January 11, 2017

washington starscapes

This is another starscape I made in Washington. I’ve been working to do exposures that are long, but not so long that the stars trail. This one I exposed at 10 seconds.

I had to use 12,800 to do it, but the detail is great and it prints beatifically. This went loan as 2016 International Competition. — Seim

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December 15, 2016

For our Christmas Photo Craft I wanted to do something special, so I made you all a mini set of  cinema-inspired Photoshop actions for free.

Just download’em and load into your PS! The Ice and Fire action is a highly adjustable combination of warm and cool tones and the bonus action adds a classy understated glow effect that can be used in any image. This tool focuses on complementary colors and you’ll find its vert versatile. Merry Christmas.

NOTE: There was a glitch that caused the action problems on Windows. This should be fixed in the current version (162) so just re-download if you have problems.

— Download Actions —

  • There are three more cinema themed actions in this month’s Photokit.
  • Also, check out our Alchemist Action Collection a complete retouching collection.

ice-and-fire-action

ice-fire-2

ice-fire-5

 

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December 8, 2016

Today I might complain a little about snow. But in fact I’m going to talk about making ultra great images in the snow. Put on your coats and let’s get our there! But watch this short video first.

So yes snow is that simple. My only real problem with snow is that it’s cold on wet. But it’s great to photograph.  That does not mean a great image is simple however and when you know the workings of light you get to focus on the artistry of the image and that’s when things really open up and challenge us. Exposure should be easy and you should check out the EXposed workshop if you’ve not seen it for the most complete and simple study on mastering it.

One important foundation here is that your meter always uses 15%, or middle grey as the baseline. Most photographers don’t understand that. With in camera meters it’s the same, but most cameras use multi matrix metering by default. This is code for a computer is guessing what your exposure should be. If you want to really know the exposure, switch to the spot metering mode and go to work.

Stars of Coldest Night - Snoqualmie WA, 2010.

When your meters line is centered, that is Zone 5. From there you can move up it down, placing the subject in whatever Zone you want. Jut go try it. The lights will come on and we deal with this and every other exposure foundation in depth in the EXposed videos. They will change your life. Let me know how this works for you and what else you’d like us to talk about. — Seim

 

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October 21, 2016

I love black and white and I love a video that get’s me inspired to take my tones deeper. Check it out — Gav

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August 3, 2016

Your life’s work exists on drives. Most of us don’t have a room full of negatives anymore, or filing cabinets full of information. It’s all on drives.

Backups aren’t a particularly exciting topic for many, but they are critical. I see people treat backups as an afterthought with disturbing regularity. “Yea, I got an external drive I copied to last year around here somewhere…”

I hope that’s not you. If we don’t do better than that, there’s going to be a day where we regret it. So to make sure we’re not missing the boat, lets talk about backing up and I’ll share a few tips to help you stay safe.

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