Morning Dew

This morning I noticed that the tulips were still closed up and had a small layer of dew.  This is a real easy shot to get if you are paying attention to the details.  There was a slight breeze so you want to make sure your shutter speed is bumped up a little.  I actually could have doubled what I shot this at to make it slightly sharper. 

For this pic I set the camera to a manual mode, then the shutter to 1/320th and the aperture to 7.1.  I then moved the ISO so that the light meter showed a correct exposure.  For this pic it was 125.  I am big fan of the limited depth of field that produces the blurred background (bokeh).  To get this blurred effect, you may normally think you need an aperture of around 2.8, but in this case I moved the lens as close to the flower as I could while still getting a focus.  This allowed me to get the bokeh with the higher aperture. I cropped the image slightly to bring the image a little closer.  A quick edit in Lightroom 3 enhanced the shadows and removed some of the glare coming off the bottom of the pedals.

Send me some of your flower pics and tell me how you set the shot up and I'll post them on the blog.

JP

Canon 5D MII, 70-200MM 2.8L IS

Lightning 3/24/2012

Lightning picture from this morning
©JP Parmley

Good morning,  it is true you have to get up early to get the shot!  I was woken from the storm this morning at about 1:30am.  I already had the tripod, camera and shutter release cord ready to go.  Had this image after about 6 shots.  If you got any shots from the storm, send them to me and I will post.


Enjoy......JP

Canon 5D MII, 24-70mm 2.8L, ISO 250, 25sec, f16

Milky Waters

Milky Waters

©JP Parmley

Gatlinburg, TN

Have you ever wanted to create an image of a water fall or moving stream that gives you that milky water effect?  This is a fairly straight forward technique that virtually anyone can do, even with a point-n-shoot camera.

The key to this effect is a longer exposure (> 1 sec).  The longer the exposure, the more water that passes in the picture and the more milky the water effect will be.  To get a picture like this place the camera on a tripod  in manual mode.  Set the ISO to a low value like 100-400. Then set the shutter to the desired setting (1-30Sec).

Most cameras have a built in exposure meter that will show you what the exposure setting is.  Adjust the aperture (f-stop) until the exposure is set at 0 or in the middle.  Expect the aperture to be set relatively high since the shutter is longer.  Start off at 1 sec and then move up - evaluating each picture as you move to 10-30 seconds.

You can experiment with different ISO and aperture settings for different depths of filed, but moving from 1 to 30 second shutters will dramatically change the look of the water.  If you increase the time of the shutter, expect to need to increase the aperture to compensate for the amount of light. At some point, you will reach the maximum aperture of the lens in order to achieve the proper exposure.  If this happens, make sure the ISO is set to the lowest setting.  Once you have the ISO at 50 or 100, and you still are at a maximum aperture, you have reached the max shutter time for that picture.

If you have  DSLR and want the flexibility of shooting longer shutter settings, you can add a neutral density filter to the lens.  These are tinted filters that limit the amount of light into the lens.  These are made in different shades to give you options. However, if you want one filter that gives you the most flexibility, look at variable neutral density filter.  This type of filter allows you to adjust how dark the filter is with a simple turn. These can run into the hundreds of dollars, but Vivitar has a few under $75 and the image quality is pretty good.  Look here for samples.

Something to keep in mind is this....if there are  trees, bushes, flowers, etc that will be in the frame, the longer shutters can create a blurred or image that is not sharp if wind is blowing them.

Send me some of your pics and I will post them.  

Here are a few of mine.

JP

Gatlinburg, TN

Portland, OR - Cannon Beach

Portland, OR - Multnomah Falls

Portland, OR

Quick Lightning Editing

Quick Lightning Editing

©JP Parmley

The edits that I perform on lightning pictures are very quick and can have a dramatic effect on the overall mood of the final output.  I mentioned in my previous post, you should shoot these in a RAW format.  It is going to provide us with a greater level of flexibility.

First, when I open the RAW file in Photoshop, the Camera RAW application allows you to process the RAW file.  The before image below was shot with an auto white balance.  If you look at the affects of changing the white balance, you can make a dramatic difference.  Here are the samples from AWB, Tungsten, and Fluorescent.  You can see the differences really change the look.

Once you have white balance set and the image in Photoshop, here are the remaining steps I perform. 

Noise Reduction:  Long exposures can introduce larger amounts of noise into the darker areas of the picture.  Using the filter options, select <Noise>, <Reduce Noise>.  Because you do not have a subject, like a person, I will use a high level of noise reduction.

Dodge:  Next you can use the Dodge function (looks like a magnifying glass).  Select the range up top to Highlights, exposure to 10% and make the brush size about the width of the lightning bolts.  Use the Dodge brush over areas of the bolt to brighten it.  You can also use it in the clouds to bring out some of the dramatic effects.

Spot Healing: If you have any rain drops that were on the window that ended up in the picture. use the Spot Healing or Clone tool to remove them.

Happy Editing.

JP

Lightning

Lightning Picture
©JP Parmley

The most common question I get on my lightning pictures is about how was I quick enough to catch the shot.  In actuality it is not about being quick with the shutter, it is about being just the opposite.  Almost all of my shots are taken at 16-20 second exposures.  During that time, what ever lightning took place, ends up in the shot.   If you have 2 strikes at different times within the shot, both end up in the picture as if they happened simultaneously. 

So what are the details assuming that you are shooting at night.   I shoot from the safety of a typical home. Do not attempt to take storm and lightning pics from the outside.   Also, you do not want to be near the windows during a storm so always set up your camera well in advance of an approaching storm.  Place the camera on a sturdy tripod in a window that is not facing the oncoming storm.  I typically use a window facing  the north east.  This is important because a window that faces the oncoming storm is very likely to have rain all over it, leaving raindrop spots all over your pictures. Here are pictures of how I set it up.  Notice that I have the rear leg longer than the two front ones to move the camera as close to the window.  Do you see the reflection in the glass?  If you don't turn off ALL the lights in the house when you start shooting, your pictures will show those reflections as well.

Put the camera in a manual mode that allows you to set the shutter, aperture and ISO independently.   I usually start of at 20 second exposures at f16 and an ISO of 200.  Put a wide angle lens (24mm or less) in manual focus and focus it just short of an infinite distance.  Most cameras have the ability for you to set it for either a single shot or continuous shooting.  Use the continuous setting.  One of the keys to making this easy and safe is to use a shutter release device.  I use a wired release cord that allows you to lock the button down.  This simulates you holding the shutter release on the camera as if you were taken multiple shots one after the other.  This allows the camera to continuously take pictures without you having to be right by the window to take the next shot.

If you take 100 shots during a storm, 95% of the images will be a pure black screen.  That is ok....delete them.   The 5% that included a lightning shot will be lit up just perfectly.  Most of the cloud to cloud lightning will not produce enough light to illuminate the picture, but the ground strikes will jump off the screen. 

My opinion is to shoot in a RAW format if your camera supports it.  You are going to post process these in Photoshop or Lightroom anyways so take advantage of getting all the possible data. 

My next post will cover the post processing that I perform......hint, it is not much.

Email me the pictures you get and I will post them here and on the Facebook page.

My images taken on: Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35MM 2.8L Lens, Canon RS-80N3 release cord

JP

Introduction

I have spent the last twelve years trying to master the art of photography. With countless hours behind the lens and the monitor, I have learned many secrets to producing fantastic images that are being cherished by my  family, friends, and countless customers.  I have been asked over and over; How did you do that? Can you teach me the techniques to make my pictures look like that?  

Well, I am going to share my secrets and methods to create images that can step your images up to the next level.  If you have a simple DSLR camera and at least Photoshop Elements 6, I can show you how to astonish not only your friends, but yourself as well. If you have Lightroom 3+, I'll teach you how to perfect every picture you take even the ones that you wish you could retake.  The methods that I use are used by some of the most famous photographers to create the images you see everyday.  

Most photographers are not going to share these secrets.  They guard them like a magician does their illusions. But I am going to share these secrets and we will share our photo experiences both good and bad so that we can all become better photographers.

 

I will discuss portrait, wedding, event, nature and trick photography.  However, with spring just around the corner in the mid-west, thunderstorms will soon be a weekly event.  In the my next post, I am going to show you how to take stunning lighting pictures like this one.

What you will need: 

DSLR Camera

Sturdy Tripod

PSE 6

A Thunderstorm!

Optional (recommended)

Wired or wireless shutter release device

Lightroom 3

After the next post, I am looking forward to posting the pictures you take with my techniques.  Thanks for following!

JP