There are so many articles and photographs being published by some of the best people working in photography today, and here we find that Toad Hollow Photography has been looking in all corners of the internet for tutorials, special features and great photography to share with everyone.
This week's list covers a wide variety of styles and topics, with something sure to be of interest to photography enthusiasts everywhere.
We hope you enjoy checking out this list as much as the Toad did in bringing it to you.
TUTORIALS
The Wonderful Ways You Can Use Shapes To Enhance Your Photography – composition is a key factor in terms of creating great images, and learning how to master this can take an entire lifetime for many of us. This article covers some of the nuances of discovering shapes in a composition, and how best to leverage that for maximum visual impact.
Here’s How to Make Outdoor Natural Light Portraits That Look Like Studio Photos – many photographers believe that the only way to shoot portraits is with a truck full of gear and lighting. While this may produce great photographs, this isn’t the whole picture on the topic, so to speak, as we learn in this video that is just over 4 minutes in length that shows us how to get great portraits with natural light.
How to Convincingly Fake Lens Blur in Photoshop – using a shallow depth-of-focus is a powerful technique for isolating a subject from its backdrop, making the subject pop right out of the picture and helping it to become the prime focus in a shot. This 20-minute video tutorial takes you through the process of doing this in Photoshop instead of in-camera for those times that a wide aperture is not possible while shooting.
3 Lightroom Tricks That Will Change How You Edit Photos – learning shortcuts can be a real time-saver for those of us who spend a lot of time in post-production. This video presentation is just over 6 minutes in length and covers 3 great tips for how to take advantage of Lightroom in the shortest amount of time.
Useful Photography Tip #181: How to Look for Abstracts in Landscape Photography – check out this list of tips and tricks for finding abstract patterns in natural landscape environments. These brief insights will definitely help those looking to take a fresh look at how to capture amazing landscapes.
Kenneth VetterHow to Create Rain in Photoshop – it is often said “in everyone’s life a little rain must fall”, but what about when you come back from a photo shoot where you really wanted it to rain but nature didn’t deliver? Learn how to add some very realistic looking rain to any shot in this 17 minute video tutorial that takes you carefully through all the key steps.
How I Shot Cliff Divers with a Total Solar Eclipse – not only do we learn about how a shoot like this comes together with a myriad details, but we also get a behind-the-scenes look at it as it unfolded. This is a great way to learn about all the important nuances that go into a picture like this, and to see the amazing final outcome.
The Strobist offers up some advice for those starting out with flash – for those who are considering getting a flash for their setup, this is a great article to start with. This primer will get you motivated to get a speedlight and then apply it to your work for incredible results.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Dazzling Photos of Summer Firework Festivals in Japan – these are some of the most incredible fireworks photographs I have ever had the pleasure of seeing, featuring a wide variety of shots captured during the firework festivals, known as “Hanabi Taikai”, in Japan. Incredible colors and designs dance across the sky while crisp details bask below under the blanket of an amazing show in this set of jaw-dropping photographs.
30 Days, 80,000 Photos, One Awe-Inspiring Time-Lapse – after all that shooting it comes down to 10 minutes of jaw-dropping 4K video produced as a timelapse in this amazing presentation. There are a lot of time-lapse videos out there, and somehow this one stands alone in quality in terms of what was captured and how it is presented.
GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY
The Last Recital – Michael Criswell captures and shares another awesome shot from inside the long-abandoned Larimer School in Pittsburgh PA. This shot was taken inside the gymnasium apparently and features row upon row of seats and a stage in the distance that today only hosts shows put on by the local graffiti artists.
Little Beauty – those who love great wildlife photography will be delighted by this shot of a small owl sitting perched looking towards the camera. Tanja Brandt finds this great little bird in a perfect setting, and by capturing this shot with a shallow depth-of-focus we find the main subject pops out against a perfect backdrop.
Dory in Sea Smoke – Bob Lussier creates an eerie and dramatic monochromatic piece that he shares here featuring a frozen seascape scene with a boat moored in the front of the frame as a rugged coast sits in the backdrop. A lighthouse peers out from the “sea smoke”, created by incredibly cold temperatures, adding a terrific touch to this moody composition.
Walt Disney Concert – downtown Los Angeles is home to the incredible architectural design of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, as seen in this terrific shot by Serge Ramelli captured during the blue hour. This amazing structure is full of sweeping lines and geometrical shapes, all which play off the ambient light creating a strong visual allure for those who love architectural photography.
Sunset in Victoria – Jim Nix visits our very own city of Victoria on Vancouver Island recently where he took advantage of the oceanside city to capture some iconic shots. This particular photograph features the inner harbor as the sun sets, painting the sky in gorgeous warm tones as the last light of day gives way to twilight.
Lullaby – Nicola Pirondini creates what is most indubitably a purely abstract piece with this photograph. Undulating lines create a sense of depth as light plays off the various shapes to add texture here, leaving the viewer with a picture that defines the abstract and gives no sense as to its origin.
Doom Discipline – Urban Vagabond shares a great urbex themed shot here that reveals a look inside an abandoned brick constructed building. The various staircases, walls and windows all form great regions of interest in the frame, and the deep shadows hide an intense sense of artistic tension.
Rome by night – a view of the ancient city of Rome takes on a highly cinematic feel to it in this razor-sharp photograph from Manjik photography. In this shot, we find gentle reflections in the water in the foreground adding a great element as the old architecture of the city stands dramatically in the background.
Stone Vanishing Point – Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida – a historically significant facility is the focus of this shot from Len Saltiel that shares a view down a series of arches made of bricks at this world-famous fort in Florida. The results of the composition here are interesting shapes that lead you into the frame where a great vanishing point is featured.
Epic Lightning Storm – great storm photographs can really capture the pure essence of nature as it rages over the landscapes we all call home to, as we see in this amazing picture from Roger Hill. This shot captures a supercell at the height of its anger as it unleashes amazing lightning tendrils across flatlands far below.
Yeatman Bay II – the shimmering sea waters found on the west coast of Canada create a gentle rippled reflection that acts as a mirror in this incredible composition from Vancouver Island photographer Ehpem. As you follow this shot out, the islands and mountains form contrasting layers that create a great sense of depth for this photograph.
Going Underground – David Abbs does a stellar job of combining fast moving dynamic elements against nearly abstract architectural features in this shot captured in a subway tunnel. As the trains move quickly through the scene here, they form a blur, and the station itself creates great natural leading lines that culminate into a truly incredible vanishing point in the distance.
Shafts of Light – the ages old adage of “light is everything” comes to play with this great shot from Andy Hooker (LensScaper). In this shot, we look out over the ocean that is covered in a thick pillow of grey clouds with an opening that allows great light to stream down from what seems to be the heavens to the the waters below.
City of Towers – Alexander Riek takes us to an elevated spot where the rooftops of the old city of Prague come to life under a beautifully colored sky. It appears that this shot was captured using a long exposure which adds a sense of motion to the clouds that move overhead, finishing this composition off perfectly.
Camden Market River – let’s head over to the UK with Averil McPhedran Hall where she sees a great composition looking down a river flanked with boats, buildings and people. This bright and lively shot is full of great detail, helping to define all the various details for everyone to see and enjoy.
Autumn Reflections – soft colors and a dreamy reflection converge in this amazing landscape shot from Anssi Karilahti captured at the height of autumn. The waters fill the entire front portion of the frame, creating a dynamic reflection of the scene as a whole as the gorgeous autumn foliage becomes the true star of this picture.
the silence of prayer – Frank King’s shot here features the interior space of St. Dunstan's Basilica, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on the eastern end of Canada. This grand space features incredible architectural details that are highlighted with the various colors used to bring these details out.
Misurina… – a gently rippled reflection captures the pure beauty of the landscape here in an abstract way as the gorgeous scene beams through in this terrific photograph by Krzysztof Browko. Completing this shot, we find some great structures sitting on the shores of the water as a majestic mountain range stands tall in the backdrop under cover of a beautifully colored sky.
The Cove, Bahamas – Shimmering seas and waving palm trees greet us in this great shot from Mark Paulson taken on a sunny day in the Bahamas. The small bay in this composition creates an arching leading line that takes us into the frame here where a yellow boat parked on the sandy shores creates an anchor and a splash of vivid color to finish things off.
Moon on the tracks – this is a dark and mysterious picture that uses a train track as a natural leading line into a great vanishing point in the distance. Todd Wall found this scene basking in the glow of the moon as great silhouettes of trees emerge in the distance reaching for the sky.
