MV Photography

www.mvphotography.com.au now fully functional

2010-04-11T21:56:00.004+10:00

Just a reminder that my new website and blog is 100% up and running at www.mvphotography.com.au. There will be no more post from Google Blogger.

New Website Up and Running

2010-01-01T22:36:00.004+11:00

Happy new year to everyone. A new year, a new website. After a little bit of time in research and planning, my new website is up and running. No longer my website and blog will be located in two different places making it easier to see all the latest news, photos and my services all in the one place. Just go to my main web address http://www.mvphotography.com.au/ to go see the new website. There are still a few things unfinished, but the majority of it is there.

So this is my final post on Google Blogger. Enjoy the new website that I'm very proud of to have.

Yours sincerely Marcel Van der Horst

New Image Upload to Flickr

2009-12-30T17:33:00.005+11:00

Click on the image to enlarge

On my usual trip down to Inverloch for Christmas I went to see one of the most photographed icons in the area, the Eagle's Nest on Cape Paterson - Inverloch Rd. It's only a short walk from the car to view it from the look out and about a couple of hundred meters on foot to the beach. You do have to have good shoes to access the point as it is very rocky. Check the tidal patterns before attempting to get to the point as there is always a risk of being stranded. I made sure we wouldn't get trapped by the tide there by checking tide and sunset times for the area.

I only took a few frames that evening as the sunset went very quickly and of course the best light was 10-15 minutes after the sun went down. The slow shutter speed captured the dusk glow on the rocks.

Shot with 2Stop Neutral Density (ND) graduated and UV filter. My Polarizer filter was all scuffed from the Kata filter pouch and I couldn't clean it in time for the light show.

Tash & Andrew - November 14th 2009

2009-12-24T07:53:00.004+11:00

A few more images from Natasha and Andrew's wedding last month. Click on image to view larger.

Important Dates for December and 2010

2009-12-11T14:51:00.004+11:00

Monday 14th December: Order cut off for Craftwood mounted prints
Thursday 19th December: Order cut off for Metallic prints and Photo Folios
Monday 21st December: Final post day for mailing orders from MV Photography
Tuesday 22nd December: Order Cut off for Lustre prints (personal delivery orders only)
Thursday 24th December to 1st January: Limited email access, so I might not be able to return emails promptly or see any clients for wedding bookings
Wednesday 6th of January: Orders resume for printed products
Thursday 7th of January: Not available due to turning 30!

Printing products ordered after the cut off dates will be delivered after the 6th of January.

Limited weekends left for wedding bookings in 2010.

December Catch Up

2009-12-11T10:11:00.003+11:00

Hi all, a busy November/December for MV Photography, so I haven't even had time to blog. Sorry about that, I'll get more into it during the Christmas Holidays with more tips and tricks and personal photographic projects.

The wedding photos for Tash and Andrew are now finished and they are now awaiting their delivery on Sunday. In all I edited the selection down to just under 500 images, which was needed as I covered most of the reception as well. Look out for a post after the weekend with more images to see from their fantastic garden wedding on a sunny spring day.
New matted photo folios are on the way in 6x4" and 8x12" holding 10 or 20 photos. Samples will be available for viewing by clients after the weekend. The pricing has not been decided yet, but I'll post some information and photos next week. Each come in a classy gift box and really look the goods. A great product to display your favorite photos of your special day without having to do the time consuming process of creating a photo book or the expense of ordering a flush mount album.
A new wedding price list is in the works with more packages to choose from with easy to understand options. Some print products will be scaled back in order to make way for other new and exciting products as print technology is advancing to levels never seen before. Some extensive research and sales history was analysed to offer products that are suitable for most clients, to keep it simple and keep my prices competitive.
Coming this summer to the MV Photography blog is more useful information for both clients and fellow photographers including; book reviews, product reviews, new MV Photography products and projects.
Still more photos from the wedding and travel archives to come. As I get time I look through my image collections and edit a photo for posting on Flickr. This keeps both my Flickr photo stream and my blog moving along.
As I had promised many times before the new website is being developed very soon. My webmaster Belinda has finally got some time for me this summer! This time around we will see a new direction for MV Photography with the new branding, a simple navigation interface and possibly an integrated blog.
All the best and come back soon. Stay safe these holidays.

Tash & Andrew 14th November 2009

2009-11-23T22:01:00.010+11:00

Click on a photo to view it larger. These are only very quick edits and some a straight out of camera. Fully edited versions will be posted when the clients receive their finished images.

New Wedding Photos Coming Soon.

2009-11-23T21:22:00.005+11:00

Hi all, it's been a full on later half to November with a big 200 person wedding last week and me being sick as a dog with the flu in the week just past.

The wedding of Tash and Andrew went without a hitch, the rain stayed away but it was well into the 30's temperature wise causing me to sweat like nothing else lugging two cameras and flashes the whole day, and I mean the whole day. Luckily I brought a change of clothes, which is highly recommended with such a long coverage. Belinda and I did a full day's coverage that went into the night, starting out at a Bread and Breakfast in Upwey, Victoria for the getting ready photos and then onto a wonderful private property in the heart of Upwey for the ceremony and reception owned by the lovely couple Cole and Janine.

I was well prepared with 3 camera bodies, 6 lenses and four flashes and nearly 30GB of memory cards. Thanks to Croydon Camera House for the loan of a Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 zoom and a 30mm f1.4 prime lens for the day.

I can't stress the importance of backup equipment at a wedding especially for the low budget weekend warriors starting out, as I experienced first hand that a camera can play up at a crucial moment. I once had my main camera seize up on me and flash error-88 on the display. I had no idea what it meant and how to fix it, so I kept shooting with my back up. When I had a few seconds, I had to investigate what the problem was. The camera wouldn't even turn off, it just locked up on me. So I just removed the batteries and that reset the camera, and it performed flawlessly for the rest of the day.

I made sure I had all the focal lengths covered with my assistant using the 24-70mm which is a great versatile focal length for weddings and I had loaded my 70-200mm F4L IS and a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 which performed beautifully. I'd have to say the Sigma was OK, but not brilliant, though it was a suitable alternative to the Canon version which is three times the price.The 30mm f1.4 Prime lens on the other hand worked really well, but I found I didn't use it all that much except for a few ambient light shots at the reception. I'd sooner invest in a Canon 50mm f1.4 or a Canon 85mm f1.8 for the low light stuff.

This was the first event I got to try out (in a real circumstance, not practiced on my cat) wireless ETTL flash with Canon 580ex IIs and boy they really worked. I was super happy on how easy they are to set up, how flexible they are, how easy they are to change settings on the fly and how robust they are in terms of recycle speed and output. I also mixed my wireless Nikon slaves as well in the mix with a transmitter Velcroed to the top of my master flash and it all mixed perfectly. The only problem is that they fire at different times, but I kept my shutter speeds fast enough to avoid any ghosting problems. In all I was happy with the results.

Next is the mammoth task of editing the photos and getting them back to Tash and Andrew as soon as possible. I'd like to thank the happy couple, all the people that I co-ordinated with on the day and my trusty assistant Belinda who put up with my bossing around all day.

November Catch Up

2009-11-08T15:16:00.003+11:00

Nothing much to report this month, except it is hot already, so I'm not looking forward to any 40 plus degree days.

Attended a Shelton Muller Photography Workshop recently and had an absolute ball. Well worth the admission fee, and they really put you to the test. I'd recommend them to anyone, beginner or otherwise.
Loving my new 70-200mm L lens at the moment. Great handling and excellent sharpness.
Getting to know my Canon 580EX II lenses at the moment in Master and slave modes. Not in plain English in the manual, nor on the back of the flash's LCD screen. I'll let you when I get them down pat.
I bought a couple of Western Digital My Book eSATA 1TB Drives for data backup. What an absolute pain they are to use. I have to go into my boot menu every time I start the PC to launch off my C drive instead of attempting to boot of the Western Digital. I can't wait to get a new computer so they will just work. Maybe a Mac?
I have a big 200 person wedding coming up in Upwey next weekend. I'll be packing 3 camera bodies and hiring extra lenses to make sure I'm packing properly for the job. Wish me luck.

New Images on Flickr

2009-11-08T15:07:00.005+11:00

Ones from the USA Holiday Archive. These particular images I think about when I reflect on my trip to Zion National Park in Utah. Amazing nature carved into a canyon over billions of years and amazing sunsets causing the mountains to glow red.

both were taken with the humble Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 on my Canon 50D. Both were taken on tripod with mirror lock up to retain the best image sharpness.

View the bigger images here.

New Images on Flickr

2009-10-25T15:08:00.003+11:00

Hi everybody, here are some pics from a trip to the Dandenong Ranges to the 2009 Tulip Festival and the Alfred Nicholas Gardens. Being Spring the flowers were out in force and everywhere was a buzz of activity because it was really one of the first warm days of Spring.

The series of photos above are a small selection taken on the day, most of them with my new Canon 70-200mm f4L IS lens which is absolutely flawless (that's another post).

To see the rest go to my 'My City Melbourne' set on Flickr here

Portraits in the Garage

2009-10-08T07:22:00.007+11:00

Shooting a high key portrait of three people is difficult with just two flashes especially when you want to light up the background white. Typically a portrait is done with a key light (the main light) and a fill light to fill the shadows cast by the main light. Add the want to have a completely white back drop (which gives me the ability to do channel masking to separate the subjects from the backdrop or introduce my own backgrounds if I wanted to) and you need a third. Because i shot this before I got my two 580EX II flashes I had to figure something out.

Here is the setup (above) with my Nikon SB-28 key light on a stand with an umbrella mount. I diffused the light with a diffuser before it hits the shoot though umbrella to further soften the light. As I was shooting young ladies I needed the softest possible light. On the step you can see I used a white balance card to get all the lights colour balanced and even using CTO gels over the flashes.

You maybe wondering why I went to the trouble of gelling the lights and colour balancing for black and white photos, but there were some colour ones selected for the final print run. Above is my Nikon SB-24 clamped to a shelf in the garage facing the white wall (I thank the house's builders for that) with my homemade snoot/flag with a silver backing to spread the light, but also to flag the light from the camera to prevent any lens flare. Both lights were triggered with my modified Gadget Infinity wireless triggers and I was happy with their reliability during the shoot as I only got a 1 in 20 misfire and I think mainly because I was working faster than the flashes recycle time.

The main reason for gelling the lights was to match the colour temperature of the halogen work lamps I used to fill the shadows. Even though the globes were rated daylight colour balance they still hovered in the 4000k range which was too warm for the flash's 5600k. I had these reflecting of a foam core board I got from an art store clamped to a light stand to diffuse the light. I set all the flashes power to suit the output of the work lamps and resulted in a shutter speed around 1/60th of a second, just adequate for hand holding the camera with the type of lens I had mounted (Tamron 17-50mm f2.8).

Post production was relatively simple and repeatable which is important in portrait photography. I brought the clients inside to view the images on a Plasma TV with the HDMI output out my Canon 50D, which is super handy and the quality is outstanding (and surprisingly colour accurate). They made a short list of favorite images so I could make adjustments to their selections without wasting time on all of the images shot.

Next was import all the images into Adobe Lightroom to do all the RAW adjustments and create a proofing slideshow for the client to review their selections in greater detail. I always show the image file numbers on the slideshow to make print ordering as simple as possible for both the client and myself. Its simple, its fast and its cheap. The client then emails me back their final print selections after reviewing the price list and then I make any further adjustments if needed then I can further edit the images in Photoshop.

Each image has selective skin softening, selective sharpening on the eyes, nostrils, teeth & hair, teeth & eye whitening, clone out any blemishes, smooth out the tonal range to avoid harsh shadows and then finally a subtle diffusion layer to soften the entire image. The finals are then saved as an uncompressed TIF file and sent to my pro lab for printing.

Over time I'll be developing my outdoor and environmental portraits to add a bit more of an edge. For enquires feel free to email me marcel at mvphotography dot com dot au.

The Flashes have arrived

2009-10-04T17:24:00.003+11:00

One thing you would know about me if you were a reader is that I'm into using flash photography. I mainly try to get the flash off camera as the light is always more interesting. Up until now I have been using to Nikon Speedlights in full manual mode as slaves using a set of modified Gadget Infinity wireless triggers to set them off during the exposure. I did get to the point I could guess the exposure roughly and tweak it by chimping the LCD display but that always wasted time and precious battery power.

Now I have two, yes two 580EX II Canon Speedlights so now I can use E-TTL metering on and off camera via infra-red, so I can make adjustments right from the camera mounted flash. If business is good I'll add a third to the group and sell my Nikons. If the range of the speedlight's signals are too short for the job I can always set to manual and use my wireless radio triggers.

I've already got myself another radio trigger, some Stofen diffusers and Velcro cinch straps to attach any light modifiers. I'll need to devise a system where I can use a flash on camera with E-TTL as well as a radio trigger mounted to the top and connected to the PC Sync port on the side of the camera.

When I get to chance to play with these babies, I'll post the pics.

September Catch Up

2009-09-29T07:55:00.006+10:00

It's been 3 weeks since my last post, slack i know, but I've been both sick and busy at my day job. Here's what's happening in MV Photography world this month and coming soon.

New business cards are a hit
My first Canon 580EX II Speedlight is in the bag with a second one in the mail. Can't wait to have a good play with these babies
Website has been put on hold even though my current one is horribly out of date
Wedding bookings are coming thick and fast. I only have 7 spots left up until this time next year. If you are thinking about contacting me for wedding now is the time to lock it in
Start saving as I'll give you a heads up to my readers. I have a super duper sale on 8x12" and 12x16" Metallic Fine Art Prints coming up. I'll have a couple of new print releases coming and the sale will be on overstock of my print library. Stay tuned
A new topic that I'll cover here on the blog is book reviews. I'll have detailed reviews of photographer specific books that I have collected over time and no doubt in the future
Loc over at UpDown Apparel still hasn't made a blog post
A look into my wedding collages and new print products will be coming soon. I just have to take some nice pictures of them and create a couple more collages and custom art frames

New Wedding Day Photo Collages

2009-09-06T20:58:00.007+10:00

Along with my new frame and printing products are my wedding photo collages. Made to order in any standard print size with your favourite images from your special day. Each collage is created from scratch in Photoshop with elements that suit the look and feel of the day.

Select between four and eight photos and each one will be individually treated to create a visual story of your wedding day ready to frame yourself or mounted ready for hanging upon request.

More samples to come.

New Photo Added to Flickr

2009-09-05T22:25:00.005+10:00

This one is from the 2008 USA holiday archives.

Leaving the Grand Canyon out to the east you are led passed a walking track to look out over the eastern most reaches of the canyon, still extending up to a 1000 foot depth.

It was still early morning as we rose for a sunrise photo shoot on the South Rim. The light got more interesting as the morning went on, resulting in spots of sunlight on the surrounding hills. The view you see here is when you are returning from the lookout. The hut you see there is an abandoned Indian Hut, which are quite numerous on this side of the Canyon. What was sad there was also an abandoned wreck of a '69 Camaro there too.

I took an auto bracketed exposure of this scene as there was quite a bit of contrast from the rising sun. In post I did the usual RAW adjustments, but warming it up a bit and boosting the blacks. In Photoshop, I applied a series of adjustment layers to increase the drama of the light.

The larger version can be found here.

New Business Card!

2009-08-29T17:01:00.004+10:00

Late last week I recieved from the printer my new business card. So far a good reception from everyone for its design. The top photo shows that I had the edges die-cut to add a bit of interest. The front is gloss laminated and the back matt laminated for classy look.

I decided to go with a vertical design to be a little different than usual. That orientation presented a challenge by not having enough room for the logo left to right, so to get it big enough I had to go top to bottom. I did the same on the back with the blog address.

The photo featured on the front is of some hanging lights at the Docklands shopping district in Melbourne, intentially taken out of focus at f1.8 with a 50mm lens.

For more information on products and services you can email me on marcel@mvphotography.com.au

This Weeks Catch Up

2009-08-27T12:43:00.002+10:00

I have been busy the last couple of weeks. This is what's happening in the world of MV Photography at the moment.

New business cards have been ordered, once they arrive I'll post a picture and talk about the design process
My first client wedding collage has been created and printed. When I have some time I'll post the collage
New print samples have arrived this week. The gold old craftwood mount with a Kodak Lustre and Metallic print attached and the exciting new acrylic mount metallic prints. Once I photograph them I'll post a pic
New wedding price list in development
Website is still in planning stages. I'm not sure whether I should go a custom made site, which is time consuming and difficult to upgrade, a kit website from a developer or a premium wordpress blog. I like the latter as it is cheaper, easier and quicker, but that means I have to transfer all my blog material. That would take a while I'd imagine
Not far away from purchasing a couple of Canon 580EX IIs for TTL flash
A drool worthy Canon 7D and 60D is due out either later in the year or early 2010. Head over to Canon Rumours for the goss. The only thing I need beside more lenses is a low noise camera for low available light. Hey if business is good I'll go for a Canon 5D MkII
Picture This 2009 over at the Brunswick Street Gallery is happening soon. Probably Melbourne's best opportunity to gain some recognition in the photographic community where there are some major cash prizes up for grabs. Entries close this weekend, so I may not have time to organise some pictures, let alone afford the entry fee. I'll see how I go
Missed out on the Strobist Assignment 3 due to time constraints, but I'll be all good for number four (if there is one)
LJ over at UpDown still hasn't written anything on his blog

New Photos from the Wedding Archive

2009-08-17T07:39:00.003+10:00

Some of these have been posted on the website before, but some have been revamped in Photoshop a little bit to make them suit my liking a bit more. Here is a link to the Flickr Slideshow

For more details of wedding services go to the contact page of my website or drop me a line a marcel@mvphotography.com.au to receive a free, no obligation information package.

New Photo Added to Flickr

2009-08-16T15:32:00.005+10:00

Here is one from the USA holiday archives. This is one of a series of square cropped images that I'll be doing. When new ones pop up you will see it here first.

For the larger version, click here and go to 'All sizes'

2009 Scott Kelby Photowalk St Kilda

2009-08-09T18:00:00.002+10:00

As promised here are the photos from the 2nd Annual Scott Kelby Photowalk in St Kilda, Melbourne. Overall it was a fun day meeting new people and photographing new things, but we were a little let down by the weather at times as it rained a little causing rain drops on the front of our lenses. On the otherhand we were lucky to have some momentary light at times to get some great photographs. It got dark very quickly in the evening causing some of us to boost the ISO of our cameras to get some shots down Acland St. Can't wait untill next years event where I aim to nominate myself as a walk leader.

To have a look at the larger images, here is a link to the slideshow on Flickr (click on the link and click on the box with the 4 arrows in it for full screen mode)

August Catch Up

2009-08-06T13:42:00.005+10:00

I hate Telstra and Telstra Bigpond. Just by moving house and all their red tape, we haven't had Internet for over a week, so I couldn't manage client emails, cruise Flickr or write a blog post. Their service is sub-par and no-one there really cares about their customers. End of rant.

The 2009 Scott Kelby Photowalk photos will be posted as soon as I have access to the Internet at home again
The MV Photography website is still in deep planning stages at the moment
Still on the back burner is my new business card (I only really need an hour or two for that!).
As I mentioned before we have moved house, so I have a newer and bigger office with new furniture (except for my broken eBay chair). I plan to hang pictures everywhere!
My shoot for the Dandenong Ranges calendar was rained out (I wasn't going to get up at 5AM with the risk of no sunrise and getting my camera wet) so another time will have to be scheduled
My mate Lochie over at UpDown Apparel has a new blog http://www.updownapparel.blogspot.com/ He hasn't written anything yet, but I'll keep on his back and let you all know when he does
Soon to invest in a new flash (Canon 580EX II) to speed up my flash use at weddings. With E-TTL metering, I'll get more accurate exposures and more power. This will mean more accessories and light modifiers, but it will be worth it when I see the pictures. I've had experience with the 580EX and found it easy to use and it has plenty of power even in harsh sunlight
On the horizon are new wedding collages for my wedding clients. They are much like an album page, but poster sized to hang up on your wall. Once I create some samples, I'll post them here on the blog with the prices

Until next time...

Another Scott Kelby Photowalk gone.

2009-07-20T16:08:00.003+10:00

On the weekend just past I attended the annual Scott Kelby Photowalk in St Kilda, Victoria. I was one of over 30,000 photographers in over 900 cities worldwide to walk the streets of our local towns to take photos with the aim to have a fun social gathering and aim for a prize in the amazing prize pool.

The weather was not the greatest unfortunately, so the weather report was actually right for once. Not there is anything wrong with overcast days, but there was light rain about which didn't cause much concern for our camera's electronics, but caused an annoyance with a few spots on the lens. There was about 10-15 minutes of spectacular light, but where we stood there wasn't many subjects to photograph.

Overall we all had a good time and thanks to Mark our walk leader. Over the coming days I'll be posting my shots on Flickr and tell you all about all the shots here on the blog.

On another photo adventure note, my proposed photoshoot in the Dandenong Ranges got rained out, so I got up at 5AM for nothing. Even though I won't make the competition date for the calendar I'll still give it a go. Because practice makes perfect!

Advice for the Advance Holiday Photographer Part 6

2009-07-14T14:21:00.013+10:00

Do I shoot RAW files or JPEG Files?

This blog post might ruffle some feathers in the photographer community as well as cause some confusion about what is better. I don't want to partake in any debate of which is better, just simply put forward information to someone that would be travelling with a DSLR camera and how the different file formats effect them. Shoot RAW, or not to shoot RAW, that is the question. Sorry I had to say that. I'll qualify by saying I shoot RAW files all the time, because it rules. No question about it. In my Canon 50D I usually shoot full size 15MP RAW files and the Standard Small JPEG file just purely for a file reference in Windows Explorer and if I want to send a small file over the Internet quickly without having it go anywhere near Photoshop or the like.

But shooting just RAW files is not always practical for a lot of shooters out there. A 15MP RAW file is about 20MB in size. That certainly chews through a 2GB or 4GB memory card quite quickly, especially if you record JPEG at the same time. On the other hand, the processing ability inside cameras today are really advance and customisable, so a JPEG straight out the camera will result (if taken or shot right) into a good quality printable photo. The diagram below shows the memory usage difference between the two formats, and this alone might swing some people.

Lets delve into the differences, so grab a coffee to keep you awake. I won't get into all the numbers for all those techno nerds, just what they are and how it affects you.

RAW Files

A RAW file is really what it sounds like, it is the raw data captured by the image sensor in the camera. Just about every DSLR and some high-end compact cameras feature RAW capture, whether they'd be called .NEF, TIFF files or their own proprietary name.

When the data is captured by the sensor, it is written to the memory card directly without any post capture processing applied by the camera. The only reason why you would capture RAW files is to apply processing to them on a computer that is beyond the scope of the camera's inbuilt processor. The RAW is uncompressed data unlike a JPEG file, hence why the file size is substantially larger, simply because at capture time there is no data discarded or compressed. Having all the data allows to process the image in post production software like Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Camera RAW, Capture One or the one provided with the camera.

With a RAW file you can extract more shadow detail, recover lost highlight detail, push saturation, apply your own level of sharpening and noise reduction and more. The most important i think is the ability to change white balance or the colour temperature. I can make a photo look cooler or warmer with a simple slider adjustment. I utilise this flexibility of RAW with just about every picture I take. If I ever expose an image a little bit on the underexposed side, I can adjust the exposure in the RAW processor, like I could have in camera. I always aim to nail the exposure right in camera as much as possible, but with the narrow exposure latitude of digital cameras and easily fooled exposure meters it is easy to miss. No body is perfect anyway!

I also like using RAW because you can change just about any aspect of the photograph in regards to colour and overall appearance. I am often happy playing around with a RAW for a minute or two in Camera RAW or Adobe Lightroom and come out with a much more pleasing looking photo than I would a standard JPEG straight out of camera and sometimes the image never needs to go as far as Photoshop, except when I need to enlarge it, sharpen it further or do things beyond the scope of the RAW converter like removing distractions and using complex layer techniques. To speed up the RAW editing process I have set up numerous presets that allow me to make the photo look the way I want with a simple click of the mouse. I can often process a few hundred photos in a few hours, but that is usually because I scrutinize every picture and each picture will have fine tuning, but you could always simply apply one preset to the entire photo shoot and your RAW processing will only takes minutes.

I won't talk about RAW anymore than I have to, because you can go forever on the topic as it is so in-depth, just simply because RAW is so flexible. One of the biggest RAW Evangelists is found here: http://www.rawworkflow.com/ and also a couple of good places to go for the nitty gritty details http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/RAW-file-format.htm and http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/u-raw-files.shtml

JPEGs

JPEG is an acronym for Joint Photographics Experts Group and is the current standard for lossy picture compression. Lossy meaning parts of the digital file are discarded to make the file size smaller (at around 10:1 compression usually). When a JPEG is recorded in camera to a memory card it is captured in the same way a RAW file is. It then passes through the camera's internal processor after being held temporarily in the camera's buffer memory. The camera processor's job is to apply any form of effects or compression. In most cases this will be a colour saturation level, contrast level, sharpness level, white balance, noise reduction and compression algorithms.

The major benefit of shooting JPEG files at image capture is that the file is substantially smaller than a RAW file, saving memory card space, allowing you to shoot more pictures on one card. This is especially the case when you shoot both RAW and JPEG at the same time (See diagram at the top of the article). Another benefit is the ability to take the photo and immediately use that image in any way, for example printing it, putting up on a website or even viewing on your PC straight away ( Apple MAC OSX has the ability to view a RAW in most cases).

A JPEG file's biggest downfall is the limitation on what you can extract out of it in say a post processing program. You can't pull the same amount of exposure correction, you can't push the saturation as high and most importantly you can't change the white balance (colour temperature) as you would a RAW file as it is done in camera (you can to some degree, but it isn't the same). When shooting JPEG you can use the automatic white balance setting on your camera, but you are stuck with what the camera decides is the right colour temperature. For example if you were shooting a sunset, the camera will detect there is a high degree of kelvin (a higher colour temp) and therefore will take a flat looking sunset, not like the way you remember seeing it in person. So to make that sunset picture look warmer and more inviting, set your white balance to 'Cloudy' (the cloud symbol, duh) or 'Shade' so the colour temp of the image is higher. Once you experiment with different white balance settings you will see the differences easily and then it becomes second nature (Note: I got sick of writing temperature, so I wrote temp instead).

So what is the evidence to show why RAW is better? Below is a RAW file that has had a Canon Landscape profile applied to it in Adobe Lightroom, much the same as if it was applied in camera. It uses a slight saturation and contrast increase and sharpening. Below it is the same RAW file with adjustments done to it in the same program to a point where I think it looks good. It might not be to every one's taste, but I'm the artist here, so I'm going with it! You can see I have pushed the saturation to make the colours pop, much like I saw it when I took it. It was taken at the Oaks in Inverloch, Victoria, Australia by the way. I also increased the white balance (remember colour temp) to give it a warmer look, the detail has been increased, a fill light applied to bring back the shadows, and also applied a gradient of colour over the sky. As I captured the photo with a Neutral Density Filter over the lens I had already darkened the sky. You can still apply a gradient filter in Lightroom or Photoshop and darken the edges of the JPEG, but I could not have pushed the colours as much without getting a posterization/blocky effect. All the effects in this photo were achieved in about one minute in a simple to use program and it resulted in a much more pleasing photo ready to print and hang up. With the RAW file I could print at A2 or A1 size and still have a good clean result.

The JPEG The finished RAW file
To sum up, what ever you shoot is up to you. If you are like me and millions of other photo enthusiasts, you will shoot in RAW, fill you memory cards fast and spend hours in front of a computer and output exciting prints. On the other hand, you can shoot hundreds more photos in JPEG, spend little or no time in front of the computer, but pain over the fact you can't push the file as far as a RAW image. How does it affect you as a travelling photographer? The biggest downfall of RAW is the image's file size and you fill your memory cards twice as fast as if you were shooting JPEGS. Unless you have ready access to a computer to back up your files to a hard drive or to a DVD or go to a photo lab to burn the disc for you (if they have the service), shoot JPEGs. You can still edit them in Photoshop to a point and still result in a pleasing photo.

What I do do under certain circumstances, I will shoot the usual happy snaps in JPEG to save card space then for the shots I'll know I'll process later for a print, I'll select RAW capture. Nothing wrong with doing that! Please leave a comment to tell me what you shoot or what you are going shoot on your travels.

Strobist Boot Camp 2, Assignment 2

2009-07-10T22:13:00.008+10:00

The Entry Shot: With the first assignment only just over http://marcelvanderhorstphotography.blogspot.com/2009/06/strobist-boot-camp-2.html the second was announced last week. To add to this crazily busy month, the closing date for submission was this Saturday (only one week later). So I had to hop to it, conceptualize, organise, shoot and process all in a very small time window.

This time around the assignment centered around food.

A possible entry that didn't make the cut.

The Setup Shot (Pretty simple eh?)

The aftermath!

Earlier in the week when the assignment was announced, I searched for inspiration in some cook books and cooking magazines. I tried to dissect how the lighting was done on each photograph that caught my attention. I noted nearly in every photograph of food, whether it was an ingredient or a complete meal, the lighting was either from the back right of the food (about 2o'clock to the camera) or shot hard left or right with one light source. Most food photographers go for the look of natural and neutral light shining through a window, by using a strobe (flash) with a light modifier like an umbrella, soft box or a diffuser panel, like the ones from Lastolite.

First thing I had to do was get all the props together. As I am not a brilliant pastry chef like they have at McDonalds McCafe, I decided to buy my food pre-made. I searched high and low for something indulgent like this croissant, as I was going for a dessert for one look. Most pastries I found were pretty un-inspiring, but my humble McDonalds a short walk from my house had the goods. It was the last one they had too, as it was 9 in the evening. I wish the 15 year old behind the counter would handle it a little more carefully, little did he know it was going to be photographed though.

To prepare the croissant, I shook off all the original icing sugar with the idea to replace it with fresh stuff. I placed it in the oven to get a little glisten to the chocolate, to make it look hot and straight from the oven. I dusted some new icing sugar over it and the plate to look ala-restaurant and placed a dollop or cream next to it. I wet the spoon in hot water to make it look like a clean dollop. I filled the little cup I bought from the $2 shop with the remaining cream. Sucessful food photography stems down to the styling of the food. If it looks flat and bland it won't be appertising.

The coffee was easy as I am an avid coffee drinker, so I had all the facilities already on hand. The cup and saucer was purchased for $5 from Spotlight as I wanted something small as not to dominate the picture. The beans were fresh ground and made like a real coffee and luckily for me the crema in the coffee held nicely throughout the shoot. As the shoot wore on, the coffee was loosing its steam, so I replaced it with a candle just out of frame and blew it out just before I took the shot. I know it isn't really visible, but in the test shots you can see the steam is not there.

Now to the fun bit. I set up a Nikon SB-28 Speedlight on a stand with an umbrella on it. The flash was gelled with a 1/2 strength CTO (colour temperature orange) and I placed a LumiQuest diffuser on it to further soften the light. I can thank Joe McNally's book for that one. The shadows were filled with a white foam core board camera left. A simple setup but very effective. You can easily over light food.

The setting on the flash was f2 at about 1/4 power ISO100 and the camera shot at f2.2 to control the highlights and at 1/160th of a second to kill the ambient light from the kitchen. Very little post production was done to the photo as I was quite happy with it straight out of camera. A few minor Lightroom tweaks, a LAB colour and contrast boost and sharpen in Photoshop.

So if there are any local restaurants in the eastern suburbs of Victoria that needs some food photographed, drop me a line.

Advice for the Advanced Holiday Photographer Part 6

2009-07-09T12:43:00.012+10:00

Digital Image Protection and Backup

In the old days of film (film's not dead yet by the way) there were a couple of factors that possibly could destroy your photos forever. The film in your carry on baggage could have been damaged by the X-ray machine at the airport, you could accidentally open the camera back after a big night and expose the film to light, you could even loose your negatives at the lab when the new trainee mixed up the chemicals wrong.

In today's day and age of digital photography there are an equal number of things that can go wrong with your digital files. There are literally thousands of resources on the Internet that talk about file management, but I'll keep to brief and simple to suit people that would just be going on holidays with their camera, whether it is a digital compact, a new camera owner or even an advanced amateur.

So, you have your camera, your bag, your plain tickets, your hotel bookings and tours planned. You now have to think of a strategy to manage your digital files, so one: you don't lose any photos and two: you have a realistic amount of memory cards. Lets face it, no one want to lose once in a lifetime travel photos or miss an opportunity for a shot when your memory cards are full.

I'll generally talk about both the person starting out with a new camera (or is new to digital) and people like me that would take a case load of gear and 80% of the reason of the trip is to take photos.

What memory cards to take:
Well this totally dependent on how trigger happy you are and whether you can off load digital files along the way. A good starting point is two cards. On my 5 week trip to the USA I only really used my 8GB card and on seldom occasions used a 4GB card for backup. Please buy them at home at your local department store or at a camera specialist as they charge an arm and leg at the airports and tourist spots. Make sure you get good name brand one designed for cameras, much like the Sandisk Extremes III or IV, Lexar Pro, Hoodman etc.

Handling the cards:
When you get a new memory card or empty a card onto your computer, you should always format it in the camera. Simply refer to your camera's manual to see how to do this. Get into this habit every time you go out to shoot as well as having your batteries fully charged. I make it a ritual to do all those things every time I go out on a job or a photo expedition.

Formatting a card sets up the appropriate file structure suited to the camera to allow accurate file placement when the camera takes a picture. It also deletes any other data that doesn't need to be there and any old photos so the card is not littered with fragmented files. Because simply deleting them off the card still leaves a trace of the file, so much of it can still be recovered by special data recovery software. But before I format my cards I always check that I have two copies either on my separate hard drives on my PC or on any other storage media (like DVDs).

The card is full what now?
If you have a second card you can continue to shoot with that until you have an opportunity to transfer your images files to something. When I travel or I have an important location shoot like a wedding I take a laptop with two hard drives. This is so when all my cards are full I can back them to my portable hard drives and feel safe when I need to format my cards. Try to do it one card at a time (as in one per night) because it takes a long time to empty 16GB worth of shots onto a PC (I shoot RAW files and a small JPEG for easy identification on my PC).

Travelling with a laptop is not always practical for many people, so there are other ways to successfully backup your images. There are numerous portable card reader/hard drive storage units, but these are usually left to the professionals and it's beyond the scope of this article.

Unless you are shooting deep in an Asian jungle or in a remote desert, you surely will have access to photo kiosks or shops. This maybe problematic in countries you don't speak the language of, but in many cases there would be self serve digital kiosks in tourist areas or shopping centers to back up the images on to a DVD. I would suggest doing this twice as I have read of cases where the DVD used was faulty or the files didn't write properly. If you have the opportunity, verify if the files are on the disc/s before formatting your memory cards.

Summing up the risks:
Losing digital files is easy. It's something that is not thought about too much by people these days, but when it happens to you, you would be devastated. A photo in most cases can't be taken the same way again, especially a travel photo. We never in the past thought so highly of the safety of photos as it was a rarely publicised and talked about topic. But with the increased saturation of digital photographers out there and the ability to buy a camera for under $200, image loss is more common than ever.

It will happen to anyone and at anytime. On my trip to the USA I brought a laptop and a 160GB backup drive, along with 16GB of memory cards. I often filled two of the cards over the course of a few days. I would backup to both the laptop hard drive and the backup drive. On the last night of a 5 week trip, the laptop hard drive crashed. After a re-boot it reverted back to factory settings with a blank hard drive, so all the photos disappeared. Luckily we had a backup on the other drive and we got that home safely. I only lost one folder The old saying goes: "its not a matter of if the hard drive fails, its a matter of when."

The risks don't stop there. If you have backed up you images on a DVD, can you make sure that disk gets home safely? Your bag could get lost or stolen at the airport, the bag could get crushed by that person that over packed their suitcase. Get two copies, one for carry-on and one in the suitcase.

USB drives are a great storage alternative and very reliable as they don't use moving parts like in hard drives. But being so small they can be easily get lost, sat on or stolen.

Now, what to do when you get the images home. Don't be like most people and leave them on the camera until the time you buy a new camera, get them backed up, printed into physical prints, put them in a photobook or a DVD slideshow.

So there you have it, image protection is easy, it just takes a little thought and discipline. In the next article on travel advice I'll talk about whether to shoot RAW or JPEG files in the space of a few paragraphs.

New Photo Added to Flickr

2009-07-06T21:26:00.005+10:00

Hi all, welcome to another week. Here is a new picture from the USA holiday archives I just posted on Flickr. The larger version can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcelvanderhorst/3693181921/sizes/o/

July Catch Up

2009-07-01T08:05:00.005+10:00

A busy time for MV Photography at the moment, which is good by the way. Projects in the works.

Just received my new printer just in time for tax time. Not a large format thing that requires an arm and a leg to pay for, just something to scan my negatives and slides in high res, print my DVD labels and covers and print decent paper work for my clients.
Upcoming photo shoot on a new Mazda MX-5. Off camera flash and moody lighting is on the agenda. Hopefully looking for locations soon.
Just shot a series of family portraits for my great uncle in Holland and a head shot for my sister's resume, with of course off camera flash.
Preparing to move house, so this means I can organise my office the way I should. This includes a new desk, so I'm not that cramped.
New business card design will be planned this month along with a new website to suit my new branding and logo. I'm going for a cleaner look, simpler colours and give it more of a professional feel. I just hope I get done soon.
Just finished up delivering a large quantity of fine art prints to clients. Now I'll start planning future subjects to shoot for an exhibition early next year. I'm open for ideas on this one.
There are a couple of competitions to enter this month too. One is with my printing lab, the selected photograph will have a 30x40inch print done on metallic paper and mounted in an Acrylic frame worth a few hundred dollars. Runners up will get a 30x40inch Metallic Print. The other competition is for a page in the official Dandenong Ranges Calendar. I aim to capture the essence of Victoria's favorite mountain range in all its beauty.
July 18th is Scott Kelby's Annual Photo Walk. I'll be joining 20,000 photographers all over the world to take photos in St Kilda Melbourne (not 20,000 in St kilda but in over 600 cities).
Soon I hope to shoot an advertisement for the Gourmet Traveller Magazine. More details when they come to light.

That's all for the moment and catch you all next time.

Strobist Boot Camp 2

2009-06-24T07:29:00.007+10:00

As a dedicated follower of the Strobist blog http://www.strobist.com/ I was very excited to see the announcement of the Strobist Boot Camp 2 Assignment 1 http://strobist.blogspot.com/2009/06/boot-camp-ii-first-assignment.html It not only gives us photographers a chance to exercise our creativity and get off our butts and shoot something, there is an awesome prize up for grabs also.

I'll let you read David Hobby's explanation of what Boot Camp is, but I'll take you through my entry into the foray.

This is my final entry that shows my subject Belinda on the left and myself on the right, shot in the same lighting conditions. All shots were taken hand held to allow the freedom of movement with the camera. Camera choice is my trusty Canon 50D with a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 lens, which is a very capable lens providing it nails the focus properly. Lighting equipment consists of a Nikon SB-24 and a Nikon SB-28 triggered with my modded Gadget Infinity wireless triggers. More details on the setup are with the photos.

My official entry was shot with the SB-28 mounted to an umbrella swivel mount on a studded alligator clamp. The clamp was attached to a painters pole found in the garage, but it rotated due to the weight of the flash, so that was reinforced with two spring clamps. The pole was mounted to my flash stands at full height with another two spring clamps. The flash had a Lumiquest Velcro Diffuser on it to further soften the light going through the umbrella. The flash was choked a bit into the umbrella to control the light spill a little and the feathered light was used to light the subject so it wasn't so over powering.

To light the background (a white Holland blind) I used the Nikon SB-24 gelled with two full CTB (Colour Temperature Blue) on a mini flash stand pointing at it at an angle to feather the light. I only needed to set the flash to about 1/4-1/8 power at f4 as too much power kills the colour. I probably could of gone lower but I was more concerned with the subject exposure. I tried various power levels and flash angles/feathering and resulted at a lowly output so i could get fast recycle times on the flash. With well used batteries I still got about 1-2 second recycles. I changed my aperture between f4-f5.6 to control the exposure. My shutter speed was generally 1/160th of a second, fast enough to avoid motion blur and camera shake but slow enough for the flash to sync. This also to kill the ambient kitchen light and the shadows it cast on the blind. To fill in the shadows a foam core board was used that I bought from Riot and Craft for AUD$15. This is the best priced white reflector you can use.

This was another variant of lighting technique I explored, though I was happy with the result, it wasn't challenging enough for me. The SB-24 was used camera right propped up on some boxes set to 1/16th power zoomed out to 85mm with one CTB gell.

Here is another photo that made the short list. The SB-24 was used camera left about 3/4 back over the shoulder. Again the flash was propped up on some boxes and a home made gridded snoot was used to give the light some directionality, but remaining soft at the same time. The only problem i felt was the uninspiring background.

This is the same technique as the blue background shot, but with a double red gel. The colour appears magenta because of the white background, but would look more red if the background was close to a neutral grey. Our cat Sooty dropped in to see what we were doing so we had to get shot of her.

Advice for the Advanced Travel Photographer Part 5

2009-06-18T11:08:00.010+10:00

When to shoot and how to organise your time.

Going on a sightseeing holiday usually means being constantly on the move or you have very little down time. So planning a trip before you leave home is essential to picking up some great photographs. We all know the best photos are taken very early in the day, at and around sunset or when it is overcast with clouds, but we can't plan for that one all the time.

Our holiday to the USA consisted of a lot of driving, so we weren't locked into any times determined by catching planes or buses. The occasions we did take tourist buses on tours, they were in the middle of the day and the resulting photographs were mediocre at best. Before even leaving home I planned the driving route meticulously to make sure we'd be at our chosen destination at the best times of day to photograph. This was especially important in the mid-west where I'd see some of the best places on earth to photograph.

It was planned in such a way, we'd be driving between destinations during the day which was also good for safety, and arriving at our destinations in the late afternoon. This gave us time to look around, check into a motel or grab a meal. In the cases of the places we would stay, I could get up for a sunrise shoot as well, getting more photographic value out of the place.

Getting there early is something I need to stress greatly. Mainly you are there for a holiday, so rushing place to place just to get a photo is not the way to enjoy a sightseeing holiday. Take the time to look around, take in the sights, scout locations and angles. Sometimes the camera doesn't leave the bag until I've taken a good look around. This always applies to a landscape shoot for me as it calms you down from the walk there and gives you time to visualise your photographs before they are even taken. Some places you will have to battle for the ideal tripod position like I had to do at Monument Valley in Utah. More tripods than a camera store at that place, so it is important not to be rude and sit in front of people's vantage points and crowd their space.

To assist my planning for a successful landscape/landmark shoot, I even go as far as checking the sunrise/sunset times in that locale on the Internet beforehand and also the direction the sun will rise/set (I carry a compass for this purpose, but you can do it with an iPhone now). These factors can easily make or break a photo, by having too much sun and bright sky in the picture and causing exposure imbalances between the sky and the ground. The sun cross lighting a subject will bring out detail and texture and add some considerable interest to a photo.

The photo above was part luck and also part planning. I new what time the sun would set, in what direction it would set and most importantly how to get to the park. The moon placment was pure luck. Being on Indian land, there was a charge to get in the park, so checking beforehand to see if you need to pay to get in anywhere. I was surprised by the fees associated with Antelope Canyon in Arizona, first a charge to just get into the car park then a huge tour charge on top of that. But it was worth it in the end.

Also in regards to timing a good photo of a landscape for example, some people think when the sun dips below the horizon, it's time to pack the camera and head off. Hang on people! The best time is the 20 or so minutes after the sun has gone down. The photo above was taken 10 minutes after the sun was gone, well after 80 percent of the people with decent camera gear had taken off to get dinner. It must of been the freezing temperature that evening. The glow on the rocks is not from the sun itself but the glow of the sky from behind me. The long (ish) exposure, a polarizer filter and some careful adjustments in Camera RAW have resulted in a warm, colourful photo with a well balanced sky. If the sunset was in front of the camera it would have resulted in a blown out sky and a dark featureless subject.

To also help plan our time over the trip I created a daily running sheet. This contained our departure time, approximate travel time, a place to stop for lunch, shopping or sightseeing and the arrival destination as well as what time that we would arrive. This was done for every stop we drove to and it proved very valuable, because it also contained the addresses to punch into the GPS navigation.

To offer anymore advice, feel free to add a comment.

If I'm not following my original topics that I'd thought I'd cover, I apologise, so I'm just rolling with what comes to mind. Still to come: Holiday data storage and displaying or showing your images.

Strobist photo shoot for UpDown Apparel

2009-06-08T17:12:00.011+10:00

Hi folks, here are some pics of a photoshoot for founder of UpDown Apparel, Lachlan Hale. I'll start with a sample pic from the shoot and then some setup shots.

This is one of the shots after it was edited in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. This photoshoot was a good test to practice with off camera flash. The ambient light was under exposed by one to two stops in manual mode, and the flashes were used to brighten up the subject, again using manual exposure.

Camera left is a flagged Nikon SB-28 on a light stand and camera right is a flagged Nikon SB-24. This shoot was entirely shot in manual mode, as I had a bit of time to experiment and chimp the LCD on the camera to check exposure. Now I typically select AV mode (Aperture Priority) on the camera and play with the exposure compensation to control the ambient light to some degree (as long as I can keep it under 1/200th of second shutter speed).

Both the flashes were triggered with modded Gadget Infinity radio triggers giving me the freedom to move around without being tied to sync cables. The camera I used was a 15MP Canon 50D with a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 lens. I also had a polariser filter mounted for most of the shoot to chop out two stops of light, so I could control the ambient light easier and kill the reflections on the car as much as possible.

Getting some low down angles.
Minitruckers
Most importantly, you have to have fun on your shoots. Thanks to Lachlan for being a patient subject while I got my exposure right and to Belinda for the setup shots and adjusting my flash output.

Back to the Old School

2009-06-01T08:49:00.005+10:00

For some reason my interest in film photography has risen again. I sold my old film camera a while ago because it was on the blink, it would miss frames by not opening the shutter intermittently and after having it serviced once before, I decided not to do it again simply because of the great cost involved. Once I made the move to digital I never looked back.....until now.

I spotted on eBay this Yashica Electro GS 35mm camera and I thought it was the coolest looking camera I ever saw. I started reading into old rangefinder cameras and found this was the under dog in terms of performance because it was way cheaper to buy than a Leica or Canon Canonet Q117 but was excellent in quality. It came with a sharp f1.7 45mm lens, Aperture Priority, a PC sync port and an ultra quiet leaf shutter. Now this puppy is a favorite amongst collectors fetching a reasonable amount on eBay. There are even Flickr Groups dedicated to the Yashica Electro as well as a big following by well known camera collectors. Just Google it to see what I mean.

When I got this one home I had to do some work to it to get it going again. First I had to remove the toxic and leaking Mercury battery and clean up the battery tube with vinegar on a cotton bud (Q-tip). The battery type that was used in those days are no longer available at your local battery supplier, so I had to improvise with a smaller battery, but adapted it by spacing out the battery tube and using a home made spring from solid copper cable to make contact with the battery door.

Next thing to do was give it a good clean. Rubbing alcohol was recommended to give it a clean in all the grooves and around the dials and buttons etc. I used an old paint brush and some cotton buds to remove all the grime. The lens and the view finder was cleaned with a micro fibre towel with a little glass cleaner on it.

The hardest part and the most necessary was replacing the light seals. Because of the age of the camera all the foam light seals had crumbled away to nothing. I removed all traces with alcohol and various tools like cotton buds, tooth picks and cotton pads. Once it was all clear they were replaced with some ultra thin felt that was adhesive on the back. Now the back closes firmly, reassuring me that I can put some film in it and not ruin it because of light leaking in.

All I have to do know is find a good black and film and someone to develop it!

P.S. I case you are wondering the shot of the camera was done on a big sheet of white card. A Nikon SB24 and SB28 was used either side of the camera shooting through a sheet of regular copy paper to diffuse the light. The flash was set to f11 1/16th power and the exposure was around 30 seconds to burn in the rest of the white card that wasn't exposed to the flashes. It was shot with my Canon 50D, Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 on a Benro Pro tripod and Manfrotto Ball head. The flashes were triggered with a modified Cactus V2s radio Trigger.

Photo Retouching Before and After

2009-05-28T08:08:00.020+10:00

Before
After

Here is one example of a retouched image that I provide to a client as part of my Creative Image Styling Service. Unfortunately I don't have a step by step tutorial with pictures or a video screen capture (will come in the future though) so I'll just explain the steps I go through to get the finished result for the client.

After the images are backed up and transfered from the memory card I do basic image adjustments in Adobe Lightroom. Here I can select a preset where I can make the image look completely natural and accurate and also make further tweaks, like brightening the shadows, adjusting the white balance etc. I do this with every image that gets taken to ensure all the photos that get delivered to the client are of high quality and not all flat looking, like when they come straight out of the camera. That service is included with all of my packages.

After the basic adjustments, I export the image into Photoshop as a High Res 16Bit file (to maintain the most colour information) and this is where I start the major pixel pushing. In this case the image was already converted to Greyscale (Black and White) in Lightroom with a colour mix that is suited to the photograph and mood.

Every image I work on is different, so using presets and actions in Photoshop are not always prefered, so the client does get their money's worth. I start by using a Levels Adjustment Layer to brighten the midtones, darken the shadows and bump up the highlights a little. This adds a little punch in the contrast. I then noticed some distracting reflections in the lady's glasses so I cloned these out by using the clone stamp tool (Shortcut 'S'), making sure I was sampling all the layers (The check box in the tool bar).

To introduce some more character to the image I used a Curves Adjustment Layer and used the 'Strong Contrast' preset as a starting point. I played around with the levels to get the look I wanted.

Next I wanted to selectively brighten the lady's face. I used my favorite Blend Layer Dodging Procedure featured here: http://www.zoom-in.com/blog/photography/sophia-betz/adobephoto/career-cliff-notes-dodge-burn I selectively used this method to brighten the skin areas and the flowers on her dress, concentration more around eye, nose and lips areas.

I then added a further Curves Adjustment Layer, and used the medium contrast preset as a starting point again. This time using the layer mask provided with the Layer Adjustment inverted (click on the layer mask icon in the layer pallet and press CTRL+I to invert the mask to black) and using a white low opacity brush (B) over the facial region and hair, bringing out more detail (in a bridal portrait this wouldn't be the case). I call this selective contrast and by re-naming the layers in the layer pallet I can keep a track of what I'm doing. I adjusted all the layer opacities to get a good mix of all adjustments to make them look like a natural blend.

Next I wanted to colourize the image by giving a sepia toned look. This look can be overdone when applying it to every picture in a shoot, but I only ended up using it on a handful of photos in this client's case. It usually suits pictures of older people to give the image a little warmness and to make it timeless. I achieved this using a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer and clicking on the colourize check box. You can now introduce a colour hue of your choice and its saturation level. I used an orange hue at a low saturation level to add a subtle colour cast. This effect can also be achieved with other methods, but this is the quickest and easiest.

Once I was happy with the overall look, I flattened the image by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+E. Many people would say 'nooooooo!' when it comes to flattening layers here, but I will never return to this image again to work on it again as a PSD (Photoshop Document). Why would I choke up 400-500MB or more of Hard Drive space or even bog down the computer's CPU, when I have the original DNG file anyway. I have found I rarely return to a PSD file unless I save it for working on later when a photo is not finished.

Next is a vignette, you can do this a number of different ways, including in Adobe Lightroom or Adobe Camera RAW by using the vignette sliders, in Photoshop by using the Lens Correction Dialogue (Filter ->Distort -> Lens Correction) or by using the inbuilt vignette action in the Actions Pallet. This way you can make a selection with the Marquee Tool (M) to whatever size and input the amount of pixel feathering (150-200 pixels on a high res photo). After the action has done its thing, I click on the white layer and invert it to black (CTRL+I) and reduce the layer opacity to make the edges look burned in. I sometimes darken a photo deliberately, then brighten certain areas to draw the viewers eyes to the subject. This method is as old as photography itself. I usually do this using the same techique I use to brighten eyes (see above), but I use the Multiply blend mode to darken the photo then paint back with a black brush on a white mask the area I want to have brighter. I then adjust the layer opacity to get the right balance.

Last thing is the sharpening, which is what I do to all the images that are destined for the print lab. First I duplicate the layer by pressing CTRL+J. I enlarge the image to 100% pixels using my CTRL+'+' command to zoom in and then go Filter ->Sharpen ->Unsharp Mask. A dialogue box opens and I usually leave the .9 to 1 pixel setting and dial in about 100-120 on the 'amount' scale. This is to personal taste this, but I dial in a suitable amount for print (slightly over sharpened). After I have committed the sharpening, in the Layers Pallet, while the 2nd layer is selected, I change the layer blend mode to 'Luminosity' to reduce halos on high contrast edges in the photo. Reduce the layer opacity if you went over board on the sharpening. To go that extra step you could apply a layer mask to that layer and invert the mask to black (incase you don't remember its CTRL+I). Then paint in, using a soft edge brush, the eyes, nose, hair and lips to retain the detail there and leave the rest soft.

In the case of this image I merged the top layer into the main one by pressing CTRL+E as I didn't do the selective sharpening. I duplicated it again (CTRL+J) and applied a Blur Filter. Go to Filter ->Blue ->Gaussian Blur and input around 5-6 pixels. Then reduce that layer's opacity to around 30% or to taste. With this technique you still get a sharp image, but with a slight dreamy, blurry glow which is pleasing to the eye when it comes to portraits at weddings. Remember, not too much blur or it will look way too 1985.

There you have it, the image is flattened (CTRL+SHIFT+E), coverted to 8BIT (Image ->Mode ->8BIT) and sRGB if it already isn't (Edit ->Convert to Profile and select sRGB in the drop down box). Now it is ready to save and print by my photo lab.

Next time I'll endeavour to get at least screen shots, but hopefully in time video capture.

My Wedding Photo Retouching Service

2009-05-26T13:06:00.010+10:00

On top of the services I normally provide when I shoot a wedding, is image retouching or Creative Image Styling as I like to refer to it as sometimes. When you receive your images from me they do come with some degree of adjustment rather than just the images straight out of the camera. This will ensure you are getting a quality final result in your photos that are ready to print or create a photo book with or use to print some small prints at your favorite photo lab.

I process the photos in a program that allows me to arrange and archive all my images, back them up to a separate hard disk, make corrections (such as removing colour casts from lighting conditions, brightness, contrast, black level, saturation, noise reduction and numerous other factors) and export the adjusted images into a custom slide show or into JPEG files to hand over to the client.

Most people would be content with this level of service and use the images in a way that they desire. But what if you want to print the image at a large size, or have them mounted in an inovative way? I offer a complete service where I will retouch and style the selected image, re-size and sharpen to the appropriate print size, save as an ultra high resolution file and upload them to my professional print lab. This entire process is strictly colour controlled, from capture to print so I can deliver a print with accurate colours and tones. I also offer to retouch just the digital file (if you were to use it in a photobook for example) for the price of $40 per image.

In the next post I'll provide a sample of what can be achieved with the retouching service and detail what you get for your money.

Price: $40 per digital image, or free when the image is ordered as a mounted print 8x12" or larger.

New Photo Added to Flickr

2009-05-25T14:01:00.006+10:00

This is the striking view just before sunset at the Desert View Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon (lower eastern corner) looking at towards the North Rim. The sun rays are emphasised by the chill in the air. I estimated it to be around zero or -2degrees Celsius. The morning after it got down to minus 5, which I felt every bit of. I even saw my bottle of water freeze in front of me.

View a larger version here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcelvanderhorst/3528381748/sizes/o/

Thanks

2009-05-25T12:32:00.003+10:00

Just a quick note: Thank you to everyone that took up the opportunity to purchase a limited edition print. Your support is very much appreciated and is inspiration to keep going.

Also: Soon I'll be taking part in the 2nd Annual World Photowalk hosted by Scott Kelby of Photoshop User TV http://www.photoshopusertv.com/

This years event for Melbourne will be held in St Kilda. Details are here: http://worldwidephotowalk.com/melbourne-st-kilda-vi-au/

Hope to see some other keen photo enthusiasts there.

Until next time, have a great week.

24 Hour Recession Buster Fine Art Print Sale

2009-05-13T09:42:00.022+10:00

Over the next few months MV Photography will be re branded with new logos, stationery and in time also a new website. To celebrate I am having a massive sale on Limited Edition 12x16inch photographic prints for a strictly limited time.

Print only 12x16inch

Normally: $69 Now: $25 (over 60% off) Freight: $10

Silver Framed Print with 2inch white Matt Board

Normally: $129 Now: $59 (over 50%off) Freight: $15

Delivery to S.E and Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne is Free!

Prices are in Australian Dollars.

Select from the attached catalogue an image in ‘Print Only’ or ‘Framed’ form and receive a limited edition print with signed certificate of authenticity. It’s your chance to get some Australian made photography art in your home or to be given as gifts to loved ones. Prints are made on the legendary Kodak Endura Pearl Archival Grade paper designed to last 100years on display or over 200 when in dark storage, using a colour controlled process to ensure your investment lasts a lifetime.

To choose your print, go to http://www.mvphotography.com.au/prints.html and then send an email to marcel@mvphotography.com.au with the print name/s, quantity, specify ‘Print Only’ or ‘Framed,’ your full name, daytime postal address, phone number and I’ll send an invoice. Payment can be made by PayPal Invoice, Money Order, Direct Deposit to ANZ bank or Cash on Delivery for local hand delivery.

Tell your friends and family and even post it on your FaceBook if you want.

Hurry, your orders must be in by 9PM Thursday 14th of May 2009 as this is the cut off time for print orders at the lab.

Have a great day.

Marcel

Time? What Time?

2009-05-12T10:23:00.012+10:00

Hello to my loyal readership, It's been a busy past few weeks. Coming soon is the next installment of the 'Advice to the advance holiday photographer' series, an article on some of the services I provide as a wedding photographer, Weekend @ Warnie Minitruck Show and Cruise coverage and in time some ideas about re branding MV Photography.

I discovered the other day a cool 3D picture browser plugin for Windows, FireFox and Linux. It from http://www.cooliris.com/ Its a free download and they also have a Flickr group for you to upload images to, to increase your image views on your Flickr account.

Also another cool plugin I discovered designed for PC users that love the Mac program dock on Mac OSX. Go to www.objectdock.com/ to look at this free plugin with an option to buy the plus version. Go on, check it out, you'll thank me as it has changed how I use my PC.

New photos added to Flickr

2009-04-27T21:45:00.004+10:00

Here is a series of photographs from my latest wedding between Luke and Jade at Yering Gorge Cottages in east Victoria.

The larger images can be viewed on my Flickr stream by going to http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcelvanderhorst/sets/72157603819001808/ and clicking on each image you want to view.

Shoot and Burn with a Difference

2009-04-26T20:08:00.012+10:00

I find in this tough economic climate (there's a buzz word for you), small photography businesses like me have to do something different to set us apart from the other gazillion photographers out there in the marketplace that choose to charge pocket change for less than mediocre photography. As for a bride and groom to be, getting a cheap photographer will yield cheap results.

I would like to think I place myself still in the budget range of wedding photographers, but I aim to provide excellent value and with my many years experience in customer service, also provide a service unmatched by even the more expensive photography studios.

What I'd like to show you today is the way I deliver my images to a client to demonstrate that even a "Shoot and Burn" package still can be a complete solution for your photography for your special day.

Pictured here is a sample of the way I create and present a DVD of images to a client. On the left and in front of the photo are some archival grade DVD's I use for image storage and to the right is the final DVD in a case with a printed cover I made in Photoshop. What you see here only costs a few dollars more that the usual DVD in a sleeve with the couple's name scribbled on the label with a Sharpie, but this provides so much more to you as a client.

An archival grade DVD features a Gold as well as a Silver layer. This provides a reflective layer in the disc designed to last up to a hundred years. With a standard DVD-R you normally get from a super market, your local department or stationery store is typically 2-5 years. When your once in a lifetime photos are stored on one of those discs, potentially they can rendered un-readable by a disc drive because the cheap reflective layer has deteriorated. These archival grade DVDs also feature a protective layer to help protect itself against scratches. With this particular brand of discs I also have the ability to print a custom label in an ink jet printer.

As a bonus I provide two 4x6" printed photo samples to show you the quality of the prints I have done from my preferred photo lab (an $8 value). One photo is standard pearl semi-gloss Kodak Endura paper and the other is the incredible Kodak Endura Metallic paper which exhibits amazing detail, contrast and colour saturation.

Now your wedding photos are destined to last forever. In case you loose or damage your disc of images or simply you want to give a set to your parents for example, another of the same disc is avilable for $40 including delivery.

New Photos added to Flickr

2009-04-23T07:15:00.005+10:00

Here are some photos I dug up from a wedding I did last year. There are more in the series, but these are just some of my favorites. Enjoy.

All of these images are part of a 'Set' on Flickr. It is located here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcelvanderhorst/sets/72157603819001808/

Click on each image and then on all sizes to view the large version.

More details of my wedding photography services are available at www.mvphotography.com.au and go to the services page and download the PDF pricelist. I service Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in the city and metro area, eastern and south eastern suburbs.

Advice for the Advanced Holiday Photographer Part 4.5

2009-04-20T21:37:00.008+10:00

What gear to pack and not to pack.

In the first part of this post I told you what I thought what you might not need on a trip. I found I didn't need a flash or fast primes, but if you photograph lots of people you would certainly need these items. At the end of the day what not to pack is up to you, but I think in the interest of travelling lightly, lenses with overlapping focal lengths maybe useless and if sharpness and big printing is not a big concern, a swathe of lenses is not necessary, so just take a super zoom.
There is nothing worse when your thousands of miles from a camera store or from home, and you forgot to pack something. A checklist, whether it be a mental one or written down, is essential for making sure you have everything you need.

Some of my essentials consists of a range of filters (pictured above, Neutral Density Graduated and Dark Blue Storm Grad Cokin filters with filter holder and lens adapter rings http://www.cokin.com/, UV filters for all lenses and a quality circular polarizer for each lens. All this was stored in my bag in a Tamrac MX5388 filter wallet to protect them all).

The above photo shows some other essentials you should pack for holiday. The most used item was the micro-fibre cloth that folds into a little pouch. I even bought an extra one in B&H Photo in New York http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ to add to the other bag I took. Also in there is a Giottos Rocket Blower, which is absolutely essential as the cloth to blow out any dust or fibres in the mirror cavity of your camera body www.giottos.com/Rocket-air.htm a shower cap swiped from a hotel room just in case you really need to have your camera out in the rain (it's not as good as the one you buy, but its free), a felt tip pens so you can right on anything, a notepad for recording details like notes from the destination, thoughts etc, business cards in case anyone asks if you are a professional and have a website (it happens), a model release if you plan to take pictures of people for sale to stock image websites or image libraries, and lastly the handiest thing I had was a torch. My first torch was a basic bulb type that fell to bits when I dropped it at the Grand Canyon while setting up for a sunrise shoot. I later then bought a LED torch from a convenience store near Monument Valley in Utah and paid a massive US$10 for it.

Other bits and pieces I would suggest taking would be spare batteries for just about anything. Imagine the prices they charge at gas stations in the middle of the desert and if they are still any good. Even take spares of the proprietary batteries your camera takes, because buying overseas you maybe paying very high prices in tourist areas and its valuable spending money too. Other things I pack in the bag is a couple of elastic bands, band-aids and tissues for that just in case moment.

That's all for today, but tune in next time as I will be talking about when to shoot and how to organise your time.

Advice for the Advance Holiday Photographer Part 4

2009-04-16T14:49:00.010+10:00

What gear to pack, or not to pack

Going on holidays with a slew of photographic equipment can be quite a challenge and a burden. Not only on your back but also for your travelling companions. If you go with the idea you are going on holiday just to take lots of fantastic photos, think carefully about what you are going to take as far as gear is concerned, how its packed, how easy is it transport (especially through airport security) and how all of these factors impact on your travel experience.

As I mentioned in the last post, taking two bags is a godsend. Having your main kit in a carry all bag and a little day pack to take on small excursions or where a large bag will be in the way, like on a tour bus, in busy streets and inside buildings.

Obviously your bag choice will depend on the kit you have, as some travellers will find they can fit a whole kit in a compact shoulder bag. When travelling with a large compliment of equipment it raises issues such as personal safety, gear safety, personal injury, sanity of you and others around you and the most important part the ability to focus on picture taking, not taking 3 minutes to fumble around mounting your special sharp lens, polarizer filter and Cokin ND Grad filter.

First up is your camera body. Something that has a reasonable performance in the high ISO department will be a benefit (mainly to limit use with tripods and flash), Mega pixels don't really matter unless you want to print really big, but if small to A3 sized pictures are adequate, anything up to and around 12MP will be more than enough. The more mega pixels you have, the more hard drive space you'll use on your computer and the files will take longer to transfer. There are some great DSLR cameras out now, including some with video capability, like the Nikon D90, D500 and the amazing Canon 5D MkII.

Lens choice is always difficult for travellers, just search a few forums and Flickr groups and there are many photographers stumped with this issue. Its easy if you grab a lens like the new Tamron AF18-270mm F3.5-6.3 XR Superzoom lens http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/18270_vc.asp and be done with it. It covers a monstrous zoom range (equivalent to 28-435mm on a 35mm camera) , fits in a small bag along with the camera body and it doesn't make people run for cover when you pull it out. But some people are not content with a lens like this (I actually purchased a super zoom for my trip, a Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 OS lens).

The problem with these super zoom lenses, whether they are optically stabilised or not, they are not the sharpest tool in the shed. The optical performance of the Sigma was below average (compared to the other lenses I have), especially on a 15MP camera. It maybe OK on a 6-8MP early DSLRs or for 11x14" or 12x16" prints, but not for big poster prints, which I regularly do and also for the fact I am a stickler for sharpness. The only super zoom on the market that I know will produce a decent result would be Canon's 28-300mm, which is very pricey and Nikon's 18-200mm VR lens which is a good well priced solution for the Nikon owners. So a compromise might have to be taken for the sake of travelling light (I did find taking just the 18-200mm for general travel snaps just fine, and saved the good lenses for when I sharpness was critical).

Besides the all in one zoom, other considerations are two zoom lenses, one standard zoom and a tele zoom. Again a myriad of lenses are available but on a cropped sensor DSLR (APS-C 1.6x Field of view) I'd recommend something as wide as 17mm up to around 70/85mm. Popular choices are the Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4.5, Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, Canon 17-85mm f4-f5.6 and for the Nikon owners the 18-70mm f3.5-4.5. If your budget can stretch it, the Canon 17-55mm f2.8 IS, Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L or 24-105mm f4 L IS if you don't mind missing out a little at the wide end. I'm not sure what premium offers Nikon has at the moment.

As for tele zooms, there are a couple of different focal lengths to choose from. Canon offers the 55-250mm f4-5.6 IS, 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS (also in the higher end DO series). There are numerous offerings in the Sigma, Tamron and Tokina camps for Canon, Olympus, Pentax and Nikon. Some of the photo nutters will like the 70-200mm 'L' lenses offered by Canon (the f2.8 IS being my favourite), as well as the fast options offered by Tamron, Sigma and Nikon. These lenses will cover all the important focal lengths for just about any type of photography.

As for specialist lenses like your macro lenses, super fast primes, super wide angle and tilt shift lenses, these are really left to the super enthusiastic amateurs of the pros on assignment. Every lens you take, along with its own range of filters adds unwanted weight. Saying that, I brought along a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 for super wide landscapes and a 50mm f1.8 prime for my Canon 50D to round out the lens choice. I found I used the prime very little, but the super wide angle heaps, because I'm a bit of a landscape buff.

Other hardware you might want to consider is a speedlight (flash), but I found there was little opportunity to use it and it would have stuck out like sore thumb anyway.

I'm going to wrap it up for now, but in the next half of this chapter, I'll talk about the camera bag essentials and accessories.

New Photo added to Flickr

2009-04-09T16:34:00.005+10:00

This is another photo from the series taken at sunset, at The Oaks, Inverloch, Victoria. You can see the larger version here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcelvanderhorst/3425193576/

This photo was exported straight out of Adobe Lightroom and then resized for Flickr in Photoshop.

The settings I used in Lightroom was quite straight forward, I first used as a basis the Canon 50D's Landscape camera profile, which sets the saturation, contrast and sharpening.

*I then incresed the white balance ever so slightly by depressing the CTRL button (CMD on Mac) and moving the WB slider to warn it up slightly.

*A small amount of fill light was used to open the shadows a little and brighten the foreground a little bit (I exposed for the sky to retain detail in the sunset).

*Vibrance and Clarity was increased to bring the image up from the flat RAW to something what it really looked like on the night.

*I reduced the Luminance in the HSL panel on the red and orange colours to tone down the bright colours and bumped up the saturation by two or three notches.

*A small 'S' curve was employed in the Tone panel to increase contrast to bring out detail in the rocks.

*The usual sharpening and noise reduction was employed to get a good looking result.

An anouncement will be made when the image is available as a print to buy.

Busy Busy

2009-04-06T16:38:00.003+10:00

Well it has been hell of a last few weeks (hence me neglecting the blog for a little while). I've been playing around with my strobist kit and had a couple of photo shoots including a wedding, and a another car shoot for UpDown Apparel www.updown.com.au .

My wireless trigger testing is still in the works, but I'm happy to say the mod to Gadget Infinity V2s transmitter has performed reliably on two outdoor assignments (the wedding and the car shoot). There will be extra modifications needed for the antenna trigger cover as the 50cent pen from Officeworks has failed to hold twice. Its simply not strong enough to handle being knocked or removed and refitted into a foam road case. I have another possible solution on the cards, of which I will mount up soon.

Both the modded trigger and the standard trigger performed well, with minimal misfires and sufficient range. Sometimes I may have thought I was trying to out shoot the flashes recycle time.

Also in the plans is a set of DIY strobe reflectors made from easy to find bits and pieces. Details to follow.

I have to head off for now, but I have much to blog about in coming weeks so stay tuned.

Strobist Update

2009-03-21T14:38:00.005+11:00

I've been busy this week, researching modifications to my Cactus wireless flash triggers from Gadget Infinity (eBay triggers or Poverty Wizards). This week I've managed to add a 3.5mm mono-jack to piggy back the PC Sync jack, to increase connection reliability (the PC jacks are a little loose and tend to fall out). This process was quite simple for me as I solder wires for a trade. A photo tutorial to follow soon.

Another mod that is popular is to replace the CR2 battery connection with a AAA battery pack. The tutorial I will write will be really no different to others on the web, but will contain valuable information for Australian Strobists on where to get certain items and the prices. In Australia we are not blessed with superstores like Wall Mart and Costco and our electronics suppliers usually look at you weird when you tell them what you are doing to your flash gear.

Also under development is an antenna modification to increase the default range from the measly 10 meters (30ft). Initial unofficial testing has resulted in a 5 fold range increase to 50m (150ft). I have no idea why I need that much range, but in case i do, it can do the job, without having to lay down the mega bucks to get a set of Pocket Wizards, Radio Poppers or Skyports. I'll report on the official testing, with pictures to come.

Other DIY projects on the horizon are professional looking snoots, grid spots and beauty dishes.

Until next time.....

Let there be light!

2009-03-17T07:22:00.005+11:00

HI all,

Just a weekly update to let you all know what is happening in the world of MV Photography. It's been quite busy lately with some client bookings that I'm getting on top of.

The big news this week is that I have my flash equipment coming together. Strobist here I come. Its very exciting. This will add a whole another dimension to my photography. I can shoot more, and at what ever time as I can bring the light with me. I'll start bringing some samples to the table soon, once I have all the bits and pieces together.

The kit consists of a Nikon SB-28 and SB-24 speedlights, two 2.2meter (7ft) stands, two shoot through umbrellas, three coloured gel kits, Lumiquest diffuser and two sets of Gadget Infinity wireless flash triggers (which I'll be modding this week to get extra range and battery life out of them this week).

My series of articles on travel photography will continue (slowly) as I work hard to prepare for a big job at the end of the month.

Have a great week and don't forget to click on the RSS feeds to subscribe.

See you later.

New Photo Added to Flickr

2009-03-12T20:32:00.004+11:00

Hi all, I hope you have had a great week so far. A new photo has been added to the Flickr page dug up from my trip archives of my trip to the USA. This one is of an antique gas pump at the Hackberry General store on the famed Route 66 aka 'The Mother Road.' This place is loaded with character and the people that run the store a cheer as well.

See the bigger image at http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcelvanderhorst/3346966285/sizes/o/

Advice for the advanced holiday photographer Part 3

2009-03-04T07:36:00.011+11:00

Packing Tips

The series of travel photography articles is back after a small hiatus. This time we are looking at tips on what and how to pack your gear.

I will say one thing that is very important; don't trust baggage handlers. I've seen occassions where I book onto a flight 'special baggage' that is either heavy or fragile still be handled like it was a football when it comes off the plane when you land. The only difference is I think they send it on a different conveyor belt with a fancy sticker that no one can see.

Unfortunately that doesn't leave much choice but to bring you gear in the cabin with you as carry on, or invest in some expensive Pelican cases http://www.pelican.com/ like the military does. Really if you are taking enough gear that won't fit in a carry on bag, you are a pro and don't really need to be reading this.

First things first you have to plan what gear to take, as like me and many others, you collect gear faster than you collect DVDs. In another post I'll talk about what gear is essential on a holiday without ticking off the spouse too much. If you are going on a holiday that has many scenic views and you plan to do a few sunrise and or sunset shoots, I will suggest taking a tripod.

If you Google "what travel tripod should I take?" you get 301,000 results as this is a question that bothers many. I won't go into details here as I will talk about that in the 'What gear to take" article. This tripod either has to go in the cabin or down below, so size does matter. I took one that is a little too long to qualify as carry on so it had to travel with the rest of my luggage down below. I had a suitcase that was long enough to fit the tripod in its own carry bag and then I could pack other items around it.

Next thing to consider, and I highly recommend it, especially if you have a bit of kit to take on your trip, is to use two camera bags. Yes two. The reason is simple; one large one to take as your carry on bag containing all your gear and a smaller shoulder pack to take on small excursions on your trip. This system works well, if you have a hotel or a car as a base and you can leave bits and pieces back at the room and with many hotels featuring room safes, this is definitely possible.

I would suggest taking a carry all back pack like this one from http://www.lowepro.com/ which can handle up to two camera bodies, many lenses, your battery chargers and even a laptop.

A smaller day pack is a godsend compared to carrying 20 odd pounds of equipment on your back walking for miles (and you do a lot of walking on a holiday believe me). This is good when walking around a city or when you need to walk a long way. Sizes can vary from a holster that will just carry a SLR with one lens mounted or a shoulder bag big enough to carry a couple of lenses, a set of filters, spare batteries and memory cards.

Many bag manufactures make a great choice of bags that fit in this category, but a personal favourite of mine is the Crumpler range of products from http://www.crumpler.com.au/ because they are inconspicuous looking, are well made and flexible.

With many of us living a very electronic existance, this will result in us having many cords, chargers and USB adapters. I found the perfect solution to store, carry and organising these items at a K-Mart department store. It was simply a bathroom toiletry bag with a zippered compartment for the large items like chargers and wall socket adapters and numerous loops and pockets to store cables. This is the item pictured below.

Next time I'll talk about what gear to take and what not to take.

Have a great week.

New Photo added to Flickr

2009-03-02T23:00:00.004+11:00

Scanning through the 3000 odd pictures I took back from the USA trip, I pick one periodically then process it and resize to add to the photostream.

This one is of the lady herself, the Statue of Liberty. I wanted to represent the size, significance and meaning of this statue in one photo.

See the larger one here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcelvanderhorst/3317680937/sizes/o/

New Photos added to Flickr

2009-02-28T18:29:00.004+11:00

Hi all, I have been busy the last week or so, but I aim to continue my Travel Photography articles as soon as I can. In the meantime, check out my new aditions to the Flickr Photostream.

Check out the large ones at http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3305/3315868734_617cfe401a_o.jpg
and http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3386/3315041641_2b321eec06_o.jpg

Photoshop Tutorial featured on Zoom In Online

2009-02-23T07:55:00.004+11:00

I had a guest blog post on Zoom In Online, a well known Photography Blog with a short Photoshop Tutorial.

Check it out here: http//www.zoom-in.com/blog/photography/sophia-betz/adobephoto/career-cliff-notes-dodge-burn

New Photo Added to Flickr

2009-02-23T07:47:00.005+11:00

Click here for a larger version and a description http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcelvanderhorst/3287950329/

Advice for the advanced holiday photographer (part 2)

2009-02-17T13:19:00.017+11:00

Part Two

Researching you destination before you go.
Many things I mentioned in the last post can be found out about your destination/s in advanced by doing some research from magazines or by using the best tool, the internet.

Many of you will be going on your trip wanting to come home with winning images that warrant being hung on your wall or selling them on your website etc. So its imperative to find out where those images can be shot.

My first port of call was my good old favourite http://www.flickr.com/ which is a gold mine for checking out where to take a good shot. IN the screen shot below you can see if you type 'Grand Canyon' in the search bar you get 638,402 results which would take you years to browse through. I typically narrow my search by adding more 'tags' which are the searchable words that is associated with the photo. E.g. Grand Canyon Sunset Desert View. By adding the sunset and desert view tags I have narrowed the search to a more managable 296 photos.

It helps to narrow down certain spots that may or may not be worth visiting on your trip. If you're lucky you'll find photo descriptions that tell you the exact spot where the photo was taken and at what time of day.

Another important factor to consider when travelling abroad is to check the expected weather. There are many websites that will cater to this need and even tell the expected climate months in advance. Just do what I did and just Google your destination and the weather and start searching.

Besides the weather and where is the best location to take a photo, there are numerous other things to consider. Personal safety, access to certain areas, other traveller's experiences, cost of entry to parks, buildings etc. All these things can be researched by looking up official websites of the cities, countries or districts you plan to visit. A popular global site is http://www.tripadvisor.com/ which has an extensive database of free travel guides, traveller experiences, photos and video, hotel and accommodation reviews.

Advice for the advanced holiday photographer (Part 1)

2009-02-15T22:22:00.007+11:00

Welcome to the first of a multi-part series that will aimed at the advanced holiday photographer (you know who you are, you can't leave the house without all your gear) or even someone that might be heading off for travel to take the winning shot in order to sell it to an advertising agency or hang it up in a gallery.

The topics I will cover will include:

*Destinations, their terrain, access and climate
*Researching your destination before you go
*Suggested packing tips
*Camera kit suggestions
*What time of day to shoot and how to organise the time
*Shooting techniques and related accessories
*Image storage and backup
*Displaying your images when you get home and editing the images that don't make the cut

Part One

Destinations, their terrain, access and climate
Your tickets, hotels and transfers are booked, you have checked your travel insurance covers your gear and now its time to think about what it would be like at the destination, considering most of you are probably packing a fair amount of photo gear if you are anything like me. I'll qualify myself by saying I've only been to the USA for 5 weeks and to Holland, Belgium and France for four weeks. But I think the train of thought should be similar no matter where you going.

If you are mainly going to places that are urban environments and cities, consider that the most valuable piece kit is going to be your shoes. You will thank me later, by getting some good quality walking shoes that are already worn in. If you were going a trekking style holiday, of course its a given to have a sturdy set of hiking shoes. Also look into the weather before you leave and model your clothing choice on the expected temperatures you will encounter. Have a look at the outdoor ware specialist (Anaconda, Kathmandu, The North Face) stores to find clothes that are light weight, but warm or super comfortable for long journeys.

One thing that surprised me on my trip to the USA, the most beautiful and unique landscapes for example, are difficult to access. Some spots require you to hike 8 hours and set up camp to get the morning light and then trek 8 hours back to any form of civilisation. Those sorts of surprises can be counteracted with thorough research into your destination and by utilising tourist information centers located at your hotel or at the destination. In some countries it may be frowned upon to bring a camera to Government sites or Holy grounds/buildings, it might be inappropriate to lug a massive camera bag around a local person's shop or to even carry up a mountain. Some places like Indian Reservations in the USA require you to pay to even enter certain grounds, then you pay extra for a tour. All this leads me to my next topic: Researching your destination.

This image here is of Antelope Slot Canyon just out of Paige in Arizona USA. I knew in advance I wanted to go here, but I didn't know they charged US$6 per head to just enter the car park, then a $25 fee per person for the tour. Steep, but it was worth it in the end.

Content in the coming weeks (or months)

2009-02-13T16:55:00.002+11:00

Over the coming few weeks, or months, I'll be writing a series of articles or tutorials if you would like, on various photography related subjects involving real world topics and ways to improve on your day to day photography.

Stay tuned and don't forget to RSS feed.

New Photo on Flickr

2009-02-10T09:45:00.007+11:00

Here is a photo from my series taken on Boxing Day 2008 at The Oaks just west of Inverloch, Victoria. We scouted beaches for an hour and a half prior, to see what would be the most photogenic and that would line up nicely with the setting sun. I couldn't really see the sun because the clouds were very thick and dark and it had been raining on and off all day. I just used my $2 eBay compass to guess where it might set. I was optimistic in waiting for a decent sunset, but I set up my trusty Benro tripod and shot away many different compositions until I saw the best sunset I have ever seen.

Thanks to Neale, Merril and Belinda for the accomodation, the great BBQ and help.

For those intersted in the process of taking this photo, I will elaborate. Above all (besides a good sturdy tripod) you need a great deal of patience, persistance and a mild level of fitness (because the walk back to the car up the hill was murder).

The equipment I used was a Canon EOS 50D 15.1MP digital camera, a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 lens, A Benro Aluminium 3 Section Tripod (a 6ft tall sturdy one), a polarizer filter to reduce glare off the rocks and to soak up two stops of light to slow down the shutter speeds, a Neutral Density Graduated filter in a Cokin P series holder to darken the sky by about 3 or so stops (its a very dark filter). A cable release was used so I didn't touch the camera causing shake or vibrations and the SLR mirror was locked up to further avoid camera shake.

The camera was set to ISO100 to make sure the sensor noise level would be at its lowest and to make the camera less sensitive to light. With the polarizer filter and ND Grad it resulted in a 1.6 second exposure at f8, which is the sharpest aperture of the lens. I used the evaluative metering mode to get a good exposure balance.

For a full run down on the EXIF data, see it here http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcelvanderhorst/3266595024/meta/

Next post I'll show how it was edited in Photoshop.

Until next time, have a great day.

P.S. My heart goes out to the people effected by the Bushfire crisis in Victoria at the moment.

Photographer spotlight

2009-02-04T13:13:00.003+11:00

Every now and then I'll come across an excellent photographer, that is either some kind of inspiration or I'll appreciate the work the photographer does.

Check out the work of Joey Lawrence at http://www.joeyl.com/ . This guy is only 18 years old and has been around the world photographing people and photographed some very famous people in the music industry (50 cent, Panic at the Disco). Be sure to check out his personal projects, especially the street and people portrait galleries. The images are really powerful and technically brilliant.

New photos on Flickr

2009-02-01T17:54:00.003+11:00

New photos added to my Flickr Photostream

First Blog Entry

2009-02-01T13:38:00.006+11:00

It's time for my first blog entry, in hope that it will be one that will be the start of many and followed by many people. I'll endeavour to keep, you the reader, as interested as possible and provide your day with a little bit of joy.

I'll start by saying its been a busy January (and an expensive one) and soon I'll see my website http://www.mvphotography.com.au/ up and running in a hope to boost my photography business that I'll run from home.

I'll have photography services available and also a range of limited edition prints available for purchase from anywhere in the world, at a reasonable price. Due to digital capture and digital printing services, everyone has access to quality photographs to hang in their home or business cheaper than ever before.

What I aim to blog about is my photography adventures, photography experiences, influences, my photography processes, photography tips and tricks as well as some Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom articles.

I'll also qualify my self to you all as well: I have been into photography since I was a young teenager (nearly 30 now) and I always used my Dad's Canon AE1 film SLR to take pictures. I used it so much it required two full services and up only until November 2007 it just didn't cut it for me anymore. So I updated to digital. I only started out with a Canon EOS 400D with the aim to take better and more pictures and only leave it as a hobby.

It was until I entered a few competitions and won a placing in them all, that myself and others around realised some potential here. I was always a serial hobbyist, I'd get good at something, spend heaps of money on it and give it up after a few years. This time I was committed.

I entered in my first gallery showing in Brunswick St Gallery in Melbourne where I sold 3 prints for an actual profit and realised I was only a handful out of 300 entrants that actually sold some pieces. So that was main turning point, where I decided I should turn this into a business. Don't get me wrong, I will always do this for the love of photography and seeing people enjoy the images.

This is all I have time for at the moment, but I'm sure I'll continue to share my thoughts and experiences with you all soon.