RetouchPRO - Blogs - First there was Photography... by CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/ en Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:34:55 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg RetouchPRO - Blogs - First there was Photography... by CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/ <![CDATA[Uh, oh - I'm feeling that new camera urge...]]> http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/195-uh-oh-im-feeling-new-camera-urge.html Wed, 15 Sep 2010 06:22:20 GMT I am quite happy with my Nikon D40, and have not outgrown it yet, I fear, although I am trying. There are things that the D40 cannot do (auto-focus with lenses that are not AF-S), and I have relied on AF to help my tired eyes for years. I have tried to manual focus my 50mm AF lens, and I can get... I am quite happy with my Nikon D40, and have not outgrown it yet, I fear, although I am trying. There are things that the D40 cannot do (auto-focus with lenses that are not AF-S), and I have relied on AF to help my tired eyes for years. I have tried to manual focus my 50mm AF lens, and I can get close... sometimes. The D40 cannot bracket shots - but I could change settings myself (puff, puff, perspire) and help it along to create files for HDR processing. The ISO range is more limited than I would like, and there are some other areas that could chafe my photographic sensibilities if I expand those sensibilities. I am taking a photography class, and am trying to improve my skills.

But, of course, what truly has happened is the announcement of the new Nikon D7000 -- a delicious looking piece of photo gear from its magnesium alloy skeleton and its 39 focus points to its expanded ISO range of 100-6400 [up to 25,600 ISO extended], new sensor, and dual slots for memory cards - and only a teensy bit heavier than the D90. Of course, it's also more expensive, and I have yet to earn a dime off my photography. But that is logic, and there's time for that later. Now is the time for desire, fantasy wishing, and camera lust. It's good for the economy. Yeah, that's the ticket !

Chase Jarvis - D7000 Road Test ]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/195-uh-oh-im-feeling-new-camera-urge.html Adobe Camera Raw does even more than I knew http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/187-adobe-camera-raw-does-even-more-than-i-knew.html Fri, 11 Jun 2010 06:28:54 GMT I've been using Photoshop since version 3 back in the early '90's, and I'm used to the fact that I still am learning it. I enjoy finding a new technique or a new way of applying a change within Photoshop. I started using Camera Raw a few years ago, but used it initially just as a way of converting my raw files for use in Photoshop. I soon started using more of the basic features - adding fill light, using recovery to reduce over exposure in the highlights, adding contrast and reducing noise, adding sharpening and changing luminosity levels of colors within the image - but I still saw ACR as simply a quick stopover before opening the image in Photoshop for important changes.

Camera Raw has added features and I upgraded to Photoshop CS5, so I've been going through as many tutorials as I could find to learn the new features. What surprised me most of all is finding out how to use some of the features that I've simply ignored - in Camera Raw. I would sometimes do a crop in ACR instead of Photoshop, but I hadn't seen the dropdown menu for aspect ratios until today (Andrew Rodney wrote in a post here that it could be done, and I started looking for instructions on how to do it.) That will help a lot when I'm trying to prepare an image to print on a particular size paper. I can now see that using the graduated filter (like using a graduated neutral density filter on my camera - which I have yet to add to my camera bag) or the spot removal tool in ACR is a good idea. If I wait to do these things in Photoshop, I'm going to be actually pushing pixels around with my computer, and it's going to take time. Also I will have to make sure that I work on duplicates and protect my original image. With ACR, the computer can take it easy because all it's really doing is writing down a list of instructions for work that it's going to do later on the image.

If anyone else out there has ignored all those tools in ACR or if you're just getting started with Photoshop and ACR, here's a link to an excellent training video by Adobe's Digital Imaging Evangelist -- Julieanne Kost. Adobe offers it for free. I picked up good info at Lynda.com's training (Chris Orwig does the training for Camera Raw 6), but it costs to take their training UNLESS you buy a new Adobe upgrade and get 30 days training for free (big smile).

Just thought I'd share my ignorance so that I could also share my enlightenment - photography and post-processing continue to give me reasons to smile every day while I try to figure them out. ]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/187-adobe-camera-raw-does-even-more-than-i-knew.html Color perception - interesting illusion http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/184-color-perception-interesting-illusion.html Thu, 13 May 2010 10:21:05 GMT Color perception illusion from John Nack's blog. ]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/184-color-perception-interesting-illusion.html Deke McClelland demonstrates some CS5 features http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/183-deke-mcclelland-demonstrates-some-cs5-features.html Thu, 13 May 2010 02:36:36 GMT Deke McClelland at Lynda.com - free videos demonstrating new features of Photoshop CS5 - videos

I've just watched the first one "Common sense enhancements, in which Deke demonstrates a number of new features - straighten tool, cropping with rule of thirds grid and content aware, using mini-bridge to browse and open files, closing all open files with one (or two) clicks, etc.

His videos include HDR Pro, refining masks, puppet warp, and painting a photo.

Lynda.com is great. Deke is great. Free is great. ]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/183-deke-mcclelland-demonstrates-some-cs5-features.html Want to brush up on Photoshop features? http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/178-want-brush-up-photoshop-features.html Mon, 29 Mar 2010 04:41:02 GMT Imaging expert and award-winning author Deke McClelland presents his list of the top 40 features in Photoshop - one each week, and he's not quite done yet (there is a contest for folks who would like to guess the next one). He does more than simply name the feature - he gives a quick tutorial on how to use it.

Deke McClelland's Top 40

These are features included in CS3 and CS4 - not the new Photoshop 5 being announced April 12th. Thought I could use a brush up on the "old features" before I upgrade to the new... ]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/178-want-brush-up-photoshop-features.html <![CDATA[Remember the game "20 questions"? This isn't it.]]> http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/170-remember-game-20-questions-isnt.html Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:26:27 GMT http://strobist.blogspot.com/2010/01/twenty-questions.html http://strobist.blogspot.com/2010/01...questions.html ]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/170-remember-game-20-questions-isnt.html Maru, a cat. Well, not just any cat! http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/123-maru-cat-well-not-just-any-cat.html Wed, 10 Dec 2008 02:44:05 GMT Maru is a Scottish Fold cat who lives in Japan with housemates who take photos and videos of his daily activities - nice photography and funny videos. Video is required to show certain behaviors performed by Maru - such as shoving his body into boxes, bags, glasses, etc. Watch those hind feet as... Maru is a Scottish Fold cat who lives in Japan with housemates who take photos and videos of his daily activities - nice photography and funny videos. Video is required to show certain behaviors performed by Maru - such as shoving his body into boxes, bags, glasses, etc. Watch those hind feet as they splay outwards behind him when he dives headfirst into an empty box. :)

I am Maru - intro to Maru

October - from Maru's blog

November

A blog that shows videos from Maru's blog ]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/123-maru-cat-well-not-just-any-cat.html <![CDATA[Photojojo, Horst on Flickr, & creating connections]]> http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/116-photojojo-horst-flickr-creating-connections.html Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:35:18 GMT Photojojo

has a twice-a-week newsletter aimed at sharing ideas for taking pictures. Today's idea looks at adding an object to a background that creates a connection between the two. Their example focuses on a photographer -- Horst (hb19 on Flickr) who "finds the perfect sky or set of clouds and gives them their object counterpart. The cloud shooting out from a bottle’s top. The sun’s perfect, shiny orb behind his ET-like finger. The fluffy ice-cream cloud on top of its cone. hb19 gives new meaning to the art of cloud watching."

Take a look at this link of his slideshow -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/h19/set...82549008/show/ ]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/116-photojojo-horst-flickr-creating-connections.html We all know it -- photographs are treasures http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/115-we-all-know-photographs-treasures.html Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:50:27 GMT My brother died last Sunday. (Aug. 31st, 2008) His diagnosis of myeloma cancer had been a shock, although he and I knew his weight loss might be due to some form of cancer, but his downhill dive while in the hospital (pneumonia and other infections) surprised him and all of us. He was (only) 69,... My brother died last Sunday. (Aug. 31st, 2008)

His diagnosis of myeloma cancer had been a shock, although he and I knew his weight loss might be due to some form of cancer, but his downhill dive while in the hospital (pneumonia and other infections) surprised him and all of us. He was (only) 69, and we had relatives who lived well into their 80's; he had been a career military man - strong, active, and only slightly damaged during his tours; he certainly prided himself on his strength and ability to withstand the rigors of life -- but strength finally ebbs.

As a career Army soldier, he was to be buried with military honors at a nearby veterans' cemetary. I decided to speak at his service, but I wondered what else I might do to highlight his life and help those who attended know their friend better -- the answer was, of course, to print photos of different times in his life.

His son is only 27, and never knew my brother as a young man; many of his friends who could attend had known him after his retirement from the military, and some had only recently met him during the beginning of his physical decline. Photos of him as a toddler with our mother, as an little boy holding a wooden rifle and wearing an army cap, as a young soldier - grinning while sitting on a tank or looking very serious in his official army portrait, holding his son as a baby on his shoulders at the zoo, standing next to his almost grown son and trying to look as big and strong as that big/strong son, smiling as the older, semi-retired man that he was months ago -- these images would give more people a better view of who my brother had been throughout his life.

Tears were shared, stories were shared, and with the use of photos -- more memories and aspects of his life were shared.

Take photos of your family and friends and pets and favorite places and anything else you hold dear -- they will be treasured by you as you re-live the memories, and they will be treasured by those who remain after you are gone.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version Name: Dick-Mark-zooE.jpg Views: 152 Size: 71.2 KB ID: 56   Click image for larger version Name: Dick-email.jpg Views: 151 Size: 49.7 KB ID: 57  
]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/115-we-all-know-photographs-treasures.html Timing is important in photography... http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/114-timing-important-photography.html Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:40:57 GMT Timing is very important in photography. Getting up early, or waiting late in the day for a certain quality of light is common for photographers, as is waiting for the "right" moment in action sports photography, nature photography, and street photography.

I've been waiting for the "right" time to visit Utah's Arches National Park, but it seems that I missed my "moment"...

"The Wall Arch on Devils Garden Trail in Utah's Arches National Park collapsed last week. One of the largest and most photographed arches in Arches National Park...the arch was claimed by forces that will eventually destroy others in the park: gravity and erosion.

Paul Henderson is the park's chief of interpretation."They all let go after a while," Henderson said Friday.

Like others in the park, Wall Arch was formed by entrada sandstone that was whittled down over time into its distinctive and photogenic formation.


The arch was more than 33 feet tall and 71 feet across. It ranked 12th in size among the park's estimated 2,000 arches."


So I still have a lot of other arches to see and photograph when my timing is "right". ]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/114-timing-important-photography.html Hey, parents - want to shoot your kids? ;-) http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/111-hey-parents-want-shoot-your-kids.html Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:59:55 GMT From Strobist.com (a website devoted to helping digital photographers learn "how to use off-camera flash with your dSLR to take your photos to the next level.") "...Jason Lee's long-term project photographing his two daughters, Kristin and Kayla... He has spent the last few years documenting his kids with photos that are beautiful, funny, whimsical and poignant. Dinnertime, sick days, water fights, Christmas -- anything is fair game for one of Jason's photos. Or a little after-the-fact fun with Photoshop to whip up an illustration..."

Strobist.com -- Father chronicles his kids' life in photos

Link to Jason Lee's Flickr photos of his kids -
Creative examples to spark YOUR ideas (or just mimic)

Don't those images make you want to get those flashes OFF your camera and dive in to thinking up some possibilities with YOUR family?! ]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/111-hey-parents-want-shoot-your-kids.html Tips from a sports photog -- nope, not me! http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/99-tips-sports-photog-nope-not-me.html Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:02:18 GMT I've never been athletic, nor well-coordinated, but I have had some favorite sports teams -- the Chicago White Sox when I was in grade/high school (Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio), the Pittsburgh Steelers, and, of course, the PHOENIX SUNS. I've been impressed with some of the great sports photos, and appreciative of the skill and timing necessary to capture some of these shots.

There was a link at the DGrin forum that I followed and found this guy's site -- he has the credentials, the photos, and he has some tips on sports photography as a career, a business, and as a hobby -- which is the most likely category for most folks with an interest in sports photography from what I've read in his site. Worth a read for all action photographers, whether sports-minded or not.

Catching the Light-- Sports Photojournalism by Jerry Lodriguss ]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/99-tips-sports-photog-nope-not-me.html Are you a member of a camera / photography club? http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/96-you-member-camera-photography-club.html Mon, 21 Jan 2008 06:45:43 GMT I've thought off and on over the years about joining a camera club, but backed off for several different reasons -- 1. Meetings were always in another city and required driving thru traffic at night to attend. 2. I'd heard from members of some groups that clubs could be very formal and strict -- Robert's Rules of Order for meetings and strict guidelines for photo submissions -- didn't sound like me. 3. Some initial shyness.

Last week I decided to use the internet search engine (not supposed to say I "googled") to again look for camera clubs and I found a website called Meetup.com that lets people with all types of interests meet-up with other people of similar interests - for free. (!) I quickly found a camera club in my area that had been active for about a year. They had an online forum for messages about interesting places and events that folks might like to photograph and a calendar to give the date/time/location details. As I looked through the group description and the calendar of upcoming events, I found that members ranged from folks who recently got a new camera as well as pros who wanted to relax doing some shooting of subjects outside their usual field. No mention of Robert's Rules.

I sent in my request to join and received a friendly invite to join the next morning. Yesterday they had set up a meeting at a local historic site - a "Mystery Castle" built in the 1930's - 40's out of stone and spare parts by a man who came to Arizona when he found he was dying of T.B. (tuberculosis). His daughter still lives there and sells tours; we met in the parking lot, and we all talked while waiting for the gate to open. Everyone wandered about the site during and after the tour and chose what shots they wanted while conversing with the owner, tour guides and each other. When we were done, there was discussion about lunch and about half decided to go eat nearby. Casual conversation over Mexican food with topics ranging from spicy foods from other countries to the Nikon D3 that one of the guys just bought. Again - no Robert's Rules.



When I got home, I downloaded my card to Bridge, and did some post-processing, then uploaded some to the club's area on Meetup. A couple of other members had already uploaded about 18 images, and by tonight, there are about 75 images for everyone to enjoy. A couple of members uploaded some shots of other members, so I even have some help in learning their names. ;) ]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/96-you-member-camera-photography-club.html I love to learn! http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/76-i-love-learn.html Thu, 06 Dec 2007 06:30:29 GMT Photography has many aspects which draw me to it, and one of the most powerful is its endless learning curve. Photography is a wonderful mix of technology, art, and all the thousands of subjects which it can be used to explore. We can practice and study the technical side of exposure, lighting,... Photography has many aspects which draw me to it, and one of the most powerful is its endless learning curve. Photography is a wonderful mix of technology, art, and all the thousands of subjects which it can be used to explore.

We can practice and study the technical side of exposure, lighting, and post-processing, as well as the artistic viewpoints of self-expression, communication to an audience, artistic integrity and reality vs creativity.

Add to this mix all the subjects in the world that you might want to investigate -- trains, Architecture, Angkor Wat, Antarctica, Beluga whales, microbes, the planet Jupiter, the social customs of people living anywhere, the eating habits of the Australian numbat? The list can go forever and photography can be involved in your journey of exploration.

Some blogs and pages that have been part of this journey today:

Do photo 'enthusiasts' really want to learn?

 being a creative photographer

ONE SHOT...

http://www.photowalking.org/2007/11/...napolis-recap/

http://www.photonovice.net/2007/11/0...rial/#more-181
This includes some good YouTube videos using off-camera strobes for lighting. (You might have seen them if you follow the Strobist website or Flickr group.)

High ISO photo samples from new Nikon D3 ]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/76-i-love-learn.html <![CDATA[Oops, my excuse isn't working -- yet.]]> http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/74-oops-my-excuse-isnt-working-yet.html Tue, 04 Dec 2007 06:11:50 GMT Hmmm, my "acceptable reason" for plunking down the money on a DSLR was currently to help make good photos for the County shelter as part of my volunteer assignment. (I've thought of other "good reasons" in the past, but none were good enough to work until now.)

But, the photos still didn't turn out well. I used the kit lens and it is about the same speed as my Fuji, so that didn't help. The Nikon focuses closer, and I was hoping it would focus faster, which I think it did - but I still had motion blur due to shooting at slooooww shutter speeds. I set up the Auto ISO with a max of ISO 800 and a minimum shutter speed of 1/30th (although I doubt I can hold it still under 1/60). Some of my shots ended up being taken at ISO800 and SLOWER than 1/30 -- not sure, but I guess the D40 followed the ISO max rule more than the shutter speed rule when the light wasn't strong enough. I've reset it for a max of ISO1600 to see if that will help keep the shutter speed up.

Working with the D40 was much easier than the Fuji in many ways because I can set controls easier (multiple shots, Auto ISO with parameters I set), but I do miss using the viewfinder to view my shots. I set the diopter for shooting without my glasses because it's easier, but I can't view the recorded shots without putting my glasses back on, even with the wonderful zoom feature. (If I had good vision, this wouldn't be an issue, but I've never had good vision.) That big D40 LCD screen plus the extra zoom in Record mode sure helps check the eye blur, even if I am putting on/taking off my glasses in rapid succession.

I have a 50mm 1.8 lens that would manually focus on my D40, and I tried it before going to the shelter. I kept getting blurry photos. I will work with it to see if I can get sharp images out of it and try it the next time I visit the shelter. ]]> CJ Swartz http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/cj-swartz/74-oops-my-excuse-isnt-working-yet.html