The Great Wheel

Just arrived in Yosemite Valley last night and was able to catch a few hours of sleep before getting up to shoot sunrise. You just can't beat this place, everything is larger than life. Time to grab some coffee and head out to scout some sunset spots... Any suggestions?

The Shot

The Great Wheel in Seattle was just constructed this past summer & adds a great amount of light and color to the city skyline. I have yet to process many pics of this thing, but here is a fun & dynamic view of the wheel at night.

Color Theory 101: Tips and Tricks

Have you ever wondered why some pictures look appealing while others look like a dull mush of colors? A lot of it has to do with the colors that are saturated & desaturated in your pictures.

Using a color wheel we can match colors that go together and others that clash. Using a Color Scheme Designer  it is easy to see what colors work and those that don't. Recently I have started to use Adobe Kuler for all my color theory and design.

When starting to learn color theory I used these tools all the time for selectively saturating and de-saturating different colors in my pictures. Sometimes it is impossible to de-saturate a color, it just turns brown or looks like crap. In this case try darkening the color using a dodge/burn layer or a curves mask in Photoshop will keep it from standing out.

I use tons of software when I process photos & two of my favorites are Topaz Labs or HDR Soft the Makers of Photomatix. If you would like a discount when purchasing either of these packages just use the coupon code DAVEMORROWPHOTO when checking out to receive 15% off:)

Here are a few more tricks that I use when processing:

For HDR photos I pick my color scheme while the pics are still in Lightroom 4 & RAW format. This is the best time to saturate and desaturate certain colors with optimum picture quality.

Seeing some tones in your pictures that are comply lifeless? Try using the Vibrance setting instead of saturation. In Photoshop I have some actions that allow me to make vibrance layers, that mask out the saturated areas. This allows me to "vibrance paint" the dead/dull colors only without over saturating everything else.

Color can also be used to portray mood & feeling throughout a picture so plan accordingly.

Let your picture pick the first color you are going to use for your scheme. If the picture is mostly blue saturate some yellows or oranges to compliment the over all color.

Closing notes:

Experiment as much as possible with different colors and how they work together, eventually you will no longer need the color wheel or scheme designer, but will find yourself knowing what to saturate and desaturate in your shots. This will increase the speed of your workflow as well as make post processing pictures much more enjoyable. It never hurts to pick complimenting colors when out shooting either, this makes it much easier to edit the picture later on.

Feel like you learned some valuable information? Donations of any size are always awesome!

Here are a few examples of pictures where I selectively applied color theory.

Lost in Iceland

Do any of you guys/gals use Reddit? I have been posting my star images on there lately and WOW, what a reaction. Granted most of them are hit and run but it's still nice to see all those views:)

The Shot:

Driving to Vik is terrific and my favorite part of Iceland minus the West Fjords.  The coast was especially awesome in June because the Lupines are blooming and they light up the once green fields with blue. Some of the most amazing landscapes I have ever seen came on this long stretch of road, here is one of the shots I captured just after the sun dipped below the horizon around midnight.

The Final Product

Processing Technique for the Picture Above:

Lightroom 4:

Minor white balance and contrast adjustment.

Photomatix:

Process 7 exposures in -3EV to 3 EV.

Photoshop 6:

-Blend Photomatix layer with 7 exposures -3EV to 3EV to bring out dynamic range.

-Lumonsity Masks on midtones, darks and lights to bring out detail and saturation.

-Saturation masks(to desaturate) & Vibrance masks(to saturate).

-Color Balance for small color adjustments in the sky.

-Nik Color Efex Pro Contrast 

-High Pass Filter on Soft Light blend mode to sharpen entire image.

-Nik Define for local denoise.

-Free transform to straighten the horizon.

-Final saturation painting on the lupines and desaturation on the road.

-Brighten the center line on the road with curves

-Save as Jpeg.

Before the Magic

Late Nights on Second Beach

It took me some time to figure out how to set up for a picture like this, after endless attempts an idea dawned on me, and I was able to come up with this as an end result.

For those of you that would like to take some star shots of your own my Star Photography Tutorial is a great place to start.

Want a full in depth tutorial experience that walks you through my step by step star photography post processing techniques? Check this stuff out, guaranteed to light up your nights!

Star Photography Post Processing Video Tutorial

The Shot:

I snapped this one off at Second Beach on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. There are endless photo opportunities out there from beautiful landscapes to stars.   I would suggest at least 4 or 5 days to get a good feel for the place.

After Midnight at the Hallgrimskirkja

When exploring the country of Iceland in the summer months it's hard to keep a real sleep schedule. There is so much to see, that at times, you just get lost in it all. I took this one in Reykjavik late one night when wandering the city looking for cool things to shoot.

On a side note Royce Blair just did a really cool article on my star photos, you can find it here:

Night Sky Photography on the Edge of Reality

Speeding Through Shanghai

I snapped this off while walking the streets of Shanghai a few years back & it founds it's way into Travel & Leisure Magazine. Always fun to see your pictures in print. I have been adding a ton of new content to the website including Camera and Lens reviews which can be found below:

Camera Reviews

Lens Reviews

If you are interested in Photoshop and editing then my  Post Processing: Before & After page will be right up your alley.

OK, one last fun link, with a bunch of good info in it for you star photography lovers out there .

Into the Night Star Photography

Post Processing: Before & After

I get a lot of questions on how much post processing I do after getting home from a shoot. The truth is it varies drastically from shot to shot. I have processed some pictures in 5 minutes and others in 5 hours. I'll give a quick run down with each of the next shots on the tools I used to process them.

Each one of the Before Shots is straight out of the camera with zero adjustments at 0EV or normal exposure. It is of course exported to Jpeg from RAW format. If you don't like post processing, escape while you can.

If you would like to learn how to process shots like these, I offer One on One Personal Instruction over Skype & Google+ applications. Check out the One on One Personal Instruction Page for more info.

Want a few more tips on post processing HDR Photography, my HDR Tips & Tricks Page may be just what you're looking for. I also use tons of software when I process photos & two of my favorites are Topaz Labs or HDR Soft the Makers of Photomatix. If you would like a discount when purchasing either of these packages just use the coupon code DAVEMORROWPHOTO when checking out to receive 15% off:)

In the past few months I have learned to use Tony Kuyper' Luminosity Masks & Actions to produce a hand blended HDR Image. This process allows me to fully unleash the all of the data contained in my RAW files.You can head over to his Luminosity Mask Actions Page and select the "Special Offers" Link at the top of the page. Photomatix is still used from time to time depending on the situation, but I would highly recommend adding both to your post processing arsenal.

As always, all my tutorials can be found at www.DaveMorrowPhotography.com/learnphotography

 Before the Magic

The Final Product

Processing Technique for the Picture Above:

Pick up my Star Photography Post Processing Video Tutorial to watch me process this exact shot from start to finish.

Lightroom 4:

• White balance adjustment
• Export two separate JPEG files, both from the same RAW file.

Photoshop 5:

• Use secret magic and trademarked secrets to blend two JPEG files into 1 nicely exposed PSD.
•  Use Tony Kuypers Luminosity Masking Actions & Techniques on midtones, darks and lights to bring out full detail contained in the file.
• Color Balance for small color adjustments in the sky.
• High Pass Filter on Soft Light blend mode to sharpen entire image for stars only.
• Nik Define for local denoise in dark regions only.
• Final luminosity mask adjustments
• Add slight Vignette using OnOne Perfect Photo Suite
• Save as Jpeg.

 Before the Magic

The Final Product 

Processing Technique for the Picture Above:

Pick up my Luminosity Masking Video Tutorial to learn the techniques I used to process this shot.

Lightroom 4:

• White balance adjustment for a single JPEG file.

Photoshop CS6:

•  Use Tony Kuypers Luminosity Masking Actions & Techniques on midtones, darks and lights to bring out full detail contained in the file.
• Green channel adjustments / dodge burn layer.
• Nik Color Efex Pro 4 for Pro Contrast, and some glow.
• High Pass Sharpening
• Add slight Vignette using OnOne Perfect Photo Suite
• Save as Jpeg.

Before the Magic

 

The Final Product

Processing Technique for the Picture Above:

Pick up my Luminosity Masking Video Tutorial to learn the techniques I used to process this shot.

Lightroom 4:

• White balance adjustment for 0EV Jpeg file.
• Sync -2EV and +2EV with the 0EV Jpeg file in LR4.

Photoshop CS6:

•  Use Tony Kuypers Luminosity Masking Actions & Techniques & the Photoshop Channels to blend together the (3) JPEG files to create (1) nicely exposed PSD file.
• Vibrance and Saturation "Painting" using Tony's Actions
• Nik Color Efex Pro 4 for Pro Contrast, and some glow.
• Minor color balance adjustments on select regions of the picture. 
• High Pass Sharpening
• Save as Jpeg.

Before the Magic

The Final Product

Processing Technique for the Picture Above:

Lightroom 4:

• Minor white balance and contrast adjustment.

Photomatix:

• Process 9 exposures in -4EV to 4 EV.

Photoshop 5:

• Blend Photomatix layer with 9 exposures -4EV to 4EV to bring out dynamic range.
• Lumonsity Masks on midtones, darks and lights to bring out detail and saturation.
• Saturation masks(to desaturate) & Vibrance masks(to saturate).
• Color Balance for small color adjustments in the sky.
• Nik Color Efex Pro Contrast (I'm in love).
• High Pass Filter on Soft Light blend mode to sharpen entire image.
• Slight Motion Blend Filter on clouds to remove minor noise and provide movement.
• Nik Define for local denoise.
• Save as Jpeg.

Before the Magic

The Final Product

Processing Technique for the Picture Above:

Lightroom 4:

• Minor white balance and contrast adjustment.
• Clarity and Sharpen Sliders.
• Minor Saturation boost.

Photomatix:

• Process 7 exposures in -3EV to 3 EV

Photoshop 5:

• Blend Photomatix layer with 7 exposures -3EV to 3EV to bring out dynamic range.
• Lumonsity Masks on midtones, darks and lights to bring out detail and saturation.
• Vibrance masks to saturate green grass and blue clouds.
• Nik Remask to select light house for local adjustments.
• Local desaturation and exposure adjustment on lighthouse. 
• Color balance to bring out the red in the lighthouse door.
• Nik Color Efex Pro Contrast (What would I do without it).
• High Pass Filter on Soft Light blend mode to sharpen entire image.
• Radial Blur Filter on clouds to make the lighthouse pop off the screen.
• Nik Define for locale denoise.
• Save as Jpeg.

Before the Magic

The Final Product

Processing Technique for the Picture Above:

Lightroom 4:

• Minor white balance and contrast adjustment.
• Sharpen Slider.

Photomatix:

• Process 7 exposures in -3EV to 3 EV.

Photoshop 5:

• Blend Photomatix layer with 7 exposures -3EV to 3EV to bring out dynamic range.
• Lumonsity Masks on midtones, darks and lights to bring out detail and saturation.
• Nik Remask to select multiple different regions of the picture.
• Color balance and vibrance/saturation adjustment on locally masked areas.
• Nik Color Efex Pro Contrast (Do you ever not use this?).
• Global Vibrance boost.
• High Pass Filter on Soft Light blend mode to sharpen entire image.
• Nik Define for locale denoise.
• Save as Jpeg.

Before the Magic

The Final Product

Processing Technique for the Picture Above:

Lightroom 4:

• Minor white balance and contrast adjustment.

Photomatix:

• Process 7 exposures in -3EV to 3 EV.

Photoshop 6:

• Blend Photomatix layer with 7 exposures -3EV to 3EV to bring out dynamic range.
• Duplicate image layer.
• Apply Nik Silver Efex Pro to one of the layers.
• Selectively mask in colored and black and white layers. 
• Color balance and vibrance/saturation adjustment on locally masked areas.
• Nik Color Efex Pro Contrast.
• Minor local desaturation and contrast adjustments.
• High Pass Filter on Soft Light blend mode to sharpen entire image.
• Nik Define for locale denoise.
• Save as Jpeg.

Before the Magic

The Final Product

Processing Technique for the Picture Above:

Lightroom 4:

• Contrast sliders.
• Highlights, shadows, lights & blacks slider adjustments.
• Saturation and luminosity BIG-time on yellows & blues.

Photomatix:

• NONE, I repeat, NONE

Photoshop 6:

• Lumonsity Masks on midtones, darks and lights to bring out detail and saturation.
• Color balance and vibrance/saturation adjustment on locally masked areas.
• Nik Color Efex Pro Contrast.
• Global Vibrance boost and local saturation"painting".
• High Pass Filter on Soft Light blend mode to sharpen entire image.
• Save as Jpeg.

Before the Magic

The Final Product

Processing Technique for the Picture Above:

Lightroom 4:

• Minor white balance and contrast adjustment.
• Clarity and Sharpen Sliders.
• Minor Saturation boost.
• Export 7 exposures + 1 extra slightly adjusted exposure for the sky only.

Photomatix:

• Process 7 exposures in -3EV to 3 EV.

Photoshop 6:

• Blend Photomatix layer with 7 exposures -3EV to 3EV to bring out dynamic range.
• Mask sky layer into current base layer. 
• Lumonsity Masks on midtones, darks and lights to bring out detail and saturation.
• Vibrance masks and saturation "painting" on the clouds and sky.
• Local desaturation on reds/oranges.
• Nik Color Efex Pro Contrast.
• High Pass Filter on Soft Light blend mode to sharpen entire image, minus the water.
• A secret patented trick on the water to make it move.
• Nik Define for locale denoise.
• Save as Jpeg.

Before the Magic

The Final Product

Processing Technique for the Picture Above:

Pick up my Star Photography Post Processing Video Tutorial to watch me process one of my Milky Way pictures from start to finish. I also provide full commentary, tips, tricks and skill sets throughout the tutorial. 

Lightroom 4:

• White balance adjustment
• Export two separate TIFF files, both from the same RAW file one adjusting sky and the other for the foreground.

Photoshop 6:

• Use secret magic and trademarked secrets to blend two TIFF files into 1 nicely exposed PSD.
•  Use Tony Kuypers Luminosity Masking Actions & Techniques on midtones, darks and lights to bring out full detail contained in the file. Especially the stars
• Color balance for RED channel and BLUE channels.
• High Pass Filter on Soft Light blend mode to sharpen entire image for stars only.
• Nik Define for local denoise in dark regions only.
• Final luminosity mask adjustments
• Add slight Vignette using OnOne Perfect Photo Suite
• Save as Jpeg.

Road Trip to Yosemite

So my picture and the topic of this blog post don't match at all... Oh well. Next week I'll be packing up and taking a 9 day road trip to Yosemite. I figure this should be a perfect time of year to do it. So far the trip includes Crater Lake Oregon, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. I may hit up some of the Oregon Coast on the way back as well depending on the time spent in CA. Any other suggestions?

The Shot

Back to some real HDR for you guys, if you wana learn more about the subject check out my last post. If not you can just tell me to shove my tips up my ass… This was taken at the Pioneer Square Subway station in downtown Seattle which is a bit sketchy at night. Definitely worth a visit to shoot & pick up a dime bag while your at it.

HDR Tips & Tricks 101

There is a lot of crappy over the top HDR out there. One of the biggest mistakes I see is unrealistic lighting. There are a few reality checks I like to do with myself while processing a picture which can be found below. I have also included some other helpful links that you may enjoy.

Interested in seeing some Before and After Post processing results? Check out my post on Before & After: Photoshop Post Processing Technique.

I use tons of software when I process photos & two of my favorites are Topaz Labs or HDR Soft the Makers of Photomatix. If you would like a discount when purchasing either of these packages just use the coupon code DAVEMORROWPHOTO when checking out to receive 15% off:)

Want to learn more? I offer One on One Personal Instruction for all your post processing needs, but all my other learning material can be found at www.DaveMorrowPhotography.com/learnphotography

Ok let's get on with it already, here are the tips...

1) Is the ground darker than the sky? It is hard to think of a situation when it would not be. Even a reflection of the sun, should be dimmer than the sun itself.

2) Is everything exposed? It should not be. There should be dark spots as well as light spots through out the photo. Your eye is not capable of exposing everything, so to make your pics look realistic make sure to do this sanity check while processing.

3) Is everything in focus? It shouldn’t be, at least in landscape photography, as your field of vision travels to more distant places in a picture, they shouldn’t be as sharp. Depending on where you focus your eyes, the fore ground may be blurry as well. 

Next time when your out shooting take a look at the objects around you, near and far. How do the look? Are they dark, light, sharp, soft, how are the shadows reacting to the sun, moon or light? Nailing an HDR image is all about producing something that the eye likes to look at. There is a small space between real and make believe where all of our brains like to hang out from time to time. I try to mimic this place in many of my pictures... Here are a few of my favorite HDR photos.

Take this picture for example, the lighting conditions were pretty dynamic, meaning there was a broad range of light. To capture all of this light I shoot 7 exposures and blended them together. Providing a broad range of darks and lights as well as saturation of mid-tones allows the eye to travel around the picture to different areas it likes. 

Here is another fun one shot in San Francisco. To the naked eye this stair case might be boring, but using 9 exposures to catch all of the light and color I was able to make it pop out. Saturating only certain complimentary colors helps everything to stay within the realms of reality and keeps your eyes glued to the screen.

Iceland Iceland, what a place. Using 7 shots I was able to capture the color, darks, lights and basic mid-tones in this shot. Using cloud movement to help the picture flow & saturation to draw the viewer in I feel that the actual depth of this landscape pops off the page.

Here are a few more for you to study up on. 

Oh Canada

A few times a year I make the trek across the Canadian border to Vancouver. It is a really cool city with awesome food, great places to explore and some really fun architecture. The prices on the other hand are through the roof high, so prepare for that aspect. If you are ever in the area it is definitely worth the trip.

The Olympic Peninsula & Beyond

Just got back from a really nice weekend in Victoria BC. Lot's of amazing little shops and streets to explore and some amazing food & beer along the way. I spent a few hours tonight setting up some actions in Photoshop 6 for luminosity masking and post processing of star shots. These actions will be provided along with an in depth tutorial in the coming months. Photoshop is amazingly powerful for processing star shots and I can't wait to share the info with everyone. Brain is running low, time for bed....

Dear New York

Photomatix was not used to process this shot believe it or not. It was done using my new Cross Process  presets then manually blended together in Photoshop… Gotta try different styles to keep it fresh. Keep an eye out for my new presets scheduled to hit shelves in the next few weeks.

I spent 2 weeks on the East Coast this past month, traveling through Philly, Maryland and then the Big Apple. Along the way I was able to catch 2 electronic music festivals and snap off 3000 or so pictures… Here is the first I have published from the Top of the Rock in NYC. I have also included some of the music I listened to while processing this shot…. Dear New York

Exploring the Night Skies of the Washington Coast

I am so excited that you all are enjoying my Under the Stars Lightroom Presets, thanks so much for the positive feedback. If you have not picked them up yet check out the following link- Dave's Under the Star Lightroom Presets. They are guaranteed to take your night photography to a whole new level.

If you would like to learn how to take these shots, check out my Free Star Photography Tutorial!

You can find all my FREE tutorials at: www.DaveMorrowPhotography.com/learnphotography

So enough with the promotion, I am headed off to Victoria BC tomorrow by way of boat. Hopefully there will be some unique landscapes to shoot up there. Due to all the clouds I see hanging over Seattle right now I really doubt any stars will be hangin' around.

The Shot:

My first time at Ruby Beach on the Olympic Peninsula was amazing. After a decent sunset I went back up to my car and had a few drinks and laid around waiting for the stars. After a while things started to dim down a bit and there it was the Milky Way. This night was like nothing I had ever seen, the stars were basically laying right on top of me. I laid there and stared into the sky forever...

Dave's Star Photography Lightroom 4 Presets

Ready to take your star photography to the next level, and learn some really cool stuff along the way? With my easy-to-use Under The Stars Lightroom 4 presets package & the click of a button your night skies will be transformed forever.

Check out the following shots, then watch the short introduction video below about the presets. If you have any more questions feel free visit Dave's Under the Stars Lightroom 4 Presets Page.

Sold already? Paypal will securely walk you through the steps to purchase & download. Please note, your download link will expire 72 hours after the purchase is made.










Please note the video compression did not process the darker tones very well, you may see minor noise at the bottom of the screen. You will not see any of this noise when using your Under the Stars Lightroom 4 Presets, they will appear just as mine do above.

Under the Stars Lightroom 4 Presets Video

Click below to get the goods!

Not yet sure how to take pictures of the night sky? That's OK just follow the link to my Shooting the Night Sky, Star Tutorial and become an expert in no time.