32 Links to the Most Amazing Photography Articles and Photos From Around the Web

As another terrific week in the photography world passes us by, we find Toad Hollow Photography searching points high and low online for links to the best resources to share here with everyone.  This week's list features a comprehensive set of links to tutorials, special features, great photography and a set of really interesting blog posts.  We hope you enjoy perusing this list as much as the Toad himself did in bringing this week's list to you.

TUTORIALS

Back Lighting: Shooting and Editing – this is a terrific and well-detailed tutorial that takes you through the key points and considerations when trying to take advantage of wonderful back lighting in photography. Ben Sasso does a great job of explaining the main concepts behind this technique and shares a set of terrific sample photos to really illustrate the key points.

Studio 101: Using Lightbanks – a short but highly informative piece from Joe Farace discusses lightbanks, or otherwise sometimes referred to as soft boxes. Joe includes a pair of great shots in this post to show you visually the wonderful effect you can achieve by using these light modifiers.

Simple Tutorial to Understand Curves in Photoshop & Camera Raw – this is an extremely interesting video tutorial, showing you how to effectively use curves in post-processing to manage shadows and highlights. This simple video shows you the various ways to use this tool and discusses how and when to apply the adjustments.

Don’t Have a Polarizer? This Tutorial Just Might Convince You to Get One – some of the mysteries of using polarizing filters in the field are revealed in this really in-depth 10 minute video tutorial. All aspects of these filters are covered in this guide, including application, caveats and how they work, making this a very informative and interesting presentation to watch in this weeks list.

SPECIAL FEATURES

The July 3rd, 2014 Phoenix Haboob | Phoenix Dust Storm Rolls Through Valley of the Sun – I believe we are featuring two presentations by two storm photographers of the same event, or at least very closely related. These incredible dust storms, known as Haboobs, sometimes occur in the Phoenix area, and photographers Mike Olbinski and Chris Frailey are frequently found it in the thick of things trying to capture time lapse videos and still images. These two posts feature both a time lapse video of the storm rolling in as well as single photographs.

Haunting Photographs of the Siberian City of Norilsk Contrast Colorful Architecture with Devastating Industrial Pollution – join Russian photographer Slava Stepanov, known as “Gelio”, as he explores what once was a city built as a gulag and today remains an active mining city. A combination of patterns and shapes from the square architectural features of the city combines with the surrounding harsh landscapes to cast eery and dramatic subjects for Gelio to capture and share.

Budd Inlet and Washington capitol building in IR time lapse – Scott Wood delivers another of his terrific Infrared presentations, this time creating a time lapse video he captured using his IR converted camera. The results are quite astounding, presented in roughly 27 seconds of video created from a series of photographs captured at Budd Inlet in Olympia.

Von Wong's Incredible Underwater Photo Shoot Part II: How He Did It – when it comes to epic photoshoots, the resulting pictures are just the finished goal, it’s all the moving parts behind the scenes that need to come together to even make it remotely possible. This terrific video presentation takes us behind-the-scenes to see the intricate workings of a great shoot that found Benjamin Von Wong shooting ethereal models amongst the shipwrecks of Bali.

Nat Geo Photographer Takes You Along on a Dive with Massive Goliath Groupers – huge Goliath Groupers are found and captured in this stunning video presentation from photographer David Doubilet on assignment for National Geographic. The ability to watch these ancient fish roaming about shipwrecks off the coast of Florida in their natural habitat is definitely something you won’t want to miss.

St. Michael and All Angels – this post features one of our heritage churches here on Vancouver Island we were recently invited to visit and photograph. Join us as we continue our long-running photography project dubbed “The Anglican Church Project” where we find ourselves visiting all the Anglican churches here on Vancouver Island photographing them completely inside and out, and sharing stories of their rich histories and meaning to our communities. A special feature from yours truly, Toad Hollow Photography.

GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY

Wallace Island Marine Park, British Columbia – the unmistakable beauty and presence of the Canadian west coast comes to life in this simply wonderful post by Anne McKinnell. Anne finds herself on one of our outlying islands on the coast and shares a great series of photographs that do a terrific job of showing off both the natural beauty of the area, as well as the character and spirit of those who live and visit here.

Manhattan Views – in what surely amounts to a postcard view, Rick Louie shares a great shot of the cityscape of NY as the blue hour nears it’s end for the day. The lovely blue hues in the sky work in harmony with the twinkling lights of the city’s buildings to create a picture full of raw romance and artistic tension.

Stave church in Heddal – the old Stave churches found in Europe make for some of the best photography subjects, in my humble opinion. Full of intrinsic character, great details and old construction techniques, these grand facilities create dramatic scenes that are often magical in nature, as evidenced by this great shot from Florencio Barroso.

Upwaltham Church in the South Downs National Park | “The Church in the field” – Barry Turner delivers a wonderful pair of photographs depicting a church that is around 900 years old. Sitting in a field in England, today this church creates a terrific subject, surrounded by the natural rolling hills and inherent beauty of the English countryside.

Broken Bow – a stunning image captured by Gregory Käser during a rather nasty storm event finds us facing down a massive rotating storm cloud that is shooting lightning bolts out in every direction. This is an extremely dramatic and compelling image, showcasing the fury and natural tension that can only be found in nature.

Oh What a Beautiful Morning – Banff National Park – Len Saltiel takes us back to the Canadian Rockies with this panorama shot that features a truly breathtaking vista. The still waters of the lake in the foreground cast a near perfect mirrored reflection, showcasing the grandeur and natural beauty that the Rockies are world-famous for.

Abbadia – for the fan of geometry and patterns, this shot is sure to please! Alexandre Minard explores a staircase that is likely several hundred years old in this photograph, created using a helicoid design and resulting in a striking and dramatic image to view and enjoy.

Sometimes the light – Melinda Green Harvey explores the inside of an empty building in Marfa, Texas at just the right moment to capture beautiful natural light streaming in from the windows. Melinda’s application of black-and-white for this photograph creates the perfect touch of drama to accent the inherent artistic tension found within the composition.

Symphony of Lines – lights, shadow, geometry all converge in this intense study of lines and lighting from Roland Shainidze. The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada is home to both great artifacts as well as terrific architecture designed to play with and expose certain artistic elements of the natural world and the items displayed.

Hotel De L’Europe Amsterdam – classic architectural details find harmony in the canal setting of Amsterdam in this wonderful photograph by Barbara Youngleson. A lovely boat with wood accents and trim sits in the foreground of the scene, adding a perfect element to the setting.

Selfie – in an day-and-age when selfies are becoming part of the common vernacular, it’s still surprising to learn about some folks who are doing it, and why. Take this wonderful Burrowing Owl as an example, if you will, as it stares down a GoPro camera in the field in an effort to get found on Instagram. A terrific photograph from Megan Lorenz.

Lily Pads – Andy Hooker (LensScaper) shares a great set of photos taken lakeside in Wales. Abandoned cottages pepper the shores as Andy makes his way around photographing the about-to-bloom lily pads floating alongside the shores.

Lighthouse in Storm – this powerful photograph showcases the fury and strength of weather events as a brutal storm pounds on a lighthouse. Rui de Sousa’s terrific composition takes advantage of waves as they whip up and around the lighthouse as it stands sentry against the onslaught of weather.

In the Still of the Night – a lovely old wooden covered bridge sits under a blanket of vibrant stars in this lovely shot by Jessica Hendelman. This compelling photograph takes on a distinctly classic feel to it, making it an instant favorite.

Trailer Park View – stunning details in the gorgeous Canadian Rockies are explored in this must-see shot from Len Saltiel. The majestic snow-peaked mountains in the distance showcase the incredible scale of this natural park, and Len’s wonderful composition takes advantage of a meandering river to create a perfect natural leading line into the frame.

*** – a pathway leads the viewer into the heart of this frame where discovery begins. The wonderful vanishing point created by the meandering path finds further interest in how the creepy tree forms create a distinctive frame for the overall scene in this photo by Luis Valadares.

Summer Svartifoss – a commanding presence is found in this epic waterfall scene captured in Iceland by Coolbiere. A. Crisp details in the landscape that surrounds the falls work in tandem with the wonderful natural elements in the picture to deliver a truly dramatic piece.

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church – our love for old, classic, heritage churches unearths a post featuring a historic Carpenter Gothic church located in Florida. Ron does a terrific job of exploring the inside and out of this historic building, capturing all the finer details of the architectural stylings as well as the fine adornments that comprise the spirit and character of this spellbinding facility.

Little Owl in the rain – to me Burrowing Owls are some of the cutest and best subjects to capture in photography. They are full of character and when the timing is right they do a great job of sharing their spirit and personality with the camera. This is a great shot of one such little bird standing atop a post in the teeming rain, by Dean Mason.

INTERESTING BLOGS

Getting Started with Infrared Photography – Joe Farace shares a pair of shots and discusses the two primary tools that one can use to step into the wonderful world of Infrared (IR) photography. By capturing a different light spectrum, scenes that are somewhat typical on a normal day take on a completely different look and feel in the IR world.

Let Me Know When You See Fire: What a Video Shot at 1000 FPS Looks Like in 4K – simply put, this is awesome! Incredible details merge with epic forces of fire in this high quality video shot at high frame rates for slow motion playback, resulting in a piece that is truly amazing to see.

The changing face of HDR photography – Jim Nix writes a terrific article on the morphing that is occurring in the world of what many refer to as HDR photography. No matter what your experience or opinion is on the topic, and everyone has an opinion, this article is sure to answer some of the questions you might find yourself asking when considering this form of art.