The Digital Photo Guy

Exploring Arizona

Finally getting around to exploring some locations for shoots. So far, I’ve found a lumberyard that’s also home to an artist so there’s a rich mixture of working tools/equipment as well as objet d’art. It’s a cool place but a little out of the way. Near town, there’s a riparian nature preserve administered by the Nature Conservancy. It’s very well managed and will probably become one of my favorites for hummingbirds and macros.

My latest find is a junkyard (auto recycler for the PC) that’s a free-fire zone for photographers. Here are some recent photos. These were all “pumped up” to some degree with Topaz Labs Adjust 5. TLA is one of my favorite PS/PSE/LR plug-ins but, as I gain more experience with it, I’m beginning to be much more selective about its use. In the beginning, I slathered it on everything but, these days, I can tell where it’s going to add “punch” and where it will look amateurish.

I’m planning a shoot at the junkyard in a few weeks so if any AZ readers would like to be a VAML (voice activated manual lightstand,) drop me an e-mail. All you have to do is hold a reflector, scrim or remote flash. I’d prefer a female assistant to put the young, aspiring model at ease. The theme will be Pin-Up, an American Icon. If we have time, I also want to photograph the model in a bikini against the pickup truck tailgates titled, “Arizona Surfboards.”

Portrait Professional

In my last post, I touted the speed, ease of use and wonderful results from Portrait Professional but forgot to provide a link. I know most of my readers are smart enough figure out the URL but, just in case you’re having a senior moment or brain spasm, here’s the link: LINK

Monitor Calibration

Lately, I’ve noticed the LCD monitor on my laptop is getting darker. In the past, it was reasonably close to what I saw on my calibrated 22″ external monior. This is a function of an aging LCD. There’s not much you can do about it except to be aware. Properly adjusted images on an old LCD monitor may appear dark. Other than buying a new laptop or monitor, the only solution is to increase the screen brightness.

Learning to Print on a New Printer

Physically installing the Epson 3880 was a snap. The hardest part was finding all the little pieces of blue tape manufacturers seem to love to hold down various moving and mechanical parts. I have to admit, Epson does a pretty good job of identifying all the locations where the tape can be found. Some spots are pretty ingenious and actually require reading the quick start guide.

For the first test print, through the USB port (the 3880 is also network ready,) with a known, good print, I chose the photo of Celestina (left.) I set all the color management settings to what I thought were the proper settings and let ‘er rip. Oops! The colors were all wrong. After a few more tries, I printed to the old Epson R1800 to be sure the file was OK. Even with some serious clogs, the R1800 was much closer to the screen. Celestina’s red hair looked just like it does to the left and her green dress wasn’t blue like the 3880.

Scratching my head, I decided to postpone the test print and hook up the network connection. This turned into an unmitigated disaster as I didn’t read the manual. After a day of frustration, I decided I didn’t really need the network connection since I’m the only one who will print to the 3880. I just wanted to hook it up because I had paid for it! More

Death of an R1800

My Epson R1800 has been a real love-hate affair. When it’s working, I love the rich, vibrant colors on Calumet Brilliant Luster paper. When it clogs, which is frequently, I hate the stupid printer and the idiot who designed it. I’ve had this printer for over five years and I’ve produced wonderful prints which have hung in galleries and sold enough to pay for itself. But, factor in the emotional toll of not knowing when it will throw another clogging tantrum and I’m ready to chuck it off the roof. Well, it saved me the hassle by finally dying last week.
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I stopped by Fry’s Electronics to look at an R1900. As I hemmed and hawed about an R1900 and the dinky 11ml (milliliter) ink cartridges (see comparison to left,) it struck me that an Epson Stylus Pro 3880 with 80ml cartridges dropped my ink costs down to 75¢ per ml versus $1.27 for the R1900, a 40% savings. That pushed me over the edge. Before my wife could say, “What the *$%+!” I threw down the plastic and walked out with a $1295 printer. My rationale was as follows: More

HDR Tools, Tips and Techniques in Three Hours

Rob Sheppard, editor of Outdoor Photographer magazine, National Geographic contributer and author of over 30 photography books will present a 3-hour webinar covering the ins-and-outs of producing realistic nature HDR (high dynamic range) photographs.

Rob is a laid back, easy-going guy who has a knack for getting his point across in clear, simple English. His years of experience as an award winning photographer combined with his skill as an editor make it possible for him to cut through the clutter and reduce complex topics to easy-to-understand explanations. To learn more about this webinar and register, follow this link.

Black Rapid, Topaz Labs, MediaChance and Everimaging have donated door prizes for this webinar. In all, we have 18 gifts donated by four companies. Follow the link as we reveal all the cool door prizes you can win in Rob’s HDR webinar and Gloria Hopkins’ webinar on Composition.
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Pin-Up Shoot – Sock Hop Theme, Jan 16

Photoshop Elements in 6 Weeks, starts Feb 16

Flash Photography in a Flash, Feb 26

Palomar College – Spring 2011

Spring Desert Wildflowers, late March 2011

Combining Tools and Techniques into a Process

Several months ago, while teaching a Photoshop Elements webinar, I discovered that some people don’t differentiate between tools, techniques and processes. Having been trained as an engineer, it seemed odd that non-engineers wouldn’t think the same way! (That’s a joke!) Today’s Video Monday Morning Tip (VMMT) is a look at how I might combine tools and techniques into a process to try to salvage a really bad photo.

Caveat – the best thing for this photo would be the round file followed by a reshoot. This photo has been further lightened from the Jan 3 version.

This two-frame panorama was posted on last week’s Monday Morning Tip (MMT). I was trying different ideas for capturing a scene that had previously eluded me. This attempt wasn’t any better so I was ready to trash these photos when I realized I could use this as a good example of combining Tools and Techniques in a Process. Follow the link to view the video.

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