Why I like Photographying Landscape

Not too much time to post pictures these days, but here is one of my favorite quotes about why photographing landscape is so satisfying.

"There is something unfathomably satisfying about moving under one's own power through the landscape toward an objective, and the same kind of elation pulses through me when I climb a mountain, stalk a wild creature, run a trail, or zero in on a natural subject wit my camera. Making a fine image in such a situation gives me the power to relive something of the original experience as well as impart it to others." -- Galen Rowell

The Evidence of My Existance

Thanks to David Ziser for the wonderful link. If you have 10 minutes, I highly recommend checking out this video clip by Jim Lo Scalzo that puts things in a different perspective. It might as well be the most well spent 10 minutes of your week. The story certainly touched me deeply. Click on the link.

Cold

Cold, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Setup - SB-600 with Omnibounce at 1/64 power behind the large paper poster. The glass is standing on a sheet of acrylic glass. The color is achieved by changing the WB to a cold setting.

Granny Smith Apples

Granny Smith Apples, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

His Beautiful Life

His Beautiful Life, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Calibrating Your Monitor

I already wrote about my my printing experience and other purchases connected to it, but I omitted to review another purchase I made relating to it, Spyder2 Express printing calibration hardware/software. So I will mention it and tell you about my experience.

Any Photoshop or digital photography book you will buy today will talk about monitor and printer calibration and how you should really never attempt your own printing without it. Why is that? I found out very quickly as I made first few prints last winter. I had an image of the glass building in the winter (here is the link) and I knew I wanted the colors of snow and the skies to be in print what they are on the monitor. To my surprise, the colors of snow were blue and I was rather disappointed with the print. So it's simple - calibration of your monitor/printer ensures that the colors you see on your screen are the colors you will see in print. There are subjects where deviation in color will not seem significant (such as shots of nature or black & white images), but whenever you have subjects where you need to get your colors right (such as skin tones, or white snow), you need to have calibrated monitor.

There is software that comes with Photoshop (Adobe Gamma) that can help you calibrate the monitor if you have PC, and Macs actually come with calibration software as well, but I found both options to be somewhat inaccurate, as you are really guessing with your eyes and your choices depend largely on luck. I wanted to have more accurate results, so I decided to invest into hardware calibrator that will do all the work for me.

After some research, I decided not to spend too much money, and buy Colorvision Spyder2 Express that costs less than $100 and comes with both the software and a piece of hardware that you attach to your monitor that does all the work of reading color information for you. The software was easy and simple to install without reading the manual, and all I had to do was attach the calibrator to the screen and come back 10 minutes later. New iMacs actually come with screens that have rather dull default colors, but calibrator was able to fix that, and now I enjoy more dynamic range in my colors. The whites are whites as well (I had no idea I had a yellow overcast before). Following calibration, I calibrated my wife's laptop and it was nice to see that now colors of images look identical on both screens. I also made prints of both colorful nature images and colorful portraits (I used inkjet printer and Cotsco lab with their custom profiles) for my tests and the prints came out with the colors I intended.

It's a great solution if you're printing from your computer. This version of calibrator will not give you more than one option of how your screen will look when calibrated, but default options are good enough, and if I want to have more choices, I only need to upgrade the software, as hardware is compatible with more expensive versions. I now calibrate regularly, and I don't have to worry about the color when I get prints in my hand.

His Full Alert

His Full Alert, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

See him LARGE.

Healing

Healing, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Please see it LARGE.

McWay Waterfall - one of the few waterfalls in the world that empties directly into the ocean. Also, because of the waves constantly moving the sand, there is no usual pool of water underneath it.

Doing My Own Matting

Doing My Own Matting, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

After spending $30 on two custom mats for the frames I wanted to hang in our home, I told myself that there has to be a better way to do this. So eventually I invested into custom frame matter, Logan 301S Compact, that can cut straight and beveled openings for my prints. Now I can do all the matting myself, thus saving hundreds of dollars in the long run and creating my own fine art prints I can sell at art fares and to others who wish to buy them.

The matter comes with a DVD that shows you how to cut, but you really have to do it yourself and its best learned with practice. I use Light Impressions 4 ply bright white sheets for my mats, and 2 ply bright white for mounting board for the board that I attach prints to. After ruining few mats, I finally realized that I need to change the blade, because the one that was attached to the cutter was already dull, so check that if you have just bought one yourself. But after that cutting became a straight forward and rather interesting process. With a bit of practice, I cannot tell the difference between the mats I have done myself versus those done at a local framing shop.

I was able to create several fine art prints that were matted, and took them to the Los Gatos Camera Club that I recently join for their local competition. My "Alighnment Over Point Joe" print actually got an honorable mention in their monochrome competition and will now compete against other prints in the regional competition here in Northern California.

Click on the image and read the comments I left on it to see what other tools I use for this process.

The biggest enjoyment of it all, however, comes just from looking at your work nicely matted, arranged and put away into clear envelopes. The whole process of developing a photograph is complete and now it truly take the form of art.

If you have been printing your photos for fun or to sell, I highly recommend this great and rather cheap mat cutter. It'll pay for itself after just a few mats you create.

Alert and Ready To Conquer The Future

Alert and Ready To Conquer The Future, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.