The Digital Photo Guy

Finding a Good Workshop

As mentioned in a previous article, one of my entries to the 2010 San Diego Fair won the Panasonic Digital Photo Academy Sponsor’s Award. The prize was a $150 gift certificate for one of their advanced classes. I used it this past weekend to attend a field workshop led by Fred Greaves, a San Diego based photojournalist who has covered many major San Diego news stories including the devastating wildfires of 2003 and 2005. Fred had just returned from Afghanistan so it was also interesting to hear how today’s wars are so different, yet so similar, to Vietnam.

Fred’s field workshop was along Sunrise Highway in the Laguna Mountains. It was probably the hottest day in many years. On the same day, 4 hikers and their dog were rescued by the Sheriffs Dept while a 2nd dog died in the 110°F heat. We met in Pine Valley, a wide spot on Old Route 80, just 2 miles from the southern terminus of Sunrise Highway, at 6:30AM but the actual workshop didn’t start until 9AM.

The photos above were made while it was still relatively cool. The first two were from a rest area I had passed dozens of times but never stopped to photograph. I liked the way the slopes overlapped each other as they receded into the distance. The third was simply an old tree trunk that reminded me of space aliens.   Click to read more

Fireworks and Indian Pow Wow

Mary, Alf and I spent the weekend at Pechanga Casino and Resort for the pow wow and fireworks display. The fireworks were OK but I guess I’m burned out on “bombs bursting in air”. We had staked out a spot on the top floor of the parking structure with our car, thinking others would respect that. How foolish of us! When we got there, kids had literally crawled over our car to climb up on the 3 foot retaining wall. These are the same kids whose parents would sue for millions if they fell off the wall.

Anyway, I suddenly realized that fireworks are pretty repetitous. If you’ve seen the basic patterns, it’s just more of the same without some context. I tried framing the Pechanga Hotel to add context but there wasn’t much there. The following is a composite of a red peony and a green peony.
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When It Rains, Everything Goes to *&#! in a Handbasket

A month ago, I shot myself in the foot while making changes to my network. In the process, I nearly lost 100,000 photos I keep on-line. I had just recovered from that when my primary printer went into cardiac arrest.

This is an undocumented feature in Epson printers associated with head cleaning cycles. Each cycle pumps waste ink onto an absorbent pad in the bottom of the printer. After a number of cleanings, the printer stops working until the pad is replaced and the error message is reset. The solution is a 2-step process.

First, you need to do something about more waste ink. The saturated pad can be left there but you can’t keep adding more waste ink or you’ll eventually have mess on your desk, hands, carpet and anything else within reach of the ink overflow. The attached photo is the answer.
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Videos, Videos and More Videos

I noticed my video views are down from last year so it’s time to remind people that there are over 2 dozen videos on my Videos page. These videos cover everything from the very basics of Photoshop Elements to some intermediate techniques. Among the most popular has always been the 3-part series on restoring old photos. The photos below show Before & After they’ve been restored.

You can also find videos embedded in MMTs (Monday Morning Tips) by searching for “video” using the Search Box. Check out the videos and, most importantly, tell your friends, family and photo club about them.
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Quick Fill Flash Tip

While I was at the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum in Campo, I used the opportunity to make some photos for teaching purposes. Here’s an example of why you want to always be thinking about fill flash.

This old AT&SF (Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe) caboose had been moved so I decided to try a new angle. Unfortunately, the sun was ahead and slightly camera right (notice the shadows). This caused lens flare (spots near bottom of door) in the first photo. I set up my Canon 550EX with a Paul C. Buff CyberSync Remote Trigger to add some fill flash. After a few trials, I got the middle photo which is evenly lit. Had I been more serious about this shot, I would have popped a second flash under the trucks to light up the underside.

The last photo is after I toned down the middle photo in Photoshop Elements. Bottom line, fill flash lit the dark areas and reduced lens flare in one swell foop. The ability to move the flash around until the lighting is even is another great reason for an external flash instead of the integrated pop-up doo-hickey. Click to read more