What I Saw: Good on Doug West & Elinor Osborn/On Learning to Think and See Like a Pro

The Streak Continues: 197

It is 10:28am here in Indian Lake Estates, FL as I type. Including the time that I spent optimizing the 2 images here this blog post took 3 1/2 hours to prepare. I hope that you enjoy it. I was a bit jet-lagged last night, got to bed early, and slept until 6:45am–very late for me. Catching up on lost sleep is a good thing.

This post marks 197 consecutive days with a new educational blog post. With so many folks getting in the habit of using our B&H links and our Amazon logo-links why quit now? April, May and June have been fantastic as lots of folks are getting the message; using my affiliate links does not cost you a penny and helps support my efforts here. To show your appreciation, I do ask that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially Gitzo tripods, Wimberley tripod heads, and the like. We sell only what I have used and tested, and know that you can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know the tools that you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

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This 3-frame in-camera Natural HDR image was created at 5:20am that same morning with with the Gitzo 3532 LS carbon fiber tripod, the Mongoose M3.6 head, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens (at 90mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop +/- two stops around the base exposure of 1/60 sec. at f/16 in Av mode. AWB. Live View with 2-second timer. AI Servo Rear Focus AF on the nearest edge of the barn and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

The Challenge: Learning to See Like a Pro

In last Thursday’s bog post (June 12, 2014) here, I posted:

OK, here is the big challenge. Take a close look at the barn; what additional images would you create? Do you see the shots? I see two great ones. But first I am giving everyone a chance to tell me what they see as interesting. Please be specific. And let us know which lens you would use to realize your vision. I will share my two with you in a not-to-distant blog post.

Only two folks rose to the challenge, Doug West and Elinor Osborn. Kudos to each of them; both did well. You can read their comments by scrolling down here. As I will be posting several more of these exercises I would encourage more of you to give it a go.

BTW, my favorite of the two images in the original post was the one that opened this post. Without the two black squares of course. The 3 folks who commented agreed with me. Leonard Malkin said it best when he wrote: I like the third photo because the longer focal length presents a more pleasing perspective. With the first two, the wide angle (i.e. camera closer to the subject) makes the barn seem a bit distorted, the way a wide angle portrait produces a large nose.

This image was created from a single RAW file, one frame of 3-frame in-camera HDR series. Again I used the Gitzo 3532 LS carbon fiber tripod, the Mongoose M3.6 head, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens (at 200mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/60 sec. at f/16 in Av mode. AWB. Color Temperature 4500K. Live View with 2-second timer. AI Servo Rear Focus AF on the nearest edge of the cupola and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Cupola

In architecture, a cupola /ˈkjuːpələ/ is a small, most often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from the lower Latin cupula (classical Latin cupella from the Greek κύπελλον–kupellon) “small cup.” (From Wikipedia here.)

What Attracted Me to the Cupola?

The color scheme: orange, grey, and blue, and the texture of both the slats and the roof drew my eye and inspired me to create this detail image. I moved closer to make sure that no leaves from the background tree crept over the roof line and went to a longer focal length to extract the cupola from the larger scene thus refining my photographic vision.

This 3-frame in-camera Natural HDR image was created with the Gitzo 3532 LS carbon fiber tripod, the Mongoose M3.6 head, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens (at 123mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop +/- two stops around the base exposure of 1/50 sec. at f/16 in Av mode. Color Temperature 4500K. Live View with 2-second timer. AI Servo Rear Focus AF on the upper right corner of the door frame and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

What Attracted Me to the Door?

The rich colors and textures of the wood and and that big X on the door drew my eye. Again I moved closer to extract this mini-scene from the larger image of the barn in order to refine my photographic vision.

Hope that you can join us 🙂 Card and design by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Announcing the Palouse A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. May 29-June 2, 2015/5 Full Days: $1699

Believe me now, or believe me later (do you remember hans and franz?), this IPT is filling very quickly as predicted: we have 7 folks signed up in less than a day with lots more expressing serious interest.

Rolling farmlands provide a magical patchwork of textures and colors, especially when viewed from the top of Steptoe Butte where we will likely enjoy spectacular sunrises and possibly a nice sunset or two. We will photograph grand landscapes and mini-scenics of the rolling hills and farm fields. We will take you to some really neat old abandoned barns and farmhouses in idyllic settings. There is no better way to improve your compositional and image design skills and to develop your creativity than to join us for this trip. Two great leaders: Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris. Photoshop and image sharing sessions when we have the time and energy…. We get up early and stay out late and the days are long.

After 6 days of back-breaking scouting work in early June 2014 we found all of the iconic locations and, in addition, lots of spectacular new old barns and breath-taking landforms and views. We will teach you what makes one situation prime and another seemingly similar one a waste of your time.
What’s included: In-the-field instruction, guidance, lessons, and inspiration, our newfound but very extensive knowledge of the area, all lunches, motel lobby breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions when possible.

You will learn and hone both basic and advanced compositional and image design skills. You will learn to get the right exposure every time. You will learn to develop your creative eye. You will learn the basics of HDR (high dynamic range) photography. You will learn a variety of in-camera creative techniques; Canon 5D Mark III bodies are a plus. And most importantly you will learn to see the situation and to create a variety of top-notch images. Do see both of our blogs for lots more on that in the coming weeks. You will learn how the quality and direction of light combine to determine the success of your images. And–please don’t gasp–we will be working quite a bit with sidelight when creating landscapes. Lastly, we will be touching on infrared photography.

A non-refundable $699 deposit is due now. The balance will be due on January 29, 2015. With the unpredictable nature of the photography business, I have not said this often lately, but it seems quite likely that this one will fill up very quickly. Please let me know via e-mail that you will be joining us. Then you can either call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 during business hours or send us a check; the latter is preferred.

Please send your deposit check made out to “Arthur Morris” to us at Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail. You can also contact denise via e-mail here

Card and design by Denise Ippolito. Scroll down here to see lots more of Denise’s Palouse images.

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Typos

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