Published on Bill Fortney!

 

Hey Hey!

My friend Bill Fortney just published one of my HDR photos to illustrate how you can use various types of tripods to get "surprising" shots.

To check it out please go here!   http://billfortney.com/?p=7863

In this photo I wanted to try and see what motion would look like in an HDR photo.  In my first attempt the exposures were way to long, and the trains actually disappeared.  So unlike my other HDR where I kept the ISO down at 80, these are way up at 1600.

And in my final photo of the day I wanted you to see what it looks like when a group photo is requested...and you get a lonely tripod field of dreams...

If you get a chance do attend a His Light Workshop!  It is so much more than the photos!

-ehw

Field of Dreams

Went out to test a new camera tonight....a Fujifilm X20.  Out of the box, with no manual read yet...all I can say is that for a point and shoot I am amazed.  Almost able to do sports photography AT NIGHT!

I picked up this camera as a go everywhere camera.  I really enjoyed the X10, but this new camera has a viewfinder which actually works.  I can read focus point and other information inside the viewfinder.

There are a lot of other little improvements I still have to learn, but so far so great.

For this photo I shot it in color, and converted it to B&W in Perfect Suite's B&W.  I used a full dynamic range B&W conversion, and loved what I saw on the big screen in terms of available range and detail.

So far highly recommended....just too tired tonight to write or think any harder.

-ehw

Game on!

T-Ball season is on!  I've been moving up the baseball chain with my older son, and now its time for my younger son to join in the games.

This is a typical early season sight...multiple players creating a scrum for the baseball...oh that's a rugby term?  Well it might as well be rugby for the first few weeks.

By the end they will start actually making a few plays..that is just the way it is.

So the challenge for the photographer is finding the scene which captures the love of this new game...with the innocence of youth springing forth in boundless energy.

In all, it is a wonderful journey to take frame by frame.

Because in a blink of an eye they will be....ready to fly away.

-ehw

Self Portrait

Just had such a fun time this weekend, that I also snapped a quick one of me that actually came out alright...

I will not make self portraits a habit, but for a change up I wanted to toss it in.

-ehw

Bel Air Glamor

One of the effects of HDR photography is also to bring out textures and color in a very realistic way.

I took this photo and had some fun with it in HDR Efex Pro 2, then ran it through Color Efex 4.  Sharpened to taste and called it a day.

RC Conception pointed out to us on the second night that the purpose of HDR is to get a good product to finish in post processing.  He found many people shot, process and don't finish.

It would be like writing the first acts of a play, and then walking away from the final act.

I called this Bel Air Glamor because the Glamor Glow filter seems to be all the rage in many a circle today, and I wanted to try it out for myself.

If you want to see some really extraordinary HDR check out both RC Conception's website and Jim Begley's.  Both are true master artists with this technique.

Check them out at www.aboutrc.com and www.wowphotoshdr.com.

-ehw

-ehw