For some of us Photography is a natural thing - we simply express ourselves and don't even have to think about it. For others (especially who is starting on this journey) it is much harder - thinking is heavily involved. And there are a few who simply point and shoot, without thinking, those guys and gals only occasionally learn a new thing.

I totally agree with Peter Marshall that "Photography isn't a mechanical exercise but one that depends very much on the ideas and aims of the photographer." He has written more about it in his article "Thinking as a photographer":

For some "If I could say it in words I wouldn't take pictures" is simply a stock retort. Of course we express ourselves through images, but that doesn't stop a great deal of conscious thinking while we are working. In Thinking like a photographer I try to put down some of the thinking that I did while covering an event last week. Of course there were many times when I framed or moved or zoomed and shot concentrating entirely on what I could see in front of me or in the viewfinder, relying on intuitiion or 'gut feeling' as my guide.

It was a while since the last tutorial I wrote. The blog posts actually were a better way to post small writings and tips on various topics. But this time, the topic and its explanation required more room and took a whole article, which is a good thing.
This tutorial will allow you to create cartoon-like pictures based on the photographs. As usual there are a few things that you can tweak to change the final result to your liking. The picture above gives the idea what effect you can achieve by using this technique. It's very similar to the Cutout filter in Photoshop, but you have more flexibility and more natural (cartoon-like) look. Now I'll stop the talking and let you read the "Cartoon Effect" tutorial.

Let me know what you think.

It's not a secret that Photoshop is a very powerful tool, but most people don't use it to its full potential. One of the quite useful and promising areas of this tool are Blending Modes. The Blending modes allow us to correct the color, restore blown out highlights and deep shadows, and not forget the numerous effects the photographer can add to the photograph. However how many people actually use them? Sadly, just a few. And mostly because of the mystery that covers it. And the tutorial "Blending Modes in Photoshop and other Graphics Software" will help you to make the first steps to understand and eventually use the blending modes.
It's unbelievable - Photoshop has some blending modes I've never hear of . Live and learn!

Yesterday I got an email with a question about photography on location in the sun light, which could be requested by the bride and groom at a wedding (usually after the ceremony). The question was about how to position the subjects and the photographer in relation to the sun. And I wanted to provide the answer to all of you who can benefit from this information. Here is the answer:

Regarding the group shots on location and in the sun, it's better when you use your sun as a kicker - behind the subject and slightly to one of the sides. Then the sun will light up the contour of the subject and separate it from the background. There are a couple of articles that could help you out Portraiture By Sun Light and Kicker Usage In Fine Portraiture. Look for the diagram at the bottom of the second article.

Read more!

This photographs is posted in my portfolio in the Funny Pics category (more photographs of that event are here), though it looks funny to us, I am not sure that the mouse is laughing. Actually, I am definitely sure that the mouse was quite shocked by this meeting. Here is the whole story about it.
It was my early days as a photographer. Only recently I bought a camera and was learning photography. And my composition skills still required polishing (and probably now it still stands).
One evening I came home and some weird noises started to bother my ear. Even after a few minutes when I tried to strain my ears and hear those soft sounds I couldn't quite recognize them. The only thing that I could say for sure - the sounds were coming from my bedroom. It was getting more and more interesting...

Read more!

Another website with links to photography tutorials has emerged - PicToot. Check it out.

Do you want to make your photographs more interesting and captivating? I think so. Then let's go over one important thing to consider when you compose the photograph - association. The association is the basis of the meaning you put into the photograph; our mind works on associations and we subconsciously read them in almost anything we see.
The other day I've seen a very simple and still beautiful advertisement of a florist company. The photograph had a vase with daisies and the name of the company, actually, a name of the web site. And that's it, the background was white and nothing else distracted the eye. You may say - it's too simplistic, and I will agree. The beauty of this ad is in its simplicity.
Why did it remember this ad? This simplicity emphasizes the association that is so important for this ad. Could you tell me what it is? Once more time, there is vase with the flowers and the name of the company. Any thoughts? I hope you concluded right - association between these two elements: flowers and the company.
Let me do the inference out of this - anything and everything you place into the frame of the photograph affects the association. And it's may be a goof or a bad thing. Better if you use to your advantage. Want to find out how? Read on.

Read more!

This short article by Aaron Guldberg called "Essays For Heightening Awareness And Improving Performance In Photographic Art" starts a series of essays on one aspect of Photographic Art that is rarely explored or is written about. Actually it is closely relates to one I've written previously - "Deep Within". The whole subject of awareness and deeper impression is the first step in seeing the subject and learning photography. Shouldn't there be something in us (some kind of feeling) that we would want to express with a photograph?

Another article in MacWorld reveals new plans of Adobe for Photoshop:

The new markets Adobe is reaching out to with Photoshop Extended include professionals in architecture, engineering, medicine, and science. Photoshop CS3 Extended includes the same tools as Photoshop CS3 plus a new set of capabilities for integration of 3-D and motion graphics, image measurement, and analysis.

On its website Adobe delineates the markets and purposes of these two versions as the following:

Photoshop CS3

Adobe Photoshop CS3 includes all the features you love in Photoshop CS2, plus many innovative new ones. Photoshop CS3 accelerates your path from imagination to imagery. Ideal for photographers and designers, the professional standard delivers new features such as automatic layer alignment and blending that enable advanced compositing. Live filters boost the comprehensive, nondestructive editing toolset for increased flexibility. And a streamlined interface and new, timesaving tools make your work flow faster.
Ideal for:

• Photographers
• Graphic designers
• Web designers
• Print service providers

Photoshop CS3 Extended

New to the Photoshop family, Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended delivers everything in Photoshop CS3 and more. Render and incorporate 3D images into your 2D composites. Stop time with easy editing of motion graphics on video layers. And probe your images with measurement, analysis, and visualization tools.
Ideal for:

• Film, video, and multimedia professionals
• Graphic and web designers using 3D and motion
• Manufacturing professionals
• Medical professionals
• Architects and engineers (AEC professionals)
• Scientific researchers

The MacWorld has a nice article by Rick LePage about a tip to use Remove Spot tool in the Lightroom.

If you’re using the Remove Spots tool (in either Clone or Heal mode), it can get a bit cluttered and hard to see if there are a lot of spots on the screen. However, if you hold down the ‘H’ key as you spot your image, all of the spots are hidden. You can even adjust an existing spot with this method: the best way to do it is to put your mouse over the spot you want to adjust (so you know where it is), and then press the ‘H’ key to hide the spots. It’s a small tip, but it has helped me out a bunch this week.

Read further in the article "Tip for Lightroom's Remove Spots tool".

The Lightroom News has posted a news about 20 free Lightroom presets provided by onOne Software. These presets will allow you to quickly improve your image and/or turn it into a stunning black and white photograph.
Here is how Jack Davis, renowned Photoshop educator, author and photographer, describes it:

"As a creative professional who understands the necessity of producing beautiful work, delivered on-time and on-budget, I am always looking for better tools and easier ways to work with Adobe Photoshop and it's related software products. I feel fortunate to have teamed up with the great onOne Software gang to bring you these custom Wow Presets for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom that I believe will not only save every digital photographer both time and effort, but also help them instantly create work with that extra Wow Factor."

See the examples of the results you can achieve with the "PhotoPresets with One-Click WOW!"

I never get tired of the mountains. Their charm and the variety of moods and looks touch my soul and resonate in the photographs. And this day was different - Shenandoah Mountain in Ice.

Another week and another series of photograph taken in the mountains. It was a long and pleasant trip in the woods along the White Oak Falls trail. The simple things (like this walk) we treasure most.

Because of the work I was doing on my website, I didn't have much time to get out and post new photographs. Though there were a few times when I did get out and here is one of them - "Shenandoah on January 20, 2007".
This day I spend with my friends in the mountains. The Skyline drive was clear of snow and ice, so we could drive. We ended up at Dark Hollow Falls and went to the waterfalls, where the water was seamlessly flowing among ice and rocks. I even created a few "art pieces" out of the photographs.

Coinciding with the new look of the website, the Photoshop tutorial "Ultimate Makeup" on retouching was written from scratch. Though the previous edition had some of the valuable details, which I will try to cover in detail in one of the next articles, is still available as PDF document - "Ultimate Makeup - 1st Edition, PDF".
The new tutorial contains a complete PSD file - source file for Photoshop - where you can see each layer individually and how they bring the changes to the photograph. Enjoy.

Finally, after long winter months that I dedicated to redesigning of this website, the new look and additional features are presented to the public. I paid additional attention to the navigation, accessibility and consistency of the pages. Hopefully you will not only enjoy the content, but the usability of the website as well. A few small changes to the website features were added: when you read the photography tutorials, you can now change the size of the font; the comments posted to the tutorials will go through an approval process and are visible to the public. As well the galleries of photographs are powered by flash engine SlideShowPro developed by Todd Dominey, and when you open the galleries they start the sideshow automatically - just sit and enjoy the photographs. And now you can seamlessly search the whole website with the engine powered by Google.