Blog

Photo story of the week: Sunrise in Burren National Park

The warm colors of a sunrise or sunset in a wide open landscape, the foreground gently touched by the orange hues, and the sun throwing a nice aperture star—that is what the romanticizing cliché of landscape photography looks like in the heads of many people these days I reckon. Rightfully so, since it is one of the most atmospheric times of day to shoot: the light is soft, and partial illumination of the foreground is desirable for tonal separation and visual flow.

Almost every landscape photographer has at some point of his or her creative journey chased the intensity that comes with the golden hour. Still, even after all these years of shooting mainly landscapes, going after the elusive sunset and sunrise light is one of my favorite things to do while out in the field. One of the reasons is simply because depending on where you live it can be a rare sight—it is not an everyday sight for most of us.

For all who don’t do this already I would highly recommend using satellite and radar data to scout your location ahead of time

Whenever I am out on a road trip or hiking trip I keep a constant eye on the satellite data—if I have cell reception—to check the cloud coverage in order to find spots right at the edge of a field of clouds to get good conditions for a sunrise or sunset shot. To take this shot, I took a look at the radar over the western parts of Ireland—over the Burren National Park to be exact—and monitored the satellite forecast before I was catching some shuteye.

The predictions for the following morning showed the clouds would most likely pass in the next couple of hours, being carried further north, leaving only a field of scattered patches behind. Furthermore, there would be no clouds at the eastern horizon blocking the sunlight. It is not hard to do these sorts of things if you know the sources for reliable weather data in the area you’re in, but it can be the difference between getting a good shot or none at all. So, for all who don’t do this already I would highly recommend using satellite and radar data to scout your location ahead of time.

When I woke up next morning it was still dark as I made my way out to the karst landscape of the national park grounds which are dominated by limestone ground speckled with shrubs and grass. I had scouted the lake before while I was preparing for my trip by looking at hiking maps of the area, and knew the sun was at the right angle to rise next to one of the limestone hills I had hiked to a day before. With this in mind, I was spending much of the blue hour finding different foreground compositions for the moment the clouds would light up and sun would make its way past the horizon line.

It seemed like the country had saved the best light for last

Originally, I intended to include a bigger patch of the lake in my image, but ultimately scrapped the idea for the shrubs and stones for three reasons: A) because the unique feature of the landscape is not the lake but rather the limestone, B) because the clouds were almost entirely gone by the time the sun rose and only covered a narrow strip of the sky, logically much of the reflection would have been just empty sky, and C) the morning light on the shrubs made for a warm and cold color palette with the rocks still in the shade.

I tried to balance out the double sun star in the upper right corner by placing some of the little bushes near the lower left corner of the frame. Due to the perspective, the gaps in between the shrubs appear to becoming shorter the further away they are from the camera, creating a visual flow and implicitly drawing the viewer into the image towards the sun, much like the curvature of the shoreline and the slim layer of mist above the lake. To me the leading lines were appealing in their subtlety, not being too obvious, yet present.

After I walked back to my sleeping bag I was very content, feeling like I did the landscape and the sunrise justice. This was also one of the last shots I took on my two week road trip through Ireland and it seemed like the country had saved the best light for last.

Pure bliss for a landscape photographer

Now I have another cheesy sunset in my portfolio. And sure, for some it may be nothing more than a cliché, but for me it represents a morning alone in Burren National Park, one of the most beautiful areas of Ireland, sitting in the warm morning light and enjoying these sights and taking a couple of shots while eating breakfast—pure bliss for a landscape photographer.

EXIF: Nikon D800 – Nikkor AF-S 20 mm 1:1,8 G ED | FLM CB-48FTR & CP30-M4S | 20mm | 4 Exposures for DRI | f/13 | ISO 100

Nicolas Alexander Otto is a semi-professional landscape photographer based out of North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany. He writes for different online and print media, teaches workshops for several agencies, sells prints and calendars and offers post processing sessions. You can find more of his work on his website, Facebook and Instagram.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

November 11, 2017
Two Ways to Create a Snowstorm Using Photoshop

The holidays are upon us and you want to have the perfect photo but it’s just too cold, slippery, or you missed the snow all together? There are times that regardless of your will, the weather won’t allow you to go outside to shoot the photos you want. Fortunately, it’s easy to recreate a snowstorm using Photoshop to give that final touch to your image.

Select an appropriate image

First, you have to choose an image that will be believable as having been shot during a snowfall. It can be a snowed-in landscape or a holiday view like the ones I’ll use here to show you the technique. However, you can get as creative as you like. In this tutorial, I’ll teach you two different techniques to make it snow in Photoshop so you can choose which suits you best.

#1 – Snowstorm with layers

With your image open in Photoshop, duplicate it as a layer by going to Menu > Layers > Duplicate Layer. An exact copy of your image will be created on top of the original and as a default will be called Background copy. However, if you want to rename it “snow” for organization purposes just double-click the layer name.

With this new layer selected, go to Menu > Filter > Pixelate > Pointillize. In the pop-up window, you can choose how big or small you want the snowflakes to be by dragging the slider and when you’re happy click OK.

Note: Your background color should be set to white.

While on the same layer, go to Menu > Image > Adjustments > Threshold to make it monochrome. The higher the number, the less dense the snow will be and therefore it will look more real.

Layer blend mode

Once you click ok you will only see a black canvas with white spots. So to merge it with your image you need to change the layer blend to Screen; you can do this in the drop-down menu of the layers tab.

Now you need to give the snow some movement to make it look like it’s falling. For this you can go to Menu > Filter > Blur > Motion Blur. When you adjust the angle you will change the direction in which the snow will appear to be coming down. The Distance setting changes the space between the “snowflakes”. When you’re happy with it click OK.

There you have it, a digitally created snowstorm! You can adjust the opacity of the layer if you want the effect to be less intense. You can also repeat the process to create more layers and change the values of the Motion Blur to make it less homogeneous and therefore more realistic.

However, this will always be a bulk effect, if you want to do it more precisely and more controlled then follow the next set of steps in method two.

#2 – Snowfall with brush strokes

First, you need to create a personalized brush for the snow. To do that, open a new canvas with a white background and then paint some uneven circles (with a black brush) that will be your snowflakes. Make two or three in different sizes, remember that you can adjust the size of the brush in the top left menu. It’s also good to use a soft brush to avoid any hard edges.

To turn this canvas into a brush, you need to go to Menu > Edit > Define Brush Preset. In the pop-up window, you can rename it as Snow. Now you can close this document without saving it because it was already saved as a brush that you can now use on any image. Now you can open the photo in which you want to make it snow.

Paint in the snow

Having your desired scene as the background, you need to create a new layer by going to Menu > Layer > New Layer. This is where you are going to paint the snow using the new brush you just created, but first, you need to set the properties of the brush.

First click on the brush tool, choose the snow brush from the pop-up menu and set your foreground color to white. Then open the Properties window by going to Menu > Window > Brush or by pressing F5. Here you can change many things to adjust the brush to suit your needs, in this case, I did the Scattering, the Shape Dynamics and the spacing of the Brush Tip Shape, but you can play around until you’re happy.

You will always see the applied effect of what you’re doing in the preview window at the bottom right-hand side of the screen. You can also activate or turn off each of the settings with the check sign to the left of the brush preset name.

Refine the snow

To make it more realistic, go to Menu > Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. In the pop-up window, you can change the radius to soften the snowflakes.

Now you can create more layers to give the impression of depth. The snowflakes you did before form the base, think of those as being the farthest away. Then repeat the process on another layer in which the flakes are going to be closer, for that they need to be bigger, which is controlled by the brush size. You also need to show motion, so instead of the Gaussian Blur, this time, use a Motion Blur.

You can add and paint snow on as many layers as you want. Of course, you can always colorize it with some hue if your scene has a different tonal palette, adjust the layer opacity, and mix the two techniques described here in order to make your image look just right, as shown below.

Conclusion

Please give this a go, and share your before and after snowstorm images in the comments below.

The post Two Ways to Create a Snowstorm Using Photoshop by Ana Mireles appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

November 11, 2017
Weekly Photography Challenge – Hit the Streets
Street photography is an interesting genre of photography. In some ways it sees quite simple – all you need is a camera lens and your own two feet to do it. Yet in other ways, it can be quite hard and complicated.
- How can you keep moving subjects in sharp focus?
- Do you even want to do that?
- How do you approach people to photograph them?
- What if you get in trouble?
- Do you need a model or another kind of release?
Trinidad, Cuba – bought some meringues from this lovely man just so I could take his photo.

Weekly Photography Challenge – Street Photography

If this is something you’ve struggled with, here are some dPS articles to help you out.
- 7 Steps to Improve Your Closeup Candid Street Photography
- How to Plan a Street Photography Shoot When Traveling
- How to Tell a Story With Your Street Photography
- The Ultimate Guide to Street Photography
- Tutorial – Easy Camera Settings for Street Photography
- 7 Tips for Overcoming Nerves When Doing Street Photography
- A Simple Way to Conquer Your Fear of Street Photography
- 10 Non-Technical Ways to Improve Your Street Photography
Two key tips I will give you myself are – find good light and shoot there AND find a good or interesting background and wait for a subject to enter your frame.

Be patient!

Here I saw this amazing late afternoon light on the stairs. So I waited for someone to descend and enter the light.

I was attracted by the symmetry of the arched windows but wanted someone to walk past between them. So I fired this frame when the two kids were walking through the scene and got a bonus silhouette in the foreground – which adds even more depth to the image. I waited about 5 minutes for this shot to happen.

Shadows make for dramatic photos. Find them and use them in your images,

Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge. Sometimes it takes a while for an image to appear so be patient and try not to post the same image twice.

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You can also share your images on the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Hit the Streets by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
November 11, 2017

Gear of the Year 2017 – Barney’s choice (part 1): Leica M10

My choice for Gear of the Year is a pricey camera with niche appeal. The Leica M10 is not a camera that many people are likely to buy, when compared to other major DSLRs and mirrorless products released in 2017. Leica knows that, and trust me – Leica is fine with it. The M10 probably isn’t a camera that will suit the majority of photographers, either – even those with the funds required to purchase one.

The M10 is a curious beast: a highly evolved throwback, which combines some very old technology with a modern 24MP full-frame sensor to offer a unique user experience with some unique quirks. It’s awkward, tricky to master, and lacks a lot of the bells and whistles common even in much cheaper competitors, but I love it all the same.

I could have taken this picture with pretty well any camera. But I took it with the Leica M10, because that’s what I had with me. (I didn’t promise you an exciting story).

There is a certain magic to Leica rangefinders, which is hard to properly explain. A lot of their appeal comes down to the quality of construction, which is obvious the moment you pick one up. While other brands have thrown their efforts behind high-tech mass-production (with admittedly impressive results), Leica has never aspired to market saturation and still makes its M-series cameras in much the same way as it always has done; relying heavily on manual processes, and the accumulated years of experience of its small workforce in Wetzlar, Germany (with a little help from electronics suppliers in Asia and a facility in Portugal).

A lot of Leica rangefinders’ appeal comes down to the quality of construction

I’ve been pretty cynical about some of Leica’s digital imaging products in the past (I still can’t get excited about the TL-series, for instance, despite the considerable improvements that have been made to that system since its introduction) and I make no secret of it. In the days of hybrid autofocus and 4K video, the M10 is clearly an anachronism.

But…

The M10 and current 35mm F1.4 Asph., makes a powerful and unobtrusive combination. Many DSLRs and ILCs are technically more versatile, but few are as discreet while still offering a full-frame sensor.

Ironically, the M10 has won a place in my heart (and my camera bag) precisely because it isn’t trying too hard to be something that it isn’t. In contrast to the slightly bloated Typ. 240, the stills-only M10 is stripped back to the essentials. Presenting almost the same form-factor as the M6 TTL and M7, and an identical footprint to the original M3, the M10 is noticeably slimmer than previous digital M-series rangefinders while offering a simpler digital interface and tweaked image quality. In fact, with the M10 I can comfortably shoot at ISO 12,800 and higher without worrying about banding, or any particular image quality gremlins. The sensor isn’t quite up there with the best 24MP sensors on the market, but it’s more than good enough.

It’s been a long, strange year but as 2017 draws to a close, the M10 is probably the camera I’ve used most. While undoubtedly not as versatile as (say) a Nikon D850, the M10 does have the advantage of being considerably more convenient to travel with.

I still get a bit uncomfortable carrying what amounts to almost a year’s rent around my neck

I’ve done a lot of traveling this year, and the M10 has been with me almost everywhere I’ve gone. I love that I can fit a full-frame camera and lens outfit covering 28-90mm into a small Domke F6 shoulder bag without feeling like I’m going to pull my arm out of its socket. I still get a bit uncomfortable carrying what amounts to almost a year’s rent around my neck, but – touch wood (or rather, hand-laquered wood soft shutter release) – nothing bad has happened yet.

This started out as an attempt to quickly ‘de-bling’ a chrome M10 for my recent trip to the jungles of central Mexico. I might have got a bit carried away. Watch out for the ‘Britton Special Edition Jungle M10’ and remember – you saw it here first.

Partly that’s because I’m careful about who I point my camera at (and where I do it) but partly it’s because a black M10 in a black half-case, accessorized with some carefully applied black electrical tape, doesn’t actually draw much attention. The eye-catching chrome version looks absolutely beautiful by comparison, but it’s the kind of beautiful that makes me nervous.

The whole process of taking someone’s picture is less confrontational than it might be with a larger and louder camera

I’m not a huge proponent of candid portraiture, but the subtle click of the M10’s shutter means that even for casual snapshots of friends and family, the whole process of taking someone’s picture is less confrontational than it might be with a larger and louder camera.

The flip-side is that it’s also harder to use. For all of the smug chin-stroking of whiskery old salts who cut their teeth on M3s and M2s back in the Good Old Days, the suggestion that M-series rangefinders are as functional – or as practical – as SLRs “just as long as you know what you’re doing” is nonsense. I still shoot film occasionally and I love it, but compared to a 24MP full-frame sensor, even the finest-grained film is a pretty low-resolution medium. I’m much more prepared to let minor focus errors or even camera-shake slide when I’m flipping through scans from my film cameras than I am when examining digital files at 100% in Lightroom.

One of my favorite lenses on the M10 is actually one of the oldest that I own: the tiny 1950s-vintage Nikkor 2.8cm F3.5, attached via an LTM-M adapter. At F4, the center is sharp enough for this kind of (slightly) off-center composition, with just enough out of focus blur fore and aft for some subject separation. Newer Leica and 3rd party 28mm lenses are unequivocally sharper, but they’re also much bigger. This portrait was taken using Live View to ensure off-center sharpness using this vintage lens.

The M10 can turn out excellent results, but truly accurate focusing and composition can be extremely challenging – even for those with long experience of shooting with rangefinders. Yes, there’s always Live View, but on this point I tend to agree with the whiskery old salts: you don’t buy a rangefinder to use Live View (which doesn’t mean that I never do, because like every good whiskery old salt, I am also a hypocrite).

Perversely though, its inherent trickiness is one of the reasons I enjoy shooting with the M10 so much. Compared to an auto-everything DSLR or mirrorless camera, it’s very challenging. When I capture an image that I really like, I appreciate it more because I feel like I’ve worked harder to get there.

Leica M10 real-world samples

Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter / magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review), we do so in good faith, please don’t abuse it.

Unless otherwise noted images taken with no particular settings at full resolution. Because our review images are now hosted on the ‘galleries’ section of dpreview.com, you can enjoy all of the new galleries functionality when browsing these samples.

$ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_6037658348″,”galleryId”:”6037658348″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”standalone”:false,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”startInCommentsView”:false,”isMobile”:false}) });
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

November 11, 2017

Bokeh Market site tracks used camera market value, offers alerts on price changes

A new website called Bokeh Market aims to take some of the work out of buying and selling used camera gear by providing users with real-time market value info. The website, which is free to use, provides a graph showing an item’s value over time, its individual seller rating and, when possible, its trusted seller value. The site also culls active listings for the item from various online destinations, including eBay and B&H Photo.

The website is search-based, meaning users search for the gear they’re interested in. Though an account isn’t necessary to use the Bokeh Market, registering one allows users to create their own gear list, making it easier to see its value. Additionally, accounts can be used to get price alerts for specific items and to create bundles of items, the value of which is provided based on Bokeh Market’s data.

Via: PetaPixel

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

November 11, 2017
VNTG8 turns old 8mm film canisters into SD card holders

A new Kickstarter project wants to provide photographers with a retro storage solution for their SD and microSD cards. Called VNTG8, this project takes old 8mm film canisters and transforms them into SD card holders via a foam insert. This foam insert features six large pockets for full-size SD cards and six small pockets for microSD cards.

The foam insert has a somewhat clever radial design clearly inspired by the film spool it replaces. VNTG8 comes in two varieties, one that features a new Goldberg Brothers canister from remaining stock produced in the 1970s, the other featuring used canisters sourced from various places throughout the US.

In addition, the polyethylene foam insert will be offered as a standalone option for buyers who have their own 8mm film canisters, but only if the Kickstarter campaign reaches its $ 7,000 stretch goal. A Goldberg canister VNTG8 with foam insert is offered to backers who pledge at least $ 19. Delivery is estimated to start in February 2018 if the campaign is successful.

Via: Kickstarter

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

November 11, 2017
Video Tutorials – Tips for Better Street Photography

Street photography is a great way to get out taking pictures, even in your own city. There is always something interesting you can find doing this kind of photography. Here are some videos to help you out with your street photography and taking better photos.

Street Photography for Beginners

In this video, Josh Katz gives some very practical tips on doing street photography including camera settings, and how to find good subjects. Even if you’re not new to street photography there are some good nuggets in here – give it a watch.

10 Simple Street Photography Tips

Here is a video from a photographer from Mumbai, India. You’ll see that his images may be more exotic than your locale, but the 10 tips are applicable wherever you live.

Now it’s your turn to get out there and do some shooting. Both videos mentioned the same tip – that photography is about experimenting, trying things and just doing it.

Happy shooting.

The post Video Tutorials – Tips for Better Street Photography by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

November 10, 2017
Sharp’s new 8K camera is $77,000

With 4K recording available on many smartphones and 4K resolution pretty much a standard specification on TV sets, it looks like the industry is now pushing to move into 8K territory faster. Sharp’s contribution comes in the shape of the new 8C-B60A 8K camcorder which is aimed at broadcasters and will undoubtedly be deployed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The camera comes with a Super 35mm sensor that’s approximately the same size as the one on the Red Helium Weapon 8K and is capable of recording 10-bit 60 fps footage. Grass Valley’s HQX codec helps keeping file sizes at a manageable level but the camera comes with a custom 2TB SSD pack that was developed in collaboration with Astrodesign and can hold approximately 40 minutes of 8K video.

A PL lens mount can take Zeiss and Leica lenses among other which should give film makers plenty of options for creating a specific look and make the camera an option far beyond the fields of news and sports.

In addition the 8C-B60A comes with a number of features aimed at broadcast users, such as an integrated top-handle and viewfinder, as well as simultaneous recording and output and a shoulder pad.

All those features don’t come cheap, though. With a price tag of $ 77,000 the 8C-B60A will be out of reach for enthusiasts and pro-sumers but it will help big broadcasters and proucers drive 8K and help manufacturers, such as Sharp, push the sales figures for 8K displays.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

November 10, 2017
Taro uses infrared technology and AI for improved subject tracking

Conventional tracking systems tend to struggle when the tracked subject briefly exits the frame or disappears behind another object. The new Taro auto-tracker and stabilizer tackles this problem with infrared technology.

Users connect their smartphones, DSLR cameras or existing Bluetooth stabilizers to Taro and select the target they want to track. Taro will then follow the target using an AI-based infrared tracking algorithm that performs 30 calculations per second. According to the Taro team, this allows for tracking of objects that are moving as fast as 50 MPH.

“In developing Taro, we’ve essentially designed a robot that operates your camera just like a real cameraman could,” said Taro founder, Hao Qian. “Taro can instantaneously establish the intended object’s approximate location,” he said. “Taro also has a powerful learning algorithm that immediately eliminates sub-optimal positioning, precisely pinpointing the object’s exact location – which results in the perfect balance between efficiency and accuracy.”

The Taro robot looks like an interesting solution for anyone wanting to film themselves during sports and action activities or for filming while moving. The Taro is available on Kickstarter now in three versions, a kit for smartphones, a kit for DSLRs or just a tracking module that can be used with existing Bluetooth stabilizers.

The smartphone kit will set you back $ 200 while the DSLR kit is $ 600. The tracking module on its own is available at $ 100. Early-bird offers are available as well. For more information watch the video below and have a look at the project’s Kickstarter page.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

November 10, 2017
Vixari is the world’s most portable tripod, but it can still handle DSLRs

A new tripod called Vixari is attempting to launch on Kickstarter, where it is billed as “the world’s most portable tripod.” Vixari has an ultra-portable foldable design that’s only a little bigger than a smartphone, but despite its ultra-compact size, Vixari is still able to handle large cameras, including DSLRs that weigh up to 2kg / 4.4lbs.

Vixari isn’t the first portable tripod, but the team behind it claims that it is the most compact. The tripod features extendable legs that fold into the unit’s body, which itself doubles as a folding case. Each of the three legs have a maximum length of 105cm / 41in, while the body has three mounting options: a slot for smartphones between 6mm and 9mm in thickness, a mount screw, and GoPro tripod mount adapter. And since it can be used to trigger smartphones, it includes a Bluetooth remote shutter that supports Android and iOS.

The tripod body is made from polycarbonate, while the legs are made from aluminum alloy, the combination of which makes it durable and lightweight. The tripod will be offered in black, white, and dark blue colors, assuming it successfully makes it to market. Overall, Vixari measures 19cm x 6.5cm x 3.4cm / 7.4in x 2.5in x 1.33in and weighs 600g / 1.32lbs.

Kickstarter backers are offered the tripod, plus mount screw, mount adapter, remote shutter, and charging cable for pledges of at least £49 / $ 65. Shipping to these early bird backers is expected to start in February 2018.

To learn more or put down a pledge, head over to the Kickstarter campaign.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

November 10, 2017