paul bousquet photography

Getting that perfect image has never been easier as far as technology is concerned and the iPhone 4s keeps that momentum going. The capabilities of Apple’s new iPhone are numerous but the HDR feature is one I wanted to highlight here by showing you a clear result of an image with and without the HDR effect.

Here is the image without HDR processing:

Here is the HDR version as developed by the iPhone 4S:

Clearly the blown highlights in the clouds have been corrected and the color of the buildings on the right are truer to reality. Is the image perfect? Certainly not, but it is one that is very pleasing to the eye and can meet just about everyones needs. It also did not take any post processing whatsoever which in my book is a great advantage.

To activate the HDR effect, in the Camera app go under options and turn it on. In the iPhone Settings under Photos there is also an option to keep the “Normal” photo. Now taking an photo will result in the two images being captured, one normally processed and one with HDR processing. ( In fact, Derrick Story has an Maximum HDR technique that you may want to review to further potentially improve your images.)

For me, I use the HDR images as is since I’m looking to quicken my turn around time. For now I am saving both images just in case I want to use the “normal” image, but so far that has not happened!

Making Light Advanced Use of Off-Camera Flash by Piet Van den Eynde

Where Making Light left off, Making Light II picks up nicely and continues the journey to mastering the concepts of off camera flash. Piet quickly takes you beyond sync speed and introduces the concept of high-speed sync, Hypersync and working with multiple flashes. What I found extremely interesting were the many example images with various configurations and setups and the resultant image.

Whenever I hear the use of Elinchrom units, I have immediately skipped the conversation thinking these units and their use are strictly for the pros. But with the availability of rentals and the clear explanation in this book, advanced amateurs are clearly able to conquer this fear.

Along with the topic of gear that produces the light, Piet also covers in depth the modification of light by the description of modifiers such as grids, snoots and softboxes to name a few.

There are some really good tricks in this book too. But the best part of the book in my opinion are the ten case studies that take all of the tips and gear described in the first part of the book and Making Light I and put them to use in ten situations where flash will make the image stand out.

And if all of this is not enough, Peit also provides interviews with four Belgian Photographers who share their thoughts and some of their images to highlight what flash management can do for your images.

Enough said, this is a very good follow up to the frist off camera flash book and is highly recommended.

Special Offer on PDFs
For the first five days only, if you use the promotional code MAKINGLIGHT4  when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of Making Light II for only $4 OR use the code MAKINGLIGHT20  to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST October 24, 2011.

Click here to visit the Craft and Vision bookstore to pick up a copy of Making Light II.

A little Northeast Corridor action

Pompeii headgear: Boston Museum of Science (Taken with instagram)

For those of us who can’t make it down this year, A Mickey’s No So Scary Treat

Behind the scenes of Nikon 360

Nikon 360 Project

The Inspired Eye, Volume 3 by David duChemin

Well for this ebook I am doing something different & risky. Rather than write some verbose review of the the Inspired Eye, Volume 3 I will take some risk and use a Wordle to hopefully drive home what this book is all about. If you want a book discussing which gear to buy or what plug-in to purchase for your software tool, then move along this is not it. However, if you want to think about and learn what excites you and inspires you about your photography, then grab the book. Okay, here is my first Wordle ebook review:

Special Offer on PDFs
For the first five days only, if you use the promotional code EYETHREE4  when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of The Inspired Eye, Volume 3 for only $4 OR use the code EYETHREE20  to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST September 24, 2011.

Click here to visit the Craft and Vision bookstore to pick up a copy of The Inspired Eye, Volume 3 or any Craft & Vision ebook.

Making Light by Piet Van den Eynde

Finally a book that will help me understand the basics of off-camera flash. I have tried to dabble in plussing up my capabilities with respect to using flash in the past, but with little to no positive results.

Examples show you clearly what a difference and improvement to your images can be gained by adding just one off-camera flash into your technical toolbox. References are made to both Canon and Nikon flash units as well as suggestion on what features and accessories to look for in a basic flash setup without breaking the bank.

I have only read thru this book once, but already I feel some mental blocks regarding flash photography have been broken down for me. I do think this book will require multiple readings to not only grasp the basics as outlined, but to also put into practice and experiment with what works for you.

I am glad to see that Craft & Vision is delving a bit more into the technical aspects of photography, especially one that I feel is challenging to many photographers. I don’t necessarily want to this to be the sole focus of the Craft & Vision books, but I think it is important to cover since it can really make a difference in image quality.

I’ve never been tempted to print out one of the Craft and Vision books, but this may be the first. While I rely on using my iPad to refer to my photography books, I can see a hardcopy of Making Light as a nice reference tool to put in you camera bag when needing a refresher for those times when needing to make those flash enhanced shots.

Special Offer on PDFs
For the first five days only, if you use the promotional code LIGHT4  when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of Making Light for only $4 OR use the code LIGHT20  to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST August 21, 2011.

Click here to visit the Craft and Vision bookstore to pick up a copy of Making Light.

Two Nuts - Unlike the previous post, this photo shows the innards of the Roy O. Disney, a real life honest to goodness working steam train at the Magic Kingdom. Specifically this water level shows the status of water being “two nuts” indicating the level is at the 2nd set of nuts from the bottom.

Hogwarts Express

Andes by Andrew S. Gibson
THE PRINT AND THE PROCESS SERIES

Andes is a photographic journey that tells a story which is something I truly appreciate. The story may be different for each person who reads the book, but I’m sure Andrew Gibson does not mind that. We all take away different lessons or nuggets of information when we read a story or watch a movie.

This story revolves around Andrew’s travels in the Andes and presents many interesting images from those travels. Backing up those images, Andrew reflects on his interactions and observations visiting foreign lands and also provides some useful travel tips as well.

It is also interesting to see within this story, Andrew’s transition from film to digital cameras as he talks about that change and his use of prime lenses. For kicks, I decided I would try to see if I could tell which photos were taken with film and which with digital. GIve it a shot before you read the details in the process section.

Andrew says he wrote the book for dreamers and hoped it would inspire people go out and live those dreams, experience life where you live it and where others live it and make your own story. I would say that Andrew has succeeded here in providing that inspiration to others.

One tiny gripe I have with the book is the small text in the newer layout (NOTE: This probably has more to do with my aging eyes than anything else). While the layout is attractive, I find the text a bit tool small to read on my iPad with a full screen view, but is perfectly readable on my laptop. Fortunately, Goodreader, my preferred PDF reader of choice for the iPad does have a feature that allows you to set a crop area enabling zoomed in viewing mode for easier reading, although it does ruin the beautiful layout including some of the images which extend to the edge of the page. That tiny gripe aside, I highly recommend Andes.

Special Offer on PDFs
For the first five days only, if you use the promotional code ANDES4  when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of Andes for only $4 OR use the code ANDES20  to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST August 6, 2011.

Click here to visit the Craft and Vision bookstore to pick up a copy of Andes.

A Deeper Frame by David duChemin
CREATING DEEPER PHOTOGRAPHS & MORE ENGAGING EXPERIENCES

A Deeper Frame not only talks about depth, but also delves further into applying technique to improve your craft and making your images more interesting. In previous books by David duChemin, he has stressed the importance of vision in creating our art. This book builds upon that by taking the topic of depth and shows how we can use it to express the vision we are trying to create.

While this book may be shorter in length than some recent Craft and Vision releases, it provides much more material for the reader to contemplate and put into action. I liken this book more as a mini-workshop or course in that David provides the reader with the concept of depth and challenges the reader to put some effort into making their own images with more depth.

David explains what is meant by depth and provides examples of shooting a scene flat and with depth. His discussion touches upon perspective, optics, focus, color, light, and emotions and how each one of these can provide the image with depth thus making it more engaging to those looking at. He also illustrates how thinking about depth while using the rule of thirds can be beneficial and illustrates this.

Photography is a craft and requires us to continuously improve and this book certainly does that. Within the book David provides some creative exercises for us to not only grasp the concept of depth, but also how we can practice it while creating an image both in our heads and through our cameras.

Not only do I recommended this book, but I HIGHLY recommend you check out the fantastic offer being made on a 12 Craft and Vision books with a super discount code being offered. This is a fantastic way to stock up for your summer reading and help with improving your skills as a photographer.

Special Offer on PDFs
For the first five days only, if you use the promotional code DEEP4  when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of A Deeper Frame for only $4 OR use the code DEEP20  to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection.

“The DEEPER” Blow-out Offer
Craft and Vision is offering their deepest discount ever! 12 eBooks for $40. That’s about 34% off the already ridiculous price. That’s $3.33/book! Fill your shopping cart with 12 ebooks and use discount code DEEPER12 to get $20 off! These codes expire at 11:59pm PST July 2, 2011.

Click here to visit the Craft and Vision bookstore to pick up a copy or use DEEPER12 for $20 off a 12 pack.

Some might say (including myself) that hell must have finally frozen over. My long overdue first photo e-book is now finally available.

American Parks Journey is a PDF formatted e-book in the Print & Process format reminiscent of the photo books at Craft & Vision. It provides a first hand look into making a personal photo project come to fruition. In the book I discuss my goals for the book and the process used in order to accomplish this photographic vision of our journey through many of the national parks of the United States. I discuss technique as well as tools used while on the trip and also highlight what limitations I encountered along the way and some options to deal with them. For each of the 33 photos presented (The Print) I touch upon my thoughts (The Process) in capturing that scene and the camera settings used to do so.

PDF Format, 50 pages, USD $5

Effective Photo Composition