Calm Photos

Basic Jones: More Than TV | Outdoorphotographer.com

Pro Nature Photographer Dewitt Jones writes about how photographers can use Apple TV as a great way to display their images, especially if there is a studio or gallery location. I started doing this when Apple TV was first introduced, which I think was about a year and half ago. I run continuous slide presentations, set to music, on a Sony Bravia flat screen HD, connected to the Apple TV unit and managed via iTunes on my MacBook Pro and Apple AirPort Extreme wifi system.

Once visitors to my studio notice the show they don’t want to leave, including unsuspecting sales people who often forget why they first came in.

Compared to prints on the wall, my nature, scenic, wildlife and cityscape images on the Apple TV/Sony Bravia combination literally pop with color and sharpness and jump off the screen. I also customize slide presentations for private and commercial clients, reviewing architectural and portrait shoot proofs.

Dewitt Jones makes a good point in his article indicating that the Apple TV unit was never originally designed for pro photographers, but rather consumer use of video. This is why I love my Macs. My favorite program for creating slide shows posted on YouTube and elsewhere is iMovie - once again a program that was originally designed for display of digital video. The versatility of the Apple system and software is pure nirvana for all of us “creative types,” photographers included.

imaginginfo.com - Article - Sneak Peek: Canon Rebel XS

One of the most common questions I’m asked by friends and entry-level photo enthusiasts is “I want to buy a better camera - which one should I get ?”

Instead of trying to name a particular model and make right off the top of my head, I usually answer them with several questions of my own, including what type of photography do you enjoy doing, are you going to want to add lenses down the road and perhaps most important of all, what is your budget.

There is also the problem with the fact that I am limited in knowledge when it comes to camera manufacturers other than the one that I’ve been using for the last 30+ years, in my case that being Canon.

I love it when people rattle off Nikon model #’s and expect me to know exactly every feature for each one. And when I admit I don’t know much about the Nikon line, it’s even more fun when I get the typical I’m-a-techno-geek-nerd-with-no-life response of “I know more than you do, I know more than you do !”

Really. Too bad all the knowledge doesn’t translate into one ounce of artistic talent.

This happens more than I’d like to admit. Interactions such as this remind of going into an aquarium/tropical fish store, not knowing much about fish, and then having the I’m-a-tropical-fish-geek-nerd-with-no-life assistant store manager have his brief brush with fame when he impresses upon you with his vast wealth of tropical fish knowledge while failing miserably at understanding and serving the customer. Happens a lot. I don’t know if this is a Dayton or an Ohio thing, or what.

But I digress.

I am familiar with Canon quality when it comes to digital imaging, and it looks to me that Canon has another consumer-market winner with the soon-to-be release of the Canon Rebel XS. Here Canon has taken many of the top-end features of the 1D EOS line and incorporated them into the much-less expensive and consumer-designed Rebel, most notably of all, the self-cleaning image sensor (my absolute favorite feature on my 1D Mark III), the 2.5″ LCD screen with live view (my second favorite feature which is a great back saver when shooting in low, tight positions) and the Digic III processor.

Yes, it’s over 10 Megapixels, but one thing I like to emphasize in my workshops and lessons is that it is not the number of Megapixels but rather the quality of the sensor that truly makes the difference, with the Digic III Canon ranks right up there as one of the best.

It’s not the best choice when it comes to a web site name (but I guarantee you, the site is probably at the top of all Google photography searches), the following is great resource of information and inspiration for all photographers, whether pro or amateur:

60 Photography Links You Can’t Live Without at CameraPorn

Photography, as an art form, is continual process of learning and improvement. The digital process only enhances the slope of the learning curve and increases by ten-fold the opportunities for self-improvement and discovery of one’s individual, artistic vision.

This is one of the reasons why I think the majority of pro shooters out there gravitate toward Apple. The company is driven by the input and needs of their customers, not only with hardware but increasingly as it applies to software development.

I love Apple Aperture. Sure I still use Photoshop CS3, but now I use Aperture for about 99% of my editing and post-production work.

And now with the release of 2.1 with plug-in capabilities, Aperture is poised to challenge head-on the great Yamato of the Adobe fleet.

A third-party plug-in for Aperture that was just released today is Nik Software’s Viveza. This is an incredibly powerful and easy to use plug-in that allows the photographer to adjust brightness, contrast and saturation by pin-point color selection, but in a way that is thoroughly smooth and not nearly as clumsy as adjustment layers in PS.

The problem is the plug-in’s price tag of $249.00. Ouch ! Good thing Nik provided a 15-day trial version.

I’ve gone through and applied Viveza (I like the name because it reminds me of ‘velvia’) to some of my favorite portfolio photographs. Another benefit of working in Aperture is that the original, raw image files are automatically protected.

Take a look and let me know what you think -

First image is non-Viveza. Second image is with Viveza.

3V900BasilicainBlackandWhitebyJimCrottyFW.jpg

Originally uploaded by jimcrotty.com.

One of my favorite features in Aperture 2.1 is the flexibility and ease-of-use provided for monochrome conversions - taking original color digital files to fine art quality black and whites. The ability to apply custom filters and then adjust tonal ranges in each filter is designed with the professional photographer in mind.

Applying the monochrome conversion feature to already processed HDR images produces awe-inspiring results.

Yes, I still use Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Bridge for my HDR work (there’s already talk of a soon-to-be-released HDR plug-in for Aperture), but nearly all of my digital editing, organizing and post-processing work is now completed in Aperture.

My issue with Photoshop is that it tries to be too many things for too many people. Adobe somewhat addressed this issue, as well as answer the competitive challenge issued by Apple’s release of Aperture, with the release of Ligthroom, but by then I was already hooked on both the Mac platform and software. Apple’s software developers just seem more attuned to the shooting professional and quicker to adapt to the needs of these picky and demanding customers.

I cringe every time I see Tiger Woods through a fit on the golf course. There’s just something about the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice that is about as demeaning as possibly can be.

I don’t play or watch golf, but these moments seem to always make the 60-second weekend highlight coverage on CNN. This morning’s spot was a classic Tiger-throws-a-fit moment, and one which every amateur photographer out there can take a lesson from.

Camera shutters can be amazingly loud, particularly those found on consumer brand digital 35mm and SLR’s. Some of the fixed lensed cameras even go so far as offering a choice of funny sounds your camera can make when you snap the picture. That can be cute and funny when taking snapshots of the kids at home or on vacation, but when you’re in the gallery standing close to a pro golfer about to tee off, it’s best to put your camera away. It’s not worth the wrath of Tiger or whoever else is playing for tens of thousands of $$$$s.

Just seeing that spot on this morning’s news made me feel bad for the person who made that error in judgment. It’s one thing to see hundreds of amateurs shamelessly and unknowingly shoot away with their on-camera flashes when up in the nose-bleed sections of a football stadiums (those on-camera flashes are only good to about five feet in front of the photographer), but I feel for the individual who’s camera makes a pro golfer flub his or her shot.

I haven’t had much experience photographing pro golf tournaments, but I do know that the PGA is pretty stringent about the pro sports photographers who cover these sporting events, such as credentials, where to shoot, how to shoot and when to shoot.

In August of 2005 I had the opportunity to photograph the Senior PGA tournament held at NCR Country Club in Dayton. I wasn’t even going to do the shoot because I couldn’t get any type of response from the local PGA people regarding a press pass for the tournament. But a local gallery owner was insistent that I get out there and get some shots because “those prints will sell like crazy.” The best I could do was a practice round. One technique that I employed was using a 500mm lens with a Kirk KingCobra ballhead on a monopod, far enough down the fairway where my shutter could not be heard. This is the same basic set-up I use when photographing birds and wildlife. With this size of lens I was able to effectively capture detail, compress my depth of field and stay clear of the crowd. Most importantly it kept me from disturbing pro golfers.

Guess how many prints I sold ? Nada. Zero. All I got from that shoot was a local guy asking for a free print of his kid volunteering as one of the sign-holders on the course. It’s great in Dayton !

But a lesson was learned, experience added. Know thy subject. Know thy photo gear. Respect thy subject. Don’t bring the subject’s wrath down upon thee. And if I can pass this lesson on, then I guess the shoot was worth the time. At least I didn’t make one of the pro golfers flub a shot.

Yes, winter in Ohio is making one last, strong push before moving aside for spring. Right now it looks to be a snow storm on the verge of becoming a blizzard. What better time to start thinking about summer and where to go for some of the most incredible nature and landscape photography within the lower 48 - the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

While getting up to speed on my recently installed upgrade to Aperture 2.0, I re-discovered several raw image files from a photo trip I took to Colorado in July 2006. Applying some the new editing features available with Aperture 2.0 I went through and selected some of favorite images from that trip. I thought it would be fun to re-post a few while providing some basic tips when visiting and photographing this incredible area of alpine scenery.

The San Juan Mountains - with an emphasis on the area between Ouray and Telluride - is one of those summer or autumn destination spots that should be within the top ten list of every nature photographer, both amateur and pro shooters, right along with the Smokies in spring, Zion and Southern Utah, the U.P of Michigan in fall, etc., etc.

A more spectacular display of alpine wildflowers I have not seen, yet. Yankee Boy Basin, which sits far above the mountain town of Ouray, is the most popular area for wildflowers and mountain vistas in the San Juan Mountains. But as always, the best shots are to be found by being a bit adventurous and driving the mountain road (sometimes more of a “path”) that leads upward from Yankee Boy to Imogene Pass then the old mining town of Tomboy and out the other side into Telluride.

   

                 

Here’s my tips for an incredible summer photo adventure in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado:

1) Base yourself out of Ouray. A fun, picturesque Colorado mountain town that is less expensive than Telluride.
2) If you fly in, you MUST rent a 4-wheel drive SUV or Jeep Wrangler. DO NOT - I repeat DO NOT - attempt the mountain road between Ouray and Telluride in anything less. You won’t get very far. I rented a Ford Explorer and it handled the boulders, rocks, mud and snow (yes, snow in July) beautifully.

3) Pack bug spray. At certain altitudes in the mountains you may run into flocks of ravenous mosquitoes and biting flies. Not often, but it does happen.
4) Dress warm with layers. You can start your trek in shorts and a t-shirt down in Ouray and by the time you reach Imogene Pass (13,000 feet +) you could be in long pants, coat and gloves.
5) Have a cover for your camera. I always recommend hotel shower caps. I’ve been using the same one for almost eight years now. Summer storms in the mountains are sudden, intense and unpredictable. The plus side is that all those alpine waterfalls are never dry or slow.
6) Camera body with spare batteries plus a wide zoom for your landscapes, tele-zoom for isolating scenes and macro for flower close-ups. Pro-grade tripod (extends to five + feet) with a solid ballhead, cable release, plenty of memory cards, circular polarizer, split-neutral density filter, detachable flash and hand-held reflector and diffuser are all items that I found to be very useful in photographing the mountains and wildflowers in the summer.
7) Good, sturdy hiking BOOTS. Not your cross-trainers, tennis shoes or Crocs, but boots. This is just as important as that 4-wheel drive.
Lots of extra water. High altitude hiking will dehydrate you quicker than just about anything else.
9) First aid kit, Balance Bars, Marathon Bars, etc.
10) If you go by yourself, make sure you tell someone where you’re headed and when you plan to return.
11) If you have any remote fear of heights, DO NOT drive this mountain road. There are sections where there is less than a foot of space between your tires and 1,000 foot drop-offs.