January’s Been a Long Month – Kick Back With These Photography Links Of The Week

Relax With These Photography Links

As another terrific week flies by in the world of photography, we find Toad Hollow Photography searching through a massive list of links looking for the very best ones to share here with everyone.

This week's varied list includes some tutorials, in-depth special features and a hand-curated selection of great photographs to click through and enjoy.  We truly hope you enjoy checking out all these links as much as the Toad did in bringing this list to you.

PHOTOGRAPHY TUTORIALS

6 Essential Tips for Taking Good Photographs on a Bright and Sunny Day – if you are looking for some great ideas on how best to shoot outdoors on a sunny day, this is definitely an article you will not want to miss.  This great primer is hosted right here on LightStalking, and includes links to other great resources that will allow you to dig as deep as you are comfortable in doing for your own needs.

How to Shoot Better Portraits for Social Media – this article speaks towards taking great shots for use in the social media realm, but in all truth the concepts and ideas discussed here work for any type of portraiture.  The author of this article includes a few infographics, helping you to focus on the concept and to see the results that subtle tweaks can make in a picture.

15 Street Photography Techniques and Tips – an in-depth article that is presented in both video format along with a text article that includes terrific photographs to illustrate the core concepts discussed.  After reading this, you are sure to come away with some new ideas on how to work creating your own amazing images within this genre.

5 Tips to get great light for outdoor portraits – shooting portraits outdoors in the middle of the day is sure to give many photographers an instant case of the hives, yet if done purposefully can produce terrific results.  This brief video tutorial takes you through 5 different ways of doing this ranging from leveraging natural light all the way up to using a strobe out in the field.

Street Photography in the Rain: 3 Lessons Learned – street photography is a genre all it’s own, with its own set of challenges and opportunities when it comes to capturing evocative shots.  This primer will give you a few ideas on how to achieve this goal in your own work and includes a wonderful series of sample shots all captured on the streets on a rainy day.

Lighting and Posing Tips for Beautiful Wedding Photos – a simple list of things to consider when shooting a wedding is presented in this brief article, giving you some tips and tricks that can help you get those incredible shots that everyone wants.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Travel Photo Tips: It’s Not What You See, but What You Feel That Makes for Better Pictures – this insightful post comes to us from a photographer that is considered by many to be a contemporary leader in our field.  Deborah Sandidge shares some insights into what it takes to capture great travel photos, photos that go well beyond the snapshot principle as they capture a sense of what it’s like to be there at the time she is, experiencing what she experiences.

Canada: These Winter Wonderland Photos will Blow You Away – living in a northern country has the benefit of creating beautiful snow-covered landscapes that are the perfect subject matter for avid landscape photographers.  This terrific collection of shots features a variety of Canadian landscapes, all featuring the majestic beauty of our Canadian winters.

7 life lessons learned from photographing tribal and indigenous people throughout the world – learning about how other photographers work and the inspirations they acquire through this work is a key way to learn about yourself as a photographer.  This incredible video showcases the work and a little behind-the-scenes insight into an amazing project conducted by famous photographer Jimmy Nelson.

ISS astronaut shares his astonishing view of the Earth (PHOTOS) – the astronauts living and working on the International Space Station have arguably the best view of planet Earth floating in space below them.  This special feature showcases a series of stunning photographs captured recently from this vantage point.

14 Chilling Pictures of Incredible Underwater Sculptures – the underwater realm holds many mysteries, including sculptures that take advantage of this unique setting to create profound and compelling scenes that cannot be created elsewhere.  This incredible set of shots features a handful of really dramatic and haunting pieces found deep under water from various parts of the world.

Are you kitten me?: Selfie Cat’s superior snaps are pawsitively purrfect – it was only a matter of time before a brilliant and creative cat got into the whole selfie craze that has swept the planet in recent years.  Check out this post that features some Manny’s best work, it’s sure to bring a smile to your face.

GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY LINKS

Halnaker Hollow Way | Halnaker Hollow Way Part 2 – Andy Hooker (LensScaper) shares a pair of posts in this feature that takes us to a truly special place that has been cut into the landscape over a course of hundreds of years.  This pathway creates a wonderful tree covered canopy, casting amazing and almost surreal scenes that take on a slightly mystical feel.

Raging Poseidon – this dark and dramatic seascape shots comes to us from Carl Pan who uses a long exposure to juxtapose the sense of a highly dynamic ocean against a static landscape.  The clouds that linger overhead add a terrific sense of natural tension and drama, finishing off this composition perfectly.

Molting King Penguins – a literal army of penguins stands in a stark landscape in this amazing photograph by Ron Niebrugge.  The rugged snow-capped mountains in the distance create the perfect frame and context for this shot, showing us all how these incredible birds spend their lives in remote and desolate locations.

Kyoto – many great elements converge in this powerful photograph to help make it what it is, including perfectly balanced natural light, an awesome leading line, a touch of artistic tension and a captivating vanishing point.  By using the architectural features of a landmark in the city as a perfect frame, the lone lady strolling down the pathway into the distance finishes off the composition just perfectly.  Photograph by İlhan Eroglu.

It’s simple… – Sherry Galey shares a beautiful shot of a solitary tree bathed in glorious natural sunlight.  This perfect composition really shows the amazing beauty that can be found in our natural world if we open our eyes and our hearts.

Wall street – this quintessentially New York shot comes from Takashi Yasui who composes a great frame that features the building that hosts the Delmonico Restaurant in the heart of the city.  Post-production of the shot utilizes a cinematic feel, accenting the overall sense of a bustling city that seemingly never rests.

Autumn colors at the Devils Bridge – still waters converge with a mirror reflection to accent this wonderful photograph from Johannes Hulsch.  As perfect natural light streams in to backlight the scene, a stone bridge spans the open waters, creating a scene that exudes peace and tranquility.

South into Gwaii Haanas – local Vancouver Island photographer Ehpem shares a set of photos he has captured while working his 52-week project that finds him shooting a roll of film a week.  This set features some of the amazing landscapes and seascapes found in the Gwaii Haanas region, one of the most beautiful spots I know of on the west coast of Canada.

Dakota Territory – a lovely wooden church sits under the cover of a star filled sky in this great shot from Aaron Groen.  Light from inside the old building creates a strong sense of artistic tension, leaving the viewer with a sense of wonder and intrigue as to what is going on inside.

The Shining… – Bled Lake in Slovenia presents a limitless source of compositional opportunities for those who love to create mystical feeling images due to the ancient monastery that sits on a tiny island in the middle of the lake.  This shot comes to us from Pawel Kucharski who takes advantage of the great colors and warm light created naturally, adding a wonderful feel to the presentation.

Bath time – this Urbex themed HDR shot comes to us from O. R.G. who finds an old and weathered bathtub in a weathered location.  The textures and details found in the bricks that surround the old tub work in perfect harmony with the natural patina that has occurred over the course of many years.

Shanghai Island – Jennifer Bin’s photograph takes advantage of dramatic architectural lines to lead the viewer into the frame where the world-famous city of Shanghai is to be discovered in the distance.  Jennifer’s processing of the frame focuses on blue tones, adding to the overall drama of this incredible shot captured from a very high perspective.

Winter Wonderland – the burgeoning city of Toronto in Canada is the source of this great snow-themed shot from snappedbycam.  In this shot, we find a person boarding a bus that is heading to points unknown, creating a picture that visually expresses the cold of a frigid Canadian winter.

Stopham Bridge – Barry Turner visits an old stone bridge that is surrounded by the vibrant colors of the last of autumn’s leaves.  The colors in the trees add a terrific feel to this shot that also focuses on the great textures and details in a bridge that has seen many a passerby cross it over the course of many years.

Staircase II – geometry, shapes and lines are all to be discovered in this abstract shot from Pascal Schirmer that utilizes a very interesting staircase as the main architectural feature in this picture.  The eye naturally follows the lines downward where a terrific vanishing point awaits.

Where the Bodies Burn – darkness is the main theme with this shot captured by CJ Schmit and shared here.  This black-and-white shot features an abandoned facility with a furnace as the main subject in the frame, surrounded by the remains of what was likely a busy industrial plant of some sort.

House of Cards II – this striking architectural study focuses on the “Binnenhof” (Inner Court) which hosts the Dutch parliament.  Herman van den Berge finds this scene enveloped in rich, warm tones from the beautiful colors in the sky, highlighting the dramatic structure and the setting it sits within.

yosemite falls. merced river. yosemite. California – an incredible landscape shot is shared here, as captured by photographer Tanner Wendell Stewart.  Majestic mountains appear in the backdrop as a gentle flowing river creates a leading line in this wintertime shot that showcases the epic beauty and drama of this famous locale.