Creativity with Urban Art and Topaz Adjust...

With these photos, I used one of my favorite Photoshop plug-ins, Topaz Adjust. The Spicify preset intensifies color, and brings out detail, similar to an HDR image. The filter description... "Spice up your photo naturally, yet noticeably" which it does very effectively. Spicify can create an edgy-grunge effect that works well with certain subjects. With each photo, I reduced the opacity of the filter layer so the overall effect was less intense. If you have people in your image, you may wish to use the filter selectively instead of globally. Converting to Smart Filters allows you to do this easily, just invert the mask and you can brush in the effect where you want it (or vice versa). A Wacom tablet and pen is perfect for this, and you can adjust the opacity and hardness of the brush. The last image is a "before and after" of the effect of Spicify, quite a transformation! You can see how the filter impacts the detail, color and exposure. Have fun with your digital images!

Taming Dragons in Photoshop...

You can easily create a new look for an image by using a little creativity in Photoshop! The colors of this urban art dragon were inverted in Photoshop (Control/Command I) and then softened with Topaz Adjust Portrait Smooth for a painterly look. The image below shows the original dragon colors. 

If you really want to have fun with color, alter the Hue by making a Hue Saturation adjustment layer! For the purple dragon below, I inverted the original and adjusted Hue to create a new look. An adjustment in Hue gives you control over colors, and can make a very different interpretation of the original image. 

We do this, and more in my four week online course, Photoshop - Enhancing Images and Creating Works of Art at Betterphoto.com. Classes start in July! I hope to see you there!

Stormy Weather...

Stormy weather provides wonderful opportunities for the photographer. You can capture dramatic cloud formations and fantastic lightning! This scene was photographed from the top deck of the St. Petersburg Pier during a lightning storm. It was beautiful to watch from afar.

Want to try to photograph lightning this summer? You'll need a safe location, tripod, cable release and the bulb setting on your camera. Manual focus, (so the camera isn't trying to autofocus for each shot). You can also use a Lightning Trigger, which works great for this purpose. At that moment, my Lightning Trigger was over the bridge and in my car, near that bolt of lightning. I decided to do it the old fashioned way, by using the bulb setting to expose for the length of time needed. I used a 24-70mm lens, allowing about 60 seconds for the sky paint the picture. Exposure times vary depending on light conditions. Experiment with a few settings to see what works best. Be safe and have fun shooting!

Walking on Clouds...

This couple looks as if they are walking on clouds. The sky and and its reflection surrounds them, creating a picturesque scene. There's nothing quite as romantic as walking along the beach, listening to the sounds, and seeing the beauty of the ocean. 

This photo was taken after an intense storm that left the sky beautiful. To capture an expressive sky, try using a wide angle lens to take in all the wonderful color and detail. Or, you can do what I did here, and use a compact camera. Compact cameras are lightweight, fit in your pocket, and you can carry one everywhere, no excuses for missed opportunities!  Make great pictures! ~ Deb

Twilight and a little Bokeh Magic...

Twilight is the perfect time to photograph amusement parks. Colorful lights stand out beautifully against a deep blue sky. This is a wonderful opportunity to experiment with using longer exposures for creative effects. Rather than freeze the action, change your camera settings to convey motion. Here's how you do it: Mount your camera on a tripod. Use a remote cable release. Choose a small aperture and a low ISO setting. This will help lengthen the exposure time needed to record the colorful motion as a soft blur.

With a little digital darkroom fun, you can add magic to your image! Try the radial blur in Alien Skin's Bokeh, a Photoshop plug-in that gives you a lot of creative options with focus and blur. You can control the "aperture" by choosing a diaphragm shape. I chose the 5-blade pentagon that added little stars to the highlight areas in my photo. Try it and see! Have fun shooting! ~ Deb

Muse at Twilight...

Dramatic weather creates a wonderful opportunity for photographing familiar subjects under different conditions. I noticed an impending storm on the horizon, and raced downtown (Orlando, FL) to capture my favorite "muse" under an expressive sky. I used a wide angle lens to capture more of her surroundings, and photographed during twilight for the most beautiful blue color possible.

Light conditions can be tricky. If you have Live View enabled on your camera, you can scroll through and see the effect of various white balance settings. This statue is illuminated by reflected light that keeps changing, so it was helpful to see how the various settings altered the color. Auto white balance did a good job here. ISO 200, f/11, 13 second exposure. Minimal post post processing (slight adjustment in contrast). Have fun shooting this summer! ~ Deb

Twilight at the Plaza...

Downtown Orlando is a happening place. This is one of my favorite locations, the Plaza! It has wonderful statues and interesting architecture. The best time to see it is at twilight as the color of the sky paints a beautiful picture. For this image, I used a 16mm fisheye lens that creates a unique distortion that I find charming!

Want to give twilight photography a try? You'll need your tripod, shutter release cable (or you can use the self timer), and bring a flashlight. Arrive at your location before sunset and try a few compositions to find your favorites. Check your white balance setting. City scenes such as this often have mixed lighting, so you may want to experiment with different settings. Shoot in Raw format, so you can tweak things later. Twilight time, camera equipment, and lighting conditions will vary influencing exposure time. This particular image was photographed about 25 minutes after sunset. Have fun shooting! ~ Deb

Beacon of Light...

The Old Point Loma lighthouse in San Diego, CA makes a wonderful subject for photography and creativity. The clear blue sky provided a great opportunity for a little artistry in Photoshop! The entire image took me just a few minutes from start to finish. I used two plug-ins from OnOne Software: PhotoTools for the unique filigree and scrollwork vintage effect, and Photoframe for the perfect finishing touch, a nautical edge treatment. Have fun and make great pictures!

PS - There is still time to sign up for my online classes at BetterPhoto.com! Join the fun!

Heavenly...

This is one of my favorite stained glass windows. It was photographed in Europe, and I thought the little angels looked just heavenly! I wanted to create a version that was more graphic, with texture, something a little more storybook, or illustrative in effect. This was easy to do by simplifying the image and adding a layer of texture.

 

The version above reminds me of intaglio printmaking. If you want to try this, you can use the Stamp tool in Photoshop. From the Menu choose Filters>Sketch>Stamp or if you have Snap Art, use Stylize>Line Art. I added an interesting layer of texture that I photographed in Cuba. It seems to look different with each photo and worked well with this one. A Blend Mode of Soft Light was used, and I slightly reduced the opacity of the texture layer. It might be fun to incorporate something like this into a larger piece with text and filigree. Try it and see!

Pier Bait House (and how to catch a pelican)...

The Pier Bait House in St. Peterburg, FL is a great place to photograph! You can get Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream here, which you'll need for a hot day. Fishing gear, bait, cold drinks, you name it... it's all at the bait house.

There are pelicans everywhere, waiting for a handout such as the wishful thinking pelican below who was keeping a close eye on me. He let me come close enough to get a birds eye view of his world. I rested my camera on the ground, used a 12-24mm wide angle lens to get this beak-to-lens shot.

I couldn't resist using a little interesting texture for a painterly look in this image. Hope to see you down at the pier one evening! Summer clouds are building and there are many great photo opportunities! 

I hope to see you in online at BetterPhoto.com this Wednesday too! Photoshop Enhancing Images & Creating Works of Art starts for the month of June. One of the many things we'll cover will be ways to use creatively use texture in your photos. Make great pictures! ~ Deb

Creativity on the Coast...

Creativity on the Coast
October 10-15
Orick, CA - North Coast

Located in Orick, CA amongst majestic redwoods and beautiful coastline, Lewis Kemper and Deborah Sandidge will be conducting a 5 day workshop focusing on getting creative with your digital imagery!

Photography opportunities will be in the magnificent Redwood National Park, and along the stunning California coast. Elk will be abundant in the cabin area creating many wonderful wildlife photo opportunities. You'll having morning and evening photography sessions and mid-day skill building presentations, critiques and demonstrations.

Our concentration will be on increasing your creativity whether it is trying something new like digital infrared (we will have a few loaner cameras available) or combining images to create greater depth of field with wildlife (elk),  or capturing the grandeur of the redwood trees in High Dynamic Range.

Topics covered will be HDR, infrared, specialty lenses, getting creative with filters and plug-ins, getting the most out of your Raw file, making a custom white balance and much more. Bring your laptop, we'll help you get the most out of your digital imagery!

Group size is limited to 12 photographers so there is plenty of one-on-one time for everyone. From in-field demos to post processing techniques and critiques, you'll have a comprehensive and fun week of photographic instruction!

Follow this link for more info.
Hope to see you in October!

Fill the Frame...

There is such wonderful strength and beauty in the design of these columns. I wanted to create a composition that emphasized the repeating shapes. You can do this by filling the frame using a zoom lens. This will help eliminate any background distractions, and allows you to make a compelling image that best features your subject.

For this image, I focused on the first column using a 70-200mm lens at f/2.8. This allowed the rest of the columns to fall into a soft blur, while the first is in sharp focus. This generates a little more depth and drama, and an interesting push-pull tension between the sharp and blurred areas. Alternatively, stopping down to a smaller aperture such as f/16 allows all the columns to be in sharp focus, which gives you another way to tell your story!  Have fun shooting! ~ Deb

Fly-in...

Welcome to San Diego! This was a photo that was fun to shoot. I'm standing over the interstate, watching planes land every few minutes. What fun! My biggest challenge was that I had to shoot through this...

But it works! When you find yourself needing to shoot through chain link, try using the widest aperture possible. Here I shot at f/2.8 with the lens nearly touching the wire (use a polarizer or UV filter to protect the lens). Any aperture stopped down produced visible links throughout the image. 

If you get lucky, you'll find yourself directly underneath a few airplanes like this Southwest jet getting ready to land! A fast shutter speed, focus tracking, and continuous high speed shooting mode will help you keep up with speedy jets. Have fun shooting! ~ Deb