The Lomography Effect

If you Google Grunge Photography or Lomography or HDR you will get millions of hits and each of them will provide a different explanation of what each of these techniques look like. Over time I have done that to see what 'looks' I like from the various sources and recently it was the Lomography look I want to play with.

What is Lomography? Who is Lomogra(pher) or Lomo or....who? A search on Wikipedia will provide you an answer and basically there is no person which this technique is named for, rather it's Lomo LLC a Russian made camera that resembles the Holga (at least to me). It also states that Lomography was created in Austria. So who knows. But it is the look that interests me.

Wikipedia also states that Lomography is a colorful, saturated, sometimes blurry technique and that is what I wanted to play with. So I searched Lomography and found plenty of Lightroom presets that mimic the technique and the 'looks' were as varied as the entries. The preset that I chose was from Matt Kloskowski and his website Lightroom Killer Tips.

So I visited his site and sure enough he had his version of the Lomography preset and without a doubt it was coolest look out of about 20 presets I downloaded and tried. You can see here in the shot of one of my favorite guys to work with and do lots of experimenting. His name is Fletcher and he does photography himself.

So I ran the preset over the image in Lightroom and and then adjusted the color to taste ( a little less green and yellow) and then opened in Photoshop to fine a little more. I like the final look and it now is the opening page for my new website Charlie Borland.
Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments!

More thoughts from Seth Resnicks D65 Workshop

In a previous post I mentioned that I had just taken Seth Resnicks ‘workflow, not workslow’ seminar through D65 and I am still riding high with what I learned. Efficient workflow is not just about knowing Lightroom, but understanding efficient workflow that makes the tedious aspects of managing digital assets easier. We all know someone with the latest and greatest DSLR who cant take a picture if their life depended on it. There are plenty of Lightroom experts out there as well. But how many have a very systematic and efficient workflow? Like the camera, the software is only the tool that makes your system work.

Here are a few thoughts from the seminar, things that really made me think:

• In the film days, we shot assignments and delivered film to the client and were done. These days we are asked or expected to do a lot more. That may include Photoshop touchup, color correction, clipping masks, and maybe even CMYK files. You should consider adding more billable services in this new digital era. This is part of workflow.

• More megapixels are not always better! It’s how the files are processed. Apparently the CIA’s spy satellite that can read your licenses plate from space is….1 megapixel. It’s their software that makes is the magnification possible.

• We have already been hearing this, but if cd’s and DVD’s are your storage method of choice, you may wish to reconsider. According to this study they only have a 2-5 years lifespan.

• Think about other storage devices that were state-of-the-art in their time and that many
of us probably spent a bunch of money on. Syquest, Zip, Jazz, and tape. Most are gone now but the old hard drive is still here and appears to be the safest storage device still. Fortunately they are dropping in price as the storage size increases. I am daisy chaining several of them together, one for raw files and one for backup. Finished files on another drive and the LR catalog on another so that I can take it with me.

• Naming conventions are critical to maintaining an easy to use and efficient workflow. It needs to be consistent and for every single shoot and file. I am still brainstorming this as to what will work best for me. Here are some ideas:

• date_client_job 20093015_xerox_job
• client or location_job Xerox_job
• for stock: ca_yosemite_stk I am thinking I like this better than the date at the front.

• I tend to search for images by location when seeking files so the date does not help much. Fortunately Lightroom allows lots of custom options.

• Keywording is a powerful and useful tool in Lightroom. The best strategy is to think ‘global to
local’. Start with then add keywords down to the local subject. Europe> England> London> Big
Ben> Beefeater.


There is so much more I need to chew on and will post more as I recall them. And check out Seths book. It is excellent! Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments!

Making a pit stop in Anza Borrego, California

I just finished Seth Resnicks D65 workshop in San Diego and am making a quick stop in Californias Anza Borrego Desert State Park. The wildflowers are still out and the cactus will not bloom for probably another week. I am bummed because it will be gorgeous when they do bloom. Here is a shot from Fonts Point taken at sunset when there really was no sunset due to overcast. Read on if you want to know the processing. I first shot this is as a 5 stop bracketed series for HDR generation. Now if you are wondering why HDR when the light is flat, it's because it works in a whole new way. You can bracket and there is often no need to, but the results when tone mapping are cool. You can really push the blacks and microcontrast for a very edgy or grungy look.

So my settings are:

Strength 100
Color sat 65
Light Smoothing- right smack in the middle
Luminosity -3
Set the B&W points to be as close to the walls as possible
Microcontrast 10
Light Smoothing 0
Temperature -3

Then I opened it in PS and added a curves adjustment, a vignette, and the a high pass sharpen.

That's it!
Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments!

In San Diego with Seth Resnick

So how is your digital photography workflow? Efficient, productive, and easy to use? Well I will be the first to admit that mine sucks. So I decided to take Seth Resnicks: workflow- not workslow, seminar through D65. It was long, intense, and absolutely fabulous. I am a better man for doing so. I have had Lightroom since it came out but never really had time to think about just how efficient workflow is laid out. I needed a crash course and found it in Seths seminar. Four long and productive days with Seth and Jamie will have you mastering Lightroom and the concepts that are behind efficient workflow. You get his excellent book and lots of extras ideas and concepts. Its well worth the money and time.
Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments!

Must see: Zack Arias video

I usually dont blog about other photographers blog entries, but just in case you have not seen this it is a must watch: http://www.zarias.com/?p=284 Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments!

Digging through the archives: The Mountain Man Rendevous

Twenty some year ago I photographed a modern mountain man rendezvous for a magazine story. I cant even remember the magazine but it may have been the AAA magazine or Farmers Insurance or something like that. I have been having fun occasionally going through my old stock and assignment files and looking for images that could be considered timeless, meaning that they might still have a current appeal in the market.

I have been scanning some of these and then applying more current looks or effects in Photoshop. This image is of Crow Killer, a modern day mountain man at a rendezvous in Oregon. I photographed him and a bunch of others during multiple events I shot for the assignment. I scanned the image on my Nikon Coolscan and then opened it in Photoshop. I have a plugin called Redynamix that creates a HDR like look to the images. It is fun to play and cheap, like $16 and you get it at Mediachance. The problem is that it works only in 8 bit and that has definite drawbacks. Noise comes in very quickly if you are pushing hard on the sliders.

I worked this over a fair amount with the sliders, then rendered it and added a High Pass to it, tweaked the levels and bent a curve a little to add contrast. I then posted it on my new website www.charlieborland.com among other people and portrait images.
Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments!

Joe McNally has another book due soon!

Master genius incredible nice guy photographer, Joe McNally has another book due out anytime and it is called the Hot Shoe Diaries. Joe is a phenominal photographer and I have had the pleasure of teaching workshops with him along with others like Drew Gardner, Chase Jarvis, David Hobby, Bobbi Lane, and others. The book is supposed to be released anytime and I am anxious to see it as well. If you have not seen Joes other recent book, The Moment it Clicks, get busy and look. He is a master at concept and creation and with using wireless flash and displays his work regularly on his blog.
Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments!

Photography Usage Rights: Who Can Use Them?

oI have been working with a client on a large architectural project for the last month and a half and when she e-mailed me today about scheduling our next location she also asked about the granting of usage rights to one of their partners whom I would call a third-party.

Here is part of her e-mail and in particular the question regarding usage

Second, if XXXXXXXX wants to use your photos do they need to get rights for distribution from you? I know we talked about us having the rights, but I didn't know if that is extended to XXXXXX.”

Here is my reply:
“Thanks for asking about the usage rights. This can be a confusing subject and I am not sure how much you know about photographic usage so I will go ahead and explain and use a couple analogies in case you are not familiar.

When we photographers do photo assignments we are generally doing them for one client and if anyone else out there wants to use the photographs they usually pay the photographer for those usage rights. This is a pretty common arrangement and I usually describe it in a couple ways: when I buy a plane ticket I get the usage of that seat for one of the flight. At the end of the flight I get off and I have no more rights to get back on without paying more nor did that one flight buy me any ownership in the airline. I paid for one use of an airline seat. Another analogy is an architect provides building design for one client but that one client cannot distribute those plans to their friends to build with, without paying the architect a license fee.
In a similar situation, I have had homebuilders asking me to photograph one of their new homes and I photographed the interior and the exteriors, then the cabinet company sees the photographs and wants to use them in their brochure and they paid me for the rights to use the photos on top of what the homebuilder paid. So this would be similar to XXXXXXXX wishing to use the photos in their archives as well.

The most common approach for additional usage by third-party clients is 75% of what the original assignment fee was. This is a general starting point for many photographers with the idea that the third-party client benefits from 100% of the effort but only has to pay 75% of the cost while not having to expend any cost to be there for the shoot nor do any of the coordinating prior to the photo shoot.
I should also mention that in situations like this, I have had clients who teamed up with the third-party company, as in XXXXXXXXXXXX and XXXXX, and split the cost of the photo shoot and the third-party usage fees for a more equitable arrangement between the two. It makes sense because they both benefited equally.

So I hope that gives you a good idea about usage and third-party use and……………………….”

That was a quick explanation in essence telling a client that they cannot share the photos I'm taking for them with any other parties unless those third parties pay a license fee for the usage. I'm sure there many photographers out there who would handle this differently but this approach has actually worked quite well in the past and seems to be an equitable solution all the way around.

Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments!

Chromasia announces their new Photoshop tutorial

Our friends at Chromasia have announced their new Photoshop tutorial on working with Textures, has just been released. Chromasia is an online Photography, Photoshop, and HDR training site with a diverse selection of online tutorials.

Chromasia director David Nightingale and I will be teaching an HDR workshop in Tampa Florida on April 19th - 23rd, 2009. For more information on the workshop click here.

Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments!

Interior Photography and Photoshop

Here is an example of needing Photoshop to balance color in an architectural interior. The assignment was shooting interior designs. In this shot we are shooting a row of office spaces to show the furnishings. When I do this i ask the client how far down they want to see because the further down the more distortion in the image and the harder it might be to straighten in Photoshop.

The client did not want to see that far down so this wide angle shows a lot of ceiling. We added strobes that were color corrected to match the ambient lights and place them only to open up darker areas. Right in front on the right side was dark with shadow so we have a large light box on a floor stand to brighten it. In the back and on the left is a small orange panel that also needed brightening so there is a small strobe hidden back there to brighten that area up. Next we go into Photoshop. The first thing I do is and compositing of windows or lights or any parts from other images. There none needed here. So I open the lens correction filter and adjust the distortion. Next I crop out the ceiling excess. Now the image would be done if it was not for the off color rear wall at the windows. The left side is pretty neutral but not the right side, so I use the color picker to sample the left color on that white wall and make note.

I add an empty layer and fill it with the color, then use CTRL-I to invert that color which is now blue/magenta in tone. I set the blending mode for that layer to color, add a mask and fill it with black. Then with a soft white brush set at 5 pixels, I slowly paint the right side rear wall until its color matches the color on the left. The last step was a dodge layer to balance tonality between left and right sides and I was done.

Keep Reading: Full Post and Comments!