Have you ever come home from a landscape shoot, especially a sunrise or sunset and found the images on your computer after importing don’t look exactly like you remember seeing them? Today Kevin Raber shows how he worked Death Valley Sunset.
Check out the NEW July 2014 Svalbard workshop to visit The Land Of The Polar Bear. Hope you can join us on this one.
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The Luminous Landscape – What’s New
I say it so many times that I’m beginning to annoy even myself! But I can’t empathize how important it is to work with really talented people. The success of your shoot depends on the talent of your team members. And their ability to work with each other. That’s why when the opportunity came up to work with Donald Lawrence again, I jumped on it. If you remember my “Huskey Shoot” (which we have affectionately begun calling it), you’ll remember that Donald Lawrence styled the 4 Asian girls on that editorial. The shoot was so good, we featured it on our DVD! And….on a side note, that editorial was chosen as one of the top 10 Asian stories of 2011, which made us very proud! At any rate, I loved working with Donald on that shoot so when he told me about a L’Officiel Ukraine shoot and that his wife, Tracy Wingrove, would be doing the sets, I jumped on it. I Tracy needed extra time to put the set together so I told her to come in and start working on it while I was shooting another editorial in the same studio we’d be using the next day. It worked out great that I was shooting two days in this studio, allowing us to have some of the clothing and props delivered to the studio the day before.
Victoria Anderson and McKenna from Wilhelmina NY were our two gorgeous models from this shoot. The issue hit the newsstands this month so it was a pre-Spring story. Donald pulled very colorful pieces and wild prints. Donald had the genius idea of hiring body painters to paint gloves on the girls depending on what they were wearing and also bringing some painted color to their faces. I loved it! The thing about working with someone like Donald is that he always pushes the envelope and goes that extra step ensuring you have killer images! And not just another dull fashion story…..
Gee Whiz, I wish I could break off some gnarly lighting secret here for this shoot but the plain truth is that I used one light again and that light was the Elinchrome Octabank. One big, beautiful source of soft light was all I need to light the girls on the set. We had Issey Miyake, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexis Bittar, Michael Kors and Etro clothing which made me swoon as I truly am a fashion addict and love great clothes! I shot with my D800 and used my 85mm, 105mm and my trusty 24mm for one wide shot, which ended up being the lead page on the editorial. I shot at ISO 100 and I used around an F8 through out the day with my shutter set at 100. I didn’t want to shoot super tight at 11 or higher because I didn’t want total sharpness on the backgrounds but depending on the shot, I didn’t want them to totally be in focus either.
I love this shoot and I really value knowing people like Donald Lawrence and Tracy Wingrove because working with them is not only really fun, I get great images at the end of the day. And the editor was so thrilled with the shoot she ran all 10 pages!
I get a lot of fan mail. I’m not trying to brag, just letting you know the facts here. And a consistent request is how people would LOVE to come watch me shoot. I can’t tell you how many requests I get for “Can I just be a fly on the wall and watch you shoot?? I’ll get the coffee, hold your light stand, anything….I just would LOVE to watch you shoot!!” I can’t normally really allow that to happen as I have to keep my sets closed and not have any distractions while I’m shooting. But we came up with a great idea for those attending my workshop next month! On Monday, the day after our weekend long intensive learning workshop, I am inviting all those who participated in the workshop to come join me the next day, Monday March 18th to watch me shoot a 10 page editorial for Ben Trovato! Marius Troy has asked me to shoot another Ben Trovato Exclusive and he has worked out a theme for me. I will take my students from the mood boards that Marius and I have sent back and forth and how I chose the models for the shoot, hair and make up and stylist too. And then you’ll watch me shoot each look for each page and how I execute an editorial. We’ll have lunch delivered and we’ll shoot through the day, getting every image done to perfection and in the can before we call it a wrap! So there are a few seats left for those of you who are considering coming to LA and participating in the workshop!
Hope to see some new faces in one month! xoxo
[ By Steph in 7 Wonders Series & Global. ]
Canada’s abandoned wonders include greying neoclassical banks in downtown Toronto, forgotten asylums, beautiful Beaux Arts hydro power stations and a ghost town so eerily well-preserved it feels like it’s still 1980. A nation this large in terms of land mass, with wide swaths of nearly unpopulated countryside, is bound to be full of interesting architecture left behind by the steady march of progress, and the Great White North certainly doesn’t disappoint.
A historic landmark in downtown Toronto that has been sadly neglected, the bank at 205 Yonge Street boasts a beautiful neoclassical facade that has darkened to a gloomy gray over the past century. Built in 1905, the Bank of Toronto and adjacent Canadian Bank of Commerce seem starkly out of place in all their aged gothic dilapidation, surrounded by the glittering glass of more modern buildings. Both banks have been empty for some time. The Bank of Commerce has been vacant since 1986, while the Bank of Toronto was occupied by Heritage Toronto until roughly 2001. A jazz and blues venue called the Colonial Tavern once took up the space between them, but has since been demolished, the site turned to a mini-park. Developers recently purchased the property and supposedly intend to restore the Bank of Commerce as part of a hotel project, though the fate of its neighbor is still up in the air, and none of the plans are final. Blog Toronto’s Jonathan Castellino gained access to the interior of the Bank of Toronto in 2009.
Chances are, you’ve seen this hospital before – many times. It has appeared in dozens of movies and television shows, including The X-Files, Battlestar Galactica, Psych, Caprica, Fringe, Halloween: Resurrection and even the Christmas movie Elf. It didn’t close until 2012, but many of its historic buildings were already abandoned by that time, and its decline has been swift. When the hospital opened in 1913 as ‘The Hospital for the Mind,’ it housed just 350 patients, but that population grew to 4,500 by the 1950s. Like so many other large mental health facilities, Riverview lost patients rapidly during the ’60s and ’70s as the approach to simply put mentally ill people ‘away’ for life came to be seen as inhumane. The interiors, as photographed by Shoes on Wires, are certainly horror-movie-creepy, with holes in the ceilings, furniture and fixtures strewn around, and moss growing all over the place.
Have you ever seen such a beautiful power station in your life? Built in 1903, this Beaux Arts hydro-electric power station was designed by Toronto architect E.J. Lennox to power the city of Toronto. It’s located on the banks of the Niagara River just upstream from Niagara Falls. It closed in 1974 and was designated a national historic site in 1983. Despite still being filled with industrial equipment, the inside looks like a palace, the rusting remains of turbines contrasting with intricately scrolled marble trim.
An urban explorer at Opacity.us, who took these photographs, writes “The Toronto Power Station looked like a massive stone crypt in the early light, standing majestic and alone beside the raging water… once inside the main generator hall, I started setting up my gear over an unassuming metal grate in the floor. Some debris on the grate fell through the square holes as I slid my backpack closer, perhaps a rock or rusty bolt; I snapped awake when I heard the ting at the bottom of the shaft – it was extremely delayed. Could it really be that deep?”
One of the last remaining sets of industrial silos in Toronto sits on the edge of the harbor, offering urban explorers who manage to gain access and ascend to its rooftops a stunning view of the skyline (including the city’s iconic CN Tower.) Built in 1928 to store malt for the Canada Malting Company, the complex includes stark modernist concrete towers housing 15 wooden silos. It was abandoned in 1980s but protected by the city due to its historic and architectural value, and officials have considered adapting it for all sorts of interesting new uses, from a museum to a theme park. Most of the secondary buildings have been demolished, but the silos still stand. The site Abandoned EU took photos of the progression of demolition from 2007 to 2010.
An ancient city made of intricately carved stone sits silent at the bottom of a lake, a replica of Paris complete with an Eiffel Tower is eerily empty, and a … Click Here to Read More »»
A Russian ghost town on a Norwegian island in the Arctic, decaying modernist houses in Sweden and woodland homes taken over by wildlife in Finland are among … Click Here to Read More »»
Whether covered in colorful graffiti or slowly disappearing under a profusion of moss and vines, Australia’s most intriguing abandoned places share the … Click Here to Read More »»
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CES 2014: Nikon’s compact announcements for CES include the Coolpix L830, a budget-oriented 34x superzoom. It’s equipped with a 16 megapixel BSI-CMOS sensor and a tilting 3.0-inch 921k-dot LCD. The L830 records full HD 1080p video with new Hybrid Vibration Reduction stabilization available while recording video. Available in February, the L830 is powered by AA batteries.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
CES 2014: Nikon’s booth, near the back of the Central Hall, showed off their latest products, and also had a live demo of their ‘HD SLR’ cameras, replete with models. We’ve already had some hands-on time with the new D3300, 35mm F1.8G lens and a behind-glass D4S, so we spent our time at the booth checking out the new Coolpix lineup. Tour Nikon’s CES 2014 booth
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
CES 2014: Nikon has announced several additions to its line of slim compacts including the Coolpix S6800, S5300 and S3600. The Coolpix S6800 features a 12x optical zoom, 16 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor and Wi-Fi connectivity. Below it in the lineup, the S5300 has an 8x zoom, 16 megapixel CMOS chip and built-in Wi-Fi. The S3600 also provides an 8x optical zoom and a 20.1 megapixel CCD sensor. All three will be available in February.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
An Icelandic pony, shot against a setting sun
When photographing wildlife, the sun is one of the most useful tools that enables you to create something different or add impact to your images. By taking control of your position relative to your subject, and to the sun, you can manipulate the available light to your advantage.
Favourable times of day for wildlife photography are at the beginning and end of the day when the sun is low in the sky. This often coincides with periods of heightened activity of many animals, but also with a warmer directional light from the sun being lower in the sky. When the sun is low in this way, it lends itself to a number of key natural lighting techniques.
A side lit brown hare (Lepus europaeus)
You can naturally side light your subject by keeping the sun at approximately 90 degrees to the direction that you are facing. The sunlight will then be lighting your subject from the side which can result in a greater sense of shape, form, and texture from the contrast between the soft light and shadows across the subject.
Side lit grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) courting at sunrise
It can add a sense of three dimensionality that full-on front lighting cannot do, and because of the soft nature of the light, the highlights and shadows are not too intense and can be easily captured.
A bellowing red deer stag (Cervus elaphus) with light from the side
One of the first tips you often hear when starting in photography is not to shoot into the sun. However, by doing just that you can create striking images. By positioning yourself so that your subject is directly between you and the sun, you can capture a strong backlit outline of your subject that is almost like a halo of light. This works best when there are fur or feathers to capture the light, and it is preferable that the outline of your subject is easily recognizable.
The hair of this pony create a golden outline when backlit by the low sun
Exposing for backlit subjects can be difficult, as you will be dealing with areas of extreme brightness and shadow. It is best to ensure you retain detail in the highlights (as that will be forming the main detail of the image) by manually underexposing.
Silhouettes are another way of capturing the strong outline of your subject, but in this instance it is achieved by shooting your subject against a bright background, often the sky. Just after the sun has gone down is a great time for this technique. There can often be far more colour in the sky once the sun is below the horizon, and the sky will still be bright enough to easily cast your subject into silhouette.
One tip for shooting wildlife silhouettes is that sometimes it can be good to ensure you retain some detail in the shadows, for example an eye. This can help retain some interest in the large area of black, and to keep a connection between the subject and the viewer. If you want to do this, you will need to ensure that you do not underexpose the subject too far, such that the shadow detail is lost, to give you flexibility during post-processing.
A silhouette of a red deer stag (Cervus elaphus) is an instantly identifiable form against a sunset sky
It can be difficult to motivate yourself to get up for sunrise or to be out photographing at sunset, but those times of day give you much more flexibility to use the natural light as a powerful tool in your wildlife photography. By understanding how the position of the sun relative to you or your subject will influence the final image, you can create images that aren’t possible at other times of day.
So get out there and see how you can use natural light to make you images stand out!
The post Manipulating Natural Light in Wildlife Photography by Elliot Hook appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Winter is an amazing time of the year, especially if you live in a region that produces tons of snow. Don’t hibernate even if there is no snow outside since winter is the best season for outdoor photography. Cold weather is not an excuse for sitting at home. Warm, comfortable clothes and special, cropped gloves could help you easily overcome Continue Reading
The post Winter Photography Tips and Ideas to Make You Master the Season appeared first on Photodoto.
CES 2014: Samsung has used CES as an opportunity to refresh its compact line-up, launching the WB1100F superzoom, alongside the WB50F and WB35F CCD-based compacts. All three offer Wi-Fi with NFC, as well as 720p video. The WB35F and 50F are both based around 12x, 24-288mm equiv, F3.1-6.3 lenses, with the more expensive 50F offering a larger, higher-res rear screen. The WB1100F has a 35x, 25-875mm equiv zoom.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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