As we ring in a brand new year full of excitement for what lies ahead in the field of photography we find that Toad Hollow Photography has been looking all over the internet for links to share here with everyone.
This weeks list is full of tutorials, special features and great photography representing some of the finest posts and photographs that artists and writers are posting today.
We sincerely hope you are off to a great new year and will enjoy this list of links as much as the Toad did in bringing them to you.
Tutorials
Do You Want Brilliant Macro Photography? Here Are The Accessories You’ll Need – getting great close-ups and macro shots is a genre all to itself, and the results can be quite spectacular. This article posted right here on Light Stalking covers many different bits of gear and techniques that you can apply in your own photography to create amazing pictures.
Pro Lighting Techniques: 5 Ways Miguel Quiles Uses An Umbrella – if you are seeking tips from a pro when it comes to portrait lighting techniques, check out this video tutorial that is just under 8 minutes in length. Incredible sample shots are included as the video unfolds, showing you what you can expect if you try these techniques yourself.
Portrait Photography Tips: The Pros and Cons of Using Window Light vs Flash – natural light versus artificial light is an ongoing area of discussion in the photography community, with great arguments on both side bolstered by great portraits captured over the years. This short video shows us visually the differences between the two types of light and how to choose the right one for the subject being captured.
7 Essential Steps to Master Landscape Photography – for those just beginning to capture landscape photos, it can become a daunting task to figure out where to start and where to dive into the subject for deeper learning. This brief tutorial covers 7 key points that will help you get a jumpstart in your own landscape photography, and it includes some breathtaking shots to illustrate the tips being shared.
5 Tips for Photographing in Harsh Midday Sunlight – getting the most out of your portraits when shot in the middle of the day is a challenging situation to find yourself in as a photographer. This short video feature talks about some key points that are sure to help you get the most out of this time of day for your session.
Creating a Thin Beam of Light With Off-Camera Flash – join a leading pro as he walks us through the core concepts of controlling light, in this case by creating thin beams of light that create a certain feel and drama. The shots captured using the gear shown in the video along with the techniques explored create a strong sense of artistic tension in a contemporary looking frame.
How to Create Stunning Black & White Images in Photoshop – this video tutorial gets right to the point, and that point is how to leverage the tools in Photoshop to create awesome black-and-white images. Screen captures of Photoshop as the methods are applied show us in great detail how to go about using these techniques in our own workflow.
Special Features
Interview: Street Photographer Explores the Faces That Make New York – get a behind-the-scenes look at what drives one of the world’s leading candid street photographers in this great in-depth interview. Photographs captured in the streets of New York are included in this feature article, adding great depth to the insights shared.
Kyoto's Five Best Photo Locations – for those planning a trip to the beautiful city of Kyoto, this is a must see reference that takes you on a photo excursion to some of the best highlights the city has to offer a photographer. Along the way with the guide, we see some of the incredible shots captured at these great locations, helping to inspire those who can make the trip.
10 Stunning Architecture Shots For You To Be Inspired By – great architecturally themed images can be quite compelling, delivering images with strong geometrical lines or shapes, or revealing dramatic details designed to catch the eye. This short video presentation shares a series of architectural pieces submitted to the publication.
Great Photography
Nordsternhaus / Hamburg – this great architectural themed image comes to us from Herbert A. Franke who uses the geometrical features of this helical staircase to lead the viewer into the heart of the frame and down into a deep vanishing point. At the bottom of th,e staircase we see the dim outline of a person for an added touch of great artistic tension.
Cemetery of the Skull, Belgium – this post takes us a heritage site in Belgium that is protected due to its historical significance. The shots captured and shared here by Obsidian Urbex Photography focus on a rather dark plot that has an eerie skull atop it as the cemetery sits under old trees casting shadows everywhere to add to the overall dramatic feel.
Lower Antelope Canyon. Arizona – Tanner Wendell Stewart shows us why this region of the United States is considered by many photography enthusiasts to be a must-visit destination. In this shot we see how the light plays off the natural rock formations, creating color tones and shapes off the walls to make the abstract feel come to life.
Le Mont-Saint-Michel (le Cloître et le Réfectoire) – Mathias Lucas takes us on a wonderful tour of an amazing old stone abbey, full of dramatic architectural features that hold stories that hail back hundreds of years. Mathias brings his terrific compositional eye to this historic location as he reveals close-ups of features along with wider shots that show the true scale and wonder found here.
Tigre De Sibérie – cat images are wildly popular online as these particular subjects can be quite charming and cute when captured in a candid moment being themselves. Andre Villeneuve’s shot here is a fairly close and tight frame that does a great job in capturing the spirit and character of this very impressive tiger as it sits contemplating something important.
Gone Fishing – Michael Criswell takes us back to the amazing remnants of the Packard automotive plant, now long abandoned, in Detroit city. In this shot, Michael finds a boat that has somehow made its way to this unusual spot, and his use of black-and-white in processing the photograph does a splendid job of bringing out all the mystery of this particular find.
Nix wie weg …. – Tanja Brandt shares a wonderful picture of a very tiny owl as it bounces across it’s home turf presumably on the way to something very important, indeed. This side profile shot of the tiny bird captures a moment of quick movement as it runs towards frame left, leaving us all wondering where it is going in such a hurry.
The Seven Sisters – the shores of the ocean form fascinating patterns in the sands that lead to the water as profoundly dramatic natural formations create massive walls of rock that form a visual fence of sorts leading the eye through the frame. This shot from Andy Hooker (LensScaper) taken in a softened light reveals the true beauty and amazing drama of this well known spot.
Beautiful Tuscany – this great picture of the rolling hills in the Italian countryside really looks like a painting from one of the masters. Daniel Metz frames a villa sitting atop one of the hills as swirling fog cloaks the countryside around it with fabulous natural drama.
It's Time – Lisa Gordon captures a very tight shot of a pussy-willow found in her region as spring follows winter and the first signs of new life begin to emerge. The wonderful details in the sprig find harmony against the muted backdrop she used to compose this shot with.
Lake Bled – Adnan Bubalo’s photograph of the ancient monastery that sits on a tiny island in the middle of Lake Bled is another picture in this weeks list that strongly resembles a painting created by one of the masters. In this image Adnan composes a scene that leverages the wonderful rippled reflections of the lake waters to add a great element.
The Kiss – Sand Dune Arch, Arches National Park, Utah – this shot comes to us from Len Saltiel who finds incredible beauty in naturally formed rock formation in a national park. The stone that comprises the features of the park are all of a deep red tint, and this particular formation creates a scene that resembles two beings kissing, although Len notes in his post that other people see other things.
The Golden Church – Daniel Fleischhacker shares a great photo featuring the monastery in the center of Lake Bled, in this case capturing his amazing shot during the golden hour with magical natural light dancing across the entire scene. The shot reveals great context of the surrounding lake and mountains that encircle the ancient facility, anchoring the ages old building in it’s natural setting.
A fairy tale castle – Jim Nix shares a terrific shot of a very weathered castle in England that sits by a still body of water. As natural vegetation works diligently to take over the remains of the old structure the super-still water that sits in the foreground of the picture casts an alluring reflection.
The Enlightened ! – it will be impossible for you not to smile and laugh when you see this awesome shot from Sunil that features a small owl peering back at the camera from it’s perch inside a hole in a tree. The incredible whimsical look of the bird coupled with the great textures and appearance of the tree really create something special here.
the world doesn’t hold it’s breath for us – a local Vancouver Island photographer, Diane Schuller, shares a set of terrific photographs she has captured that express various moments of a typical day. Each composition included in this post is wonderful in its own right, and when taken as a small collection they do weave a tapestry of tales of time.
Sunset Walk – this shot delivers two key compositional elements that create a strong sense of artistic tension in the form of leading lines that guide the viewer out into a strong vanishing point, along with the silhouette of a person walking away from the camera in the far distance. The trees that line the pathway add to the dramatic sense found at this particular location.
Canadian Pacific, Waterfront, Vancouver, British Columbia 2018 – an industrial section of Vancouver sits behind a rail yard that is covered in a thick and fresh coat of new snow in this great shot from Don Denton. As you explore this shot you are likely to notice people working in the facility giving the shot a great sense of scale and context.
“It's the simple things that count.” – Chun Chau utilizes a simple composition captured from an aerial perspective presumably from a drone in this great shot taken in Honolulu in the United States. The image is composed to use the ocean and the shore as two halves, with great palm trees casting dramatic shadows for a wonderful finishing touch.
Mother with Young Egrets – Wayne Beauregard captures a fabulous shot of a new mother and her young as she feeds them. This close-up shot reveals the spirits of these wonderful birds, sharing a candid glimpse into a moment of their lives.
