Noise is Not Evil–More Examples

In my last post “Noise is Not Evil” I made the case that noise can be used as an important artistic element of your photography and is not the evil scourge many seem to believe.  My view is in contrast to those in the photography world who appear to be obsessed with the idea that we should only accept what the best of today’s digital cameras are capable of.  In other words, new versions of cameras are increasingly capable of shooting high ISO, low light, and low noise photographs – this group of people believe because we can effectively eliminate noise in many circumstances , we should accept nothing less.  “They” are the people who believe noise is evil.

I don’t intend on pressing my case here, but thought to provide a few more examples of noisy photographs that work.

Today’s shots include a bike on the streets of Abu Dhabi, the Pentagon from the air, a man waiting at JFK, and finally, the beaches in Aqaba Jordan.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

Revisiting Photos–Time Can Help

I have written several times about my workflow and the fact that my photographs usually get several reviews, often at times quite distant from each other.  So here is an example.

In January, I posted a somewhat snarky entry “I Don’t Shoot Sunsets (Except in Aqaba Jordan).”  The photos featured in this post are the same photos I posted in January…except that they have gone through another round of editing.

In addition to catching a couple of spots from sensor dust, time away from the photos have given me a slightly different approach.  For the most part, the revisit resulted in some desaturation, lowering the contrast a tad, and a bit of color correction.  In summary, a more subtle approach than my first round of editing

I provide this example along with an endorsement to not hurry through your post - processing.  In addition to suffering from tired eyes, your photos can suffer from the difficulty of removing yourself from the emotions tied to the time and place the photo was shot.  Time helps a great deal in overcoming these challenges.

Have fun, and be patient with your images.

Craig

Using Textures to Salvage Photography

The other day, I was processing some photos and came across the two photos featured in this post.  Both shots were taken from my hotel room in Amman Jordan.  Shooting through a window is not always a successful endeavor  - reflection, refraction, and dirt are among the things you have to deal with.  These photos were no exception.

Just as I was about to give up on using the photos, I decided to experiment with apply some textures that made the technical flaws merge into the final product.  On one hand, you could say I masked the flaws, but equally true would be the statement that they inspired me and I built upon them.  I don’t really care which perspective is taken – I am pleased with the results, particularly the first of the two.

Here is the process:

1. Import your photo into Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements)
2. Copy another image into a layer that is stacked above the original shot (in the two photos here, I used a water/beach image and a stone image respectively)
3. Set the “texture” or top layer to “overlay”
4. Adjust the opacity of the texture layer until you get the look you want
5. Continue with color/contrast/crop/sharpening corrections (I did so after send the composite image back to Lightroom)

Although pleased with these results, I doubt that I will make this process routine in my approach.  On the other hand, when I run across compositions I find attractive yet flawed in some way I cannot reasonably remedy, I have no doubt I will apply this technique again.  One thing is for certain, I will now be collecting images to use as textures.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Rafeek Alewah – Stand-in for Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia

Every once in a while, happy coincidences happen.  I will tell you of one such happy coincidence.  As I write this post, I am on my last night in Jordan before returning to the U.S.  During this trip to Jordan, a friend of mine (Nour Kabariti) sent a random note suggesting I visit a souvenir shop in Aqaba.  Nour is wonderful at sending these little tidbits and each one has turned into a great adventure…so of course I took her advice and visited the shop (and greatly appreciate the random recommendations).

First of all, let me tell you that Aqaba is a wonderful place.  It is a seaside resort town on the Red Sea, is relatively modest in the grand scheme of resort towns, and is therefore not overwhelming and thoroughly enjoyable.  Being a seaside hamlet, seafood is the cuisine of choice.  And the best seafood in Aqaba comes from the Ali Baba restaurant.  Nour directed me to the souvenir shop of Rafeek Alewah immediately adjacent to the Ali Baba (where I dine most evenings).

Upon my visit to the souvenir shop of Rafeek Alewah, I was treated to a great experience.  Rafeek was the stand-in for Omar Sharif in the 1962 filming of Lawrence of Arabia.  In this role, the 27 year old Rafeek was filmed in many of the non-speaking, or distant roles of Omar Sharif.  Although IMDB and many of the other internet movie sites have no mention of Rafeek, the photographs posted in his shop are a testament to his role.

Rafeek is an animated an engaging character.  If you have the opportunity to visit Aqaba, Jordan, I recommend visiting his shop – after enjoying a wonderful dinner at the Ali Baba.

To reinforce the idea that the best camera is the one you have with you, all of the photographs in this post were taken with my iPhone.  You will not always have your expensive DSLR with you, but that does not mean your photography should suffer.

Have fun, and go make some great photography!

Craig

Return to Petra

I have not finished processing all the photos from my first trip to Petra, Jordan (Sneak Preview of Petra Jordan, and Petra in Motion), and d I made a second trip again just yesterday.  Two very good friends (Sean and Steve) were visiting for the weekend so we spent the day hiking through Petra.  Petra is such an incredible place that I am quite sure I could visit another 50 times and still not see everything.   I would also not run out of great subjects to photograph.

I am in a bit of a time crunch, so can’t provide much commentary.  However, I at least wanted to make the effort, and get these photos posted for your enjoyment.  I have a number of great shots from yesterday, and promise to post more from Petra.
 
From a photographic standpoint, the one point of interest regarding these shots, is that they were not taken with my Canon 5D DSLR.  Each of these were taken with my Canon G10.  In general, the shots were taken in aperture priority mode, ISO 100, and an f-stop of 8.0.


Have fun, and go make some great photography!
Craig

Boats in Aqaba Jordan

I received some good feedback on some recent and past posts showing the before and after versions of raw photographs and finished product.  So here is another example.
My first decision on processing this photograph was conversion to black and white.  I applied one element of my set of criteria that asks if the color information is important to the composition.  With only a bit of the reds and the blue sky adding anything of note to the shot, I chose to go black and white.

The second shot shows the result of the first portion of post processing; cropping, and exposure adjustment.  In this case, I was happy with the composition and did not crop.  However, I increased the exposure by about one stop, and used the Lightroom recovery feature to bring back some of the detail in the mountains on the horizon.

The final set of adjustments included adjusting the curves to add contrast, an angled gradient filter to darken the sky slightly (more darkening on the right), some dust spot removal (look about 1/3 of the way from the left just below the top of the frame to see a prominent piece – on the first two versions), and a small bit of sharpening.
This photograph will get some more work, but I thought I would share my general workflow in Adobe Lightroom.  Processing the photo to this point amounted to about 5 minutes of work…interrupted by a local kid selling magazines (I’m a sucker and bought Wine Spectator…he got 2000 points, whatever that means).  The process varies a bit with color, and I promise to share an example soon.
Have fun, and go make some great photography.
Craig

Petra in Motion

The entrance to, and the general location of, Petra Jordan is a wadi (dry watercourse).  As you proceed from entrance to the the far end of Petra (about 4km) you traverse a deep gorge portion of the wadi that gradually transitions to a broader and flatter dry bed.
I find these gorges very interesting; formed by thousands of years of water gradually eroding the softer portions of the stone, they are natural artwork and document the motion of water that created them.  This motion recorded in the walls of the gorge is the foundation of the featured photograph for this entry..  The motion of the water  is not difficult to imagine given the perspective and lighting in this photograph.
I intentionally set up this shot as a longer exposure to capture the motion of both the horse-buggy combination and the person walking away from the camera.   These little buggies regularly run up and down the wadi transporting tourists that don’t see walking through a wadi as good opportunity for exercise.
A fourth, less obvious element of motion are the channels on either side of walls.  These channels are man made and were designed to carry water through Petra…yes, the public water works.  These small canals that snake through Petra are a true engineering marvel.
Finally, I offer a second version of the same photograph.  This one in color.

As most of you know, I generally prefer black and white.  In this case, I prefer the black and white not for the many reasons I have mentioned before, but because the black and white version is more convincing in telling the story of motion.  As a color photograph, I am pleased; the orange shades of the rock walls provide an interesting background, and the green and red of the backpack and buggy canopy lead the eye through the photograph.  The simplicity helps as well; three subjects (walls, buggy, person walking) with three complimentary colors.  Although there is a great deal of shape and shadow, the photograph remains uncluttered.
There is a great deal more to come from my trip to Petra.  Please come back to see the rest.  Although I have to admit to being terribly behind on my photo processing and it may be quite some time before we have the chance to talk about the best from that trip.
Have fun, and go make some great photography!
Craig

Sneak Preview of Petra Jordan

I was finally able to take a few hours away from my day job and spend some time in Petra Jordan today.  It was a mind blowing experience that I recommend to anyone traveling in this part of the world.  The beauty, artistry, craftsmanship, and scale were difficult to absorb in the few hours I was able to dedicate to this venture.

I would do a completely inadequate job of describing the history of Petra if I were to make an attempt, so I will leave that to more authoritative sources.  However, to set the context for these photographs, I will tell you that Petra was a metropolis dating to the sixth century BC, was an important trade route, wass the capital city of the Nabateans, and was chosen as the “New Seven Wonders of the World” in 2007.  It is principally carved from the sheer walls of a wadi (dry watercourse) and has my full support as one of the true wonders of the world.

As one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, I don’t expect that my few hours in Petra will add much photographically to this well shot site.  However, I may be able to contribute by taking a different look at it.

The photographs in this post are probably not terribly creative in being different from the thousands of photographs available for this phenomenal site…except that these are all HDR.

I promise to post additional entries from this trip, hopefully adding a new dimension to Petra photography in addition to the HDR perspective.  I took nearly 600 exposures today, and have a wealth of really cool stuff to share.  I promise to do so soon.

In the mean time, I hope you enjoy this teaser to further entries focusing on Petra and maybe a few clicks to learn more about this truly amazing place.  I also hope to spend more time in Petra to get all the shots I am sure I missed today.

BTW, the shots I have included in this post are simply a random sampling of the photography I took today.  They do not necessarily represent the best, or the most interesting.  They represent a grab bag of the HDR photography that I was able to process in a short time. 

There will be additional posts that focus on non-HDR as well as black and white, people, and other interesting aspects of Petra.

Finally, if there are any Jordanian photographers, or Jordanians just getting into this wonderful art of photography, please contact me.  I would love to spend some time with you.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.
Craig

Fireworks in Aqaba

Just the other night I was sitting on the balcony outside my hotel room in Aqaba Jordan doing exactly what I normally do…smoking a cigar, enjoying a glass of wine and listening to podcasts.  In addition to enjoying my favorite vices, I was doing a little photography. 
Facing my hotel is another hotel with similar balconies angling toward the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea.  I found the view interesting because of the repeating patterns formed by the rooms in addition to the overlaid pattern formed by the guests turning on the balcony lights as they enjoyed the evening – like me.  So the first photograph represents the “why” of having my camera set up in the first place.  The next two photographs are a happy coincidence that resulted from having my tripod and camera in place.

I am not a big fan of fireworks photography, but since the camera was already there, I figured “why not?”  This leads to two points I am obliged to address; 1) why I am not a fan of fireworks photography, and 2) fire works are all about color – why did I decide to process the photography in black and white?
I am not a fan of fireworks photography because of sentiments I hold that are similar to sunset photography (see my post titled “I Don’t Shoot Sunsets (Except in Aqaba Jordan)”)  On one level, I find fireworks photography cliché.  More importantly however is my recognition that getting fireworks photography “right” is a very difficult thing.  In addition to the obvious challenges with timing and exposure, fireworks are just big flashy bangs unless they are set within an interesting context that gives them a sense of purpose and scale.

The two photographs shown here are essentially the same composition, but I think they clearly show the point I was making (I am not suggesting these are particularly noteworthy fireworks photographs, but they are illustrative).  If you accept my premise that a happy snap of an exploding rocket in the middle of a black sky is not particularly compelling, you can see how composition and other elements of interest make these two photographs much more interesting.  Adding interest to this composition, one could consider the following as contributors;

• the fireworks are off-center on the third
• there are the equivalent of two horizons at roughly the bottom 1/3 and top 1/3 formed by the upper limit of the Aqaba city lights and the top of the mountains in the background
• the flag pole on the right flying the flag of Jordan draws your eye through the photograph to the right
• the repeating patterns of the hotel rooms on the left with the single balcony light energized draw the eye through the left of the frame.

I hope you enjoyed my happy coincidence.  Oh, and by the way, regarding the second question of “why black and white fireworks photography?”  The answer is simple – I was more attracted to the black and white version that accented the silhouette of the mountains.  In the end, it really helps if you enjoy your final product.  So processing choices should be something that leads you to an appreciation of the photograph even if you cannot articulate a reason other than “I like it.”
Have fun and go make some great photography!
Craig

Archeology in Aqaba

Of the many unique and interesting things in Aqaba Jordan are the many archeology sites.  I have not had the opportunity to find out more about these sites and their significance, but hope to do so in the future.  A couple of photographs from these sites are featured in this post.
From a photographic standpoint there are two elements of these photographs  worthy of some discussion.  First, both of these photographs are high dynamic range (HDR – type HDR into the search bar above to find more of my entries discussing HDR).  This fact is of little consequence, but worth observing is that one of the shots is color and the other black and white.  The relevant point is that HDR works equally well in color and black and white even though nearly all of the HDR photography you will find as you browse the web are in color.

The second noteworthy point is the light – the most important component to any photograph.   Questions to ask when viewing or composing a photo include

1. What is the source of the light?
2. Where is the light coming from?
3. What kind of light is it?
4. Was all natural light used, or were there lighting supplements (strobes, lights, reflectors, etc.)
5. What is the quality of the light (harsh, soft, toned, etc.)
6. And on, and on.

In the case of each of these photographs, the light was sunlight within one hour of sunset…very low on the horizon resulting in soft light and long shadows.  The light in the color photograph came from my left, while the black and white photograph was composed with the sun in the upper right corner of the frame.  You can use the light in many creative ways, but first you have to “become one with the light” so you can use it to your advantage.
Have fun, and go make some great photography.
Craig

Aqaba – A Visual Buffet

In my last post “I Don’t Shoot Sunsets (Except in Aqaba Jordan)” I featured a few photographs of the beautiful winter sunsets in Aqaba Jordan.  According to EsTeh who posted a comment about the last entry, winter sunsets in Aqaba are particularly nice because it is the time of year when clouds are likely to be present (you can read more about Aqaba at EsTeh’s web site “Your Guide to Aqaba Jordan”).

In this post, I am featuring a few more shots from Aqaba that demonstrate a small portion of the visual diversity of the city - ranging from a really cool and immense bar at the Intercontinental hotel, one of the many Carriages that roam the streets of Aqaba, and a lonely tree on the hillside (yes, this is in the city of Aqaba…it’s all about where you point the camera!).

I have a few more photographs of Aqaba I will post soon.  I still have not had the opportunity to dedicate much time to photography in Aqaba, but I am sure that will be remedied sometime soon.
Have fun and go make some great photography.
Craig

I Don’t Shoot Sunsets (Except in Aqaba Jordan)

I don’t shoot sunsets.  While beautiful to watch, I find them completely uninteresting as photographs.  To make things worse, it is inevitable that your friends reliably reserve three obligatory categories of snapshots they feel duty bound to show you - their children, their dog, and the sunset from their last vacation.  And to make things worse, these sunset shots generally lack any sense of composition, no sense of scale (something else of interest in the photograph), and amount to little more than a gradient of pretty colors.

Having just completely trashed the lifework of my mother who has dedicated her complete artistic self to capturing sunsets from every vacation she has ever taken, I will now take a contrary position.  Given my disdain for the cliché of a sunset photograph, the obvious challenge is “how does one make a sunset interesting as a photograph?”

This week I was forced into trying to make a sunset interesting.  I am now in Aqaba Jordan.  From what I have seen, Aqaba is a beautiful place filled with extremely nice and helpful people.  However, I have been working sufficiently long hours that my opportunities for photography have been limited.  I was a able to escape momentarily with camera and tripod for a few shots; mostly around the Intercontinental Hotel where I am staying, and therefore these sunset photographs.
I hope you find them a bit more interesting than the dreaded vacation sunset photograph.  For all of the habitual sunset shooters out there, please accept my apologies.
Standby for more from Aqaba.
Have fun and go make some great photography.
Craig