For Your Enjoyment, Here Are The Coolest Photography Links Of The Week

We've seen yet another awesome week in photography here, and Toad Hollow Photography has been looking in all known corners of the internet for links to tutorials, special features and great photography to share with everyone. This hand-curated list is the result of this intensive searching, and it includes articles and photographs from some of the finest people working in the field today. We really hope you enjoy checking these links out as much as the Toad did himself in bringing this weeks list to you.

TUTORIALS

12 Tips To Getting Beautiful Photos Of Kids With Your iPhone – with the undeniable popularity of today’s smartphones in the field of photography, this article covers some great tips and tricks for getting the most out of your shots. Posted here on Light Stalking, this article also includes some wonderful pictures of candid moments, sure to lighten the hearts of all who pop by to see for themselves.

Ten Lesser Known But Helpful Lightroom Tips and Features – there are a ton of great tips embedded in this video feature that is just over 12 minutes long, with many screenshots included to show you how to get the most out of the features. For those who use Lightroom for post-production, some of these time savers and image enhancement techniques can prove to be quite invaluable.

Using Strobes to Enhance the Sun in Portraiture – this video tutorial covers a very unique use of artificial lighting applied to enhance natural light produced by the sun. By using a strobe as a fill light against the sun being your key light, shadows are controlled and compelling images are captured and created.

Lens filters – how to use them properly – this article covers the topics of lens filters in good detail, with descriptions that cover all the various types of filters available today. The pictures that accent this article are perfect for illustrating the concepts being covered, and many of them are a wonder to see just for the sake of great photography.

How To Improve Focus in Underwater Photography – this short series of tips is intended to help those who don underwater apparatus and head for the depths in an attempt to capture stunning underwater pictures. These tips may not be groundbreaking for many, but for those who are starting out in this specific field they are sure to be of help.

Top 10 Digital Photography Tips – these basic tips are all well worthy of noting when it comes to striving to capture great shots. The sample shots that accompany this article really highlight the positive effect these techniques can have on your own photography.

9 Landscape Photography Rules and When to Break Them – rules are always meant to be broken, particularly when done so deliberately with a specific end-goal in mind. This is a great article that talks about the various well-known rules, and shows you how to break them to your own advantage.

SPECIAL FEATURES

14 hilarious winners from this year's Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards – ah yes, the comedy that can only be found in candid moments in the world inhabited by various animals from around the planet! This selection of photographs features a variety of creatures living their lives in their own terms, all the while creating fleeting moments of hilarity for those lucky enough to capture them.

Top Landscape Photographers to Follow on YouTube – I certainly don’t always think of YouTube when it comes to places online to find some of the best landscape photographers working in the field today. This post highlights a handful of great artists, all hosted on this world-famous video sharing platform.

Google's Night Sight shooting mode for the Pixel 3 is mind-blowing – advances in photographic software seems to be the latest area of improvement we are seeing with contemporary cameras and post-production software these days. Google is definitely a leader in this space, as we see here in this article that covers their latest advancements. This article includes a great sampling of shots that use this new approach, and indeed, they are amazing.

GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY

Beautiful Slovenia – the rolling hills and dramatic mountains are truly a sight to behold as we see in this wonderful wide shot of the vistas with a moody fog lingering over the landscape. Daniel Fleischhacker delivers a stunning shot with this subject, capturing the very essence of the area in the context of a frame.

The Green Mile, Germany – Obsidian Urbex Photography takes us on a haunting journey inside a disused prison since the 1980’s in Germany. The peeling paint on the wall serves as a visual indicator as to how long its been since this forlorn place had any residents.

rotterdam silence – a long exposure shot processed in black-and-white with a gentle vignette to finish it off highlights the great architecture and character of the Netherlands in this composition from Benny bulke. The contemporary bridge structure that splits the frame serves as a perfect leading line across the horizon as the natural light plays off the surface of the silky textured waters.

Question Everything – Michael Criswell shares another urbex study, this one found inside a long unused Cadillac Stamping Facility in what remains of industrial Detroit. As we often find with Michael’s great work, he finds the smallest details that create strong artistic tension, in this case as shown in the name of the photo derived from some subtle graffiti.

U Bein Bridge – there is just so much raw artistic tension that can be found in a great photograph that utilizes the allure of strong silhouettes, as shown in this vibrantly colored image by Gürcan Kadagan. It looks like the bridge that draws the people to walk across it is of wood origin, adding to the character of the picture as a whole.

Patterns – Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California – Len Saltiel delivers a great abstract image he composed in the deserts of Death Valley Park in California. The undulating sands are under constant change as the winds sweep over the landscape, producing ever-changing art created by nature.

Along the Road – a ribbon of pavement leads us into the heart of this frame captured in Iceland where snow-capped peaks reach for the beautifully colored skies. Daniel Vorkauf’s shot uses the undulations of the road as a dynamic element in this shot that feels like it hasn’t had a traveler in eons.

Golden hour at Haystack Rock – crisp details in the huge rock formation that sits just offshore at the Oregon Coast is juxtaposed against the dynamic nature of the clouds and water that frame it. Jim Nix uses a long exposure time to capture this shot which creates the silky smooth textures in both the sky and the ocean.

Stair in the “Hulbe House” – this staircase is composed of a half-circle that creates incredible shapes and geometrical intricacies that draw the viewer in with this downward-looking shot from Herbert A. Franke. The warm tones of the woodwork are perfectly expressed in this shot that culminates in a great vanishing point at the bottom.

Broken – the super crusty remains of a barn that has not seen activity in forever are captured eloquently in this black-and-white shot shared here by CJ Schmit. The monochromatic aspect of the image highlights the texture and patina produced by years of weathering.

Orta lake – Daniel Metz captures a terrific photograph that exposes the European architectural stylings of Italy just perfectly. The character of these buildings is enhanced by the way they sit on a tiny island presumably in the middle of the lake.

Barred Owl Wrapping Wings Around Itself – Steve Creek captures and shares a truly compelling shot in this post that features a beautiful Barred Owl perched on limbs on a tree high overhead. In this composition we find that the owl has wrapped its wings around itself, allowing Steve to capture a unique moment in this wondrous creatures life in its natural habitat.

Sunset. Drangarnir. Faroe Islands. – muted tones find terrific harmony with the natural rock formations that seemingly rise out from the seabed itself in this dramatic piece from Tanner Wendell Stewart. An open archway naturally cut from years of erosion works as a visual anchor as the swirling and eddying waters lap against the shores in the foreground.

Austin Skyline at Night – the colors from the lights of buildings in Austin City are reflected in the moving waters of a river in the foreground in this mesmerizing cityscape shot from Tim Stanley. The dramatic architecture of the city sits under the early evening skies, bringing the whole together in a cohesive composition.

Isle Of Portland – deliberate color grading creates a cinematic look and feel in this shot that was captured from a high perspective overlooking a small island in the UK in this great image by Daniel Casson. A red lighthouse creates an anchor point as your eye wanders across the island taking in some of the finer details.

South Soberanes – Big Sur, CA – Wayne Beauregard Photography captures a stunning oceanside shot of this well-known place as the light of day begins to drop and give way to dusk. The waters of the ocean pound against the rocky shores, creating a strong sense of natural drama in this photograph.

First Light – golden tones from the emergence of day casts a warm palette over this architectural study of the city of Berlin in Germany. Claudio de Sat’s shot features a canal in the center foreground in this picture, casting great reflections of portions of the scene back to the viewer for a terrific dimension.

the kingdom of turbines – strong leading lines draw us into this frame captured on the Canadian prairies that shows us a scene full of wind turbines in the distance. Frank King’s great shot also includes a line of weathered wooden fencing to finish off the picture.

Europa – a beautiful masted ship sits near the icy shores of the Antarctic in this amazing photograph by Daniel Kordan. A certain eerie mood is emphasized with this shot that can only be found in a misty and strange environment such as the southern tip of the world.

Lost Vegas Arcade, Belgium – time has its effect in terms of weathering inside this forgotten warehouse that holds countless video games from an era long past. Obsidian Urbex Photography gives us an inside look into this abandoned place, accompanying the pictures with a brief description of the feel of the place to punctuate the eerie feel of it all.