We have had another incredible week here in the world of photography with artists and contributing writers adding some great content to the websphere that is of particular interest to those who love photography. This weeks list is a hand-selected set of links to tutorials, special features and great photography that Toad Hollow Photography curated for everyone to peruse and enjoy. We really hope you love checking out these links as much as the Toad did himself in creating this list and sharing it here with you.
TUTORIALS
5 Practical Ways to Enhance Your Creative Vision – once again, we find a very interesting and highly informative article right here on Light Stalking, aimed at trying to give us a set of very practical things to do while working that will have a fabulous effect on your finished shot. Each of the points covered comes with a sample shot that helps to show you how to apply the concept.
Inside the Mind of a Working Headshot Photographer – for those actively working in the field, or those who are contemplating do so, this primer is full of brief tips and tricks that are sure to help you stand out with your work and deliver results that your clients want.
Adobe Updates Photoshop's Face-Aware Liquify Feature – check out this brief video feature that shows you how easy it is to use Photoshop’s Face-Aware Liquify filter, allowing you to quickly change certain facial features very quickly. This short video is sure to help you see how the deeper features within this filter can help you achieve your own goals with your work.
5 Mistakes Photographers Make in Photoshop – this tutorial comes as us from a different angle than most, showing us 5 of the most common mistakes that photographers make while processing images in Photoshop. These are just guidelines, to be sure, but are well worth noting as you go through your workflow so you can create perfect images each and every time.
148 photo editing tools and apps for every possible need – this is one of the most comprehensive lists of post-production and editing tools I have ever seen. This list covers a wide gamut of applications and uses with something here for everyone and every budget.
Photographing the Connecticut Highlands – this brief guide takes you through some of the tips you may need when visiting this region for the purpose of photography. It’s an amazing area, for sure, and well worth the time to visit particularly if the prime purpose is capturing great photography.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Half Car Half Amazing – cars are basically huge mirrors, creating reflective surfaces and angles that can be very difficult to light and make look great. In this article we here at Toad Hollow use our brand new electric car, a 2017 Chevrolet Volt, as a subject to shoot and talk about the emergence of electric cars for everyday transportation.
China’s Terracotta Warriors – Anne McKinnell shares an incredible set of photographs of a real-life mystery that is unfolding in China after a discovery that occurred in a farmer's field in the 1970’s. These shots reveal a collection of individual intricately carved soldiers, horses and other various artifacts that were intended to guard and herald a well-known emperor into the afterlife.
Humanizing the homeless: Teen's portraits shed light on life on the streets – this poignant and profound feature showcases the work of teenager Meet Leah Denbok who is photographing those who are less fortunate living on the streets. Her photos reveal an insight into the people behind the issue with proceeds from her upcoming book going to help those who find themselves in this situation.
TIME Magazine's 100 most influential photographs of all time – the photography this magazine has been responsible for capturing over the years comprises some of the most enigmatic and profound images captured in modern times. This brief trailer video and article discusses the book that is now available that covers some of the most important pictures from this publication over time.
Action Flash Photography With a Strobe Attached to a Drone – wow! We all know that drones are the latest thing in photography, allowing the photographer to get the camera airborne for shots that are not typically possible by changing and elevating perspective. This presentation shows us an alternative application where a strobe is attached to an octocopter, allowing the creatives to place this light anywhere they need for awesome action shots.
GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY
Into the Mystery – check out the amazing beauty we experience out here on the west coast of Canada in this terrific post from photographer Laurie MacBride. Lauries heads out onto the waters in a small boat, allowing her to capture incredible shots of the shores of the coast, showcasing the dramatic beauty of our rugged coastline.
Light trail – fast moving light trails are an awesome compositional element in photography, blending in crisp and sharp details with a sense of fluidity and motion. Dino Marsango does a fabulous job in capturing this feel in this shot that includes these trails against the backdrop of a beautiful snow-covered landscape.
Petits détails Ajacciens – Mathias Lucas shares a great set of photos that showcase vignettes from the region he visited during this expedition. Each shot is unique and tells it’s own story, and when the series is viewed as a whole it paints a wonderful picture.
Sunrise venise – beautiful, warm colors dance across the city in this gorgeous architectural study that features old buildings meandering alongside the canals of this famous spot. Serge Ramelli’s shot is so perfectly composed and processed here, it is sure to lift your spirits and make you head straight for the phone to book a plane.
Sunset at the Griffith Observatory – Jim Nix captures a terrific shot of this landmark in Los Angeles, captured at sunset as vibrant colors are painted across the sky. The incredible architecture of this facility is highlighted in this post, making for a perfect subject to photograph during such an amazing sunset.
Blue Lake – most of the shots I have seen from this location before have featured a cold and stark landscape in the heart of winter. This shot from Adnan Bubalo (阿德南·布巴洛) takes a different perspective of Hallstatt, Austria, revealing a look at the lake and the tiny town that sits on the shores under vibrant blue skies during a warm season.
Staircase – Oliver Bronson House, Hudson, New York – Len Saltiel gives us a great glimpse inside a landmark house that was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2003. Len’s shot focuses on the beautiful staircase inside the house that is visible as soon as you enter the house.
Arriving at Maya Bay, Phi Phi Islands – Thailand – massive natural rocks formations create a gateway out into the expanse of the ocean in this beautiful photograph by Phila. Boats sits anchored in the bay as the warmth of the day and the sun graces the region, turning the waters of the bay a delightful tone of blueish/green.
Tito’s palace Hotel [YU] – check out this set of photographs taken inside and outside of a palatial hotel that has lay abandoned for evidently quite some time. The ragged interior shows the effects of years of weathering, with the resultant photographs leaving you with a distinct sense of artistic tension as your imagination tries to envision this space teaming with people.
The spring of the lake – this image takes on a highly artistic look, almost as if it was a painting, in a shot captured and shared here by c1113. The finishing touch is in the form of the reflection from the colorful trees that creates a distinctive mirror-like look to set this picture off.
Rooftop Sunrise – Lisa Gordon shares a great pair of shots here that feature an early morning sunrise in Boston as the city still has remnants of winters snow in February. The second shot in particular shows an interesting golden reflection off of a glass facade of a dramatic building that sits in the city.
Into The Cauldron – photographs of raging storms can be some of the most powerful subjects when it comes to dramatic photographs, as shown here by Derek Burdeny. A massive supercell storm swirls unfettered overhead as light ebbs and flows from within to give this storm a life of it’s own.
Old School – Michael Criswell continues to amaze me with his artistic vision and his application of black-and-white as a perfect medium to capture and express textures and details in all things old. This amazing shot features a pair of classic old tow trucks sitting in a yard, with the prime subject being a cabover Dodge design I have never seen before, presumably dating back to the 1950’s.
Lunch Break – perfectly formed geometry forms the heart of this shot that features a wonderful spiral staircase winding downwards in this image from A Frenchman In NY. A lone girl walking her way down the stairs adds a touch of interest to this shot, creating a perfect anchor for the mesmerizing shapes and lines.
Office Light – it is often said that the key to great imagery is light, as shown in this terrific photograph captured and shared here by Bob Lussier. In this shot, we find Bob has visited the Stone Mill once again as beautiful light streams in the large, old windows, casting shadows on the floor.
Fishermans Houses – a snow-covered landscape with rugged mountains and a body of water in the foreground forms the perfect base for this shot from wim denijs. Red wooden houses sit on the shore of the waters, creating the perfect element of interest to add to the beautiful landscape.
Framed by nature – Johannes Hulsch shares a wonderful shot of a tiny island sitting in the middle of a lake that is surrounded by mountains in this delightful photograph. A thin mist lingers in the distance, adding a mysterious feel, as does the framing of the island which uses trees to create the perfect looking glass to view this place.
abandoned on the prairies – Frank King shares a terrific shot of a crooked old abandoned farmhouse on the Alberta prairies in this stylized shot. Frank uses selective color to isolate the house as the main subject in the photograph, eliminating the color from the surroundings to make this wonderful old character-encrusted structure stand out from the stark landscape.
Mt.Fuji with Sakura – gorgeous pink cherry blossoms create a perfect frame for this photograph captured and shared here by Takashi Yasui. World-famous Mt. Fuji sits in the background with a wonderful red temple in the foreground, giving the viewer a sense of scale and wonder as we look out at an amazing view.
