IllustratingStories.com

Fall Color

A little glimpse into the beautiful fall colors in the Pacific Northwest. This is my favorite time of year to get outside and snap the camera. Brilliant colors everywhere!

1. Grasshopper, 2. Trees, 3. Berries, 4. Leaves

Photography Love

Over the past few years I have been sharing my photography love with my husband, Elden. I have taken photos all of my life, but for him it is a new passion.

I enjoy our time spent together looking for the perfect shot and discovering just the right camera settings. It is amazing to have a partner-in-crime that gets excited as I do when you finally nail the perfect image.

Lately we have taken our photography on the road, or on the bike path I should say. We have loaded up the camera backpack with our favorite lenses (Canon EF 70-200mm 2.8 and Canon EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6) and hit some great local trails. Love that Elden doesn't mind lugging all the gear!

While we were playing around with some shots on Saturday I noticed that the lighting was just right to capture a reflection. Elden was such a great sport to hold the camera and help me get just the right shot. It makes me smile every time.

I am still sorting through the hundreds of fall photos that we have taken over the past couple of weeks. Tomorrow I will share a few of my favorites.

Another Great Way to Illustrate Stories

Recently, after twisting the arms of Joe and Malinda, I conducted a -- very unofficial -- engagement shoot.  There were many reasons that I wanted to do this.  First, I wish that my husband and I'd thought to do something like this twenty-some-odd years ago when we became engaged.  I've been following several photography blogs and love how the photographers capture newly engaged couples:  Who they are today, what they're like together, and what their world is like.  Next, I wanted to practice my own photography skills.  I have a new camera and lens and am such a novice with it.  Seemed like a perfect opportunity to learn a few things.  Finally, I didn't have a proper engagement gift and thought an album, extra set of photos, and a slide-show might be just the thing.

Malinda and Joe were great subjects, easy to snap, and amazing guides to the places that mattered to them (high within the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains).  We caught some fun shots, for sure!  However, after the post-production aspect of the shoot, I found that I wasn't happy with my slide-show options.  But, that's when I remembered something that Jasmine Star recommended:  Showit Web -- a tool from a set of tools from David Jay (with great tutorials).

Let me just say this:  I'm in love!  Seriously.  I loved how easy it was to put together a slide-show.  I loved the results.  I loved that the tool comes with such great music options.  I can't wait to use it again.  Truly, it is a great tool for illustrating stories -- especially stories that are easily contained and communicated through photos and music.

Incidentally, you can easily embed the slide-shows on your blog or roll with the wider format of the Showit site:  Malinda's and Joe's Slide-Show

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Update:  Here's another example - Watching Duncan Grow

I Love Snapping Photos

It's true.  I became a shutterbug when I was eight and took my camera almost everywhere!  There were many cameras over the years, lots of ideas, and many photo opportunities.  Every aspect of the hobby was interesting to me -- every aspect, but photography classes, that is.

Somehow, photography classes eluded me.  They seemed to be scheduled during other important classes, events, etc.  And, I was just a little shy about taking classes.  After all, I was an amateur, not a professional!  (I'm not sure why that mattered.  Isn't that exactly why someone should take a class?)

Luckily, my class-avoidance changed last year when I enrolled in a one-day class (with Jackie) at a local shop.  It was an amazing class and taught me so much.  In addition, it gave me the bug -- Class bug, that is.  Now, I jump at every chance I get!  And, I've discovered some amazing resources in the way of online schools/tips, books, tools, etc.

From seeing, to snapping, to post-processing, I've found the following list of resources indispensable.  Though some of them seem specifically focused on wedding photography, they are general, too.  From all of these links, I've learned a great deal about photography, post-processing, working with people, and setting up/running artful businesses, too. I'm so grateful to have stumbled upon them (or been stumbled upon by them)!  If you're anything like me (a bit of a late bloomer in the area of photography instruction), you may enjoy these, too:

• Photography Mentor
• Fast Track Photographer by Dane Sanders
• Anything by Scott Kelby
• Anything by/from Kevin Kubota (In this case, I recommend his Photoshop Actions, too -- while they are AMAZING in and of themselves, they are instructional, as well)
• Pioneer Woman Photography
• Digital Photography School
• Photojojo
• Jasmine Star Photo Blog (Her photos are GREAT and her FAQ posts are instructive)

Here are a few sites that simply inspire me with amazing photos:

• Life with J&M
• Laura Leslie Photography
• The Big Picture
• Maria Hammon's Photostream
• Edward Dullard's Photostream
• Davide Cherubini's Photostream
• Wayne Photo Guy's Photostream

Happy snapping and schooling!

Vignetting is Beautiful

By Accident or Intention

Have you ever noticed darkened or blurred corners on a photo?  If so, you've seen vignetting; an effect that either results naturally due to the camera or is created during post-processing for artistic impact. The odd thing about the effect is that people either love or hate it.  There doesn't seem to be a middle ground!

As for me, I can't get enough Holga images!  I think they're beautifully imperfect and interesting.  Likewise, I love creating vignettes because they can:

• Add drama and create nostalgia in an image.
• Frame photos in a subtle ways.
• Dial-in the focus of an image and enhance what is sharp, bright, and important, while minimizing that which is distracting.
• Ground an image within a larger design.  For example, the vignette (below) is color-matched to the blue in the paper, creating harmony and grounding the image.

Granted, vignetting is not for every photo.  Likewise, the effect is best when tempered (too much really is too much).  Yet, on the right photo the effect is amazing.

Learn to Vignette Next Week

Next week, we'll share a few ways to create vignettes in Photoshop.  Then, after watching our tutorial, you'll be able to spice up your own photos with burned, blurred, and blended vignettes!

See you then!

Children and Cameras: A Family Tradition

My first camera arrived when I was eight.  It was something that changed how I looked at the world, made me aware of recurring costs (film was expensive.  Especially, for a jobless eight-year-old), and started a life-long hobby.  It encouraged me to try new things -- even at the risk of paying for accidents.  I created my own filters with inked over plastic wrap (a miserable failure), photographed childhood forts in the meadow, and dressed up my brothers and sisters for portraits (I'm sure they'll forgive me some day).  By the time I went to college, I was on my fourth camera:  A used Honeywell SLR purchased from the yearbook staff.

Then I met Erik, another avid photographer from the early days.  Turns out, his mother taught yearbook and newspaper (among other things) at a local high-school.  So, he was skilled and his camera was even better than mine!  Best of all, he had that same adventurous spirit as me.  He'd shoot in the dark (something I'd never tried), shake his camera (Why would someone do that?  Oh, what a cool photo!), and was a master of depth-of-field.  He took great and crazy shots!

Finally, my son, Duncan, came along.  He demonstrated an interest in photography by the time he was two, became proficient with that and earned a kid's digital camera, then moved on to his current one:  A used HP digital camera.

Duncan will be five soon and loves art, Legos, bones, and space.  So, who knows where this hobby might take him?  He, also, enjoys going out with us to snap photos of anything that captures his interest.  Maybe this is because his curiosity has been captured.  After all, his aunts (both of my sisters), his dad, and his mom all think it's a great hobby.  So, it must be, right?  But, I think there's more.  I think he's growing his own passion for capturing his life in photos.  Likewise, he enjoys committing them to the page and talking about them.  Are these the seeds of a passion for illustrating stories?  Whatever it becomes, I'm just so happy to have been able to contribute to his creative inclinations in some way.

The following photos were taken by Duncan:

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If your children are into photography (or if you're just a kid at heart), you may enjoy these articles with children in mind:

• Super-Secret Photo Projects Just for Kids (Photojojo)
• Children's Photography Projects (Suite 101)
• Digital Photography for Kids (Suite 101)
• 13 Lessons to Teach Your Child About Digital Photography (DPS)

Confessions of an Indoor Shooter

I confess.  I shoot without a flash.  It's true.  The thing is, I don't like the harsh, washed-out look of my subjects when I use a flash.  However, this results in a greater exposure time and can lead to motion blur, as well.  So, there's more.  To compensate, I increase my ISO (light sensitivity) from the recommended 100 to 400 because this reduces my exposure time.    In other words:

• Switching off the flash automatically increases exposure time.
• Increasing the ISO (light sensitivity), reduces exposure time.
• Doing both, amplifies the input (both of the light entering the lens and the digital noise produced by the camera itself).

So what does this do to my photos?  My husband has a great analogy for it:  Think of the camera as a car radio.  A local station will send out a great signal to your radio. There may be a bit of noise, but what you hear is that great signal. This is like shooting in a well-lit environment.  As you drive away from the radio station, the signal weakens.  Much like shooting in a darkened environment (e.g., indoors).  However, that little bit of noise remains the same.  And, though you turn up the volume (like I do by turning off the flash and increasing the ISO), you still hear more and more static as you drive away.  Which means that my photos are grainy.

For a long time, I was content to have grainy photos.  Even now, I think they are better than washed-out or blurry ones.  But, I was secretly annoyed that there wasn't an algorithm built into my camera to adjust for the digital noise coming from it.  I guess you could say that I wanted my cake and I wanted to eat it, too!  Then, I was introduced to Neat Image through Jessica Sprague (via her Photoshop Friday! Series).

Neat Image is a free computer software applet that reduces digital noise in images. Simply put, it makes my grainy photos less grainy (whether the photo came from my digital SLR or my digital snap-shot camera).  Likewise, it is one of my favorite post-processing tools.  And, the icing on this cake?  The applet works either as a stand alone on your computer or as a plug-in filter for Photoshop!

Check out the results of the before filter (left) and after filter (right) photos below.  Duncan's face seems blotchy in the pre-filtered version.  Likewise, I find the photo at left a little more difficult to look at (on some subtle level I can't describe).  Truly, the filtered photo is better and is good demonstration for why this tool is a great addition to the digital photographer's tool kit!

NOTE:  For more (and more extreme) examples of this tool, please visit Neat Image. 

 

Pixel Power and Snapshot Cameras

Though the industry keeps raising the pixel bar, spending money for something greater than 3-5 Mega Pixels (MP) for a snapshot camera doesn't really buy you much in the way of extra quality.  This is largely due to lens limitations. They just can't do much better than 4MP (just think of the lens differences between any digital SLR and the digital snapshot style camera). In addition, more pixel power has an added cost in terms of memory requirements.   Each file (or photo) is bigger and requires more time and memory needed to move, open, render, and store it. And yet, the quality isn't any better than the 4 MP version!

Therefore, I have two cameras:  A cheaper snapshot that I carry everywhere and a digital SLR for special shoots.  The snapshot camera is great because it is small and fits in my pocket.  It takes great photos, quickly, and is easy to take anywhere.  However, when I want greater quality, or something more from my lens (something I just can't get with the snapshot lens), I use the SLR.  One benefit of the SLR is that more pixels--from a good lens--means better pictures when you crop them digitally (i.e., better quality when you enlarge it or a small sample of it).  So, when the lens matters I use an SLR, but for snapshots it's my Cannon Powershot S410.