Tumblr and Animoto


I was getting a little bored, and then Animoto slideshows came along, which I discuss on my new Tumbler blog: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/jackpic

How to photograph sunsets

When you get up at 4 a.m. to shoot the sunrise on vacation, it is a test of will to stay up long enough to catch the 9.30 p.m. sunset. Read here about my personal solution, complete with a video/slideshow of some shots that resulted: http://jpics.blog.com/tag/how-to-photograph-sunsets/

Morant's Curve pictures

Taking a panorama of Morant's Curve while a train is passing by is no easy feat, but Paul Bruins explains how he did it at Photo Stores. http://jpics.blog.com/tag/morants-curve-pictures/

Fitzgerald Falls NY

It wasn't the Forest Primeval or the Blair Witch Project, but Fitzgerald Falls in New York definitely had an ominous feel on a recent day. Read here: http://jpics.blog.com/tag/fitzgerald-falls-ny/

The Castro - San Francisco

Some unusual things go on in the Castro district in San Francisco, but there's a reason. See http://jpics.blog.com/tag/castro-san-francisco/

How to photograph Golden Gate Bridge

Photographing the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is as much about working around the fog as it is about capturing the bridge itself. Read how: http://jpics.blog.com/tag/sf-bay-images/

Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island has an irresistible lure that is pointless to resist. Read why: http://jpics.blog.com/tag/alcatraz-island/

Mendocino in the Seventies

To hear how the town of Mendocino on the California coast can really grow on you, see http://jpics.blog.com/tag/mendocino-in-the-seventies/

Creative freight train photo

Jenn describes how she took this creative, striking photo of a passing freight train along the Hudson River, in Photo Stories: http://jpics.blog.com/tag/hudson-river-photographs/

Philadelphia cityscape pictures

Donald Bush has a great picture of the new Race Street Pier, a prime new spot for photographing the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia. Check it out on Photo Stories at http://jpics.blog.com/tag/philadelphia-cityscape-pictures/

Scottish western highlands pictures

Gordie Brown, a master at photographing the Scottish western highlands, tells how he happened to take up photography on a whim. Luck for us that he did: http://jpics.blog.com/tag/scottish-western-highlands-pictures/

Acadia National Park pictures

There is a great new posting on Photo Stories by Jenn, known as SunnyDazzled on Flickr, about hunting for lighthouses on Maine, including Acadia National park. It's not as easy as you might think. Check it out at http://jpics.blog.com/tag/acadia-national-park-pictures/

California landscape photography

Mono Lake and other images have been added to Lawrence Goldman's new SmugMug site, at http://photosbygoldman.smugmug.com/keyword/california%20landscape%20photography#1271573679_R3Smmpm

California landscape photography

Professional photographer Lawrence Goldman has a great new SmugMug site for California landscape photography, http://photosbygoldman.smugmug.com/keyword/california%20landscape%20photography#1268101009_Rjp47Hd

California landscape photography

Professional photographer Lawrence Goldman has a great series of California landscape photographs at http://photosbygoldman.smugmug.com/keyword/california%20landscape%20photography#1268101009_Rjp47Hd

California landscape photography

Visit my SmugMug site for California landscape photography, http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/california%20landscape%20photography#1230572869_ykv3w

Lawrence Goldman's new SmugMug site

My favorite new photo site is by pro photographer Lawrence Goldman, whose new SmugMug site can be viewed here:
http://photosbygoldman.smugmug.com/keyword/southwest%20landscape%20photography#1259488221_xfnSZjX

Spring blossoms Philadelphia

                                                                   Photo by Tanya


By Jack Booth

This photo, taken by the wife, Tanya, with her IPhone 4, perfectly illustrates that the photographer, not the camera, makes the shot. The evening light was perfect - still bright but with no glare - and the composition was superb, with a tight grouping and a strong central focus. A very nice shot.

Check out the great new SmugMug site by Lawrence Goldman, a professional photographer from Southern California:
http://photosbygoldman.smugmug.com/keyword/california%20landscape%20photography#1261448568_3PrKCJc

Sell stock photos

Lawrence Goldman has a great article on selling stock photos, which you can view here: http://jpics.blog.com/tag/sell-stock-photos/

Spring blossoms Philadelphia

By Jack Booth


       Shots taken in the shade pose a real challenge. Even with my Canon EOS 5D set to the Shade setting, the shot came out blue and dim, as in the second shot. But I liked the overall mood and didn't want to wreck it with too much fiddling. So it was off to Lightroom, where I kept the changes to the bare minimum, basically boosting the Brightness level while shoving Recovery all the way to 100 to protect the highlights. I added a little Black, just +2, and a fair amount of clarity, which really helped the blossoms on the ground. I warmed everything up with a Temp setting of +9 and a Vibrance boost of +32, and added just a little sharpening, which consists of: Amount 91, Radius .7, Detail 56 and Masking 33. The settings are shown in the third panel. I used Snapshots (Command N), which enabled me to flick back and forth to see if I like the results. It all was quick and fairly minimal, but the effect was dramatic.


There is a new SmugMug site by a California photographer, Lawrence Goldman, which is worth checking out by going here: http://photosbygoldman.smugmug.com/keyword/southwest%20landscape%20photography#1259488221_xfnSZjX

Lawrence Goldman's new SmugMug site

Lawrence Goldman, a superb professional photographer from Southern California, has a new SmugMug site, which you can check out here: http://photosbygoldman.smugmug.com/keyword/arizona%20landscape%20photographs#1259114156_wSQJtHr

Sky color on the water

By Jack Booth

The color of the water can make or break a shot of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, particularly in the spring. And that depends largely on the sky colors, which reflect off the water. This morning was a good example. The swollen river was a muddy brown, except for a brief period when the sky was blue with pink highlights in the kind of tight clouds that tend to only be around in the spring and fall. This shot, taken from underneath one bridge, used that effect to maximum advantage. The shaded water acted like a big reflector and picked up the sky tones, as well as the golds from the railroad bridge. The brown in the water wasn't even apparent. These clouds lasted less than a half hour, and then a huge bank of dark clouds moved in. But the shot was in the bag, and the river looks good.

© Jack Booth

Yorkshire Dales landscape pictures

English photographer Terry Roberts has an excellent black and white photograph of a solitary tree in the isolated but beautiful hills of Yorkshire Dales in North of England. His photo and text, as well as entries by a number of other talented photographers, can be viewed at http://jpics.blog.com/tag/yorkshire-dales-pictures/

Spring blossoms along the river

    


 Spring blossoms along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia invariably present a challenge for the photographer. If you wait too late - and today was almost the last chance - you miss the blossoms, which peak much sooner than many flowering trees in the area. If you go on time, like I did today, you usually hit stormy, dark weather, which is a thrill to see in person but a problem for the camera's metering system. As dark as the clouds appear to be, they tend to be overexposed when the camera meters for the grass and blossoms, with the result that you end up with a playback screen that is  dancing with "blinkies", those annoying alerts for overexposure. A neutral grad helps, but on a shot with trees the grad tends to darken the treetops on the right too much, in a very obvious way. So here's how I approach this shot, all the way through Lightroom and Photoshop:

       The crucial first step is to shoot with a custom white balance setting. Most cameras, including my EOS 5D, do not shoot well on Auto white balance on a dim day, and today was exceedingly dim, to the point where many cars were driving with their lights on. The procedure varies by camera, but on the Canon all you have to do is switch to spot metering and take a picture of an "18-percent gray card". It doesn't even have to be in focus; it just has to be properly exposed. I like the WhiBal card because it is relatively cheap, is made of tough plastic that fits in my shirt pocket, is easy to hold, and has a logo that allows me to quickly see if I'm getting glare on the card and need to change its angle. Then I just go into the Menu setting for Custom White Balance, select that photo, hit Select, and choose the  Custom White Balance setting on the top of the screen. That's all there is too it.

       Next, I look for a scene where the dark, rather bland sky is a minor part of the scene, yet still provides a sense of place. And, for this shot, I used the picnic bench as an "anchor" to the composition to keep the grassy foreground from overwhelming the shot. I took two exposures: one with a neutral grad, and one without, and ended up liking the one taken with a .6 soft grad held at the angle on the left. I do it by hand, making sure the grad is fully over the lens. I have a bad habit of allowing it to creep as I reposition it, with the result that the edge of the grad shows up in the picture. I also take a lot of pictures with the tip of a finger in there. But, overall, hand-holding is the way to go for pinpoint positioning of the grad.

        Back at home, I view my shots first on the TV, and make a note of the keepers. I only import the keepers to my aging iMAC, which can't be upgraded for memory any more than I already have done. Even by being selective, I still put in 24 Camera Raw and 24 JPEG shots, which was enough to slow the computer down enough to where Lightroom couldn't be operating at the same time as Photoshop. Yes, at some point I need a new computer, but first comes a new zoom lens. I forgot to mention that my old Tamron zoom is so beat that I have to yank on it to make it extend. Next month it will be replaced by a spiffy, larger Canon 28-200. I'm just going to have to live with the glaring white color of that lens.

         Lightroom is the next step. Straight out of the camera, the RAW image looks overly flat and listless. I'm not an ace at using Curves in Photoshop, in fact I hate it, so my solution is to quickly flip through presets in Lightroom, while watching what happens to the image in the little preview window. It's amazing how sometimes, like today, a preset can magically transform a shot, and it's instant, as opposed to the hours of fiddling that might be involved with Curves. Today's magic preset was Creative - Direct Positive. That often is a very bad choice, but in this case, on a shot taken on a dim day, it really brightened things up and made the colors pop, without overdoing it. It mainly did this by boosting exposure by 1.15, and in the Curves box, making a steep curve, primarily by boosting exposure by 60 and lowing shadows by 60. It would have taken me all day to figure that out.  Next, I used a preset that I fished off of the web called "Fuji Reala + 2 stops auto," which basically simulates the look of Fuji Reala film. That brightened things up even more. These steps, by the way, rarely get used when lighting is great. They're wonderful, however, when it was dark like today. Finally, I used Lightroom's grad tool to lighten the sky a little, and then used the adjustment brush on one sky area that became too bright. For sharpening, I used a general-purpose landscape sharpening setting of .91 amount, .7 radius, .56 detail, and .36 masking. Then it was on to Photoshop. And, by the way, all the above action only took about 10 minutes. I just spent more time describing what I did than actually doing it.

       Once in Photoshop, I cloned out two dust spots. Yes, I have a slightly dirty sensor, dating back to last summer when the wind was gale-force at Drake's Beach north of San Francisco. At least once a year I take the camera to Canon's facility in New Jersey, about a hour's drive from here, to have them clean it for $35. Much less scary than doing it myself, and they do a perfect job. Next I do what I do on many shots, I go in Pixel Genius' program and add midtone contrast masking and a film effect called Vivid that essentially boosts contrast. The nice thing about the program, particularly for the masking, is that they do automatically what you would have to do with about 20 steps in Photoshop, and you can change the strength to suit. I also used their Dodge tool to slightly brighten the upper 1/3 of the photo, although I wanted to keep a good bit of the drama resulting from a dark top and a lighter band below.

       And that was it. The key things here were the custom white balance setting, and playing with presets  in Lightroom. I like to take pictures, but I have an aversion to spending too much time on processing. This image illustrated how to can get the result I want without getting too frustrated in the process.

       Hope you liked this. And, by the way, my other blog, Photo Stories, features images and commentary by a growing number of people. The blog was chosen as a featured blog by Blog.com. and has been viewed by people in more than 30 countries. Check it out here:
http://jpics.blog.com/



    

London city pictures

Matt Howarth has a striking, artistic image on Photo Stories, a featured blog on the "Itch to Write" site of blog.com. Check out Matt's entry and other fine work by photographers from around the world at http://jpics.blog.com/tag/london-city-pictures/

Canon EOS 5D Mark II versus EOS 5D

For a comparison of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II versus the EOS 5D, see http://jpics.blog.com/tag/canon-eos-5d-mark-ii-versus-eos-5d/

HDR photography

Two great shots with text on HDR photography, at http://jpics.blog.com/tag/hdr-photography/

California coastal images

For a great shot of El Matador Beach using HDR photography, see California coastal images at http://jpics.blog.com/tag/california-coastal-images/

HDR photography

For a great photo and tips on using HDR photography, see http://jpics.blog.com/tag/hdr-photography/

California beach pictures

For a great shot of El Matador Beach, one of the pocket beaches of the California beach pictures, see http://jpics.blog.com/tag/california-coast/

El Matodor Beach HDR image

For a great HDR image of El Matador Beach, with a text by Lawrence Goldman, see his blog entry on Photo Stories: jpics.blog.com/tag/malibu/

El Matodor Beach California pictures

El Matador Beach California pictures, see http://jpics.blog.com/tag/el-matador-beach-california-pictures/

El Matador Beach Southern California

El Matador Beach Southern California, see this fantastic photo by Lawrence Goldman
http://jpics.blog.com/2011/03/05/location-location-location/

Landscape photography California

Landscape photography California, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/Landscapes/California-landscape/15569724_Sk5rG#1166506589_jaSnz

California landscape photography

California landscape photography, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/california%20landscape%20photography#1188595890_HirAZ

California landscape photography

California landscape photography, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/Landscapes/California-landscape/15569724_Sk5rG#1166506589_jaSnz

Mount Rundle pictures

Mount Rundle pictures available as prints at http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/mount%20rundle%20pictures#1181821204_C5qwy

Banff National Park Canadian Rockies

Banff National Park Canadian Rockies, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/banff%20national%20park%20canadian%20rockies#1180160577_6DGgb

California landscape photography

California landscape photography, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/california%20landscape%20photography#1168498106_7ghuB

Castle Mountain - Banff pictures

For Castle Mountain - Banff pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/castle%20mountain%20banff%20pictures#1178217966_e3E9Y

California landscape photography

California landscape photography, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/Landscapes/California-landscape/15569724_Sk5rG#1166506589_jaSnz

Peyto Lake pictures

Peyto Lake pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/peyto%20lake%20pictures#1176520350_XWTWv

Lake Louise pictures

Lake Louise pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/lake%20louise%20pictures#1176398013_bZPvo

Photo Stories blog

Visit my new blog, Photo Stories, at http://jpics.blog.com/

Castle Mountain - Banff pictures

Castle Mountain rises majestically in Banff National Park, one of many prints available of the Canadian Rockies at http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/castle%20mountain%20banff%20pictures#1161992590_wFU8A

Canadian Landscape Photography

For my Canadian Landscape Photography gallery, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Canadian-landscapes/14975269_VQDZM#1118500249_pzNrs

Vermillion Lakes Banff National Park pictures

Vermillion Lakes Banff National Park pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/vermillion%20lakes%20banff%20national%20park%20pictures#1155849128_2hong

Lake Louise pictures

Lake Louise pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/lake%20louise%20pictures#1152537525_PeGHs

Two Jack Lake pictures

Two Jack Lake pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/two%20jack%20lake%20pictures#1152475100_njAzv

Lake Louise pictures

Lake Louise pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/lake%20louise%20pictures#1143290583_djJgg

Moraine Lake Pictures

Moraine Lake Pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/moraine%20lake%20pictures#1143599005_PdwG6

Leith - Edinburgh pictures

Leith-Edinburgh pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/leith%20edinburgh%20pictures#1150247991_scyfG

Edinburgh Castle pictures

Edinburgh Castle Pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/edinburgh%20castle%20pictures#1148644991_7suSg

Emerald Lake Yoho

Emerald Lake Yoho, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/emerald%20lake%20yoho#1143401577_ekK3h

Edinburgh Old Town pictures

Edinburgh Old Town pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/edinburgh%20old%20town%20pictures#1148595685_MJ6BE

Moraine Lake - Banff National Park

Moraine Lake - Banff National Park, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/moraine%20lake%20banff%20national%20park#1143599005_PdwG6

Leith - Edinburgh pictures

Leith - Edinburgh pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/leith%20edinburgh%20pictures#1147985536_ToUP8

Canadian Landscape Photography

For great prints of Canadian landscape photography, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Canadian-landscapes/14975269_VQDZM#1118500249_pzNrs

Welcome to my gallery of great Canadian landscape scenes. Click the link above to see the gallery, where high-quality prints are available from Bay Photo in San Francisco at very reasonable prices.

Calton Hill pictures

Calton Hill pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/calton%20hill%20pictures#1147654964_9CeBP

Edinburgh Scotland pictures

Edinburgh Scotland pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/edinburgh%20scotland%20pictures#1146664708_hq4Ch

Old Edinburgh pictures

Old Edinburgh pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/old%20edinburgh%20pictures#1132669269_ABLN8

Lake Louise photography

Lake Louise photography, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/lake%20louise%20photography#1141549267_mkvEd

Chateau Lake Louise pictures

Chateau Lake Louise pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/chateau%20lake%20louise%20pictures#1141456231_5Rpbe

Herbert Lake pictures

Herbert Lake pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/herbert%20lake%20pictures#1143960791_pBoo5

Landscape pictures Canada

Landscape pictures Canada, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/landscape%20pictures%20canada#1132752514_b7F4w

Edinburgh Castle pictures

Edinburgh Castle pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/edinburgh%20castle%20pictures#1132669126_uzyw6

Rosslyn Chapel

Rosslyn Chapel, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/rosslyn%20chapel%20pictures#1147000770_tYqSG

Edinburgh skyline

Edinburgh skyline, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/edinburgh%20skyline#1146722906_8g8Yf

Edinburgh pictures

Edinburgh pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/edinburgh%20pictures#1146722906_8g8Yf

Edinburgh pictures

Edinburgh pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/edinburgh%20pictures#1146709254_MVyz3

Edinburgh pictures

Edinburgh pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/edinburgh%20pictures#1146709254_MVyz3

Edinburgh pictures

Edinburgh pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/edinburgh%20pictures#1146664708_hq4Ch

Edinburgh pictures

Edinburgh pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/edinburgh%20pictures#1146658216_eT3Mn

Edinburgh pictures

Edinburgh pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/edinburgh%20pictures#1132669269_ABLN8

Canada Landscape photos

Canada landscape photos, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/canada%20landscape%20photos#1130260634_Es4kB

Canadian Landscape Photography

For great prints of Canadian Landscape Photography, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Canadian-landscapes/14975269_VQDZM#1118500249_pzNrs

The Ten Peaks light up at dawn at Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.

Moraine Lake Pictures

Moraine Lake Pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/moraine%20lake%20pictures#1143599005_PdwG6

Banff National Park Canadian Photos

Banff National Park Canadian Photos, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/banff%20national%20park%20canadian%20photos#1143290583_djJgg

Banff National Park pictures

Banff National Park Pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/banff%20national%20park%20pictures#1143662715_QwHbm

Bow Lake pictures

Bow Lake pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/bow%20lake%20pictures#1143960791_pBoo5

Castle Junction pictures

Castle Junction pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/castle%20junction%20pictures#1143707407_9r4CL

Herbert Lake pictures

Herbert Lake pictures, see also http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/herbert%20lake%20pictures#1132752514_b7F4w

Bow Lake pictures

Bow Lake pictures, see also http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/bow%20lake%20pictures#1119718704_g9ykE

Bow Lake pictures

Bow Lake pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/bow%20lake%20pictures#1143662715_QwHbm

Mount Rundle pictures

Mount Rundle pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/mount%20rundle%20pictures#1130329732_m7HgX

Moraine Lake Ten Peaks

Moraine Lake Ten Peaks, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/moraine%20lake%20ten%20peaks#1143599005_PdwG6

Banff National Park pictures

Banff National Park pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/banff%20national%20park%20pictures#1141549267_mkvEd

Emerald Lake pictures

Emerald Lake pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/emerald%20lake%20pictures#1143401577_ekK3h

Moraine Lake pictures

Moraine Lake pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/moraine%20lake%20pictures#1143326095_QteZV

Kananaskis Country pictures

Kananaskis Country pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/kananaskis%20country%20pictures#1143298734_WFDGi

Lake Louise pictures

Lake Louise pictures, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/lake%20louise%20pictures#1143290583_djJgg

Landscape photography Canada

Landscape photography Canada, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/date/1969-12-31/2010-12-28/2/1118669807_QsLVA#1118669807_QsLVA

Canadian outdoor photography

Canadian outdoor photography, see http://jackpicks.smugmug.com/keyword/canadian%20outdoor%20photography#1136927953_8QEss

Goggle pictures Herbert Lake

Google pictures, Herbert Lake, see http://www.google.com/images?q=herbert+lake+picture&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=ivnso&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=8BofTcbHEITGlQfWx_D2Bw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCAQsAQwAA&biw=1024&bih=645