New Blog Section -
I have added a new section of the blog which I call "A few useful resources". It can be found on the right-hand side down below the Links section. This is just a list of some books and training DVD's that I own and have found to be very useful to me in creating digital imagery. The links take you directly to the products in Amazon. I don't get anything for recommending them, it's just where I usually do most of my shopping and they have one of the best layouts for descriptions and reviews for books anywhere on the web. I will add more resources that I think would be helpful in the blogs to come.
New photos coming soon -
I am on vacation as of today, WoooHooo! I am taking the kids to the Prince William County Fair this evening and then I am off to Arizona to hook up with my buddies Scott Kelby and Dave Moser for some photographic hijinks in the northern Arizona canyons. It should be a fantastic trip and I will be sure to post some images as I am able. Until then, Have a great weekend.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Monday, August 06, 2007
Dull & Disappointing -
I am pretty disappointed with the color and brightness of the images in the last post. They didn't look like that when I processed them and even after going back and "lightening" things up and reposting, still not happy. I have added them to my gallery page under the Miscellaneous images. If you want to see them with a little more saturation and with proper shadows and highlights, look here.
I am pretty disappointed with the color and brightness of the images in the last post. They didn't look like that when I processed them and even after going back and "lightening" things up and reposting, still not happy. I have added them to my gallery page under the Miscellaneous images. If you want to see them with a little more saturation and with proper shadows and highlights, look here.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Precious Rain -
For those of you that live in the East, you know how dry things have been lately. We finally got a little break this afternoon with some localized showers. Unfortunately not enough to make a difference but it did cool things off a couple of degrees. I took these out next to my house after one of the passing showers. I just slipped in the butterfly because, well, it's a butterfly.
For those of you that live in the East, you know how dry things have been lately. We finally got a little break this afternoon with some localized showers. Unfortunately not enough to make a difference but it did cool things off a couple of degrees. I took these out next to my house after one of the passing showers. I just slipped in the butterfly because, well, it's a butterfly.
High Dynamic Range -
I have been playing with some HDR effects in both Photoshop and some third party software. This is a sample made from 5 exposures of my BMW. I created the HDR file and did some tone mapping in Photomatix Pro. You can download a copy here.
I have been playing with some HDR effects in both Photoshop and some third party software. This is a sample made from 5 exposures of my BMW. I created the HDR file and did some tone mapping in Photomatix Pro. You can download a copy here.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Way too much time on my hands...
This is a little self portrait that I used to test out the Dragonizer action set that is available from Action Central. They have a ton of downloadable Photoshop actions that let you automate everything from workflow to applying some really funky effects. The Dragonizer is an action set that lets you apply some pretty dramatic grunge effects while still giving you the ability to tailor it to your own tastes. I posted the original as the second image so you can see how the effect changed the image (I applied the crop myself after running the action).
This is a little self portrait that I used to test out the Dragonizer action set that is available from Action Central. They have a ton of downloadable Photoshop actions that let you automate everything from workflow to applying some really funky effects. The Dragonizer is an action set that lets you apply some pretty dramatic grunge effects while still giving you the ability to tailor it to your own tastes. I posted the original as the second image so you can see how the effect changed the image (I applied the crop myself after running the action).
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Continuing Down the Civil War Trail -
Since I am still in bachelor mode with the rest of the family on vacation I decided to take another little day trip to yet another Civil War site. This one was a little bit further than the last. My destination for today was Harper's Ferry, WV. It had been a long time since I had been there. The last time I visited I had a 4x5 field camera in tow and digital wasn't even a consideration. Flash forward twenty years and I'm shooting digital IR. Who would have thunk it? I spent the better part of the afternoon wandering the very hilly streets and exploring the shops and the National Park grounds. The town sits on the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. It is also the home of John Brown's attack on slavery, the largest surrender of Federal troops during the Civil War, and the education of former slaves in one of the earliest integrated schools in the United States. It is highly worth the trip if you are ever in the area.
(To see a complete gallery of my Harper's Ferry images, go here)
Since I am still in bachelor mode with the rest of the family on vacation I decided to take another little day trip to yet another Civil War site. This one was a little bit further than the last. My destination for today was Harper's Ferry, WV. It had been a long time since I had been there. The last time I visited I had a 4x5 field camera in tow and digital wasn't even a consideration. Flash forward twenty years and I'm shooting digital IR. Who would have thunk it? I spent the better part of the afternoon wandering the very hilly streets and exploring the shops and the National Park grounds. The town sits on the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. It is also the home of John Brown's attack on slavery, the largest surrender of Federal troops during the Civil War, and the education of former slaves in one of the earliest integrated schools in the United States. It is highly worth the trip if you are ever in the area.
(To see a complete gallery of my Harper's Ferry images, go here)
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Manassas Battlefield
I spent the better part of this afternoon wandering around the Manassas Civil War Battlefield Park. I hate to admit it but I have lived in the Northern Virginia area for the past 27 years and this was my first visit. You wouldn't think that open farm fields would be very interesting but I have to say that it was indeed. It has an almost eerie feel about it when you are walking along the roads and trails where so many people died in what were some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. I'll post some more this weekend but here are a couple to start off with.
I spent the better part of this afternoon wandering around the Manassas Civil War Battlefield Park. I hate to admit it but I have lived in the Northern Virginia area for the past 27 years and this was my first visit. You wouldn't think that open farm fields would be very interesting but I have to say that it was indeed. It has an almost eerie feel about it when you are walking along the roads and trails where so many people died in what were some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. I'll post some more this weekend but here are a couple to start off with.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Logo Design
I have had several people ask me about my signature logo so I thought I would put up a quick post to tell you how I made it. First, all credit must go to Scott Kelby from who I learned this from in his type class at the last Photoshop World. Who knew that type could be so fascinating.
First of all, you don't need a Wacom tablet to do this. I have a Wacom but chose to go "old school". Just get yourself a fat Sharpie and a piece of paper, write your signature out a few times until you are happy with how it looks, then scan it into Photoshop. Once you have the signature layer, lower the opacity to about 40% or maybe even a little less. Now grab your type tool and put your business name (or whatever you like) right on top of the signature. You can flatten the layers or leave them and save in psd format. It really doesn't matter. Now here is the real key, when you want to place your new logo on the bottom of a gallery print or somewhere else on an image in Photoshop, don't copy and paste it, open it as a smart object in your image by choosing Place... from the File menu. This will allow you to resize the logo and then go back later and resize again if you so choose without worrying about image degredation due to loss of pixel data. That's it, very simple but a really cool effect. And if you want it in black, just invert your image and then do a levels adjustment of your mid-tones to make the signature look just right.
I have had several people ask me about my signature logo so I thought I would put up a quick post to tell you how I made it. First, all credit must go to Scott Kelby from who I learned this from in his type class at the last Photoshop World. Who knew that type could be so fascinating.
First of all, you don't need a Wacom tablet to do this. I have a Wacom but chose to go "old school". Just get yourself a fat Sharpie and a piece of paper, write your signature out a few times until you are happy with how it looks, then scan it into Photoshop. Once you have the signature layer, lower the opacity to about 40% or maybe even a little less. Now grab your type tool and put your business name (or whatever you like) right on top of the signature. You can flatten the layers or leave them and save in psd format. It really doesn't matter. Now here is the real key, when you want to place your new logo on the bottom of a gallery print or somewhere else on an image in Photoshop, don't copy and paste it, open it as a smart object in your image by choosing Place... from the File menu. This will allow you to resize the logo and then go back later and resize again if you so choose without worrying about image degredation due to loss of pixel data. That's it, very simple but a really cool effect. And if you want it in black, just invert your image and then do a levels adjustment of your mid-tones to make the signature look just right.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Afternoon shoot at Great Falls
I arrived at Great Falls National Park around 3:00 PM and headed out for my afternoon shoot. It was hot (93 degrees) and humid and I had 20 pounds of gear strapped to my back, not to mention the tripod I was carrying by hand. The light was not great this afternoon with a little haze in the air. I wanted to get some good IR shots but nothing really worked out from the overlook points. I decided to climb down to the water level and try some different angles. You can't really tell from the images but the climb down can be anywhere from 50 to 100 feet, depending on where you want to get to. I started near the falls which is the easier climb down. An hour or so later I had climbed back up and moved down river to where the reflecting pool shots were taken. This is almost 100 feet down and it took me about 45 minutes to negotiate the boulders and rock to get there. The only thing worse than the climb down, was going back up again. If nothing else, I got my exercise for the day.
I arrived at Great Falls National Park around 3:00 PM and headed out for my afternoon shoot. It was hot (93 degrees) and humid and I had 20 pounds of gear strapped to my back, not to mention the tripod I was carrying by hand. The light was not great this afternoon with a little haze in the air. I wanted to get some good IR shots but nothing really worked out from the overlook points. I decided to climb down to the water level and try some different angles. You can't really tell from the images but the climb down can be anywhere from 50 to 100 feet, depending on where you want to get to. I started near the falls which is the easier climb down. An hour or so later I had climbed back up and moved down river to where the reflecting pool shots were taken. This is almost 100 feet down and it took me about 45 minutes to negotiate the boulders and rock to get there. The only thing worse than the climb down, was going back up again. If nothing else, I got my exercise for the day.
Off to the Falls
I am going to run out to Great Falls and take a few happy snaps this afternoon. My plan is to shoot a lot of IR images since I will be there mid-day. I was thinking of shooting the falls at sunrise but the park doesn't open until 6:00 AM so I would have missed it by 1/2 an hour. Anyway, this is just a test image I shot in the backyard this morning when I was checking out my gear. The image was captured with a Nikon D200, 17-35mm f 2.8, and the exposure was 25 sec. at f 2.8 with a Tiffen 87 IR filter. The image was processed and converted to b&w in Adobe Camera Raw 4.1
I am going to run out to Great Falls and take a few happy snaps this afternoon. My plan is to shoot a lot of IR images since I will be there mid-day. I was thinking of shooting the falls at sunrise but the park doesn't open until 6:00 AM so I would have missed it by 1/2 an hour. Anyway, this is just a test image I shot in the backyard this morning when I was checking out my gear. The image was captured with a Nikon D200, 17-35mm f 2.8, and the exposure was 25 sec. at f 2.8 with a Tiffen 87 IR filter. The image was processed and converted to b&w in Adobe Camera Raw 4.1
Friday, July 06, 2007
Hit Counter Added
I finally got around to adding a hit counter to my blog so I could see if anyone was actually paying attention. Now I can stalk all of my secret fans, all two of you :-) Have a great weekend everyone, and in the words of my #1 fan, Mike (who is quoting someone else but I can't remember who), "it hasn't been shot until you shoot it."
I finally got around to adding a hit counter to my blog so I could see if anyone was actually paying attention. Now I can stalk all of my secret fans, all two of you :-) Have a great weekend everyone, and in the words of my #1 fan, Mike (who is quoting someone else but I can't remember who), "it hasn't been shot until you shoot it."
Thanks for all of the nice feedback on my profile over on Jason Moore's Soup Questions site. I have been looking at all of the great stuff that Ben Wilmore has been doing lately and decided to play around with some grunge effects. Here is a picture from one of the prison cells on Alcatraz that I have been playing around with. What could be more grungy than a prison cell.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Happy 4th of July!!!
I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th. I spent my afternoon fishing on the Potomac and, while the water was rough (2 foot swells getting to the Md. side), the fishing was phenomenal. I caught over 20 before I had to make the rough ride back across to the marina. There were some storm clouds overhead and I didn't want to get caught out in the weather. When I came home and put my toys away I decided to pick up the camera and see what I could find for a subject. I settled on a little pot of hens and chicks growing on the back porch. These are a few that I took with the 60mm macro.
I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th. I spent my afternoon fishing on the Potomac and, while the water was rough (2 foot swells getting to the Md. side), the fishing was phenomenal. I caught over 20 before I had to make the rough ride back across to the marina. There were some storm clouds overhead and I didn't want to get caught out in the weather. When I came home and put my toys away I decided to pick up the camera and see what I could find for a subject. I settled on a little pot of hens and chicks growing on the back porch. These are a few that I took with the 60mm macro.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
I'm officially online
I have recently started a new gallery page for my images that will make it easier for me to display larger volumes of images, grouped by categories. Much of this has been thanks to the great gallery creation features of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. I am still trying to get a feel for which gallery styles I like best so please pardon the inconsistency. I do welcome any feedback since this is a new endeavor for me. Also, you'll have to excuse my web page building skills. There is a pretty steep learning curve for making web pages from scratch so hopefully that will also become more polished in the future. If you are just dying to see the new sight, then just point your browser to RevellPhotography.com
I will still be submitting images to this blog as often as I am able. The other sight is to display a more extensive collection of images that I have collected over time.
I have recently started a new gallery page for my images that will make it easier for me to display larger volumes of images, grouped by categories. Much of this has been thanks to the great gallery creation features of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. I am still trying to get a feel for which gallery styles I like best so please pardon the inconsistency. I do welcome any feedback since this is a new endeavor for me. Also, you'll have to excuse my web page building skills. There is a pretty steep learning curve for making web pages from scratch so hopefully that will also become more polished in the future. If you are just dying to see the new sight, then just point your browser to RevellPhotography.com
I will still be submitting images to this blog as often as I am able. The other sight is to display a more extensive collection of images that I have collected over time.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Father's Day Classics
Another Father's Day and that means, yup, you guessed it, more classic cars. It was another banner weather year for the Sully car show. A little warm but very nice in the shade. I did my normal wandering around looking for something I hadn't seen in years past. If nothing else, it challenges me to see things from a different perspective. I hope you like my little offering from this years show. I have a couple more that I am still playing with and will add later this week.
Another Father's Day and that means, yup, you guessed it, more classic cars. It was another banner weather year for the Sully car show. A little warm but very nice in the shade. I did my normal wandering around looking for something I hadn't seen in years past. If nothing else, it challenges me to see things from a different perspective. I hope you like my little offering from this years show. I have a couple more that I am still playing with and will add later this week.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
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