I Took That!

Triptych - Monument Valley

2010-02-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

This is the triptych I showcased at Photo Expo 2010, in my session "Express Your Inner Artist". It is sunset at Monument Valley. Click on it to see it larger.

Photomation of Anaheim created the prints from my image files, and did the three gallery wraps. They used a thin luster laminate to protect the surface, and avoid edge splitting on the wrap.

The end result was perfect - true colors and luminance, and the canvas texture showed through just right. Their advice to use the "mirror" wrap for this type of subject, that reverses the last part of the image along the front edges, and used that to take the image around the edge was right on. Thanks guys!

Up close, you can see the acrylic painterly effect I gave the image with a careful use of the Smart Blur Filter in Photoshop. This also can be done in Photoshop Elements. I have just discovered this effect, similar to the Cutout Filter, but retains all the colors. More on this in later blogs.

My Sessions - Photo Expo '10

2010-02-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

Southern California Photo Expo 2010 - February 20
A Photo Marketing Association event with PMA2010
Jim Everett presented two lively and engaging sessions
from the Visual Living stage on the Expo floor.

Key contributors:

Photomation (Anaheim) - Gallery wrap triptych for showcase and audience $100 gift certificate.

Great company to do business, innovative and creative solutions with and high quality products

The one and only Adobe for audience prize of Photoshop Elements.

SmileBooks for 4 gift certificates of $100 for photo books.

I was very impressed with their service and exceptional quality of their products.

Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all who attended.

NEW...

Download "Inner Artist" Session Notes as PDF

(outline script, with all key points)

Plus

View "Inner Artist" slides from presentation

Click each slide to advance (no audio - narration to be added later)

View "Stories" slides from presentation

(movie file with no audio - narration to be added later)

The Southern California Photo Expo 2010 was open to the public. Exhibitors showed the latest services and materials. The Visual Living stage featured a series of engaging presentations by experts in their field, aimed at consumers who love photography.

In each of my sessions, I showed and discussed examples of my work, talked about how I see and approach subjects, choose the image I want from dozens, then use simple techniques to enhance and bring them to life. Whether people use a simple point-and-shoot camera, or a Digital SLR, I presented techniques and tips that apply to both.

Express Your Inner Artist
12:00 noon, Saturday Feb 20

Showcase Nature’s beauty,
so that people will say,
“What a beautiful image!"

1. What does your eye see, and what touches you?
2. What is artistic, or just pretty? Does it matter?
3. How can you make your pictures unique?
4. Simple ways to enhance images yet keep them real
5. Stretching the boundaries with artistic effects
6. Lose yourself and find creative joy at every step
7. Tips on using your art as cards, photo books or décor

Article on Using Photo Art as Décor

________________________

Discover Your Digital Voice
4:00pm, Saturday Feb 20

Let your pictures tell a story,
so that people will say,
"That is an interesting picture!”

1. Does your picture tell its own story without words?
2. Who is the story for – family, interest group, public?
3. Tips to create interest, mystery, or record
4. Your genre – fun, urban, social, family, cultural?
5. Pictures that illustrate a story or journey
6. Opportunities in your own town or home
7. Tourist icons – show a different aspect

See earlier post on "Tell Family Stories with Photos"

Nature's Beauty Near Home

2009-12-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

Photographers do not always have the chance to go to exotic locations and visit scenic wonders. But that does not mean we have to miss out on great images, there for the capture out our front (or back) door!.

We had traveled to Dallas to spend Christmas with my wife's family. On Christmas eve, it started to snow, as you see above.

The day prior to this, although late December, there were still some gorgeous fall colors on some trees and on the ground. So, to satisfy my photographic wishes to bring home some attractive images, I went out in the back yard with my camera and looked for some appealing detail subjects. I shot some backlit, colorful leaves glowing against a blue sky.

Photo Tip: Backlighting at a slight side angle usually enhances the color saturation and texture of leaves, and makes them appear to glow. Shooting with a large aperture (a low F-stop number on an SLR (or "Portrait" mode on a point-and-shoot) will blur the background and make the edges of the leaves seem sharper. Zooming in lets you get a closer view. The wide aperture means a faster shutter speed, and less chance of shake at a long zoom.

The snow started to fall in the afternoon of Christmas eve, and I captured a dripping bare twig with a suggestion of red fall colors in the background. Again, I used a large aperture to blur the background and set off the twigs so as give the image more depth and dimension.

As the temperature dropped and snow continued to fall, water on twigs froze, and snowflakes settled on the ice. The day was closing in and the light was fading, so a large aperture was needed.

It continued to snow overnight on Christmas eve, and the next morning I was outside early to make the most of the low angle of the sun, and the fresh snow before it began to melt.

Photo Tip: For this street shot, I used a small aperture and wide angle, to have the roadside snow as well as the trees in sharp focus (aka "depth of field"). I got down low for a more interesting angle, and to emphasize the snow. Since this was a difficult exposure, I did a bracket shoot, and later chose the best image from the range of five exposures.

As I studied the scene, I snapped off a range of subjects. But what really interested and appealed to me was the simplicity of the backlighting and long shadow from a single leaf, and how by getting close to it, I was able to capture the glistening snow texture.

Photo Tip: For this type of contrasty subject, especially with snow, I did a five-shot bracket at F14 (to ensure sharpness from front to back) with one EV difference between. And to cut down on glare from the snow (especially since I wanted to highlight the snow as well as the details of the darker leaf, I used a circular polarizing filter. In general, when photographing a subject like this one in snow, you need to open the exposure up around one F-stop, or one unit of EV+.

For working on images like these, I use a non-destructive editing program such Apple's Aperture, or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (I use both, since they each have different strengths). In this case, I used Aperture because I like the way I can organize and compare images. One feature of Aperture is the "Shadows and Highlights" adjustment, that seems to work well for images with snow.

Click on any image for a larger version, then try clicking on that larger image for a full size view. You are welcome to download and use as a screen saver for personal use, but please do not use or publish with permission.

Hope you enjoy this post of my snowy image, and the photo tips.

Joys of Seeing Light

2009-12-04T15:55:00.000-08:00

Can joy be found in learning to photographing nature? I think it can.

Sometimes a camera and an intent to capture a wonderful scene or subject is simply a reason to go to a special place. My father used to love fishing. Even if he did not catch anything, he loved to be out in the river country, or on an ocean beach. Mostly he caught something though, he was very good at it.

My love of photography has taken me places I otherwise may not have gone, and led me to study nature and lighting in a way I otherwise just have looked at.

It is a way of connecting with what you see. And striving for the perfect representation of your experience is a way of studying the subject and the lighting. It is that very study and attention that is the inner place I seek. For me it is quite intense, and I often lose my sense of self in the joy of the moment.

Seeing the beauty of nature is rather like listening to beautiful music. A scene or subject can be pleasing to the eye for most people, as can music. But for some, like music, scenic beauty and lighting can take a secondary place in one's awareness.

The ability to see nuances of lighting is learned, as is the ability to listen to and understand a piece of music. One has to give over to the experience, and give it full attention. Although I do enjoy music, my appreciation of the complexities of music is very limited. Yet friends who are musicians derive so much more from it because they can get inside it, and it gets inside them.

One experience with photography that set a challenge in my mind for years to come, was when I was on a business trip with a close friend. We took a day out of the work schedule to drive through some stunning scenic areas. As the sun was rising, it backlit the dew on pastoral grasses, creating a myriad of sparkling diamonds.

Moved by the delicate beauty of the scene, I commented to my friend how much joy I got from lighting like this. He responded with, "You make it sound like you have some unique ability to see such things. Everyone sees the world the same!" I think at some level, he saw merit in my work, but had little patience for the time needed to capture it.

I knew his seemingly judgmental comment was not accurate. After all, throughout the centuries, artists have sought to learn how to see and portray light. So I worked even harder to see, feel and understand lighting, and use that in my images as part of what I sought to portray.

Sometimes when I am taking photographs, I will explain to myself what it is I am drawn to in the scene and what I am seeking to portray. As if I am telling someone else. That helps me capture the experience and think about the lighting and what goes into the shot. And this conversation continues when I am editing and perfecting the image digitally.

And this process has rewards beyond a finished print or image on a screen. I am always looking and studying light, seeking the beauty of nature and the nature of beauty.

Inspired by Eyvind Earle

2009-09-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

Eyvind Earle's work draws on the beauty the area of California of the Santa Cruz Mountain forests.

This image has been created from an afternoon I spent there with two friends and my camera three years ago. My choice of subject and the treatment is very much inspired by Earle's paintings.

I plan to print this at 12" x 36" and offer it as a limited edition for framing.

From the same shoot, the image (left) is the subject of my latest iTunes video, "Digital Photography and Artistry".

The fern and flower will be soon available as an 11" x 14" art print.

View (or download) this video online: Full size Quicktime; Small QuickTime; Full size Windows player; and small Windows player

PMA features my Podcast

2009-08-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

Exciting - My "Digital Photography and Artistry" podcast featured in online media by Photo Marketing Association International.

PMA TV (September 2 2009 PMA Newsline)
With simple, yet effective, photo enhancement programs such as iPhoto, anyone can add zest and interest to pictures. In a new segment now available on PMA TV photographer Jim Everett shows the importance of selecting, cropping and enhancing.

PMA TV (August 26 2009 PMA Newsline)
Photographer Jim Everett explains how pro-level software, like Aperture, can be powerful tools to create a sense of being there, as well as evocative and intriguing images, in a new PMA TV segment.

PMA TV (August 12 2009 PMA Newsline)
It's difficult to take a unique shot of tourist icons, like the Sydney Opera House. New on PMA TV is a video from photographer Jim Everett, who demonstrates how to "break the rules" to capture an intimate view of frequently-photographed places and things, and create an unusual end result. Click here to go directly to Everett's videos; to access the treasure trove of other video content on the site, click on PMA TV .

PMA TV is an online video library hosting an extensive collection of educational resources for PMA members. You will find how-to videos, keynote speakers, Photoshop tips, and all the top educational sessions from DIMA, PSPA, SPAA and others.

About PMA – The Worldwide Community of Imaging Associations
A professional trade association, PMA helps the worldwide photo imaging community achieve business success and adapt to new technologies. PMA continues its 83-year legacy of connecting photo imaging businesses to a network of knowledge and support. PMA represents 20,000 members in 100-plus countries who actively contribute to the expanding $83 billion imaging industry. Visit PMAI online.

Podcasts - Artistry in Aperture

2009-07-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

My latest episode is up on my iTunes podcast, "Digital Photography and Artistry". View this episode at 640x480.

Starting this sub-series around Artistry in Aperture is a labor of love for me. In this first episode "Introduction", I share what I am looking for when I photograph, how I think about my photographic art, and how Aperture supports that creativity. Lots of my images from around North America and the world are used in this episode as illustrations. Future episodes will go into more detail and depth on finding, shooting and creating individual images.

To view and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, you will need the application/program iTunes on your computer. Download iTunes from Apple.

When you have installed iTunes, go to the iTunes Store, enter Jim Everett in the search box at top right. In the box "Podcasts" over at the left, you should see the image of the red flower and the title. Click on that and my podcast panel and list will open. Double-click on any title to view it in iTunes. To return to the list, click on the circle with an X, in the top left of the viewing window. Do not close the window or you will close the whole podcast.

If you want to subscribe, and automatically download future episodes, click on the "Subscribe" button up at the left beside the image. To download any free episode, just click on the "Get Episode" button in the listing, and the download to iTunes on your computer will start.

And if you like what you see, please take a moment to rate the podcast and add a comment.

Or, to simply subscribe to the RSS version of the podcast (xml), click here. You will be taken to the basic feed, with access to all the media.

Thanks, and enjoy.

Published - Stories & Photos

2009-05-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

As a follow-on to my article on Photo Books in the April edition of the Member Magazine for Photo Marketing Association International, and iTunes podcast, I was interviewed for an article of story-telling and photographs in the June edition. You can read a copy of the article, "Tell Me a Story", by Jennifer Kruger.

Also, if you have not read it, two years ago on this blog, I posted an article, "Tell Family Stories with Photos" on the power of family stories and children's well-being and sense of self.

Father and son hunt for crabs - Oahu

Hawaii

2009-05-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

Now on my flickr photostream - images of my recent trip to Hawaii. To those people I met - James (thanks for the snorkel gear), Pushkar, and Terry whom I photographed on the sand flats, my email is jimg@jamesgordongallery.com

Panorama composition of the view east from Pali Lookout on Oahu. Click to enlarge. For an even l-a-r-g-e-r image, click here, then click on the image in your browser (may not work in Explorer- use Firefox or Safari).

My Podcast in Apple Promo!

2009-04-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

Apple recently included my iTunes podcast, "Digital Photography and Artistry" in a worldwide email promo. Very exciting! And two new episodes will be added in the next week or so - "Improving in iPhoto" and "Artistry in Aperture".

To subscribe to the RSS version (xml), click here. You will be taken to the basic feed, with access to all the media.

To view and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, you will need the application/program iTunes on your computer. Download iTunes from Apple.

When you have installed iTunes, go to the iTunes Store, enter Jim Everett in the search box at top right. In the box "Podcasts" over at the left, you should see the image of the red flower and the title. Click on that and my podcast panel and list will open. Double-click on any title to view it in iTunes. To return to the list, click on the circle with an X, in the top left of the viewing window. Do not close the window or you will close the whole podcast.

If you want to subscribe, and automatically download future episodes, click on the "Subscribe" button up at the left beside the image. To download any free episode, just click on the "Get Episode" button in the listing, and the download to iTunes on your computer will start.

And if you like what you see, please take a moment to rate the podcast and add a comment. Thanks, and enjoy.

Click to view the latest episode on When and Why to crop and enhance in iPhoto.

Photography as a Respite

2009-03-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

Photography of nature can be like fishing. Sometimes it is not so much about what you bring home (although that is a nice validation), but about the chance to step outside your day-to-day world and into a place of peace and nature.

And at this time of the year, wildflowers are close to many major cities and can be a destination for restoring your soul and gaining spiritual nourishment.

Find somewhere away from the crowds, get to a place where you can be alone. Lose yourself in the place and the beauty. The Visitor Center is a useful place for maps and advice. But if it is busy, it can really get in the way of your search for silence and solitude.

One of these areas is the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve, north of Los Angeles, and between Lancaster and Interstate 5 Freeway.

I will write more about this subject and this place in the next weeks.

Photo Books Celebrate Life

2009-02-13T20:30:00.000-08:00

Updated and reposted

Photo books are the newest and most exciting way to share images, make visual stories, capture events and family history, preserve vacation memories, give children their own family albums, and document projects. They can also be simply a personal creative expression or a wonderful portfolio of artistic expression.

Use them for a variety of purposes: vacations and trips (either as journal stories or as stunning showpieces); holiday gifts; in-memoriam books of a loved one or honored citizen; tributes and celebrations - 50th wedding, turning 80, turning 21, graduation.

There can be a book for each major household event or project - home renovation, vintage car restoration, starting a restaurant, modelmaker collections, a much-loved garden through the seasons, or a even personal portfolio of interesting or expressive photography.

If you have a loved one in assisted care, with dementia or alzheimers, a wonderful and caring aproach is to create a tribute or memory book for that person. The images of their life brings great joy.

With the range of books, styles, quality, formats and services available to you, whether online or at your local camera store, you can take advantage of this and create wonderful bound books, for whatever purpose you need. Please listen to the more detailed audio presentation I have created for you. Just click below.

12min audio of all the things you can do with photo books.
Download a PDF transcript of the audio.

Digital Camera Choices?

2008-12-26T19:26:00.000-08:00

Are you planning to swoop up a bargain digital camera in the post-holiday selling spree?

Here are a few thoughts based on my experiences, especially today with my wife's current 10MP model.

Should I choose a see-thru viewfinder or just the display? I really think a see-thru viewfinder is a must.

Even some of the brightest displays are hard to see in bright daylight. You can buy a snap-on hood, but why should you? Unless you will use the camera only for indoors pictures, or at night, then seriously consider buying one with the see-thru viewfinder.

Also, it is harder to hold the camera steady when you are holding it out at arms length, using the display to frame the shot. Especially under low light conditions when the camera will lower the shutter speed.

One big plus of using the display to line up your shot is that you are more likely to frame it better than when you look through a viewfinder. Why? When most people look though a viewfinder, they "bulls-eye" the subject's face (put it in the middle). With the display, you will more likely put the subject on one of the "thirds".

If you have comments about your experience (good or bad) with a little digital camera, add a comment here.

Happy shopping!

Put Parents Back in Pictures!

2008-11-21T13:47:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again. Time for a family picture for your holiday greeting cards to send to friends and family.

So many parents take pictures just of their children, or even have pictures professionally done, for that to be the family photo they share.

Why do so many parents leave themselves out of the picture? Why do they send only a picture of their children?

In some cases, these pictures go to close friends from the past, who may have little connection with those children, yet still are close to their friends the parents.

When I receive these "kids only" pictures, I find myself wishing I had a nice picture of their whole family - my friends (the parents), as well as their children.

Even other family members like uncles, aunts, grandmothers, would often prefer and treasure more a picture of the parents and kids as a happy family.

Maybe parents think they don't change from year to year, while their kids do. Yet they do. And it is still important to see the kids changing and growing up in a family context. When you see them as part of the whole family, then you get a richer experience of who they are, their family life, and a happy refresher of your friends (or relatives).

People love to watch the changes in family resemblance. "Gosh, he is getting more like his Dad (or Mom)!" or "She is starting to get her mother's smile." If you are parents, don't deprive your friends and family of this wonderful experience to see your whole family.

And it is just as important, or even more so, for adoptive families, single parent families, or combined families from previous marriages. The single family photo serves as an integrating symbol for the children, and reinforces their feeling of belonging.

If Dad or Mom (or a grown son or daughter) is in the military and serving away from home, make sure you get a treasured picture of the whole family when the person serving is home on leave through the year. Close friends and family will be delighted and honored to receive that.

Don't be self-effacing about putting yourself in the picture - you DO matter to your friends and extended family. They DO want to see you too. Don't be lazy (or "too busy") to brush your hair and get in the picture.

You expect your kids to do it, so go on, get in the picture too! Let you children feel that you are proud to be seen with them, and that it is important to you.

Not only will you get a picture for that holiday card that friends and family alike will enjoy and keep, you are making a treasured record for your grandchildren one day (right, I know you don't even even want to think about that now - but one day you will be glad you put yourself in that picture).

Get one of your friends or neighbors to take a whole bunch of pictures and pick the best one. Send it out with joy and pride.

Remember mail early for the holidays! This time of year goes quicker than any other time.

Monument Valley - Spirit Land

2008-11-06T15:39:00.004-08:00

Slides & music iPhone podcast - several locations

Last week, I traveled to beautiful spiritual areas in Arizona, and Navajo Nation. One was Monument Valley (Tsé Bii' Ndzisgaii). At dawn and dusk, I had the privilege of speaking with Garry, a Navajo (Dineh) Spirit teacher, guide, teacher and filmmaker at Monument Valley. My quest for years has been to explore whether beauty exists outside our capacity to appreciate and be enriched by it. Where lies the spirituality, the blessing, the gift, or however your beliefs reflect the joy of seeing things of beauty?

Garry shared with me his thoughts on this, which I will write about and post here. Before I do, I hope to have him read what I have written and help me refine it. Meanwhile, I have included a glimpse of a few of the images I captured there.

For more images of Monument Valley, and Canyon de Chelly (Tsegi), visit my Flickr page.

Photoshop - valid or cheating?

2008-07-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

Some people feel that using Photoshop (or other image software) is cheating. Their view is that pictures should be exactly as they come from the camera. My position is that you can use Photoshop to recreate what the eye sees. And you can use it to stretch what the eye sees into an artistic interpretation.

Let's look at the point - recreating what the eyes sees. They eye has an incredible ability to see wide contrast ranges and adjust its exposure and focus as rapidly as you can scan a scene. The camera does not. It has one exposure and one focus per shot. You see this when you photograph a scene or setting with a lot of contrast.

Without adjustment of the image in Photoshop, you either get highlights that are blown out, or shadows that are so dark you cannot see into them. Also, daylight and artificial light are different. Unless your camera adjusts, you may see incandescent light as yellow, or daylight as blue.

Take the image of the restful and intimate setting above - in the delightfully designed, relaxing Coronado Island Marriott Resort at San Diego. For this image, I needed to tone down the brightness of the windows, and bring up the darker areas. I also had to darken the sconce lighting to show the interesting details. The result is the larger top image - a relatively "normal" look, resembling what I saw when I looked at it.

Look at the other image here on the right - the scene with daisies and cloud in sky - taken in March in the precious Ballona Wetlands in Los Angeles. When the image came out of the camera, the sky was pale and washed out, and the daisies were rather flat looking. The way I saw the scene at the time was with vibrant daisies and an azure sky!

So, I darkened and saturated the sky, and boosted the saturation and lightness of the daisies. The end result here looks the way I saw it when I was actually there.

Using Photoshop, or other software, actually makes your images truer to the original.

For more images of Ballona Wetlands, visit the Ballona Pages at my James Gordon Gallery

Art, Inspiration & Humility

2008-05-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

Part 1. Putting Ego Aside for Nature

Climbers talk about conquering a mountain. Yet the mountain is unchanged. As challenging as the task is, and as much courage and skill as an ascent requires, it is still only a tiny human climbing up the side and down again. Climbers must submit to weather conditions, and be respectful of the magnitude of the mountain. The reward is exhilaration.

My opinion (and others may differ) about photographing nature is that we are inspired by what we see, we seek to capture an aspect of it, have the humility to let the subject speak to us, and then share that message through our artistic interpretation.

Let me tell you of an interesting experience I recently had. I was on my way to a physiotherapy session, for a shoulder injury. On the back seat was my portfolio of 13x19 prints, to show my physio guy. As I drove there, I was reflecting on how the injury had given me a feeling of vulnerability. When I showed him my pictures, he liked them a lot, and commented that they were special because they had a sense of vulnerability.

I later thought a lot about this, and realized that this was how I approached taking pictures of beauty in nature. By losing myself and becoming totally open to what the scene or subject was saying. In a sense subordinating myself to the beauty, and allowing the joy to take over. For me, at least, I need to set aside my ego, and seek to be humble, to do justice to a subject.

And later when I am working on an image, I have to be modest enough to realize that what I thought may have made a great picture, simply is not. Just because I take it, doesn't mean it's good. I may spend a day working on a print, only to come to the realization that it is not anything special. That moment of letting go, of putting ego aside, is a difficult one.

When I finally create something that is satisfying photographic art, that other people find attractive and compelling, that someone wants to frame for their home or simply tell me how much they like it, or when I look at one of my own pieces that is now framed in my studio and find it pleasing, then that is the moment of reward. It is then that I can allow my ego to think, "I Took That!".

Part 2. Ego Limits Expression and Learning

A friend of mine often says how much he thinks of my photographic work. Personally, I think I have a lot to learn and a long way to go. His view is that I have no ego. The truth is I have my own ego and pride, but often keep it under control it or put it aside, in the interest of a situation, or simply to learn from others.

My friend is both charismatic and controlling. His presence fills most social situations, and he dominates conversation. He travels, has fascinating stories to tell, and an enviable opportunity to take many interesting pictures in exotic locations.

He uses a quality camera, has the latest Photoshop and a current computer, and studies Photoshop techniques. He frequently tells me what I should learn about Photoshop, and techniques I should adopt. Sometimes these are helpful, sometimes I already know them.

Many of his pictures have good potential, so I wanted to help him lift them to the next level. I thought, given the credibility I seemed to have as a photographer in his eyes, he would welcome feedback and tips, on taking pictures in the wonderful places he goes. Also, I offered suggestions on how he could work these up in Photoshop, into stunning and engaging images to share online, and possibly publish. I was wrong. I was sharply told that he took pictures for the purposes of recording, and that I should mind my own business.

So now, I rarely share any suggestions or tips about how he can improve his images, only when he has done something to the next level, and then I acknowledge and encourage what he has already done. I feel I have so much I could offer. My friend has a good eye for subjects that tell a story. But in this case, ego seems to limit my friend's opportunity to learn and grow, and make his pictures stunning.

Part 3. What This Means

In the pursuit of our photographic art we have the contradictions of need for both confidence and doubt, pride and humility, an open heart and critical eye.

An overactive ego gets in the way of learning to make the most of ones photographic eye, and how to then craft brilliant and compelling images of people and places.

Some of the most inspiring photographers I have met have a quiet and gentle ego, and have experiences from which they have learned the humility that allows their work to be great.

In Memory of Fred Haines

2008-05-05T08:49:00.000-07:00

Fred was my friend, and I lost that friend on Saturday. He had been in treatment for several months, and going downhill, losing the battle. I spent a couple of hours with him last week.

As well as being a writer and director, Fred loved taking photographs of people. His love of this inspired me to turn my lens towards faces, as well as just landscapes. We enjoyed a great stroll together many months ago on Santa Monica Pier, and I captured one of the happiest pictures ever, of a little girl and her dad, laughing at the joy of soap bubbles.

Thank you Fred, for your friendship, for allowing me into your life and your world, and for renewing my interest in the richness of faces and the human spirit, good and bad, captured as an image. I will miss you.

Joshua Tree Spring Trip

2008-03-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

View slideshow (link at right)

Last week, I had the joy of a 2-day trip to California's Joshua Tree Nat'l Monument. I read the wildflowers were profuse, and joshua trees were starting to bloom. In the Park, some of the peak had passed.

But, hidden out behind the chloride plant (miles of white residue like snow, and earth mounds like miniature mountain chains), we found a fantastic display at a crater - wonderful wildflower carpets in the setting sun.

Overnight stay in Twenty Nine Palms was at the Harmony Motel, where U2 stayed to write the Joshua Tree album (you know the line - "high on a desert plain, where the streets have no name"). It was a great little place - simple and functional, but loaded with charm and character, with a view to the mountains.

Near the town of Joshua Tree, we drove out and experienced the Integratron (a huge sound and magnetic dome), where we took a "sound bath". This was quite an experience out in the middle of the desert. We pressed on over 4WD roads and found the "world's largest free-standing rock".

So check out my slideshow (link at right) of Joshua Tree wildflowers, the crater slopes and carpets of yellow, the giant rock (look for me in one of the shots), some joshua tree blooms.

Panorama of LA with Snow

2008-01-07T18:48:00.000-08:00

This was taken Monday from the Kenneth Hahn Recreation Reserve off La Cienega. After a weekend of snow in the mountains, the hills and mountains around LA were blanketed with snow. Within a day or so, most of this will disappear from the lower slopes. So I was opportune in being able to capture this on a clear day.

CLICK here to view SUPER-LARGE WIDE PANO
©2008 Jim Everett Photography

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Can you find the Sweeney Todd poster? Griffith Observatory? The Collisseum? Paramount Studios Water Tower?

Los Angeles Snow View

2008-01-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

Over this past weekend, LA had some heavy rain, falling as snow in the mountains. With the rain, and some clearing winds, there was a wonderful vista of downtown, with the mountains behind. This morning, I drove to my favorite nearby vista point and took dozens of images, including panoramas. This is the very last shot I took, as I was walking to the car. More to come - stay tuned.

Lab With Leo Laporte TV series

2007-09-20T17:11:00.001-07:00

In October and November 2007, I had the opportunity to be a guest on three episodes of the TV Series, "The Lab With Leo Laporte", on G4 Tech TV Canada, and the How To Channel in Australia.

Working with Leo on the set, I have to say what a great host he is - a true professional. He makes his guest look their best on his show, and quickly fills in gaps graciously from his breadth of expertise. Frankly, he's a tech guru who's on par with Tonight Show hosts (or better)!

The segments aired the same dates in Australia and Canada. Click on titles below to view an edited clip of just my segments on each show. They are high quality video, so you may need to wait a moment for them to buffer.

- Create Stunning Panoramas - Ep 92, Tues Oct 16 (11:40)
- Create Large Prints with Digital - Ep 95, Mon Oct 22 (11:35)
- Create Hi-Def Slideshows with Music - Ep 104, Nov 7 (10:46)

You need QuickTime installed on a PC, and may be asked to click-enable ActiveX.
Or click here to view the segments as Windows Media files.

The segments and the more detailed support notes (linked below each segment) are focused more on the art and craft of these, rather than the technical steps. However, there are tech tips, suggestions and products included.

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Create Stunning Panoramas

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Panoramas have always fascinated people. Early panoramas were made on cameras with very wide lenses, or lenses that moved and painted the image on the film.

These days, with digital photography, creating panoramas is much simpler. And the latest software automates the stitching process of blending a series of images together to create a much bigger single image. We're going to look at these automatic tools, some very inexpensive, and emphasize the art of taking the pictures so that the images are at their best for these tools to work with.

Why create a panorama?
- To create a total sense of horizontal expanse, such as a sweeping view
- To capture a very wide subject when you can't get back far enough
- To show a big picture that has close-up details
- To create a sense of being there, such as with a street scene
- To capture a very tall subject, with a vertical panorama
- Because it's fun and a really cool thing to do

On the linked page of full notes below, we will go into more depth on best techniques:
1. Key factors when capturing a panorama:
2. Choose subjects that will work well as a panorama:
3. Key techniques when taking a panorama:
4. Preparing to stitch the images to create a single panorama
5. Choosing your panorama software
6. Now for the stitching
7. Finally, practicing your new skill

View full notes on Panoramas

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Create Large Prints with Digital Images

The latest digital cameras are packed with megapixels, and have sensors that provide very high resolution and quality. This means that it's possible now to make very large, high-quality prints from digital images.

There is a real art to printing, and it is about getting the exact colors you want, on a surface or material that suits the subject, and at the right size for what you want it to do.

Why make a large print?
- Posters for display
- Exhibiting and selling photo artwork
- Personal pieces for home decor
- Show a small subject in the context of a much larger image
- The overall subject needs a larger size to create the effect you want

On the linked page below are a few thoughts, tips and techniques on how you can get stunning large prints:
1. Determine print size
2. Calibrate your display
3. Reduce noise (digital grain)
4. Correct lens distortions
5. Correct perspective distortions
6. Enlarge image to print size
7. Sharpen the image
8. Print - choose best stock
9. Next steps - framing

View full notes on Large Prints

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Create Hi-Def Slideshows with Music

More and more homes now have a flat-screen, high-definition TV, ranging from 15" to a whopping 108". A high-definition screen starts at 720dpi, or "lines" vertically. These screens display digital images with amazing clarity (definition) and colors in the millions.

Most digital still cameras, even inexpensive ones, take images with greater resolution (number of pixels) than even the highest resolution TV screen. It is now possible to use the high-definition flat screen TV to display your digital images bigger than ever - just like old vacation slideshows that put people to sleep.

This episode is about how to create interesting and compelling high-definition slideshows with accompanying music, for display on large screen TVs, to engage and impress people.

Why create a slide show set to music? Here are a few possible purposes.
- Share a defined experience of a place that you have been
- Tell a story in pictures, in a limited amount of time
- Bring out an emotional experience with a set of pictures
- Ensure a consistent and complete viewing experience for viewers
- Promote a place, service or product
- Record and share an event, such as a wedding or a performance
- Bring a set of images to life (family history, adventure, project)
- Just for creative expression

In the more detailed notes linked below, we will go over some essentials and what you need to consider to create a successful slideshow with synchronized music, that you can share as a final product.

1. Displaying high-definition images
2. Creating a DVD slide show
3. Creating the slideshow – fitting to music
4. Playing your slide show from a laptop or hard drive.
5. The art of composing a full experience
6. Sharing your slide show

View full notes on Slideshows

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Please click on the links to the full notes that interest you and, as always, let me know whether these notes have been helpful to you. And most of all - have some creative fun!

Spiritual Images of Nature

2007-07-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

Moments of Beauty and Wonder from Nature
Supplement to Sirius Radio interview on "Seize The Day", with Gus Lloyd

In this post, I would like to look at how we can use a photograph to capture and share a moment of beauty in nature that inspires us. Let's shift gears from photographic tips and techniques, and get in touch with our feelings.

Key areas I will touch on:
1. Learning to see, value and absorb natural beauty
2. When to take photos, and when is it good not to
3. How to capture and present the pictures you take

We connect with beauty in nature by our ability to express or contemplate what we see and how we feel about. Yet not all people respond in the same way, or are touched by beauty.

Some people are too busy with other things, some have simply never learned to appreciate and be enriched by beauty. Others may see everything as a photo opportunity, without really absorbing the wonder.

When we see something beautiful, whether a stunning vista or a tiny delicate flower, our appreciation is often greater when seeing it for the first time.

Take someone who lives in a place that others may consider to have a great beauty. They may always appreciate how lovely their environment is, but may not have the same sense of wonder as someone who comes from, say, a desolate environment.

But sadly, there are some who grow up where it is devoid of natural beauty, and do not learn how to see beauty. They may even feel uncomfortable surrounded by untouched nature.

When we have lived in a setting we love and enjoy, we miss it when we are separated from it. We often idealize it in our mind how beautiful the environment was. And when we grow up in a natural environment, it somehow embeds itself in us, and we feel the need to reconnect after we have moved away.

Where I grew up was only a short drive to places that have a 360 degree horizon. Even as an adult, I still love being in a place that is flat as far as the eye can see. But I also treasure spectacular mountains, like the Sierras that tower to 14,000 feet.

As a boy, I used to ride my bike to the nearby river. There were thick gray forests along the alluvial flats beside the river. The river had beaches of coarse white sand, and the banks were the finest of silted soil. The floor of the forests were covered in a mat of dried, fallen eucalyptus leaves.

In the canopy, there were sulphur-crested white cockatoos, with their distinctive harsh, persistent call. In summer, often the air would be still and breathless. In winter, when there was rain, the colors in the leaves would become vibrant. The smells were magic – summer and winter different, and they still are a part of me.

Experiencing and savoring places of natural beauty often takes time. The French impressionists lived and breathed the gardens and ponds they painted. They were able to bring out some of the subtle nuances that only come from a deep intimate understanding of the familiar setting.

Contrast this with early American landscape painters in the West. Their paintings idealize the awe and majesty of the massive landscapes that they were experiencing for the first time. They often represented them being lit with heavenly lighting. Nevertheless, their artistic representation of the new landscapes they discovered still reflects a deep contemplation and study of what they saw.

The pace of modern life often rushes us past beautiful landscapes, delicate flowers, birds, water, sunsets and other rich elements that we are given as visual gifts.

Driving fast through a forest does not really give us a chance to stop and listen, feel the atmosphere, and allow the forest to become part of us. We need to stop, immerse ourselves in the environment, listen to it and feel its effect on us.

What do we need to look for, to find spirituality. The answer to this is personal and individual. I can only list what does it for me.
- What I see elicits a sense of wonder, reverence, or just give me positive chills
- The place may encourage a contemplative mood, or simply be relaxing
- There is a sense of stillness, isolation, richness, simplicity or complexity
- Nature on a grand scale as in wild mountains, rivers, canyons, oceans or deserts
- It may be in the delicacy of the detail – say a flower or dewy leaves
- There is a flow and harmony of the vista from where I stand
- There is an overwhelming beauty, whether through rich colors or stark contrasts
- The lighting creates a special and momentary mood
- It is a rare and wondrous glimpse, like a wild creature, or a hummingbird up close

What creates the spiritual connection with the beauty in nature, whether on a grand scale or a tiny delicate scale, is the lingering, the contemplation, the yielding of ourselves to the beauty, so that it becomes part of us. We experience a spiritual moment when we are taken out of ourselves.

If we are attuned, and if we allow it, we can even discover little gems of natural beauty in urban environments – flowers, trees, birds, sunsets and so on. We just have to look.

So, a key to photographing natural beauty is to somehow express, or it least identify what is that inspires us. Just pointing a camera is not enough. Unless we know what it is we're trying to capture, and the feeling we're trying to convey, we are just getting a pretty snapshot.

This does not mean that we need to tote around heavy tripods, large cameras, and the photographic experts. I have seen some beautiful and inspiring pictures taken with little disposable cameras.

It is really asking the question, "What is it about what I see that makes me feel the way I do?". The next question to ask is, "What do I need to include, and to exclude, from this picture, within this rectangle, that will convey something of the experience I have at the moment?”.

And sometimes it is important to just leave the camera in its case. Taking pictures can take you out of the moment, stop you from admiring and absorbing. A place and time can be more than just visual. Do you try and capture it on film, or record the experience in your soul?

It may be hard to capture this feeling we get from a place in a single picture. It may need a series of images, in a large format book, or in a high-definition slideshow, with the captured sounds of the forest, and a gentle underlay of music.

I was thinking about whether vertical or horizontal images convey the more spiritual feeling, I put the question to my wife, who is a designer. She said that most buildings and art that seek to convey spirituality use the vertical form. We think of the soul ascending, being uplifted, and the heavens being upward. It is part of us.

Spirituality and photography has five phases for me:
1. Being in a place where the surroundings nourish your soul, and the beauty is uplifting.
2. Seeing and understanding what it is visually about the place that creates that feeling.
3. Interpreting and capturing that with discipline and conscious, correct technique
4. Later choosing images that work, enhancing and cropping them to convey the experience. My approach is “Take many, show few”.
5. Sharing them and telling the story of your experience.

Naturally, we need to apply the basics of good photography and composition. The picture needs to be exposed correctly, the right parts need to be in focus, and the subject needs to be positioned correctly within the picture to draw the viewer’s eye to it.

And every print has it’s own best size. This may be huge, folio size, or tiny. It depends on the subject and the viewing distance. Some images need to be huge. They convey a grand scale. People can view them from afar and take it all in, or step close and be immersed in the picture. Others need to be small enough to hold, like pictures of delicate flowers.

These have been a few thoughts I have evolved though my many years or photography. If these resonate with you, here are some important areas of technique you may want to to learn for different subjects:

1. Flowers – lighting, focus choice, backgrounds
2. Rivers, streams, waterfalls – shutter speed to “freeze”; make misty
3. Scenes of snow – getting the exposure so the snow looks right
4. Tiny things like flowers and insects – close-ups for intimacy
5. From a plane window – aperture setting, fixing the color later
6. Panoramas – how to set the camera and then combine images
7. Fields of flowers – getting near and far in focus, vertical formats
8. Sunsets – getting the exposure right, including other elements
9. Unusual lighting – how to capture effects on the scene
10. Fast moving creatures – using higher ISO to stop action
11. Grand scale landscapes – don’t try to get it all in, get glimpses
12. Intimate scenes – filling the image, capturing the lighting

Get Great Wedding Shots

2007-06-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

These days, most of my photography is inspired art from nature, landscapes and urban settings. But when I was living in Australia, I did commercial wedding photography, from the bride getting ready through to the reception. So this piece draws on my experience.
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Watch what the professional photographer is doing

Most weddings have a professional photographer. This photographer may be hired to cover just the ceremony, or they may cover bridal party preparation at home, and the reception.

If there is a pro photographer, remember that the couple has engaged him or her to get the best shots of the day. So try and not impeded their work. But do watch what they are doing and the kind of shots he or she is taking. Take some cues from that in deciding when and what to capture as informal shots to share. Get the "other" shots - people not included, angles on the toasts, cake cutting, other guests.

Some photographers allow friends and family to "piggy-back" on set-ups. In other words, they will arrange and shoot the photo groups, then allow time for the other guests to take pictures of that same group. Other photographers are protective, and disperse the group immediately to stop others from getting the shots.

Opportunities for amateur snapshots can be moments, people and angles the professional does not cover. If there is no coverage of the preparation by bride and groom at home or wherever, there can be some great candids there. Look for shots that reflect camaraderie between groom and best man, Get some nice shots of the bride in the latter stages of make-up, posing with the gown, leaving home with father, or older brother, say. And if there is a nice garden, take pictures of the bride and others in the garden.

Not all packages by professionals cover the reception. Even those who do, mostly do some of the ceremony and some selective tables. This is another great opportunity for the amateur to get additional shots. Take pictures of tables and groups early in the proceedings. Get table shots just when the meal is served to have nice meals in the shots instead of dirty plates.

If there is no official photographer, your pictures may be IT! So make your pictures count.

Tips on photographing people

When you are bringing groups together, remember what I said in an earlier interview (check my blog posting and podcast on Groups). Cajole and "direct" the people. Make them feel good about being in the photo. Use my tips for getting the best smiles.

Don’t tell them to smile and then take 10 seconds to get ready with the shot – the smiles fade fast! Use the red-eye reduction light as a "watch the birdie" device. Take several pictures in case you get a person who blinks a lot.

In a group photo, position lighter complexion further from the camera than those with darker complexions, to get more even lighting. Do the same with the bride and groom for their outfits if it is a group shot where some people are closer than others. Tux at the front, gown further back.

When photographing people at tables, make sure there are no foreground objects like flowers and wine bottles that will “hog” the picture and be washed out by the flash.

If there is drinking, take some important pictures early, so as not to get red noses, silly grins, and glazed eyes.

Even so, when you are photographing people, particularly a couple, make sure that you focus on one of the faces. Many great shots (even for experienced photographers) have been lost by focusing on the background.

And talking about background - always pay attention to what else gets included in the shot. If you miss something distracting, it will be there forever. And if there is a nice setting, try and use that in the background. Even a plain background is better than a street full of cars, or billboards in the background. But never straight in front of a mirror or window – take the shot on an angle.

And finally - pay attention to framing your shots. Don't bullseye the faces in the middle of the shot, or crop off the top of people's heads. Balance the framing of the shot nicely.

Tips on using flash

When you use a flash at the reception, and make sure there are no reflective objects in the picture. If you are photographing in a dim, large room, use the camera's "night flash" setting (or equivalent) if it has one. That will slow down the shutter speed, to let in more background light before and after the main flash. If your camera does not have this setting, then chose a slower shutter speed, say 60th or 30th of a second. But you will need to hold the camera more steady.

Another trick to bring up the background is to reduce the strength of the flash. Test it out, you may need to increase the exposure or EV setting to avoid the picture looking too dark.

Use the camera's red-eye reduction setting at the reception, or most other indoor shots, where people are looking at the camera. If you want to get candids of people not looking at the camera, then turn the redeye reduction off, so as not to warn the subject you are taking a candid.

Flash can create harsh lighting. If you have a diffuser, use it for portraits and close-ups. Or use a small piece of frosted tape across the front of the flash. If you have a separate flash unit, tilt it up and bounce the flash off a light ceiling.

Most people don’t think of using the flash in daylight, especially in bight sunlight. But using a fill flash setting can get rid of harsh shadows in the eyes and under the nose and chin. Just make sure it doesn’t over-expose. And when you are photographing people in the shade, with a bright sunny background, you should almost always use flash then for a natural look.

Some smaller cameras with built-in flash may have a limited range of, say 10 feet. Bigger flash units will carry further. But remember, the light drops off quickly as you move further away.

And remember to allow time for the flash to recharge, otherwise you may just lose an important shot. Learn how to check your flash is ready for the next shot.

On using the camera

Today's cameras have a lot of features that make it easier - anti-shake, face-follow, shooting modes, extra zoom, ISO adjustment, auto compensation for skin tones, and extended tonal range. Learn what these do beforehand, and use them to advantage.

White tablecloths can sometime be a problem. The make the picture darker as the camera compensates for all that white. Try the "sand and snow" setting, or increase the EV or light value by about 1 setting if more than half of the picture is white tablecloth. Same with the bride's dress.

If you need to blur the background a little, try setting your camera to Portrait mode, or even try Sports. If the camera has aperture control, chose a low number that will give a larger aperture.

Use a memory card with room for lots of pictures. Carry an extra if you need. And always have a second battery.

One more time - don't wait until the important day to learn how to use your camera. Practice, Practice Practice! Play with it a lt. Have fun with it. Take all kinds of shots of people. Read the book, ask people who know how to use one. Otherwise you will miss the shots or get second-rate pictures. If it's worth buying a camera, and using it for important pictures, it's worth learning how to use it!

Framed Decor from Your Prints

2007-06-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

Frame Photographic Prints as Décor for Your Home

Download PDF version of my iTunes podcast on getting best results and décor impact with large photo prints and family photos as framed artwork. It covers choosing a subject, print size, paper surface or canvas, which glass to use, where to hang your work, working with framers.

Download PDF "Framed Décor Prints"

For the audio podcast, go to iTunes and enter "Digital Snapshots" in the search, or browse to Visual Arts.

Products recommended:
Edit your digital images: Adobe Photoshop CS3 or PS Elements
Boost image size: OnOne Genuine Fractals for CS3, or Essentials for Elements
Create Panoramas: Mac - Calico from Kekus; Win - CS3, Elements or PhotoStitch from Canon
Calibrate computer display - Huey by Pantone

There are other products that will do the same function, but these are the ones I prefer and use.