HDR Workshop

I went to an HDR workshop last week that was taught by Richard Hockett, http://www.sunridgephoto.com/, a great photographer and very smart man. He has a great sense of business and knows how to shoot as well. A decided advantage in this economy. Anyway back to the HDR workshop. It was great to go out and shoot with other photographers and to get an idea of what other people see when they are out and about. I had a great time and it was a long day but I got a chance to learn a few more things and really hone my shooting skills when looking at making an HDR image with them. This first image is just above a church in Ventura. I thought that the whole facade was a little boring at first, but then I got a little lower, tilted one leg of the tripod way out and tilted the camera the other way. Then I tilted myself into a funky shape so I could see through the lens. I pretty much sat on the ground leaning backwards to get this shot. The sky in the original shot was pretty flat as we were shooting late in the morning with no real dramatic lighting. With some boosting in HDR and little more contrast added in Photoshop I was able to get the nice vibrant blue into the image that I remember from that day. Just with the HDR software Photomatix Pro, http://www.hdrsoft.com/, I was able to get the details in the shadows of the building to come through without losing any of the highlight detail. I know that it is very difficult to do this just shooting straight up because you have to decide what you are going to leave out such as some cool detail in the shadow of your image or even in the bright part of the image. Well now you can have it all.



So the church image is fairly straight forward with just a little bit of a grunge look to the building, but the bikes I love. The colors are so cool and to have the old green bike looking like an old timer in between the two purple cool bikes looking like a couple of punk kids sitting next to an old man on a bench was a happy find. I love the vibrancy of the colors and the contrast of the bikes with each other. I added a lot more of a grunge look to the color and over saturated a bit to really make the colors pop. If I were to print this image I would have to probably tone it down a little so that the colors would not block up but otherwise this would make a great funky poster. Maybe even on velvet with black lights? Or maybe not, but it would still be cool. Tell me what you like and thanks for watching.

Thanks to Laura for letting us use her studio to hang out in and drink coffee. Check Laura out at http://www.lauradphotography.com/. Thanks to Randy for shooting with us, I would love to go shooting with you sometime especially those cool cars of yours (Laura's to). Thanks to Richard for putting together a great workshop, can't wait for HDR 2.0.

HDR Workshop With Richard Hockett of SunRidge Photo

Hello Everyone, It has been a month since my last post and it is time for the next one. The exciting news is that I will be going to a HDR workshop on June 12th. There is still room for more people you can contact Richard Hockett at his email at: richard@sunridgephoto.com or via phone at: 805-451-6017. Check out the really cool HDR images he creates at his website: www.sunridgephoto.com. This would be the place to learn all the cool tricks to really trip out your photos with some quick easy mouse clicks. Check him out and sign up for the workshop. Space is limited so sign up early and sign up often. Thanks for watching.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetables

I love the fresh things in life like fruits and vegetables that are grown locally, not treated with nasty chemicals, not genetically modified to fit into a shipping container and be unblemished after being on the road for 6 days. That's right I am an organic, natural, hippie food lover. There is something amazing about food that was made with care and loving for not only the planet but also for the people who will consume it and gain nutrition. This food is the best you can get without growing it yourself. Check out Fairview Gardens at http://www.fairviewgardens.org/. They have a great farm stand open 7 days a week and you can tour the farm while you are there. Thats right you can buy your fruits and vegetables right where they grow. It does not need to take a week to get to the grocery store and then another week before you buy, IT IS FRESH! It doesn't get any better unless you grow it yourself. But I repeat myself. If you can not grow it yourself then support your local farmer and buy from them. Fairview Gardens is located on Fairview Ave in Goleta. Come check them out. They also have a blog site with great in season recipes which are wonderful; http://fairviewgardenscsa.wordpress.com/. Thanks for watching.

Before and After

I did some major post processing on these images just to see what kind of looks I could get with a combination of HD and Orton landscape treatment. Just to give you an idea of how different the images are from their originals I have included the plain Jane originals with the final product. No offenses to any Janes' out there. Love you all. Tell me what you think and Thanks for Watching.

Orton Landscape Effect

So I got these great steps from Richard Hockett of Sun Ridge Photo on how to do a painterly effect on landscape images called the Orton Effect. This effect was developed by a photographer named Micheal Orton who used it with film. I love that this method that was developed with film has translated so well for digital process. Now I want to also try it out on film. I just need to build that dark room. But I still want to have my bathroom, but that is a whole other issue. Enjoy and Thanks for watching.

Santa Barbara Orchid Show

Flowers are amazing things. That they come is such a large variety and color by themselves is wonderful. That within one species such as the orchid there can be hundreds of variations is even more amazing. I went to the orchid show with a group of people from http://www.meetup.com/Santa-Barbara-International-Photography-Group/. This is a local group of photography enthusiasts with various skill levels. It was fun to get together with other people that just like to shoot photographs. But then to do it at an orchid show was even better. I really recommend you check out the next time there is an orchid show in town or where ever you are. Thanks for watching.

Support Your Local Farmer

I remember when I was a kid there was a promotional poster showing all kinds of different careers and how they contributed to society. For Example, The teacher would teach and educate people when they needed it. The fireman would protect our homes when we needed it. The police would protect us when we needed it. And in the middle of this poster was a picture of a hard working farmer with the caption, The farmers feeds all of us. It may be hard to think about if you did not have an education but you could live with food or if you lost your home to fire but you could live with food, or if you were in danger but you could live as long as you had food. Think about it a little and then go hug a farmer because he is the one that helps put food in front of you. Support your local farmer. Thanks for watching.