Social Media Marketing Week - Day 3

I am giving my Social Media Marketing talk at the Palm Springs Photo Festival this week. Good fun, and of course, good info if you want to grow your business.

This week's posts will focus on Social Media Marketing. I'll post a slide or two from my show along with a tip or two.

I had a ton of fun putting together this slide show. It features my favorite photographs paired with my favorite social media tips.

Today's advice: You have to do what you don't want want to do (tweet in your office) to do the things you want to do (perhaps travel to Mongolia).

Explore the light,

Rick

P.S. At the festival, I will also be interviewing the pros for the podcast I do with Juan Pons over at the Digital Photo Experience.

Rick and New Friends at the Palm Springs Art Museum

American Photo magazine's photo editor Chelsea Stickel took this photo last night of me hanging out with some new friends. It's an exciting crowd here at the Palm Springs Photo Festival!

Great presentations and workshops!

Hope to see you here next year!

Explore the light,

Rick

Social Media Marketing Week - Day 2

I am giving my Social Media Marketing talk at the Palm Springs Photo Festival this week. Good fun, and of course, good info for those want to grow their business.

This week's posts will focus on Social Media Marketing. I'll post a slide or two from my show along with a tip or two.

I had a ton of fun putting together this slide show. It features my favorite photographs paired with my favorite social media tips.

Today's advice: Keep an eye on your competition - even your friendly and very friendly competition. Get ideas from what they are doing. Maybe even work together on a project or promotion.

Explore the light,

Rick

P.S. At the festival, I will also be interviewing the pros for the podcast I do with Juan Pons over at the Digital Photo Experience.

Doing Double Duty at the Palm Springs Photo Festival

Yikes! I did not know I was going to be working this hard at the Palm Springs Photo Festival!

Great fun!

Photo by Jonathan Marks.

Off to teach my social media class.

Explore the Light,

Rick

Social Media Marketing Week - Day 1

I am giving my Social Media Marketing talk at the Palm Springs Photo Festival this week. Good fun, and of course, good info if you want to grow your business.

This week's posts will focus on Social Media Marketing. I'll post a slide or two from my show along with a tip or two.

I had a ton of fun putting together this slide show. It features my favorite photographs paired with my favorite social media tips.

Today's advice: Embrace social media! If you do, you can lead the pack (with good content). If you don't, you may ride along.

Explore the light,

Rick

P.S. At the festival, I will also be interviewing the pros for the podcast I do with Juan Pons over at the Digital Photo Experience.

Plug-in Surprise Sunday

Thanks for stopping by this week for some plug-in fun. Next week it's back to regular posts.

The Sunday surprise? Well, I think you will be surprised at how much fun you can have with plug-ins. I do, as you can see. This image is combo of using of Photomatix and Topaz Adjust.

You can learn more plug-ins – and get discounts on some plug-ins – at the Plug-in Experience.

Explore the Light,
Rick

Silver Efex Pro Saturday

If you love black-and-white images, you'll love Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro. This plug-in offers what many of my photographer friends consider to be the best method of converting a color image into a beautiful black-and-white image.

Many effects are available - from standard to artistic.

Try the different color filters (available with a click) to see how they change the tones in your image. You'll be surprised at the different end-results - as were novice film photographers when they used different color filters over their lens (red for darkening a blue sky, yellow for more pleasing skin tones, etc.)

You can learn more about Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro and other plug-ins – and get discounts on some plug-ins – at the Plug-in Experience.

Explore the Light,
Rick

Photo Frames Professional Friday

I have been using Photo Frames Professional for years. Mostly, I use Photo Frames Professional (hundreds of options) to dress up my pictures for posting on the Web. Lately, however, I have been using digital frames on the images I print on my inkjet printer.

Experiment with the frame and background colors - as well as frame types. Also, if you plan to use a digital frame on an image, be sure to some space around the main subject, because the frame can cut into the image area.

You can learn more about Photo Frames Professional and other plug-ins – and get discounts on some plug-ins – at the Plug-in Experience.

Explore the Light,
Rick

App Codes Grabbed - But We'll Do It Again. Stay Tuned.

Update: Hey all - sorry, all the codes were grabbed last night in a flash. Stay tuned. Dave and I will do this again. And next time, we'll mention "US only," which I did not know. Thank you! - Rick

To celebrate the Top Ten ranking of my 24/7 Photo Buffet App (the best of my books, DVDs, podcasts, articles, etc.), Dr. Dave Wilson, the app developer, and I are giving away 10 codes for free downloads of the app on the iTunes store.

Just like a buffet line, it's first come, first serve. Grab a code, go to the iTunes store, type in the code, download the app . . . and enjoy. The codes work only once, so if someone beats you to the app, you will not be able to use the code. So whatcah waiting for????

Good fun and good luck. Below are the codes.

Rick

WNH7FWJE7EPH

3TAKKEYJ4MW4

E6WLTYFNNHHT

49PL7634R946

RL44NJ7H6HRK

A7HANPERHXF9

MPKHLWX7PPKF

MMW6LW9AN34H

3WN7HLKJFA9F

F9MRMH974NPE

Photo Tools Professional Thursday

Photo Tools Professional, from onOne Software, lets you remove some of the color, or all of the color, from an image - among hundreds of other things (when you include all options you have with the sliders).

When you remove some of the color or all of the color from a scene, you remove some of the reality. When you remove some of the reality, you picture can become more artist and creative. How cool is that!

Here I used the Modern Antique effect to create what I feel is a more, well, creative effect.

You can learn more about onOne Software's Photo Tools Professional and other plug-ins – and get discounts on some plug-ins – at the Plug-in Experience.
Explore the Light,
Rick

Scott Rocks!

Here are two shots from yesterday's keynote session at Photoshop World. Yes, that is Scott Kelby with the V-neck guitar. (These dudes were actually playing.)

Photoshop World is tons of fun - and a fantastic learning experience. Great instructors. Great attendees. Be there or be square!

Explore the light,

Rick

Wonderful Color Efex Pro Wednesday

Color Efex Pro from Nik Software helps you transform your pictures into more creative images. One of my favorite effects is the Midnight effect - illustrated by the image on the left.

When using the Midnight effect, pick a picture that looks as though it could have been taken at night - not only from a lighting standpoint, but from a feelings standpoint, too.

With Color Efex Pro, you can create one-of-a-kind image if you take full advantage of the slider controls for each effect. Play around with these sliders to your heart's content!

You can learn more about Nik Software's Color Efex Pro and other plug-ins – and get discounts on some plug-ins – at the Plug-in Experience.

Explore the Light,
Rick

Thank for Making 24/7 Photo Buffet App-alicious

Click image for larger view.

Just a quick note to say "thank you" to all the folks who downloaded 24/7 Photo Buffet, my first app with Dr. Dave Wilson. You made it #17 on Apple's list of top paid photography apps. Sweet.

We will continue to update 24/7 and work on new apps. Don't be shy about sending suggestions. We listened and incorporated many of them into the two updates for 24/7.

Hey, last night I was hanging out with Terry White at the speakers' dinner at PSW. This dude has a cool app, too! Check it out on his site.

Thank you again,

Rick

Topaz Labs Tuesday

Topaz Adjust is one of my favorite plug-ins. It's not a true HDR plug-in, but it can expand the dynamic range of an image - with a click of your mouse or a tap of your stylus.

Here you see how a relatively flat image (bottom) was transformed into a much more dramatic image using the Spicify effect in Topaz Adjust. Also notice how the washed-out floor in the bottom image has more detail and color in the top image.

When using Topaz Adjust, take the time to adjust each slider - especially the Noise slider, as the Topaz noise control (also available in a separate, more sophisticated plug-in, Topaz DeNoise) is one of the best noise reduction methods out there.

You can learn more about Topaz Adjust and other plug-ins – and get discounts on some plug-ins – at the Plug-in Experience.

While you are on the Topaz site, check out the Photoshop Bundle. It can save you a bundle!

Explore the Light,
Rick

P.S I am giving a HDR talk at the Apple Store in SoHo in NYC on April 7th. Hope you can join the fun.

More Fun With Photomatix Monday

Photomatix is the program I use to create my HDR images. I use the stand-along version rather than the plug-in (which is okay) because it offers more features than the less-expensive plug-in. However, you can certainly have some HDR fun with the plug-in.

When working with Photomatix, I suggest setting the White Point as the first step. In doing so, you can preserve the highlights. If you don't, you defeat the entire purpose of HDR imaging. Set the black point second to preserve shadow detail.

Also, each time to open Photomatix, be sure to click the Default button. Otherwise, your last setting will be applied to your new image - which, unless you have a similar image, may not be the best idea.

This image is actually a combo image: Photomatix plus Topaz Adjust, which you will read about tomorrow here on the blog.

You can learn more about Photomatix and other plug-ins – and get discounts on some plug-ins – at the Plug-in Experience.

Explore the light,
Rick

A Week of Plug-In Fun Starts Monday

Next week will be plug-in mania here on my blog. Each day (Monday to Sunday) I'll show an example of one of my favorite plug-ins - along with a tip.

Here's the line-up.

More Fun With Photomatix Monday

Topaz Labs Tuesday

Wonderful Color Efex Pro Wednesday

Photo Tools Thursday

Photo Frames Friday

Silver Efex Pro Saturday

Plug-in Surprise Sunday

You can recevie discounts (15% or more) on some of these plug-ins at the Plug-in Experience. Just click on the Plug-ins page.

The image here is an HDR image created with the help of Photomatix. For a realistic HDR look, keep the sliders in Photomatix more toward the left than the right. For this image I used the stand-alone Photomatix rather than the plug-in because it offers more features.

Explore the light,
Rick

HDR: Realistic or Artistic? The Choice is Yours.

I receive many emails about HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography - mostly because I speak and blog and tweet and podcast and write about HDR - which I am heavily into.

The question I am most often asked: Do you like artistic HDR images (top image) or realistic HDR images (below)?

I suggest that the subject often determines the best effect. For my Cuba car shot, I thought artistic looked cool, but for my temple shot, I felt as though realistic was the only way to go.

Think about that the next time you sit down to create an HDR image. The choice is yours.

Here's an article I wrote on HDR if you'd like more info.

If you'd like a lot more info, check out my next book, HDR Photography Secrets - due out late April.

And, if you like to shoot HDR images, join one of my workshops. We shoot at this temple on my Croton Shoots.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. You can get a discount on Photomatix, the HDR program I use, at the Plug-in Experience. Check out Topaz Adjust while you are there. I used that plug-in on my Cuba car shot to help create the artistic look.

What You "See" Is What You Photograph

I'm not really into seeds – or twigs :-) – but the cover of the spring 2010 Spring Hill seed catalog really caught my eye. That amazing flower is called an Egret Flower - for an obvious reason. How beautiful! And a nice photograph to boot.

I photographed the orchid on the top right at the New York Botanical Gardens. I was drawn to it because it looks, to me, like a skinny woman posing in a beautiful dress.

I photographed this Spanish Dancer (left) and its eggs in the Red Sea on a night dive. The Spanish Dancer is basically a slug (scientifically called a nudibranch) that crawls and swims around at the bottom of the ocean. Again, beautiful subjects.

The point of this post: I think we often photograph what is most familiar to us - stuff that reminds us other stuff. What do you think?

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. If you scan a magazine or book, you can remove some of the half-tone dots by using Despeckle in Photoshop. Of course, be aware of copyright and use.

The Four Levels of Learning

Photograph © Rick Sammon. All rights reserved.

Here is something to think about in your quest for becoming a good photographer - The four levels of learning.

1 Unconscious Incompetence - We think we are kinda good.

2 Conscious Incompetence - We know we need help.

3 Conscious Competence - We know we are good.

4 Unconscious Competence - The level we all want to reach in the things we care passionately about. We don’t really have to think too much about what we are doing . . . we just do it!

Post a comment here as to your level. I'd love to hear from you.

Explore the light,
Rick

Fun Facts About People Pictures

We prefer pictures of people in which their pupils are open wide more so than pictures of people in which their pupils are closed down. That’s one reason why we like pictures of people taken in subdued lighting conditions, in the shade and on cloudy days - situations where the pupils are open wider than they are in bright light and on sunny days.

Black-and-white portraiture is attention getting, but contrast is actually more important than removing the color from an image. So think contrast - which you can add with a reflector or flash - when taking people pictures.

The majority of famous painters “illuminated” their subjects from above and to the left. For whatever reason, we seem to like that kind of lighting. Here are three of my pictures that illustrate that lighting technique. Hey, if it works for famous painters and if it works for me, it will work for you!

In very low light and at night, your eyes have an ISO of about 800. Mid-range digital SLRs have a high ISO setting of 1600, and high-end SLRs have high ISO settings of 1600, 3200 and even higher! So in effect, a camera can see better at night that you can - so don’t stop taking pictures when the light gets low and when the sun goes down.

We see colors differently at different times of the day - depending on our mood and emotional sate. Before you make a print, look at it on your monitor at different times of the day to see if you still like your original version. You may want to tweak the color to get the color you like best.Also keep in mind that difference cultures “see” colors differently. For example, in Mexico, blue not black, can signify mourning. Knowing that can help you tell a story - and a different story to a different audience.

You can learn more fact about people pictures, and why we like them in one of my favorite books: Perception and Imaging by Dr. Richard Zakia.

You’ll find more info on seeing at iLab.

Explore the Light,
Rick

24/7 Photo Buffet Version 1.2 Now Available - HDR, Expanded Content and Notes Added

In our never-ending quest to keep our 24/7 Photo Buffet app current (and to keep those five-star reviews coming), Dr. Dave Wilson and I have added new content and have updated the existing content – for the March 14, 2010 release of Version 1.2. This is our second update since our launch in January 2010.

The new content (20MB) brings the total content to 146 MB. Now that’s enough info to accommodate your hungry photo appetite! However, at that size, download time is not like eating fast food!

Sure, we could have developed a mini-app with this content, but we want to keep and make 24/7 Photo Buffet our flagship app.

New Content

HDR (High Dynamic Range) Must-Know Info (even though it’s not listed under New Features on our iTunes page). This lesson is an excerpt, featuring 30 images and text, from my latest (and a favorite) book published by Wiley, Rick Sammon’s HDR Photography Secrets (April release). If you are new to HDR, this lesson is for you! It includes before-and-after examples and solid how-to info.

We have also added a new, totally cool Notes feature. Notes allow you to copy and paste text and email text – so you can keep track of your favorite photo tips. How cool is that? Combine Notes with our Search feature, and you have a very user-friendly and very helpful app!

Updated Lessons

We have added photos and text to the following lessons: A Good Background, Add a Person To the Scene, Get in the Picture, Get Close, Wide-angle or Tele, The Environment, Move Around a Subject, Tell Different Stories, Shutter Speeds, Using this App.
You can download the update (and app itself) by clicking here.
If you are new to 24/7 Photo Buffet, click here for info.

Our next app, 24/7 Photo Safari, is schedule for a May release. We will keep you posted as to the release date.

And yes, we are developing apps for the awesome iPad! Soon come.

Suggestions for improvements and future apps are always welcome.

Explore the light - and enjoy our app.

Rick

3.14.10: Something to Think About This Sunday

I am starting a new Sunday feature here on my blog: One of my photographs paired with an inspirational quote that relates to the image.

The illustrations will be slides from a presentation (with music) that I run before my photography presentations (digital imaging, HDR, lighting, etc).

The inspirational presentation a nice way to get the crowd warmed up and relaxed before my main presentation – which is filled with solid, how-to digital photography info.

If you like this concept, try it with some of your own photographs. You can find quotes on the web by doing a search on inspirational quotes. It's good fun. It gets you thinking. And, it can be very relaxing - and even helpful in life.

Enjoy,
Rick

A Little Creative Trick With Topaz - Work Selectively

Topaz Adjust is a totally cool plug-in that can help you awaken the artist within.

Topaz Adjust's Spicify effect can add detail, color and contrast to landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes - turning a straight shot into a more artistic shot. However, those effects are not always flattering when it comes to people photography.

Here's a little trick to get the best of both worlds - using Photoshop.

1) Go to Filter > Convert to Smart Filters.

2) Go to Topaz Adjust (bottom of the Filter menu after you download it) and apply the desired effect - don't worry about how the subject looks.

3) After you apply the effect, you'll see what looks like a layer mask in the Layers panel.

4) Next, click on the layers mask. With black selected as your foreground color, choose a soft brush and paint out the effect over the person. That is what I did here. Notice the difference in the background.

Another option (for Elements users):

1) Duplicate the layer.

2) Apply the Topaz effect to the top layer.

3) Using the erase tool (soft brush), erase the area over the person.

While you are on the Topaz site, click on my mug shot to see more examples.

Have fun with this one!

Explore the light,
Rick
P.S. You can see more examples of Topaz at the Plug-in Experience - and get some discounts while you are there.

What Does Your Business Card Say About You?

As your mother told you when you were going up, "First impressions are important."

That's especially true in business.

One of the ways to make a good first impression in person is to have a creative business card. A creative business card not only shows someone (a potential client or customer) that you are creative, but that you took the time to convey that creativity - that you pay attention to every detail. It can also bring a smile to someone's face, as it does in with my iPhone business card.

For photographers, photo business cards are a great way to make a good first impression in person. You can have a photo on one side and your contact info on the other. Or, you can embed text in a photo using Photoshop.

Here's a look at my current business card (top right and bottom left). I had it made by www.printingforless.com, which does all types of printing. . . for, well, less. They did a good job matching my iPhone image to my card. What fun!

The next time you hand out your business card, ask yourself if it represents you and your creativity.

Explore the Light,

Rick

Movement in HDR Images Can Be Bad - or Good

"How do you deal with subject movement in HDR images?" That's one of the most frequently asked questions I receive in my HDR seminars and on my Exploring the Light Workshops.

Well, there are two answers to that good question - because paying attention to subject movement (as well as camera movement) is very important in HDR photography.

1 - Subject movement can be good - when you are creating HDR images of fast-moving water and clouds.

Even exposures of several seconds can help to create beautiful images, as illustrated here by my HDR image of the New Croton Dam.

2 - Subject movement can be bad - when photographing people. For example, check out the close-up of the man's hand in the top set of illustrations (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico). Even though I asked him to stand perfectly still, he still moved his hand ever so slightly in a few sets of images.

When photographing people, my advice to HDR photographers to take several sets of pictures - with the goal of getting at least one set with no subject movement. Plus, of course, asking the subject to stand perfectly still.

You'll find more info on HDR imaging in the next update (late March) of my 24/7 Photo Buffet app and in my next book (due out in late April), HDR Photography Secrets.

Explore the Light,

Rick

A Photo Fake, Of Course

Of course, yesterday's "Elephant Attacks Pro Photographer" image was a photo fake - which is why I used the quotation marks. The shot was taken in the American Museum of Natural History in NYC - and then enhanced in Photoshop.

Sure, I could have done a better job in Photoshop. However, demonstrating my Photoshop skills was not the point.

I posted the photograph to bring you back here – so I could stress the importance of honesty in wildlife photography.

No one says that better than Ted Williams in his article in the current issue (March-April) of Audubon magazine: Picture Perfect - Phony wildlife photography in magazines, books, calendars and posters is giving a warped view of nature.

Check it out. It's important read.

The article is not posted on the web at this time, but here is another article by Ted.

Explore the light - and remember that honesty is the best policy.
Rick

"Elephant Attacks Pro Photographer"

Hey Gang,

I have photographed my fair share of elephants in Africa. The sunset shot here, taken in Botswana, is one of my favorites.

Over the years, I have had a few close encounters with elephants and other African animals - during the day and at night.

Tune in tomorrow for the story behind the top picture.

Explore the light - and be careful when on safari!
Rick

Make Your Presos Entertaining and Educational

Tomorrow, I am giving a three-hour talk on social media marketing to the students at the Hallmark Institute of Photography.

In preparing my talk, I followed my presentation philosophy: make it educational and entertaining.

Sure, I could have chosen to show tons of graphs and charts: google analytics, appviz (great for tracking global app sales), twitter & quitter (yes, there is a quitter), google buzz, twitter counter, etc.

I have these charts, and I do show a few. However, I thought it would be fun to illustrate my marketing points with photographs from my travels around the world.

Here are two slides from the show. The pictures (taken in the hot-as-hell Gobi in Mongolia) help to make the points - which are easier to remember with related photographs.

There is something else I keep in mind during my presentations: The more fun I have, the more fun the audience enjoys the show.

I am giving the same preso at the Palm Springs Photo Festival later this month. Hope to see you there.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. Hey, first and foremost, I am photographer. Even though I spend a good amount of time on social media marketing, I still travel the world (via my workshops) in search of good photographs for my books and apps: off to China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Japan later this year. On that note, here's another tip I give in my talk:

You have to do what you don't want to do
to do the things you want to do.

RS on D-Town With MK

Just a quick "thank you" to Scott and Matt for inviting me on D-Town . . . for five segments! Here's #1: http://bit.ly/amNZ1o.

Thanks guys!

Explore the Light,
Rick

Friday's Food For Thought: When You Are Through Changing, You Are Through

When you are through changing . . . you are through.

Explore the Light,
Rick

Info: Dagger wing butterfly, photographed with Canon 1Ds Mark III, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Lite. Read about close-up photography here.

Got an App Idea? Think Outside the Box - and Outside the Country

If you are considering building an app, one of the many things you need to consider is the international market. Thinking internationally, rather than just locally (here in the US), will probably influence some of your content/feature/benefit decisions.

As always, an important rule in marketing is this: know your customer - and your potential customer.

Dr. Dave Wilson, the app developer who designed my app, 24-7 Photo Buffet, uses a program called AppVis to track not only our sales, but where the app is sold. Today's Region Graph of sales opens this post.

Summing up the marketing tip: Sure, think outside the box, but also think outside the country!

If you are interested in developing an app, here's a short how-to by Dr. Dave. Take it away, Dave . . . .

I'm the dude who co-developed "Rick Sammon's 24/7 Photo Buffet" iPhone/iTouch application. Good fun – but also a lot of work.

Actually, the app is more like an e-book - because it offers so much how-to info.

What's more, it's like an ever-expanding e-book – because new content will be added monthly. More fun . . . and more work :-)

For those of you who are interested in behind-the-scenes stories (and app development), here's the technical scoop on the app.

In the Beginning

Apple started shipping the first iPhone in June 2007. There was, however, a problem for developers (like me): Apple didn't initially provide any way to write "native" apps for the iPhone.

Apple finally released their iPhone SDK to developers in March of 2008, and opened the App Store in July 2008. Developers could finally write real apps, and sell them to iphone and iPod Touch owners. This started the "Gold Rush" that today has produced more than 100,000 apps for sale in the App Store - in more than 70 countries.

What’s Needed

To write an app for the iPhone, you need the following:

• Apple's Xcode development system - a free download.

• A good understanding of "object-oriented programming" (OOP). This can be hard to learn at first, but I started using OOP in 1987, so it was no problem by 2008.

• Familiarity with the Objective-C programming language, which uses a C syntax for most things, but a Smalltalk-like syntax for sending messages to objects. I had not used Objective-C since the late '80s, so I had to re-learn it. It's a cool programming language, but only Apple seems to use it. Most of the rest of the world uses C, C++, C#, or Java - which all differ from Objective-C in various ways.

• The iPhone SDK - a free download. Parts of iPhone programming are just like Mac OS X programming, but there are many new frameworks to support the "Cocoa Touch" user interface, so there's a lot to learn.

• A Developer account with Apple that costs $99/year, just to be able to put an app on your own iPhone for testing.

• An iTunes business account, so you can submit apps to the App Store.

By the time Rick and I met in September 2009 (in a helicopter at the Maui Photo Festival), I had four apps in the App Store. The design and development of "Rick Sammon's 24/7 Photo Buffet" took almost four months.

Assigned Tasks

• Deciding on the content - a four-month process that continues even today.

• Prototyping the user interface - about one month.

• Taking existing iPhone programs I had written, and munging them into what we eventually used - about one month.

• Detailed coding and debugging - perhaps two months.

• Picking a name for the app - weeks of suggestions, counter-suggestions, and brainstorming. This is the hardest part of app development :-)

• Submitting it to the App Store - a touchy process that took about two hours of messing around.

• Waiting for Apple to approve the app - only took three days (this could take weeks in the past - Apple seems to have greatly improved the process in the last few weeks).

About Rick

"Rick Sammon's 24/7 Photo Buffet" incorporates 30+ years of Rick's photography and teaching experience (and his best photographs and techniques), and 30+ years of my programming and user interface design experience. So I guess you could say that this app took more than 60 years to develop. But it was worth it - it's a really cool app. Hey, I'm not the only one who thinks so! Check out our reviews on our app page.

Rick and I want to hear from you. Let us know what topics you'd like us to add as we update the app - which should be at least once a month. You can email Rick at ricksammon at mac.com. You can see more of his work at www.ricksammon.com.

Seeing Red . . . thanks to Fred

I have a new article over at The Digital Photo Exeprience on seeing red.

Giving credit where credit is due, my friend, Frederick Van Johnson, reminded me of seeing red.

Explore the Light,
Rick

Photomatix + Topaz Adjust = Creative Images

Photomatix is the program I use to create my HDR images. It does a great job crunching several exposures at different settings (over and under the recommended setting) into a tone-mapped image that includes details in both the shadow and highlight areas of a scene.

Often times, for a creative effect, I'll apply Topaz Adjust (a plug-in) to an HDR image. Many of the options in Topaz Adjust allows you to add detail, contrast and color to the shadow and highlight areas. How cool!

The image on the left is the middle exposure of five exposures. The image on the right is the Photomatix + Topaz image.

Photomatix tip: Adjust the White Point first - to preserve the highlights.

Topaz tip: Let your imagination run wild.

If some of your images need a boost in detail, contrast and color, give Photomatix and Topaz Adjust a try. Photomatix and Topaz can also give YOU a boost in your creative efforts.

You can order Topaz Adjust here.

You can get a discount on Photomatix here.

Explore the Light,
Rick

P.S. Notice how everything in this scene is in sharp focus. You can achieve this effect by using a wide-angle lens, setting a small f-stop, and focusing 1/3 into the scene. Also, notice how the scene has a great sense of depth. That;s due in part to the careful arrangement of the elements in in the scene.

My Favorite Type of Seminar Is . . .

Just curious: What is your favorite type of seminar?
Photography
Photoshop
Aperture
Lightroom
HDR

Take the poll over on the top right and lemme know.

Above left is an HDR/Photoshop image created from scene on the right.

Explore the Light,
Rick

A Little Trick With Topaz Adjust 4

Here's a little trick I learned, quite by accident, while playing around with Topaz Adjust.

First, use the Spicify effect to boost the color, contrast and detail in an image. Then, use the Noise tab (click the Use Topaz DeNoise™ box) and reduce the noise to the point where your picture becomes very blurry - as illustrated in the top image, which I created from a similar image to the bottom image.

I found that working on a low resolution image, and then up-sizing it, works better than working on a full resolution image.

If you are new to Topaz products, you can save a bundle by choosing a bundle.

By they way, when using this technique, you remove some of the reality in a scene. When you remove some of the reality, your picture can become more artistic and creative.

Explore the Light,
Rick

What Makes A Good Photograph?

During my seminars, I am often asked, "What makes a good picture?"

I reply by saying, "That is relative."

Here is an example.

I think the top picture, of a short-ear owl in Galapagos, is a good picture. It captures the owl and its prey - seconds after the dove was caught late one sunny afternoon. We can see the entire body of the owl and its prey. The owl's eyes are well lit and in sharp focus. And, the picture tells a story. All good stuff.

So, it's a good picture for a wildlife or nature magazine, but probably not a good photograph if you want to hang a print in your kitchen or dining room, especially if you like to eat poultry.

About the pair of pictures (same owl): The picture on the left, I think, is a good picture. It's a nice portrait. The picture on the right, I think, is also a good picture - if you are an art director at a nature magazine looking for a picture that shows how well the short ear owl is camouflaged by its favorite hiding place. But as a bird ID picture, it's kinda confusing.

So when thinking about what makes a good picture, always consider the end use.

Here is something else about what makes a good picture: One out-of-focus picture is a mistake, 20 out-of-focus pictures is a style. :-)

Comments here are welcome.

Explore the Light,
Rick