Major Award!!!

[gordorad]

Got some great news last night.

I entered two images in a "juried" Photography show sponsored by Arts Rolla (Missouri).  I had to have these dropped off two days before I left on my trip, as I was going to be out of town on the "official" entry day.  

Friday night was the reception and awards, which I missed as I was still on the road.  Yesterday a friend emailed me to congratulate me on my "huge" win.   This was the first I had heard, and still did not know what she meant.  Last night she called, left a message and still didn't say.  So I had to call back, and she told me I won "Best of Show".  This was out of over 60 entries!! To me this was a major award, just like the Leg Lamp!!!  Here is the image that won:



It is titled "Loyola Beach".......As it is located just next to Loyola University in Chicago.  I took this a few months ago when I was up in the city picking up a car.  It was a very cold and windy day!!

[Lil D]

Congrats. Awesome photo!

[Daniel Meyer]

Nice shot!

Congratulations on the award!

[..]

Well done 

[Misfit]

Outstanding shot.

[Skinhead]

Good job!  How did you get that pic?  Your photos are awesome.  I really like the effects.

[gordorad]

How did I get the pic?  I was headed down either Sheridan Road or Lake Shore Drive, (depending on location, same road, different names).....Just wanted a picture of Lake Michigan.

The image is HDR photography.  Basically three images of the same scene shot at different exposures, (-2, 0, +2) then combined.  Used a tripod of course with a Canon 5d MkII and a 19-40mm Lens.  I believe it was shot at 19mm.  (For those of you familiar with Canon, a 19-40 does not exist.  My lens was originally the 17-40 L series, but will only now go to 19mm)......

Found the pier, liked the red "no swmming" sign, set up the tripod, fired away, and was back in the car in about 5 minutes as it was extremely windy and cold.

[Karen]

You really have an eye for composition, the award is well deserved. thanks for sharing you talent with us.

[sheets]

The image is HDR photography.  Basically three images of the same scene shot at different exposures, (-2, 0, +2) then combined.

How do you create a double exposure with a digital camera. What is "HDR"? I've double exposed 35mm film with moon shots. I've not progressed in the digital realm to learn any tricks of the trade. Special camera or program to "combine" photos?

Curious . . .  ???  Your pix are way cool!!   

[hubcapsc]

I looked up this stuff...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_imaging

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracketing#Exposure_bracketing

If this is pretty much on the right track, I don't quite understand how Gordorad
got multiple shots of a non-static scene (the water was moving)... maybe
a high-speed shutter took care of that?

-Mike

[old2soon]

It was extremely windy and cold and i was back in the car in 5 minutes. And i USED to live north of the City. I revisit in the summer ONLY. Very good picture. When my daughter gets home this afternoon i'll show it to her. She is the in house photo bug having gotten a couple of best in show herself. RIDE SAFE.

[gordorad]

Well, it's not double exposures, but multiple different image files captured with different exposure settings......Then combined with a software.  I used a program called Photomatix, to create the "tonemapped" image.   It is also required to shoot in RAW mode.  RAW mode is an unprocessed image, which enables much greater manipulation of the image AFTER it is shot.  A Jpeg is already "developed", and any edits that are made are known as "destructive".  RAW mode enables changes to be made to the image without any destruction to the original file.  It is as if youare changing the settings BEFORE you capture the image, even though it is done later.  That is known as a non destructive edit.

It works great for high contrast days.  Basically, the human eye has a much bigger "dynamic" range....Our brain can process and "see" details in shadows and highlights at the same time.  Film could not, nor can digital sensors.  So, by taking multiple images of the same scene with different exposures, the entire scene is captured.  Look back at some of my images.  You see detail in shadows, as well as the clouds, etc....One comes to mind are the waterfall shots.  A very big range of light was present, and the only way to capture it all with detail is by shooting multiple exposures.

The software combines the multiple images and takes the most correct area of the images and then spits out a single image, to get to a nice starting point.  Then quite a bit of post processing is required.  Often times people think it is a filter or an effect.  Not true at all.  It takes some time and skill to create these images.  It's not the camera, it's the person with skill and talent using it!!!  The camera and computer are merely the "tools" used to create these images.  Yes, you must have the tools, but if you don't know how to use them, they will do you no good.

I understand when people say, "Gee, I wish I had good camera then I could take  pictures like that too".  Their statements don't bother me, as they are just naive to what is involved in photography.  I will often retort that statement with my golf club analogy.  Anyone can buy better, or "professional" clubs..that skilled golfers use.  That in itself is not going to make them a better golfer.  A talented golfer can use cheap clubs and will still beat a mediocre player with the "best" equipment.

Photography as an art form is unique in that to do it well, one must have both technical skills and have artistic talent.  Often times people have one, but not both.  

[gordorad]

I looked up this stuff...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_imaging

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracketing#Exposure_bracketing

If this is pretty much on the right track, I don't quite understand how Gordorad
got multiple shots of a non-static scene (the water was moving)... maybe
a high-speed shutter took care of that?

-Mike

Good observation and question.......One of the parts of the software when creating the image is called "deghosting"......  "ghosting" is created when objects in the pictures are moving.  So, when multiple images are combined, and with a slower shutter speed, those objects appear as "ghostly"....Trees in the wind, people walking, water....

There are a few ways to eliminate the ghosting issues.  Via the HDR software, using layer masks in Photoshop, or leaving the ghosting.  It all depends on the image.  I usually will do it manually, as I like to be in control!!

[donaldcc]

  congratulations!   i knew there was talent watching your moto trip unfold.

   on my IPhone and for you that have a 4S or better there is a HDR function on the phone's camera that operates with 3 pics.



http://www.macworld.com/article/1153850/hdrontheiphone.html

[Jack]

 

[sheets]

Often times people think it is a filter or an effect.  Not true at all.  It takes some time and skill to create these images.  It's not the camera, it's the person with skill and talent using it!!!  The camera and computer are merely the "tools" used to create these images.  Yes, you must have the tools, but if you don't know how to use them, they will do you no good.

I understand when people say, "Gee, I wish I had good camera then I could take  pictures like that too".  Their statements don't bother me, as they are just naive to what is involved in photography.  I will often retort that statement with my golf club analogy.  Anyone can buy better, or "professional" clubs..that skilled golfers use.  That in itself is not going to make them a better golfer.  A talented golfer can use cheap clubs and will still beat a mediocre player with the "best" equipment.

Photography as an art form is unique in that to do it well, one must have both technical skills and have artistic talent.  Often times people have one, but not both. 

Clearly understood. I've been an amateur enthusiast for many years. I've heard "the comment" too many times. Still trying to grasp and catch up with the digital revolution.  Thanks for sharing some of your hard earned wisdom.

[hubcapsc]

With my little camera mounted on the bike just clicking away, there's no artistry to it.
I throw out most of the pictures, and just a few are good, by luck. The most I do
to the pictures is shrink them so they'll download quick, or crop them to just
have the interesting part.

I noticed someone talking about how they don't like their pictures to be affected by the
lean of the bike, as many of my pictures are. I noticed a Gimp control that rotates images
by single degrees, and I took one of my pictures from this weekend and "twisted" the lean out of it...

From this:



To this:



-Mike

[gordorad]

Clearly understood. I've been an amateur enthusiast for many years. I've heard "the comment" too many times. Still trying to grasp and catch up with the digital revolution.  Thanks for sharing some of your hard earned wisdom.
[/quote]

I'm pretty new to the digital world myself.  Was a hold out for many years with Black and White Film.  Yes, film.  Mostly medium format.  Used a Mamiya RZ67 and a Pentax 645 for field work.  Film still has a special look, and done well, at least with black and white, is a much different, and in my opinion, superior image.   A well done fiber print looks like nothing else.  I was a very good printer, and took much pride in my images.  Dry mounting, Matte Cutting, and Framing, I did it all.  Many, many steps were required "create" an image from start to finish.   Shooting the subject, developing the film, printing a contact sheet, meeting with the client again to determine what images to work, then printing the fiber image, washing, drying,  matte cutting, frame assembly......I'm getting tired just remembering.  

Sad thing is, most people don't care nor appreciate "fine art" black and white.   Mostly due to ignorance on the subject, but digital, as great as it is, has been both a blessing and a curse.....To the world of Professionals Photographers.

I'll sum it up quickly.  Digital has enabled the average "joe" to get pretty good quality stuff.  Much better, cheaper, and easier than with film.  Most are quite happy with the results.  Hence, they are less likely to hire a "pro".  Because of the perceived ease of digital photography, it has created an entire new batch, of what I call "soccer mom" photographers.  These people have little to no training, charge almost nothing, and have really messed up the market, not only with their pricing, but with the quality of their work.  I used to do real hand coloring on black and white images.  Applying oils directly to the paper.  They were quite stunning.  Then photoshop came along and people starting doing "hand" coloring via computer.  It looked like crap.  Still does.  Yet most people could not appreciate the difference, or did not want to pay for "(real black and white photography...film, paper, etc)......Digital black and white is getting better, but it is still not as fine as medium format film.

Anywho, I had a digital camera a while back, a $1500.00 Canon body.  At is time, it was pretty decent.  But I still used my "film" cameras for "real" photography.

After being in Art shows where all photography was lumped together, (digital vs. analog...film based)...I finally had had enough.  So, I embraced the digital world and just about a year ago got involved with the HDR stuff.  Haven't looked back.  Still an overweight starving artist, but can't complain!!


Some of you may be aware I'm going to be at Inzane as a vendor.  I had posted back in February doing an inquiry to gauge interest, etc.  I  believe I posted sessions starting at $195.00 or so.  I had several people react that it was way too high.  In reality, the amount of work I put in to making an image,  that amount  is far to low.  But you get what you pay for.  Not all photographers are equal.  Some are much better than others.  I like to think I'm in the former group.  

[musclehead]

very nice!

[fon1961]

You're talented

[Robert]

Great shot congrates 

[sugerbear]

you should see the photo of the cards stadium i have. nothing like seeing it in person.

going to get i framed here pretty soon. going up as soon we paint the living room.

thanks gordo.

[YoungPUP]

Very Nice! An excellent visual explanation of how cold that lake can get in the winter around here!

[olddog1946]

Great pic. Looks just like something out of National geographic..congrats on a job well done.