ON-LINE PHOTO INSTRUCTION-- with detailed critiques of your work
My new 4-week and 8 week on-line photo courses began again on Wednesday, October 7. It's not too late to sign up. I have a new 4 week course in Stock Photography that might interest you. As a professional photographer, the best thing I ever did was join a stock photo agency.
Do you want to make money in photography? Want to feel more confident in exposure? Interested in learning more about Photoshop (like putting fireworks in the sky or removing lens flare). Are you insecure about your compositional or exposure skills?
Leopard, Namibia
I teach several 8-week and 4-week courses on-line. The way the courses work is this. Every Wednesday, you receive a lesson that consists of text and photos, explaining various principles in photography, marketing your work, digital manipulation, or whatever subject you are studying. At the end of each lesson there is an assignment, and you have plenty of time to take pictures and upload them for my critique. You can use photos you did specifically for the assignment or images that you have taken previously.
On-line photo courses are like virtual classrooms but not in real time. Other students can see your pictures, read my critiques, and comment on your work. Similarly, you can comment on the pictures of other students. It is a unique and wonderful learning experience.
One of the great things about these on-line courses is that students participate from all over the world. In a single lesson's uploads, you may see pictures from Bryce Canyon or Brazil, or from Singapore or South Carolina. It's a very stimulating environment, and it will help you become the photographer or digital artist that you would like to be.
On the Betterphoto.com website, you can read the lesson outline of each course and see sample photos. In addition, you can also access the courses I teach directly by going to my website, jimzuckerman.com, and clicking on the link 'On-line Photo Courses'. at the top of the home page.
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NAMIBIA PHOTOS
This issue of my newsletter is late becauseI just returned from leading photo tours to Namibia and Turkey. As usual, my groups and I got amazing pictures. It's hard to go to Africa and not have amazing photo opportunities. I plan my trips to be varied and constantly stimulating visually and culturally as well. For example,in Namibia we photographed the largest and most beautiful sand dunes in the world, three primitive tribes, exotic birds, cheetahs, desert elephants, fur seals, and ancient petroglyphs. The lodges we stayed in were beautiful (it's hard to imagine such magnificent accommodations in middle of the desert, but like a mirage they were there), the food was great, and I had a great group of people.
When I travel with a group and we encounter various photographic challenges, I point them out and offer solutions. For example, all over Namibia now is this stunning wheat-colored grass. It stretches for seemingly endless miles, and it's beautiful to look at. However, when you photograph a dark skinned subject in front of it, the background can be distracting to the viewer because it dominates the image. The subject seems to become secondary to the bright background.
The are several ways of darkening a background in Photoshop, and the one I demonstrated to my group in Namibia was to use the brightness and blacks sliders in Adobe Camera Raw. It worked perfectly, and you can see in the image below that the grass is still light but it's not overly powerful. All I did was reduce the exposure using the brightness slider. There was no masking nor was there a complex selection necessary. The brightness slider toned down the bright grass but didn't affect the young girl. The result is very close to what we saw with our eyes, but because digital technology is not as sophisticated as our brain, highlights can tend to become too light and shadows can look too dark. Post-processing can address problems like this, and sometimes the solution is surprisingly easy.
Another issue we faced was dust. It was very windy in the desert and when we were photographing the incredible dunes of Sossusvlei, it made the landscapes look less than thrilling. The air looked hazy and unattractively low in contrast. By using the blacks slider in ACR, which is infinitely better than a polarizing filter, I cut through the haze so it was no longer a detracting factor to the pictures. This was especially important when shooting at great distances.
For those of you who are still shooting jpegs, this is one more reason why RAW files are so valuable.
And speaking of dust, I want to endorse the automatic sensor cleaning feature that many of the new cameras have now. I was dubious about this before I bought a Canon 5D Mark II. I didn't think it could possibly be that good, but I have become a believer. This fantastic innovation to remove dust from the sensor is amazing, and it has saved me an enormous amount of time cleaning my photos in Photoshop. It's not 100% perfect, but with all the dust in the desert air, even with changing lenses all the time, I only see a few dust specs on my pictures that takes me about 10 seconds to clone out. Instead of spending hours cleaning images from a day's works, I spend at the most a minute or two for the dozens of pictures I save to my permanent photo library.
One of the places we visited on the trip was a cheetah foundation devoted to protecting these beautiful cats. Even though the cheetahs are in captivity, they are in a natural looking environment and we got some remarkable images. Instead of shooting from a vehicle, at times we were allowed to shoot standing or kneeling on the ground. In one instance, we shot through a photographer-friendly fence and actually laid on the ground. This kind of incredible perspective allowed us to get pictures that are impossible in Kenya or Tanzania. Getting low gives the animal greater stature and makes a much more compelling portrait, as you can see in the photo below.
Whenever I lead a photo tour, I am always looking for ways to make it better. After the tour participants returned home, I stayed in Namibia for 3 extra days doing some research. A former student of mine at Betterphoto.com introduced me to a wildlife sanctuary that is absolutely incredible for photographing wildlife -- again from low perspectives -- and the animals they have include lions, leopards, wild dogs, cheetahs, caracals, and more. In just two hours, I was able to take some of the best African wildlife shots ever. This new place will be included in my 2010 Namibia photo tour. The dates and pricing for the tour will be announced in a week or two. Here is the link where it will be posted: http://www.jimzuckermanworkshops.com/namibia-2010/
Below is a remarkable picture of a male leopard through the fence. The opening through which I shot was large enough to accommodate a 500mm telephoto, but this picture was taken with a wide angle! The leopard was snarling at another male. As I said, this was one of the most exciting wildlife opportunities I've ever had, and it will be on the 2010 Namibia itinerary.
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SELF CRITIQUE
This stunning statue of the Greek goddess Artemis was discovered at the ancient ruins of Ephesus in Turkey. It is now in a museum near the site where it was found, and while it is a tremendous work of art, it isn't very impressive where it is displayed. The textured gray background in the museum is uninspiring. Therefore, I used Photoshop to cut it out and place it in front of storm clouds. The question, though, is this: Is it acceptable to compose a subject such that it is in the middle of the frame?
The answer, in my opinion, is yes. Even though this is contrary to the Rule of Thirds, I feel that at times the beauty of symmetry, simplicity, and balance outweighs the necessity of placing objects along one of the vertical thirds which is deemed correct according to this traditional 'rule' (it's really just a guideline, of course). At least according to my sense of aesthetics, this works.
Note also that I didn't choose a sky that would be taken during the middle of a sunny day. The lighting on the statue was soft and diffused from an overhead light source in the museum, thus the light emanating from the sky had to provide the same kind of light. I also feel that this dramatic sky adds interest to the picture. When you put photos together in Photoshop, the lighting has to match or else the composite won't look correct.
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HOW TO CHOOSE A SHUTTER SPEED
The speed of the shutter is obviously a crucial decision in your picture taking because it will determine if your images will be sharp or blurred. Sometimes you specifically want to blur pictures, such as in the shot of the folk dancers in Turkey below. Using slow shutter speeds is usually not a problem. If the light is bright, it's simply a matter of using a small lens aperture and a low ISO.
Most of the time, however,
you want to use a fast enough shutter speed to get a sharp picture. In low light situations, this is a problem because the fast shutter reduces the amount of light reaching the digital sensor.
A case in point is the extremely dark chapel in Capadoccia, Turkey. I wanted to photograph the 10th century murals that the early Christians painted in their cave chapels, but no tripods were allowed and of course flash wasn't permitted, either.
The mural that you see below was on the ceiling. This meant that I couldn't use my tripod head (this is one way to circumvent the tripod prohibition as I've explained in a previous newsletter), but beneath the ceiling was a wooden walkway which vibrated as people walked on it. Even with my widest lens aperture of f/2.8 on my 70-200mm IS Canon telephoto, my shutter speed was hopelessly slow.
Therefore, my only option was to raise the ISO. The strategy that I use is to increase the ISO until my shutter speed becomes acceptable. I raised my ISO until it was 3200, and at that point the shutter was 1/40th of a second. Given the fact that I was using an image stabilized lens, I felt that I could get a sharp picture. With a non-IS lens (in Nikon's lexicon it's 'VR' -- vibration reduction), I feel more comfortable at 1/60th. Thanks to today's incredible technology, high ISO settings are not nearly as bad as they were just a couple of years ago. Ideally, you want to use the lowest ISO possible, but when it's a matter of getting a sharp picture or not, the ISO must be raised until your shutter speed is fast enough. This assumes, of course, you are shooting at the largest lens aperture possible because in low light conditions, you usually don't have the luxury of getting a lot of depth of field.
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NEW DVD ANNOUNCED
Last autumn, I went to New England to make a DVD that explains how I approach photography in the field. Using the beautiful backdrop of quaint villages, light houses, and fall color, I dissect my thought process with respect to composition, exposure, light, the choice of lenses, using the sun as a component, when to use HDR, and many other pertinent aspects of picture taking.
I think you will find this a valuable insight into how you can apply these same principles to your own work. It is 3 1/2 hours in length, and I feel that this field presentation will help you significantly improve your ability to get more satisfaction out of your photography.
You can purchase the DVD from Amazon.com
or, if you would like an autographed copy from me, you can have that
from purchasing it from me directly at a discounted price of $36 plus $3 shipping. You can send a check to: Jim Zuckerman, P. O. Box 7, Arrington, TN 37064.
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Photo tour to Ireland
May 20 - 31, 2010
Ireland is such a beautiful place to visit and photograph, and I'm looking forward to taking another group there next year. The trip includes a wide range of photographic subjects such as castles, quaint villages, the rocky coastline, ancient megalithic tombs, intriguing landscapes, cathedrals, beautiful cemeteries, and fascinating ruins. Even when you are not shooting, Ireland is simply a delight to enjoy. The people are incredibly friendly and they always love interacting with Americans.
On all my photo tours, I spend a lot of time teaching. I go over composition, lighting, exposure, macro photography, the advantages of RAW versus JPEG, photographing people, landscapes, wildlife and more. I also talk a lot about Photoshop because it is such an integral part of our creative workflow now. On the trip, I work on some of my images on a laptop and then explain how I achieved the unique effects to give you a lot of food for thought when you go home and work on your own pictures.
If you have always wanted to go to Ireland, or if you've been there and you know how great it is and want to go back, drop me a note (photos@jimzuckerman.com). I'll send you the itinerary and all other pertinent information.
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2010/ 2011 PHOTO TOURS
Carnival in Venice Feb. 8 - 14, 2010 (one space became available). The dates for the 2011 Carnival in Venice photo tour haven't been announced yet, but I'm taking names/deposits now because it always sells out. It will be sometime between Feb. 25 and March 8, 2011.
Frog/reptile workshop, St. Louis February 27, 28, 2010
This is an incredible opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the most exotic species of animals on the planet. Everybody who takes this workshop with me gets amazing images.
Frog workshop
Heart of Eastern Europe August 27 - Sept. 9, 2010
(this trip is already half sold out)
Costa Rica hummingbirds May 1 -11, 2010
Ireland May 20 - 31, 2010
Tanzania photo safari June 10 to 22, 2010 with Gorilla trek extension (June 6 to 11)
Namibia photo safari 2010 (dates to be announced in a week to 10 days)
Krakow, Poland
Ethiopia photo tour -- Jan. 17 - Feb. 5, 2011
Antarctica -- January 3 - 24, 2010
Eastern Turkey -- Autumn, 2011
Namibia
For other photo tours, speaking engagements, and seminars that I will be giving, please click on this link: http://www.jimzuckermanworkshops.com/
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Missed a newsletter? You can see all of my past newsletters (starting with the February, 2008 issue) if you paste this link into your browser:
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs031/1101654139463/archive/1102299763866.html
For AOL users have difficulty at times seeing the pictures in my newsletters, this feature is especially helpful.
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I now publish a blog on my website that you may find interesting and informative. On jimzuckerman.com, click the link at the top 'photo blog'. I post one or two blogs a week on various aspects of photography and Photoshop.
Bled Castle, Slovenia. Heart of Eastern Europe photo tour
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Two invaluable Photoshop DVDs
I'm proud of my first twoinstructional DVD on Photoshop. I have had a lot of positive feedback on both of them. Many people find my teaching style easy to understand, clear, and inspiring in terms of what they can do with their own pictures.
In the first DVD, learn how to use Photoshop's tools creatively and be a Photoshop Guru.
Whether you have been using Photoshop for years or just learning for
the first time, you will quickly discover new applications to create
stunning images. "Be a Photoshop Guru" introduces the most important
tools in Photoshop and then gives you very creative ways of applying
them for amazing results. This program doesn't just simply show what
the tools do, it shows you how to creatively use them in your photography.
(In the photo of the Korean model and the Japanese maple tree, there wasn't a beautiful tree behind the model in the original. I added that from
another image, and then I had to re-create the reflection. This is
explained in detail on the DVD in addition to many other very cool
techniques. The running time is 168 minutes).
In the second DVD, the one with the knights on the cover (they were photographed at a local Renaissance Faire and then combined with the foggy forest background -- and the sword was purchased on-line and cut and pasted into the picture), I share many of my favorite and most useful creative techniques with you. Photoshop is a photographer's best friend today. This DVD shows you that the sky is the limit in terms of what you can do with your images. Running time is 173 minutes.
You can purchase the DVD from Amazon.com or, if you would like an autographed copy from me, you can have that from purchasing it from me directly at a discounted price. Here is the sales page on my website: www.jimzuckermanworkshop.com.
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