Photo Minute is a blog concept I am incorporating into my weekly blogs! Creating art, in any form, is important to appreciating life. Writing, photography, sewing, cooking, painting, sculpting, fabrication, etc. are all facets to creating in a world that was created for you to appreciate. Photo Minute will focus on the appreciation of capturing light through a camera's lens.
The Goal: To help share tips and my passion for capturing the world around us with my camera of choice! Yes I am a Canon junkie and the camera of choice right now is my Canon 80D that is in my car most days!
The Purpose: To share passion for the art of light that creates a world of wonder for any photographer from beginner to professional. We all learn something everyday. We learn through listening. SO....I want to share so you can share back!
Photo of the Week
Shot with a Canon 70D (free hold with wrist strap) Aperture f/5.6 - ISO 800 - Shutter 1/800 - Focal Length 125/1
This photo was captured in a series of about 260 shots in about 3 hours for this on location photo shoot. This includes the riding time to get midway up Cedar Mountain outside of Cody. From our vantage point here we could see the Northfork HWY and the Buffalo Bill Dam.
Note: Outdoors give you an original, special-to-the-person feel to every photo shoot. It is important to me to create a story with photos of who the person is, not just a beautiful portrait. #findyourfrontier
So...to get to a location sometimes you just have to saddle up, ride, appreciate, and take your time to find that place that brings the soul out of your subjects. This took 3 horses saddle bags, shoulder straps, and time!
Well...the photographer gets to try out the horse! Mind you I have not ridden in about 2 years
List: Canon 70D, 32GB SD card, 18-135mm lens, lens hood, slickers, water cover for camera when rain threatens, spectator (aka Dusty Moore to watch that i don't step off the edge and hold gear)
After riding for about 45 minutes up to the rims on Cedar its time to use the cliffs and ledges as our backdrop there was an hour photo shoot. This shoot was to showcase horsemanship and the cowboy way of life. This particular photo was captured as the photographer set down on a ledge and leaned out over a 80 foot drop. My "assistant" made sure that I stayed put and gave me pointers to not step once I started shooting.
Remember to play with your settings. Be dynamic with your foreground and your background. Your subject is the focal point but create a canvas that is different and your subject does not always have to be FRONT and CENTER to be the focal point.
Note: Do I encourage danger...no! However, most people know that I push the envelope personally. Only push your lines as far as you are comfortable with for your creative muse. #lifeontheedge
I prefer to use Adobe Creative Cloud Photoshop, but Adobe Lightroom is another great application for quick touch ups and such to your photos!
Editing Process:
I open up the RAW format of the photo, working on the exposure, filtering, and color saturation sliders in the pre-edit window before opening in photoshop.
(<Example window to the left)
I prefer to shoot in RAW because it captures a more pour representation with no compression of the scene you are shooting so you have plenty of light information to work with in your digital dark room.
Then I work on the levels of the particular photo I am working on. To create the exposure illusion you must know if you want to pull highlights, shadows, or mid-tones forward. This is in an attempt to pull the emotion of capturing life in a moment. Meaning, water is fast but when captured slowly via the shutter speed it evokes the emotion of "fleeting time."
(Example window to the right>)
So in a nutshell that is how you plan, capture, and edit a particular shot that is meant to feel and show the movement of water. A fast subject with a slow motion affect.
Questions? Comments? Or share your favorite animal subject to photograph with the Frontier!
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