a27 May 2014

We Inspire Vol. 3

We Inspire Vol. 3 & Published again

Yesterday evening new issue of Camerapixo was released by +Anetta G. Heller and +Artur J. Heller. This time it's "We Inspire Vol. 3" - inspiring photos from all over the world taken by around 80 different photographers.

As always you can get the magazine for free here. And I really recommend that because looking at other people photos is one of the easiest and most effective ways of learning and improving your own photography. In the magazine you will find photos ranging from portrait to landscape to photojournalism. You will also find National Geographic-like travel photos. So everyone will find something interesting for him.

I'm also very proud that inside this issue are 2 of my photos from Mayan dance show in Mexico and one of them even got "Editor's Choice"! And what's great my photo is also displayed on the cover of the magazine (although in pretty small size - hopefully I'll make the cover next time ;) ). You can see my photos on pages 41 and 55. Being published among such great photographers, many of whom are inspiration for me for years, is a real honour.

Daily photo - Sunset in Berlin

Today I would like to share old HDR photo from Berlin (taken in 2010 if I'm not mistaken). I took it after 10 hours of walking with my hands shaking as at that time I wasn't used to hold the camera for such a long time... you know, in 2010 I was just beginning my photography journey. I'm pretty pleased with light I captured here. It's warm almost golden.
Sunset in Berlin


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a25 May 2014

Iguana in the grass

Daily photo - Iguana in the grass

I'm not shooting animals very often because it requires patience and knowledge about their behaviours and I have neither of them. But I still like to do that when I have a chance... that is when I'm lucky enough to come across some animal during my travels. Today I would like to show a photo of a beautiful iguana lizard which I met in Mexico (BTW iguanas are native to tropical areas of Mexico). It was sitting patiently and still for quite a long time allowing me to take multiple photos of it. This is the one I like most. I'm especially pleased with amount of detail I managed to capture. Scales on its head look amazing to me! Also dark background works pretty well here because it provides nice isolation of my model :)
Iguana in the grass

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a23 May 2014

Magic Lantern Dual ISO - first impressions

Magic Lantern Dual ISO - first impressions

Dual ISO is a great feature of Magic Lantern firmware for Canon DSLRs that can increase dynamic range of your camera to about 14 EV from original 11 - 12 EV. I wrote more about this feature earlier in this post. However, up to now I didn't use it very often because I didn't properly test it and so I was a bit anxious to use it for production work. I was simply afraid to loose a shot.

However, just a few days ago during photo shoot with my friend +Matthias Haeussler he was really recommending it so I decided to give Dual ISO a try and start testing it finally.

Today I would like to show you one of my first photos taken with Dual ISO - it's from the same sunset as this one.

Please note that I intend to do more serious testing in the next few days and I will definitely share my findings here on the blog.

Ok, so here is the final processed shot:
Sunset in Warsaw

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a21 May 2014

Soft sunset in Warsaw

Daily photo - Soft sunset in Warsaw

Yesterday I had a chance to shoot in Warsaw with fellow photographer from Germany - +Matthias Haeussler . As there was some chance for interesting sunset we climbed St. Anne's Church viewing terrace as it offers some very nice view over the Old Town of Warsaw. It took a long wait before sunset actually began but when it did it was really beautiful with very nice soft colours in the clouds. I was a bit disappointed with light which was pretty flat most of the time but all in all, the conditions were pretty nice and offered some interesting photo opportunities.

I'm pretty happy how this photo turned out with all those colours in the sky. Even though it is another HDR photo, I tried to keep the processing very natural to avoid loosing this amazing softness I saw when capturing this image. I hope you like it :)
Soft sunset in Warsaw


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a20 May 2014

Street in Montpellier

Daily photo - Street in Montpellier

I took below photo in the old town of Montpellier, France last year. I really enjoyed my stay there even though there aren't as many photography opportunities there as in some larger cities.

To process this photo I used one of my free Lightroom vintage presets to give it antique and painterly look which really fits this scene in my opinion. It's how I felt about this old town.

Street in Montpellier


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a19 May 2014

Below Kondracka Kopa

Daily photo - Below Kondracka Kopa

High Dynamic Range photo that you can see below was taken by me last autumn from saddle below Kondracka Kopa in Tatra Mountains in Poland. It was so windy on that day that I didn't decide to set up my tripod fearing that it'll get stolen by the wind together with my camera. And I really regret that because it's a great spot to take wonderful panoramic photos. Hopefully next time I'll be there, it won't be so windy!

Below Kondracka Kopa


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a18 May 2014

Stream in Koscieliska Valley

About blog

At the end of February I decided to stop writing posts everyday on my blog. More than 2 months later I might say it was a really great and right decision to make. Thanks to that I now have more time to write tutorials and "essays" about photography (I have several tutorials already drafted and they should appear on my blog pretty soon) what should be good for you :) . And even more important I'm not tired of my blog anymore.

Unfortunately problem with my blog not appearing in Google search results wasn't resolved. It seems that my blog disappeared from it for good. From your perspective it doesn't have any negative effects but for me it does - my monthly number of visitors dropped to what I had in December 2012. And this number seems to fall month by month so soon almost no one will read my blog :( . It means that less people are able to find my tutorials and photos. So I would like to ask you to share link to this blog from time to time on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ so more photographers can read my articles and learn something. I would really appreciate that.

Daily photo - Stream in Koscieliska Valley

Today I would like to share simple landscape photo I took last autumn in Polish Tatra mountains. I used 2 seconds exposure to blur water slightly.
Kościeliski Stream


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a16 May 2014

Thoughts: Art is not about "likes"

Art is not about "likes"

This post is continuation of Why is Pixoto dangerous? in which I described potential dangers related to social networking on example of Pixoto website. The most important statement I made in that post was that the fact you're awarded, get likes or votes doesn't mean you're already great photographer (although you might be - I only suggest not to rely on the 'likes' too much) and this could result in you stopping to make any progress as photographer.

Today I would like to focus on related subject but I will make completely different statement - the fact that your photos don't get many 'likes' doesn't mean that your work isn't art. It doesn't mean your work isn't great.

Of course I'm interested in reading your opinion.

It's very easy to fall into this trap and start thinking that if you get very few likes on Facebook or 500px, you're just not good enough. Such thought is rather depressive (especially if you're ambitious) and may affect your photography for worse because you might try taking photos that other people would like, not the ones you would like to capture. You would alter your style just to make sure everyone (or at least most people) will like it. But it won't be your true style, there won't be real you in your photos.

In fact it was the mistake that I'd been making at some stage but nowadays I don't really care about it that much. If I like my photo - that's great even if it goes fairly unnoticed on social networking websites (of course I'm happy when it does :) ). I have some style of both composing and processing photos and am really happy with it. I know what I could change to make my photos more attractive but I also know that I won't like them that much anymore. Instead I try to evolve my style the way that I will like my photos even more.

Another issue with social networking is that it's more about pat on the back than real useful feedback. The more friends you have, the more likes you'll get. As simple as that. You will hardly ever notice anyone giving negative feedback on Facebook or 500px. Even if photo is of very poor quality or contains serious technical flaws. A lot of people simply expect that if they liked or commented on your photo, you will do the same and vote on their images. And if it isn't clear to you, some people will make it by putting a comment under your photo like "Please like my recent work". What's more I've seen a lot of talented and skillful photographers (much better than me!), whose work didn't get enough exposure just because they didn't have many friends on 500px, Flickr or Facebook. But they were true artists for sure.

So summing up, remember this: Art isn't about likes. Art isn't about votes. It isn't about popularity. Art is about expression of creative skills and imagination. Art is about beauty and emotions. Show the world how you see it, not how the others expect you to see it.

Daily photo - Simple Sunset

Today I would like to share new HDR photo from Mexico taken at sunset. The light was gorgeous... and as you can see sometimes you don't need anything else apart from good light.

If you would like to learn how to capture such images yourself, make sure to read my free HDR tutorial.
Simple sunset


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a14 May 2014

Prints on sale and Sunset in Mexico

Prints - spring sale

If you would like to buy any of my photos as prints, I have some good news for you. Starting today prints are now much cheaper (the difference in price starts from few bucks for the cheapest prints up to around 40 USD for the more expensive ones).

Please note it's time limited offer that will end at the end of May 2014!

You can buy prints here or directly from my blog by clicking on the green "Buy print" button below photo of your choice.

Daily photo - Sunset in Mexico

Today I would like to share another high dynamic range landscape photo from Mexico. I used neutral density filter to blur the water a little bit. I also went with a bit "softer" processing than usual.

If you would like to learn how to capture such images yourself, make sure to read my free HDR tutorial.
Sunset in Mexico


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a13 May 2014

Panorama of Warsaw

Daily photo - Panorama of Warsaw

Today I would like to share HDR panorama from Warsaw, Poland.

Original panorama is very wide and has almost 200 megapixels but unfortunately I had to crop it on the sides to make it look better on my blog. Otherwise it didn't look nice here. I also recommend viewing it in large by clicking on the image below.
Panorama of Warsaw


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a12 May 2014

Mountain stream

Daily photo - Mountain stream

Time for new HDR image from Tatra mountains. I took it last year in winter.

Apart from quite dramatic light and contrast, the thing I really like about this image are leading lines (both path and stream) which lead the eye through the image. If you would like to learn more about composing images, make sure to read my tutorial about it.

For this image I also used my painterly technique to get rid of some details and make the image cleaner. If you would like to learn more about this technique, watch this short video where I explain it.
Mountain stream in Tatra mountains


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a8 May 2014

Beginner's HDR photography tutorial. Part 5. Dealing with noise

Today it is time for 5th part of my HDR video tutorial. Last time I was talking about halo artifacts which are one of the most common issues in HDR photos. This time I will give you 5 easy tips to avoid another problem that is often visible in tone-mapped photos - noise.

Unfortunately YouTube compressed this image pretty much making all the noise rather difficult to see :( So I will try to upload full HD uncompressed version somewhere.

Next parts will cover subjects such as creating indoor images, creating night HDR images.

Note 1: if you don't have Photomatix Pro, you can download free trial from here. It never expires but adds watermark to the final image (BTW if you decide to purchase Photomatix Pro, you will be able to get rid of this watermark from already processed images!).

Note 2: before you watch this part, I advise you to take a look at Part 3 in which I showed how to create realistic HDR images. If you're new to Photomatix Pro take a look at Part 2 in which I talk about Photomatix Pro, explain its interface and talk about core features (such as deghosting or alignment). You might be also interested in watching Part 1 in which I talk about HDR photography in general and give some reasons why do we need it.

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a7 May 2014

Silence

Daily photo - Silence

I took so many nice landscape HDR images during my last trip to Mexico and here is another one showing single boat during late sunset. What I like in it is this tranquil mood which was achieved thanks to using long exposure (longest exposure in my bracketed sequence was 20 seconds) and wonderful colours.

If you would like to learn how to capture such images yourself, make sure to read my free HDR tutorial.
Silence


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a6 May 2014

Forest path

Daily photo - Forest path

Today photo is pretty old (4 years now!) high dynamic range image taken in forest in Masuria region, Poland. I used the road to lead the eye through the image towards brighter area in the background. I also quite like light & shadows play on this path.

Forest path


There won't be EXIF info today as it's pretty old photo and I don't have access to its metadata anymore (I removed it from photo a long time ago).

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a5 May 2014

View from Hala Gasienicowa

Daily photo - Path through Hala Ornak

High Dynamic Range photo that you can see below was taken by me last autumn in Hala Gąsienicowa in Polish Tatra mountains. Originally it wasn't panoramic shot but I thought it would look better this way so I cropped it on top and bottom to achieve panoramic aspect ratio.

This week I should have new tutorial for you, so stay tuned :)
View from Hala Gąsienicowa


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a3 May 2014

My first composite image

Daily photo - Have a sit and relax

Today I would like to share different version of this photo. What this scene missed for me were stars. So what I decided to do was to manually add them using one of my older star trails photos. It means it's composite image (as I used two images to create it). Actually it's the first ever composite image from me. For the first attempt the result is quite good I think :)

Although I prefer not to add or remove any elements to my photos in this case it was necessary to achieve image I had in mind. I hope you like it.
Have a sit and relax


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a1 May 2014

City of Valladolid

Daily photo - Valladolid

Today I would like to share a high dynamic range picture I took in Valladolid city in Mexico. Valladolid is a small colonial style city (as of 2010 it has around 45.000 inhabitants) that is between Merida and Cancun cities. It's very close to Chichen Itza and has pretty nice atmosphere so if you're around make sure to pay a visit there.

This time I decided to go with a bit more "grungy" HDR processing, something that I do very rarely, because I think that details in the road and the church in the background simply look better this way.

BTW if you would like to learn more about HDR photography, make sure to read my free HDR tutorial.
Valladolid


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