Happy New Year!
January 2010
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USING PHOTOS OF THE EARTH IN COMPOSITES
If you like to do avante-garde and surreal images, the Earth is a great component to have. I discovered many years ago that photos of the Earth are in the public domain -- meaning we can use them without paying a fee because, as someone in the Johnson Space Center told me, our tax dollars paid for those pictures.
There are many websites that exhibit photos of the Earth. Here is a place you can start:
http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/ For other sites, do a Google search for 'high resolution photos of Earth' and you can find many different images. Nasa states that the pictures are available free of licensing fees, and all they ask is that NASA is credited. Well, let me say right now that I did not photograph the Earth from space. An astronaut did and Nasa gets the credit. This is the only time I've used a photo in my work that I didn't take.
 When it comes to incorporating the image of the
Earth into various backgrounds, the sky is, literally,
the limit. You can create pictures that are reminiscent
of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, like the one
at right, or you can put together surreal images like
the picture at the top of this newsletter and convince
your friends that you've had a mental relapse. (My friends have thought I was nuts for decades!)
The star field you see in the picture at right isn't a photo of stars at all. I sprinkled glitter on black velvet and used a star filter to shoot it. There are digital techniques to create star fields, but I think this one
looks pretty good.
Combining the image of the Earth with a landscape
creates a different kind of picture -- one that almost looks like it was taken on another planet. In the photo below, I used a landscape from Namibia (which seems like another planet without any special effects!) plus a lightning shot from Arizona and a foreground from Death Valley. It's a lot of fun creating fantasy worlds, and the addition of the Earth as a component is a cool element to work with.
When combining images, whether you are working with surrealism or realism, it's critical to make the edges believable. You have to enlarge your composites to 100% magnification and examine them critically. When I make a selection -- for example, in the area of the sky above the orange dunes in the photo below -- I then use the Photoshop command: Select > modify > expand and choose one or two pixels in the dialog box that opens. Then I feather the edge of the selection slightly to make the juncture between the two photos look real. I use Select > modify > feather and choose one pixel in the dialog box. The 'expand' command eliminates the tell-tale line of the original background, and the 'feather' command makes the edges of the two images blend together perfectly. This is the 'secret weapon', so to speak, of compositing images.
I created the 'space station' below by using the pen tool to outline each section of the structure, and then with the gradient tool I applied the color -- from blue to very dark blue. The orange structure of concentric lines is supposed to imply planetary rings, but it is really a spinning ride at an amusement park at night. I used a 10 second exposure and a tripod. The 'planet' is just a polished spherical rock that I solarized (Filter > stylize > solarize) with one of the original filters native to Photoshop.
If you want to suggest the Earth is lit from an
angle, like a crescent or gibbous moon,
 you can darken one edge of it with the burn
tool. Notice in the composite of the
mannequin head and the perspective plane below that the right side of our planet
is in shadow. I wanted to give it some
dimension and also create a different look
than the fully illuminated Earth.
In the home workshops I conduct in Photoshop, I spend a lot of time explaining how to precisely put images together. The two key ingredients are: the lighting has to match and the edges between pictures can't be too sharp or too blurred.
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ELEVATED POINTS OF VIEW
Aerial perspectives of a scene, whether it be a cityscape, a landscape, a crowd, or whatever are often very dynamic. I look for the highest place from which to shoot wherever I go. This could be a church tower, such as the one I climbed (about 420 steps) in Gdansk, Poland to capture the view below right, or the hillside I hiked up to get an elevated view of the beautiful Austrian village, Maria Alm, below left.
 If you like telling a story of your travels to family and
friends in the form of a slide show, these kinds of pictures
are excellent openers. If you sell your work, aerial shots
give an overview of a place and they are often used for
magazine covers, double page spreads, and even billboards.
I travel to many places, and I can't always know where the
best vantage points are when I first arrive. I do a lot of research on-line, looking for great pictures of a place. Another wonderful resource are post cards. In
places that get a lot of tourists, you can be sure that every conceivable view and composition has been discovered by other photographers. You don't have to copy them, but post cards show you points of view that would have taken you quite a white to discover on your own. Such was the case with the picture of Cuzco, Peru below. I shot this at twilight because in my opinion that's the most beautiful time of day to photograph cities.
Every time I'm driving in the mountains or hiking on a trail, I am looking for compositions below. Regarding lighting, the three best scenarios are sunrise/sunset, overcast (like the two pictures above from Austria and Poland), and twilight. Mountainous countries like Switzerland have amazing opportunities to take pictures like this. The shot of Lauterbrunnen below was taken on my Heart of Europe photo tour in 2008, and I think it's one of the most interesting aerial perspectives I've seen. The twilight colors were beautiful.
The lighting on the
mountain around the waterfall made the picture work.
When you take aerial perspectives of subjects that are normally seen above us, like birds, airplanes, and clouds, it's especially compelling. The picture of a macaw flying over the rain forest below is good
example. It makes for a very
unique image.
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ON-LINE PHOTO INSTRUCTION-- with detailed critiques of your work
My new 4-week and 8-week on-line photo courses begin again on Wednesday, Jan 6. As preparation for an African safari (for example, my Namibia photo tour later this year), you might consider my Wildlife course: http://www.better
photo.com/course
Overview.asp?
cspID=87
I have a new photoshop course beginning in March. It is called Photoshop: Thinking Outside the Box. Look for it on the betterphoto.com website in the 8-week course listings
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?
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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SELF-CRITIQUE
This is a composite image, and to be honest I'm not sure if it looks completely real. Part of me thinks it does look real and part me feels it's not quite right. I purposely made the giraffe lighter than I thought it would be if I shot into a bright sky, but had this been an HDR image it might look exactly like this. I would be interested to know your thoughts on this if you want to take the time to drop me a note: Does it look real or not?
Whatever side you come down on, and whether or not I think it looks real, I like the image. The perspective on the giraffe makes the animal look huge, and that's why I maintain that shooting from ground level, or close to it, gives animals greater stature. Even for animals that have a tremendous amount of stature, like elephants and giraffes, the lower point of view embellishes there size and presence.
I also like the lighting, the colors, and the graphic design of the giraffe's body. Photoshop can't successfully cut around hair and make it perfect, but I did the best I could with the tail. The one thing that does bother me is that the fine hairs that would be seen at the edge of the tail were eliminated.
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NAMIBIA PHOTO TOUR
Oct 17 - Oct 31, 2010
The 2009 Namibia photography tour was extremely successful. My group got amazing pictures of the classically beautiful sand dunes and the primitive Himba and Bushmen, and we had an amazing photo session with cheetahs at a rehabilitation center.
I changed the itinerary for 2010 to include another facility that I would have to describe as the best and most exciting wildlife photography I've ever experienced. The photos of the snarling leopard and the wild dogs below attest to what I'm talking about. These animals are in captivity, but they have acres to roam and the photography is exactly the same as if you were in the bush -- except that you are protected by photographer-friendly fences (meaning the openings are large enough for telephoto and wide angle lenses).
Namibia is a safe place to visit, our local guide is awesome, and the photos you take will like nothing else you've taken before. There is a lot of driving on this tour, but I feel the distances we cover are worth it to see and experience some of Africa's best subject matter.
The complete itinerary and pricing can be found using this link:
http://www.jimzuckermanworkshops.com/namibia-oct-17-31-2010/
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PHOTO TOUR to IRELAND
May 21 - 31, 2010
Come join me on a wonderful photography tour to beautiful Ireland. I've created an itinerary that encompasses castles, ruins, landscapes, cathedrals, old cemeteries and more. Ireland is a joy to experience, and you will cherish your pictures from our trip.
Here is a link to the promotional page on my website where you can see photos and read the day by day itinerary in brief:
http://www.jimzuckermanworkshops.com/photo-tour-to-ireland/
If this interests you, drop me a note (photos@jimzuckerman.com) and I'll send you the complete schedule. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
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COSTA RICA HUMMINGBIRDS
May 1 - 11, 2010
If you have a passion for bird photography, and you've always wanted to shoot exotic species of hummingbirds, Costa Rica is the place. I am conducting a 10 day photo tour there where we will focus on three different locations. Feeders have been placed to attract the birds, and awesome images are guaranteed. It's really like shooting ducks -- or in this case, hummers! The flash units are provided, as is everything else, and all you need is your camera.
Also included in the trip is the active volcano Mt. Arenal, which night photography of the lava flows is incredible, as well as some other surprises. Here is a link on my website for more information:
http://www.jimzuckermanworkshops.com/costa-rica-may-1-11-2010/
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PHOTO TOUR to
EASTERN EUROPE
August 27 to Sept. 9, 2010
My Heart of Europe trip was very successful in 2008, and I spent this past summer in Europe again planning a Heart of Eastern Europe trip. As usual, I find the best vantage points, the most stunning cathedral interiors, and the best locations for twilight photography, and you will return home with images you will cherish. The countries we will visit include The Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, and Austria.
Ogrodzieniec Castle, near Krakow, Poland
For a full description, pricing, and more photos, please check out this link on my website: http://www.jimzuckermanworkshops.com/heart-of-eastern-europe-2010/
The photo below is the opera house in Budapest. This is one example of the remarkable places we visit. If you have any questions, my direct email is: photos@jimzuckerman.com.
Warsaw ghetto uprising memorial, Warsaw, Poland
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PHOTOSHOP WORKSHOP in my HOME
Sat. & Sun., April 24, 25
The February workshop is sold out, so I have scheduled the next one for April. Photoshop is a photographer's best friend, and the creative possibilities are absolutely endless. I start at the beginning -- assuming you know nothing -- but I quickly get into layers, cutting and pasting, plug-ins, and a lot more. I promise to fill your head with so many cool techniques that you won't believe what you'll be able to do. Photoshop instructors approach teaching this program from different points of view. In addition to showing you how to use the various tools, pull down menus, layers, and so on, I spend a lot of time giving you creative ideas that will inspire you to produce amazing images with the pictures you've already taken.
A lot of people, once they learn what the tools and commands do, still need help in deciding what images to work with, what composites look good, and how to be artistic within Photoshop. This is one of the main things I address in this workshop.
I live in the Nashville, Tennessee area, and if you fly into the airport (BNA) I will pick you up. If you drive, I'll give you my address and you can find it on Mapquest. For the $450 fee, I include one dinner in my home (prepared by my wife who is an amazing cook and hostess) and two lunches, plus shuttling you back and forth from my home to your nearby hotel.
Contact me if you would like to participate. All you need is a laptop. If you don't have one, I have one laptop (a Mac) I can loan out. jimzuckerman.com
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Please note: I will be in Antarctica from Jan. 3 through Jan. 24. The ship I will be on doesn't have Internet (what are they thinking?), so if you inquire about any of my tours or workshops, my wife will respond to you in my absence.
I will have a satellite phone, and she can contact me should you need an immediate answer to a question she can't help you with.
The February newsletter will contain my favorite pictures from Antarctica. I can't wait to share them with you!
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