Wednesday Photo Roundup - May 22

Yes, it is about time for another amazing blog post.  Or maybe just a set of links to things I've found interesting over the last few weeks.

For the shot above, I imagined something more like this, but shooting outdoors with gusty wind (and no assistant) made it a bit impossible to use anything other than straight reflectors on the flashes.

Looks like Flickr decided 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," and tried to turn into 500px.com overnight.  I haven't decided if I like it any better, but I do know that doubling the price is not exciting.  Considering that I use Flickr mainly for hosting photos for this blog and some sharing within area groups, it will be hard to justify.  The big selling point is 1 terabyte of storage for your photos.  But it used to be "unlimited" for pro accountholders.  Also, if you have a terabyte of photos on Flickr, you may want to learn to resize images.

Photography on the silver screen?  fStoppers has a top-ten list of photography-related movies.

Human models aren't the only ones to get a full photoshop makeover for magazine covers.  Check out this time-lapse of a cover shoot for an iPhone a few years back.

Here is another great post with photographer Peter Belanger who pulls off those pristine product shots.

Another list.. Photo blogs that cover the business of being a photographer.  Worth a look at all five of them.

PDN's photos and photogs of the year.  Be inspired.

Good thoughts on social media marketing misconceptions. (via @justinwise)

Pet photographers... be inspired.

Another list... Places to shoot before you die.  What is on your photographic "bucket list?"

How to become a better photographer in one day!

I take it as a compliment that people ask me how to become better photographers.  The question assumes that I know how to get a picture, which is nice.  I'm not always so confident myself.

My answer, and I see this a lot from other photogs much better than myself, is to shoot a lot of pictures and change the way you look at light and composition.

Want to get better fast?

Find a day-long event with a lot of people in a lot of situations and make pictures.  Go indoors, outdoors, bright sun, shade... all over the place.  Then think about each place you are shooting and how to make something good there.  It won't always happen, but it makes you think differently.

I shoot a lot of photos for my church.  I see my abilities and equipment as a gift from God, and something to share, so it affords me the opportunity to give back while also honing skills.  And that is good.

One caveat... If you do this with the purpose of thinking photographically, you will also not be participating as much in the event you are photographing.  Rather, you are participating, but not directly.  Two years from now, much of what people will remember from the event will be the photos that remain.

Here is a quick set of my favorites from an event we held last weekend, as an example.

The setup is an outdoor church service, a giant meal, followed by indoor and outdoor activities for all ages including sports, games, music, etc. etc.

For me.. one camera (6D) two lenses (24-70 and 70-200) and several bottles of water.

Early morning, partly cloudy, cold, set-up and practice by the band.  Layers.  Trees.  Sun. Expression... Push the button.

Good shady light?  Isolate the subject on a darker background.  Push button.


Now get closer.  Invade people's space a little bit.  Follow the advice of Robert Capa.  "If your photos aren't good enough, you aren't close enough."


And what's going on indoors?  Introduction of a new youth pastor and his family?  OK, change all of the camera settings, wait for an expression.  Push button.


Think documentary purposes... and unique angles.  Climb stairs.  Shoot wide...


Did I mention puffy clouds on blue sky?  Push button.


Lunch is served.  Giant window light, Yay!  Change camera settings.  Try to get some unique angle and an expression.  Push button.


Back outside.  Occasional bright sun followed by cloud cover.  Ride the shutter speed.  Basketball, volleyball.  Don't forget to change to continuous autofocus.  Timing.  Push the button.


Move around a lot but on purpose.  Stop dead in your tracks because one of the most wonderful old guys you know has paused for a reflective moment on the sidewalk.  Push the button.  I wish for all the world Mr. Lyons was standing out on the grass with trees in the background.


Think up a challenge like: Can I take a picture of a person flying a kite that includes the kite and the persons face?  Then wait for it...  push the button.


Back inside.  Change settings.  Dominoes going on.  Expression.  Push the button.  Don't give in to the players who want to see pictures of the other players' dominoes.


Back outside.. it's basketball.  Harsh shadows making silhouettes on the ground?  Cool.  Put them in the picture.  Or just take pictures of the silhouettes.. whatever.  Push the button.




Those shadows are good elsewhere too...


Busy backgrounds all around..  oh wait, we still have nifty clouds.  Throw horseshoe.  Push button.


Now keep doing that for a while and just wear yourself out.  That should do it.
Get permission from your significant other first.  Especially if taking all of these pictures means you won't be helping out much with a toddler or, say, eating together.

Seriously, it changes the way you look at situations and forces you to pay attention to camera settings, people's faces and everything that is going into your pictures.

All told, with a few breaks worked in throughout the day, I shot for about 10 hours in just about every situation imaginable (except studio lighting etc).  That is good practice!

Pick an event.  Let people know you will be there with a camera.  And shoot away.

Putting light in a (very) dark corner

As is often the case, even proper planning can get thrown out the door on the morning of a shoot.  We had planned to use a nice open spot in a hotel breakfast area for quick portraits of ladies attending the first "Treasure the Moments Tea" put on by the Sharing the Love Foundation in Forney.  I had planned a simple clamshell type setup... beauty light that would work for all of the lovely ladies who would be coming through.

Upon arrival, however, I was told that that space would not be available and we were instead using a boardroom with a giant table that could not be moved, dark wallpaper and carpet, and about four feet of space to both light and provide access to the giant wicker chair we would be posing with.  Hmmmm....

The only real goal was to give the ladies a decent photo to remember the occasion with.  There were also a lot of hats to be used as props, so the light would have to get under those...  just basic portrait stuff, but stuck in a dark corner.

Here is what I worked out..  The space is tighter than it looks.


The key light is on the right...the big softbox closest to the chair.  The smaller softbox is actually aimed toward the reflector on the left.  It served as fill from the front and the left side, and under the chin.  I added another light (barely visible by the window) as a hair/separation light.

I initially tried to put the smaller softbox on the left side, but there was not enough room to walk past comfortably.  I wasn't sure if we would have anyone with mobility issues or possibly a wheelchair etc.

The view from the chair...


And, it worked reasonably well I thought...  The dark striped wallpaper was nice as a backdrop, even if the flower arrangement got distracting.  I probably should have removed them from the vase, but decided against it.  Did I mention I have a tendency to break things?



Tighter shots were generally better.


This was true with multiple people in the photo as well.  Not only was it a small space, the groovy chair's low seat and wide back and arms made posing around it a bit awkward.


Lessons learned... when you are stuck against a dark wall, you can bounce a softbox off of a reflector to make it work.  Also, don't be afraid of tight spaces.  It forces closeness in your subjects, which is generally good.

Thanks again to all of the lovely ladies for being great models and letting me be a part of the event!

Friday Featured Photographer - Sean Patty

I'll go a little different direction for this week's featured photographer... as in, way out west.  I happened upon West Texas Photo a few weeks ago and invited photographer Sean Patty to be seen on this side of the Lone Star State...

A quick browse through the galleries is all it takes to see that Sean likes beautiful western landscapes.  No surprise then that a love of the outdoors has inspired Sean's photography obsession.

"I have always enjoyed hiking and backpacking into the great outdoors," he said. "I wanted to begin capturing some of the beauty in the wilderness. I love landscapes and I love being on location, generally alone, and capturing a moment in time to share with others."

You can also see that Sean spends time processing some of his images for a stylized, almost HDR look.  He said that there isn't one particular look he goes for, but rather a look that he thinks suits each image.

"I’m not sure what my “’style” really is," he said. "For landscapes and some of my energy shots, I try to get a feel for that particular scene and then process accordingly. For some shots I go for a more surreal look while other shots will contain the perfect elements with only minor tonal adjustments. Maybe one day I’ll find a “style” to be known for. I use Adobe Bridge and CS5 software."

Sean's images of the Alamo raised my curiosity ... clearly this is not in San Antonio.  It is a good example of making the most of your photographic opportunities when you can.

"A few summers ago, I took my boys camping at Kickapoo Cavern State Park. Near this remote park were the remnants of the old John Wayne movie set for The Alamo," he said. "It was a wonderful opportunity to shoot the Alamo in an authentic setting. My understanding is the set is now closed to the public so I’m grateful to have gotten the shot."

While Sean's inspiration may come from the likes of Ansel Adams and other nature photography greats, he also ventures in to many other areas of photography. Here are a few other clips from his site that caught my eye.  I particularly like the Air Power gallery.

Sean also works for commercial clients around his home base in the Midland area.

Last thing... Sean is a Canon shooter, and he carries a versatile set of lenses for treks into the backcountry...

"I bought my first Canon Rebel over 5 years ago. Then I migrated to the Canon 60D and 2 years ago I purchased the full frame Canon 5D Mark II," he said.  "In my bag is my 5D Mark II, Canon 17-40mm, Canon 24-105mm and a Canon 70-200mm Zoom. I also carry a remote flash, ND & Polarizer filter along with a sturdy Manfrotto tripod."

Thanks Sean!

Before and after - Post processing sports in Lightroom

Here is a quick look at a few images from high school basketball and how I adjust them for newspaper, as well as how far you can take them with a quick edit in Lightroom.

Terrell played hard but lost to Carrollton Newman Smith Tuesday night... It was not a great night shooting for me as much of the best action took place on the opposite end of the court, regardless of where I went.

However, when looking through the images, I was pleasantly pleased to find that the players were very expressive.  When players are really hustling, it shows on their faces.  That, in turn, makes much better pictures even when you don't get the best action shots.

OK... here is a quick 1-2-3.

Camera setup was Canon 1D mkIV, 50mm, ISO2000, 1/1250, f2.  That turns out slightly underexposed.


Same picture, as sent it in to the newspaper...  Bumped up the exposure a bit, sharpened and with some noise reduction.  It makes a big difference for the newspaper press, which tends to print dark on most days.  If the images will run in black and white, I bump the exposure even more because anything dark gray prints black, and white is the color of the paper itself.


I do more than 90% of my normal processing in Lightroom, and really 100% of the work for newspaper.  But even in Lightroom, you can go pretty far into the realm of 'edgy magazine feature' with just a few clicks.  Oh the drama.


Here are a few more with a basic edit and an over-the-top version based on Matt Kloskowski's "Game Day" Lightroom presets.

This one is with the 70-200mm lens, iso3200, f2.8, 1/1000






Another boring shot but with nice expression in the eyes.

Monday Photo Roundup - Jan. 21

Very often getting very close to an everyday object looks otherworldly.  As is the case with this ceramic pitcher.

And on the topic of exploring ... National Geographic is celebrating 125 years of existence.  This is a nice collection documenting the society's history.

Interesting personal projects do not have to be exotic, but unique is good.  How about faces on glass?  (via @ibarionex)

Tackling (photographically) whether the moon landing could have been faked ... and the deeper meaning of what is real and important in what we want to believe. (via @jdblundell)

Need some inspiration to do great and significant work in photography... check out the Framed awards nominees.  (on the other hand, it may also inspire feelings of inadequacy etc. :))  While you are there send a vote for Jeremy Cowart's Help Portrait project in the "Big F" category.

Also interesting in that is that they have some separate categories for film and digital.

I really 'need' to get a GoPro.  So many possibilities.


Send me a note if you want to read a blog post on some cheap and simple macro techniques for shots like this


or this


Texas Photogs don't forget, sales tax is due tomorrow :-/.

Have a great week.

Don J.

Friday Featured Photographer - Amy Lunceford a.k.a. Amylu

Throughout 2013, I plan to feature various east Texas photographers who catch my attention.

For the first installment ...  Amylu photography first caught my eye on Facebook sometime in early 2012.  From what I have seen, photographer Amy Lunceford, shows great consistency in finding good light, color and attention to small details in her images.

With four years under her belt doing photography professionally, Amy said her extensive background in the advertising world has been very helpful in developing as a photographer.

"After 15 years in advertising I found myself stepping back and leaving the creative world professionally serving other clients," she said.  "I began focusing on my love for photography and with abundant blessings, incredible support and a fire to continually improve I found that Amylu was born and thriving before I really think I realized what was happening.  It just became a natural part of who I am.  Now I am back in advertising and still focusing on Amylu which is a creative dream marriage for me."

Family photography is a competitive world these days.  To set herself apart, Amy said that she strives to make her subjects feel more like her own family rather than clients or business associates.

"Amylu is VERY fun and laid back," she said.  "It is known that I 'shoot on the fly' a bit.  I see images as I shoot them and move through a shoot.  So there is no stuffy, stiff posed, formality going on.  A great deal of laughter, adventure and heart goes into my shoots.  I like my clients to leave feeling like family."

According to her website, Amy shoots primarily with available natural light.  Take a look through her galleries and you will note that she knows how to find good light and backgrounds.  Again, her history in advertising comes into play as she also emphasizes pre-visualizing the final image as she is shooting.
"I have worked with some amazing design talent nationally for my entire advertising career.  Access to that has given me an extremely strong love and appreciation for color, texture and the ability to relay a story and feeling in an image," she said.  "I feel it is my gift of seeing a shot as I shoot it just as I know I want the end edited image to appear to convey that moment in time that sets my work apart from others and defines my personal artistic voice."

As for gear.. a quick look at her images shows Amy's tendency toward fast lenses to get the super soft background bokeh.
"I am a prime girl," she said. "My bag is pretty simple. A Canon 5dMarkii and 50D as backup, 50L 1.2, 85mm 1.4, and when needed for specialty shoots I use the 24-70L and the 70-200 f/2.8, a Speedlight  580EXii."

Which goes to show (despite my best efforts to collect photo gear :) that more cameras isn't the key to success.
"I am a believer that it is all about using what you have to its fullest versus having mounds of lenses and toys," she said.


Follow along with Amylu on Facebook or her Blog.

Have a great weekend, it looks like great weather for making photos!

UIL 4A Division II Championship Game

In his typical style, Lancaster head football coach Chris Gilbert was cautious about his team's chances ahead of the 4A division II UIL championship game on Friday night.  Unfortunately for Lancaster, while the Cedar Park Timberwolves were a pretty good team, it was the Tigers' own mistakes and in the second half that let the game get away.  Here are some action shots from the night.

Lancaster started fast with a quick score and tough defense for most of the first half.  Cedar Park got some momentum at the end of the first half to go to the locker rooms tied at 7.












Lancaster could not keep a drive going in the second half.  This interception ended one and seemed to demoralize the Tigers.