In the Moment:
Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog
by Michael Frye | Aug 16, 2013 | Reviews
Milky Way reflected in an alpine lake, Yosemite NP, CA, USA. Nikon D800E with 24mm f/1.4 lens; 20 seconds, f/2.8, 6400 ISO
Regular readers of this blog know that I don’t often write about equipment. Equipment is necessary, and important, but not the most important thing in photography.
However, equipment does matter in some situations, like when trying to capture fast-moving subjects, or the faint light of stars, or when you want to make a large print that’s sharp and noise-free.
My regular camera is ancient by the fast-moving standards of the digital age. It’s a 16-megapixel Canon 1Ds Mark II, first introduced in 2004. I haven’t felt a compelling urge to upgrade. Newer models like the Canon 5D Mark II and Mark III have a little higher resolution (21 and 22 megapixels, respectively), but the difference isn’t that significant. They also handle noise better, but again, the advantages are relatively small.
One of the reasons I’ve been slow to upgrade to a new model is because while Canon has been making these modest improvements in image quality, Nikon has been making big leaps. For several years the Nikon sensors (some of which are made by Sony) have outclassed Canon in handling noise – something I could see clearly when looking at student’s photos during workshops. And last year’s introduction of the 36-megapixel Nikon D800 and D800E set a new standard for resolution in a 35mm-style DSLR. All this makes me think about switching, and hesitant to invest in more Canon equipment.
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by Michael Frye | Aug 7, 2013 | Advanced Techniques, Announcements
The summer issue of Photograph, Craft & Vision’s quarterly magazine, just came out today, and it includes a new article I wrote called “When Old Meets New: Understanding the Zone System.”
Digital Photography today gives us tremendous control over image contrast, but even with all this control, we’re still missing the answers to some basic questions: What is my camera’s real dynamic range? Will this scene fit within that range? If so, how do I determine the right exposure? When do I need to bracket exposures and use HDR?
Luckily, the Zone System give us a framework for answering these questions. I’ve written about the Zone System before, but in this new article I dive even further into how the Zone System relates to digital photography, and how it can answer those questions about image contrast. I include instructions for how you can test your camera’s true, usable dynamic range, how you can use this knowledge to make better exposures in the field, and how you can apply the Zone System to the digital darkroom.
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by Michael Frye | Aug 6, 2013 | Light and Weather, Photography Tips, Vision and Creativity
Dogwood blossoms, Yosemite. These backlit flowers stand out cleanly against a dark, shaded background.
Light Against Dark
Many of the most effective photographs share a simple lighting concept: they either place a light subject against a dark background, or a dark subject against a light background.
This first photograph of two dogwood blossoms is a perfect example of a light subject against a dark background. In fact the background isn’t just dark; it’s completely black, so there’s nothing to compete visually with the flowers. The contrast creates a simple and dramatic image.
This light-against-dark situation is what makes photographs of Horsetail Fall so striking when conditions are right. The waterfall stands out because it’s brighter than the surrounding cliffs – and, of course, because of the color.
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by Michael Frye | Aug 4, 2013 | Announcements
(If you’re viewing this post as an email, click here to see the video.)
The response to my ebook and video package, Landscapes in Lightroom 5: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide, has been wonderful, well beyond my expectations. Thank you all so much for your support! I put a lot of effort into creating something that I hoped would be helpful to a lot of photographers, and it’s gratifying to see that this effort has been well received.
As an expression of my appreciation, I’m extending the discount codes for two extra days. Use the code lr520 and get 20% off the ebook package until midnight on Tuesday, August 6th Pacific time.
Also, I’ve created the free, bonus video tutorial above to go along with the ebook. It’s a tip about using the arrow keys in Lightroom to help speed your workflow and fine-tune your adjustments. I use the arrow keys all the time, and I hope you’ll find this technique helpful too.
Again, thank you all very much! I really appreciate all the positive comments you’ve sent me about the ebook.
— Michael Frye
P.S. If you know someone who might like this video, or who would enjoy the ebook, please share this post!
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by Michael Frye | Aug 2, 2013 | Announcements
Foggy sunrise along the Merced River, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
My web site has been back up and running consistently for a couple of hours, so it looks like everything is okay. I’m keeping my fingers crossed! You should be able to purchase and download the new ebook now, but if you experience any problems with this, or anything else, please let me know.
Again, I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. If all goes well I’ll be posting a free bonus video about Lightroom on Sunday, so keep an eye out for that.
— Michael Frye
by Michael Frye | Aug 2, 2013 | Announcements
My web site was down for several hours this morning, and over the last hour or so has been up and down several times. I’m sorry for any inconvenience this may be causing. If you’ve tried to purchase my new Landscapes in Lightroom 5 ebook and encountered a problem, please try again.
There is apparently a server problem at my web hosting company, Hostgator. This issue has affected customers of several web hosting companies, including Bluehost, HostGator, HostMonster and JustHost, which are all owned by the same parent company. We’re told that there may be intermittent issues for a while, so if you experience further problems please try again later. Unfortunately our email is affected too, so if you’ve had trouble contacting us, please try again.
Again, I apologize for the inconvenience!
— Michael Frye
by Michael Frye | Jul 31, 2013 | Announcements, Digital Darkroom
Landscapes in Lightroom 5: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide
PDF ebook with video tutorials
87 double-page spreads
14.95
Special introductory offer: for a limited time get 20% off by using the code LR520 at checkout. Offer expires at midnight Pacific time on August 4th.
Here it is! My latest ebook, Landscapes in Lightroom 5: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide, is now available.
I’m really excited about this new ebook, because I’ve been able to incorporate features that make this more of a hands-on learning experience. First, you can download the original Raw files used as examples in the ebook, and then follow along with each step yourself – just as if you were attending one of my workshops.
Second, when you purchase the ebook you get exclusive access to eight videos demonstrating different aspects of Lightroom’s Develop Module, like using the Adjustment Brush, Spot Removal Tool, and Point Curve, advanced retouching in Lightroom, and much more. It’s great to read about a tool or technique; it’s even better to watch a demonstration, and then try it yourself on the same image.
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by Michael Frye | Jul 29, 2013 | Announcements
El Capitan and the Merced River after an autumn snowstorm, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
Many people have been asking me for a sequel to Light & Land, my first eBook about processing landscape photographs. Well I’m very pleased to announce that it will be coming soon – this week in fact!
This photograph of El Capitan is one of the examples in the new eBook. It was a high-contrast scene; you can see the original, unprocessed Raw file below, with its inky shadows and washed-out highlights. In the past, a scene like this might have required using HDR, or blending exposures manually in Photoshop.
But I didn’t use HDR, or any kind of exposure blending, to make the final image you see here; it’s just one image, processed entirely in Lightroom. In the new eBook I show you exactly how I went from that original Raw file to the finished version – and how you can do that with your own photographs.
There are more step-by-step examples in the eBook, and a lot of other exciting features. I’ll tell you all about it soon – stay tuned!
In the meantime, if you haven’t seen it yet, you might want to watch the video I made last year about the tone controls in Lightroom. It’s been very popular, with over 36,000 views on YouTube — an amazing total for a 25-minute how-to video about such a specialized subject. Thanks to all of you who’ve watched; I really appreciate the support!
— Michael Frye
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by Michael Frye | Jul 23, 2013 | Light and Weather, Photography Tips, Vision and Creativity
Creek descending through a granite basin. The sun was hitting the rocks just beyond the top of the frame, reflecting the gold color into the water, and even onto some of the polished rocks on the right.
When people think of photographing a reflection, they usually think of a mirror reflection, like a mountain reflected in a tranquil lake. I’ve done my share of those, but I think it’s often more interesting to just look at the colors, textures, and patterns on the water’s surface.
During my just-completed Hidden Yosemite workshop we had many opportunities to photograph reflections of all kinds. The accompanying photographs represent a mini-gallery of reflection photographs that I made during and just prior to the workshop, with extended captions to explain the thought process behind each image. Most of these are not mirror reflections; instead, they’re focused on the water’s colors and textures.
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by Michael Frye | Jul 10, 2013 | Composition, Photography Tips, Vision and Creativity
Rocks and sea stacks, late afternoon, Redwood NP, CA, USA
Spacing and separation are always important elements of composition, but during my recent workshops in and around Redwood National Park we encountered many situations where spacing and separation were particularly vital.
The photograph above is a good example. I positioned the camera carefully to avoid, as much as possible, visual mergers between the foreground rocks. I wanted the shape of each rock to stand out clearly, as those shapes are the point of this composition: they set up a repeating pattern, and lead your eye from foreground to background.
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