Sturgis Bike Rally Trip, Shooting High Dynamic Range Photographs

Sturgis Bike Rally Trip, Shooting High Dynamic Range Photographs:

Well day 2 of our our annual Sturgis Bike Trip was as expected. We blew through Idaho and made it to our second nights destination , Alpine Wyoming. Idaho was hotter than heck. The only time we stopped was for fuel and water. We were on the freeway all day and even at 75 to 85 mph the wind didn’t cool us off much with the 100 plus degree temperatures. No photographs were taken, but we did cover about 500 miles.

Alpine Wyoming is about 40 miles south of Jackson Wyoming. Alpine is a great place to eat, drink, and a great place to start day three of our trip. We stopped on our way out of Jackson and I took a couple of quick shots of the Grand Tetons. I shot these to give an example of the difference between a normally exposed file and an HDR (high dynamic range) photograph. These were taken just prior to leaving the Tetons National Park at the south entrance to Yellowstone.

Normal Exposure: This shot was taken with average meter reading using aperture priority mode at f/16 and ISO @ 100. Shutter speed at 1/60 of a second.

High Dynamic Range Photograph: The initial exposure of this HDR image was taken with the same exposure settings as the image above.  An an additional exposure was taken at plus 1 1/2 stops for increased detail in the shadow area. The third exposure was taken at a minus 1 1/2 stops to capture more details in the highlights. The three exposures were then blended together using Photomatix software. Here is the resulting image.

The weather began to take a turn for the worse as we crossed the mountains and headed towards Dubois Wyoming and the Wind River area. We did stop long enough to capture the following image before we hit the worst of the bad weather.

After I took these exposures we hit some very severe weather. You can see the clouds coming in from a massive cold front which came out of Canada. The rest of the day we rode through wind, lightning, and a lot of rain, on route to our next scheduled stop, Cody Wyoming. We had planned to ride Bear Tooth Pass but it was closed due to snow that day! Bummer!

Normal Exposure: Taken with a Canon EOS 5D. Settings were at: aperture priority, f/11 and a 60th of a second shutter speed. ISO was set @ 100

This High Dynamic Range Image was created with the same process as the proceeding HDR using Photomatix’s HDR software and the detail image enhancement setting.

As you can see, there is a strong weather front coming in from the north,  we did get our butts soaked later in the day.

Stay tuned for our next installment of,  Roger and Terry’s 15 day road trip to Sturgis, and other cool places to travel in the Great Western US.By the way if you want to learn more about how to shoot digital photographs, or if you would like to give a nice gift to an aspiring photographer, check out my course on

 “Mastering Digital Photography Made Easy”. You can pick up a free sample here.

Till next time, Stay focused, Terry

HDR Digital Images, Sturgis Bike Trip 2009, First Day On The Road

Hey, I’m back from one heck of a ride. My riding buddy, Roger, and I were on the road for 15 days and it was quite an adventure this year. We experienced every kind of weather imaginal, including freezing rain, lightning storms, 50 to 60 mile an hour head and cross winds, a snow storm that closed Bear Tooth Pass,and a forest fire near Hat Creek in Northern California.

Our first day out was as we expected, fast and hard in 100 degree weather. We covered about 500 miles and didn’t stop much to take photographs. I did however spot an interesting old home near Ontario Oregon and took the time to take a quick photo. Here is what I came up with. I titled this one, “Priorities”. A guy has to do what a guy has to do. Ride like a bandit and to hell with the house maintainance!

Priorities

The Image above was taken in aperture priority mode at f/11 at 250th of a second. After taking this exposure I decided to do a High Dynamic Range Image and took three exposures. The first exposure was my standard or normal exposure. I then took 2 other exposures, one at 2 stops over exposed to captue detail in the shadows and another at 2 stops underexposed to capture detail in the highlights. The contrast range was too extreme to get good detail throughout the entire image and I felt is was a good opportunity have some fun with HDR do to the unusual subject matter.

Using “Photomatix” which is one of the HDR softwares that I use, I combined the 3 exposures using Photomatix’s, exposure blending mode and created a file with good detail in all three ranges, highlight, shadow, and mid tone. The example below has not had any additional color, tone, or density corrections made but, I now have a very well exposed file to work with in my final image creation process using Photoshop.

Priorities

Now for the fun part! Next I took the same 3 images that were used in Photomatix’s exposure blending mode and used the image detail enhancer to create the following image. Like it or love it, I think you will admit, It is interesting, and does get your attention. The interesting part of using the image detail enhancer is, you have a larger amount of creative control. You can create images with beautiful detail in both the highlight and shadows, or you can opt to create a funky effect like the image below using a variety of slider options.

Priorities-HDR

After all, photography is suppose to be fun! HDR is just another way of having a good time as well as a means to getting some nice digital photographs that you might otherwise not take. HDR enables you to shoot in extreme or crappy lighting and still produce a high quality image. Oh, and by the way, you don’t need to shoot HDR in raw because HDR software is going to convert your files to jpegs or tiffs anyway.

Now if you don’t already have HDR software and would like to give it a try, there is a Free High Dynamic Range software which you can download and save yourself about $100. It isn’t quite as user friendly as Photomatix but what the heck, it is free. You can give it a try by downloading it here.

Stay tuned for more images, and a day by day account, of our 2009 Sturgis trip in the weeks to come.

Till next time, stay focused, Terry

7 Tips For Taking Razor Sharp Photographs

You should always strive for the sharpest photographs possible. You can always soften or add blur to your photographs later in the digital darkroom. It is almost impossible to recover sharpness if your original images are not sharp to start with.

Here are seven tips that will help you take sharper photographs every time:

1. Always use a tripod when possible

I know tripods are heavy, they take a long time to setup, and they can be expensive, but it’s nearly impossible to get sharp photographs without one when shooting in lower lighting situations. Any photograph with a deeper depth of field requires an f stop of f/11 to f/22. These f stops require longer exposure times. A good rule of thumb is always use a tripod when your shutter speed is equal or longer than the focal length of the lens you are using.

2. Enable your mirror lockup
Normally, the mirror in your Digital SLR will flip up immediately before the shutter opens, and this can cause your camera to vibrate a little. By locking your mirror up prior to your exposure you will avoid any camera shake or vibration.

Enabling mirror-lockup will add a significant pause between the time the mirror goes up and the shutter opens, letting any vibration die down before the photo is actually taken. Look in your camera’s manual to find out how to enable this feature.

3. Use a remote shutter release to avoid camera shake

The less you touch your camera, the less it will shake. When you press the shutter button on your camera to take a photo, there’s a good chance you’ll shake the camera a little.

To prevent this, use a remote control to release the shutter, or you can just use the timer on your camera. I recommend a bulb type, air release, or an electronic remote shutter release. Cable style releases will work if you press them gently.  

4. Use the fastest shutter speed possible

When you increase your shutter speed, you leave the shutter open for a shorter length of time, so there’s less time available for the camera to shake. I usually like to underexpose just a little to get good saturation and to ensure I capture all the highlights.

5. Use manual focus whenever possible

Autofocus is great for moving subjects or when you need to take photos quickly, but when your subject is stationary, for example a landscape or pictorial you should always try to use manual focus. This ensures you’re focusing on the right subject, at the proper distance.

For macro photography, manual focus is the only way to get sharp photos. Autofocus just doesn’t work very well at closer distances.

6. Shoot a lot of photographs

When shooting wildlife or any kind of fast moving subject, the best way to get a super sharp photo is to take as many photographs as possible.

Digital exposures are free. There are no film costs involved. So take advantage of digital film, and shoot as many exposures as necessary to get the results you are looking for.

7. Use the sweet spot of your lens

Most lenses are sharpest in their middle ranges. For example, if your 28 to 100 mm zoom lens has a speed of f/4.5, then you’ll probably get the sharpest results from using f/8 to f/11 and zoomed at 55 to 65 mm. Very rarely are lenses as sharp on their fringe or outer area. Also, a fixed focal length lens will always sharper than any zoom lens.

Want to “Learn To Shoot Like A Pro”? Get your free sample of “Mastering Digital Photography Made Easy” and you can learn the secrets of how Professional Photographers get the results they want…everytime.

Peace and Love, Terry

How To Shoot HDR Images With Your Digital Camera

Hey Everyone, I’ve been receiving a lot off questions on HDR lately. I’ll give you a quick idea on how I shoot HDR on an overcast day or in very dimly lit situations. First of all HDR is the process of shooting multiple bracketed exposures of a subject. I usually shoot three exposures. The first exposure I take is at my normal light meter reading. I then take a second exposure at anywhere from  one to two stops underexposed and a third exposure at one to two stops overexposed. This is totally dependent on how contrasty the lighting is at the time. With lower contrasting light I bracket one stop over and one stop under.  You can get by with just 2 exposures under flat lighting.

Under higher contrast lighting I go two stops over and two stops under. I then combine the images in photoshop and use layers adjustments and layer masks to pull the best detail from each exposure. I also use a software called Photomatix on occasion if I am looking for a funkier look. If your camera is equipped with a feature called AEB (auto exposure bracketing) this is quite easy to do.  I recommend using a tripod. However, if you are shooting a brightly lit subject and have a steady hand you can shoot hand held using AEB if your shutter speed is at 250th of a second or higher.

Here are a couple of examples of some shots I took at the Oregon Coast recently. The exposure times were quit lengthy and I did use a tripod.

Below are the 3 original exposures I used to create the example above.

Bandon Beach has some very interesting rock cave that can be accessed during low tides. The lighting is quite extreme from inside the caves to the outside surf and it would be impossible to capture the full dynamic range of the lighting without shooting several bracketed exposures. I made this HDR image using three exposures with exposure times as long as 2 minutes for the overexpose image and 30 seconds for the underexpose exposure.

Below are the 3 images I combined to create the image above.

I hope this clears up some of your questions on taking HDR images with your digital camera. I realize this a brief and simple explanation to a style of shooting that can only be perfected with a lot of practice and some basic knowledge on how to use PhotoShop..  

I’ll be leaving on my annual 2 week bike tip to Sturgis in a day or two and I’ll be covering 10 states with camera in hand. I be posting a lot of new images with all the information on how they were done, so stop back by or subscribe to my RSS feed for all my newest and coolest updates.

Till next time, Peace and Happiness, Terry

Digital Photography Techniques

Although the age of digital cameras has made it easier than ever to get good photos, you still need good photographic techniques to get the best results. It is alright to just point, shoot, and hope for the best. You will often get some great shots this way. But you will get even better results with your digital SLR camera if you understand some photography techniques. This will help you go from getting just good shots to getting amazing shots. The added benefit is you are in control of the situation and can reproduce the results over and over again. With a digital SLR camera you can afford to experiment. If you don’t like the result, you can just delete it and start again.

Photography Lighting Techniques

Lighting can be either your best friend or worst enemy. Lighting techniques in photography are varied and can be easy or they can be difficult, it’s upt to you. It will depend on what you are shooting. Maybe you want to take photos of cityscapes at night or photos in full sunlight – for good results you will need to understand good photography lighting techniques. Once you understand the basics of photography lighting techniques you will transform your photos into works of art.

Indoor Lighting Photography Techniques

There are different types of lighting you can use for indoor shots. Try using natural lighting that comes from windows, ceiling lights, candles, log fires, and any other indoor lighting. Many photographers use this to give a natural feel to their work. Often, though, there may not be enough natural light indoors. If this is the case, take a tip from portrait photography lighting techniques. Portrait photographers use big lights to flood their subject for the best results. The good thing is you can experiment with the light you have indoors.

Try taking a photo of your subject in different parts of the room using different types of lighting. This will give you an idea of what works. Experiment with the early morning sun streaming through the window then try backlighting the same subject and see the different effects. Indoor lighting subjects include a whole host of techniques and methods. It will become a natural instinct the more you play around with different effects.

Black and White Photography Techniques
Black and white photography techniques can produce some really nice results. If you are using a digital SLR camera, you will most likely have the option to capture your photos in black and white mode. Don’t use this mode. Use full color so you get the full depth of light and shade. Use a photo manipulation program like Adobe Photoshop to transform your image into black and white. This gives you the flexibility to manipulate the output which you would not have if you took the photo in black and white.

If you really want to experiment with your camera in black and white mode, try using side lighting. Side lighting will create shadows on ordinary objects and give them a different perspective. This is an effective black and white photography technique that has great results on objects that are highly textured. Experiment by changing the camera angle and different lighting techniques. Use side lighting to enhance your black and white landscapes, people and buildings.

Street Photography Techniques

Street photography can produce some amazing results. They are shots of day to day occurrences; outdoor shots taken as asnapshot in time. Standing still or squatting while you watch and listen is a good technique; focus on what is happening around you. See the world differently. There is nothing more interesting than a candid shot of a moment in time. Here are some street photography techniques that may help you when out on the street:

- Tune into your surroundings. Learn to sense moments of climax such as laughter or loud voices.

- Be relaxed and enjoy your surroundings.

- Use crowded places you can walk in and out of to get your candid street shots.

- Don’t be invasive of people’s personal space, try using a zoom lens. This will not always work and you can lose some of the emotion you are trying to capture.

- Learn to take photos without bringing the camera to your eye. Practice taking photos from any position.

There is so much to learn about photography and, the more you learn the more addictive photography becomes.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/photography-techniques-to-enhance-your-work-525369.html

Billy Baker has provided this site which he commonly refers to for tips on photography techniques.

Special Bonus Added To Mastering Digital Photography!

Hey everybody, I just wanted to take the time to let you know that I’ve added a special bonus to my digital photography lesson course, “Mastering Digital Photography Made Easy”. In addition to personal email support for 90 days you can receive personal print critiques of your digital images by email. This should really help you progress at a faster pace with this special service.

Don’t forget that for a limited time I am also giving you a 12 piece portfolio of some of my award winning images, including “Storm Warning” which is an International Hall of Fame print. You’ll get an instant download of the files for all 12 images with reprint rights. If you were to purchase these prints seperately you would have to spend over 2000 bucks. A real nice free bonus for a $47 purchase.

You’ll need to act quickly to take advantage of the special and get the email support.  I am limiting this to just 50 students who sign up early. Time just won’t allow me to personally help more than about 40 or 50 students at a time.

Stay tuned for further updates, all the best………Terry

Photoshop Enables You to Get the Most From Your Digital Photography

Photographing in color is the most commonly used form of photography, and is perfect under most conditions. However, there are times when the simplicity of black and white produces a more interesting image.

Black and white photography requires a different mind set and skill set, because the picture is formed purely from different shades go gray, from the lightest shade, pure white, to the darkest shade, pure black. As digital photography becomes more popular, black and white film is increasingly hard to come by. Unless you are fortunate enough to have your own dark room or a specialty lab near you, getting high quality prints made will be difficult. The machine processing that is done at most one hour mini labs leaves a lot to be desired if you want quality film and print processing.

Many modern digital cameras have a dedicated black and white mode, but in most cases the camera just desaturates the picture and make it look washed out and flat with little contrast control. It is actual better to capture your digital images in color and then convert them to black and white in Photoshop.

The easiest way, but not necessarily the best way of making a color photo black and white in Photoshop is to convert the mode to gray scale. But this will limit your options if you want to enhance the picture later on because a lot of the original information in your image file is discarded.

Shooting traditional black and white photography, with film, gives you the option of using colored filters over your lens is to create a dramatic contrast. This is done because hues that appear to be different in color can merge into one shade of grey when seen in monochrome. The intensity of the colors appears to be the same, even though the actual colors are different.

For example, a blue sky with white clouds sometimes to be weak and washed out in a black and white photograph. When you place a red filter over the lens, it will darken the blue sky and create more contrast between the sky and clouds. The red filter blocks the blue color waves and creates more contrast in the red color spectrum.

The great thing about Photoshop is it gives you the ability to experiment with a variety of color filters and get the effect that you are looking for. The method I most often use and I find works best involves keeping the picture in RGB color mode. I then use the channel adjustment option and manipulate the various color channels.

For example, if you go to the image adjustment tab and choose the channels tab you can click on any one of the various color channels, for example the red channel and create more contrast just like you would by putting a red filter over your camera lens when shooting black and white film. Experiment by clicking on the green and blue channels to see how differently each one affects your image. The results will be very different and will open your eyes to a new creative process.

You can then use some of the other Photoshop adjustment tools to finalize your image. From here you may want to use either levels or curves, or even selective color to create a fine art black and white that will rival some of the all time great photographers like Ansell Adams. The tools in Photoshop can, and should be used to get stunning black and white and color images. Photoshop will enable you to get the most from your photographic experience.

Learn How to create stunning Black and White Images and much more with Photo-Shop-Made Easy’s 21 Video Tutorials.

Till next time, all the best…Terry

Curiosity Pays It’s Dividends

There is an old saying that says ‘curiosity killed the cat’ While curiosity might be fatal to a few cats it is an incredibly useful characteristic to have as a photographer. Here are just a few of the benefits of being curious as a photographer.

1. Curiosity helps you notice things others often overlook!

While most people only see the obvious, and sometimes they even overlook that. A curious and inovative photographer will create stunning images of everyday things that most of us wouldn’t even think to look for beauty in.

2. Curiosity drives you to find new ways photograph normal items.

A curious and persistent  photographer finds interesting ways to make ordinary scenes and objects look extraordinary. You can do this by finding interesting angles, placing your subjects in unusual settings or by experimenting with things like different  focal length lenses. (particularly macro shots).

3. Curiosity drives you to learn about your digital camera.

One thing I’ve noticed about great photographs is that most of them show that the photographers have a good grasp of their cameras and how to use them. It is quite obvious to me that most of the photographers have ventured out of Auto mode and have learned to take control of their cameras. There is obviously a lot of experimentation going on with digital photography which is evidence of curious minds wondering what will happen if they just take the shot a little differently than the norm.

4. Curious photographers capture the viewers interest.

One theory you might is, creative people  are willing to push boundaries and explore new ground. They tend to be the type of people that others are drawn to. Curious photographers images are attractive because they help the rest of us view the world in new and intriguing ways. How about you? Are you ready to push some boundaries and explore your curious side?

If the thought of exploring your creative and curious side excites you, If you would love to experience the excitement of capturing fantasic images with your digital camera, then I envite you to join me and learn how to Master Digital Photography.

@ http://www.Master-Digital-Photography.com

Till Next Time… All the best, Terry Day

Product Review “Your Guide to Digital Photography”

 The “Your Guide to Digital Photography” by Dan Feildman is a downloadable guide for digital photography beginners and those looking for better results from their digital photography.  http://www.photographylessoncenter.comThere are a number of components to this learning product including 
“Your Guide to Digital Photography” – a 75-page guide that includes a variety of tips and advice for the beginner to advanced photographer. Some of the topics are:

- Taking your first pictures
- Different kinds of digital cameras
- Professional technology at affordable prices
- Finding the right low end digital camera for those on a budget
- Exposing digital photography myths.
- Understanding the features of your digital camera
- Tips for taking better digital pictures
- Pet photo tips
- Night photo tips
- Horizons and sunglasses
- How to share your digital pictures
- Printing your pictures
- Choosing a printer for you digital images
- Editing your photos.
- Understanding white balance so your photos look good in all lighting.
- Interpolation and digital zoom to improve detailing in pictures
- Finding free photo editors for your Windows computer
- Using your flash effectively
- Understanding and making the most of your memory cards
- Important equipment to take when traveling.
- Battery options and your best bets.
- Making money from your digital photography hobby.

- “Photography Quick Tips” – 37 pages showing you how to make the most of your pictures. It includes practical tips for:

- Night photography
- Action photography
- Landscapes
- Sunsets and sunrises
- Beach photography
- Desert photography
- Sports photography
- People and pets
- Street photography
- Fog & Mist
- Waterfalls & Running Water
- Rain & Snow
- Fireworks

- Picasa Tutorials – There are 8 video tutorials (you can view them online or download them to your computer) to show you how to use the free Picasa software to organize, edit, create and share your photos. The videos include:

- Downloading and installing the program
- Editing photos with Picasa
- Creating collages
- Blogging with Picasa
- Backing up your photos
- Printing your photos
- Posting pictures to your web album

- “Your Top Digital Photography Questions Answered” – This 26 page guide answers 20 common questions about digital photography including:

- What is the biggest mistake made by beginning digital photographers?
- How to decide on the right digital camera.
- How to decide is a picture is worth taking.
- How to get the white balance right.
- How to take clear shots for indoor sports.
- Advantages/disadvantages of raw vs. Jpeg format photographs.
- What are the best settings for low light/nighttime conditions?
- What is hyperfocal distance?
- How to take a photo of a glass sign or a framed picture in glass
- How to get high contrast natural light black and white pictures.
- Time lag from the time you take a picture until it is on the memory card.
- How to avoid redeye in dim light.
- Small object close up pictures.
- How to photograph gemstones and jewelry.
- How to take a picture with both strong sun and shade.
- Capturing personality in photos of people.
- How can I understand depth of field?
- Settings and techniques for photographing birds and wildlife.
- How to take pictures into the sun and avoid lens flare.
- How to take good pictures in the snow or on the beach.

- “Buying a Digital Camera” Video – This video shows you how to use the Internet to conduct research from unbiased sources.

- “An Experiment in Photography. What Exactly Happens When You Change the Settings on Your Digital Camera?” – This 12 page guide shows photos of the same object (a house, in this case) with different camera settings resulting in very different photos.

- “Secrets of Night Photography” – A quick 6-page guide with concise advice about nighttime photography. It includes information on:

- Trails of Light (Cars)
- Trails of Light (Stars)
- Weather and Exposure
- Horizons and Sunglasses
- Tripods
- Low Cost Filtering

Format:

The main guide is a PDF ebook. There are extra guides (PDF) and videos (free Flash & Shockwave required). If you’re not sure how to use these files, don’t worry, all the download information is carefully explained and any software you may need is free and safe to download.

Thoughts on the Product:

This package covers a lot of ground on the topic of digital photography. All of the advice is very step-by-step and detailed, but doesn’t include unnecessary filler. Even for someone who has never used a digital camera before, the information is clear and concise enough to take that person from buying a camera to taking their first shots and being proud of their work.

The product can be downloaded instantly upon purchase, so you don’t have to wait for a bunch of books and videos to come in the mail. For those who are new to online downloads, full instructions are included.
Where to Learn More: http://www.photographylessoncenter.com

Product Details:

I hope this review is helpful, til next time..Terry