Naiad's Ghost - Spirit Falls, Washington

Last night I was on Drink and Click with Lotus Carroll and Juan Gonzalez along with some other great photographers discussing star / night / Milky Way Photography. I have included the YouTube recording below for anyone that missed out. There were some really nice pictures shared from everyone on the show.

During the show I also make an announcement about a special project Michael Shainblum and I have been working on for a while. So tune in!


UPDATE: I'm holding an Online Star Photography Post Processing Group Workshop this Sunday for anyone that wants to follow along as I process a star shot from start to finish. Full details, and sign up HERE.


The Shot
This was another one of those shots that I just couldn't get right. Going back and back again to make more final adjustments it just wasn't happening. After a month of sitting on my computer I opened it up today and decided it was done. For anyone that hasn't been to Spirit Falls yet it seems to be getting much more popular. The location really isn't hard to find, but the hike down can be a bit tricky / dangerous. TJ Thorne did a nice Behind the Scenes Write up and Video that I looked at before venturing down there on my own.

Since I've seen so many pictures coming out of the area, many of them being vertical compositions, I wanted to try the horizontal view. It took some hanging off ledges and setting up my tripod in some strange configurations, but I finally came away with this shot that I snapped off  an hour before sunset as the light painted the trees in color.

Here are the post processing details for anyone interested!

Post Processing Info ( Grab some discount codes to the programs below at bottom of About Me Page )
Processing Time: 1 hour
Music: Lee Burridge Burning Man Set
Drink: A few different Ninkasi beers

Lightroom 4

• Two RAW files were used to make this picture. One for the full scene and then one for the water movement.
• Lighten up the shadows and blacks
• adjust white balance
• + Vibrance & - Saturation 
• Sync both RAW files for all settings
• Final adjustments using clarity brush on the "water" RAW file.
• Export both pictures to TIFF

 Photoshop CS6

•  Blend both picture files together using layer masks.
• Apply Tony Kuypers Luminosity Masking Actions & Techniques to bring out the "mid-tones" and "highlights" in the water and color in the trees 
• Curves to selectively balance light across the entire photo.
• Apply color correction using "Color Balance" adjustment.
• Apply selective color balance to the water and the trees.
• Nik Color Efex Pro Contrast, Sunlight, and warmth / glow selectively through out the photo.
• Nik Output Sharpener ( selectively )
• Noiseware Professional by Imagenomic, the best NR software out there...
• Slight global vignette application
• Clone stamp tool on a bunch of sensor dirt and little things that annoyed me;)
• Save to JPEG.

Click here to buy a print of this photo

2014 In the Field Star Photography Workshop Schedule - Out Now!

After teaching 90+ students over a year of sold out star photography workshops in 2013. I am excited to announce 4 more star photography workshops in 2014. I will be out traveling much of 2014 and won't be around to teach 10 workshops as I did last summer. That being said, these 4 workshops may fill up pretty fast, 15 spots have sold already, so grab your spot today:)

You can find the full details, logistics, and sign up dates on my 2014 Star Photography Workshop Page. I am also including all my Star Photography Post Processing Video Tutorials and Under the Stars Lightroom 4 & 5 Presets as an added bonus for signing up. You will receive all of these digital products as soon as you sign up for the workshop, no need to wait til the actual workshop date:) Please note, although I do provide Lightroom and Photoshop tutorials as free and added bonus with the workshop, you do not need to know anything about either program, nor own any post processing programs to get the full benefits of the workshop.

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions that are not answered on the workshop page. 

I hope to see you under the stars this coming summer!

As for now it's off to China for the next few weeks to do some exploring, camping, and photography of course. I will not be updating the blog during that time, but I'll leave you with my newest shot from Palouse, Washington and a few star shots to spark your interest:) 

The Shot

Over the past 10 weeks I have been traveling non-stop to new locations all over the Pacific Northwest loading up on pictures before the winter months. While these pictures sit on the computer and cool off for a bit as they always do, an older picture from Steptoe Butte Washington will have to suffice. This was an easy one exposure capture adjusted in Lightroom with a few random sliders, then exported to the good old portfolio. 

Click here to buy a print

A few Milky Way photos from one of the locations we will be shooting from during my 2014 Star Photography Workshops.

FROST - Palouse, Washington

Every week or so I go through the website here and clean up random odds and ends, add new content to the static pages, and provide newly learned techniques and other fun stuff like that. Yesterday new content was added to the About Me Page, including some pictures, music, quotes, and books that I like. I find it fun to see what others like, especially for inspirational purposes, so providing everyone with the same sort of content seemed like a good idea.

It's less than a month til we go live for the ( $40 ) Online Star Photography Post Processing Group Workshop. During the session I'll be teaching 9 students my full star photography post processing workflow. You even get a RAW file to work along with me at home and the added bonus of all my video tutorial downloads for free ( 45$ value ). Sign up today! There are 3 spots left.

The Shot
Every time I go to Palouse Washington it seems like a last minute idea. The high speed 5 hour drive through Eastern Washington that follows always knocks me out and makes one wonder why they went through with such an idea. Leaving at 10 PM from Seattle puts you @ Steptoe Butte right as the blue hour light starts to hit the endless abstract fields of color. On this particular day there was a solid frost covering everything and the light refracting through it created an amazing glow over the entire visible landscape.

Post Processing Info ( Grab some discount codes to the programs below at bottom of About Me Page )
Processing Time: 35 Minutes
Music: Kaskade - The Grand Live Set
Drink: Alaska Brewing Company Winter Ale

Lightroom 4

• Single RAW file
• Adjust white balance to accentuate the blues
• Adjust highlights and midtones to bring out the "frosty glow"
• Minimal sharpening and clarity adjustments

Photoshop CS6

• Apply Tony Kuypers Luminosity Masking Actions & Techniques using curves adjustments to selectively increase contrast throughout the image and provide nice glow to the "Bright Lights" selections of the picture. 
• Apply color balance to select areas of the picture. 
• Make the highlights GLOW with Nik Color Efex. ( I only selected the very bright parts of the picture to apply this adjustment using Tony's Actions mentioned above. )
• Nik Color Efex Pro Contrast
• Nik Output Sharpener ( selectively )
• Noiseware Professional by Imagenomic, the best NR software out there...
• Slight global vignette application
• Save to JPEG.

Click here to purchase a print of this picture

Lucy in the Sky - Palouse, Washingon

As of Sunday morning group star photography workshop season is now over for 2013, thanks to all of you that helped to completely sell out my first season of workshops. It was a blast meeting 90+ new photographers, and learning a lot along the way. The 2014 schedule will be released in the next 3 or 4 months. If you would like to be added to the mailing list for the new workshop schedule & locations please enter your email below ( And no I won't SPAM you;)). Thanks!

2014 Star Photography Workshop Mailing List

My Online Star Photography Post Processing Group Workshop still has 3 spots left for anyone that's interested:)

Now it's time to head out on some of my own adventures. The look ahead report says 5 days in Oregon with Conor MacNeill & Greg Annandale starting this weekend, then 11 days in China with Paul Weeks. After that it's off to the East Coast to do some scouting for dark skies, and new locations to fill all those requests I got for star photography workshops all over the country. December brings more adventures of San Francisco and the Southern California coast, but hey, busy is never a bad thing right?

The Shot ( Processed using the skills shown in my Star Photography Post Processing Video Tutorial )
My buddy Connor and I pushed through the 4.5 hour drive out to Palouse Falls and arrived just in time for an amazing sunset. By amazing I mean one of the best I have seen since picking up a camera. After enjoying the nice color and vivid blue hour, we packed up and went looking for some dark skies. Driving through the Palouse in the middle of the night is always fun, here is one of the shots I captured. On a side note, would you rather scroll through a large picture as seen below, or be able to see the full image on your screen? For the later of you just click on the picture and head on over to the portfolio view.

Click here to purchase a print of this photo

So Sorry It's Over - Palouse Falls, Washington

Thanks to everyone that participated in my Free Star Photography Workshop Give Away Contest. I'll select a winner sometime this week and make the announcement. Besides this spot, all this summer star photography workshops are now sold out. If you're still interested in one, feel free to drop me a line to be placed on the waiting list for next year.

So you might have noticed there is a new menu bar at the top of this website, what do you all think? Like it or not? Some feed back would be great. I also recently updated my Post Processing Before & After Page with some new images, tips & tricks. 

If you missed it here is a quick star photography tutorial that I wrote for 500PX. It gives quick overview all of the stuff I cover in the Free Star Photography Tutorial contained on this site.

Tutorial — Photograph The Night Sky http://t.co/moAzRXtkjW
— 500px (@500px) August 8, 2013

The Shot

I went to Palouse Falls during the early months of this year with Meghan and Paul. We had some really nice conditions, but man was it cold. You can grab a shot like this if you hike 5 min up to the top of Palouse Falls. There are a ton of cool compositions all over that park so make sure to hike around a bit:)

Post Processing Info ( Grab some discount codes to the programs below at bottom of About Me Page )

Processing Time: 1.5 hours

Music: Dogsblood Coachella Set

Drink: Snake Doctor IPA from McMenamins Pub In Seattle

Lightroom 4  ( Check out my Learn Photography Page for all my tutorials )

1. 3 Exposures captured at -2EV, 0EV and +2EV.
2. Adjust 0EV RAW file in LR4 then sync others to match all settings less exposure.
3. Export to (3) JPEGS

Photoshop CS6

1. Apply Tony Kuypers Luminosity Masking Actions & Techniques using channels to selectively blend the three files into one well exposed file.
2. Color balance and slight overall saturation adjustment OnOne Perfect Photo Suite
3. Selectively adjust contrast and vibrance using luminosity masks.
4. Nik Output Sharpener
5. Apply slight vignette with Nik Color Efex Pro 4, Darken / Lighten Center preset.
6. Use spot brush to remove sensor dirt and fix up a few messy spots.

After the Magic

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Before the Magic ( RAW file no adjustments )

Lost: In the Valley of Dreams - Mount Rainier, Washington

Does anyone ever wake up and hope for clouds & rainy skies? Seattle has been so sunny lately, waking up to some dim & gloomy skies this morning was definitely welcomed. One of my buddies Paul Rutherford is in town for the weekend and we ventured up to the top of the Space Needle for sunset. The colors were great & the city lights up nicely a bit after sunset. Highly suggest a trip to the top if you are in the area.

PS: One spot just opened up in my Online Star Photography Post Processing Group Workshop if anyone wants it. 

The Shot

A few weeks ago a group of 9 students and myself were out taking pictures at Mount Rainier. The night was absolutely perfect for Milky Way shots, we even got some air glow here and there. It's a blast taking a bunch of awesome photographers out to capture the night sky, especially on a clear night like this. Thanks to everyone that came out to the In the Field Workshop!

Click to hang this picture on your wall!

As It Fades - Palouse, Washington

Any of you Seattleites ever been to the Triple Door in downtown Seattle? The entire month of October they will be displaying 20+ of my prints around their venue. If you have been waiting to get a large print, this would be a great time to buy. More info to come on exact dates and all that good stuff!

A few quick links with new stuff & headsups... some call this news.

More updates to my Free Star Photography Tutorial just came out today, there are some really good NEW tips in there.

3 Spots left for the entire summer in my In the Field Star Photography Workshops.

2 spots left for my Online Star Photography Post Processing Group Workshops on August 4th.

And for your troubles.... here's a picture.

The Shot

I can't believe it's been a year + since I took this picture. Some pictures sit on the computer a while before getting processed such as this one, others fly right out the door. At any rate, I snapped this from the top of Steptoe Butte in Palouse Washington. This one was taken at f/16, ISO 100 and 0.2" seconds. Strange how I would never use those settings these days for a regular old landscape shot, more like f/8, live and learn...

Come On! Click to hang a print on your wall:)

A Passing Glimpse - Mount St. Helens, Washington

Thanks to everyone who attended and helped to sell out each of my star photography workshops this past weekend. The weather was about as good as it can get & we were able to capture some amazing Milky Way shots. You will probably see them floating around the web in the coming weeks. From the looks of things, everyone is starting to try out star photography, I have seen some pretty cool shots on different social networks. Time to step my game up....

PS: If you still want to attend one of my summer star workshops the time to sign up is now, I believe there are 3 or 4 spots left for the entire summer. Another option is signing up to win a spot for free. See below.

Star Photography Workshop Give Away Contest Sign Up!

The Shot

Well this is strange, two flower shots in a row? That doubles the count for the entire time I have been taking pictures... so if you enjoy them, well suck it all up, these are the last ones left on the computer. This was taken at Mount St. Helens in Washington State for all you map addicts out there. Enjoy!

Click here to buy a print 

Remember the Night - Picture Lake, WA

Just got done packing all my camping gear, it's off to Mount Rainier for my first star photography workshop of the season. Anyone else gonna be up there this weekend? Maybe we will run into you. None the less, happy shooting...

The Shot

Mount Baker is another one of those locations where the nights are so dark you can barely see your own hand. If you wana capture some great star shots I highly recommend this location. I took this one at Picture Lake which always seems to be photogenic. There are some great hikes in the area as well if you aren't into this whole photography thing. 

Click here to hang this picture on your wall

When We Were Stars - Palouse, WA

A 3 day weekend is on the way and I still have no clue where I'm headed. Apparently bad weather is headed towards to the Seattle area so maybe the Oregon Coast is a good call... I recently updated my Star Photography Post Processing Video Tutorial as well as my Free Star Photography Tutorial, so if you have some free time this weekend, give them a try, I promise you won't be disappointed:)

The Shot

After work one night around midnight we decided to hit the road and gun it towards Palouse Falls for sunrise, as we were driving through the middle of no where the Milky Way popped out so I pulled the X-Terra over and took some pics...

Interested in a print? Click here!

The Night Watch- Ruby Beach, WA

This will be my last day posting to the blog for a week, I am headed off to Italy for a much needed vacation. We are landing in Venice, then traveling Cinque Terre & the last destination is Rome. Hopefully there will be some great weather, lots of new pictures, along with some amazing food & lots of wine. If you want to learn some star photography while I'm gone, here are some useful links to do so.

Free Star Photography Tutorial

In the Field Star Photography Workshops @ Mount Rainier

Online Star Photography Post Processing Group Workshops

Star Photography Post Processing Video Tutorial

Under the Stars Lightroom 4 Presets
Star Photography Portfolio

The Shot

During my last Online Star Photography Post Processing Group Workshop we processed this shot. I really like how it turned out. The night it was taken at Ruby Beach Washington was one of the darkest nights I have ever seen. The Milky Way felt so bright that it seemed to hang right over the ocean.

Click to hang this shot on your wall

Golden Dreams - Goldendale, Washington

I am counting down with excitement the days until I leave for Italy. Thanks for all the great suggestions on places to visit everyone, I really appreciate it. For any of you that may be interesting in buying some of my photography to hang on your wall I made a quick and easy video to walk you through the steps. Any of the pictures that I post on here can be purchased.

The Shot

This one comes from my first trip to the Columbia Gorge and the first time shooting with my Nikon D800. I took it exactly a year ago this week in the Golden Dale area of Washington.

Click to buy a print

Impending Doom - Seattle, WA

Wow what a weekend in the Pacific Northwest, the weather was absolutely perfectly, especially for star photography  I made a trip down to Oregon & the Mount Hood Region to capture the Milky Way, along the way we were able to make the hikes to Dry Creek Falls and Tamanawas Falls, both well worth the 4-5 mile round trip hikes. I have also added the newest date for my Online Star Photography Post Processing Group Workshops, so grab a spot:) 

The Shot

Sometimes the weather here in Seattle gets a bit funky, at times it's absolutely amazing for photography. Here is a shot from Kerry park, looking the oposite directly that most people normally do.

Jack's Friends - Desolation Peak, WA

Holding onto pictures a long time prior to processing is never a bad thing. This is one of the first shots I ever took with a DSLR way back from 2010ish up North in Desolation Peak Washington. One of my favorite authors Jack Kerouac spent a summer at the fire tower on top of the peak. Do you have a favorite Jack Kerouac Book? Mine is easily On the Road, I know it's now trendy, but damn what a good read.

The Shot

Mount Hozomeen can be seen in the far distance looming in the clouds and shaking up weather systems in all directions. Sometimes storms will roll in so fast that you barely have time to grab a camera or better yet shelter from the storm.

Hang a print of this shot on your wall

Revolution: Here Comes the Night - Picture Lake, WA

Crossing my fingers for no rain and heading off to Hug Point Oregon tomorrow to do some camping, exploring and of course photography. There are of course some other cool locations down that way like Cannon Beach, does anyone have any less known suggestions that are great for photos? I would love to shoot at some new spots...

The Shot

Once again it's star photography Friday and I'm keeping my word by posting a star shot. I also processed 7 or so new star pics this past week so there will be dones of new ones coming down the line. This shot was taken at Picture Lake in the North Cascades, you can see the reflections in there if you look hard enough. You can learn how I processed it in my Free Star Photography Tutorial.

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Rafter's Revenge - Franklin Falls, WA

Another day in the books, or maybe my night is just starting? It's always hard to tell how long the night will last after sitting down at the computer , opening Photoshop, putting some music on the surround sound & cracking a beer.

The first part of the night was spent doing some website design which included some fun new additions to the site... can you find them? One of them has to do with my Summer Star Photography Workshops which you should sign up for right now. NOW!

The Shot

Franklin Falls is just an awesome place for a Sunday afternoon hike and some beers, photos, or anything else that may strike your interest. I got wind of the place from my buddy The Starving Photographer. This guy is an insane photographer, trust me check out his site. Here is what came of my trip to the location... If your interested in some tips on how to shoot waterfalls check out this quick and easy How To Video I posted early in the week.

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I Cover the Waterfront - Alki Beach, WA

Sometimes I hold on to photos forever before posting them or even processing them, such as the ones from my Maui trip in December. Others for some reason or another get processed right away like the shot posted tonight. I love going back through old photos, especially if their lost and forgotten at the point, then processing them. I'll leave you with a long exposure "How To" video I made while taking the shot posted below. It includes some tips for extremely sharp images. You can find all my free videos HERE on YouTube! After posting a nature and city picture back to back I may as well give you the best of both worlds... Enjoy!

The Shot

Once in a while I get enough time to venture over to Alki Beach. Sitting around the house wide awake last week around 5 AM, I decided I had nothing better to do than stay up til sunrise. It ended up being well worth the long night and the sunrise was amazingly colorful. 

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Winter Glow - Palouse Falls, WA

As of now my new Luminosity Masking Video Tutorial is now on sale. I will cover my full luminosity masking workflow, including how to make them for yourself and use them to process pictures ranging from stars to landscape and beyond! The package also includes my Luminosity Mask Photoshop Actions and an in depth high resolution video. For the next 3 days you can get 30% off the list price by using the coupon code BIG30 when checking out:)

Dave's Luminosity Masking Video Tutorial

The Shot

I went to Palouse Falls a few weeks back for the 3rd time and really wanted to capture a different view of the whole thing. Early one freezing morning walking around the upper viewpoints I found this slick little composition.... Hopefully you enjoy it:)

Click here to buy a print!

Journey to the Heavens - Ruby Beach, WA

There are only a few days left to vote for my picture in the Smithsonian Photography Contest Finals. I have pulled into first place and would love to win this thing! Please help me by clicking HERE and voting for my shot which is number 18. After selecting the picture just scroll to the bottom and click submit. You can vote once every 24 hours. 

As for tonight I am just finishing up a few pictures from NYC and packing a bag for Miami. Tomorrow morning I leave for my vacation and Ultra Music Festival, so I'll be taking a break from posting a picture for the next few days, unless somehow motivation comes through in the wee hours of the morning. If you get bored take a few of my free tutorials provided at :

www.DaveMorrowPhotography.com/learnphotography

The Shot

One of my favorite places to shoot star photography is the Olympic Peninsula, there is just something great about the Milky Way combined with water and the beach. I found a small bridge made of logs crossing a stream on Ruby Beach and thought it was cool enough to capture, so here ya go...

When Dreams Come True - Seattle, WA

Finding new places to shoot in Seattle is becoming more and more of a challenge. I did manage to find some cool new spots to explore lately, and the wild weather has made for some pretty cool shots. If you want to find these places for yourself you can check out my special photo set on the Stuck on Earth App or head over to Flickr for the Pacific Northwest Top 50 Set which includes all geo-tagged photos from the Northwest. Feel free to add me as a friend while you are over there:)

The Shot

Discovery Park is it's own little world on the outskirts of Seattle which provides some nature hidden within all the chaos of a fairly big city. In terms of escaping for a few hours, there really isn't a better place! Here is another fun shot from my Nikkor 16mm Fisheye lens.