Swiftcurrent Lake Panoramic, Glacier National Park
Technorati Tags: Glacier National Park, Landscape, Stock Photo, Fine Art, Photography, Mount Grinnell, Swiftcurrent Lake, Nature, Montana, Many Glaciers
Copyright Jim M. Goldstein, All Rights Reserved
]]>Enter LR2/Mogrify, a Lightrooom plug-in created by Timothy Armes, that adeptly fills the void. Mogrify provides functionality to apply borders, text and graphical watermarks. Mogrify also harnesses the power of Lightroom to batch process photographs. The combination of these functions makes for an incredibly valuable photographic solution.
Since the end of 2008 I have been a diehard LR2/Mogrify user. The cost for Mogrify is what you are willing to pay. It is donation based and receiving the activation key opens up all functionality with in the plug-in (otherwise you’re limited to watermarking 10 images per export).
How I Use Mogrify
Once I finalize my highest rated images per photoshoot (post-process, add metadata, etc.) I select one or all and right click to Export my photos for web display. In Lightroom I use the Mogrify plugin to apply a transparent graphical watermark. Depending on the tonal range of the image I’ll select preset export settings to apply a watermark with the appropriate opacity and color (white or black). The watermarked images created from these automated exports are then used for all my online activity (e-commerce site, photo forums, personal blog, etc.).
My Mogrify Set-up
It just so happens that I needed to set up my laptop with Mogrify so that I could keep momentum moving for my online efforts while abroad. Below are steps I’ve taken to set up my laptop, mirroring my home workstation configuration, to export my photographs for web use.
- Download Mogrify & uncompress it.
- Place the plug-in in a folder of my choice for Lightroom Plug-ins
- Load Lightroom 2.x
- Go to File Menu > Plug-In Manager and add/locate the Plug-in
- Enter my Activation Code and click the “Done” button
- Load images from a folder, make your selections and right click to “Export”
6. An Export window will load with a variety of options. In the bottom left corner are Mogrify options that can be added as an export option in the main Export window.
7. Seeing as how I’m interested in using a Graphical watermark I select the Mogrify option “Graphical Watermark” and press the “Insert” button. In the process the “Mogrify Configuration” option will automatically be added.
8. From top to bottom the following configurations are made to the…
Default Settings:
- “Export to a specific folder” is selected so that all saved files go to a folder titled “watermarked photos”.
- File names are customized adding a suffix of “_c” before “.jpg” to designate that the photo has been watermarked, contains metadata and has been resized.
- Sharpening options are set to “Screen”/”Standard” since my images are to be used exclusively online.
- Metadata is set to be embedded in the image file via the check box “Write Keywords as Lightroom Hierarchy”.
Mogrify Graphical Watermark Settings:
- Specify the location of my watermark graphic (a transparent PNG file)
- Select the location on my images where my watermark will appear
Note: You can have the watermark appear multiple times - Configure the dimensions of the watermark as it is to appear
Note: This is a fixed value as opposed to a percentage - Specify the overlay mode to “Normal”
- Specify exported files will be shown in the finder.
9. At the conclusion of my setting configuration I will click the “Add” button at the bottom of the Presets pane on the left of the Export window. This will save the presets for future reference.
10. I’ll repeat step 8 for each watermark variation that I create. I have a total of 16 settings total that I reference.
25% White (horizontal & vertical)
50% White (horizontal & vertical)
75% White (horizontal & vertical)
100% White (horizontal & vertical)
25% Black (horizontal & vertical)
50% Black (horizontal & vertical)
75% Black (horizontal & vertical)
100% Black (horizontal & vertical)
For an image with a maximum dimension of 500 pixels I set my horizontal watermarks to be no greater than 200 pixels wide and my vertical watermarks to be no greater than 160 pixels wide. As of late I’ve been experimenting utilizing the smaller watermark for horizontal and vertical images to keep things simple.
Now as I work I can right click on an image or set of images and select an Export Preset saving me time and effort that would otherwise be spent individually configuring my watermarks.
For those familiar with my online photographic images the output is exemplified in the following photo. Is my process perfect? I can’t say that it is as I’m likely to refine it over time. Thanks to LR2/Mogrify I have the means to fine tune functionality & presentation options that are otherwise missing from the default install of Lightroom 2.x. It is for that reason that I highly recommend LR2/Mogrify to others interested in watermarking their photographs in a quick and efficient manner.
St. Mary's Lake - Glacier National Park
Try It You’ll Like It
If you’d like to try out Mogrify visit Timothy Armes web site.
You might also want to follow him on Twitter (@timothyarmes)
If you’re interested in learning more about Mogrify and other border/watermark capabilities check out:
Watermarking with Lightroom and LR2/Mogrify – The Lightroom Queen
She is also someone you may want to follow on Twitter (@lightroomqueen)
Technorati Tags: Lightroom, Mogrify, Tips & Tricks, Tutorial, Software, Photography, Lightroom Queen, Timothy Armes, Adobe Lightroom
Copyright Jim M. Goldstein, All Rights Reserved
]]>When A Photo of Foggy San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge Is Not Enough
]]>
Foggy San Francisco & Golden Gate Bridge Sunrise
When looking at this photo are you missing anything? I can assure you you’re missing out on the adrenaline rush I got running to get in place to take this photo, but as a viewer sight is only part of the experience. Our other senses provide so much more and its for this reason you always hear photographers repeat over and over “enjoying the experience behind the camera is as important as getting your photo”. Smell, Taste and Touch have yet to be addressed in the world of photography and for most subjects that’s just fine! Audio on the other hand can really enhance the viewing experience of a photograph or series of photographs. Adding motion into the mix and you add yet another dimension that transports viewers to what you’re capturing. Is it all too much? For some purists it will likely be argued “yes”, but as time goes on we may find Still Photography relies less and less on being “still” let alone silent.
For your viewing and listening enjoyment 30 seconds of birds, wind, fog horns and ambient traffic noise heard while photographing fog rolling through the Golden Gate Bridge into the San Francisco Bay. While this looks as though its just audio put to a still image this is in fact video so watch carefully for the movement in the fog.
Technorati Tags: San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, Fog, Foggy, Travel, Stock Video, Stock Photo
Copyright Jim M. Goldstein, All Rights Reserved
When A Photo of Foggy San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge Is Not Enough
]]>
The advent of the app store has opened a large number of applications for niche markets and one of the most popular markets that developers have been targeting has been photography. The number of photography applications for the iPhone pales in comparison to the number of games that have been released, but what the numbers don’t reveal is the high percentage of quality apps versus junk available to photographers. Below are 11 photography related applications that I have on my iPhone and have been using even more following my upgrade to the iPhone 3G S.
Note: If you missed it see my Apple iPhone 3G S Camera Review.
PhotoCalc 
 |
This is the Swiss Army knife of photography applications. It contains a Depth of Field calculator that allows you to determine Hyperfocal Distance, Near Limit, Far Limit, etc. based on Focal Length, Aperture and Subject distance values. There is also a Flash Exposure calculator taking into account Aperture, ISO, Flash Power, Subject Distance and Guide Number. A solar calculator that is based on your location will keep you informed to when Twilight Begins/Ends, Sunrise, Solar Noon, and Sunset happens. There is also data on Moonrise, Moonset and Moon Phase. If that weren’t enough there is a Reference area for Glossary terms, Zone System info, the Sunny 16 Rule, Films, Filters and an Exposure Reciprocation calculator.
Tiffen Cool fx
Tiffen has transitioned nicely to the world the iPhone. Their Cool fx filter application provides 36 color filters, 54 black & white filters, 63 Diffusion/Texture filters, 27 film grain filters and 18 color temperature filters. Filters can be saved as “virtual” layers and images are saved out as new files. This application provides a new lease on creativity with iPhone generated photographs.
Tiffen Photo fx
Tiffen’s other filter product while not as robust provides more stylistic filters including 6 Wild fx filters, 4 Classic fx filters, 6 Fun fx filters, 6 Outer fx filters and 4 Face fx filters. With the ability to save out photos with filters applied to them it’s easy to experiment mixing and matching effects from multiple applications.
Color Splash
Color Splash enables you to convert a photograph to Black & White while selecting an area to remain in color. The application enables you to save editing sessions and resume editing sessions that are incomplete. The controls (Pan/Zom, Color, Gray, Mask and Brush) take some getting use to and its not as precise as a more robust desktop application like Photoshop, but it does get the job done. As with the previous applications noted images are saved out leaving the original intact.
Photogene
 |
Is a handy application that allows you to adjust levels, exposure, colors and RGB settings for a photo taken on an iPhone. Cropping tools, Framing templates, Thought/Speech bubbles and Sharpening functions are also available. This application has been a gold mine in that it is able to clean up photos quite easily and effectively. This is usually the first application I run when preparing a photo taken on my iPhone and in my mind is the Adobe Photoshop of the iPhone.
TiltShift
A fun application that applies lens or gaussian blur adjustments to a photo to mimic a tilt-shift lens effect. The tilt-shift lens effect being the means to create an optical illusion that you’re looking at a toy like scene. The controls do require a bit more thought than one might hope for, but the end effect works well.
DoF Calculator
 |
A straight forward Depth of Field Calculator that factors in “Film Format”. The “Film Format” value takes in to account magnification factors which is something that was missing from PhotoCalc. Calculations are to 7 decimal points and seems to be highly accurate. Other than “Film Format” calculations are based on Focal Length, Aperture and Distance. Results are provided for Focus Distance, Near Limit, Far Limit, Total DoF, Circle of Confusion and Hyperfocal Distance.
CameraBag
CameraBag lets you take a new photo or select an existing photo to give a Helga, Magazine, Mono, 1974, Infrared, Original, Lolo, Instant, 1962, Cinema or Fisheye look to. The application doesn’t provide much control over each image treatment, but as a pre-canned solution it works well. I use this application selectively usually at the end of my iPhone photo workflow.
Pano
A handy software solution to create Panoramic photos using your iPhone. The software allows you to take photos and align them for clean stitching. There are few to no controls in this application so its a mixed bag, it’s straight forward and simple yet no room for fine tuning.
Google Earth
While not specifically a photo application the iPhone version of Google Earth provides a mobile research tool that every photographer should have on hand. The ability examine locations before hand or in transit is great and on top of that you can see photos taken near locations of interest and access Wikipedia entries if any exist for your area of interest. All around one of the slickest applications I’ve seen for the iPhone.
FocalWare
 |
I’ve saved my favorite application for last. FocalWare provides data essential to photographers who photograph outdoor subjects. The application can work off your exact location (via GPS), locations you manually set or locations that exist in an included list of locations. Why is this application so valuable? Sun & Moon location, in relation to due North, is provided in degrees, elevation and time of day. This provides an exact means of researching and preparing to photograph a subject with specific lighting or placement of the sun/moon in the scene. The controls for this application are dirt simple and its also possible to see data for dates far in the future.
Technorati Tags: Photography, iPhone, App, App Store, Apple
Copyright Jim M. Goldstein, All Rights Reserved
]]>1. Chase Jarvis CURRENT: The Consequences of Creativity
For some a photo alone can be inspiration and for some a video that clubs you over the head with great ideas will do the trick. Chase wields his club with caveman like surgical precision. What the hell does that mean?! It means no matter who you are, what your photographic skill level is, or background this video is sure to get you off your butt to do something creative this weekend.
2. William Neill’s Meditation in Monochrome eBook
The digital edition of Meditation in Monochrome has stuck with me after several viewings challenging my artistic view of the world. By no means has it converted me to a B&W photographer, as color photography resonates with me far too much. What it has done with its high quality presentation, ease of access & review via PDF format and masterful photographs has challenged me to view my photographic subjects differently. It has reinforced my deep appreciation of how other nature photographers to see our world in Black & White. It also has inspired me to take a closer look at electronic publishing. William Neill’s life long efforts have been inspiring enough, but this particular project has given me a source of inspiration that is only a click away on my computer.
3. Playing with Time (via John Nack’s blog)
I’ll cheat on this counting a couple of photo/video artists under this one entry:
Andrew Curtis’s Cinco De Mayo Carnival timelapses and David Coiffier super slow motion video rugby, fire-breathing and more. For me these videos are visually engaging, they get my creative juices flowing analyzing the visual and logistical components of such a capture and change my mindset in how I evaluate photographic or video opportunities.
Now it’s your turn… add a comment and help me fill out a list of 1,000 Points of Inspiration no matter how small or large the inspiration might be.
Technorati Tags: Photography, Inspiration, William Neill, Chase Jarvis, John Nack, timelapse, video
Copyright Jim M. Goldstein, All Rights Reserved
]]>What might surprise you is that I almost missed this opportunity out of sheer laziness. I knew conditions were lining up to be good the evening before and I set my alarm for 5am… 40 minutes before sunrise. I had been working on photos until about 1am that morning and when my alarm went off I had a tough time getting my butt in gear. I got up, looked out my window and I could see a clear view above a fog layer in the valley beneath the hill I live on. What this meant is that the fog was receding and hugging the coast making the odds the bridge would be poking out of the fog a near certainty. Even still I got back in bed and after much internal debate I got myself up and out of the house. It should be noted to minimize my own internal resistance I had my gear ready to go the night before so no extra effort was needed… I just needed to get on the road.
Golden Gate Bridge Shrouded in Fog at Sunrise
More Golden Gate Bridge fine art and stock photos
To say I’m happy that I eventually got up is an understatement. The conditions turned out to be perfect and the rate at which the fog receded was astonishingly quick. With in a matter of 90-120 minutes the fog lowered in level from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge towers to below the bridge span. The morning air was cool, filled with the sound of birds chirping and of course foghorns. Beyond getting photographs of this phenomenon it was just fun to witness. Heck even the drive back was exciting as the fog was barely spilling over the bridge.
Technorati Tags: Photography, San Francisco, Travel, California, Fog, Golden Gate Bridge, Stock Photo, Fine Art
Copyright Jim M. Goldstein, All Rights Reserved
]]>Rolling Shutter
One thing that has not changed is the use of a rolling shutter in the camera. It’s not that this is horrible by any means, but it does translate to a unique facet of the cameras image capturing capabilities. Horizontal images of fast moving subjects or subjects where you’re panning quickly will warp as the shutter rolls to capture the scene. A rolling shutter was present in the iPhone and iPhone 3G and is here to stay in the iPhone 3Gs as well. For some this will be an annoyance and for others it will provide a new creative opportunity.
iPhone 3G S Rolling Shutter Aberration
Resolution
It’s tough to ignore technical specifications of megapixels with digital cameras and the iPhone 3G S now boasts output of 3 megapixel photos. (See iPhone 3G S Technical Specifications) What is remarkable is that this resolution is greater than that of my first digital camera roughly 10 years ago and its now in my phone. We often take for granted resolution specifications and get jaded when it comes to phones. Sure I know there are other phone manufacturers that put in higher resolution sensors in their cell phones, but this step up gives mobile iPhone photographers a little more flexibility to crop photos or just print slightly larger prints.
Zoe photographed with an iPhone 3G S in Shaded Light Outdoors
Note: This photo is not full resolution and has not been adjusted
Focusing Lens
This could be one of the biggest improvements in the iPhone camera. In past generations of the iPhone the lens was fixed limiting photographic opportunities based on how far or close you were to your subject. The range in which one can focus is quite impressive and opens the door to a wider variety of subjects you can photograph.
Focusing Distance: Macro
Amazingly the focusing lens enables one to focus on a subject as close as an inch to inch and a half away. This opens up the possibility of exploring macro photography or capturing print for future reference. I have to admit this aspect of the camera has really captured my imagination as of late. Past iPhones tended to focus on subjects roughly 18 inches away. Being able to focus on a subject inches away is impressive to say the least.
iPhone 3G S Macro Capabilities
On Screen Focus / Exposure Selection
One of the coolest features is a touch screen focusing feature. While you can Point, Focus and Shoot like a standard digital camera the iPhone adds a feature to view your subject as you compose and touch the screen to identify the focal point. This level of focusing control ensures sharp images and creative control.
iPhone 3G S On Screen Focus Point Set By Touch
Low Light
Taking images in low light situations is easier thanks to features such as the on screen focus selection, but the output is still quite noisy in very dark situations. For a cell phone the performance is decent. The images are definitely a step above past performance of previous generation iPhones. As you’d expect your best bet is to use the camera in good lighting situations for best performance.
Curly Photographed with an iPhone 3G S in Low Light to Highlight Digital Noise
Video
Here in lies the biggest improvement to the iPhone. The ability to capture video puts the iPhone on par with other video enabled phones. Is the video as good as competitors like Nokia? I can’t say that the VGA output is on par with some of the Nokia N9x phones. There is no zoom and output resolution is not HD. Where the iPhone lacks in resolution though it makes up in usability. The iPhone operating system facilitates the sharing of captured video through YouTube and cataloging of captured videos in iPhoto when docked. What has impressed me about how video is managed on the iPhone is the ability to edit/trim captured videos with in the camera. Editing is easy and it compliments the ease of video publishing to YouTube.
Crazy Moe – iPhone 3Gs Test Video
Overall Performance
One thing that is noticeable from the first time you start using the iPhone is how quickly applications load and how little lag there is when moving between applications. Processing intensive applications / functionality like video editing is quick and effortless. One thing that would consistently happen to me on the iPhone and 3G iphone is the sudden crash of Safari if I had memory intensive web sites open. After use of the phone for over a week I’ve yet to experience any sort of application crash providing a very stable environment to work, surf and play.
Concluding Thoughts
From a photographers perspective the iPhone 3G S is everything I wanted the iPhone to be when I first stood in line to buy one in 2006 2007. Camera performance is very good, image resolution is good and video functionality adds a dimension to the phone that was sorely missed. Offered in 16GB and 32GB options, capacity is in line with the functionality made available. While I tend to fill my iPhones to near capacity out of habit over time with some discipline there is more than enough space to make full use of the still/video camera while holding a sizable music and application library on the phone. The iPhone is undeniably a great mobile phone and I can now say, finally, that the camera lives up to the rest of the phone.
Stay tuned for my next blog post 11 Must Have Photography iPhone Applications .
To see more iPhone 3G S photos check out my iPhone Flickr Photostream
To see more iPhone 3G S videos check out my “jimgoldstein” YouTube channel
Technorati Tags: iPhone 3G S, iPhone, Apple, review, camera, digital, video
Copyright Jim M. Goldstein, All Rights Reserved
]]>Mount Grinnell Reflected in Swiftcurrent Lake at Sunrise, Glacier National Park
]]>
Mount Grinnell Reflected in Swiftcurrent Lake at Sunrise
Mount Grinell Reflected in Swiftcurrent Lake at Sunrise, Glacier National Park
How this photo was taken:
This is a 32 megapixel digital panoramic taken with a Canon TS-24mm f/3.5 L lens. Three vertical photos were taken by shifting the lens and later merged in Photoshop. I’ll end up sharing more about this technique in the future.
Technorati Tags: Photography, Landscape, Glacier National Park, Mount Grinnell, Swiftcurrent Lake, Nature, Montana, Many Glaciers
Copyright Jim M. Goldstein, All Rights Reserved
Mount Grinnell Reflected in Swiftcurrent Lake at Sunrise, Glacier National Park
]]>
Ponderosa Pine Tree Bark Detail, Yosemite National Park
The bark of the Ponderosa Pine from afar looks as though its covered in large scales, but as you get closer the large scales actually reveal their true structure. Layers upon layers of puzzle like pieces create the thick protective layer and structure to the trunk of the tree.
Burnt Bark of a Ponderosa Pine Tree, Yosemite National Park
Taking a closer look at the burnt bark of trees in the vicinity, loose layers of bark are gone leaving only a tightly packed layers of bark. The puzzle like pieces of the bark retain their loose shape, but glisten like shiny charcoal.
I’d venture to say that most people wouldn’t think of burnt bark as having any quality of beauty, but as a macro subject I thought it did. Granted I much prefer seeing a forest in a lush state rather than burnt, identifying burnt bark as a photographic subject is a lesson in itself.
When photographing nature subjects, or any other really, its important to check preconceived notions of beauty at the door. Observing the world as though you’ve never seen it before has a lot of merit. Mind you I will admit it bugs my wife when we go on walks… I’m always observing and pointing out minutia of the environment that most normal people would never have taken a second look at.
A while back Chase Jarvis posed the question, “When was the last time you shot something for the first time?” and I’d counter, “When is the last time you photographed something as though it were your first time?” Getting into the mode of rediscovery has proven to be as invaluable to me as immersing myself into a new environment to photograph. Try it. It might just light a creative fire for you.
Technorati Tags: Photography, Macro, Fire, Yosemite, Yosemite National Park
Copyright Jim M. Goldstein, All Rights Reserved
]]>1. Photographer Attribution & Contact Info
Metadata provides you the means to identify yourself as the photographer behind the photograph. If for any reason your photograph is used with out proper attribution a view of the metadata embedded in the photograph will reveal your identity and how to contact you.
@willbl: …contact details in case image goes walkies & someone wants to find out who it belongs to
@ajlmarques: …also contact info (site, email, phone)
2. Copyright
On the legal front specifying Copyright information in your metadata informs others what copyright terms are assigned to your photograph. As with watermarks, embedding this data discloses copyright terms to others. In the event of copyright infringement one question asked will be if you the photographer made clear the photograph was copyrighted. Between watermarks and embedded copyright info you should be more than covered.
@thatchrisbrown I have LR add copyright metadata during import…
@kwm: Routinely populate fields related to copyright…
@scuba_suzy i’ve set my camera up to fill in the copyright metadata because I kept forgetting to do in it adobe bridge.
3. Keywords
Newer software applications targeting photographers are now addressing the need of document access management (DAM). Lightroom is among the most popular and while not a true DAM solution it provides a solid low cost solution for photographers. Being able to query a database of images improves a photographers productivity. While keywording isn’t the most exciting task the effort can be streamlined and even automated.
@thatchrisbrown …uses keywords with smart collections in Lightroom
@raminm use metadata to easily find many of the pictures he needs
@stevelfko metadata is important for finding images next year
4. Licensing Notes
Another solid use of metadata is to attach licensing information in your image. This saves you the time of referencing separate documentation that can easily get misplaced. While this isn’t an end all solution it is another example of storing data with the image in ways that can save you and your clients time.
@enlightphoto not only enters copyright and creator info but includes special instructions or rights if sold
5. Anticipation of the Orphan Works Legislation
Interestingly enough no one mentioned using metadata in anticipation of the Orphan Works Legislation (OWL). While the OWL hasn’t been at the forefront of news recently thanks to the economic crisis it’s important to not lose sight of it. Consistently employing metadata now will in the end save you time as requirements surrounding this legislation are defined. Metadata will likely be a central component to future OWL legislation to identify photos and/or to transfer data to registries upon submission. The jury is still out on what will be required but best to think long-term
Recommended Reading
Photographer Phil Colla (@philcolla on Twitter) recently posted an incredibly detailed article about his approach to metadata
Be sure to check it out…
Metadata, Photography and Workflow for the Web
Technorati Tags: Photography, Metadata, Workflow
Copyright Jim M. Goldstein, All Rights Reserved
]]>