You Don’t Want to Miss These Great Photography Tutorials and Links

This weeks list of photography links focuses on great photography and unique video presentations featuring time lapse pieces and a super high speed camera built in the sixties that allows for a slow motion look at certain events.  The links of images feature some of the very best photographs found during the week as Toad Hollow Photography looks high and low for the very best content to share here.  We really hope you enjoy checking out this list as much as the Toad did in bringing it to you.

Good morning San Francisco! by PeterThoeny, on Flickr

TUTORIALS

How To “Read” Light In Photography – Part 2 – this detailed tutorial is the second part to a series that discusses lighting in photography.  Artificial lighting can be daunting for some photographers to tackle to achieve the desired results, and this in-depth piece is sure to remove some of the mystery behind this practice.

GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY

“Boats” Inland Sea Sunset – my good friend Howard Jackman takes us along on a terrific exploration he had with his family recently.  The Great Salt Lake in Utah creates a perfect photography subject for Howard to capture as he comes away with a wonderful series of images featuring rich and deep contrasts, wonderful reflections and beautiful colors in the sky from the fading light of day.

0635 am daily delivery by <rs> snaps, on Flickr

Lightning Farm – as photographers we all yearn for a farm that organically creates the scenes we crave to shoot.  Scott Wood finds a great farm in Arizona that seems to breed incredibly dramatic lightning strikes, which Scott just happens to be near to with his camera.  Great details in the tendrils from the strike gently illuminate the surroundings, making for a breathtaking shot to visit and enjoy.

Sunbeams in the Grand Canyon – Chris Frailey’s shot captured in the Grand Canyon showcases the incredible drama found in the landscape of this landmark.  Chris processes this shot as a black-and-white to really highlight the epic landscape and light as it crosses the vast canyon and dances wonderful light against the canyon walls.

Fairy Pools – a lovely Scottish landscape is forever preserved in this wonderful photograph by Karl Williams.  Snow covered peaks in the background create rivers that gently make their way down the hills until they become gorgeous waterfalls.  Wonderful details in the surroundings work in perfect harmony with the feeling from the long exposure that turns the water into a smooth layer in this fabulous shot.

Stranded – a haunting scene awaits the viewer in this shot that features a stranded ship off the coast of Durban in South Africa.  Andrew Main creates a composition that finds an extra element of wonder to it with a small reflection of the bow of the boat reflected back to the viewer from a small pool of still water on the shore.  Powerful colors in the early morning sky and great details in the patina from the weathering add the perfect touch.

Time Well Spent – Rachel Cohen captures a fabulous shot in the Shenandoah National Park and shares it on her blog.  Lovely gentle light dapples the landscape as a person sits on a bench taking it all in, which adds the perfect touch of artistic tension to this peaceful and inviting scene.

Yelwanti River by ramnath bhat, on Flickr

Old Barn – great details and textures are explored in this pair of shots posted on Rich McPeek’s blog.  Barns are full of terrific character and make for some of the very best in photography subjects.  Rich and his daughter Hannah share their personal interpretations of the location, delivering a pair of shots of this old barn that do the entire scene justice.

Climbing to New Heights: Fearless Rock Climbers – this post features a collection of photographs featuring people hanging off the side of perfectly good mountains.  Without the fear of some imminent catastrophe there’s no way you’d catch me doing this, but I do admire the courage these folks seem to have.

Bobbio double face – a lovely Italian scene comes to life in this shot taken at night that features a stone bridge that leads the viewer gently into the frame where off in the far distance we find dramatic architecture sticking up above the tree line.  Wonderful tones and rich contrasts finish the scene with great elements, as seen and captured here by Umberto Moroni.

Path with problems – a dramatic and profound scene captured by Leif Løndal finds us inside a cement tunnel at night as a solitary man sits in the shadows with his head in his hands.  The harsh surroundings created by the cement structure add great drama to a scene the literally defines the term artistic tension.

White… – Sherry Galey shares a great shot of her dog, captured with a terrific composition that really accents it’s personality and character.  The shot is comprised of predominantly white tones, with just the perfect amount of contrast in just the right places to really make the wonderful dog pop right out of the monitor at the viewer.

Butterfly – fabulous details in a beautiful butterfly are explored in this shot posted by Jaek Song.  The narrow depth of focus that Jaek used to capture this shot does a great job of both isolating the butterfly from it’s backdrop, as well as creating absolutely delicious bokeh to add a great element of interest to the picture.

The Little Things – this post shares a pair of shots featuring what is believed to be Western Tiger Swallowtails, posted here by local photographer Laurie MacBride.  Laurie finds these wonderful creatures in her garden and grabs these shots the show off their inherent beauty in natural settings.

Les marches suspendues du Phare de l'Île Vierge – Plouguerneau – Finistère by y.caradec, on Flickr

Boomer – a tiny town situated on the side of a hill in West Virginia comes to life in this photograph by Mike Lilly.  This shot is full of details and character, and really delivers more to the viewer who spends some time taking it all in.  This picture is a great example of smalltown America, and the fabulous spirit and personality of the community as a whole.

St. Francis Cathedral, Santa Fe – Jim Nix shares an interior architectural study of St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe, NM.  The beautiful colors, tones and details found inside this great old building really accents the talent of the artists who designed and created the church, showcasing the style and grandeur.

Sydney Harbour reflections – a stunning look at this incredible city from across a fairly still body of water really delivers the epic nature of the architecture to the viewer, and does so with a fabulous mirror-like reflection.  Rene Kisselbach captures a shot here full of details and tones sure to be enjoyed by everyone who likes rich cityscape scenes.

Premetro – an incredible series of photographs taken inside an abandoned series of tunnels destined to become part of a new subway system in the future.  These shots really display great shapes and light, creating a study of both mankinds engineering feats as well as almost abstract studies of various patterns and geometric shapes.

He’s So Shy – a great macro close-up shot of a Carolina Anole sitting on a blade of lemongrass, as captured and shared here by Rob Hanson.  Incredible composition, lighting and processing converge in this picture to really create something special, guiding the viewer right into the heart of the frame and allowing you to enjoy the incredible details in the little lizard that Rob has captured.

A dance at sunset – this amazing shot from Mike Olbinski is created in a panoramic format, focusing on the inherent and intricate beauty found in multiple lightning strikes.  As the sun is almost completely gone, the remains of color create a delicate band in the sky that works wonderfully in conjunction with the colors and tones created from the lightning itself.

A familiar silhouette – Andy Hooker (LensScaper) shares a pair of shots that share the diversity of two interpretations of the same view.  The Allalinhorn mountain range is captured in a piece of glass etched with it’s distinctive silhouette and then Andy also shares a photograph of the actual mountain, instantly showing off how silhouettes can become recognizable vignettes of specific features.

Petunia by Salmando, on Flickr

Under the Bridge – Constantine – this shot features one of the most amazing architectural features ever, a concrete span that covers the Rhumel River gorge in an amazing way.  Hamza Filali includes some of the surroundings in his composition, giving a sense of context to this incredible structure.

Natural Lightshow – streaming light takes on an almost liquid form in this wonderful landscape piece by Jan Geerk.  The sun is very low on the horizon here, creating long and dramatic shadows and playing off the low-lying fog to create an image that takes on an almost special effect.

St Mary's Fawkham – Tony Matthews captures a great shot of an old, historic church full of terrific details in it’s heritage architecture.  The weathered and worn exterior of the church finds perfect harmony in it’s setting, creating a picture sure to be enjoyed by everyone who visits.

Business Bay – a terrific architectural study of a development in Dubai that features incredible modern skyscrapers against a subtle backdrop.  Faiz Baig also captures incredible reflections of the buildings in the nearly still waters of the bay that sit in the foreground of the shot, adding a terrific and interesting element to the scene.

1949 Dodge Coronet Woody Wagon – Jimi Jones finds, captures and shares a rather rare car that even today is in excellent condition.  Jimi grabs three different perspectives of the car and processes the shots in a sympathetic manner to maintain the character and feel from the period the car originally hails from.

ON SAFARI – DAY 2 – this amazing post is the second in a series that features the photography of John Mead, captured while he was on safari.  John’s post shares an incredible array of varying animals he encountered on his adventures, giving the viewer a chance to see some animals in their natural habitats that we wouldn’t normally have a chance to see.  A terrific post, a real must-see in this week’s list.

Lake Louise – this lake in the heart of the Rockies is one of my personal favorite spots on earth, a place we visited many times when I was young with my parents on vacation.  This incredible and breathtaking capture features this lake in a really stunning way, sharing the incredible details in the vast landscape in a panoramic format accenting the epic scale of the site.

Farmhouse in the Palouse– ribbons of light play with the hill tops to create mesmerizing shapes and details for the mind’s eye to follow and dream about in this gorgeous landscape shot by Miles Smith.  The finishing touch here is found in the varying tones created by the shadows and lighting intensity that is highly dynamic in the setting captured here.

Lights in the City (Budapest Panorama) – a great view of the incredible architecture of Budapest, captured at night and shared here by Anita Megyesi.  The lights of the beautiful buildings gently find reflection in the moving waters of the river, creating a picture full of beautiful colors and lights.

Blue Moon – a lovely scene captured by Randy Hall finds us looking at the full moon as it sits above the silhouette of the landscape below.  A gentle reflection of the moons light streams across the moving ocean waters, adding a gentle reflection and element of interest to this wonderful image.

CBR Outline by T. Fernandes, on Flickr

INTERESTING BLOGS

An Awesome Timelapse Tutorial: ‘Philly is Ugly’ – this amazing time lapse video presentation takes the viewer along to the city of Philadelphia.  Many different vantages and viewpoints are included in this video, captured at varying times of the day and night to add effect.

Photog Captures Two Spectacular Natural Phenomena in the Same Time-Lapse – another time lapse presentation, this time capturing two rather rare events occurring at the very same time.  Maciej Winiarczyk captures noctilucent clouds and the aurora borealis as they both reveal themselves, creating a feature full of color and wonder, revealing how little we really know about the bigger universe we live within, and it’s inherent and natural beauty.

Blast from the Past: 18,000fps High Speed Photography in the 1960s – super fast frame rates allow for super slow playback speeds, creating pieces of film that allow the viewer to study a specific aspect of an item in motion or change in great detail, slowed right down.  The video post shares a short film segment taken from the 1960’s that features one such camera and the imagery it produces.