Blue Planet Photography

There are several applications out there for processing multiple image files to stretch the dynamic range of a scene (HDR, or High Dynamic Range). The two most popular are Photoshop and Photomatix Pro. Generally, the reviews of Photoshop Merge to HDR are less than stellar while Photomatix Pro is all the rage. I use Photomatix Pro for most of my HDR processing, and I own Photoshop, so I thought I’d see for myself what the issues were. I believe you should use whichever application best suits your needs, but also that one application is not necessarily all you need.

I selected one of my 6-shot HDR image series and processed it three ways. I used minimal settings adjustments in Photomatix (strength 100, luminosity 4, light smoothing v.high, micro contrast 10, gamma 75, white point .250, black point .092, all other settings default or 0):

1. Photomatix Pro
2. Merge to HDR in Photoshop then further processing of the 32-bit HDR file in Photomatix Pro
3. Merge to HDR in Photoshop and further processing in Photoshop

The results are below. Additional comments following the images.

Processed in Photomatix Pro only

Processed in Photoshop using Merge to HDR, then through Photomatix Pro

Processed in Photoshop using Merge to HDR after color balance adjustment in Camera Raw, then further processing in Photoshop (duplicate layer, blend=multiply, adjust color saturation)

As you can see, the series processed in Photomatix Pro alone has a marked yellow cast from the ambient lighting. One of the cons of Photomatix Pro is even though you’re shooting in RAW and using the RAW image files to create the single HDR photo, when Photomatix processes the images it doesn’t take into account any of the Camera Raw adjustments you might have made. So, if your white balance is off, there’s nothing you can do about it until after processing is complete. I tried making color balance adjustments in Photoshop after the Photomatix processing, but apparently I’m not very much of a Photoshop wizard and couldn’t remove the yellow/orange/red cast effectively so I left it as is. This issue could have been compensated for, somewhat, by adjusting the in-camera white balance (I was shooting on auto white balance), but I think if you’re looking for accurate color representation you might still end up with a less-than-accurate final product without the ability to further compensate in Camera Raw.

With the other two, I started with Photoshop Merge to HDR, which does take into account all Camera Raw settings, so I was able to remove the color cast caused by the ambient lighting. Running the 32-bit HDR file through Photomatix Pro resulted in a good looking image, but with a bit of grunge while the straight Photoshop-processed image looks very clean. In both Photoshop files I created a second layer, used the multiply blend mode and adjusted opacity to increase contrast slightly, and increased color saturation on the brass.

These are simple examples, but show the different looks you can achieve by using more than one application (or one application rather than another). It comes down to the final look you’re trying to achieve.

This is an introduction to a forthcoming film about nature’s essential role in three phases of childhood: toddlers, middle childhood and adolescence. Today nature deficit disorder threatens the health and well-being of our children. MOTHER NATURES CHILD addresses this threat and explores the benefits of time in nature.

From their Facebook page:

As an entire generation of children disconnects from the natural world, we ask: what will they lose intellectually, emotionally, physically, spiritually? Why do children need unstructured time outside? How important is risk-taking to healthy child development? How is play a form of learning? Why are teachers resistant to taking students outside? How can inner city kids connect with nature? What does it mean to educate the “whole” child?

To address these questions, we have filmed children of all ages and interviewed parents, teachers and the following experts: Stephen Kellert, David Sobel, Jon Young, Brother Yusuf Burgess, Nancy Bell, Misha Golfman, Rob Hanson, Amy Beam, Mary Hardcastle, Pearline Tyson, and others.

We now seek funding to complete the film, discussion guide and website. To date, we have received generous support from the Foundation for Global Community, Newman’s Own Organics, Norcross Wildlife Foundation, Oregon Community Foundation and a number of committed individuals.

If you would like to help by making a donation to the film, a tax-deductible contribution may be sent to our non-profit fiscal agent: NorthWoods Stewardship Center, P.O. Box 220, East Charleston, VT 05833. Attn: Diana Markwardt. (802) 723.6551 x114.

For more information about MOTHER NATURE’S CHILD, contact Camilla Rockwell at fuzzyslippersprod@comcast.net and visit them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mother-Natures-Child/184158708677

After several years without a place to meet, I’m bringing back the Photographer’s Forum. The Photographer’s Forum is an opportunity for photographers to gather and discuss topics related to photography: technology, methodology, technique, business, workflow, equipment, art, exhibit opportunities, photography-related news and events, etc. Also, to receive feedback for works in progress or finished pieces. There are no dues, no agenda, no program, no harsh judgments, just a more-or-less open forum for socializing and becoming more involved in the art and business of photography. I will be the moderator and, when needed, prompter of topics. In the past there were long-time pros and beginners in attendance and this time around it won’t be any different. Photographers of all skill levels are welcome.

When I had space at the Basement Gallery in Boise, I held the first Photographer’s Forum which lasted a little over a year before I moved out of that space. Over the past couple years, especially after the PhotoCrawl has taken off, I’ve been looking for a suitable location to restart the Forum and the Caldwell Center for the Arts & Education has graciously allowed me to use their facility. The first Photographer’s Forum of 2010 will be on Thursday, January 28, from 7 - 9pm and will be held monthly on the 4th Thursday thereafter.

The Caldwell Center for the Arts & Education is at 603 Everett, in Caldwell, Idaho.

For the first gathering I’ll have a topic or two to discuss. I don’t know if there will be a digital projector available, but if you have prints please bring them. If you would like to show a slide or two (what are those?) let me know and I’ll have a projector available. Until we get some idea of participation, please limit the number of photos you wish to show and/or receive feedback on to a maximum of five (5). If you have a series or other program (slide show) that requires longer than 10 minutes, let me know and we’ll make arrangement for it.

If you have any questions, please let me know. I would also appreciate an RSVP if you plan to attend, especially for this first gathering so I know about how many to expect. Thanks and I hope to see you there.

Vision is not a passive exercise. It is a dynamic combination of physical activity and conscious and unconscious mental processing. The foundation of vision is survival and self-preservation. Our eyes developed for us to be aware of food, shelter, mates, and danger and to assist our brain and the rest of our body to acquire, take advantage of, and escape these things that remain a priority to us today. However, improvements in our affluent way of life have allowed the processing of our vision to become dulled even to the point of becoming a passive exercise. We are less aware of our surroundings because, today, vision is less important for our survival. We live in relative safety, our food doesn’t need to be hunted and chased down, our homes are generally where we left them last, but we do still use our eyes (for the most part) for mate selection. Visually, many of us are in our own world of self-imposed tunnel vision and limited awareness. We follow relatively the same routine in our daily lives and our subjective (selective) vision ignores the commonplace elements around us; people, buildings, cars, colors, shapes, shadows. Our children watch movies in the car rather than look out the window at the passing landscape. Unless a particular visual element stands out by being food, shelter, danger, or a potential mate, we tend to not “see” it. Luckily, the processes involved in photography help restore a more global awareness of what’s going on around us.

Looking: We only see what we look at, and to look at something is an act of choice. Our senses work together and, usually, when we hear, smell, or feel something we turn our head and/or body to look for the source. When something catches our eye, a bright color, a movement, a change in contrast, we turn to look. But we never look at just one thing. Our eyes capture the entire scene, we look at the relationships between the things we see and ourselves; size, distance, direction, shape, color. Our vision is continually active and in motion, identifying those elements around us that make up our immediate environment. We can’t look at something not in our field of vision.

As we look at a scene, we tend to isolate and group elements based on proximity. Elements close together are interpreted to have some sort of relationship; books stacked on a table, two people standing near one another. Things separated by a distance are generally perceived to be non-related. More detailed analysis by our brain, through seeing, makes us aware of more information we can add to our understanding.

Seeing: By closer scrutiny, recognizing and identifying the elements in our field of view, seeing is how we experience, examine, and understand the things we look at. We look at and recognize things before we’re able to speak. Seeing establishes our place in the visible world and the way we see is affected by what we know and what we believe.

As photographers, we look at a meadow and the relationship of the expanse of grass to the trees bordering the edge, mountains to one side, and a blue sky with puffy clouds above. But we see a single tree, its height and girth, the leaves - their color, shape, and the light shining through them, the rough bark, the shape and tonality of the tree’s shadow on the ground, the bird nesting in its branches, the branches moving in the wind, the moss-covered rock at the base of the tree, the pattern and shape of the grass….

A good practice to get into is re-training your vision to See more while you’re Looking. You and your photography will benefit.

I’m a “bookie”. I love books and still find a printed hardbound or paperback much easier and quicker to access than any information on the computer, especially when there is no power. Over the years, I’ve spent hours (in total, probably weeks or months) browsing the shelves of bookstores wherever I go, looking for interesting and useful books for my reference collection. I look for books about the business of photography, digital asset management, the “philosophy” of photography, technique, and inspirational (picture) books, among others.

As with most things, some authors and subject matter resonate and connect better with me than others, as they will also with you. The key is to spend some time with the author and the book before you commit to the purchase. Don’t run into the bookstore on the recommendation of a friend or someone you respect (or even someone you don’t know anything about) or because you need a book on a specific topic (like “How To Do Whatever in Photoshop”). Take a few long minutes to browse the book, read a chapter or two. Does the writing style and content make sense to you? Does it put you to sleep or tie your brain in a knot? A book costs money (some much more than others) and will take up space on your bookshelf. If you’re going to make the investment, it should be for a book you’re going to use and/or refer to often, right? I have a handful of “dogs” on my shelf I purchased without prior review. These were mostly purchased online or on impulse in the bookstore. The summary and online reviews sounded good or an initial “page flip review” made the book seem useful, but once I got it home and spent some time reading, it turned out to be less than expected. These books are still on my shelf because I don’t want to give books like this away, it’s not fair to the person I give the book to. And, I really don’t like throwing away books. One day I will gather them up and donate them to a library or other institution that can get some use from them.

While I have a generally decent-sized book collection, I’ve compiled here what I consider my core reference list, the books I go to most often or have been the most useful in my learning process. I pass the list off to you to review and hope one or more of these books helps you in your artistic and/or professional journey. New books are always being released, so this list will always change and grow. The list is in no particular order. Good reading!

Berger, John. 1972. Ways of Seeing. British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books.
Bayles, David & Orland, Ted. 1993. Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking. The Image Continuum Press.
Orland, Ted. 2006. The View from the Studio Door: How Artists Find Their Way in an Uncertain World. The Image Continuum Press.
Gross, Philippe, L & Shapiro, S.I. 2001. The Tao of Photography: Seeing Beyond Seeing. 10 Speed Press.
Adams, Ansel. 1983. Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs. New York Graphic Society Books.
Barrett, Terry. 2006. Criticizing Photographs: An Introduction to Understanding Images. McGraw Hill.
Fielder, John. 1996. Photographing the Landscape: The Art of Seeing. Westcliffe Publishers.
Wier, Nevada. 1992. Adventure Travel Photography. Watson-Guptill Publications.
Hunter, Fil, Biver, Steven, & Fuqua, Paul. 2007. Light, Science & Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting. Focal Press.
Piscopo, Maria. 2001. The Photographer’s Guide to Marketing & Self-Promotion. Allworth Press.
Weissberg, Elyse. 2004. Successful Self-Promotion for Photographers. Amphoto Books.
Eismann, Katrin & Palmer, Wayne. 2006. Photoshop Restoration & Retouching, 3rd ed. New Riders.
Crawford, Tad. 2009. Business and Legal Forms for Photographers, 4th ed. Allworth Press.
Harrington, John. 2010. Best Business Practices for Photographers. Course Technology PTR.
ASMP. 2008. Professional Business Practices in Photography, 7th ed. Allworth Press.
Krogh, Peter. 2009. The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers. O’Reilly Media, Inc.
Fraser, Bruce & Schewe, Jeff. 2008. Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS3. Real World Press.
Fraser, Bruce & Schewe, Jeff. 2008. Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS4. Real World Press.
Zimberoff, Tom. 2002. Photography: Focus on Profit. Allworth Press.

There are a lot of “model agency” scams and shady photographers out there. If you want to model, watch this video, do your research, be aware, don’t get scammed.