Canadian Thanksgiving Meetup

Earlier this year I never would have imagined that I’d be writing about my third amazing meetup with some incredibly talented photographers and friends. At the start of this year I had met only a handful of online friends in real life and never would have thought that I would not only one day meet them all, but several times over the course of a year!

During the weekend of October 4-9, I organized and ‘hosted’ a small group of some of my favourite photographers at a meetup in the mountains of British Columbia. We decided in August to try and meet during this time and after finding the most amazing cabin rental (seriously if you’re ever in the Nelson area, rent from Kootenay Lake Lodge!) we reserved our stay and planned our getaway.

What I don’t think any of us really imagined was that the weekend would be as magical as it was. Our cabin, while only a few rooms, was so cozy and almost immediately filled with a sense of comfort and home. Whether we were making pancakes in the morning, hot chocolate in the evenings or just sitting on the couch making jokes, it felt not like we were renting a cabin, but actually living in a home together. While in the inside of the cabin was filled with magic, the natural environment surrounding it was even more magical. We had our own lakefront rocky ‘beach’ located just steps from our door with a view of the lake that literally spanned as far as we could see. In the evening, the light turned to a beautiful blue hue and in the morning clouds hung low over the mountains creating a soft light over the water and shore.

We had a small forest filled with moss and driftwood, a tiny waterfall framed with falled logs and blackberry bushes and within a short walk we found ourselves climbing over huge boulders and rocks to find the perfect photo locations.

I feel a sense of recharge when I’m with my friends at these meetups, they feel less like photography gatherings and more like the best class I’ve ever taken, it’s like a family reunion that I never want to end. There is an energy in the air, an energy filled with creativity and appreciation and support. We help each other plan shots, help each other edit, help each other move forward toward reaching our very best. It’s an energy I want to bottle and keep for these rainy days when I feel isolated in my little mountain town.

 

During the weekend we travelled to a sort of abandoned campground place with huge trees and a beautiful river. We took a beautiful ferry ride to the small town of Nelson B.C. and ate at an interesting “fusion” restaraunt and wound up doing cartwheels in a park overlooking the town. On the way home we ended up missing the returning ferry by just a few minutes. Instead of sitting around and waiting, we all grabbed our cameras and gear and immediately started using the available locations for photos. It was like watching a beehive of activity, we were all running back and forth, catching the most beautiful orange sunset. We boarded the ferry in time to watch the water and sky turned purple and then blue and dark.

That evening would become of the most amazing nights of my life. As all of us but Shane sat inside the cabin, cracking jokes and drinking tea all of a sudden the door flew open and Shane called for us all to get outside. I think we all knew what it meant right away. Sure enough, a greenish haze had made it’s way over the north end of the lake and after a few seconds of an open exposure, we were greeted with a neon green light. The NORTHERN LIGHTS! The night suddenly changed into another wave of activity. All I could hear were the waves against the rocks, the sounds of our camera shutters opening and closing and the laughs in between. Watching the night sky be painting with the amazing green and blue waves of light will be a highlight of my life for many many years.

 

It’s fitting that this meetup happened over thanksgiving as this year, I’m thankful for so many things including my amazing friends, the beautiful scenery in our world, and the incredible opportunity I have to share with all of you.

September 2012 – Goats, Mountains, and Magazines.

This past month has proven to be one that snuck up slowly and then rocketed past with so many wonderful days filled with amazing memories. I’ve been meaning to post about all the opportunities that I’ve been so fortunate to have been involved in but I haven’t been able to find the time to just sit and write. I’ve finally managed to find a few quiet hours to try and recap the last few weeks!

Band Photos With The Good Ol’ Goats

Earlier this year I was “introduced” to a local band of students from the school I work at, a band called “The Good Ol’ Goats“. Immediately I was a fan of their folk sound and amazing talent and I mentioned that if they were ever looking for some photos, I’d love to work with them. At the beginning of September, we met at a local ghost/historical town to work on a series of promotional photos for their new album and while I was nervous having never shot band photos before, it was a fun afternoon filled with a lot of laughter and music.

It’s been so great to be able to work with a local group that is getting so much positive attention and I feel that our collaboration has been mutually beneficial, I’ve suddenly been booking more local shoots and have been meeting with a lot of other local artists and people looking for photo work. The power of community!

Fall Fair

On my first day back at work, a coworker mentioned an upcoming fall market/country fair that was taking place and suggested I enter the photography competition. I’ve never really enter my work into a judged competition and I only had one day to pick three pieces to enter but I figured that if this year was all about pushing myself to try new things, I should just go for it. I dropped off my photos and hoped for the best!

Unfortunately because the fair happened to be in the middle of a really busy weekend, I couldn’t actually make it to see my photos on display but when I went to pick them up after it was all over, I found out that I had not only won a ribbon, I had won best overall photo and a second place ribbon in the category I entered! I was totally shocked and humbled by the kind words the lady running the booth said to me as she handed me back my work. It was certainly an unexpected but very much appreciated surprise!

Youth Fair Speech

On the same weekend as the fall fair mentioned above, I was also booked as a ‘keynote speaker’ at a travelling workshop aimed at promoting job skills towards youth. I was pretty nervous trying to think of what I would talk about and how I was going to stand up and talk about myself without feeling totally awkward but again, the motivation of trying something new was stronger than my nerves. I ended up writing a short speech on my journey as a photographer and how each of us has the potential to go where want in life and that our passion should lead us in the right direction.

Hiking The Rockies:
During the summer a teacher and friend sent me a message asking me if I would be interested in joining her Outdoor Skills/Geography class on a few of their multiday hikes in the backcountry. Immediately I said yes and I’m so glad that I did. This month I was fortunate to join in on two incredible hikes. The first, an overnight hike to the Conrad Kain Hut at the base of the Bugaboo Glacier in the Purcell Mountains. We spent about 5 hours hiking through an avalanche debris field, climbing over boulders, lugging 40 pound backpacks up the sides of mountains and enjoying the overwhelming views of the glaciers ahead. In the morning we woke up early to watch the sunrise over the Rocky Mountains before heading home. Just last week I joined the class again, this time on a 4 day hike through the Rocky Mountain backcountry in the Steeples Mountain range. There is nothing like hiking among yellow larch trees in the fall, the air crisp and clean and feeling the power of the environment around you. I felt totally recharged after spending 4 days away from the normal day to day life.

Magazines
This month has also been an amazing month for mail! I was lucky to recieve two magazines that have featured my work in them. The first, Coffee Today from Korea is a magazine that I’ve been ‘hired’ by to create covers for. It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to work on images that are being printed and distributed around the world. As a big coffee fan, I’m also very keen on finding inspiration in every cup :)

The second magazine, 5×5 magazine out of the U.S. is a beautiful magazine that contains a wonderful 6 page feature including an interview and full page photos. It’s always really thrilling to see my work in print and to feel it in my hands rather than only see it on a screen.

Jane Goodall

And finally, on the last evening of this month I was fortunate enough to attend a short lecture by the inspring Dr.Jane Goodall. She presented a speech on the power of hope and the power of humanity and I was left with an overwhelming sense of motivation and inspiration. Being able to listen and watch such an accomplished teacher and activist share her life story and fill the room with passion was incredible and I’ll never forget her last quote of the evening
“Only when there is harmony between the mind and the heart can humans fully reach their potential”.  Those words sat very clearly in my mind and I hope that one day I can look back and feel that I have found harmony between my head and my heart.

This month was full. I started to book more portraits which were exciting and gave me the opportunity to work some new people with great ideas. September was fun and full of memories, of laughter and love, of community and inspiration and I can’t wait to see what October brings

Vancouver Trip

I really must get myself in the habit of posting more. I usually have grand ideas in my mind about blog posts, tutorials, features on friends and inspiring artists and then…..life happens and I end up going months without even typing a word! Summer 2012 has been an amazing adventure filled with photography trips, excellent friends, and the occasional nap.

Two weekends ago I travelled by bus across British Columbia to Vancouver to meet up with a small group of fellow friends and photographers.

I can’t say enough how much these opportunities mean to me and how much I get from working in such a creative environment. Being able to wake up and be around a group of friends who understand the same things I do and who see the world in a similar light is such a wonderful feeling and fills the air with such a strong creative energy.

When I arrived in Vancouver, I was welcomed literally with open arms and it was a reunion of sorts as there were a few familiar faces from the Midwest Meetup that I was at in Indiana in June, but the beautiful part of this group was that even though I just met some of the other photographers, I felt as though I had known for my whole life.

photos by Grace Adams

Within a few hours (and a few calls to Greyhound to find my missing luggage) we had set off  into the nearby mountains to Golden Ears Provincial Park to visit Alouette Lake.  After just a short drive we found ourselves in the dense rainforest of the west coast and I felt instantly dwarfed by the size of the trees and ferns growing up and up and up. The lake was beautiful and reminded me of the mountain lakes here at home in the Rockies. We swam for a short while before deciding to head up to an amazing waterfall for some photography time.

If you’ve ever gone on any sort of walk or hike with a group of photographers, you’ll know that you must budget at least twice the time you think it will take. We stopped at every big tree stump (I climbed inside more than a couple and I think some of them were bigger than my apartment) and at every interesting spot in the river. The waterfall was a beautiful vision (although slightly marred by the presence of some “naturalists” enjoying the water above the falls). Within minutes we had all scrambled on top of boulders, logs and into the water to shoot photos, donning dresses and cloaks and vintage jackets. We stayed longer than we thought we would and made our way back to lake for dinner and music.

The second day was off to a lazy start and we took our time organizing ourselves. A small group of us went to a nearby forest to shoot some photos before heading back to Lizzy’s house to gather up the rest of our gang and head down to downtown Vancouver. After a highly entertaining bus ride that involved a slight hit and run by the bus driver we finally made it downtown and wandered our way through the streets and then through a random chinese street festival. Our purpose for this little trip was to see an outdoor concert by Fun. and after a few small detours we finally found ourselves near the front of the crowd, enjoying the sun and song near the ocean.

Dinner, laughs, walking downtown, more laughs, street photography, even more laughs, and we finally decided to call it a night (the girls headed home while the guys stayed back for a few refreshments).

photo by Whitney Justesen

Sunday had started out being our “laid back and do nothing day” but it quickly turned into a “let’s go thrift store shopping and then shoot photos in the forest!” day. We piled back into vans and headed to Value Village to stock up on  vintage clothes and props and then back to the woods to shoot all the ideas we had floating around in our minds.

photo by Emerald Shatto

I felt such a surge of creative energy being amongst the trees and my amazing and talented friends. I would finish one photo shoot and almost immediately start another with a different person and a different idea, it was amazing!  After we had all finished up our shots we headed back for a big family dinner and hung out with everyone for a few more hours. We decided to drive out to try to catch the meteor shower and while we may not have had many shooting stars, it was a magical night filled with song and friendship.

This photography gathering was, like the one in Indiana, such a powerful force in my own creative mind. I felt inspired in new ways, to shoot new types of photos and to try new things without fearing whether I would fail or succeed at them. I fall back in love with photography when I’m surrounded by people who love it and want to share it with the world and I can’t wait until I can once again feel that creative energy, its powerful stuff.

 

here’s a list of all the photographers that were there:
 Rob Woodcox
Whitney Justesen
Peter Jamus
Lizzy Gadd
Esther Gadd

Emerald Shatto
Casey Maxwell
Gurbir Grewal
Grace (and Austin) Adams
Sarah Rush
Dannielle Brooks
Jarred Kassis

You can also see the photos created at the meetup in our flickr group here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/vancouvermeet/

Midwest Flickr Gathering – Part 1

I’ve struggled with how to actually type up this blog post because I feel that no matter what words I choose to write, they’ll never be able to sum up the magnitude of how awesome my time in Indiana was. I’m breaking my trip into two parts, the big meetup in Indiana and then my time spent with Ali and Rob in Michigan

On July 5th I set out from my little nest tucked in the Rocky Mountains and travelled to hot and humid Fort Wayne, Indiana. It may seem like an odd place to vacation but this was no ordinary vacation. I was travelling to join 30 immensely talented and inspirational photographers and friends who had travelled from all over the world (really! Estonia, Canada, USA!) to meet and work together.

When I first arrived, I could already feel the positive and creative charge in the air. I was welcomed right off the plane with open arms and upon reaching Ethan Coverstone’s family farm, I was swarmed with smiling silhouettes who made my heart feel so warm with goodness. Within a few minutes people were scrambling to put on costumes so we could entertain the friendly folks of a local Wal-Mart as we picked up some groceries. It was the perfect way to start this trip! I kept looking around at all these faces that I’ve only known through a computer screen and I couldn’t believe that I was actually there next to them, laughing at their jokes and getting spontaneous hugs. I had to pinch myself so many times during the trip because I just couldn’t believe that so many people who I look up to were sitting right next to me.

We awoke each morning at about 5:00am to catch the beautiful soft light that laid over the farm. We shot in beautiful green corn fields, empty plowed fields, a nice little cottage tucked in the trees, a swampy creek, and in the lush trees around the property, and this was just on the farm! Throughout the entire gathering, there was an absolute creative energy in the air. It was rare to look around and not see someone in the midst of a photo shoot or planning their next one. At sunset each night there would be half a dozen shoots going on at the same time all within a few steps of each other, it was impossible to not be filled with inspiration watching these talented photographers work.

The process was entirely collaborative. We all travelled to this place to be together, to work together and to learn from each other. Our mountain of props was a mixture of everyone’s odds and ends and it wasn’t unusual for someone to be borrowing clothes or hats or shoes from another. It was such an amazing feeling to have so many people ready and willing to help out, whether it was modelling, holding a reflector or just helping to carry a huge door into the middle of a field.

We were fortunate to travel to some really cool spots nearby as well, we enjoyed a refreshing dip in a local lake (flipping over a dock in the process) and twice we were lucky enough to have permission to shoot inside an abandoned ketchup factory.

The factory was one of my favourite parts of the weekend, it was huge but filled with all sorts of hide outs and you could stand in the open courtyard area and watch all the different photo shoots happening at the same time, it reminded me of watching a beehive, all the activity happening inside the walls. There were smoke bombs, costumes, beautiful windows in brick walls and even a live bird at one point. Even though the heat made it hard to feel 100% comfortable, we worked non-stop for hours each day, capturing each other again and again. We jumped at the chance to be involved in each other’s work and it was natural to move seamlessly from one shoot to the next, letting other photographers add to the scene, change to story and create their own version.

I loved being able to think of ideas and concepts that involved all of these talented people, being able to work alongside them and capture them with my camera was the most freeing and wonderful feeling I’ve ever had in this photography path I’ve been going down. I hope that they found working with me as enjoyable as I did!

Gradually, after spending the weekend together, people had to start leaving to go back to their ‘regular’ lives and it was difficult to watch each person drive down the long dusty driveway, waving through the kicked up dust. As tough as it was to be saying goodbye, we knew that not only did we all experience something amazing and life changing, we knew that it wouldn’t be the last time we’d see one another, there would be more chances to work together.

This trip for me was a much-needed break from my routine. Before leaving for the meetup, I had been feeling lost in regards to my photography and what I wanted to do with my life. During my time spent with these amazing friends, I felt a charge of passion fill every cell in my body and I knew that I wanted to push myself forward in photography and keep fostering this passion and push towards my dreams. I don’t think I can ever repay those that inspired me, worked with me, laughed with me, and made me feel so lucky to be alive and doing what I’m doing.
Thank you Midwest gang.

You can see all the posted shots, both behind the scenes and final images at our flickr group here:  http://www.flickr.com/groups/2025191@N23/
And you can watch an amazing video put together by Chelsea Roden here:

Floating Orbs and Planets Tutorial

Hello!

It’s been an interesting few weeks since my last post. I’m hoping to become more active on this blog and in the next few weeks I’ll be organizing things and trying to make it more of what I want it to be, sometimes with all the various social media networks this blog gets pushed to side and I want to turn it into more of an interesting and engaging place to check out!

With that said, I thought I’d post a tutorial that goes along with the photo that I worked on today. It’s similar to a photo I posted for Earth Day earlier this year and had a few people request a tutorial for. I’ve used this technique a few times in these images:

it’s quite simple and doesn’t require too much time or Photoshop knowledge.

Step 1 :  The photos

In order to give the effect of having something bright emitting a soft glow, I take my photos in a darkened room and change my camera settings to about a 1/6 second exposure. I took two main shots of myself holding a fishbowl that I filled with yellow christmas lights. In order to make the final image look like I’m cupping a floating sun, I took two identical photos just switching which hand I held the bowl with. 

 Here’s the starting image:

Here is after adding the second image (opposite hand holding the bowl) and then using a layer mask to get rid of any parts I didn’t want:

 

Then I expand my scene by taking additional photos of the wall and floor. To make sure my shadows stay as similar as possible, I always move my camera to face the next area and then return to the spot I was sitting at and resume the pose with the light. You don’t have to expand your scene but I always like lots of negative space

Step 2: The Editing
After you’ve added your layers to expand your frame (or not) now it’s time to add the effects!  The first thing I do is colour over the lighted bowl with an orange-yellow colour, this helps to cover up the wires or shapes of the bowl and lights.

I found this stock image on DeviantArt and it was the perfect sun for the image I had in mind., DeviantArt is a great resource for stock images, just make sure you read the description on the image, some artists don’t approve of non-deviantart related use and some just want a link back to see what you’ve done.

I add the sun onto the image as a new layer and then change the blending mode to “SCREEN” (you might need to play around with h the blending mode to see which you like the most). I changed the opacity to about 85% just to give it a bit of a transparent “gaseous” look. Then using a layer mask I got rid of any harsh lines or unwanted parts to the layer.

Almost done!

The next few steps are optional and really depend on what kind of image you want to create. In the case of this image I wanted to heighten the glow effect, so I added a radial gradient, changed the colours to a mustard yellow and then the blending mode to Linear Dodge and the opacity to 23%. This adds a nice glow to the whole image and can make your shadows pop out.  Play with the colours. blending modes, and opacity to see which you like the most!

This next part is totally optional but I thought I’d include it just to show the progression to the final image.  I like to add a bit of depth to the wall behind me by adding in a vintage wallpaper texture. I’ve had the texture for a few years and can’t seem to find the source link. You could look up vintage wallpaper textures on any stock website and add it to your image. I add mine as a new layer, change the blending mode to overlay and then lower the opacity. Then with a layer mask and soft brush on black I get rid of the wallpaper covering up the main part of the image (me in this case). 

I also added a texture to add some fine details, the texture came from Flickr user Les Brumes.

That’s it! Now you can hold as many floating, flaming planets, orbs and objects as you like!

I hope that you enjoyed reading this tutorial and that if you end up trying this technique on one of your own images, you’ll post a link in the comments!

The “Borrowed” Photographer

I’ve been meaning to write this blog post for a while but each time I sit down to start writing, I get overwhelmed with frustration and I end up walking away from the computer. The topic of this blog post is one that I’ve been dealing with for a few months now and I’ve been seeing my photographer friends tackling as well. The issue of having your art “borrowed”.   Calling it “borrowing” is probably too nice a term, in short, this blog is about stealing another’s work, editing it and then posting it without credit.

Back in November of last year I came across an article that talked about google’s new search feature that allowed people to upload a photo (or paste an image url) into the search box and see if that photo existed anywhere else on the internet. Curious, I put in a few of my photos and within a few minutes I found myself knee-deep in my own images. Now, I’m not complaining about my images being shared with credit on websites like Tumblr or Pinterest, for the most part those sites have increased traffic to my own work and quite often contain links to my original posts, I appreciate it when someone likes my work enough to share it with my information attached. What I saw though through these google searches were my images posted to various websites, with text plastered overtop, the colours or tones altered and in some cases a watermark of someone else’s name covering up MY photo.

I’ve talked about this to many people in different situations, with photographers and non-photographers, with friends with legal backgrounds and with people who own their own photography businesses. The reaction I got was mainly the same, that I should feel frustrated, outraged, upset and a bit vandalised. When I looked at the  images that I had put my own heart and mind and energy into creating, that had personal meaning to me now changed or altered or made into jokes, it hurt. I felt like someone had broken into my house, found the things that mattered the most to me and then broke them or splashed paint all over them.

Now I realized that I do have a part in this. In posting my images online, I’m opening myself up to having images accessible for people to do whatever they like. Unfortunately we live in a society now where there is a mentality of “I see it, I like it, it’s mine now”.  There is a growing feeling that if something exists online, it doesn’t have an owner, that it’s open to take and treat as you like. Yes I post my photos online on Flickr and Facebook but does that mean that I’m opening the door to edit my images? Would these people who took my photos, opened up Photoshop and stuck their logos or words or presets over my images do the same thing in an art gallery? Would they walk up to a painting and take out some crayons and add a quote from a movie or draw their own watermark in the corner? I would hope not, but does the fact that my work exists primarily online make it any less important?

One image in particular has been taken over by “the internet”. 

 

This photo, taken in 2011, has been used so many times that I now don’t even feel a connection to it. I don’t see it as my own work, even though I’m IN the photo. In a way, I wish I had never taken it and at times I resent it because it makes me feel totally devalued as a photographer. It’s a tough position to feel especially as it’s one of the biggest sellers in my print shop, I SHOULD feel proud and happy that people enjoy my image but in this case, I don’t.  In the past month alone I’ve received 19 messages from friends and contacts informing me that it was posted on various websites or Facebook pages. After checking through them all, only 2 had linked to my original photo (which didn’t have the bad grammar on it) and in total the image had been shared over 15,000 times on Facebook alone. A big thanks goes to diligent friends and family who informed the people posting and commenting that the image is mine and linked to my original.   I started reading through the comments people were making and while most said “cool” or “that’s just like me” some of them were rude, they made fun of my appearance and clothing, criticized my work or assumed that I was isolated and lonely, addicted to computer games and had no life. I had to close everything down walk away, it was then that I decided to actually commit to writing this post, if only to get out my feelings on this subject.

I work hard at my photography. I try to constantly improve both my artistic abilities and my business opportunities and I feel that in moving them both forward, it opens up this new chapter of dealing with “stolen work”. As a sensitive person, it affects the way that I view my work and it makes me uneasy about sharing it as much as I do.  There have been many times in the last few months that I’ve been tempted to just “leave” the internet, let my images float endlessly in the world-wide web and focus on being a physical photographer and not a digital/social media based one. BUT, that’s not who I am. It’s not how I’ve grown, I’ve grown because I share my work with the world and because I know that people enjoy it and find inspiration or humour or a kindred spirit. As much as it hurts to see my work and the work of my friends being used without permission, I feel like the powerful feelings of support, appreciation, and love for art override those negatives that come from the few that decide to “borrow” from others.

My friend and fellow photographer Sarah Ann Loreth has been sharing her stolen images that she has come across on her Facebook page and I’ve been collecting the ones I’ve found, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them but I thought I’d post some here, not to point fingers at people but to illustrate a point, that stealing whether it’s an online photo or not, isn’t cool. Here are just 50 of some of the images I have come across.

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 There are photographers behind photos that are trying to find their footing, trying to build a name and carve a space in this medium and it’s a disheartening feeling to see your photos totally altered and posted without any notice to who the artist is. The internet has made it easy to steal, but it’s just as easy to give credit.  If you use Tumblr or Pinterest or even Facebook, add a link to the original. If you don’t KNOW who the artist is, use the google feature and I’m sure that you’ll find out in a matter of minutes. There is a fine line between appreciating someone’s work and stealing it for your own gain/popularity/or use, don’t cross that line because it’s not a good feeling to be on the other end.

The Power of Positive Thinking

An Expansion Tutorial

Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted and an even longer time since I’ve posted a tutorial!  For me, planning tutorials isn’t really the difficult, I have a list of them that I want to post, it’s the actual part of putting them together that I’ve been ignoring. I’m really hoping to grab the reins on this blog and put more energy and effort into making it a one-stop for all sorts of news, information, and resources so this is my attempt at kick-starting it again!

One of the tutorials I’ve been asked for the most is one on expansions, making an image much larger than what is captured in camera. This technique is sometimes referred to as the “Brenizer Effect”. First off let me just say that there are countless tutorials, videos and resources to give you an even better understanding on how to expand your frame. I’ll list a few links I’ve found at the end of  this post.

Let’s get started!

So the first thing to consider when you’re expanding your frame is make sure that you have all the images that you need to do so. You can expand your frame from just a single photo but it’s really tough and takes a considerable amount of time. When you’re shooting your photo, whether it’s a self-portrait, a portrait of someone else or even a landscape or still life photo, take in as much of the surrounding backdrop as you can. Typically what I do when I shoot is I take the “main” image and then I switch over the focus to manual focus and then I take photos of the background, moving in clockwise pattern from right to left. I usually take more photos than I think I’ll need, just to make sure that I have what I need to work with. For the photo below, I actually had 15 images but only ended up using about 8 of them in the final photo.

Once you have your images, the fun starts!

Step 1:

 Open up all your images in Photoshop and then open to your “main” image.  Here is my first image, what we’ll call the “main” image. 

Step 2: 

Expand your canvas size by clicking Image —> Canvas Size.  This part is totally up to you and depends on how big you want your final image to be, if you have a large scene to expand you’ll want to expand your canvas quite large. I typically start with a canvas of 300cm by  300cm (which is pretty big) but then you can always crop or expand wider if you need.

Step 3:

Once your canvas is widened, now you can start to add your new layers. It doesn’t really matter where you start, but I usually start with the images that are closest to the “main” image.

Go to one of your other images (in this case the image that will fill in the immediate left of me) and select/copy it.  In your main image, paste this new image into a new layer over top. Now line up this layer to match where it fits the image below, you might need to lower the opacity a bit to be able to see behind it and line it up.

 

 

Step 4: Masking

In Photoshop, apply a layer mask over this second layer.

Then making sure you have black as your paintbrush colour and a large soft brush, paint over the hard edge of this layer in the mask mode. You should start to see your main image appear. Paint over anything that you want to get rid of and don’t worry if you paint over too much, you can make it reappear by painting it back with a white brush. 

Step 5: 

Repeat steps 3 & 4 with all the other images you need to fill in your background. You can automate Photoshop to stitch your images together but I find that doing it manually helps you to create the image from scratch and see the final image being created. 

As you add in and mask all your layers, you can either expand your canvas again to bring more space into the image or you can crop it. In my photo , I just left it as 300cm by 300cm.  This is 6 layers which only took about 5 minutes to add in and mask.

That’s really all that it takes to expand your frame!  This was a fairly simple image to work with but here are some tips for successful expansions!

- remember your focus! -  always make sure that you lock your focus into manual mode so that all your images have the same focal point, this is key to creating a seamless expansion

- lighting/shadows – If you’re expanding in a space where the lighting is changing or you need shadows, remember to set up your additional images to capture that. In photos where I’ve been in my living room with a wall behind me, I’ve taken the main shot, then moved the camera and taken another shot with me in the same position to make sure that the shadow remains intact

- busy backgrounds -  The more neutral the background the easier your expansion will be, keep in mind that backdrops like  tiled floors, wallpaper, bricks and tiny twigs and branches can be difficult to line up when you’re adding them to your main image, it’s doable but will take a bit more time.

- gaps - sometimes even if you take a lot of photos you might end up with a few gaps in your stitching, if this happens you can just clone in some of the nearby background into these gaps. In the photo above, I had a few spots in the grass that I had missed while taking my photos so I just cloned in some surrounding grass and this helped to cover up any white space.

Here are a few links including a vide on how to automate this effect:

http://blog.buiphotos.com/2009/07/the-brenizer-method-explained-with-directions/
http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/2011/05/brenizer-method-instructions/
I hope that this tutorial helps explain this technique and that if you haven’t already tried expanding you frame, that you’ll try it out! 

See you again soon!

It’s All About Staying Focussed

Okay, the title is pretty heavy on the photography pun but really this blog post is all about how to stay focussed on what you love and how I (try) to stay organized and in touch with what I want to achieve in photography and in the rest of the areas in my life.

Now, if you know me in ‘real life’ you’re probably laughing at the fact that I, Joel Robison, the one with the messy desk drawers and the one who is perpetually losing his keys, remote, phone, etc….is writing a blog post on being organized. I would say that for me, it’s one of the goals that I’ve been working on the longest. I am not, by any definition of the word, organized. I operate most efficiently in some sort of chaos, which I think is true for most creative people. I like to have my tools accessible, I like to see what I have to work with, not keep it all neatly arranged inside a box. For me, that image of the two sides of the human brain is pretty much an accurate visualization of who I am, a total right brain…..a bit messy, colourful and usually not staying in one place for very long.

I used to think it was kind of silly that some people needed to write lists or keep a day planner to stay organized. I felt that I was able to just log it into my brain and there it would be forever, which is true….it stays there along with the hundred million other things I think about during the day. Around July of last year I found myself coming up with concept ideas and then forgetting about them when the time came to work on photos, thus began my Mind Map Journal.

 

 

If you’re not familiar with mind mapping , it’s pretty much the artistic version of a brainstorm. There are no rules, there are no guidelines…it’s just get those ideas out on paper any way you want. I decided to make a recycled journal from a cereal box and cover it with a drawing of some cameras to make it easy to spot. Essentially on each page I start with a word, phrase, idea or theme and then shoot out different concepts out from the centre.

For me, this way of staying organized is the easiest to do, it’s all contained in one book and I don’t have to keep it in lines or point form, I can doodle, scratch things out, colour it in…whatever!  My mind map quickly became my daily companion, I would bring it everywhere, just in case i had an idea, I could write it down and let it go for a while. When I did come back and revisit one of the ideas I had written down, I coloured it in yellow. It’s a relief of sorts to have this book, it’s like an answer key to concepts…when I’m stuck for ideas I can flip through this book and read through the pages and say “oh right! I was going to do “_________” photo!”

Another way I’ve been trying to stay more organized and in the present moment is to sketch out my ideas before I try to photograph them. I feel that this helps create a clearer image in my mind of what exactly I’m going for. To me, drawing and photography really help build each other up, if I sketch out composition, I feel like I’m more aware of it during a photo shoot and it really makes me happy to see the same idea in two different mediums.

 

 

How do you try to organized and focussed on what you love?

Levitation Tutorial (and giveaway!)

It’s been a while since my last tutorial but I wanted to wait until  I had the right photo in mind before writing one, I hope that you find this one as informative and fun as the previous ones

So this is what I think is the easiest way to do a levitation type photo, there are endless ways for you to interpret this style and editing and I hope that it gives you a good starting point for creating your own floating, flying, levitating photos.

First off, I’ll say that the most important parts of doing a levitation photo are basically to have a base image with nothing in it, and your main focus image. For the tutorial I’ll break it down into three main points; the set-up, the photos, and the processing.

Part 1: The Set-Up

So one of the key points of doing a levitation photo is to have something to sit, stand, lean, lay on. I’ve used anything from stumps, stools, chairs, even an ironing board. Use what you think is going to give you the best height, and will be the easiest to bring in and out of your setting. Keep in mind you want the surface of what you’re going to be on, to be rather small that way you don’t have to worry too much about creating a large flat section of your clothing when you’re laying or sitting on your item.

this is what I found in the field to lean on….probably not too safe

Part 2: The Photos
Once you have your scene set up with your resting item (we’ll call it your seat),  you can start shooting. I usually take a lot of images at this point just so there are more to choose from, change your pose often so that in case you want to borrow parts from one image and add it to another, you can (like flying scarves, different hand positions etc…) If you’re wearing something that’s loose try to drape it over the edge of your seat so that when you are editing, you can create a more natural looking line. Also, try not to hide anything behind your seat, make sure your hands and legs aren’t hiding behind the seat!

Once you’re done shooting what we’ll call your “focal image” go to your camera and set the focus from Auto to Manual (usually on the side of the lens, switch to MF). That way from now on, your photos will all have the same focus length. Now you’re going to need to take your base image which is going to be the exact same as your “focal image” just without you in it. Remove your seat from where it was and then take a few pictures without moving your camera, you should have the same image as your “focal image” just without anything but a background. From this point you can take any additional images you need to fill the frame or expand.

Part 3: The Processing

In your editing program, open up all your images. We’ll be working with your “base image” (aka the image with just the background).  If you’re expanding your frame using stitching presets or manually do that now with your “base image”.

expanded frame

Now, open up your “focal image”, select the whole thing and copy it. Now paste it in as a new layer onto your “base image”. Lower  the opacity of your “focal image” and then get it to match as closely as possible to your “base image”, then you can put the opacity back up to 100%.

matching both layers

With a soft eraser tool, start to erase your “seat” from the “focal image”. You should be seeing the background starting to show up. Erase all of your seat and any other parts of that layer that you don’t need. This is pretty much the basics of doing a levitation image.

You can at this point do any other editing like changing tones, curves, levels etc…you can also add in other parts of other “focal images”. For this photo, I liked the flying scarf from another photo so I pasted it in as new layer and softly erase the hard edges until it matched  the rest of the image. At this point I also added the snitch and the “broom” part of my broom.

after the "seat" has been erased

I hope that this short tutorial helps you out and I’m really excited to see you try it out. In fact, I’m offering a give-away of some custom made Harry Potter props if you try out this tutorial and share it either in the comments below, on my facebook page or linked on Flickr. All you need to do is let me know that you’ve tried this tutorial and I’ll add your name to the hat and 3 weeks I’ll pick a winner! I made the “golden snitch” in this photo, as well as some other Harry Potter props like a wand and some other goodies and I’ll send them to the winner