A Few Simple Tips For Fall Color Photography

Fall colors can make for some great photography.  Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of shooting in the fall.

(1) Know when peak season is.  This seems like common sense, but I have gone on many excursions only to discover that I am too early or too late.  Remember, the timing of the season can change from year to year based on all kinds of things, so be sure to check the latest reports before you head out — and make sure that the reports are LOCAL and CURRENT.

(2) Use the polarizing filter (correctly).  A circular polarizer can really make the colors pop.  But, make sure that you are using it correctly.  Pay close attention to how the image appears as you turn the filter, and remember that just because you can doesn’t mean you should.  To be more specific — just because you can turn the polarizer to its maximum effect doesn’t mean you should.  Polarizers do a nice job bringing out colors and reducing reflections, but they can also do some funky things to skies if they are overused.  Also remember that the polarizer only works when the light is off to the side.  It does nothing when the light is behind you or in front of you, so take it off the lens in those situations.

(3) Overcast and rainy is great weather.  A little dampness will really help bring out colors, so try to get out during or right after rainfall.

(4) Be mindful of blowing leaves.  Fall color comes from the leaves, so you need to be mindful of the wind.  If the leaves are blowing, it can result in blurry images.  Try to keep the shutter speed above 1/100 if the leaves are blowing, or wait for the wind to die down.  If cars drive by (if for example, you are shooting along a road), wait about a minute before shooting.  You will notice that leaves and branches will continue to move for quite a while after the car has left.  Let it die down.  If light is a problem (preventing you from using faster shutter speeds), shoot multiple exposures from the same spot at different ISO settings, one to get the quality of ISO 100 and the other to get a fast enough shutter speed to stop the motion of the leaves.  You can easily combine the shots in post-processing by putting the ISO 100 shot on top of the high-ISO shot and erasing the blurry areas in the top layer ISO 100 shot.

(5) In post-processing, go with contrast over saturation.  The temptation is to crank up the saturation in post processing, but it is very easy to overdo it.  Increasing contrast will usually give you better results.

Good luck!

http://www.22northphotography.com

SmugMug vs. Adobe Muse for Photographers

I originally built a website for my photography through Adobe Muse.  Two months ago I dropped $300 on a SmugMug site and moved my domain name there (www.22northphotography.com).  Here is a quick review based on my two months of experience.  (Yes, this is an apples to oranges comparison, but I hope it will be useful for those considering upgrading from web design software to a template based platform)

Adobe Muse

Muse is available on its own or as part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud Membership.  Overall, the Creative Cloud memberhsip is an excellent value.  For one monthly price, you get access to all Adobe programs, including Muse.

Overall, Muse is an easy, intuitive, and straight-forward program for designing websites.  You don’t need to know code — you just drag and drop and edit things in a what-oyou-see-is-what-you-get format.  There is also a nice organizing feature allowing you to drag and drop pages to organize the site.  You can also easily use templates to design new pages.

One of the knocks on Muse that you will see is that the code it outputs is kind of messy, leading to lower page rankings on search engines.  I am not a coder or professional web developer, so I cannot confirm this directly.  However, as discussed below, my search rankings have dramatically improved since I switched to SmugMug.

As a stand-alone design program, Muse can be rather cumbersome for purposes of adding new photographs.  You have to drag and drop your pictures into slideshows or onto pages on Muse, then separately title each entry, and link it to your shopping cart or wherever you are selling it.

Overall, there are only two positives that I see for Muse:

1- Cheaper (included in the Adobe Creative Cloud membership)

2- Totally customizable.

SmugMug

I was a bit apprehensive about switching to Smugmug.  $300 is a lot and I knew that I would lose the ability to fully customize my site as simply as I was able to do on Muse.

I quickly got over this once I realized just how nice the design templates were on Smugmug.  There are lots to choose from and if you are hones with yourself you’ll conclude that each design is nicer and more appealing than most anything we amateur web designers could do on our own.

So with a design template chosen, I began to upload pictures and organize my new site.  The upload process is very easy, just drag and drop into the upload box.  For some reason, the pictures seem to upload faster on Smugmug than on other sites (like Fine Art America for example).

And here is the best thing about SumgMug — the site will automatically import IPTC Metadata.  This means that you can use Adobe Bridge to do metadata templates, save all kinds of time doing so, and then automatically have your pictures titled, described, and keyworded when uploaded.  THIS MEANS THAT THE SMUGMUG UPLOADING, TITLING, AND LEYWORDING PROCESS TAKES ABOUT 5% OF THE TIME IT WOULD TAKE ON MY MUSE SITE!!!!!  This might be worth the $300 alone!

One drawback to SmugMug (and it isn’t really a drawback once you get used to the SmugMug site building process) — SmugMug uses a hierarchy of Homepage –> “Folders” –> “Galleries.”  You are somewhat limited in how much you can customize each kind of page or alter the template for each kind.  Yes, you can customize each, but it is far from an intuitive process.  Whereas Muse is straight forward and common sense, I found that I had to google multiple articles to figure out how to do such simple things as delete a header from the homepage, change text fonts, and link to other pages on the site.  SmugMug is very cumbersome to customize, and at the end of the day you are limited by the fact that you are working within design templates, rather than working within a stand alone web design program.

Having said this, SmugMug is WAY better than anything I could have done on my own.  Here are the top ten things I LOVE about the SmugMug site:

1- I now have an integrated shopping cart!  I no longer have to try to integrate some external shopping cart on my own or refer my customers to another website to purchase (I used to refer my site visitors to Fine Art America to make purchases).  The Smug Mug shopping cart integrates seamlessly.

2- SmugMug’s Smart Galleries are AWESOME!  The “Smart Rules” feature within each gallery automatically grabs images based on the image’s keywords and places them into a gallery.  For example, I have multiple galleries organized around geographic location.  I uploaded a bunch of pictures to each.  But, what if I want to do separate galleries based on subjects, rather than locations?  Or even types of photographs (ie panoramas, black and white, etc.)?  On Smugmug, I can create a gallery (for example, “Lighthouses”) and then create a Smart Rule that grabs all images from all other galleries with a certain keyword (i.e. “lighthouse”), and they all show up in the gallery automatically.

3- Lightboxes.   The viewing options on Smugmug are great.  When a customer clicks on a photo, they see a full screen pullout that is absolutely stunning.

4- Great Visual Designs — The designs on SmugMug are visually stunning.  Plus, there’s a bunch of them so you will find something that suits you.

5- Easy Slideshows — With the click of a button, you can switch each gallery from vertical, the collage, to slideshow display.  The slideshows are great.

6- Metadata Import — It is SOOOOO much easier to do keywording in Adobe Bridge than it is to upload pictures and then separately keyword each.  SmugMug’s automatic incorporation of IPTC metadata is fantastic.

7- Easy integration with social media.  Smugmug has some nice design features that allow you to integrate things simply with Facebook, Google Plus, etc.

8- Good Product Options — Smugmug lets your customers choose from many different finishes, frames, mats, etc.

9- Good Business Tracking features — Smugmug provides lots of nice stats about your site’s performance, like page clicks, photo views, etc.

10 – And, to save the best for last, MY GOOGLE AND YAHOO PAGE RANKINGS HAVE SKYROCKETED ON SMUGMUG.  For example, I am now on the first page of google for the search “Northern Michigan Photography.”  I was nowhere to be found on that google search when I was using Muse.  Every page seems to be ranking better with the SmugMug site.  There was obviously a lot of truth to the contention that the code output from Muse was a mess!

CONCLUSION – GO WITH SMUGMUG!!!!

One Year with HDR

I first experimented with HDR photography about a year ago and I thought that I would post some thoughts on the topic.

If you don’t know, HDR stands for “High Dynamic Range.”  The human eye can typically detect color and texture over about 14-15 stops of light.  A stop of light represents a doubling or halving of the amount of light, so, as you can imagine, that means that the human eye is pretty darn good at seeing things in all kinds of light.

Digital cameras can only detect about 5 stops of light at any given time, which presents quite an obstacle for photographers — If you properly expose for the sky in a sunset, your foreground will be pitch black, but if you properly expose for the foreground, your sky will be washed out.

HDR photography helps photographers solve this issue by combining photos taken at different exposures.  For example, if there are 8 stops difference between that foreground and that sky, I can just take multiple shots at different exposures.  I can then combine these shots so that the properly exposed sky is combined with the properly exposed foreground and, theoretically, I can generate a final image that more realistically reflects the human eye’s ability to detect a wider range of light.

The problem is this — HDR programs operate based on algorithms and produce wildly differing results based on the algorithms used by the photographer.  The most popular HDR program, Photomatix, for example, has nearly 40 different preset algorithms, and allows users to adjust countless variables, including white point, black point, gamma, contrast, micro-smoothing, highlight saturation, shadow saturation, strength, saturation, lighting adjustments, and many more!  I’m not complaining about the number of processing options, but it can also be pretty daunting.

I am by no means an expert on HDR (see Trey Ratcliff or RC Concepcion for two photograpghers who I consider to be true experts), but now that I have been tinkering with HDR photography for a year, here are some thoughts:

1. HDR does not improve every photograph.  When you first start using HDR, its easy to become enamored with it.  However, HDR can easily make a picture look pretty tacky if it is overused.  Even the best HDR pictures sacrifice some level of clarity and noise, so its not always a good thing to use HDR.

2. Process to eliminate the halos.  When I first started using HDR I would crank up the sliders to give me that max HDR look.  Even just a few months into it, I was able to look back at my first attempts and realize that they were AWFUL.  The most common mistake during processing was that I failed to notice the halos that developed around my subjects.  Eventually, I realized that it was simply a matter of adjusting the Lighting Adjustments slider and smoothing sliders to fix this common error.

3.  HDR really brings out detail — and imperfections.  HDR will bring out those dust spots like you would;t believe, so when you think that you are done with an image, make sure that you open it in Photoshop, magnify to 100% and fix all the little dust spots that you’ll see (use the band aid tool)

4.  Don’t skimp on exposures.  90% of the time, you’ll only need three shots to get good results.  If you set your bracketed exposures at 2 stop increments, this will cover 5 stops of light (-2, 0, +2).  The other 10% of the time, you’ll get home and realize that you’re still stuck with blown out areas or dark areas.  The moral of the story — it costs zip, zero, nada to take the extra 2 or 4 exposures to capture the extreme ends of the spectrum.  It costs about $2,000 to buy a plane ticket and go back to Yellowstone after the fact.  So, error on the side of caution and take the extra exposures while you’re there!

5.  The HDR haters are just plain wrong.  If you don’t like the way that certain HDR shots look, fine, I would probably agree with you.  But if you hate HDR because you think it’s not a “pure” form of photography, then you’re just wrong.  Sorry.  All exposures, even film, involve some degree of manipulation in the decisions you make — from the film that you choose to the filter that you put on the camera.  Digital non-HDR shots involve manipulation based on algorithms when the image is converted from its native RAW format to a jpeg or other format.  The difference is that with HDR you control the algorithm.  With a standard conversion from RAW to jpeg, some computer programmer dictates the algorithm.  You may like the look of one over the other, but its certainly no less “pure.”  I wasn’t around at the time when color film came out, but I’m certain that the same ilk as the present-day HDR haters probably complained that color film wasn’t pure.

6.  HDR is awesome for black and white.  I find black and white HDR images absolutely stunning.

7.  Use Photomatix.  I fooled around with some trials of some other programs, and, although the results were sometimes as good as Photomatix, these other programs (Nix, Photoshop) were slow as molasses.

That’s all for now.  That’s my perspective on HDR after a year.  Perhaps I’ll check back in this time next year and let you know what I think.

Creating Panoramas

Historically many large format cameras used film with an aspect ratio of 5:4, which enlarges to 8×10. 35mm film uses an approximate 4:3 aspect ratio. Modern Digital cameras use a 3:2 aspect ratio. Based on these aspect ratios the most common photo sizes are 4×6, 5×7, 8×10, and 11×14.

This is unfortunate because humans do not see in a 5:4, 4:3, or even 3:2 ratio. Our field of vision is much wider, and since our vision more often shifts horizontally then vertically, our minds are constantly processing our environment in an aspect ratio closer to 3:1 to 5:1 (horizontally to vertically).

It is for this reason that panorama photography has an intuitive appeal. It more accurately reflects how we see and process our surroundings and, therefore, looks more accurate, majestic, and powerful.

Creating panorama prints is more time-consuming, tedious, and costly than creating simple 8x10s and 5x7s, but thanks to modern technology it is something that novice photographers can easily do using Adobe Photshop CS or Adobe Photoshop Elements.

A panorama image can be created two ways: (1) by cropping an image down to create a panoramic aspect ratio; or (2) stitching together multiple images. The preferred method is to stitch multiple images together, as it will generate an image with great clarity (because the megapixels in each shot combine in the panorama). The panorama above, for example, was made from five photos taken right to left.

Here are the steps for stitching a panorama in Adobe:

1. Take multiple photos horizontally, making sure that each photo overlaps with the previous photo by at least 1/3.
2. Open the photos using Adobe Bridge or Adobe Photoshop Organizer.
3. Select the photos that will be incuded in the panorama.
4. Click “Create Photomerge Panorama” (under the File tab in Elements Organized and the Edit tab in Bridge)
5. The photos will then open in Adobe Photoshop and you will be asked what type of panorama you want (I suggest selecting “Cylindrical” to start, and then experiment with other types to see what you like).
6. From there, Photoshop does the hard part, automatically stitching and blending you images into one long panorama.
7. To finish, you will need to crop the photo and often will need to level it as well.

Some tips:

1. Don’t be so enamored with the technology that you forget basic elements of composition. The rule of thirds is still effective in panoramic photography. In other words, position your main point of focus at a point one third from the edges horizontally and vertically to maximize emphasis on the subject and increase creative tension and energy. The horizon in the example above, for example, is deliberately placed in the lower 1/3 in order to create emphasis on the buildings rather than the foreground.

2. Shoot in manual exposure mode. If you shoot in any mode that automatically sets any part of your exposure, you will be left with images that do not “match” in your panorama. AUTO settings will widen the aperture as you move down the horizon away from a sunset, for example. If you feel that the light disparity is too great between the beginning and end of your panorama, then manually control exposure by increasing or decreasing exposure at uniform increments with each picture. For example, if shooting a panorama near a sunrise, shoot the sun, then pan right, increase 1/3 stop, expose, pan right, increase another 1/3 stop, expose, and so on . . .

3. Pan methodically. Take time to make sure that you are shooting the horizon at the same point in your picture, and panning the camera the same distance with each shot. If the horizon moves vertically between shots, you will lose vertical space when you later crop the panorama. If you pan too far so that there is no overlap or minimal overlap between shots, then the software will not be able to stitch the panorama. As a rule, pan no further than necessary to maintain 1/3 overlap between shots.

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Tips for Shooting Night Skylines

Tips for Shooting Night Skylines 22 North Photography

Here are some tips for getting the best skyline shots:

(1) Timing is critical. Try to shoot about 30-45 minutes after sunset or about 30 minutes before sunrise. Why? You want to shoot at the time when the sky is about as bright as the city lights. This will give you the most dramatic sky possible and will give you a nice shot of an illuminated skyline. If you shoot earlier, you could be stuck with a sky that is too bright or buildings that are too dark. Similarly, don’t wait until the sky is pitch black, because you will end up with a black or dull gray look, often with some noise and undesirable light artifacts. Check out the picture that is attached, which was taken of the Chicago skyline about 40 minutes after sunset.

(2) Use a tripod. If you are going to shoot at night you will need a long exposure, so you have to use a tripod.

(3) Do not shoot in Auto mode for this! Your camera will tend to boost the ISO setting, which means that you will have lots of undesirable noise. You want to shoot at ISO 100 if possible, and adjust the shutter speed and aperture accordingly. If you are shooting a relatively flat skyline, like in the attached picture, you can use a wider aperture. I like to shoot between f/8 and f/11, because this usually gives you the sharpest image. Then adjust the shutter speed until your in camera light meter says that you are good to go.

(4) Be careful with HDR. Night shooting can be a good opportunity to use HDR. However, it really is not necessary if you are shooting when the sky and the buildings are at the same brightness. Often, HDR at night will tend to unnaturally brighten the sky and you will lose that deep purple tone. At sunset, I like HDR. Too long after sunset, however, it might not help your image.

(5) Shoot in RAW and adjust white balance. You should be using RAW mode so that you can adjust the white balance. Your image will have all kinds of lights in it, from tungsten and fluorescent building lights, to halogen car lights, to the natural light of the sky, so you might get some wacky results if you leave it to your camera to select the WB. If you shoot in RAW mode, you can and should adjust the white balance in post editing according to you taste. Personally, I like to decrease the color temperature in post-editing to give the sky a deeper blueish-purple tone (se attached picture), but it depends on you taste.

Good luck!

Top Ten Michigan Photo Locations

22 North Photography

 

I focus most of my photography on locations around Michigan, unless I am lucky enough to have a spare week available for travel to out of state locales, so I thought that my first blog post should highlight my favorite photographic locations around our great state. Here are my top ten:

10. Detroit Skyline. There are few downtown skylines that give photographers the opportunity to shoot across an interesting but uncluttered foreground (the Detroit River) while standing on solid ground (Windsor, Ontario or Belle Isle). While Detroit might not have as imposing of a skyline as Chicago or other cities, photographers have the benefit of using locations up and down the Canadian riverfront and Belle Isle to set up shop. Remember, it is very difficult to shoot waterfront skylines from a boat and maintain creative control with the ability to expose for long periods of time. So, take your tripod just before sunrise or sunset and experiment with smaller apertures for great depth of field and longer exposures for city lights. With the ability to use a tripod on solid ground, you can take some great shots of the skyline.

9. Rochester, Michigan Christmas Light Show. Downtown Rochester has some great storefronts and a classic looking downtown feel. At Christmas time the city sponsors a light exhibit boasting over one million lights. At conventional times of the evening it can be a bit challenging to get good shots through the pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Before sunrise, however, you will have the street to yourself. Check the city website for dates when the lights are left on 24/7 (they are normally shut off after midnight) and get there about an hour before sunrise. You can get some great shots of the lights at long exposure times with a sturdy tripod, and you will not have to battle cars and foot traffic.

8. Ann Arbor, U of M Campus. Sorry Sparty, but U of M has you beat in terms of classic architecture and campus photo ops. The law school and Diag provide some of the most classic and easily accessible buildings for photography anywhere in the state.

7. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. It is a hike to get to the best locations, but it is well worth it. Miner’s Castle provides great photography opportunities. Go during summer and shoot at sunset and sunrise for best results. Be sure to plan for the light too. Don’t be caught on the back-lit side.

6. Mackinac Bridge. Shoot at sunrise and sunset from the park in Mackinac City for some truly majestic shots. Use a sturdy tripod to get long exposure shots of the bridge illuminated at night. During the day, take a ferry and use a mid-range lens to get some handheld shots from the boat.

5. Woodward Dream Cruise. There is no better combination of people watching and classic cars anywhere in the world. You will have hundreds if not thousands of chances to shoot some classic autos (but be sure to ask permission of the owners). Wide angle, close up, with small aperture gets some interesting and unique perspectives.

4. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The walk from Glen Haven to the lake provides a great variety of opportunities, from forest trails, to apocalyptic sandscapes, to beautiful beaches. Sunset provides the best light as the dunes generally face west.

3. Ludington. From the pier, to the ships and ferries, to Ludington State Park, this is ten miles of photographic paradise. My favorite sunset shots in the world are from the bridge at the inlet of the Sable River at the entrance to the state park. Use a telephoto to capture the maximum amount of rich color at sunset.

2. Old Mission Peninsula. From the views of the bay over the wineries to the beautiful shoreline by Old Mission Lighthouse, opportunities abound. Sunrise is best on the East Bay side. Sunset is best on the West Bay side.

1. Pointe Betsie Lighthouse. My personal favorite, Pointe Betsie Lighthouse provides a great subject with historical significance, architectural interest, and a beautiful locale. The bright colors of the lighthouse look great under the direct sunlight just before sunset, and the light in the lighthouse provides a great opportunity for dramatice shots immediately after sunset.

Honorable Mentions: Arcadia Overlook, Leland, Inspiration Point (Glen Lake), and the Manistee River