Grim Skies

Okay, so I love Lightroom, but when it comes to HDR photos there is nothing that beats the Photomatix/Photoshop combo.  As far as I know, I could never get these skies without a little layer work in PS.

I saw my car chilling on the ridge at the spillway and couldn't help snap a shot of my most valued piece of photography gear.  I'd never be able to get out to these landscapes without it!

St. V Park

So today, instead of spending my afternoon working on whatever I should have been working on, I went to St. Vital Park.

For these next ones I can't decide which shot I like better...portrait or landscape??

Update! Went shooting tonight and finally got a pano I'm happy with:

Bigger version available here.

-Mitch

AT wasn't long enough

I really liked the shots I got for my last analogue assignment, so I thought I'd throw some up here.

And, it only took me a week, but I went through my Nygard pictures...fashion isn't really my thing, so I didn't get that many keepers.

-Mitch

IS3 - A look at Dave Hill

So I chose a technique used by one of my favorite photographers, Dave Hill.  This technique has also been used by a Canadian photographer Jill Greenberg.  I chose these three photos, partly due to the fact that they were some of the most readily available.  Both Dave and Jill have flash websites, and saving images is challenging.  All three of these images show these artist's intense understanding of their lighting equipments and setups.

I find their style of photography very interesting  as the subject looks painted, even unrealistic.  The secret has been closely guarded by both photographers, though both swear that their technique lies in lighting as opposed to post-processing.  Which holds the potential to be true, as in an interview Dave references that he uses upward of 8 lights at any given shoot.  However for those of us with a much more limited budget there is hope in post-processing!

I found several tutorials for getting the "Dave Hill Look" here's links to a couple of them:

Lightroom Tutorial

Photoshop Tutorial

I also came upon an interview with Dave Hill where he talks about his approach to photography:

The interview

And finally an ongoing chat about Dave Hill on the strobist group at flickr.com:

Tips on Dave Hill

Links to photographers sites:

Dave Hill

Jill Greenberg

-Mitch

One of my favorite sites

By far my favorite site is:
Photography On The Net

This website has had it all for me. Their user base is primarily Canon shooters, though there are a few Nikon users that pop up from time to time.

In all my time on that site I have never had a question go unanswered, the users are generally really friendly, helpful people offering assistance regardless of how ridiculous some of the questions can get.

Like I said before, especially for Canon shooters, this site really has everything. The top portion of the forum being dedicated to the full range of Canon Digital Cameras, to Canon compatible lenses, to flash and studio lighting, all the way to accessories. This site has helped me choose piece of gear that I have bought up to this date. I've found the Lens forum to be of the most use lately, with such a wide spanning user database they have compiled example images from most, if not all of the current Canon compatible lens line-up.

Beyond gear reviews the forums host a photo sharing section ranging through any form of photography you could imagine. Beyond that section they have a section giving tips and tricks in many different facets of photography, from post-processing techniques, to presenting your images.

I've been on this site nearly 2 years now and I only feel like I've scratched the surface of some of the knowledge that is available here.

-Mitch

Creative Imaging

So I chose to use what I know best for my CI assignment, my car.  More specifically the dash/steering wheel.  It got to be pretty tough to actually get the 100 images, by the time I hit about 80ish shots I started shooting from the hip.  Switched the camera into Program, and fired a couple shots without checking the viewfinder.  Surprisingly enough they turned out really well, at least for this assignment.

Before falling into desperation and shooting from the hip, I had a few vaguely planned shots.  This being my favorite of the day, subject blur right?  I've been trying to get this shot done well since I consumed by my automotive passions.

-Mitch

IS - Lines

I felt that this assignment was a challenge for me as I tried to force myself to try some more abstract shots, some I felt worked well, others, not so much.  I hope that I can get another chance to shoot more abstract work in the future.

The Nygard shoot was interesting to see pro photogs at work, just the way these guys knew exactly where to be, and when.  Besides that, their gear was enough to make any student jealous.  It was a pretty intense night of shooting, and great practice for using flash.

-Mitch