Shooting Outside Gallery

What sometimes grabs our eye in a photo is the contrast in detail between one or more objects in a photo. This is commonly referred to as bokeh or background or foreground blur. There is that element in photography which we immediately recognize because this is exactly how we tend to see things naturally and when we see this in an image it grabs our attention. But how do we produce this most powerful photographic effect? There are more than one element involved in this. First and most importantly your subject should minimally be a pleasing-to-the-eye subject and better yet a strong one. Here we have a most unusual subject, an old steel wheel off a farm implement no longer used. Rusty, hardly even noticed in a run-down farm field most passers-by would not give it a second glance. It is just another worn down piece of junk from days gone by. But when photographed using bokeh, it commands 1st place attention. The fact that this is in B&W may help a bit more to some, but the primary in

Prior to doing this make sure you have all of your work backed up, preferably on another HDD (Hard Disk Drive)or on DVD. Only then will you feel like soaring. As 2008 runs out of steam, and 2009 is about to emerge, we are faced with some of the same challenges as well as some added ones. In considering these I always look at what I have done to my PC in adding tons of image files. If I had to consider only these images I should be Analyzing & Defragging our HDD's every 30 days. But there is so much more to consider when it comes to how well our PC's work. Consider that every upload, every download, every file added or deleted, every profile change on your pc, every screensaver added or changed or deleted, every email written, received, read & trashed, then dumped, in short, every action a PC takes has potential for losing bits of data, albeit small amounts, but these add up. Now let's add what we do to our images; my workflow includes ingesting the files into my ima

This is a shot of snow falling with the following body & lens settings: F Stop/Aperture Value 4.0, Shutter Speed 1 second ISO 100 Focal Length 24mm (using a 24-105, 4.0L IS USM Canon) Color Space Adobe RGB Layer converted to mono I took this using my outdoor security motion-detected light in it's 40watt lo-beam setting, hand held. Makes for an interesting effect and is a much better capture once converted than in color as the lighting was very low. The only manipulation used after mono was a slight Curve adjustment. A lot more could be done with this but this is according to individual tastes. Anyway I hope everyone is enjoying their Holiday.

OK you can stop Commenting as I have the 3 winners of a 5x7" photo of the image here. Thanks for entering & commenting on posts in my blog. You will receive your prints shortly after Christmas. Congratulations. I've just recently opened a shop and here is one of the images I've been using to prepare gifts for Christmas . If you see anything you'd like me to create just let me know. There is no extra charge for customizing to your needs. But you'd better hurry if you want get this by Christmas. And thanks for linking to my new site. The first 3 to arrive & Contact Me with a message that you have commented on a post or article here, and Pasted the url to your Comment, will receive a free 5x7" print (sure they're small but...they're free) of the above photo. You'll receive this in time for Christmas only if you are a rapid Commenter. I will also need a photo of you to add to my winner's Post on December 27th. Gooooooood Luck. Sorry this o

While shooting from the base of Mt St Helens in Sept of this year I caught a movement to my left, as did it of me. Since the mountain had little snow, I chose this as my subject for the outing. And by the way, don't forget the batteries this Christmas: Batteries.com

Deleting images in camera There has over the years been a lot of discussion about the safety or lack of same as involves deleting images from a memory card, be they Compact Flash, SD or any other format. It has to do with whether file corruption from the deletion can cause the next image to overwrite in a corrupted fashion. And that it is safer to download all images as is, even if you don't like them onto your PC, then deleting them as you view them in your camera's download software application. I have done it both ways and while I cannot find any instances of overwrite corruption in either fashion of deleting images, whether in-camera or in-pc, the common consensus is to finish out a card, then remove & replace with another memory card. There is evidence that deleting & overwriting can occasionally corrupt the next file, and that next file, that next image could have been your best shot of the day. From all I have read though, and from all the photographers I have di

I read something today which caused me to write this, a podcast from Alyson Stanfield's artbiz blog If I could thank you in person I would, but since that is not possible I just wanted to take today to thank you for your interest in my blog, for reading and occasionally taking the time to Comment, for linking to my Galleries at Imagekind , and for purchasing my Fine Art Prints there, for asking questions which I can help you with here, for sending me links to help me learn new techniques or info on updated equipment in the field or seminars in my area. This would be the proper day to thank you all, so thanks. And for all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving too.

Walking downtown the other day I was caught by this undisturbed cascade of mushrooms on a tree in the parking strip along a well-walked street. This is perhaps the largest display of mushrooms I have seen outside of a very large set, maybe 4 times this size, on a downed old-growth log some years ago. So here it is Fall again & out of nowhere comes this massive display within the city. I know it wasn't there last year because I frequent this street at least twice a week year-round. What a nice surprise and once again this just shows how convenient it is to often carry your camera and a walk-around lens with you. This was shot with a Canon 30D & a Canon 24-105 L lens on a bright sunny afternoon.

So you have taken a series of photos for a client or a friend, a family member or partner, but because of a few facial flaws you want to soften the glow. How do you do that? Certainly you must have a piece of photo editing software/ I use Photoshop (PS). So I'll assume you have CS or better. Open your image in PS, . Duplicate by dragging down to Create a new layer,then make sure your file is in 8 bit Mode by selecting Image> Mode> 8 bits per channel. This allows for manipulating a file with many more parameters. Next apply a Gaussian Blur within the Filter Tab to a Radius setting of 15. You should adjust as you feel but it should be a higher setting that appears acceptable as you will correct in the next Layer Adjustment. Drop back the Opacity in the Layers Palette to say, 40%. Now pick a soft Brush, with a Hardness setting of Zero. Make sure before you begin painting, that you have pressed the 'D' key to select a black foreground & a white background so your brus

OK assuming you have watched the Oval tutorial below in my previous post, spent some time creating one and are now ready to try something different for another card of say just text, but want to make it look special let's take a look at Reflective Text. This is another very easy technique that any of us can master very quickly. Understand that the video is presented in a very calm & slow manner. Have patience as this is not a rocket style approach. But before you click on the video remember, if you don't wish to be transferred to youtube.com don't click on the center Play Button, click on the lower left Play Button . As a reminder this can be used with isolated objects even within a photo if the object is first surrounded using the Lasso Tool & then placed into a New Document via the Control N (Option N Mac) then transfer via the Move Tool. Don't forget to save this and consider an online source such as Mozy Online Backup: 2GB Free. Automatic. Secure.

The link above by clicking on the Title will take you to a youtube video on how to create an oval surrounding a special photo you might wish to add this to. This is a silent tutorial with notes added so if you 'Pause & Play' as you read the notes you will learn a straight-forward method of learning a technique which you might use in creating a Birthday, Thanksgiving, Hannukah or Christmas Card. Feathered Oval v4 by rubenflix

You can see a whole scrolling page of my prints right here at 1stAngel&Friends If you feel like leaving a Comment please do so. And thanks for visiting.

The Holidays are coming again & Imagekind has prepared a way to browse & select from some 90000 artwork items. Take a look.

If you find that you are bewildered by anything related to photography and would like some help, I don't claim to be able to answer your every inquiry, but I'll try. I am better in some areas than I am in others but by answering your questions I too will learn. What have you been trying to get done and are struggling with? So try your best to stump me. Maybe you'll be successful, maybe not. Either way you'll win. Maybe your question is a simple one. Do I know the best way to choose a CF Card, a DSLR, a lens or a cataloging application to sort and rename digital image files? Are you wondering how best to shoot a waterfall? Is it important to shoot in the same light as your subject or can this vary? Where can one find the best price on a given piece of software or hardware? Which site writes the best reviews? Ask away but above all be detailed and specific , because I won't want to ask a series of questions. Leave no detail out. See below this entry where it reads &q

Once in awhile a very pleasing image simply appears. Then with just a small amount of massaging a truly memorable one follows. I am particularly pleased with this one. I hope you like this as well. If you choose to purchase and place in your home or office I'd be honored.

Why do we consider such a move? Well when we shoot a photo & then print it or have it printed, often we find that the colors are not what we wanted. We've heard that professional labs use CMYK color space, so if it's good enough for them why not for us? You may not realize it but CMYK is not actually a defined 'color space', such as aRGB or sRGB, but a 'profiled color space' that you may or may not have created in your Photoshop Color Settings. Clearly what happens when we choose to convert to that profile is we are limiting the colors (gamut) available to the image already embedded with a color space. CMYK offers a device profile that would be very helpful only if we know that the device, most often a printer within a printing lab, is one we have a lot of faith in. Bottom line is if you are sending an image or printing an image in-house, leave it in the color space which has been assigned by the camera body settings, unless the print lab you are sending i

As usual I am right on top of things here, only 9 weeks late but as of the 1st of June (I believe) buying art at Imagekind .com is getting even easier. Buying art through PayPal is the safest way with all their security measures. This will move a large number of online shoppers for art of all kinds into the Imagekind showroom. At last count they claim to have 50,000 artists and photographers keeping galleries there. That's the largest collection for sale online that I know of and perhaps the largest anywhere. And since I am one of the members I'd like to urge you to take a look at not only mine but of the many fine members there. There are an incredible number of really creative and talented members. Some of which have only a few of their very finest works, others who have thousands, while for the most part members have a few galleries. Here's the Home page from which you can browse members or do a search for whatever art or photography you are looking for while feeling r

 

 

  An Independence Day Celebration of our Freedom from Great Britain. But is it on the correct date? Below from ] Wiki During the American Revolution, the legal separation from Great Britain occured on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia.[1] After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a committee with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail: The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of d

This is one of the very best for attracting Hummingbirds to feed upon. This particular one, among others, resides next to my stream leading from the waterfalls to my pond. At rest I find myself facing South watching from under an overhang, awaiting the families arrival to sip nectar. You can hang this as a set of 3 identical pieces one larger and two smaller or bring 2 other pieces in this White Borders Gallery together to create a striking ensemble. From just over $8 to just under $50 you can order a print of this Crocosmia for your office or your home.

Tabernacle Available as a small print up to a 40"x60" wall hanging. Can be ordered as a print only, matted, or additionally it can be framed up to 20x30" only. I will limit this print to 100 prints no matter the photo paper, the matte or the frame.

sRGB, AdobeRGB, which one? And what about ProPhotoRGB? The answer is directly relative to what you want to accomplish. For many of us emailing occasional photos is a way of sharing life's activities with friends and relatives easily. Even for uploading to online sources, even assuming printing will be part of the goal, using sRGB for both of these situations works admirably. Now let's take printing for a wall hanging, as opposed to a 4x6" or 5x7" photo. In this case most photographers have historically used AdobeRGB (aRGB) for a number of years and done so with very goods results. Even when printing for a customer Adobe RGB does a fine job of interpreting the color ranges within that space. So for the most part using aRGB is a valid space to continue using. It certainly has a wider gamut to utilize from the data your camera sends along for conversion to a particular Color Space. And all but Pro bodies use sRGB or aRGB, so unless you are currently using a Pro body DSLR

This book is a compilation of international artists, published by blurb, organized and edited by Elizabeth Edwards of 1st Angel website, Manchester England 'Artistic Expressions' book is a first from the celebrated series '1stAngel Interviews'. It contains artwork and photographs from talent artists assembled for this inaugural edition. The artists and photographers in the book are The Blue Queen, Peter M Ridge, Rich Collins Photography, KCDesigns, Priscilla Turner, Aloramyst, Baiko, Art By Kinnally, Cathy Jones, Ink & Brush Creations, Sarah Lynch, Margarita Clewitt, tonyp and Elizabeth Edwards, with special notice to multiple award-winner Edward Kinnaly and Zeitgeist Gallery exhibitor tonyp. If you like to preview the first few pages of this inaugural issue, Go To Artistic Expressions PDF

Ever wonder what exactly all those acronyms mean? You know the ones we use daily,such as PDF, GIF, JPEG and so on. Well here are a few most of us run across occasionally. * BMP – Windows Bitmap files * DNG – Digital Negative files * EPS – Encapsulated PostScript files * FAX – faxes * FPX – FlashPix files * GIF – Graphics Interchange Format files * HDR – High Dynamic Range Image files * ICNS - Apple Icon Image Files * ICO – Windows icon files * JPEG 2000 – JPEG 2000 files * JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group files * OpenEXR – OpenEXR files * PS – Adobe PostScript files (after an automatic conversion to PDF) * PSD – Adobe Photoshop files * PICT – QuickTime image files * PDF – Portable Document Format files * PNG – Portable Network Graphics files * PNTG – MacPaint Bitmap Graphic files * QTIF – QuickTime image files * RAD – Radience Scene Description files * RAW – Raw image files

At the point this article was created, Adobe Photoshop CS3 still cost about USD $649 per copy. I think it’s safe to say that not everyone will afford to get a copy or willing to get a copy if all one need to do is just basic image editing stuff. That’s probably one of the main reason why there’s still a fairly large crowd out there actively looking for free alternatives to Photoshop to help them in their daily basic design jobs. If you are not going into advance image editing, you should know that there’s always free softwares out there capable to perform what Photoshop can. Gimp works across several different platform (Linux, Mac, Windows, FreeBSD, Sun OpenSolaris) and is perhaps one of the best free alternatives out there so far. Gimp has a large user community, with great list of tutorials on the official sites. Download Gimp [Windows only] This photo editor runs on Windows. It has a large and growing community of users, with lots of tutorials and plugins. Download Paint [Windows on

The world of lenses can be astoundingly confusing when considering terms such as Prime, Telephoto or Zoom, Focal Length: short or long, Depth of Field, Wide Angle, Telephoto, Image Stabilization, Aperture, F-Number, Shutter Speed, and so on. After considering writing an article explaining all of this I ran across one by Cambridge Color which is simply unbeatable. If you have the time to absorb this it will refresh your understanding or give you data you have long been wishing you had. An example of the information within this article which is valuable is the following tutorial on how to estimate how exposure time is relative focal length. "A common rule of thumb for estimating how fast the exposure needs to be for a given focal length is the one over focal length rule. This states that for a 35 mm camera, the exposure time needs to be at least as fast as one over the focal length in seconds. In other words, when using a 200 mm focal length on a 35 mm camera, the exposure time ne

There are simply too many choices to make picking a new camera, an easy task. In the past we could simply walk into our local camera store, and see most all of the new cameras available. We could pick one up, take it outside with a suitable lens attached by the store rep and shoot a few shots just to get the feel. And in some cases we could come back next day to view the pictures we had taken. I'll assume many of us knew a couple of the store reps well enough to get this done. Today whenever I walk into a store the cameras are either cabled down to a security board or the rep you are asking knows more about their cell phone features than the cameras they are supposed to be selling. So where does one start? Well to make things a little easier dpreview.com gives you all of the latest new camera reviews with a few simple clicks. But here's a second choice if you want to see a website doing reviews using an Editor who has a physics major from the University of Kent. I don't kno

We've all heard of writer's block. But there is also OutideShooter's Block. I hear this all the time: "I am going to start shooting this year again. I just don't know what yet" or "I'll think of something soon" But the 'What' evades us. The answer is already in our heads, we just have to shake it out to reveal it. Let's take for instance the last time you drove down the street, or walked in your neighborhood. You saw trees, your watched other people, their dogs, you noticed steps and staircases, benches, doors, old windows, the hardware on doors and windows, building styles, outside art perhaps, taillights, flowers, insects, leaves unfolding, cloud formations, curbs, I could go on until I prevented myself from actually shooting some of this myself. But I think you get the idea. While there are some really special sites and subjects to shoot, literally anything including rusted scraps of metal, mud puddles and so on can make for an int

There are two basic types of photographers, all Commercial photographers aside: the grab & shoot type, and the precise, "I don't care if I miss 100 to your 1 shot, I'm getting ths 1 shot right" (Precise) type. Which are you? If you are the grab & shoot type, move onto another blog or website cause this will bore you and make you a better photographer.....ooops did I catch your attention? OK grab-n-shoot types are perfectly fine for the weekend get-together, but then you won't need your Nikon D300 or your Canon 5D for that event. So no shame in that. But if you are of the Precise type, I want to discuss the mechanics of setting up a Landscape or Nature shoot. All DSLR's have important settings which should be taken into account when setting up a shot. Think about the amount of light you have available. In most instances you will have adequate light and can easily create a good picture, but if what you are looking for is an exceptional photo you will be

Ever found yourself wishing you had a quick photo to work with without having to go through all the work of resizing and converting to JPG. Here's your chance to get a daily free stock photo. What's the catch? Well of course you'll need to register. Check it out. Get The Crestock Daily Free Stock Photo Here

OK you're probably wondering why I would place a tutorial about how to smooth skin on my site, which I call Shooting Outside. But I can easily justify this, (tongue in cheek) as this was shot, yup, outside. No matter. The important thing is here's how to smooth out skin in nearly any shot if you are using, and here's the key, Photoshop CS3. Take a look & let us know how you like it. Would it be worth spending $650?

Click on the Title above to be taken directly to 'The Chief'. If you are looking for something just a little bit different, a bit out of the ordinary, you might want to take a look at this print. Or for that matter the entire Gallery of Black & White Color images. This one is called simply 'Chief'. A Giclee´ Print available on nearly any paper you wish. This print on Photo Luster Paper starting below $50.

Calling all Artists, Authors and Photographers. My site is for artists / authors / photographers to be interviewed by myself and so to show off their work. This site was only started in February of this year, but it already has got a good following and we have had well over 2000 unique visitors since we started. We have also generated sales through the interviews. I have 10 interview spaces for artists. 10 for Photographers and 19 for Authors. These will be published over the next 4 months. If you are interested, please email me direct at iam [@] 1stangel.co.uk with a link to view your work and a small introduction. Guest bloggers also welcome. If anyone would like to guest author now and again about art and, or literature, please email the above address, again with a link to view something your have already written and a small introduction about yourself. No payment but you are able to link to your work in a signature at the bottom of your piece. Thank you for your time. 1stAngel 1stA

You may or may not find this site performing well but it is worth a look. At no charge you will be able to tweak your photos, with a 2 GB space. I can already hear you. "That's not much room", but it is free. And since Flickr may not end up being the same as usual, IF it ends under the ownership of Redmond WA's Microsoft, this may turn ou to be quite a nifty site for those of you who are not professionals, but still need minimal photo editing software. You can take a peak here but I'll warn you as of this post the site is in Full Metal Jacket Beta state. There are others but with as much clout and membership in Photoshop currently, it is hard to believe this site won't eventually lead the pack, rock the house, command center attention. So click on over for a look. Just try it at a time when most of the free world is sleeping, and I don't know when that will be, yet. Uhoh...WARNING...It appears Adobe has let slip by some terms involving any of your content

I am tooting my own horn here if you don't mind. 1stAngel has been interviewing a number of artists and photographers from ImageKind and I was fortunate enough to be included. There are a number of really creative people at her site and the interviews are well done. Take a side trip on over to read a couple and you might be impressed by their work. Of course my link is to mine but it is just a right column link away to read more or even better if you are also a photographer or artist to get an interview for yourself Tell us how you liked the read.

When you are looking for something new to hang on your walls, often you can search for days or weeks before you land on something you really like. Here are 2 Galleries you'll find which might offer you something that fits within 5 minutes. Take a look and if you don't agree, leave a note for a reminder the next time a new gallery is placed. See Prints for Your Home or Office

Try this site, "http://epaperpress.com/psphoto/index.html and you'll find a wealth of How To's to gain the beginning ground for your journey through Adobe's Photo Shop techniques. It is also a great refresher course for those of us, of which I am too am guilty of, who have learned a way, stuck with it because it works, yet forgotten the other ways in which the same technique can be applied. When you open the first page you'll see this This site is based on Photoshop CS2. For Photoshop CS3 read the New in CS3 section. All downloads, including Photoshop Actions, have been verified in Photoshop CS3. Looking for a book? A search for "Photoshop" at Amazon.com returns 8,822 entries! Here are a few of the best. It's simple but thorough. Post a comment here when you get a good look and let our readers know what you think of the site.

Some of us who've been using Photo Shop for a long time now have come to rely on certain tools we know work in the way we like them to work, for example, if we want to bring some overall light to oue images we simply click on Image > Adjustment . Brighten/Contrast and we notice that by dragging the Brightness slider to the right that we get the effect we want. And that by choosing Filter Unsharp Mask that we can easily sharpen an image. However for those of you who haven't taken the time to look into the tool added in CS2 called Smart Sharpen, we can choose not only from from Amount, Radius & Threshhold, but a host of other options which I think you'll find somewhat more appealing and adjustable. Take a look at this video and see for yourself.

Did any of you get the chance to shoot the recent Total Lunar Eclipse? I set a tripod on my deck and used a remote shutter release. And I got a decent shot but even with sharpening I wasn't able to capture a saleable shot. I have a Manfrotto 190 set of legs with a 141RC Head which is more than adequate for the 30D with a 70-200 F2.8L IS with a Canon 1.4xTC extender. The problem was that the center rod, with legs fully extended, still had to be raised beyond the extension connection and with the turning of the earth or the decks boards movement, or that I didn't use mirror lock up as Peter mentioned from the forum at Ik, even as still as I was I could not quite get a sharp focus. And yes I remembered to shut off the IS. This one is just as soon as the Full Eclipse had passed and I could get a good orange color. Leave a Comment with a link if you have one or you've seen one. If it's yours let us know the settings. Mine was captured using Manual, F Stop was 4.0, Shutter S

Pretty hard to imagine any point and shoot camera that can make my mouth water, and this one is no exception. The writer makes this Sony sound like the answer to all photographer's dreams. And I have to admit it is something to imagine that all which is packed into this little gem is so affordable. Read it all and make up your own mind but in the end the question, if you are a creative photographer, is "Will it give me the ability to CREATE an image that I can then give or sell which will impress?" The other question is if you want to rez up and print at a larger dimension how then will the IQ be translated through Photo Shop or your printer? Take a look and after thinking about it let us know how you feel. Just click on the Green Title above.

This week's featured art is by OutsideShooter, just click below on the link below'View Larger'. You'll find yourself asking if you recall seeing a Rhubarb quite this way. We all remember the reddish stalk and the giant green leafs. But this one is not quite the same. It is I think a real treat, even if it is in a state of decay. by — View Larger Decadence in art transformed into photography. A Rhubarb. Prices for begin at $21.22, subject to change. Tags: Imagekind ,

I often wonder what it is that takes me back again and again to the same places. The dream of any self-respecting photographer is to capture the best he can do every time out. Unfortunately more often than not when I set out specifically to capture a subject, in this case, Mt St Helens, weather or great light makes the shoot untenable. We can push exposure to gain brightness, we can open Aperture to add light, but many times it simply isn't up to my demands. Oh I know there are many photographers today who seem to sell by using the dark, smudgy technique, and that is a fine space to produce good work in, but for me if I need good light there simply is no substitute. On this particular trip I had heard the weather was going to be sunny as the morning progressed, so we left around 9:30 am for a 90 minute drive to the mountain. By the time we got within 6 miles of the base, we came to a screeching halt. The roads were closed to every vehicle but snow mobiles. Well not literally, if on

This week's featured art is by If you can imagine a more downtown "NYC Life is For Real" you must let me know, because I have found myself deep in thought and pleased immensely while viewing this piece of art by my good friend Walter Bebirian. This artist is without a doubt the most prolific I have ever had the pleasure of conversing with. He leans in every direction of creativity, at times diffusing reality with intelligence and at others settling into the plausible realm of minimalism. Take a look at this by linking to the word 'by' just below by — View Larger Tags: , , Imagekind ,

This week's featured art is Pine Flowers by Rich Collins Pine Flowers by Rich Collins — View Larger This is part of a whole new series which presents flowers and nature in a way that highlights the aura of each in a rather unique manner. As you can see the edge is digitally painted so as to leave revealed only the very best part of each image. Each one has a different border treatment though all are similar enough to hang on a wall as a set. When you link to this New Gallery 'White Borders' you will be able view from among 16 images all presented in this fashion. You'll find images which are quite unique. Play around with changing the print size, matte and frames just for fun. And if you choose to purchase any of these you will be able to buy the print only, add matting in many colors, or frame from 150 choices. Prices for Pine Flowers begin at $21.22, subject to change. New art featured weekly, courtesy of the artists at Imagekind. Tags: Rich Col

White Borders Nature is always beautiful even if the subject ranges from emerging to it's final show before decay. This collection is designed to allow the print buyer to place several of these in a set, matted & framed. These are all similar yet not identical in the edge treatment so they will all display well together in a grouping of 3 or more. Email Subscribe

When searching for data on which lens to choose you might consider using this site, Bob Atkins . Here  you'll have the opportunity to spend countless hours or days at reading through all his reviews. You can  choose from 3 options to begin with; show all lenses, show all prime lenses and show all zoom lenses.  narrowing it down, if you know what you want, say a wide angle single focal length vs a wide angle zoom, will clearly save time in reviewing. Certainly we all want more lenses, especially when starting out  assuming you are using a SLR body. Bob also offers many other criteria for learning about lenses; Just  choose Reviews> Lens> Cameras> then the lens you want to research   Bob has also has a Forum where you can register and discuss details of his reviews and other users opinions from personal experience. It's a great site for learning if you are in the market for a lens.    

Here is the right way to resize an image. But before you view this, open Photoshop and have an image ready to try this on. It's quick and easy but to remember it better it would be helpful to go through the steps. Add any Comments below.

When shooting different subjects, say a model vs a landscape different settings apply. Here's a short video tutorial by pospisil from YouTube. As you'll note at the bottom once finished, more videos are available with headings to identify each.

This week's featured art is Red Cedar River by Patrick Power Red Cedar River by Patrick Power — View Larger Patrick produces images in one set, Michingan State University, which may be a bit out of norm for many of us. In fact they may be not quite digital. The images are produced through the Viewfinder of an old Twin Lens Kodak Duaflex II camera. Yet they are digital. You are in for a real treat by linking to any of his images. This one, 'Red Cedar River' is one I especially like, but there are so many in this Gallery that are truly unique. Take a look. View them not just as they exist as enlarged thumbnails, but also Click on Buy A Print to see how it might look in a matte of many colors and of course frames and different photographic papers. Don't worry about the Buy button, it is not a Add To Cart type of Button. More like a practice button. I really think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Prices for Red Cedar River begin at $50.94, subj

I am guilty of this too. I am constantly learning about using tools in PS and learning new ways of using them. Time goes by and we just keep doing the same stuff, or variations over and over to increase our skills. But then we see someone else's work and we are awed by it. I recently saw some digital art from a photograph converted to a near painting and found out that it was done with brushes I don't have. Fortunately the link was included in the post. Jump to the link above or below, and you'll see more brushes that you'll ever use in your lifetime. Well I guess that depends on your age, but it's certainly true for me. If you like a particular set, check back in and share them with us. Also if you like your work, link us to something you've done. Have fun at Get Brushes .com

This week's featured art is IMG_0240 Lost on Mossy Trails II by Rich Collins IMG_0240 Lost on Mossy Trails II by Rich Collins — View Larger Walking alone in the woods following a path refreshes me more than anything else. The air is almost always fresh, often crisp. The sounds are like loud snowflakes, even on a clear day. Birds are ever present, owls 'whooo', squirrels bark, Jays Screech and crows Caww. The occasional deer stares until she bounds away. Black bear look in my direction but always move on. Coyotes continuously on the move put distance between us. Elk scream their tiny high pitched calls. As always when I return to the beginning of the trail, it is as if I have slept for a year. This print is available in my Dimensionz Gallery. Prices for IMG_0240 Lost on Mossy Trails II begin at $16.98, subject to change. Tags: Rich Collins , IMG_0240 Lost on Mossy Trails II , Imagekind ,