The Digital Photo Guy

Learning Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or Lightroom

Think back to when you learned to drive a car. If, like me, you’re older than dirt, you may recall watching work the clutch and shift the tranny. It seemed so simple. Give it gas, release the clutch, wait until the car is up to speed, depress clutch, shift, release clutch, repeat. However, doing it, nothing worked quite as you imagined. Lightly depressing the gas pedal made the engine roar like an Indy racer. Releasing the clutch either stalled the engine or made the car jump like a toad with a hotfoot. Shifting was an exercise in futility, second was nowhere to be found! It was only with lots of practice that you finally started, shifted and stopped smoothly.

Learning Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or Lightroom is much the same. Watching others isn’t going to get you much more than frustration and badly edited photos. To really learn something, one has to practice repeatedly. It also helps to have an advisor who can help when you’re at wit’s end.

Last week, I decided to print some black & whites. Lately, I’ve seen some great BW and thought I’d rework a few old photos. The first print was a disaster. The blacks were completely blocked and there were  no details anywhere.

After three days of hair-pulling frustration, I conceded defeat and asked the printing guru at my local Calumet store. He showed me some techniques on the 3880 in the store and that’s all I needed. Within hours, I was printing great BW.

My success can be attributed to hours upon hours of practice with Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Lightroom coupled with several dozen classes plus knowing the right person to seek out for advice. Finally, it really helps to know how to frame the questions.

That’s why all my classes come with after-class support. I know most students will never remember everything from a class. It would be surprising if students remembered 25% of the class. But, anyone who diligently applies themselves can always get help from me.

Desired versus Correct Exposure

Something I hammer in my field workshops is the difference between a “correct” exposure and “desired” exposure. Most new dSLR users assume the exposure is correct when the ELI (exposure level indicator) shows the tick mark at zero (see below.)

To the left is the ELI on the Quick Screen of a Canon 60D. Every dSLR has a similar ELI on the top LCD, bottom of the viewfinder or, often, the back LCD. Sometimes, it’s in all four locations. As you might imagine, this is a key tool in setting desired exposure. A tick mark below the scale (unseen in this image) is used to indicate more or less light.

dSLR users often mistake the zero point as the “correct” exposure level when it’s really just the point where the exposure algorithm reports the light and dark areas are balanced. That would be like saying the center of the speedometer is the “correct” speed. Try telling that to the cop who pulls you over for doing 60mph in a 25mph zone.

 Think of the Auto Exposure Meter as a starting point. Here are three images from Julian, CA, an old gold mining town now reknowned for its apple pies. I was in Aperture Mode because that’s my usual exposure mode. I knew I wanted the dark center of the sunflower exposed for details but I also wanted to preserve some cloud details in the background.

For my first test shot, I added +1 EC (exposure compensation.) The result was a bit too bright and I didn’t have much detail in the clouds. I dialed back EC to +1/3 to keep details in the dark center of the sunflower and recover some details in the clouds. Because I was shooting Raw, I knew could recover cloud details in Lightroom if necessary. In the end, I decided the clouds weren’t as important as the bee. If I had blindly accepted the metered exposure, the bee might have been lost in the dark center.

Point Loma Lighthouse Open House

Rick Phillips sent me a link to an article he wrote for Examiner.com. In a nutshell, on Thursday, August 25, 2011, Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma, San Diego, will open the Point Loma Lighthouse for its annual Founder’s Day celebration. This is indeed a rare opportunity to make photos from the top of the lighthouse. Read Rick’s articles for details.

I’ll post a Meetup on the Photography Webinars and Photoshoots site for those who would like to join me there.

Canon 40D for Sale

My Canon 40D body is up for sale. This is just the body, no lens. I have the box, manual, CDs and all accessories that originally came with it. I’ll post photos later this week in the Tips & News section under Excess Equipment for Sale.

The asking price is $675 and includes a Canon BG-E2 Battery Grip for extended battery life. This combination is perfect for fast sports photography where you are quickly changing between landscape and portrait modes. Because of the weight, shipping is $25. My preferred method of payment is PayPal.

Back to Wild Animal Park with a Plan

I went back to Wild Animal Park this past Sunday prepared to photograph large birds. Before I went, I had three large birds in mind. As always, Fred the Shoebill Stork was at the top of my list of favorites. Next, I wanted a good photo of the Abyssinian Ground Hornbill and, of course, the Secretary Bird.

The hornbill has such black eyes that I wanted a photo using fill flash to add a catchlight. As luck would have it, the hornbill was not in a mood to pose. Most times, he perches on a log in the middle of the enclosure but, this time, he kept pacing directly in front of me, behind a set of barrier cables. I had to wait patiently for him to make several runs through the tall grass before I finally managed to fire three frames. This was the best.

I used a Canon 7D with a 300/2.8 at f/2.8 and 1/80 second. My Canon 550EX was set to Manual at 1/4 power. The camera was on a Gitzo 3530LS with a Markins ballhead and a Wimberly Sidekick gimbal mount.

The Secretary Birds weren’t much better. Their interesting running behavior of the previous week was gone and one sat on the ground, just out of sight, while the other paced in front of a chain link fence, a distracting background. On a few occasions, it ran past us and I was able to make this photo.

For this, my Canon 7D with the 300/2.8 was set to f/2.8 at 1/250 second and the Canon 550EX was in Manual Mode at 1/4 power.

The White Egyptian Vulture was a treat. I had’t noticed him before so it was fun to make a photo. Again, his eyes were so black, it was difficult to get a catchlight unless he was looking in just the right direction. Shortly after I made this photo, he was chased off by a brown vulture. Here, I used f/8.0 because I wanted to dial back the light off the white bird. A 300mm at 30 feet has less than 12 inches DoF from f/2.8 to about f/8.0 so I wasn’t too concerned about the background. My main concern was not to blow out the white feathers.

Fred, the shoebill stork, as usual, didn’t disappoint. Here, I caught Fred in a contemplative mood as he studied the flowers in front of him. As fearsome as he looks, I would love to get up close to Fred.

All the photos were processed in Lightroom 3 based on techniques I learned from George Jardine’s LR training videos. If you’re serious about your photography, you should be using Lightroom and, if you’re using Lightroom, you need George’s videos. You can get all three (Library, Develop, Adobe Camera Raw) for about $50. That’s 16 hours of training for less than a dinner for two.

Understanding Layers and How To Use Them

Explaining Layers is like blind men describing an elephant. Depending on where on the elephant a blind man touched, it was variously described as python-like, wall-like or built like a tree trunk. Be as that may, I’m presenting a 30-Minute Webinar to demonstrate the different ways Layers can be used in PS/PSE. I’ll demonstrate Adjustment Layers, Layer Masks, Fill Layers and other useful Layers.

This webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, August 10 at 7PM Pacific Time. As always, the webinar is $3. Register HERE.

Understanding Layers and How To Use Them

After the last 30-Minute Webinar covering Unsharp Mask (USM,) I received an e-mail asking about Layers. Specifically, the person asked to learn more about how Layers work and how they are used. There are hundreds of videos and tutorials on the web about Photoshop (PS) and Photoshop Elements (PSE) Layers but many are a tangled mess of confusion.

Most people treat Layers as just another tool like the Crop or Lasso Tools. Crop and Lasso are specialized tools that perform clearly defined tasks. Layers, on the other hand, are general purpose tools that can be used in many different ways. In that respect, Layers are like Swiss Army Knives. Layers can also be considered a technique, a way of getting to the final result. Sometimes, Layers an intermediate step. Layers can also be used to modify the behavior of other tools. All this flexibility makes it difficult to produce a clear, concise and logical tutorial of Layers.

Be as that may, I’ve decided to present a 30-Minute Webinar to demonstrates the different ways Layers can be used in PS/PSE. Unlike USM, there won’t be a techie, geeky component to this webinar because Layers doesn’t lend itself to that. Instead, we’ll jump right in and start demonstrating Adjustment Layers, Layer Masks, Fill Layers and other uses for Layers.

This webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, August 10 at 7PM Pacific Time. As always, the webinar is $3. Register HERE.

Two Small but Very Useful Gadgets

Yesterday, I hit the trifecta of “Impulse Buys.” I’m sure none of my readers have ever done such a silly thing but I walked into my local Fry’s Electronics and bought two things on an impulse. Usually, impulse buys turn out badly and the purchase is quickly relegated to the trash bin of regrettable rejects. This time, I was pleasently surprised at the efficacy and value of both purchases, so much so that I’m reporting them for my readers.

The first was the HP Monster ScreenClean (why is everything in tech named with two words mashed into one?) Anyway, I was thinking about all the spots on my LCD monitors that looked as if my cat had sneezed on them. I’ve been using a mixture of 50/50 water and vinegar on a soft clean cloth to wipe off the monitor but that can be a hassle at times.

HP Monster ScreenClean is from the Monster, the company that makes huge audio cables for audiophiles. Monster and HP have some sort of joint marketing deal with ScreenClean being one product. This particular kit only cost $14.99 and includes 4 oz of cleaner in a “designer bottle” and two microfiber cloths. One MF cloth has a heavy terry-like texture while the other is the standard polyester-like finish.

This stuff really works! I sprayed a bit directly on my screens and immediately wiped it off with the heavy MF cloth. I was amazed at how clean both my LCD monitors look. I finished the job by brushing off all loose dust with my anti-static brush.

SIIG USB 3.0 Card Reader

The second gadget I bought on a whim is the new SIIG USB 3.0 Multi-Card Reader. I had been wanting a faster card reader but UDMA card readers require UDMA cards and I’m too cheap to replace all my cards.

To be perfectly honest, this card reader needs a USB 3.0 port. Sure, it falls back to USB 2.0 if 3.0 isn’t available but what’s the point of buying a new card reader if you’re not getting faster speed?

Last year, I had climbed out on the bleeding edge and cut myself buying an ExpressCard USB 3.0 adaptor. It is blazing fast but somewhat finicky about the devices it would talk wth. The USB 3.0 HD enclosure I bought from a different manufacturer would sometimes refuse to communicate with my USB 3.0 adaptor. So, it was with some trepidation that connected the SIIG card reader to the Alura USB 3.0 adaptor.

I love it when a plan comes together. The same set of Raw files that had taken nearly 15 minutes to download via USB 2.0 now downloaded in about 4 minutes. I didn’t bother precisely measuring the speed because it was obviously much, much faster. For $29.95, this was a great deal. If you don’t have a USB 3.0 port on your laptop, one will set you back another $30-$50 from Newegg.com. Trust me, speed is addictive. Fast enough never is.

Did I Say “Trifecta?”

At the beginning of this post I mentioned a trifecta of impulse buys. This third one won’t do anything for your photoraphy. Heck, it probably won’t do anything for you at all but I’m so happy, I included it as part of my trifecta.

Those who know me know that my main vehicle is my 2006 Winnebago View 24′ RV. I use it as a mobile digital photo lab to teach photo editing in the field. For putzing around town, I drive my anti-SUV, a 1973 Volkswagen Super Beetle. I feel photographers and artists are allowed to be odd and a ’73 VW SB is about as odd as I want to be.

As you can imagine, a 38 year old VW has some aches and pains. Something that’s been bothering Ribbit for a while is his rear suspension. (Ribbit’s main function is as a “towed vehicle” behind my RV, get it, toad?) The torsion bars have sagged beyond adjustability and he felt “squishy” on the corners. VW Paradise in San Marcos, CA advised replacing the rear shocks with some gas shocks and it’s made all the difference in the world. Ribbit now struts around (pun intended) like the stud muffin he is and actually challenged a Porsche to a street race (he got smoked!) The shocks cost $150 less than VWP’s estimate to adjust the torsion bars.

So, there you have it, a perfect trifecta of good stuff to make life easier, faster and much more enjoyable. If you see Ribbit and me around twon, be sure to wave “Hi.”