Quote: We all move on the fringes of eternity and are sometimes granted vistas through fabric of illusion.” – Ansel Adams

Techniques and Tutorials:

What is Fine #Art #Photography?

Portrait Lenses: A Thoughtful Conversation with Chris Orwig

Secret Life of Animals: Behavior & Wildlife Photography

Getting Started with Macro Photography

2 Mistakes the Best Photographers Never Make

Aberration in optical systems

Thought for the day: If?
If you never post-process your images. If you never ever share them. If the images just stay in the (phone, card, computer) until the heat death of the universe? Would this help improve your photography? Your satisfaction with your artistic life? With your life?

Artist of the week: Herb Ritts – Photographing the Famous and Fashionable

The content of this blog post done in collaboration with one of our members, Greg Edwards: http://gregoryedwards.slickpic.site

The post Photography News September 26, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.

Quote: “The pictures are there, and you just take them.” – Robert Capa

Techniques and Tutorials:

• Planning vs Spontaneity in Landscape Photography
• Previsualization in Photography
• Meaning, Use and Origins of Bokeh
• Top Photoshop Adjustment Presets
• Why Using the Golden Ratio in Your Photos Might Not Be a Good Idea After All

3 Things That Ruin Poses: How to Fix Them – Lindsay Adler

Thought for the day: Safety – Annular Solar Eclipse in October, be safe
If you want to photograph or view the annular solar eclipse in October it might be a good idea to order safe and effective solar filters now. Or for the total eclipse in 2024!

Artist of the Week: The Most Infamous Henri Cartier-Bresson Photo

The content of this blog post done in collaboration with one of our members, Greg Edwards: http://gregoryedwards.slickpic.site

The post Photography News September 18, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.

Quote: “The truth is the best picture, the best propaganda…” – Robert Capa

Techniques and Tutorials:

• Ocean Moods – Michael Frye
• Six Lighting Setups to Try on Your Next Photoshoot
• How to Photograph a Music Festival – Lens Rentals
• Unlikely Hero Accessories for Landscape Photographers
• Comet Nishimura will be at perihelion on September 18 and at its brightest the comet will be visible in the evening twilight skies of San Francisco low along the western horizon for maybe 15m after the Sunset.

How to Plan and Photograph Comet C/2023 P1, Nishimura
(8–17 September 2023)

Thought for the day – Forever?
Cameras don’t last forever, and nor do computers.  However your disk drive is going to die, probably at the worst time for you, first.  Also moving your data from a decade or more older computer may be difficult.  Back up your data. Frequently! And check that your backups actually have the data you think they do and are kept in a safe place.

Artist of the Week:
Robert Sargent, Taxis to Hell – and Back

The content of this blog post done in collaboration with one of our members, Greg Edwards: http://gregoryedwards.slickpic.site

The post Photography News September 11, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.

The post Photography News September 6, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.

Quote: “Lately I’ve been struck with how I really love what you can’t see in a photograph. An actual physical darkness. And it’s very thrilling for me to see darkness again.” – Diane Arbus

Articles:

The Best Photography Advice I’ve Ever Heard – Stills in Motion, Episode 3

FRAMES — Photography Visual Patterns #1

Opacity vs Fill in Photoshop

What Every Photographer Should Know About Lenses

Example of the Arc of Storytelling in a PhotoBook

Another landscape shot with discussion on angles, sun, etc. and a detailed discussion on post-processing: shadows, highlights, blacks, saturation, vibrance, contrast, tone curve, HSL sharpening, masking, adding grain, etc. And why he made these adjustments. Also compares files from a Leica and Sony and result is they are the same quality.

Thought for the day: Want to Get Better at Photography?
Look at great photographs and paintings. Why do they work?
Take a lot of photos and downselect to the best 1%.
What is the difference between them? What can you do better?

Artist of the Week:
Mariano Vargas – not same person as the more famous Alberto Vargas

The content of this blog post done in collaboration with one of our members, Greg Edwards: http://gregoryedwards.slickpic.site

The post Photography News July 24, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.

Quote: “Yes, for me the drama of storm in nature, the drama of sorrow in life, are the most impressive. Oh, there must be a little bit of light, a little bit of happiness, just enough to indicate the shape, to make the limbs of the silhouette stand out, but let the rest be dark.” – Vincent van Gogh

Articles:

• How AI Tools are Making Retouching Easier Than Ever
• Beware the Poisoned Apple (AI in Art)

Leading Line – The Best Technique To Tell Stories In Your Images

JPEG vs PNG – Are You Using the WRONG Image Format?

Creative Portrait Shoot in Bad Light in Redwood Forest

Telling the Story: Documentary Photography with Thatcher Cook

Thought for the day:RAID as a Backup?

Another friend of mine recently had problems with her RAID disk.  RAID does not give you an offline backup.  If your RAID system is fried then you may have lost all of your images.  Make offline backups and store them elsewhere (at a friends house, in a safe-deposit box, etc.)

Artist of the Week: Nobumichi Asai – Media Artist

The content of this blog post done in collaboration with one of our members, Greg Edwards: http://gregoryedwards.slickpic.site

The post Photography News July 17, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.

Quote: The negative is comparable to the composer’s score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways.” – Ansel Adams

Articles:

• Is AI-Generated Art Ethical? – suggested by Linda Lee Rutherford

Landscape Photography Tutorial

Creating that Dreamy look, using Vaseline

Andromeda Galaxy with only a Camera, Lens, & Tripod

Street and Travel Photography Full Online Course

Photoshop Retouching for Beginners

Thought for the day: The excellent video Creating that Dreamy look, using Vaseline has good ideas, but two major problems. This may be due to wanting room to video the back screen of the camera, but… use the neck strap or similar to protect against falls and anchor the camera against your eye with hands close in to avoid camera shake.

Artist of the Week:
Siegfried Hansen – Meet Germany’s most respected Street Photographer

The content of this blog post done in collaboration with one of our members, Greg Edwards: http://gregoryedwards.slickpic.site

The post Photography News July 10, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.

Quote: “Artists (fine ones) don’t copy nature, and when they do record quite literally the presentation is such as to arouse connotations quite apart from the subject matter.” – Edward Weston

Articles:

Dramatic Portraiture & Lighting Class w/ Chris Knight Tutorial

Lightroom Classic Masterclass 2022 – Developing Images

What Pros Know about ISO that Beginners Often Ignore!

How to capture a Galaxy with your DSLR

Ultimate Guide to Street Photography

The Biggest Lie Social Media Feeds Photographers

Thought for the day: What sees Truth?
What the camera sees isn’t what my eye sees.
What my eye sees isn’t what my mind sees.
Which of the three is more correct or accurate or truthful or meaningful?
Which maters? Which matters most for you.

Art of the Week
Human body is core, Coderch & Malavia

The content of this blog post done in collaboration with one of our members, Greg Edwards: http://gregoryedwards.slickpic.site

The post Photography News July 3, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.

Quote: “To send light into the darkness of men’s hearts – such is the duty of the artist.” – Robert Schumann

Articles:

• How to Quickly Ruin Your Camera and Lens

Generative Fill AI This WILL Change Everything!

Capturing Powerful Portraits – Photographic Tips and techniques

How to Shoot Like Sean Archer, Tutorial

How To Edit like Sean Archer

How to Quickly Improve Your Landscape Photography Compositions

Thought for the day: You can learn a lot about better photography from great Hollywood movies.

Art of the Week: Casablanca Behind The Scenes – many good ideas for photography in story, lighting, and more. Also see Roger Ebert

The content of this blog post done in collaboration with one of our members, Greg Edwards: http://gregoryedwards.slickpic.site

The post Photography News June 26, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.

Quote: “Of course, I hear that I must have a marvellous lens or extraordinary camera – instead of a lens with shutter and all for 20 pesos, and a camera quite gone to ruin! Not many realize that good photographs – like anything else – are made with one’s brains.” – Edward Weston

Articles:

• How Much Do You Value the Process of Creating Images?
• Sensor Format Size and Image Quality

A Photo I’ve dreamt of… – good example of how to ‘work’ a subject

Composition Case Study: Analyzing Arnold Newman’s Photo of Igor Stravinsky

The Worst Photography Advice I’ve ever heard…

How I Capture Great Images in Bad Conditions – Alex Armitage

Thought for the day: Photography is a subtractive art and painting is additive art
In photography you move the camera trying to remove/subtract distractions from your image. In paintings they can add an interesting path or tree in exactly the right spot. Generative AI makes it easy to make additive “photographs”. You can make an additive photograph using Photoshop or similar tools, but that is harder. And it is the ease, I think, that make some photographers unhappy with this new capability.

Artist of the Week: The Tragic Story of Photographer Bob Carlos Clarke

The content of this blog post done in collaboration with one of our members, Greg Edwards: http://gregoryedwards.slickpic.site

The post Photography News June 19, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.

Quote: “When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” – Ansel Adams

Articles:

• How Do You Take Images That Look 3D?
• How to Upscale an Image Without Losing Quality
• Eight Tips for Preventing Camera Theft

Forget the Rule of Thirds

Framing in Photography: 6 Ways You Can Use It

Learning to See: Visual Fundamentals – suggested by S. Maurice Krumrey

Thought for the day: Generative AI vs AI Assistance
There is a major difference between Generative AI and software that have “AI” assistance. Currently most photo programs have a “magic wand” button to help you finish your images including color balance, highlight correction, etc.

Generative AI makes, with hints from the user, an image from it’s library reference and makes all new material. It is Assistive AI that helps improve the extant photograph. Article on an award winning AI generated image.

Artist of the Week:
Artist Talk – Dayanita Singh on Life, Photography, and “Portable Museums”

The content of this blog post done in collaboration with one of our members, Greg Edwards: http://gregoryedwards.slickpic.site

The post Photography News June 13, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.

Quote: “The observation of nature is part of an artist’s life, it enlarges his form-knowledge, keeps him fresh and from working only by formula, and feeds inspiration” – Henry Moore

Articles:

Aspect Ratio – The Secret to Stunning Fine Art Photos
Suggested by Paul Pokrywka

New Beta Photoshop Removal Tool

Portraits with a Plastic Dust Sheet

Shooting Winter and Snow Studio Portraits

How to Shoot Dance Photography – Quick Explanation

Some of the oldest photos you will ever see

Thought for the day: Another Exercise to Improve Your Eye – Sequencing

I was recently asked to help a friend improve their portfolio for an exhibit. The exhibit was to be a dozen or so images on a topic and the images needed to be self-similar (same style of processing unless there was a good reason for otherwise) with a clean flow from one image to another. In other word, have all the images in landscape or portrait orientation, or… consider why not. Or have all the pictures color or black and white; do not, in general, mix it up. Be sure to have the same “style” (color “grade”, black and white post-processing “filter”, etc.) for all the images unless there is a significant reason otherwise. If possible, try to make the sequence tell a story. As an example of a break in the ”style” of a sequence, my friend had a sequence of a dream. In this case starting with a color image to show the ”real” world and then going into a light hazy black and white for the rest of the sequence to show the “dream“ world. This worked.

This an extension to last week’s thought: A Painful But Very Useful Exercise

Artist of the Week: N. C. Wyeth – painter and illustrator

The content of this blog post done in collaboration with one of our members, Greg Edwards: http://gregoryedwards.slickpic.site

The post Photography News May 29, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.

The post Photography News May 22, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.

Quote: “I am sure the next step will be the electronic image, and I hope I shall live to see it. I trust that the creative eye will continue to function, whatever technological innovations may develop.” – Ansel Adams

Articles:

• Here Are Some Photoshop Plug-ins to Make Astrophotography Much Easier

Black and White: Why and How

Giselle – Photo Shoot with Kaori Nakamura

Dance in the Street Photography

Four Looks, One Gray Background

Creating Shadows with Everyday Items to make D.I.Y. Gobos

Thought for the day: Solid state storage (SSD, SD, CF) will wear out
If you are using a device that is 5 years or more old, or has a lot of read/write cycles, it is much more likely to fail than one that a new device. A small card ro disk is NOT more reliable than a very large device. Back up your data and replace the old/small/frequently used storage device. Dave Haynie (2nd article down) has a good explanation of solid state failure.

Artist of the week: The Genius of W. Eugene Smith

The content of this blog post done in collaboration with one of our members, Greg Edwards: http://gregoryedwards.slickpic.site

The post Photography News May 8, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.

Quote: “The value of composition cannot be over estimated; upon it depends the harmony and the sentiment. Instruments and mediums can be had for a price; originality, creative faculty, poetic feeling, can come from only one source, but they can be lost if they be not cherished.” – Gertrude Käsebier

Articles:

• Using Juxtaposition for Your Landscape Photography

Photographing Men – Inside Fashion and Beauty Photography by Lindsay Adler

Practical Guide to Understanding Light Modifiers

How I Got The Shot – Soccer Star

How to shoot Powder Paint Portraits

How to Add Glow in Photoshop

Thought for the day: Moon and Sun
For Moon and Sun photography use a good tripod (geared head is useful) and a specialized but not expensive camera with a very long built in zoom lens. A 2400mm zoom (Nikon P series has these, as do others) will have the Moon or Sun just about filling the frame. Additional magnification via digital zoom can make great crater and Mare closeup with careful post processing, And with the Annular Solar Eclipse visible from Oregon to Texas on 14 October 2023 (not the same as the total Solar Eclipse in 2024), photographing the Moon is good practice. But aiming will be a problem without care. Practice. And for photographing the Sun do use an appropriate solar filter or your camera and maybe your eye could be destroyed.

Artist of the week: Marco Breuer: Pushing the boundaries of photography

The content of this blog post done in collaboration with one of our members, Greg Edwards: http://gregoryedwards.slickpic.site

The post Photography News April 17, 2023 appeared first on SlickPic Digital Photography School.