July 16, 2010

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Cool Gadgets, Gavin Seim, Lighting, PPS Photography Tips, ProPhotoShow, video

How to WindProof Your Lightstands (without sandbags):

by Gavin Seim: Attempting to setup light outside with an with an umbrella, softbox, or even a lone strobe can quickly turn into a fiasco of tipping. I have a family session with over forty people this weekend, and the last thing I want to worry about was whether my lights are secure. One common method is to use sandbags, but I wanted something small, light and adaptable to keep stands from falling over. Behold the DIY quick release cords for.

Direct YouTube link.

PS. The wind was not intense on the day I made this, but I left them up all afternoon without reservation. These make a VERY stable light and they should handle heavy winds if needed. Do some tests of your own and if in doubt just add a few extra tether cords to make it as sturdy as you need. Also here is a good video on how to tie the Tautline Hitch.

Naked Elements Textures
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July 15, 2010

0

Gavin Seim, HDR Photography, Lighting, ProPhotoShow, Software

HDR & Dynamic Range Episode on the Dojo

by Gavin Seim: Dynamic range is a big deal in photography and I’ve been making a point to study it over the past few years. Last week I joined Kerry Garrison on the CameraDojo podcast, for a new episode on HDR. In fact however, it’s not just a discussion of traditional HDR, but on all things dynamic range.  It’s always fun guesting on other shows (not to mention a lot less work) and I think we pulled together something good here.

Thanks to Kerry for having me. Head over to CameraDojo to give it a listen. Then stay tuned because there’s also a brand new PPS Roundtable coming real soon.

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July 13, 2010

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f164, Fine Art

Independence Day 2010:

What kid doesn’t love a holiday where exploding things is OK. I guess I’m still a kid in that sense, because 4th of July is still a favorite of mine. The independence of our nation celebrated by family, fireworks and banners. Once every few years my family pitches in and we have a big get together with a great DIY fireworks show. This was one not one of those years however, so I decided to help out on the crew of Orion Pyrotechnics for a show they were doing in Ephrata. It was neat to work on a professional show, and something that’s been on my todo list.

Technique: This image was a favorite because it’s different than most. It was made using a sigma 15mm fisheye, making it appear even lower to the ground and subtly showing the surrounding area. I applied a slight color tone from one of my presets and then did a few manual tweaks. The exposure was —-

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July 13, 2010

0

Aperture, Gavin Seim, lightroom, Workflow

Super Workflow and Lightroom Catalogs:

by Gavin Seim: So I wrote a few articles recently over on my Seim Effects site about editing faster and managing better, and I felt they were worthy of a mention here on PPS. If you want to edit your images faster or have ever questioned the way you manage LR catalogs take a peek and you might just get something new. Enjoy… Gav

Super Workflow: The 7 Steps to Photo Editing Awesomeness:
This is an outline of pretty much everything I’ve learned about the flow of fast editing with a step by step look at how to work more efficiently. It’s geared towards LR users, but applies to most any editing workflow.

Understanding & Managing LR Catalogs. The Captain Awesome Approach:
This once again is what I have learned about catalogs. You may or may not want to use the approach I do, but either way you’ll probably learn something new about how your catalogs work.

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June 24, 2010

7

Gavin Seim, Review, Workflow

Lightroom2 VS Lightroom3 Process Examples Compared:

by Gavin Seim: I’ll be talking more about Lightroom soon, but I wanted to make a quick post about what I found most significant in LR3. It’s the processing. It may go unnoticed at a glance, but is so much better, that by itself makes LR3 worth the upgrade. This first example shows an ISO 50,000 image from a 1D MKIV, showing just how impressive the new noise reduction and processing in LR3 is (not to mention the camera). I did this in LR3 by simply switching it back and forth from new to old process version (in the camera calibration settings).

Next is a lower 640 ISO example. For this one I actually processed the first in LR2 itself and the other in LR3. While not so obvious (click for the large version) it shows the subtle quality of not just the noise reduction, the the quality of how the file is being processed. Notice in the large version how the LR3 version feels more organic, almost film like in quality. I love it and you can be sure I’m getting under the hood in LR3 to see what’s possible for workshops and my Seim Effects presets.

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