We're going to build our very own photographers PC, capable of working at blazing speeds with 50-megapixel images and dozens of layers in Adobe Photoshop. The high-end system we will be discussing here will have a budget of $1,500 in mind. For this, we're going to build our post-processing dream PC, but it doesn't include a monitor. Let's start comparing specs.
You have been up all night, taking images of the Milky Way. Tomorrow, hours of editing probably lie ahead. Light pollution, noise, and a lack of contrast can make most nightscape photos feel lackluster. If you’re familiar with doing landscape astrophotography, then you’ve no doubt experienced the amount of effort needed in post-processing to make your images shine. Even with today’s digital cameras, no picture comes out of the camera the way you’ve imagined them to. Enter OrionH; a panel for Adobe Photoshop dedicated to natural night photography and meant to decrease the amount of time you sit at the computer.
One week of photography in the wild backcountry of the Scottish highlands. In this "episode," I’d like to share with you the story about a recent trek into Glen Feshie in the Scottish Cairngorms National Park. It’s the behind-the-scenes tale of my successful image titled “Catch the Spirit.”
If there is one thing I like about budding photographers, it's their fresh way of looking at stuff to photograph. In this analytical process of recognizing perspectives and compositions, beginners often ask important questions that seasoned photographers might find intrinsic. Questions like "How can this photo get more interesting?" or "What makes me keep looking at this picture?"
With the goal in mind to write up a reference for planning a week of photography in the wild, it's almost unthinkable to not include an article about gear an rules about sleeping in the great outdoors. Not on a campsite, not in a hotel or any form of modern comfort, but out in the backcountry, sleeping under the stars. This quickly grew out to be an article to bookmark, because I don't expect you to remember everything about this after a first read.
You are at a crossroads again. Every now and then, you arrive at a point in your photography where you are left uninspired. It’s that moment when you feel like you’re drawing blanks even as the conditions are just right. Stages like these occur every once in a while, no matter your experience in photography. Feeling uninspired can be daunting and seemingly endless. But once you realize that these are the best moments for self-reflection, there’s another opportunity for personal growth. It’s times like these when you ask yourself: “What is your reason for pursuing photography in the first place?”
Road number one leads you around Iceland’s epic natural formations. These scenic locations, often the subject of landscape photographs, have seen a dramatic rise in tourism recently. So what is it about these subjects that attract people from all over the world? And when is the light at its best to shoot a memorable image yourself here? These are the Icelandic icons of landscape photography.
Have you ever considered going pro as a landscape photographer? What does that even mean in today's business? Professional Landscape Photographer Erin Babnik shares the often obscured truth about the genre.
Can you imagine the insane amount of detail in aerial shots that can be captured using a 100-megapixel medium-format camera? This could previously be done only by taking to the skies yourself in an airplane or helicopter. DJI has relieved us of buying a plane ticket, but has yet to announce a price tag for this flying contraption.
DxO and PracticalPhotography present you with a free to obtain OpticsPro 9 Elite License if you drop your email before June 30th. Ok, so it isn't the latest version of this powerful raw editor, but this version does come equipped with the PRIME noise reduction algorithm, so you can demo a full version free of charge before deciding to spend $199 for the latest incarnation.
When you’re planning a trip to visit Iceland’s majestic countryside, chances are that you are probably following the ring road in one direction or another. And with good reason. Almost all the major sights are dotted around this single road. Or are they? Should we even be chasing these well-known compositions to get a copy of our own on the wall?
If you have ever imagined your very own photography coffee table book, this review will probably get you designing it straightaway. Saal Digital, a German photo printing company offers the High-End Photobook, which, at least on paper, has all the bells and whistles you would like to see in a book containing your finest work. I’ve put the book to the test to see if the quality lives up to the claims made on their website and the Instagram advertisement that led me to them.
The problem with ultra-wide lenses is that a bulbous front element makes it impossible to attach a filter directly to the lens. A tried and tested method to create more space between lens and filter through the use of a filter holder and a lens adapter ring. Systems such as the Wonderpana by Fotodiox and the SW-150 by Lee make the use of all sorts of filters available for photographers with deep pockets. Like the enormous filters themselves, these systems are often expensive and only attach to one lens. Enter STC with a 6-stop ND filter that you could use with the widest of lenses, and for just 80 bucks.
During my time as a professional fine-art landscape photographer, I've come to appreciate the moody and somber aspects of photography more than those bursting sunsets. You can find me in the forest or on the beach in the harshest of conditions or in low-light. However, I'm a real sucker for mountains; mainly because we don't have those here in the Netherlands, but there's something in the interplay between the land and the sky that goes on in mountainscapes that I find truly attractive.
As shutter speed is the limiting factor in taking pictures of the night sky, we often seek out more expensive lenses that open up that bit more or check Fstoppers if there’s a new low-light, high-ISO king of cameras on the horizon. But what if I told you that there’s a device you can use today, with the camera and lens you already have, that has the potential to capture places that are light years away from Earth?
"What if I told you..." that every bot asking for followers is actually the social media platform service itself asking for money in order to get as much reach as you did organically several months ago. Jokes aside... I read more about bots on social media every day and it's time to give it the attention it deserves. The future of social sharing is about to change.
Snow, mountains, forests… The breath of Dracula down your neck. Well, maybe not vampires, but bears and wolves. Welcome to Romania.
We've previewed this very special filter before, and now come back with results from testing it in the field. The STC's Astro-Multispectra Filter blocks out artificial light of our modern world in the form of light pollution and increases contrast to reveal faint deep-sky objects. While available for Canon too, Taiwanese STC brings an exclusive filter to Nikon full-frame to capture wide-angle shots of the night sky.
By its (fabricated) definition, “Great Light” is soft, of an orange tinge, preferably at an oblique vertical angle and coming from a direction that shapes the subject enough without causing harsh shadows. So we’re essentially talking about sunsets and sunrises. But must we only whip out the camera at golden hour? Or are there more photographic opportunities to be had?
We've planned for the aurora and captured a ton of images in the previous episode. We've left the arctic and are back at home under the soft glow of our calibrated screen. It's time to process these babies. Be aware that there's advanced editing stuff ahead. If this goes straight above your head, I recommend that you stick with processing in Lightroom until you've got that under control. We have a lot to cover, so let's get started.
