BetterPhoto Instructor Insights

Controlling Butterflies for Macro Work

By Jim Zuckerman

Butterflies can be manipulated through temperature. They can’t fly if the ambient temperature is below 55 degrees, and this means that they can be placed on a flower or leaf at your discretion when they are cold and then, when it warms up, they will spread their wings and fly away – after you’ve taken their picture.

I caught this eastern tiger swallowtail in Michigan with a butterfly net, and then I put it in an envelope to keep the wings protected (the delicate wings can easily chip or break if the insect flaps them wildly, trying to escape). The envelope was put in a Tupperware container that, in turn, was put in a refrigerator overnight. In the early morning, I placed the chilled butterfly on the Indian paintbrush flower and caught sunrise lighting backlighting the beautiful setup. After I got my shots, the butterfly’s wing muscles warmed up and he flew away.

In photographing this, I made sure that the back of my camera was parallel with the plane of the insect’s wings. This ensured maximum depth of field. I used a tripod, of course, because macro photography without one is a pointless endeavor. You must have a firm support or else you can’t control the amount of depth of field in the image.

Tall Ships in Virginia

By Jim Zuckerman

Last weekend I photographed something that I had wanted to shoot for many years – tall ships. There was a gathering in Norfolk, Virginia, and instead of shooting them from the land I chartered a fishing boat so I could be completely maneuverable and capture them from any angle I wanted. I counted about 17 ships under full sail, although there could have been more.

The biggest challenge I faced was the lighting. It was pretty bad. The “Parade of Ships” took place between 9 am and noon, and they couldn't have chosen a worse time as far as photography goes. At nine o’clock, as the ships were raising their sails, the lighting was decent. It wasn’t great, but it was OK. Every minute that passed meant that the lighting got worse and worse, and by ten is was almost pointless.

What I was looking for was graphic design – meaning beautiful angles on the classic ships that underscored the artistry of these timeless sailing vessels. Once I had that, I knew I could combine them with beautiful backgrounds from my files. Photoshop was my only option to make compelling images, and to suggest I had been really lucky to be in the right time at the right place. I would have preferred to have the magical lighting of sunrise or sunset, but that was out of my control.

In my Creative Techniques in Photoshop course, one of the techniques I discuss is blend modes. This is a technique where you can combine a layer and a background in unique ways. I knew that it would be impossible to select a tall ship from its background with all the rigging, so the only way I could combine a great sky and beautiful natural light with the ships was by blending the images using this technique in the layers palette. The secret is choosing the right images to combine, because not all skies will work with any given subject. I was very pleased with what I got, but next time I shoot tall ships I’m going to charter one and arrange for it to sail past a sunrise or sunset so I get the real deal.

The Seed of an Idea

By William Neill

I have found that I have subjects I return to again and again. I have an ongoing interest in photographing the salsify seeds that are found in my area. Fortune had it that I have some growing on my property at my current location. So each year about this time, I starting watching the seed heads and wonder what I can do to go beyond past efforts.

Here are three images. The top two were taken on the same day two years ago, the third taken last week. While editing my images for various purposes, I often compare recent work with the best of past work on the same subject.

Maybe I’ve already made my “best” image of these seed heads, but I still keep trying in hopes of making the ultimate one! This type of analysis is an important skill in editing your work. I have favorite images in Yosemite that took many years of returning for the right light, and of refining the composition in response to post-exposure assessments. The seeds for visual ideas sometimes take years to grow!

Maybe this approach with help you too!

© William Neill All rights reserved

© William Neill All rights reserved

© William Neill All rights reserved

For more inspiring thoughts from Bill visit his Blog, Light on the Landscape.

William Neill's Photography is displayed at http://www.williamneill.com/homepage.html

Pemaquid Point

© Tony  Sweet All rights reserved

Had a pretty good shooting morning, albeit very short because of how fast the light got hot, but managed to get a few things.

Shot a nice but brief, dawn/sunrise at the salt pond, then went to Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. I got into panning abstracts to soften the harsh light and came away with a few keepers.

We leave for Arcadia shortly to start scouting and getting geared up for our upcoming workshop beginning on Wednesday. Until then we’ll be doing some of our own work, scouting out locations, etc…

The blog image was shot from behind the lighthouse over a ledge with waves crashing over the rocks, panning at about ½ second.

Have a great week!

Medieval knights in the Black Forest

By Jim Zuckerman

For many years, I have had an image in my mind of a knight and a horse in armor standing or galloping in a foggy forest. This kind of thing isn’t easy to do. Even if I made arrangements to photograph the medieval scene, fog isn’t something one can order on-demand. So, I got tired of waiting and decided to use Photoshop to create my vision.

Last year I took a shot at a Renaissance Faire of two knights facing each other. The background made the photograph unusable, and I almost trashed it. However in revisiting the image, I decided to give it a try and combine it with a foggy forest I photographed in Italy at dawn. This landscape was originally horizontal, but in Image > image size I resized it vertically.

Using the pen tool (I describe how to do this in my course Creative Techniques in Photoshop here at Betterphoto) I was able to precisely cut out the two figures, including the feathers in their helmets, and then I used the cut and paste procedure to place them in the forest. With Image > adjustments > color balance, I made the knights as blue as the background, and then using Edit > fill I added some ‘low lying mist’ at the bottom of the frame. I filled this area with white at 30% opacity.

Overcast Light: Soft, Pleasing, and Just Right for Many Colorful Scenes!

By Kerry Drager

Nature's great white canopy - a solid overcast sky - produces wonderfully soft and even light. But not all photographers appreciate it, especially when they're planning to shoot sweeping scenics! Still, working in such conditions can be a major photographic benefit - assuming you narrow your viewpoint and choose the right (i.e., colorful) subjects.

On a recent trip to California's Central Coast, I planned on photographing dramatic sunsets and sunrises. But fog and white cloudy skies got in the way of those grand plans. As a result, I switched gears from big seacapes to intimate scenes that didn't rely on a colorful sky.

And that's really the key to overcast success: Find subjects with lots of character and style. Flowers certainly qualify, but so do other scenes. And on this trip, I found some interesting architectural patterns, plus the abstract bottom of an old boat. The soft light of overcast enhanced the colors and details. See some of the results below.

Incidentally, for all of these photos, I used a tripod to ensure the best image quality and to fine-tune the compositions. Also, a polarizing filter helped the "look" of each photo - by reducing the amount of glare in order to boost the colors. I use a polarizer frequently on overcast days - for subjects with reflective surfaces, such as wood, painted metal, glass, foliage, etc.

Additional information:
- My BetterPhoto.com online photo classes: Creative Light and Composition and Creative Close-ups
- BetterPhoto.com's online photography school
- BetterPhoto.com's photo sharing online options
- My BP article: Overcast Photography: Good Light, Bad Sky

Old Boat Patterns and Fishing Pole ... (c) Kerry Drager
overcast light, 12-24 zoom set at 24mm, f22 at 1/4 sec;
Morro Bay CA marina

Building Detail ... (c) Kerry Drager
overcast, Cayucos, CA Coast; 50mm lens, f11 at 1/8th sec., 100 ISO

Architectural Abstract ... (c) Kerry Drager
overcast light, 12-24 zoom at 24mm; f11 at 1 sec;
Morro Bay CA Coast

Learn photography online in BetterPhoto.com's digital photography classes

At BetterPhoto.com®, you can learn photography - and also Photoshop - in a variety of online photo classes. And we are constantly updating our listing of digital photography classes. Here are two excellent ones:

- Techniques of Natural Light Photography with professional photographer, author and instructor Jim Zuckerman. In this 4-week online photo class, you will find out how to become a "pro" at working with natural light to capture eye-catching photos.

- Landscape Essentials with Outdoor Photographer magazine's "On Landscape" columnist William Neill. In this 4-week online photo course, you'll learn the art of using quality of light, strong graphic design, and emotional elements to create stunning photographs.

In addition, learn photography in other online photo courses on light and exposure. Or check out digital photography classes in nature and travel. Or check out the entire schedule in BetterPhoto.com's digital photography school.

© Jim Zuckerman

© William Neill

PhotoGuru and you...

This is our first Podcast for PhotoGuru and I hope you all enjoy it and look forward to many more.

Over the following months and years, I’ll be posting Podcasts on our upcoming television show “PhotoGuru with Sean Arbabi”, keeping you all up-to-date on our progress to get our show to the airwaves.

I'll also be sharing with you all my life as a commercial travel photographer, running my business "Arbabi Imagery". I'll talk about recent shoots, challenges, upcoming workshops, published work, and upload images from my experiences.

Click on the link above to listen to our first Podcast loaded May 2007.

peace, love, and cashflow....

Civil War Batte Reenactments

By Jim Zuckerman

During the summer, there are many historical reenactments around the U.S. and they make exciting photographic subjects. In the East there are Revolutionary battles that are performed for audiences, and along the East Coast and in the rest of the country there are Civil War battles that are played out. The participants are avid history buffs who are usually very knowledgeable about every detail that goes into the recreation, from the uniforms to the strategy involved in the various military campaigns.

The key to photographing the battles is to be situated in the right vantage point. You will need a telephoto lens, preferably a zoom, and if you shoot in color as most of us do now, consider transforming these to black and white or sepia so they have a vintage look. Obviously no one photographed the Revolutionary War because cameras hadn’t been invented yet, but the Civil War was photographed only in black and white. Color images just don’t seem very realistic.

The pictures I’ve included here were taken in difference regions of the country. The vertical shots of a Confederate defensive line, a portrait of a Confederate soldier and a Union horseman were taken at Ft. Tejon, California, which is about one hour north of Los Angeles, while the horizontal picture was taken on the 140th anniversary of the Battle of Franklin in Tennessee. Ten thousand men participated in that battle.

Here is a listing of some of the battles around the country:
http://www.sutler.net/eventlist.asp