The "Twirl" and Macro and other fun mid-summer stuff!

What's the deal with all these presets?

Lately I'm reading about all kinds of "Presets for Lightroom" and "Actions for Photoshop". "Get 300 new presets here" or "One-click editing"...

Have I ever used presets? Sure, on occasion, but usually they're ones I developed myself. In fact I use them all the time: every time I import RAW files into Lightroom I save them the same way, I sharpen them, I set the saturation and clarity... all with an import preset that I created. Ditto export presets: I format pictures for the purpose they're being used for (forgive the bad grammar!). I even obtained some presets for processing star images because it does it better than I can, and that's my point: I'll NEVER learn how to do it myself if all I do is click a button.

And what's the difference between these presets and plug-in programs like the ones from Topaz or Nik? Let's see if I can explain it better.

So what's a preset? In Lightroom, you invoke a preset and it moves some of the sliders to pre-determined positions. For example, the preset would choose a certain exposure value, white balance, clarity setting, black and white conversion, etc. Or where to save exported images and what sizes they are.

Seems to me that using presets bears a close relationship to shooting your camera on the dreaded "AUTO" setting. Now maybe I'm just a dinosaur, but it's always been my approach to understand why you do things and basically how it works. If you're a wedding photographer and you need to present a consistent look for hundreds or thousands of images under time pressure, I get it. But I like to work on my images one at a time and put some of my own magic and love into each one. Of course there's a time and a place for them: let's say you made a mistake and overexposed a whole series of pictures: wouldn't it be appropriate to fix one and then sync your adjustment to all the others?

How is that different from using, say, Nik HDR Efex Pro or Topaz Impression? It's a matter of degree. Those programs can accomplish in seconds what it might take you hours or maybe days to do, if you could ever figure out how! Although the presets do the same thing, they're more about applying a consistent look (as decided by the designer) to an image or a bunch of them.

I don't know if I'm making sense here. My argument against presets is the same as the one against using "AUTO" on your camera: the software engineer who developed the camera or the preset is making all the decisions for you.

Don't get me wrong: it's good to have a consistent look and feel in your body of work (if that's what you want!).  People who have decided what they want to be when they grow up have done that. Good for them: but they should do it themselves instead of having someone else do it for them.

Bottom line? "Give a man a fish...". Design your own presets. Understand WHY. It's easy to do and then you put your own fingerprint on your pictures.

That said, "The Twirl"!

Now trending on Facebook: "The Twirl"! It's a relatively simple Photoshop trick that turns this:

into this:

In fairness, the original image isn't a simple one. But when you "Twirl" you can use just about ANY picture! This one was a composite – two images focus-stacked, and I used Topaz Glow on the puffball, but I didn't need to! I chose it because it was 'there'! 

So this was exactly what I said NOT to do in the top article. Except that I'm studying HOW it works so that I can add my own personal touch to it.

Now the argument is that this takes no skill. It's a routine where you more-or-less just push buttons, just like shooting on Auto! And because it was a fad, it took over the Photoshop and Lightroom group for a day or two, some people got disgusted by the overwhelming number of images. Let me say a couple of things (with which you may or may not agree)

• It's kinda cool
• It's easy to do if you can follow instructions. Therefore it gets people, who are afraid of Photoshop, to actually try it and experiment
• You can add your own 'flavour' to it by adjusting some of the parameters and then you can do artistic things like blending in some of the original picture!

Here's a couple of examples.

I simply added the original image as a layer on top, then masked everything except the two seeds. 

I made this from the picture below using exactly the same technique, I painted a mask on the original image after placing it on top of the stack. 

By the way, the Highland Yard was last weekend and I was really NOT happy with my pictures. For one thing, the lighting was horrible with the start/finish in the shade and the rest of the world in bright sunlight.  

So for those of you who would like to know how to do this and give it a try, here are the instructions. Note: you need to have Photoshop. Not Elements, Photoshop. I think the tools were there in earlier versions but I'm not sure since they've been deleted from my computer and I couldn't look and see. I'm using Photoshop CC 2015. Here are the steps:

1. Open any photo.
2. Duplicate the background layer (so you have the original for later if you want it). Ctrl-J (Cmd-J on a Mac).
3. Work on the duplicate layer. Filter → Pixelate → Mezzotint → Medium Lines
4. Filter → Blur → Radial Blur (set the slider to 100, blur method to 'zoom', quality to 'best')
5. You can repeat this step a few times if you want. I find it smooths things out. A quick way to repeat it is to hit Ctrl-F (Cmd-F) which runs the same filter you just ran, again.
6. Duplicate this layer (Ctrl/Cmd-J)
7. Turn off the duplicate layer and work on the one you duplicated from. Filter → Distort → Twirl (set the angle to 80 as a starting point. You can play with this).
8. Now turn on the duplicate layer and work on that one. Do exactly the same thing except this time set the angle to the negative of the one you used: "-80°" for example.
9. Set the blending mode of this layer to "lighten".
10. Sit back and admire your handiwork.

Like I said, you can now take the original layer and put it on top, then add a layer mask and paint it in (black brush on the mask) or play to your heart's content.

One more example, from an ugly raspberry picture:

PS: I read a GREAT suggestion (I would attribute it if I knew who came up with it). Take a picture of your living room or bedroom. This picture will have a colour palette that exactly matches the room. Now create a 'twirl' image from this picture. Print it HUGE on canvas and hang it over the couch as a colour coordinated piece of art! Brilliant idea that I'm going to try. This might even be a salable concept!

PanAm Games

As many of you know, I shot the PanAm Games Canoe and Kayak Slalom event at the Minden Whitewater Preserve. Lots and lots of pictures! I put them up on my SmugMug site rather than posting them here, so go to http://faczen.smugmug.com/White-Water/PanAm-Games-2015/ to see them. 

Now I was not able to get permission to sell prints for commercial purposes (long story). But several people have asked for pictures including (a) the Canadian Team, (b) the US team, (c) locals whose kids were 'forerunners' – testing the course before the PanAm races (no list exists cross-referencing bib numbers and names. If you are in this group, email me with the bib number and I'll check and see what pictures I got), (d) the parents of Canadian/US team members and (e) people who just liked one or more of my pictures.

If you want a digital download, you're welcome to it at no charge. Just send me an email with the filename off the SmugMug site above. If you want a print, I'll set it up so you can order through my artist website hosted by Fine Art America, but again you have to contact me. The prices just cover costs so it's non-commercial. And FAA will ship worldwide. By the way, you can buy my other fine art images there too: even throw pillows and iPhone cases if you want!

The Macro World

Wow. A whole other set of possibilities. Here's the deal: I ordered, and finally received, a set of extension tubes which convert my lenses into macro lenses. They move the lens away from the camera body so you can focus closer. I bought the ones that have electrical connections so that you can use autofocus and through the lens metering. They cost me all of $40 (US) and came from the Far East, via eBay. Good news and bad news... but first, here's a sample image:

This is my favourite one so far. It's a "hoverfly" or "flower fly" and it's about the same size as an ant, less in length than your fingernail. This IS cropped and yes, I did do some Photoshop enhancement (primarily with Topaz Clarity). I shot this with a 36mm extension tube on my 70-200 lens. Lighting was provided by Mr. Sun, up there in the sky, but I gave it a little help with my ringlight, another inexpensive eBay Chinese purchase.

So now the bad news. You do 'get what you pay for'... there are 3 tubes in the set: 12mm, 20mm and 36mm. They're made of plastic, not metal. The 12mm works fine. The electrical connections on the 20mm don't work so when you look through the lens it's dark if you've stopped down, and autofocus doesn't work (autofocus sucks for macro anyway. You have to focus manually). When I mounted the 36mm/70-200 combo on my tripod, the connection to the camera isn't rock steady so the electrics go in and out. Handheld it's OK and on a lighter lens it's also OK. I wrote to the supplier, I could get a refund but would have to ship it back to get it and the postage cost would be horrendous, so they credited me half my cost (and had the nerve to ask me to give them positive feedback...). So in the end I have usable tubes for $20 or so.

Also: with the extension tube mounted, you can ONLY shoot macro. You can't focus to infinity. But it's so much fun that I decided to bite the bullet and I've arranged to get a REAL macro lens, the Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR which I should pick up next week. Stay tuned!

In the meantime here are some more macro shots for your enjoyment!

I LOVE wild raspberries. I have a million of them on my property and a couple of quarts frozen in my freezer for mid-winter! 

Here's another fly I shot the first day I got the tubes 

...and a flower I treated with Topaz Impression. Unfortunately I didn't record which preset I used, probably Degas if I remember. 

A black-and-white conversion of a daisy, following the technique that I wrote about a few months ago. 

And finally, a shy grasshopper behind my house. I say 'shy' because he moved away every time I got in range! Got him finally, though. 

Stay tuned for more macro's: they are really a lot of fun. I haven't taken out my light tent yet!

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I don't want to scare you...

But it's August. And you know what that means in the Highlands, right? FALL IS COMING! Scary thought.

It's been a tough year. A horrid winter, followed by a wet spring, a few warm days at the beginning of July, but cool and less-than-sunny for the past couple of weeks. I've been trying to find a date when we could go out and shoot some star photos but every night has been cloudy and the forecast isn't much better. If you're one of the Stars Workshop group, please be patient! We're slaves to the weatherman!

Back to the fall thing... a couple of years ago I wrote a 53-page PDF "Guide to Shooting Fall Colours" eBook. If you want a free copy, all you have to do is click the "Newsletter" button in the upper right corner, or here. I'm trying to build my readership, and what better way than to give away something valuable for free! If you're already a subscriber, you'll receive a download link in the next newsletter.

This is pretty cool.

Some time ago, I put some images up on RedBubble, a fine art site. I just discovered that you can buy these on their site:

Yes, that's my picture of the baby owls! Very reasonably priced and apparently all of the images that I've uploaded there are also available as throw pillows! Three sizes are available, and you can buy just the pillow covers or complete pillows.

Here's the direct link to the baby owls throw pillows. This link takes you to my portfolio on RedBubble. Click on any picture and the navigation bar changes to "Cards - Prints - Posters - Throw Pillows - Tote Bags". They do T-shirts and stuff too! Looks like I'm going to have to (a) order one of these so I can see if it's as cool as it looks, and (b) update my portfolio with some more "pillow-worthy" images!

Life in the Highlands

One thing I love about living up here is this. This morning I went out and picked a big handful of ripe, sweet raspberries, poured myself a bowl of cereal and coffee and enjoyed breakfast al fresco. A shame they're only ripe for a short time!

Working on my "People Skills".

Last week, I put a picture of my mom up on the blog. I like it: it represents what she looks like and communicates who she is. I also wrote, "No doubt, my mother's going to call me when she sees this picture and say, "how could you put such a horrible picture of me up on your blog?"." Sure enough... "Glenn, I'm standing on my [10th floor] balcony and if you don't delete that picture of me, I'm going to jump!". LOL Sorry, mom, I like it! PS: she didn't jump...

People never seem to like pictures of themselves. Especially women... that's why I shoot rocks & trees, they never complain! Here's another picture that I think the subject wouldn't like. But to me, it really shows her character, and since she's singing the blues, I think it fits!

Her name is Zoe Chilco and she used to host the blues show on CANOE-FM. Now she does a late night jazz show. She has a really rich bluesy voice and was singing and playing keyboard – busking – with a sax player named John Deehan at the Haliburton Crafts Show last weekend. I decided the harsh sunlight she was in was suited for this low-key black and white approach.  

By the way, the new "Focus Selection Tool" in Photoshop CC did an outstanding job. Look at the flyaway strands of hair, for example. Black and white treatment with Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

Highland Yard

The Highland Yard is a 2K walk/run, and a 5k and a 10k run that's taken place in Minden every summer for umpteen years. In fact there's one fellow in the race who was wearing a shirt that said "Heiniken Yard 1977" and a sign on his back that said he's in his 37th year running it.

I've shot this event a few years now, so it's hard to come up with new approaches to the pictures. I tried to focus on people's expressions and tell the story. So here's a few shots from the race.

To set the scene, this is downtown Minden as runners come in to the finish. FWIW, I added a masked layer using Topaz Adjust 5 for the grungy detail effect. Reminder, if you use the Topaz link at right (OK, or here) and enter "faczen" in the code field at checkout, you'll get a 15% discount on their full suite. And I'll get a couple of free Tim Horton's coffees out of it.

The kids are my favourites.  I have a few shots where I engaged them before the race but this was one of my favourites. I love the determined expression on young #517's face. He's determined to get a good start!

And here's "Mr Cool" coming in to the finish line. Notice the untied shoelace on his Superman shoe! 

I used this effect last year too. A slow shutter speed adds a sense of action and motion and the angled horizon creates some triangles and makes the picture more dynamic (If you buy that, I have some land in central Florida you might be interested in...) 

Another runner coming in for a landing. I used another masked Adjust layer to enhance the subject. If you're wondering why he's in the middle of the picture it's because the story is about him AND the other guy, plus I wanted to give him room to move so I kept the bottom right corner of the shot. Check out the sense of depth created by the vanishing yellow line! (In teaching mode...)

Another finish line shot. More subtly enhanced using the radial filter in Lightroom. I like this one because of the expression on her face. 

And for my finale...

"The Thrill of Victory"! 

Amazing. All these people pictures. I'd better get out and do some landscapes before I forget how!

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July is supposed to be a quiet time!

It's been hectic. There's been a lot going on, and some things have kept me from picking up the camera in the last little while. The disturbing part is that for a while, I didn't feel much like shooting pictures. It's a little odd, because I have a couple of new toys, one of which I haven't succeeded in using yet.

Part of the reason might have been that it's just been too hot. I was driving back up North last Saturday and decided to stop at one point to take some shots of a field with harvested hay rolls. I had a picture in my mind but didn't really capture it, although I "worked the scene" as Scott Kelby suggested in his recent seminar. What caught my eye as I drove by was this:

Too bad there weren't any clouds in the sky. And that the temperature was in the mid 30's (over 90°F). This was about an hour away from my house and I took solace in the thought that 5 minutes after getting home, I'd be in the lake!

Anyway, I stayed there about half an hour, trying various things. I chased a couple of butterflies around but they never landed so I couldn't get a shot. The best shot of the session was this one:

Originally I was going to post this exactly as it came out of the camera so that I could say, "See! Exactly as it came out of the camera!". However I never leave well enough alone. I sharpened the left and warmed it up a bit, and I blurred the right just a touch in Lightroom. But otherwise, it's "Exactly as it came out of the camera"!

I ran a basic DSLR workshop on Sunday. The students were excellent: they had great vision and a feel for composition, so it was a pleasure to work with them. One got a very cool picture of a grasshopper on my woodpile; I've spent 2 days looking for the little guy so I could emulate it, without success! I did take out the bellows to show them how it worked, and found these teeny tiny bugs on a daisy:

These guys are about half the size of a grain of rice, to put it in perspective. I missed the focus by a touch, though.

I got a candid shot of one of the students at lunchtime. Bear in mind, this is outside, in sunlight, at mid-day. Just the time when you're not supposed to be able to take good pictures. I was trying to get a backlit shot for the "lighting" lesson and this worked out pretty well.

Here's a 100% crop of the original image. I was surprised how much texture appeared, given that the light was coming from behind her. I did some enhancement in Lightroom:

Next I took it into Photoshop and did some more work on it. Primarily I focused on the eyes, but then I added a "Glamor Glow (Nik Color Efex Pro). Then I brought it back into Lightroom, took out some more skin texture and lowered the red saturation a bit.

When I posted the un-cropped image on the NAPP site, I was accused of over-smoothing the skin, a la "Fotoshop by Adobé". So I reworked it a bit, same concept but less effect. Here's what I ended up with:

I'm pretty satisfied with this shot. Maybe I should shoot something other than rocks and trees sometimes!

I shot some more macro stuff with the bellows. The jury is still out on the focusing rail that I got (I don't like that the control that lock the positioning and the screw control to move it are both on the same side. I don't have enough hands!). Anyway, this is a 4-shot focus stack on a flower bud that's about the size of a grain of rice (when I think of a better comparison, I'll let you know!).

And yesterday I picked some raspberries, so I shot this single frame. This one is a virtually untouched original:

Until next time! TTFN.

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Life's Distractions

Would you believe I let life get in the way of taking pictures? Me? Oh the horror.

Now if I could report that I actually achieved something, it would be different. With one exception, everything was "reactive" as opposed to "proactive". The only thing I've made some progress on is my basic DSLR photographer's course and I AM getting somewhere with it. The concept is complete, and now it's all about getting it down on paper. Well, not 'paper', but you know what I mean. A few more weeks...

Non-Photography note
Just a non-photography note: I don't know about you, but I HATE those in-ear bluetooth thingies. First of all, it makes you look like a Borg, second it's uncomfortable and for me at least, won't stay in, and third, there's something that psychologically bothers me about there not being a microphone in front of my mouth somewhere.

As many of you know, I have problems with my voice and if I try to use the built-in bluetooth in the car, nobody can hear me. For years, I've been trying to find a headset that goes over my head instead of in the ear, but they don't make one to fit the Blackberry. My friend Styles found one: it's bluetooth as well, but it goes over the top, not in the ear, and there's a boom mike that sits in the usual position near your mouth. They have them at Radio Scrap (oops, I mean "The Source") for $50.

Why am I telling you this? Because I found a product I really like and I wanted to share it.

On to some pictures!
Spring is starting to appear up here. I was in Toronto earlier this week and the buds on the trees are magnificent. I didn't have time to stop for photos, unfortunately. There's really nothing like that up here since the trees are not 'ornamental', and anyway, we're a couple of weeks behind the big Smoke. Rather stark, but here's one of my raspberry stems, just starting to revive:

Although it's cropped out of a larger image (I don't have a macro lens!), not much other than sharpening has been done to this shot. Hmmm. Black background. Hmmm

I also shot my one and only daffodil (there will be more. This one appeared all on its own, for some reason)

I did do some work on this image. Not as much as you might think,though. Mostly sharpening and getting rid of some extraneous objects; plus a dark vignette to isolate the flower. Hmmm. A black background. Hmmm.

One more: here's a shot of my wind chimes. I was trying to be creative, responding to the theme "music" for the monthly NAPP rally.

This is a 5-shot multiple exposure, all done in the camera! I used my flash off-camera to light it and made them move between exposures. You might have noticed that I shot it on a black background... hmmm.

By now, the more astute and observant of you might have noticed that I have become enamored of black backgrounds! I did some pictures a few years ago on black, and my interest has been rekindled. So I did some research and found that there are some sneaky ways to create "invisible black backgrounds" using flash, and while I want to try that too, it wasn't what I had in mind. I found a really simple and very cheap solution and I documented it in my technical blog (link here).

You can't take a bad picture of your kids.
OK, well actually you can, but you can get away with a lot of stuff when the subject of the photos is so near and dear to you. I only took a few shots when my son and daughter-in-law brought my granddaughter for a visit last week, but here are my favourites.

Leah is sitting with my mom and I can feel the happiness in this picture. Almost 90 years separates these two. The light is entirely from a big north-facing window, my favourite lighting scenario!

Here's Leah with my other two grandkids, Kelly and Ryan. Ryan likes hamming it up for the camera and Kelly's picture is in the dictionary beside the word "precocious". I couldn't tear her away from my iPad, though!

OK, one more to share with you. I drove by my favourite spot, the Minden Wildwater Preserve again, just to see what was going on. Sunset, that's what. But when I finished with this picture, it looks more like a huge forest fire than a sunset!

Conflagration. The sun was still illuminating the trees in the background, but the front ones were already in the shade. This is NOT an HDR, although I did shoot for one (5 exposures). They didn't work because the trees moved too much between shots. So I used one frame, and toned it.

Have I bored you enough for today? OK, OK. Say goodbye, now! Until next time...

PS: Photoshop CS6 is scheduled to be released on April 23rd. Are you going to be an early adopter? Not this cowboy!

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