How to Take a Contest-Winning Photo

All you have to do is buy an expensive camera and press the shutter button. Don't you wish. Yes we all do, unfortunately its not that easy. But its not impossible either. First let's look at how the winning photos are selected.

Here's a winning photo from http://images.nationalgeographic.com (link below)



Now why would this one make the photo of the day, while another might not? The obvious reason might include that it is certainly not the shot you and I get when we shoot a bird flying since it means you would have to had set yourself up, anticipating its flight into your lens, and more that, its wings are not affixed in their normal position of wide open. Next it is an extremely sharp image, meaning the focus was spot on. Also the background does not compete with the subject, the owl. And too it fits the one thirds rule, the subject is 1/3rd of the image, rather than in the center.

Can you replicate this? Not if you are taking a walk and chance upon an owl suddenly flying into your vision. But what if you had set out to capture a bird inflight? What else might you have taken with you and your camera in order to capture this winning photo?

How about a tripod, a remote shutter release, great ambient light, a fast lens, and a setting that allows for moving subjects (Canon calls this AI Servo Mode), and of course PATIENCE.

Patience is necessary even if all the other conditions and tools aren't available. Here's that link but prepare to wait for an ad, then exit the ad: http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/456/cache/eagle-owl-flight_45673_990x742.jpg

Fungi in Dry Creek

A few photos captured from a hike through Dry Creek in Washington State.

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These are available to purchase as individual prints or as a set. Digital rights are also an option. Contact me at rcphotos AT q DOT com           If you're new here, click to subscribe to the latest post.

Free e-book

For as long as this free e-book is available click on the link and some specific instruction on 11 levels of photography.

11 Ways You Can Improve Your Photography

This eBook is jam-packed with 11 articles that will help photographers of all levels improve what they do. And yes, it’s free. Craft & Vision is a collection of hands-on, practical articles written by the following photographers (David duChemin, Piet Van den Eynde, Andrew S. Gibson, Nicole S. Young, Alexandre Buisse, Stuart Sipahigil, Eli Reinholdtsen and Michael Frye).


Readers will gain fresh ideas and insights into improving their photographic vision and the skills required to compose the images they want to make. It is 67 spreads (as in 134 magazine pages) which makes it the second largest ebook we’ve ever produced.
Download it. Enjoy it. Tell your friends about it.

Here's your link 11 Ways You Can Improve Your Photography 

1. Austin Lobo - December 5, 2011
   Thanks so much for this – I love exploring the fine art aspect of photography and this book is certainly a great source of inspiration and will add a whole new perspective to imagery making. I thank you for offering such great material for free – Happy Holidays :)
   
2. LORAINE - December 5, 2011
   THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS GREAT READ.
   

 

Can't unlock a PSD image file. Can you help?

 Unlocking a PSD Image File

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OK I've discovered how to do this so I'll share the fix. An Adobe employee contacted me and answered my question. Since this image had been saved in Multichannel Mode, I could not unlock it, until I changed the Mode to grayscale, then added a new layer, Saved As and now I can resize the image according the the buyers need for a larger image file. I don't think I've ever dealt with leaving a file in a multichannel mode with an Alpha Channel so this was news to me. I have a workflow I pursue and rarely ever work outside it so this was a tough one.

Great news and many thanks to ssprengle.


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Ever found that you cannot unlock an image file in Photoshop? Often times all we have to do is right-click, choose rename and we are good to go. Alternatively you could use the Windows system browser (Mac system browser) and then choose, Properties and unclick the Read only box under the General Tab toward the bottom.

But I have found that I cannot unlock an image file and am looking for your help. I saved it originally as a PSD from CR2 (RAW in Canon-speak). Then somewhere along the way I must have created an Alpha Channel as following the file name in parenthesis is this  (Alpha 1/8). I have tried all the known ways and am hoping someone can help me with this.

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White Balance, Gray Card or Not?

. . What kind of photography have you been doing lately? And what are you hoping to learn? It seems most every photographer I know, including myself, is almost always looking for a way to improve, or learn a new skill to take their photography to a higher level. But sometimes we could go back a level and do something so basic that perhaps we've even forgotten the use of a tool which can really make our efforts at getting great shots much easier. Remember the gray card and white balance (WB)? I'd be willing to bet you rarely use this. Let me know if I'm mistaken.

How simple is setting WB? Very simple. However you will need a gray card. You can pay a little or a lot depending on where you choose to purchase one. The reason WB is so important and worth the time and the price? Well I suppose if you shoot everything in Auto, and set your camera for Auto WB too, then you can get by with some reasonably good shots. But if you shoot in RAW capture as most of us photographers do these days, then after ingesting all of your shoot, you'll want to choose the one photo which has the gray card in it, and if using Photoshop RAW plugin, you simply select the WB icon, an eyedropper, then click on the gray card and you'll have produced a near perfect WB. Now you only have left to select all of the images from the exact same lighting series of shots and synchronize them. What a difference and what a time-saver too.

Here's hoping your Fall shoots were successful with the use of white balance control.

Finding my Photography

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Imagekind.com is a terrific place to purchase my photographic prints in your choice of archival papers, or canvas. It is my hope that you'll find prints to suit the location you wish to hang art.Your purchase provides you with a great work of art, and me with the motivation to continue creating work which most have told me they find inspiring.

I've worked for many years to present the public and the corporate environment with  choices for every wall, every room, every mood. Let me know if you are looking for a specific image, genre, or color scheme, and I'll get back to you.

 

Traditional to Alternative Photographic Prints

found here

Soft Proofing in Photoshop

Soft Proofing an image is the most accurate way to achieve the look of how the print will appear on paper.

Ever noticed that your print doesn't come out quite as vibrant as it looked in Photoshop? Surely there are a host of reasons outside the scope of this article, but I'll make the assumption you already are familiar with image preparation and color profiling, paper selection and the how of printing basics. Once you have these down the next step is to get your image to the very closest that your camera's image sensor captured.

Open your file in Photoshop. Next choose View, Proof Setup, Custom. The window reads Customize Proof Condition. Select Device to Simulate, then proceed to choose the paper profile you will be printing on. There will come associated with the imbedded profiles Photoshop and your printer software has already configured. You may also have added a few for certain papers or profiles from your print shop.

 Select the one you wish to print to, for example I chose Premium Luster, an Epson favorite of mine. I also made sure that one of Relative Colorimetric or Perceptual was selected along with Black Point Compensation checked, a must for accurate color retention. Finally put a check next to Simulate Paper Color.

Now go to Image, Duplicate and click OK. Then go to Window, Arrange, Match Zoom & Location. I actually had to correct the zoom manually so both images matched precisely in the lower left hand corner which shows the zoom level at 25.66%. The key here is to compare your selections. The original image will look exactly as your profile converts it, but with a somewhat diminished vibrancy. The reason is that a printed copy will not ever match the brilliance of an lcd with backlighting. So you'll need to attempt to bring some of that back as much as is possible without, unless it is your intent, pushing beyond the limits of accuracy.

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You can do this to the duplicated image by massaging with Layer, New Adjustment Layer, then Curves, Brightness, Hue, Saturation. And as they are side by side you'll see clearly the differences as you make these adjustments.But I think you'll discover a great new way to compare rather than just using feel as a manner of comparing your image variables. It is the most accurate method of judging the final print, and can obviously save you a bundle on ink costs. You probably won't find this article on any ink manufacturer's web site.

 
Printed out of course, with all the variables, you'll find some will not meet your expectations, but as you become more and more comfortable with the adjustments, you'll get closer to what you are expecting of the printed outcome.

The images above are low resolution (96 ppi) images for online viewing only.

Why is my PC running so Slow?

Writing this short PC Health piece is something we can all benefit from. And rather than running all over the www world through search engines, I'll recommend my personal favorite website for quick descriptions and facts about pc health and help. It is called PCPitstop. 

Much of the time our laptops and pc's run like a dream. But every so often we experience a hang or a slow start up. These are not random events we should ignore. As a photographer with large images and large applications hogging memory I need to know that my desktop is running at peak performance at every action required whether I am working on a file in Photoshop or Bridge, LightRoom or uploading to a website which hosts my images for sale. And even if you only surf the net, you need your laptop to run smoothly and efficiently. So where do you find out about the processes that are running while you are doing whatever you do?

PCPitstop's Libraries 

However unless you are familiar with executable files you'll want to read and think before immediately taking action as most of the files you'll read about are necessary for your pc to run normally. So if you are experiencing any slows, hangs, crashes of browsers or applications, go here to read about the possible fixes. Proceed with caution as it can be a real pain to get back to where your pc performed well, and you can potentially risk losing all data if you ever need to use a Restore Point.

There is also a forum at the top to register in and ask questions or share your knowledge.





I am not being compensated in any way for this article.