Category Archives: Photography

Jun 04
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Rainy Day Photography

By | HDR Photography, HDR Software, Lightroom 4, Nature, Photography, Sony HDR Photography, Sony NEX5N, Topaz Adjust, Topaz Clarity, Virginia | No Comments
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HDR Photography With The Sony NEX-5N

 

I’ve been trying to work on my eBook Photographing Bodies Of Water  which is going to be “A beginners guide to taking photographs of water” the past few weeks. Mother Nature must have other plans though, every time I plan to shoot it rains or storms… So I bought a waterproof housing for my Sony NEX5N now that won’t be a problem. 🙂 The housing allows me to use the 18-55mm kit lens and gives me full control of all the buttons on the camera other than adjusting the lens. So far the image quality looks great and I have no complaints! This camera I bought mainly for my walk around camera, but with the release of firmware version 1.02 now it has more use. With now being able to shoot a 3 frame bracket with up to 3ev exposure, HDR photography is now a reality. Sign up for my email list if you’d like to receive updates when my eBook is released!

 

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Stiles Falls at Camp Altamons Shawsville, VA

 

 

May 21
0

Topaz Clarity Results

By | Canon HDR Photography, HDR Software, Photography, Tech Talk, Topaz Clarity | No Comments
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Topaz Clarity First Look

Last week I had the opportunity to test the new product Clarity from Topaz Labs, and I must say I like it! The layout is like most other products from Topaz Labs and the version I had was limited on the presets. With only a couple included for landscapes (in the beta version)  but both seemed to do a pretty good job at adjusting the contrast in the image.  I used it on a few images that I had yet to process, these images were only processed using the Clarity software. Below are a couple photographs that I edited using Topaz Clarity, the included presets were used as a starting point and some slight adjustments were made from there.  To purchase Topaz Clarity click here, and use promo code: claritynew before May 31,2013 for a special reduced price! 🙂

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Topaz Clarity Test image

The left half is edited with Topaz Clarity, right half is straight out of the camera.

 

Twisted Fog

Edited using Topaz Clarity.

 

May 12
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Portrait Photography Roanoke,VA

By | Photography, Virginia | No Comments
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All dressed up for the Prom

Here’s a few pictures I took  of my oldest son right before he went to the Salem High School Prom. Yes I shoot normal portraits too not just HDR and landscapes, not as often as landscapes but I do them. For more information about portraits, family, school, birthdays or events just use the contact form on this site. Mini sessions start at $60.00 which include 30 minutes of shooting at a single location (within the Roanoke/Salem area).  I will travel to do photography at your even too so feel free to contact me with your information and the details for pricing.

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May 05
0

Photographing Bodies Of Water

By | HDR Software, Landscapes, Photography, Photomatix, Photoshop, Tech Talk, Topaz Adjust | No Comments
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Photographing Bodies Of Water

 

I’m working on my first ebook “Photographing Bodies Of Water”. My goal for this book is to give the readers some tips on setting up for the shot and to make those pictures come to life with tips and tricks for processing those images. This book will cover different conditions like cloudy days, bright sunshine and sunsets. The release date for this ebook will be early Summer 2013 with a cost of $6.99.   So if you would like to learn more about HDR Photography or photographing bodies of water this book is for you.

 

Below is an example of what I will show you how to do in this book.

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This is the before picture straight out of the camera.

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This is after using my editing tips.

If you think this book is something that would be helpful to you, please check back often for updates and mark your calendar. 🙂

Apr 08
0

Back From Georgia :)

By | Canon T2i, Floral, Georgia | No Comments
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Hey guys I’m back from Georgia, the week went by way too fast… But no worries I captured lots of photographs to share of my journey.  I have spent the last two evenings sorting through the 2,000 photographs to pick which ones need to be edited and shared. Some of you may wonder how I store my photographs and keep up with them all…. Well on a trip  I usually pack one or two portable hard drives which I download the pictures from my camera to the drives (1TB LaCie Rugged) and another copy on my laptop.  Then once I’m at home I use Lightroom 4 to catalog all of them, the ones to edit I give 4 stars too and the ones that are completed get 5 stars, my smart categories pull these into folders where I can view the ones to edit or post.

 

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Purchase a Print of this photo.

Mar 23
0

Spring Is On The Way!

By | Canon 6D, Floral, Photography, Photography Blog | No Comments
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Well I at least hope so… Next weekend my family and I will be visiting Savannah, GA for the first time.  My camera gear and I are hoping for nice blue skies, warm temps and we would even possibly allow one thunderstorm.  I have been doing some research on spots to visit and that list continues to grow from lighthouses, churches, piers, forts, the list goes on and on.  My plan is to capture as many as possible some during the day and others at night, of course I will be posting a few photographs during the week 🙂 to give you guys a sneak peek of my travels.

 

Here’s a photograph I took this week using a slightly different approach from my normal Floral Photography. I took this using a Canon 17-40mm F4L lens and 13mm extension tube using my Canon 6D.  If you use anything larger than the 13mm extension tube you will have problems focusing the lens. But the result was a daffodil that is just in your face because the flower is filling pretty much the whole frame.

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