Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
I very often have this strong negative reaction when a newsletter arrives in my inbox or I see an online article where the heading, for instance, reads: “5 rules to follow when composing an image” — or something to that effect.
I would have been far more positive if the heading read: “10 approaches to consider when composing a landscape image”.
I have plenty of personal preferences when it comes to photography. However, I try to avoid making rules or laws based on what I prefer.
To shoot directly into the sun is both challenging and fun. Challenging because it can be difficult to control the light and, not least, our images are very often marred by sunflare. One simple way of avoiding flare is to shoot an extra exposure with one finger or more obscuring the sun.
Admittedly, it happens that I forget to follow that simple step, or I am too lazy or I believe that clouds or mist sufficiently diffuse the light so that the lens won’t produce any flare. In the example below I believed that mist would prevent any flare. I was wrong something which became very evident when examining the raw file in Lightroom.
Please note that this tutorial is meant for advanced users of Photoshop who are well familiar with layers, masks and luminosity masks.
Occasionally when examining a raw file I get a reasonably clear idea on how I would like the end result to be. In this instance I had an inner picture of trees glowing from the sun, rather dark shadows and a sky with nice color contrast.
In order to achieve this I opted to create two virtual copies in Lightroom from the original raw file. I could alternatively have achieved what I was looking for using Smart Objects, but envisioned that Virtual Copies would be the better option for the image I had in mind.
I believe we all now and then are envious of others’ photography — their skills, the conditions they experienced, the epic locations they visit, the accolades they receive and so on. We can either let this emotion make our lives miserable or we can channel it into something positive where we strive to improve our own skills and develop our talent. In other words, we turn envy into inspiration and motivation. May the tremendously gifted photographers featured in this article inspire you just like they inspire me. Each of the photographers has written a few words about themselves.
To shoot medium format has been a yearlong dream, but I have to admit I didn’t know it would be such a mind blowing experience. The Pentax 645Z (51,4 mega pixels) arrived on the market in 2014 and was the first camera to ever exceed 100 points in the DxOMark sensor test. For some unknown reason the score and review wasn’t published before 2017. There is plenty of info to be found on the internet concerning the camera specs so I won’t cover that in much detail. What is of greater interest to me and hopefully the reader is the medium format experience.
I can’t help but notice all those articles proclaiming mistakes we should try to avoid in order to become a better photographer. Admittedly, I have issues with such an approach. First of all: I hate the word “should”. Basically we “should” nothing. Secondly, there is not much learning in avoiding mistakes — we learn best from our mistakes and the more bittersweet they are the more carved into our memory they become. So here are some mistakes I genuinely recommend you to commit. I cannot promise they will make you a better photographer but the likelihood of you making those mistakes again will hopefully be reduced.
It was in August 2013 that I by accident stumbled upon the red cabin and its surrounding lake. I assume the location has been photographed before my first attempts at capturing its inherent beauty and charm. Owing to the fact that the lake is a drinking water reservoir for a whole community I am very reluctant to disclose its exact location — also in the hope of protecting it from Instagram trophy hunters.
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