The Photographer's Wife

We’re doing something a little different this year…  We’re offering chances ($10/chance) to win several different prizes and donating ALL the proceeds to two deserving organizations with whom we’re working:  Northern Arizona Foodbank and the Northland Family Help Center.  Please join us in supporting our community and maybe win something too!  Chances must be completed by December 31,2011 and prizes will be awarded after January 1, 2012.

• Canon lens coffee mug ($30)

• 11×14″ Joel Wolfson matted print ($50 value)

• Canon A3300 IS 16 Megapixel compact digital camera ($160 value)

• 2 hour private workshop with Joel Wolfson ($300 value) – learn software, go on a field shoot, get a portfolio review…

**Please contact Joel (928-526-3726) to pay by credit card or email us for paypal instructions.  If you prefer, you may mail a check to:  Joel Wolfson Photography, PO Box 2842, Flagstaff, AZ  86003**

Joel writing the blog today- Yes we do get snow in Arizona!  This is our first of the season.  Because I’m still recovering from my hand injury and can’t handle my DSLR very well I shot these on my Canon G10 point and shoot camera.  Of course I’ve shot a lot of serious work on my G10.  We often think of traveling to far away or exotic places to get good photos but if you look around your house or just outside your door you might find some nice opportunities. I’m not a big fan of snow and cold but from a photography perspective I love the snow.

Free Webinar: I’m doing a webinar for Topaz on Nov. 10th 4PM (CST) and in addition to learning how I use plug-ins in my creative workflow there will be a substantial discount for webinar attendees. You can view the archived webinar here.

Photo Tech Notes:
I used a Canon G10 for these, a smallish point and shoot camera that has both full auto and a lot of control.  I shot both of these handheld.  I used Lightroom 3 to import, organize and process my photos. Then I used Topaz Adjust on the color photo since Lightroom’s fill light didn’t cut it for equalizing the foreground and I used Topaz B&W Effects to process the black and white image.

Topaz Labs just put a couple photography articles I wrote on their website- one is “Black and White Rediscovered”, the other is my top ten tips and techniques for black and white photography.  For those who don’t know Topaz Labs, they make an awesome set of Photoshop plug-ins and they also support photography education.

For those of you who don’t know, I was a backcountry ranger in Yosemite several years ago and have been trying to get back ever since!  So I used scouting as an excuse; I continue to try to convince Joel that a Sierra workshop would be amazing!  If you’d be interested, let us know…  The Sierra Nevada are as beautiful as I remember- it’s no wonder Ansel Adams spent so much time there.  I spent most of my time in the high country so all of these locations are 10,000 ft (3050 m) or higher.  I hiked about 35 miles in 3 days and my maximum elevation was a mountain pass at just over 12,000 ft (3700 m).

24mm, f4.0, 1/250, ISO 80

24mm, f4.5, 60 seconds, ISO 100

24mm, f4.5, 1/100, ISO 100

24mm, f8.0, 1/250, ISO 100

Photo Tech Notes:
I used a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 for all of these, a small light weight camera with a lot of control.  I used a polarizing filter on all but the night shot.  I carried the Pedco Ultrapod Mini (tripod) with me in my backpack- small and light weight is a necessity!  I used Lightroom 3 to process my color photos and Joel helped me use Photoshop, Nik Silver Efex Pro, Topaz Adjust and Topaz B&W Effects to process the black and whites. NOTE: For a 15 percent discount on Nik or Topaz products, use the links here and when you check out use the code JWOLFSON.

Barb is out backpacking in Yosemite scouting for great photo ops so I’m doing this post.  I’ll take the opportunity to do a preview of a new plug-in from Topaz Software being released today!  It’s called Black & White Effects* and contains a set of tools to take you beyond default black and white conversions in Lightroom or Photoshop.  Although you can accomplish the same result in Photoshop and to a lesser extent, Lightroom, this plug-in (as with others from both Topaz and Nik) helps you accomplish the task more efficiently.

They sent me a beta version which by definition isn’t quite finished but I still tested it out on a live job.  The photo I tried it on is a timeless scene I shot in Tuscany while scouting for the workshop I conduct there every year.  I tend to think in black and white sepia toning when it comes to a classic scene like this.  But I shoot RAW files which are in color and must be converted to black and white.  Here’s the photo before I opened it in B&W Effects.

Below is how a default conversion would look using Lightroom or Photoshop (in this case I used Lightroom)- not at all the idea I had in my mind’s eye for a timeless black and white.  So, how do I get that timeless feel in a rich sepia toned and dramatic black and white landscape?  Well, here’s a typical workflow for me in creating black and white landscapes from RAW files: 1. Make initial adjustments for contrast and color in Lightroom.  2. Use Topaz Adjust to bring up shadow detail while enhancing contrast in the sky. Most of this I do with the Adaptive Exposure sliders   3. Convert to black and white and do all my “tweaks” to optimize tonal values and any film/grain simulations, borders, traditional BW filters such as Yellow or Red, and perhaps toning, all in Nik Silver Efex Pro 4. If required I’ll work on the texture and fine details using Topaz Detail.Enter Topaz B&W Effects.  The coolest part of this for me is that I can save a bunch of time by skipping the Topaz Adjust step because most of what I need is built right into B&W Effects, including Adaptive Exposure!  For this image I set the slider to .2 with 10 regions.  Don’t worry if these settings don’t mean much to you.  Once you get your hands on this plug-in they will.  B&W Effects also has Detail controls, potentially saving me more time if I don’t have to go into Topaz Detail.  I generally try the Detail slider first (both for Topaz Adjust and B&W Effects) to see if it will do the job.  If not the Detail plug-in has more comprehensive controls.  Next I used a red filter at full strength to darken the blue in the sky- a technique taken from traditional black and white film for more drama in the sky.  I should mention here that when I try the equivalent effect in Lightroom, halos appear around the trees in the background.  I finalized my image by simulating one of my favorite films, Fuji Neopan Acros, with the Film Grain option.  Another final touch was sepia toning the image by adjusting the Tone Strength slider in the Silver and Paper Tone panel.  Here’s the final result I had in my mind’s eye:

Conclusion: Topaz B&W Effects is a welcome addition and great complement to my collection of plug-ins for Photoshop and Lightroom.  For a first release it is quite robust.  I do a fair amount of black and white work so B&W Effects is now part of my arsenal.  The key to using the myriad of plug-ins out there is to use them when and where they will save you time or to do a job other tools can’t.  That said I won’t give up Nik Silver Efex Pro because no-one else has the equivalent of the  control points found in Silver Efex and Viveza.

*Topaz is offering a half price introductory deal.  Just click here and when you check out enter the code “bwandbeyond” to get it for 29.99!

Photo Tech notes: I used a Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 17-40mm L to shoot the hay bale photo.  Software used is noted in the post, processed on a Mac Pro using an Eizo ColorEdge CG243W display.

We all had a lot of fun with black & white photography this weekend.  The zone system is a really interesting way to see the world.  We shot in several different locations around Flagstaff, northeast, northwest and right downtown- for people shots.  Here are a few photos I took of our participants.

In the next post, I will put up a mini gallery of the images people chose to print- everyone went home with a beautiful exhibition quality black & white print!

Don’t forget Joel’s joint workshop with Hidden Light- Creative Black & White Part II – all about black & white and the wet darkroom!  Should be fun, and we still have room…

Ciao!

Photo Tech notes: I used a Canon G10 to shoot these participant photos.  I made selections, cropped, and converted to black and white jpegs using Adobe Lightroom 3 on a MacBook Pro 15″ Based on your requests we are now providing some information on equipment, software, and techniques we use in the photos. We will also try to provide links, when possible, so you can find out more about the gear and software.

Yes, we still have one more spot if you or anyone you know would like to join us!  The Creative Black & White Part I workshop is Friday through Sunday, August 12-14.  It will be a lot of fun, as usual. It will include shooting in the field and you’ll also learn digital file preparation for exhibition quality images to make your black & white prints stand out!  We are following this one up with a traditional wet darkroom based Creative Black and White Part II in September.

Also, Congrats to Joel for some new sponsorships, some offering discounts!  Check out this new page on his website!

Ciao!

This time the photographer, instead of his wife, is writing this post.  I’m very excited to announce a newly formed relationship with Topaz Labs.  Who’s that?  The company that makes some of my favorite and essential software tools which I use to improve my images prior to printing them.  As many of you know I do all my own printing so preparing my images is a critical process that is the modern equivalent of my old wet darkroom, only way cooler!  I also set up a discount with Topaz (use code JWOLFSON for 15% off any products and/or the code GETADJUSTED for 25% off Adjust) for any of you out there who are photographers and want to try their awesome plug-ins.

Here’s a quick behind-the-scenes example with some brief explanations:

Step 1: My original image (left side), shot in the Fall is this curvy aspen that looks like it’s dancing.

My first step, using Topaz Adjust, is to bring the slightly washed out leaves and sky in the background back to the way they looked (the camera often lies). I do this using the Adjust’s Adaptive Saturation to make them more vivid. I also use the Detail controls to bring out the detail in the bark.  These are fairly subtle changes but look closely at the two images and you can see the differences. The adjusted image is on the right.

At this point I think the foreground tree, although compelling because of its shape and the light on the edge, is competing for attention with the background.

Step 2: Next I use Topaz ReMask to isolate the foreground tree.  The funky colored image you see is what it looks like within the software when you create a “mask”.  A mask is a cutout where you can block everything out except what you want to work on- in this case the foreground tree. Everything with a reddish cast gets blocked out, the blue outline tells the software what you are isolating, and the green area is what will show through the mask.  The righthand image is the mask itself.

Final Step: Now with the tree isolated by the mask I just created, I can lighten it up which draws more attention to it.  Voila!  Here’s the final image (some of you may have noticed a black and white version of this in a previous post but that process I’ll save for another day…)

That’s the nutshell version of preparing this image!

If you are interested in trying these plug-ins you can take advantage of some discounts through my affiliation with Topaz- Use code JWOLFSON for 15% off all Topaz Products and the code GETADJUSTED for 25% off Adjust (Adjust ends August 1st, JWOLFSON discount is ongoing.)

Our Creative Black & White Part I workshop scheduled for this August is filling up quickly, so sign up soon!  We only have a couple slots left…  Interest is heating up for Part II in September.  We’re very excited for both of them- it’s going to be a lot of fun!

Our rainy season is making a slow start this year in the north country, but I think we’re finally out of fire season…  until next year!

Ciao!

Last weekend, our light painting and night photography workshop was a lot of fun.  With a small group everyone got a lot of individual attention.

The summer is already breezing by…  We’ll be at the Art in the Park show at Wheeler Park in Flagstaff, July 4th weekend, where Joel will have at least one new release.

August 12-14 we have Part I of our Creative Black & White workshop coming up!  If you’ve never shot black & white, it’s a whole new world!  We’re already half full, so sign up soon…  Part II is September 16-18 and is all about film and the traditional wet darkroom.  Should be fun!  Please click the links for more workshop details.

Check out some of Joel’s favorite black and white images as well as favorite night images.