Light Stalking » Random

Creating Awareness Through Photography

Toad Hollow Photography — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:09:15 +0000

For decades the Kinsol Trestle sat deep in the heart of the Cowichan Valley, with the only sound near it being that of the occasional bird, bear or arsonist. As things stand today, it has become one of the iconic places to visit on Vancouver Island and hundreds of people make the journey every weekend deep into the woods to see this marvel of engineering from 100 years ago.

After having withstood several fires, storms and other events, this bridge was almost entirely razed and left forgotten. Except for the work of local enthusiasts who saw value in restoring and maintaining this structure as an important piece of history that should be preserved for future generations. Over $7M and was spent and years of work completed to finally restore this bridge and open it to the public again.

Now, this bridge serves as a link to our past, and is now also one of the more frequently photographed artifacts on Vancouver Island. Widely considered to be the largest free standing wood structure in North America, and perhaps even the world, this iconic structure is both beautiful and amazing to behold, considering the engineering and effort that went into it’s original design and construction… almost 100 years ago.

There are many different types and styles of photography, and many of us like to document and capture our artifacts, buildings and landscapes the way they sit today. Many of us use our photography as a means to create art using it to make and share our personal vision of the world around us. At Toad Hollow, we try to bridge these two ideas into one to some degree. We try to create fine art out of our documentation process.

I don’t believe that our photoblog post “A Bridge Of Hope” was directly or indirectly involved in this new rush of interest in the bridge. But, I do know our blog has been hit hundreds of times and we have interacted with new folks who have discovered our post and reached out to us to discuss it.

The Bear Mountain development project is another example of this. Full of controversy in our area due to ongoing legal questions and battles over the finances of this development, this project is something that is on pretty much everyone’s radar here on Vancouver Island. We wrote an entire photoblog series discussing this development starting with “I Really DO Have A Bridge For Sale”. Again, many people who had no idea about the story behind this community were made aware of this through the work of local photographers and people who care about our community as a whole.

One of the keys behind facilitating change in our world is the spreading of awareness. Without this, people are unfamiliar with the topic and are not in a position to force change. In many cases, the act of making a group aware of a situation is the first step.

We also did a series on a local school that had been closed for several years. Our blog post “The Playground Children Forgot” was well received and through the act of photographing and writing about the facility, suddenly a group of local folks came forward and contacted us. They were excited to see the way we documented the current state of the facility, but were also very excited to share the pending plans and to have us come back and do some more photography sessions as the re-planning and refurbishment phase gets underway. By doing a series on the school, we were made aware of a larger group of caring people who were determined to save the school and the intrinsic history it has, and to show the world it’s new face.

This weekend we’ve been invited back to an open house. I am hopeful that we will capture some images of the facility and write up another blog post, this time it will be one full of hope for the future.

The real lesson we’ve come away from these experiences with is that photography can foster awareness. Both outwards, to a community at large, and also inwards, towards ourselves as artists as people see our art and interact with it and us.

Awareness can begin at the tip of your lens. From there, the network has no limits, no bounds. The challenge, then, for us all as photographers is to get out there and create this awareness through the act of creating art. In some ways, it is a call to arms. And at no time in history has this been more possible or potentially far-reaching. Modern tools and techniques exist to make this as easy as making the first step… the pressing of the shutter.

Toad Hollow Photography is a fine art photography company based on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada that specializes in HDR photography. Focused on architecture, landscapes and artifacts of historical value, Toad Hollow also writes a lively blog discussing these topics. Please feel free to visit the Toads gallery of fine art and follow them on Twitter.

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

7 Obnoxious Things People Believe About Photographers

Light Stalking — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 02:33:12 +0000

Working in the photography industry is a fantastic gig – there’s no denying it. Something about being around creative people and being able to be creative yourself is just unmatchable. But sometimes, it’s obviously difficult for others to realise that a photographer is a professional too and deserves professional respect. Here are a few common situations when that can be a little irritating for a photographer.

Photographer, Camera and Tripod: Shadow Self Portrait, Spirit Within by Dominic’s pics, on Flickr

Friends Will Work for Free – The ridiculousness of asking your accountant friend to do your tax for you for free is readily apparent to most people. So is getting your dentist friend to do a bit of free root canal work. For some reason, that doesn’t extend to photographers. This one seems to be unique to photographers too.

Better Equipment Means Better Photographs – When a painter comes up with a fantastic painting, do you say, “Wow, you must have a great brush and paints!” This is a pet irritation of a lot of photographers. If you really think that it takes an expensive rig to take a great photograph, then you need to check out what can be done with the humble iPhone.

My Brother Can Shoot the Wedding – Well, your brother probably can take photographs at the wedding. Just like he can do your tax. Or fix your car. Of course if you want your car to keep going, or avoid getting slammed by the IRS, then you might like to get a professional to look at your tax return and car. Just like you might like to check out some professionals if you want good wedding photographs.

They Have No Right to Shoot X – The truth is that if a photographer is in a public space in most western countries then they can shoot just about anything. That includes you, security guards, police, children, your house – anything. If they are on private property, then it’s different, but in public there is usually no legal expectation of privacy. (Check the laws in your own country for specifics). That’s not to say they shouldn’t be polite, but rights are a whole different issue to manners.

If It’s a Striking Photograph, It Must be Photoshopped – A talented photographer knows that getting an image right “in camera” is the best way to end up with a great result. Many are actually very good at it and get stunning images before they get anywhere near a computer. That is what makes them good at their craft. That is why they study. That is why they practice.

They’ll Be Grateful for the Work and Work Cheap – This one again goes back to professional respect. You don’t ask your dentist for a discount. You don’t ask your child’s teacher to throw in Maths and Science, but don’t charge you for geography. You don’t ask your waiter to throw in dessert for free. So don’t do this to a photographer. If you cannot pay for the service, then don’t ask for it.

I Know a Guy Who Can Do It Much Cheaper – Yes, yes, everybody knows a friend of a friend who can do the photography job for a third of the cost. The kicker is that a photography business is an expensive one to run and you get what you pay for. If you’re happy enough to risk your cheap shooter, then go for it. Just don’t use it as a cheap bargaining ploy when you’re talking to a professional.

Here’s a great little video that we found on John Dowling’s photography blog that you might like to watch so you can really see the ridiculousness of some of these situations.

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

Photography Books Everyone Seems to Love Right Now

Light Stalking — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 04:34:49 +0000

Every now and then, we like to find out what people like in the world of photography by looking at what they are actually buying. This is often as simple as going over to the Amazon best seller list. In the world of photography, Scott Kelby is having a very good (and well deserved) run with his books. Here are the others that folks are taking a shine to. What photography book have you purchased lately? Let us know in the comments!

Title: Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It: Learn Step by Step How to Go from Empty Studio to Finished Image
Author: Scott Kelby
Blurb: You see everything from the complete lighting setup (and all the gear used), to the shoot (including all the camera settings and a contact sheet of the progression of the shoot), to the all-important part that most books don’t dare include—the post-processing and retouching in Photoshop. This book also breaks new ground in the visual way it teaches you the lighting setup. There aren’t any sketches or 3D models—you see the lighting layout in a full-page photo, taken from above during the live shoot, so you can see exactly where everything’s positioned (the subject, the photographer, the lighting, the background—you name it—you see it all). Plus, you’ll see side, over-the-shoulder, and more behind-the-scenes views, so you can absolutely nail the lighting every time.

You’ll learn:

The step-by-step layouts for creating the most-requested and sought-after lighting looks
How to get more out of one light than you ever thought you could (this is worth it alone!)
How to control and shape your light without breaking the bank
The camera settings, gear, and power settings for every shot
The retouching techniques the pros really use to make their subjects look their very best
How to retouch hair, eyes, lips, skin, and lots of other little retouching tricks that make a really big difference
How to create high-contrast portrait effects without buying expensive plug-ins
A host of insider tricks, invaluable shortcuts, and kick-butt special effects to give you a real advantage over the competition

Title: Photoshop Compositing Secrets: Unlocking the Key to Perfect Selections and Amazing Photoshop Effects for Totally Realistic Composites
Author: Matt Kloskowski
Blurb: In Photoshop Compositing Secrets, Matt Kloskowski takes you through the entire process behind creating convincing, well-executed, and captivating composites. You’ll see how to create images that run the gamut from real-world portraits for corporate, graduation, or group photos to sports portraits, templates, and collages, and even the surreal, dramatic composites that clients clamour for.

You’ll learn:

One of the most important secrets to compositing: how to master selections in Photoshop (yes, even wispy hair),
What background color, and camera and lighting setups work best for compositing,
How to move a subject from one background to another, and the Photoshop lighting and shadowing techniques to make it look real,
And all the Photoshop tips, tricks, and special effects you need to pull off a convincing, professional composite.

Title: The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression
Author: Bruce Barnbaum
Blurb: This is an updated and newly revised edition of the classic book The Art of Photography (originally published in 1994), which has often been described as the most readable, understandable, and complete textbook on photography. With well over 100 beautiful photographic illustrations in both black-and-white and color, as well as numerous charts, graphs, and tables, this book presents the world of photography to beginner, intermediate, and advanced photographers seeking to make a personal statement through the medium of photography. Without talking down to anyone, or talking over anyone’s head, Barnbaum presents “how to” techniques for both traditional and digital approaches. Yet he goes well beyond the technical, as he delves deeply into the philosophical, expressive, and creative aspects of photography so often avoided in other books.

Title: Understanding Flash Photography: How to Shoot Great Photographs Using Electronic Flash
Author: Bryan Peterson
Blurb: This guide to on- and off-camera flash picks up where Understanding Exposure leaves off, helping free photographers from the limitations of “auto” to get the images they want when natural light isn’t enough. For the many amateur photographers afraid to venture past natural lighting, here is the book that will finally help them explore the exciting possibilities of artificial light. In his trademark easy-to-understand style, Bryan Peterson explains not only how flash works, but how to go beyond “TTL” automatic flash exposure to master manual flash, allowing readers to control the quality, shape and direction of light for a perfect exposure, every time.

Title: Improve Your Photography: How Budding Photographers Can Get Pro Results [Kindle Edition]
Author: Jim Harmer
Blurb: The book is packed full of quick and easy tips to encourage budding photographers to improve while learning concepts and technical information on photography. Jim explains this book this way, “This is what every photographer needs to know to take clean and stunning photos. If I would have had this book when I started, I would have been two years ahead of everyone else in just 60 pages.”

The book covers topics such as tips for taking better portraits of people, instruction on choosing lenses, tips for landscape and sunset photography, and HDR.
Unlike most photography books that confuse beginning and intermediate photographers with difficult concepts and too much technical data, this book is designed specifically to teach photographers who are just learning how shutter speed, aperture, and ISO work together.

Title: The Photographer’s Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos
Author: Michael Freeman
Blurb: Design is the single most important factor in creating a successful photograph. The ability to see the potential for a strong picture and then organize the graphic elements into an effective, compelling composition has always been one of the key skills in making photographs.

Digital photography has brought a new, exciting aspect to design – first because the instant feedback from a digital camera allows immediate appraisal and improvement; and second because image-editing tools make it possible to alter and enhance the design after the shutter has been pressed. This has had a profound effect on the way digital photographers take pictures.

Title: Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera
Author: Bryan Peterson
Blurb: In his trademark easy-to-understand style, author Bryan Peterson explains the relationship between aperture and shutter speed, including how to achieve successful exposures in seemingly difficult situations. You’ll learn:

Which aperture gives you the greatest contrast and sharpness, and when to use it
Which apertures guarantee the background remains an out-of-focus tone
Which one aperture—when combined with the right lens—creates an area of sharpness from three feet to infinity
How to creatively use shutter speed to either freeze an action or imply motion
Where to take a meter reading when shooting a sunset, snow, or a city at dusk

With new information on white balance, flash, HDR, and more, this updated classic will inspire you to stop guessing and take control of your settings for better photos anytime, anywhere, and with any camera.

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

OPEN QUESTION: How Much Photoshop is Too Much?

Light Stalking — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 00:16:58 +0000

One of the controversial issues in the world of photography is the use (or perceived over-use) of post production editing software like Photoshop.

Many of your will be aware that the UK recently banned L’Oreal’s Lancome and Maybelline brands from showing ads with too much “airbrushing” including one with Julia Roberts and another with Christy Turlington. The argument was that the photoshopped image of Julia gave an unrealistic expectation of the advertised cosmetic products thereby misleading the public. Effectively false advertising.

The UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) was quoted as saying, “On the basis of the evidence we had received we could not conclude that the ad image accurately illustrated what effect the product could achieve, and that the image had not been exaggerated by digital post production techniques.”

The creator of the Campaign for Body Confidence, Jo Swinson said, “This ruling demonstrates that the advertising regulator is acknowledging the dishonest and misleading nature of excessive retouching.”

These are some pretty strongly worded claims.

On the other side of the fence, many people will point out that an image is “processed” as soon as it hits a digital sensor. Photoshop does very little that wasn’t achievable in a traditional darkroom. Anybody who has worked with film will also know that many commercial images shot on film undergo days of darkroom processing before arriving at the final image.

So where should the line be drawn? Was the UK right to ban the Julia Roberts ads? How much Photoshop is too much?

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

37 Websites Every Photographer Should be Reading

Light Stalking — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:44:42 +0000

The amount of amazing photography on the web never ceases to amaze us. There is so much talent and information surrounding the craft that it can be a little overwhelming. That is why we decided to help curate the photography web a little with our own collection of amazing photography sites that we are fans of.

Photography Tutorials

DIY Photography - The place to go if you want to experiment with photography projects and learn how to create your own lighting setups without breaking the bank. Run by Udi Tirosh, this has become one of the coolest blogs around and they even have several guides of their own.

Photo Naturalist – If you’re an outdoor photographer, then you probably already know this one. It has some great guides and tutorials and some very handy ebooks.

Strobist – Still the place to go for learning all about using artificial lighting in your photography.

FStoppers – Simply the best place on the internet for photography videos that take you behind the scenes with the pros.

Fro Knows Photo – Fro has some great videos and the ones on how he edits a particular photo are great. There’s also a pretty active forum that you should check out too.

The Photo Argus – If you’re looking for some pretty cool photography tutorials, then the Photo Argus will probably have you covered. Regularly updated and you might even find a few articles by Light Stalking writer, Christopher O’Donnell.

Digital Photography School - These guys have daily tutorials, reviews and news plus a massive forum. Run by Darren Rowse, it’s definitely a place to stop by on a daily basis.

Cambridge in Colour – This is one of the most comprehensive and useful sites for learning photography on the internet that should be in every photographer’s bookmarks.

Picture Correct – Another great blog with a heap of tutorials that should be in your feed reader.

Tuts Plus – Always very in depth photography tutorials with lots of examples and visual displays. Well worthwhile.

Improve Photography – This is a blog by Jim Harmer who writes some very good tutorials. It’s regularly updated and should be in your bookmarks.

Camera Dojo – Has a heap of tutorials as well as podcasts and product reviews. Get your black belt in photography!?

Photography Blogger – Lots of great collections and tutorials at a consistently high quality.

Photography News

Petapixel – New photography news all the time. A real go-to place if you want to stay up to date with the latest in photography. They also chase down cool videos and practically anything else that happened in the last 24 hours.

This Week in Photo – Just as the title suggests. Worth adding to your RSS reader.

Small Aperture – A regularly updated blog where almost anything photography related will be covered. This one is run by Haje from Photocritic.org who thinks of Small Aperture as ”an outlet for photography… stuff. News, views, and reviews.”

Current Photographer – Trevor Current keeps up to date with just about everything that is happening in the world of photography.

Photo Competitions – Not news as such, but if you want an up to date view of what photography competitions are on, then this is the spot to get it.

The Business of Photography

Photopreneur – These guys come out with regular articles about photography as a business and have several books published about building a photography business that you can buy on Amazon.

Chase Jarvis – It’s hard to know where to categorise this blog because it has a bit of everything. But in the end, it’s the day to day trials of being a professional photographer. Everything from storage problems through to business ideas. Interesting to watch what Chase does, rather than says.

Virtual Photo Studio – Some sound basic advice for photographers who don’t want to starve. These guys are especially good on how photographers should be using the web.

Photo Attorney – Where you need to go if you are looking to learn about photography licensing issues.

Production Stills – The business of photography as it relates to movies and television as well as how to conduct the art. This blog, by Australian photographer, Angus Young details the finer points of getting into this niche of photography.

New Media Photographer – This one is all about using new media as a photographer. Well worth reading if the mysteries of Twitter and Facebook could use some clarification or if you wan to get more out of having an online presence.

Photo Creative 365 – A blog about business ideas for photographers that is updated daily and worth adding to your rss reader.

Photoshelter Blog – Besides having some very cool site design software for photographers, these guys also run a very respectable blog.

Light Stalking Photography Writers

These are the folks who are responsible for most of what you read on Light Stalking. If you enjoy this site, then you’re going to love their own blogs!

Aloha Lavina – Aloha is a commercial and travel photographer based out of Bangkok. She also leads photography workshops there and writes regularly on improving your photography skills.

Christopher O’Donnel – Christopher is a landscape photographer based in Maine. Check out his amazing work.

Mike Panic – Mike is a commercial photographer who has been with us from the very beginning!

Tom Dinning – Tom is a recent addition to our community and spent his career as a professional photographer and photography teacher. These days he is contributing more and more stories to Light Stalking.

Emma Brabrook – Emma is a professional photographer based in Wales. Her esoteric photography blog is well worth a read if you’re into experimenting!

Chase Guttman – Chase is an award winning travel photographer based in New York city. He writes a handy blog with photography tutorials.

Photography Collections

Toad Hollow – The Toad is obsessed with recording disappearing history in his area. This is one of the real strengths of photography and we love that he is invested in the true spirit of photography.

Dominic Boudreault – Worthwhile simply for his amazing time lapse that he made!

Drecart – Some very cool photos (and accompanying blog) out of the beautiful Gold Coast in Australia

Jason Smith Photography – Jason concentrates on outdoor youth culture like skating and surfing… and does it damn well.

North Metro Photo - A daily photo journal around the Twin Cities metro area, Minnesota and beyond

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

Light Stalking’s 10 Most Shared Stories in the Last Month

Light Stalking — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 02:46:45 +0000

It was another huge month for Light Stalking with our photography forum going from strength to strength and our stories being shared far and wide around the internet. These aren’t necessarily our best stories, but they seemed to have really hit a chord with readers.

Our Most Popular Photography Tutorials

How to Photograph Fireworks – No real surprises with this one as the 4th of July celebrations are upon us in America. This tutorial will make sure you don’t come home with a camera full of poor shots.

Shutter Priority Mode: A Beginner’s Guide – Do you really know how to use this function on your DSLR? This guide will make sure you’re up to speed.

Aperture Priority Mode: A Beginner’s Guide – Another beginner’s guide that will make sure you know all about this function on your camera and how you can use it to get better shots.

The Truth About Converging Verticals in Architecture Photography – This article was picked up and shared by Scott Kelby (Editor of Layers Magazine and President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals) who called it the “Best article on photographing buildings I’ve read in a while. It will make some people mad, but it made me very happy!” which is a nice prop for Light Stalking.

Great Free Online Photography Resources

8 Cool Photoshop Blogs – This post was picked up by the guy’s at Adobe who shared it on their official Facebook wall as well as their Twitter feed. You should add these blogs to your daily reading.

Free Photoshop and Lightroom Plugins – 10 Places to get more great plugins for free. These resources are always popular and these great sites deserve a spot in your bookmarks.

7 Sites to Sell Your Stock Photography – This is a list of places you might want to add to your bookmarks if you plan to make a little money in the micro stock industry.

Incredibly Popular Photography Collections

Uplifting Photos of Hot Air Balloons – Some incredible landscapes punctuatued by the elegance and colour of hot air balloons. Other shots fill the frame. All of them are great shots.

33 Moody Black and White Trees – Our black and white collections are always very popular and this one was no exception. Applying skill in shooting and post production to a common object can still result in some incredible photographs.

37 Mouth-Watering Coffee Photos – It was never going to be difficult to guess that Light Stalking readers were all caffeine addicts and the popularity of this post served to confirm that for us.

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

Landscape Photography Competition: And the Winners Are…

Light Stalking — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:09:43 +0000

We have just received word of the winners of the Landscape Photography competition from judge, Harold Davis. Here is what he had to say:

Judging the landscape photography contest organized by Light Stalking has proved to be no easy task due to the formidable quality of the entries. The winning three photographers were to receive a copy of my Creative Landscapes: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques courtesy of the publisher, Wiley Publishing.

In reviewing the massive numbers of images submitted, I looked at the photos with creativity, technical qualities including exposure and composition, uniqueness, originality, and interest of the landscape as the judging criteria. Over a period of several days I was able to whittle the original entries down to 45 images in the following three Flickr galleries (the reason for three galleries is that there is a maximum of 18 images per gallery on Flickr):

If you look through these galleries, you’ll see that I had quite a task to pick the final winners. Obviously, it is to some extent subjective. In any case, here (in no particular order) are my three winners, and some of the reasons I chose them from this extraordinary pool of imagery.

Chris Gin’s Relics. Chris is a New Zealand photographer who is particularly skillful with seascapes. What I like most about Relics is the evocative and unusual shapes of the driftwood on the beach, and the dramatic lighting as well as the overall clarity of the image.

Helminadia’s Cape Kiwanda. Helminadia says that she is not a “professional photographer. I just enjoyed traveling around, seeing different countries and places and taking photos with families or friends. Photography is always an amazing hobby!” In pursuit of her hobby, Helminadia has photographed around the world in places as diverse as California, Bali, Qatar, and Indonesia.

Cape Kiwanda was shot along the Oregon coast on the second of two visits: “The first time I did not get any shots from there because of the Tsunami warning. So I went back, and I was so lucky, because just after the rain the light was so beautiful.”

I am awarding one of the prizes to this image because of the lovely light, and because of the perfect rendering of the surf in partial time-lapse due to the 1/2 second shutter speed.

The panorama Brighton by Bryce Hughes is my third choice. This wonderful image has it all: technical chops as a panorama, great composition and cropping, and very nice saturated colors. Most of all, it is both humorous and tells a story about human foibles, as each beach cabana is decorated differently, reflecting the tastes of the different owners.

Thanks everyone for submitting your wonderful landscapes to this competition!

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

The 45 Landscape Photography Competition Finalists

Light Stalking — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 04:44:53 +0000

Well the Landscape photography competition has closed and now the judge, Harold Davis has been locked in a dark and gloomy room, cut off from the world while he makes his final decision on which photographs will make it into the top 3.

Of course, the top 3 entries will get a copy of Harold’s latest book, Creative Landscapes which is already going wild on Amazon with an average customer review of 5 stars!

Before we locked him away, we received this email from Harold:

There were 366 images in the Light Stalking group tagged for the competition, many of them extremely strong, so judging them turns out to be no trivial task. You’ve got quite a group of photographers following LightStalking!

I looked at the photos with creativity, technical qualities including exposure and composition, uniqueness, originality, and interest of the landscape as the judging criteria. At this point, I have whittled the original entries down to 45 images in the following three Flickr galleries. (The reason for three galleries is that there is a maximum of 18 images per gallery on Flickr.)

I will pick the three top images (in my opinion) from these galleries by the end of the week, along with an explanation of my choices. Of course, I think all these images are very strong.

In the meantime, perhaps you’d like to point people to the galleries? Only an idea. I think many of these photos are quite wonderful.

Very best wishes in photography,

Harold

Why not head over to the galleries and get loud in the comments? Harold might need a little help!

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

What You Missed This Week

Light Stalking — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 00:30:06 +0000

As you’re aware Light Stalking has a thriving community happening right here on the site and every week we’re astounded at what they come up with in terms of both great photography and incredible advice and tips. If you’re not already part of the fray, then jump in and register.

If you haven’t seen it yet, the activity stream now allows members to post photos, video and interesting links that they find around the web. Why not try it out by posting links to your latest blog post?

What’s Happening in the Forums

The forum has been busy with great photography this week. Here are some of our favourite threads.

The Architecture of Alcala – An incredible collection that founding member, Astaroth was kind enough to share with us. Well worth checking out and you can see more at his photography journal online.

Eeenie, Meenie, Minie Mo – An interesting collection of infrared portraits from member, Even1ingstar. You can see more of her amazing infrareds on Flickr.

The King’s Bedchamber – These are some great HDR interior shots from member, Toadhollow, who usually loves to document and share the urban decay and buildings pending demolition in his home area of Canada. You can see more of his photos at the Toad’s website.

Maintaining Detail in RAW Converted to JPG – A good discussion on a technical issue that has a lot of people stumped.

Abstract Photography (Awesome Images) – We haven’t really covered much in the way of Abstract here on Light Stalking. So our members decided to rectify that with some great photos and discussion of their own.

Photo of the Week

Each week, Tom Dinning selects the Light Stalking photo of the week. Most weeks he can keep it to only one and this week the winner was this fantastic portrait from member FishToy (Lucas Araujo). You can see more of Fishtoy’s great photography at his Flickr account.

Interesting Photography Links from Members

Are Your Photographs Saying What You Want Them To? (from Dru Stefan)
Stunning Photographs of Fog (from member, Tim McMurdo)
Father’s Day Photographs – (A great collection by member and author, Chase Guttman)

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

Landscape Photography Competition!

Light Stalking — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 03:53:07 +0000

It’s time for another competition! We had been thinking of it for a while and quite by chance, friend of Light Stalking and prolific photography author, Harold Davis dropped us a line about his new book, Creative Landscapes. Well then he and his publisher thought it might be a good idea to give away some copies and at almost the same time, Wanda from the My Winners group over at Flickr told us that it’s time we had a competition. So we got the message and that’s what we’re doing!

So What’s the Prize?

The top three entries will receive a copy of Creative Landscapes: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques by Harold Davis.

Harold is a hugely prolific photographic writer and author of more than 30 books and countless articles. You can find some of his very helpful ideas over at www.photo.net where he writes regularly and you should check out his personal site too for some cool photography stuff.

What Do You Have to Do?

We’re going to be using Flickr for this one.

Step 1) Log into your Flickr account.

Step 2) Upload your best landscape shot and tag it with “lsclcomp“

Step 3) Join the Light Stalking Flickr Group.

Step 4) Add that photo to the group pool.

That’s it! Just remember that you can only post one photo per day to the group pool so make sure you get out of the gates with a good one!

The competition will run until next Wednesday June 22 at Midday GMT and the top 3 entries will be judged by Harold Davis!

Good Luck!

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.