) and then added a strong contrast (Image, Adjustments, Brightness/Contrast) to darken the blacks more. So now I have a black and white layer over my other work. Again, the erase tool was called upon. This time with the opacity at just under 20 (can't remember exactly) and size of 600, I started to erase from the centre. With each click, I would widen my circumference until I had created a vignette look to mostly the corners of my image enhancing the focal area.

Final result below.

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Here is another example of a similar processing style. The only difference is that instead of the vignette looking corners, I opted for a Diffused Glow blur (which basically enhances light spots and gives them their own unique hint of blur) which I then gave an opacity of 65 so it would blend more with the original image. Note: This Inca Lilly has had NO colour enhancement, shadow/highlight work or anything, except for cropping it for composition purposes.

Before ->

After ->

And so ends part one.

---o0o---

Back to Task

2009-09-26T11:01:00.003+02:00

Okay, I lost track and was just posting pics without explaining much. I said I would post as I learn new tips n tricks. Well here's a kicker for you all.

This is the original image, slightly over exposed so colour detail is lost somewhat. Time to take it into PhotoShop.

First thing I did was to twiddle the shadow/highlights a bit to lighten shadows and darken the background a tad (under Image, Adjustments - Shadow/Highlights). Once that was sorted it was time to adjust colours with selective colour, shift the brighness/contrast to boost colour a tad more and give it very subtle saturation. Once I had colour, brightness, saturation and all that done, it was time to add to the point of focus. So, I added a blank layer and filled it with a gradient fill using the gradient tool. Set it to wide radial to darken the rim of the image and draw one's eye to the centre of focus, then made the opacity 30% so it doesn't overpower the focal point.

Then I got carried away...

I added another layer duplicating the image, added a gaussian blur of 8.6 and using my eraser, with a 300 pixel brush size set to 40% opacity, started to erase from my centre of focus outwards. Once I'd done that I got to thinking of adding yet another layer. This time I duplicated the original adjusted image and converted it to a high contrast black and white (shifting saturation all the way to the left then adding brightness/contrast and merging these into the layer) which I then also erased wider than the blurred layer. So now I have four (4) layers in total and the image is really starting to take shape. One final thing, I thought to myself, was to add a border frame for canvas print... so I went to work again. I selected a rectangle (using the rectangle select tool) and drew a rectangle, as even as possible, and then inversed my selection (Alt-S ~ inverse) to have only the border selected. I then added more Gaussian blur and with 30% opacity painted white over it. After that I boosted the exposure (Alt-I [Image]; Adjustments - Exposure) by roughly +1 to brighten the border which will then be folded over the canvas edge. The final result below...

And so ends a brief tutorial on making an image more attractive. Now go out and take pictures keeping this in mind.

Road Trips, South Africa ~ Part One

2009-08-10T17:07:00.008+02:00

Right, in no particular order, some of the photos from my recent travels around the drier areas of Southern Africa. We have such a beautiful and diverse land. Please bear with me as some (well, most) of these were taken from a moving vehicle. On one side, when you travel deep Free State and Northern Cape, it's pretty much flat. Then you head more eastern side towards White River and Sabie stopping by places between, it's hilly, green and lush.

---o0o--- Morning trip, just before passing Witbank heading towards Nelspruit and White River...

Just some of the country side between Nelspruit and White River.

In the middle of nowhere... civilization exists, spotted this shopping center about an hour's drive from Douglas, but about an hour plus before Kimberly.

Crossing a single lane bridge about 20 minutes from the industrial farm town of Jan KempDorp.

A run down shoplet in Jan KempDorp.

Kimberly behind us, Jan KempDorp ahead, somehwere on this road.

Just one of Kimberly's attractions, spotted as you enter the town.

Between Bloemfontein and Kimberly, the road is flat... and straight... a road where lots of this can be seen...

Approaching Bloemfontein in the early morning mist.

Sunrise between Johannesburg and Bloemfontein... somewhere...

I am developing a greater love for my contry, South Africa. Such a diverse land, culturally and by design. South Africa, a land of many splendors I have yet to see and experience.

Open Pictorial - Artistic Imagery

2009-07-21T08:35:00.005+02:00

Right, these are just for visual impact. Use of colours and processed in layers in PhotoShop. Rather than work with one layer to try and bring an image to life, I worked with 3.

---o0o---

1. Bottom layer, made very dark with very saturated colours.

2. Middle layer, Colour tones and shadows equally balanced with an opacity of around 70-75% on average to overlay the first layer.

3. Top layer, generally allot brighter, colours enhanced and brighter than the other two layers. Opacity average 60-65%.

---o0o---

Will make for great wall hangings.

Sunset...

2009-07-15T13:58:00.007+02:00

Was a beautiful July afternoon, to the rest of South Africa, it's winter but not in Ballito... we were at the coast relaxing after a day of doing, well, very little besides a short trip to the beach and back. I looked up and saw the golden colours on the clouds so I jumped up grabbed my camera and went for a walk. The heart in the cloud is just coincidence, honestly... took a stranger to notice it.

Firstly, as I walked out the front door I noticed the rays peeking over the clouds between the houses, which are cropped out of this image as they spoiled the shot.

Then, as i walked half backwards up the slightly steep road to where it would be more open to take photos I kept stopping to take pictures. Oh yes, a trick I figured was to use my sunglasses as a lens filter. This helped to create lens flairs too.

As I got further up the "hill" along the road, I kept taking phots, still using my sunglasses over the lens.

Ah, the brisk walk is over... I reached my final destination. This small cluster of trees were great to shoot, and so photogenic. They posed wonderfully for me and never complained. Notice the compostion of the tree and location of the sun... a well done pfoto according to the pros. Okay, I did have to crop a little off the top and clone out a few stray twigs and stalks of grass as per their request.

The constant shifting of the clouds provided a great oportunity to get great sunset photos, I stepped back a bit more to get more of the sky in as well so you can see how the colours were changing as darkness loomed behind me.

Of course, while I was up there... I just had to snap up our accomodation, thanks to a friend who owns a small place there. This is Caledon Estates, Ballito. Thanks go out to my buddy, for walking out when he did (I never noticed him until afterwards) and providing perspective to the size of the place. Phase two of the estate is now beginning construction. Pity about the pylon and power cables in the background. I could clone them out but that would steal from the reality of the shot and the place. On the stroll back, I noticed this tree with new shoots, in July, in winter... so a sihouette shot came to mind. Pity I couldn't get a better shot, this is still a bit busy for my liking.

Landscapes and Seascapes... Exposure Shots

2009-07-15T13:23:00.006+02:00

Adjusting shutter speeds can make for great images too. Thing is, these must be done at night, very late afternoon, or damn early morning... before coffee.

This image was taken just before 8pm, Ballito beach facing Umhlanga. 10 second exposure, aperture F3.5, ISO 100 with a focal length of 6.3mm.

This one again on 7 second shutter speed, aperture F4, focal length 14.6mm and ISO set to 100. The rock on the left looks like a sleeping croc, don't you think?

Early morning, sunrise. Aperture F8, exposure time 1.5 seconds, ISO 200 and focal lenth of a mere 6.6mm.

This time, 5 second exposure, aperture F8, ISO 100 (should have had it at 200 to prevent image burn on the horizon) and again 6.3mm focal lentgh (which as I've learned is due to the auto settings)

Now this was just playing around... preset my camera with a 10 second timer so I had time to get down there and pose... a few times. Shutter speed set to max for my camera at 30 seconds, aperture at F3.5 as it was actually quite dark and ISO at 200.

Now this is just before 6pm... aperture F8, exposure time of 15 seconds and ISO of 200.

Right, so I'm learning,,,

2009-06-23T20:24:00.007+02:00

Well, over the past while, I've learned more about "depth of field", "rule of thirds" and how to crop and edit images better. I can tell you this, digital photgraphy is so much fun! I can sit for hours editing photos I've taken and making more of what is out of what was. I'm beginning to worry about my social life... okay, not really...

Take the picture below for example, yes, it looks nice but, look at it, really look at it... it's nothing fancy or exciting. Sure the colour is okay, the lighting is nice, but come on, it can be better! Time to go to work...

Right, first things first, I cut out just what I wanted. Lost the grit and dirt on the image, cropped the blighter so that I had just what I wanted from the image. Then, once that was done, adjusted the colour tones, enhanced the lighting and shadows. Once all this was done... you get what you see below... something pleasing on the eye, ready to frame and hang on a wall.

Camera settings of my Sony DSC-H10 on this one are: Exposure time (Shutter Speed): 0.0080 s (1/125) ~ ISO: 100 ~ Aperture: F3.5 ~ Focal length: 6.3mm with a manual Exposure. Unfortunately, some of the settings are still automatic and can't be changed, such as focus.

Now, this was intersting, I like catching the dew drops on things in the early hours of the morning. So, when I saw this I had to take a photo of it. Well, at a glance, it looks like typical garden nuisance, but to me, well... Time to edit...

So, the usual suspects come into play here (and this is where I'm learning a lot about Photoshop), lighting, shadows, contrast, crop and of course colour enhancement. The end result is no longer just the remains of a seed, but something interesting. "Chandelier of Droplets"

Same camera settings as the previous one...

---o0o---

Now, not all photos need to be of places, plants, people, or any other thing you'd usually see in magazines or the usual book... sometimes it's nice to spot the lesser noticed and get a nice abstract image that would look good in a gallery, or corporate building. like the one below...

Note: Composition doesn't mean always having your subject in the center, 99% of the time the subject is off centre. This one made good use of "rule of thirds".

Anyway, stay tuned for another interesting episode coming soon.

---o0o---

Landscapes and Seascapes

2009-06-03T20:21:00.014+02:00

Ah, so many people love taking landscape images, but there is a trick to it... you can't just point your camera and click away you see. You need to take into accout that your picture needs to be breath-taking (well, sort of) to stand out from the norm. Rule of thirds (as it's known) is but a part of a good landscape picture. There's also looking at your surroundings and thinking to yourself, "hmm, this is so beautiful, but how can I get this to look just right?". Well, that's up to each of us to interpret I guess... but, you need to make sure you locate yourself right, look at your surroundings, move around (even if it's just one or two steps), find your focal point and steady yourself. If you have a tripod, use it as it will help stabilise your shot more. The pictures below are without tripod so excuse if they are not quite right... All photos are again taken with my Sony DSC-H10 camera, ISO is set to auto on each (roughly 125) and shutter speeds between 400 and 800 with aperture at F3.5. ---o0o--- With this one, I climbed the mound to capture the loinliness of these three fisherman and their efforts at catching enough to eat for the night. Also, remember where the sun is, had I move lower down, I probably would not have gotten the same "feel" as what I was after... Putting it in black and white enhanced the shot superbly. Which reminds me, sometimes, changing from colour to balck and white or even sepia can enhance the desired effect of a shot. Photo taken at La Lucia, a place called Beach Bums... Yes, was there several times, what can I say, I like the place.

Anyway, moving along...

Another classic black and white, this time taken at Salt Rock . Quickly adjusted shutter speed to 800, aperture again at F3.5 and auto ISO (125) and crouched down to snap this couple as the woman reaches for the guy's hand. Sadly, the sun was in my face which made it a challenge but I managed quite okay.

---o0o---

Okay, now for a good sunrise... or two. I literally sat myself down on my ass, not having a viewfinder has it's advantages sometimes I tell you. You see, I can squat or plonk myself down, hold the camera in ways that look quite particular to onlookers and get good photos. In this case, there was only one other person on the beach. I nearly got the "rule of thirds" with this one, but was just a little out. My focus was on the horizon, the sun would have done damage to the lens. Adjusted ISO to 200, shutter speed to 600 and aperture again at F3.5 (I must break that habit) and no tripod, the other alternative was to lie flat on my belly... um, no, not this time. I steadied myself with my arms resting on my knees, lowered the camera to just above my ankles and strained my neck downward to see that I had the camera right. The result was... in the words of people who have seen the picture, "beautiful". I nearly got the enforced 'rule of thirds' down with this one... just a tad out, if I could have only got the sun more central without risking damaging my lens due to the sun glaring directly into the lens.

Again, in the squatting position. This time closer to the waves, I pointed my camera towards the oncoming wave, set my focus and waitied but mere seconds for the wave to creap in. As it reached its peak, I clicked the shutter down... booyah! Prime 'rule of thirds' on this one! ---o0o--- Right, 'rule of thirds'... one part water, one part land and one part sky... again almost captured properly. I say almost because if you look at it, is it really? To the untrained eye, a resounding yes. But, to those in the know, this would be a case of "well, it's okay, you could have..." blah, blah, blah... I think it was a great shot! I mean look at it, it has everything that would sell well to a tourism magiazine. It captivates the imagination as to where this place is... This is outside Scottburgh on the way to the 'rural' areas. A low bridge where we screamed STOP!! We just had to get a photo of this (man, I wish I could take credit for this one but I now have a tag team partner) but a freind had my Sony with her and she lept out and got into position as I'd taught her just the day before (get level with your subject) and adjusted my camera to settings I'm still not sure of...

---o0o--

Another one I cannot take all the credit for, but I did check the settings afterwards. ISO 125, shutter speed 640, aperture F3.5. Just lovely capure of the contrasting ash mounds and the wild flowers that populate parts of it now, the gloomy days are always tricky to work with but playing with your settings can make a difference.

Macro, getting up close - part 2

2009-05-27T19:46:00.012+02:00

Now to get slightly more serious about macro… These were taken with my all new Sony DSC-H10, not the camera of choice by photographers, but a good camera to learn with nonetheless when you are on a budget. So, I had the camera but mere days, I was excited and anxious to see what it can do, with this image, the lense of my camera was about 20mm away from my subject.

In order to get a good macro, you need to make sure your target is in focus and the rest of the image, especially the background, is completely out of focus, or as close to as possible.

This "Hen n Chicken" flower is less than a centimeter in diameter, I estimate to be about 7mm wide actually. If you click on the image to view full size, you can see the amount of detail captured. I think I did a good job of snapping this one up, but critics may differ.

---o0o---

Ooh, I don’t know what flowers these are, but I can tell you this, each is only 4-5mm in diameter in full bloom (measured). Again, it was tough to get the flowers in focus. Here I used an aperture of F3.5 and a shutter speed of 400… ISO was on 200 because I was still playing with shutter speeds and aperture and using the built in ND filter (still need to find out what that is lol) I took a few photos until I got this one in focus properly. But, alas, I still had the shutter speed wrong as there is miniscule motion blur on some of the flowers… but it gives a nice effect. I also see a bug had taken a taste of two of the petals… nom, nom, nom haha erm, moving along. Notice the backgorund is almost completely blurred, getting better...

---o0o---

Now, this Praying Mantis was a friendly bugger… crisp morning about 7:30 am, shutter speed was at 800, aperture at F3.5 and ISO again at 200. This time the ISO was wrong but the rest was just right, you can tell by the amount of digital noise I’ve picked up. Hey, by this time I’d only had the camera a week and a half, having only weekends to really play with it. So anyway, I couldn’t get quite as close as I would have liked, I wanted the whole mantis in the image so I had to back up a bit while he politely posed and it looks like he smiled at me too.

---o0o---

Back again for another visit to Ballito, we went for breakfast at a place called "Beach Bums" in La Lucia brought me to this tiny little shell… about 1cm in diameter it posed intrigue. This time I had my shutter speed right at 800, aperture at F3.5 again ( I usually use this aperture as you will learn) and the morning light was perfect. I didn’t want to get too close to my subject because I wanted to get quite a bit of the beach sand in as well to emphasize on how tiny this shell was. Sometimes it’s good to keep some distance, it enhances the quality of the shot… well in this case maybe.

---o0o---

Okay, one of the first images I uploaded, taken on Saturday 22 May 2009. It’s of a seed, but I got too close because the fine “hairs” were actually touching the lens of my camera. Click to enlarge to see the tiny dew droplets… Shutter speed 800 again, aperture F3.5. “Nice shot with the dew, try to keep attention to the subject here and the rest OOF (out of focus)” “Not a bad shot the highlights are a bit too overpowering and there doesn’t really seem to be a focus point in the photo. I think if you took this from a bit further away it would have made a better image.” “Nice idea, not sure as your focus is only 6.3mm away and slight loss of detail”

Anyway, that's it for now... catch another installment later...

Macro, getting up close - part 1

2009-05-27T19:17:00.008+02:00

Okay, macros are tricky because it's usually tiny objects you are focussing on or trying to squeeze in as much detail into a small space as possible. I love macro, but it can get limiting unless you have good subjects, like the one below...

The images below were still taken with my measly Kodak C713, remember this camera has no major settings, but it does have a macro, which was cool, but you can only get so close…

The shell in this image is approximately 2cm in diameter. Notice the shadow being cast, you can see it’s still early morning and the sun is still very low. I didn't want to get too close so as to demonstrate the vastness of the surroundings. The ISO was set a little brighter to capture the shell properly. I took my time (not that I had much because of the waves coming closer lol) and gently pressed on the trigger button to make sure that the auto focus on the camera was staying on the shell and not shifting over to something else. Click, perfect (well, close enough) on the first attempt because just seconds later a wave caught the shell tipping it upside down. Well, I had to grab a picture of that too because it just looked so cool…

Oh man… look at the detail in this pole, it’s part of a shelter on the beach and I just loved the way the bugs have eaten away at the exterior leaving this awesome pattern… This was taken later that same day as we were relaxing on the beach doing less than nothing…

Okay, macro part one done...

Beach morning - Ponta do Ouro, Mozambique

2009-05-26T22:33:00.009+02:00

Ah, nothing like waking up in the early hours of the morning, taking the thirty odd steps to get onto the beach and seeing a view like this... what a beautiful way to start the morning before breakfast and then basking in the sunshine and splashing in the waves.

---o0o---

This picture was taken before I invested in a proper digital camera, so I couldn't really change any settings. I had to settle for a low ISO (on the standard Kodak C713 it is -2.0) to capture all the elements and create an image that would be something worthy of keeping.

Collin Scott Photograhpy

2009-05-25T21:15:00.001+02:00

Hi, I'm Collin Scott. Welcome to my photography blog. I hail from Pretoria, South Africa. I have started this blog to share my love for photography. Over the next while you will have the privelage of learning about taking amazing pictures while I learn how to improve my photographic skills. With each post I will include a little info on how, when and where each picture was taken. Feel free to post some comments, share tips on getting a better photo and so on... So, sit back, read and enjoy as I develop myself into a good, no wait, great photographer.