Notindoor Magazine - December 2015

+ Are You Crazy You Bought A What? + Photo of the Month Winner + Balance Photography With Travelling + Would You Sell Your Wife For $7.5M? + New Releases + Shooting Wildlife With Limited Resources and more

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PHOTOOFTHEMONTH click here to submit your photos to next month’s contest. You can win $200 and a placement right here.

MICROFORESTBY ALLAN PUDLITZKE - Congratulations on this placement and the $200 cash prize 2 NOTINDOOR

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CAMERA: Canon 50D • LENS: Tokina 12-28mm SETTINGS: 15mm • f/18 • 1.3 sec • ISO 100 LOCATION: Mt. Hood National Forest

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FIRSTWORDS /

Moshe Levis

It is finally December, time for the holidays, beautiful winter and meaningful family time. It’s also time for the first issue of NOTINDOOR Photography Magazine.

Back in July, of this year, I had a vision of creating the most wonderful landscape and fine art photography magazine out there, and as some of you know, we have created a Kickstarter campaign to help fund our first month as a publishing company. Although the Kickstarter wasn’t successfully funded, I have decided to go all in and make it happen anyway. The first deadline was December 1st (today). The day NOTINDOOR really comes to life.

I want to thank all of you who helped accomplish this by volunteering to write, providing some amazing photos, spreading the word and more. Without you, I wouldn’t be writing this right now.

For those who didn’t get the chance to understand what NOTINDOOR is all about, let me explain.

NOTINDOOR is a photography magazine dedicated to photography that takes place only outdoors. While landscape and fine art are the main focus, we don’t limit the genres too much, but still use a firm hand on articles and photo quality --so we don’t accept every photo or article.

Sorry in advance.

I have decided to come up with a magazine that can help our planet and worldwide photography enthusiasts as much as possible. We are the only magazine and online platform to pay for each and every submission we accept and publish. Because photographers and writers need to get paid for their time and vision. Simple as that.

There are a lot more plans for NOTINDOOR to grow, help and become the most versatile, beautiful, interesting and innovative magazine ever created.

Until then, enjoy NOTINDOOR, the December Issue.

Yours, Moshe Levis Founder and CEO

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FEATUREDTHISMONTH

Leslie A. Temanson photographer/writer

David Hinnen photographer/writer

Karl Girardet photographer

Allan Pudlitzke photographer/writer

Oli Magg photographer

Manuel Fassler photographer

Scott McCook photographer

Stephen Krawiec photographer

Nancy M. Griffis Writer

George Delimosis photographer

Dagur Jonsson photographer

Martin Zurmuhle photographer

Laimonas CiĹŤnys writer/photographer

Harry Eggens photographer

Heather Vopni photographer

Michael Wick photographer

Achraf Baznani photographer

Heidi Horvath photographer/writer

Steven Servantez writer/photographer

Laurie Olmstead writer/photographer

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FROMOURREADERSGALLERY

clicking an image will open it in a new window

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FEATUREDTHISMONTH

contents

ARE YOU CRAZY! YOU BOUGHT A WHAT? / Leslie A. Temanson

BALANCE PHOTOGRAPHY WITH TRAVELING / David Hinnen

WOULD YOU SELL YOUR WIFE FOR $7.5M? / Moshe Levis

MSTD - NOT WHAT YOU’RE THINKING / Moshe Levis

PORTFOLIO - Heather Vopni

PHOTO OF THE WEEK(S)

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PORTFOLIO - Martin Zurmuhle

MACRO ARTICLE / Manuel

PORTFOLIO - George Delimosis

WILDLIFE ARTICLE / Allan Pudlitzke

PORTFOLIO - Harry Eggens

THE ULTIMATE FIGHT / David Hinnen 9

MAGAZINESECTIONS/STORIESREVIEWSTUTORIALS...

contents

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LENS

STAFF PICK

GOOD READS

BEHIND THIS PHOTOGRAPH

GOOD READS

GOOD READS

GOOD READS

THE FINDING

PHOTOGRAPHY LESSONS

GOOD READS

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LENS

PHOTOGRAPHY LESSONS

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BALANCEPHOTOGRAPHYWITHTRAVELING It’s that time of the year again – you just booked your vacation – for relaxing’s sake! Where are you headed? Off to explore a new city, a new country, or even a new continent?

Wherever you end up travelling, chances are, you will want to take some photographs. Be it documenting your trip or working on your portfolio on the side, there are some things to be taken into consideration. The vacation you have been looking forward to first and foremost is about relaxing and discovering a new place. The tips below serve as a guideline to successfully incorporating photography into such a trip: Decide on sights you want to see You are most likely visiting the location for a reason, be it museums, the rich history of the place, or the nearby beautiful landscape. It is important that you know what sites you want to visit and what activities to pursue before arriving at your destination. Actually, this is valid for any kind of trip as otherwise you waste a lot of your precious time off thinking of what to do. While you’re at it, also look up some restaurants; I find TripAdvisor to be an invaluable resource.

Get inspired, choose and research shooting locations Now, to the photography part. You will want to have some inspiration of what you could possibly shoot during your stay. Websites like Flickr or 500px are some of the best places to find that inspiration. Just search for your destination and check out what others have done; maybe (most likely) some subjects appeal to you and you would like to shoot at the same location, creating your version of it. If your list happens to include some areas which require special access, book tickets ahead of time, and most importantly, research whether photography is even allowed, and if yes, whether you will be able to take the needed equipment. Unfortunately tripods are not welcome in many areas, so being aware of that helps dampen some disappointment when being turned away.

By combining a stroll through Brooklyn Bridge Park with some cityscape photography and timing it around sunset I was able to get this picture.

The title says it all: Balance. Balance between sightseeing and 12 NOTINDOOR

by David Hinnen

photography is incredibly important, even more so if you are not traveling alone, and is the single most important thing when planning your trip. What I like to do is mark the chosen sites on a map in one color, and photography locations in another. Unless you are really unlucky, you will notice some clusters forming. Maybe that hill overlooking the city to shoot some cityscapes is close to a recreational park you planned to stroll through. That pier where you want to shoot long exposures during sunset – I am confident there must be a good restaurant close by to visit before or after. Check TripAdvisor. Try to fit the attractions in to the times you don’t plan to shoot, like the middle of the day, so that you have the morning and evening for making use of the great light!

I think you get the drift. Also, never neglect your companion. Inform them early on that you want to spend some time photographing, but that you want to build it around your vacation together. Most certainly you will find a compromise which benefits the both of you. The perfect example is the above image: I knew ahead of time that I would want to shoot the Manhattan skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Luckily, my mom, sister and I agreed to visit that park anyway. Since I wanted to shoot at sunset and they didn’t care too much about the time, we settled on the early evening, just before sunset. While they were having their girl talk I was filling up my memory card with pure gold.

Be smart about what gear you take Let’s be honest – we all love our gear, more than we should.

Therefore, we’ll want to take every last bit of it for that one eventuality of needing that special lens. No. While out and about, you will spend a great deal of time walking or standing. Having all your gear in your backpack will undoubtedly ruin your experience as you will hardly be able to move from sore muscles on day two. So be smart. Go back to point #2 and study your locations once more. What focal range will you need to get the shots you want? Again, Flickr or 500px can be immensely useful here: Check the EXIF data on some shots that appeal to you, and see what focal length was used.

I, for example, was really unsure of whether to bring my 70-200mm f/2.8 to NYC. I checked all the locations again, and once I saw that 70mm was enough to get the kind of shots I wanted from across the river, I felt quite confident in leaving the 70-200mm f/2.8 at home. I recommend taking one, if really necessary, two lenses with you. Unless you are shooting to pay your bills, you should prioritize versatility over that little bit of improved image quality you would get from carrying only primes. I took the 24-70mm f/2.8 and a 20mm f/1.8 in case I wanted a wider shot. I used the zoom lens 98% of the time. There will undoubtedly be times where you would want a lens you left home, but if you followed my advice and did your homework, this will only occur two to three times, and in my book having 2 kg less to lug around all day beats not having that special lens for the two to three shots you would have used it for. Lastly, make sure that

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everything fits in your backpack, along with a good supply of water, space for a rain jacket or umbrella and maybe some snacks for while you are out and about. Traveling by plane?

Check with the airline about luggage restrictions and tripod allowance (mostly this shouldn’t be a problem unless you bring a 5 kg monster).

Don’t be afraid to improvise or skip things

stumbled upon that pond with the house (see picture) I just couldn’t help it. Since I had told her early on that I also wanted to shoot some image from time to time, she was absolutely cool with stopping for 10-15 minutes, allowing me to get what is still my favourite image today. It’s all about communication.

Balancing your photography with a vacation isn’t easy, but I hope with these five tips I helped you make it more manageable. It is important that at no point you forget that you are on vacation, and therefore should enjoy it. Listen to your companion, listen to your desires, and make the most of it – together. Have you ever had to balance photography with a trip? If yes, where was it, how did it go, what advice would you give to someone? Let’s hear it in the comments!

SOMEOFDAVID’SWORKS

Not at all a planned shot. I stumbled upon this scene while exploring a park, and spent 15 minutes to get this shot.

Having a plan is good; it eliminates that feeling of not knowing what to do and thereby missing most of the attractions.

Having a plan is good, knowing when to deviate from it is better. Don’t be afraid of skipping something on your list or reshuffling if it doesn’t fit your current mind-set. You spent some more time in that beautiful park? Don’t get all stressed out and sit down with your companion to decide what to skip. You will probably find yourself with time to spare once an attraction doesn’t live up to its potential and you end up being done with it way before you anticipated. Also, while walking around and taking in the surroundings, don’t be afraid to follow spur-of-the-moment desires. Give in to some of them, rewarding yourself with a culinary treat, a rest on a bench or a visit to a small museum which you stumbled upon. In Peterhof, Russia, I was taking the most romantic walk through a beautiful park in the early evening with my girl. I hadn’t planned on shooting at all, but when we

David Hinnen Photographer / Author

I’m a passionate photographer, drawn to subjects in nature and architecture.

I openly admit to a preference for long exposures – the possibility of capturing the events of seconds – or even minutes – in one image leaves me speechless again and again. - Website

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Holuhraun by Oli Magg

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PHOTO

Stripes by Allan Pudlitzke

OFTHEWEEK(S)

Zebras Fighting by Karl Girardet City of Light by David Hinnen

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New Releases -2015 AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR Look into the bag of nearly any Nikon-wielding pro and you will find Nikon’s iconic 24-70mm f/2.8, and with good reason; this lens’ versatility and image quality has made it an essential workhorse lens for every type of shooter. The new AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR improves upon its respected predecessor in nearly every aspect, adding the best Nikon lens technologies to create an essential optic. An exciting evolution to come to this lens is the much-anticipated addition of Nikon’s Vibration Reduction (VR) image stabilization technology. With up to four stops of image stabilization*, the new 24-70mm f/2.8 VR is ready to tackle the challenging light of a wedding ceremony or Read More...

AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR The new Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR is an exhilarating new lens option, giving enthusiast FX and DX-format photographers the ability to go further with amazing zoom power and tack-sharp clarity. This compact super-telephoto zoom is ideal for bringing distant subjects closer, including birds, sports, wildlife and motorsports. This lens opens the doors for a fresh new perspective; with a maximum reach of 500mm on FX-format Nikon cameras and a staggering 750mm equivalent reach on DX-format cameras.

With a maximum aperture of f/5.6, photographers have the ability to fill much of the frame with their subject and create a pleasing background blur, even in Read More...

AF-S NIKKOR 24mm f/1.8G ED The AF-S NIKKOR 24mm f/1.8G ED is the latest addition to the exceptional system of NIKKOR f/1.8 primes, and provides enthusiast photographers with a fast wide-angle prime lens that’s both lightweight and affordable. This new lens lets photographers immerse viewers in landscapes, interiors and architecture with amazing clarity and minimal distortion, while a fast maximum aperture delivers superb bokeh and excellent low-light ability. Whether a photographer’s passion is capturing environmental portraits or the delicious details of a meal, this lens creates a dramatic separation between subject and background.

The new NIKKOR 24mm f/1.8 complements Read More...

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S N E L E UTTH New Releases -2015

Canon EF 11-24mm F4L USM To experience the ultimate in wide-angle photography, the EF 11-24mm f/4L USM brings L-series construction and optics to the widest zoom lens Canon has ever made. With an expansive wide-angle range of 11-24mm, this is an ideal lens for landscapes, interior shots, and unique perspectives on subjects close and far. Its new optical design features Super UD and UD lenses that correct chromatic aberration. Four aspheric lens elements help to minimize distortion from the center of the image to the periphery and throughout the zoom range. A Subwavelength Coating (SWC) and Air Sphere Coating (ASC) significantly reduce flare and ghosting, while a nine-blade circular aperture Read More...

Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens Truly wide and truly fast, the Nikon F mount 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM Lens is a member of the venerable Art series of Global Vision lenses from Sigma and pairs a sophisticated optical design with a robust physical construction. Comprised of 15 elements in 11 groups, the lens design includes two “F� Low Dispersion (FLD) elements, five Special Low Dispersion (SLD) elements, and two aspherical elements to significantly reduce chromatic and spherical aberrations, as well as limit distortion for clean, sharp, and evenly illuminated imagery. A Super Multi-Layer Coating has also been applied to minimize surface reflections, flare, and ghosting for increased contrast and color accuracy Read More...

Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens Offering a wide angle of view for full frame cameras, the Nikon F mount Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens is a fast wide-angle zoom lens with Vibration Compensation. The f/2.8 maximum aperture performs well in low-light situations, and provides a shallow depth of field for selective focus. Further benefitting the lens is the VC (Vibration Compensation) image stabilization, which helps to minimize the appearance of camera shake to enable the use of longer shutter speeds or smaller apertures when hand-holding in lowlight conditions. XGM and LD glass elements reduce chromatic aberrations and help ensure sharp and clear imagery. eBAND and BBAR coatings render uniform Read More...

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AH!THEWORLDOFLENSES

by Heidi Horvath

Ah! The world of Lenses!

When asked to write this article, I found myself thinking there is so much to write about. I enjoy shooting many types of Photography. Shooting from Macro shots to Concerts, and many things in between, I enjoy the challenges of the different situations. Owning also a Studio that has Green Screen, which holds another interesting world of endless creativity with backgrounds.

Now, Back to Lenses, let me share with you some of my information and experience. I personally shoot with Nikon.

The lenses Nikon makes are superb, I have found out. Owning about 10 - I counted when I took inventory today. Lenses can be like a drug or great food, wine, etc. leaving you wanting more. Being such a Technical person as myself, I get an incredible rush of excitement about lenses! They each have different functions, and can be used differently, all the while creating such incredible shots, effects and end results. May I just add, keeping an eye out for the next new Lens to come onto the market, can certainly leave one drooling with anticipation! Perhaps you have also experienced this.

Let me share with you my Favorite Lens I enjoy working with. Or shall I say THE most prized one I own, will talk about first. I honestly have found my Telephoto Zoom Nikon 70- 200mm ED 1:2.8G AF-S VR(Vibration Reduction) to be my biggest Beast of a Lens!.. “Beast” meaning the most expensive and my most heaviest one I own. Of course there are many more lenses that cost much more, that are lighter in weight, etc. One day I do hope to attain them, ha ha. The internal mechanisms of this 70-200mm Lens are made of the finest glass, can work excellently in the most low light situations, thus making it a very fast lens. With a 2.8 max aperture, it can open very wide, letting more light in. It is a great Action and Wildlife Lens. I personally have used this lens for taking some incredible photos at World Press Conferences and of Celebrities. I must share this, that I have also taken some amazing really detailed Macro shots! The Roses and Succulents in Nature I have shot with this lens, just blew me away. It really has such versatility. It’s Great for Concert shots if you cannot get to be in the pit, or up close. Just shoots Excellent in Daylight and Low light situations. Weddings - where you do not want to get in the way of the bride and Groom, guests, etc., you can zoom in real close. Then zoom out, without having to move around much, not grabbing attention to yourself, and staying professional. This is a lens to capture all those events and most key details. It is a heavy lens, so a monopod or a tripod is a good idea. Once you get used to it, it can get easier using it free hand, but it’s a hefty lens!

easy variety of shots. From incredible close ups, to wide, and distance, clear crisp shots. Even using it in Studio, Green Screen as well, or Outdoors - It’s just so dang good! I cannot say enough about this lens!

One of my most “Fun” Lens is my Fisheye Rokinon CS 8mm 1:3.5. I have found this lens works great in low light and also in Daylight shoots, I shoot in Manual. The Fisheye just gives any photography situation a interesting wide curved, unique, creative look. You can find yourself physically right on top of your subject, seriously close, such as right in front of their nose! Getting such a wide angle shot of everything around them from side to side! It’s a trip how cool it can make things look. Doing some post production editing, can also give it an extra creative look. Just such a cool lens!

I will now share my obsession with Lenses, along side of the ones I have already wrote about. These Lenses, aka (My artillery) I currently have are: Nikon 28-70mm 1:3.5-4.5D AF Nikkor, 28mm 1:2.8D AF Nikkor, Nikon 50mm - 1:1.4D and another Nikon 50mm 1:1.8G, Nikon DX 35mm 1:1.8G AF-S Nikkor, Nikon DX-VR AF-S 18-105mm 1:1.3.5-5.6G ED Nikkor. Finding myself always open to trying different interesting things creatively, I purchased a small Holga lens. I have yet to try it, but I know it can create some very interesting photos.

Lastly my other obsession, is collecting old vintage cameras and lenses from many different years, and time periods. I have quite a collection, and would love to share, but that is another story, oh dear!

Thanks for reading, and Keep on clicking!!

Now my other most favorite Lens is my Nikon 18-200mm DX 1:3.5-5.6G ED AF-S Nikkor! I find myself using this one actually the most, and I find that this lens gives me such an 20 NOTINDOOR

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Heidi Horvath Photographer / Author

Amongst owning her own Photo Studio, Heidi is well experienced shooting Rock Stars, Actors, Celebrities, Nature and more. Heidi is also a staff Photographer for 4 online Music magazines, and has had many of her photographs and articles published. - Website

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SAMPLEPHOTOS - From our readers

“Exploring the coast”

by Stephen Krawiec BRAND: SONY MODEL: E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS SETTINGS: 18mm | ƒ/22 | 2s | ISO 50

“Florish”

by Moshe Levis BRAND: SIGMA MODEL: 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM II Macro SETTINGS: 200mm | ƒ/2.8 | 1/400s | ISO 200

“Untitled”

by Heidi Horvath BRAND: Nikon MODEL: DX AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR SETTINGS: 18mm | ƒ/14 | 1/800s | ISO 250

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THEULTIMATEFIGHT

SIGMA

APO 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM

Category: OS, Telephoto Typical Photography: Travel, Wedding & Events, Portrait, Nature & Wildlife, Sports & Action • Large aperture & optically stabilized • FLD glass with performance equal to fluorite • Carrying case, lens hood, front & back caps • Pentax mount is discontinued The Sigma 70-200 2.8 EX DG HSM OS is a large aperture telephoto zoom lens which features Sigma technology including a Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) and an Optical Stabilizer (OS). Fast, sharp and highly versatile, the 70-200mm 2.8 is a staple focal length for many types of photography including wedding photography, portrait photography, sports photography, and wildlife photography to name a few. Two FLD glass elements (with performance equal to Fluorite) and three SLD elements (Special Low Dispersion) ensure outstanding image quality through the entire 70mm to 200mm range. An OS system compensates for camera shake when shooting handheld and a rounded nine-blade diaphragm creates beautiful bokeh. Designed for full frame cameras, the 70-200mm 2.8 will work on APS-C sensors, translating to roughly 112-320mm.

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SPECIFICATIONS Lens Construction Angle of View Number of Diaphragm Blades Mininum Aperture Minimum Focusing Distance Filter Size (mm) Maximum Magnifications Dimensions (Diameter x Length) Weight Corresponding Mounts -

22 Elements in 17 Groups 34.3º - 12.3º 9 f/22 140cm / 55.1in.

77mm 1:8 86.4mm x 197.6mm /3.4in. x 7.8in.

1430g / 50.4oz.

Sigma HSM EX Nikon HSM EX Canon HSM EX Sony/Minolta HSM EX

HSM -Hyper-Sonic Motor EX - EX Lens PENTAX SFX and SF7 cannot be used.

The Pentax mount Tele Converter cannot be used with this particular lens.

Nikon and Pentax mounts do not have an aperture ring. Some functions may not work depending on the camera model.

This lens cannot be used with film SLR cameras with the exception of the Nikon F6 and Canon EOS-1v.

For Pentax and Sony mounts, it is not possible to use the AF and the built-in OS function of this lens when attaching it to film SLR cameras as well as Pentax *ist series and K100D.

According to the Sigma website.

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When using the OS function of a lens with a camera which incorporates a stabilizer unit, please turn the camera’s stabilizer unit off.

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NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II With a f/2.8 fixed maximum aperture, VR II image stabilization and Nikon’s advanced lens technologies, the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II delivers a versatile telephoto zoom range and professional performance in nearly any light. Whether you’re shooting low-light sports, wildlife, fashion, portraits or everyday subjects, the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II will reliably capture stunning, bright, razor-sharp images and HD videos

SPECIFICATIONS Lens Construction Angle of View Number of Diaphragm Blades Mininum Aperture Minimum Focusing Distance Filter Size (mm) Zoom Ratio Dimensions (Diameter x Length) Weight Corresponding Mounts -

22 Elements in 17 Groups 34°20’ - 22°50’ 9 f/22 4.6 ft. ( 1.4 m) 77mm 2.9 x 3.4 in. (87 mm) x 8.1 in.

(205.5 mm) 54.3 oz. (1540 g) Nikon F-Bayonet

Perfect light, perfect setting, and perfect subject composition usually leads to a great photo. Even simple equipment can acquire a special photo in those conditions. However, how photo equipment performs under “stress” when light, subject matter and setting do not cooperate separates high quality from the rest. This lens is just that: an exceptional zoom lens is true to form when everything is just rights, and works hard for you when everything is not. It is fast to zoom and focus, easy to use hand held (nice balance/weight distribution), produces high quality photos at high ISO and is rugged. The attached photos are not my best by no means, but they were taken at an ISO of 1600, 15 rows up from the ice through the glass for one and protective netting for the other at f 2.8 and 4.0 respectively. It’s a work horse lens covering a very useful range (70-200mm) for sports and just out and about.

According to the Nikon website.

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Photo by Laimonas Ciūnys | CAMERA: Nikon D800 • LENS: Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 SETTINGS: 300mm • f/5.6 • 1/1000 sec • ISO 450

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DAYINLIFEOFLANDSCAPEPHOTOGRAPHY / Michael Wick

AVIANPHOTOGRAPHY / Steven Servantez

We all get up early as if we are going to work. But today is Saturday so you are heading for the mountains. Today you’re going to get that perfect landscape photograph. You’re finally on your way to get out and capture that perfect light c​alled the golden hour.

One of my passions is photographing birds. The interest stems from my need to express myself in photography, the difficulty in capturing fast-moving subjects and the need to be outdoors.

Some drive for hours to get to that perfect shot, only to get caught up in morning traffic, which makes you wonder how many people are on their way to do the same thing. As you make the exit towards the mountains you realize you’re the only one. You begin to smile, knowing that the day may turn out to be a good day after all.

Whether using a point-and-shoot or a DSLR, photographing birds is something everyone can do. Some simple tips will help maximize your chances of capturing a great shot.

Birds can be creatures of habit. Knowing the behavior of birds can be beneficial. I place bird feeders near wood lines or bushes. Most birds will land away from a bird feeder and look around before flying into the feeder to eat. Aim for the As you come to the end of the pavement you see that the spots the birds perch prior to moving to the feeder. Some gravel begins. You can now roll down your windows and rest. birds use the same perch every time, use this to your adThe birds are singing and the air is fresh. You drive for a few vantage. Birds need to drink and bathe; bird baths, streams, more miles trying to find that perfect spot. It could be a river ponds attract birds. The same principle applies as with the or even a beautiful creek with a beautiful waterfall. You know feeders; birds tend to perch, bathe and drink from the same there are more ahead so you pass the first few locations but spots. Portable blinds are an excellent way to get close to you start regretting it: “should I pass or should I stop?” You birds. Set up your blind near bird areas two to three days know when you’ll be back the light will be different, so you prior to shooting. Birds will become acclimated to the blind. turn around and take the shot.

Climb in and wait. It is possible to get within feet of birds in feeders or streams. If you can’t get outdoors, place your feedBack on track. You drive a few more miles up the side of the ers or bird baths near windows. Shoot from behind curtains mountain knowing that the perfect shot might just be around or blinds to get close-ups. the corner. The road is rough but you don’t care. You’re all by yourself. No one is around to get that same picture.

Providing housing for birds will attract and make it easier to There are many more creeks and waterfalls ahead but this photograph adults and nestlings. My property has housing time you stop and take the picture. No more wondering. By for wrens, wood ducks, owls, bluebirds and more! now you’ve added up some miles and ahead, at the top of mountain, the sun is coming over the ridge from the east.

I always try NOT to include feeders or houses in my photos.

You might just be too late! You must hurry! Finally, you’re The photos will look more “wild” if you can’t see anything there just in time to see the sunrise on the most beautiful but your subject and surrounding habitat. mountain in Washington State, Mount Rainier. The time and money you spent was all worth it, to get up early and get out Always stay low. Birds are less intimidated by low objects there. You loved every moment of it. You wouldn’t trade it for and tend to flee higher objects. Never wear white; birds tend anything. Landscape photography, they say, is calming to shy away from this color. If you want to get closer to your eventually. subject, move in lateral movements. Moving straight forward tends to frighten birds.

Lastly, share your photos with others. Ask other photographers what you did right and what could you have done better.

Photo taken from the next ridge away from Mt Rainier CoolPix L830 | 1/640 sec | f/4.8 | 24 mm | ISO 125

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UNICORNOFLANDSCAPE / Allan Pudlitzke

There is something to be said about the waterfall. One of the most majestic scenes you can capture with a camera. Some photographers strive to capture their beauty with long-exposure photographs, creating smooth, creamy textures of fluidity. Others take the gritty and rigid approach trying to catch the movement of water in the moment, thus a fiercer and more aggressive display of Mother Nature. Whatever the technique, the surreal sound and force of a waterfall almost gives you an understanding of how soothing and destructive Mother Nature can be in a single moment. I‘d like to think of waterfalls as fingerprints, with no two being exactly the same. Sure, some may have similar characteristics, general shapes and flows, but no two are really identical.

Photo by Steven Servantez

Tiered crevasses formed through the geological history of our planet lie host to millions of gallons of fresh water streams cascading further and further to sea level elevations. Surging falls crash into pools and rock basins, creating hazes of mist, capturing particles of light playing host to vibrant rainbows. So why do we love waterfalls? Maybe it is the serenity created by the scene of something so unique, so extravagant, that the moment becomes personal. As with each waterfall sharing the same sources, we as photographers share the same planet, same resources, and same surroundings to create our individuality. It is not necessarily the object that creates the scene, it is a moment being captured, and we all view it differently from one another. Waterfalls, unicorns of the landscape, fueling the imagination, and powering the creativity of the scene.

Wahkeena Falls. Columbia Gorge.

Canon 50D | Tokina 12-28mm | 100 ISO | 15mm | f/14 | 3 Seconds

Photo by Steven Servantez

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GOODREADS

SHOOTINGPOLOCROSSE / Laurie Olmstead

FROMGLACIERSWEDRINK / Heather Vopni

This past summer I was invited out to watch a polocrosse game and take some photos. I am an avid horseman myself, having over 30 years of experience riding, teaching, training, and breeding, and my farrier, who was taking lessons to improve her game, invited me to watch a tournament.

There is a place. A magnificent place. A place where vast, upswept earthly monuments adorn the rugged landscape with regal vigor and longstanding distinction. A place where prehistoric ice and snow compliment an ever so frigid and mountainous terrain. Sheer exalted beauty awaits for all who seek to marvel its majesty. This place, is the Columbia Icefield.

Polocrosse is a fascinating sport, invented and developed in Australia and now enjoyed by players worldwide. Full of dynamic power, incredible speed and daunting prowess by both the riders and their horses, it is a cross between the sports of polo and lacrosse. It is not a sport for the faint of heart, and the hours of practice and conditioning necessary to develop the skill to compete at the highest level is clearly evident in the best teams on the field. For the avid photographer who enjoys taking action shots to capture those moments in time that almost defy reality, it provides an extreme and exhilarating opportunity to enjoy yourself and practice your craft at the same time.

The games were so chock full of danger, excitement, and speed that I quickly felt so engrossed in the passion of photographing those incredible moments that I forgot the time and found myself flitting to and fro like an obsessed butterfly in a field of tulips in Holland!

Set amidst the coveted Canadian Rocky Mountains on the Continental Divide where the boundary of Banff and Jasper National Parks meets the border between the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, sit six major mountain glaciers co-creating the strikingly expansive Columbia Icefield. With a total land area of approximately 325 square kilometers (125 square miles) it is the largest accumulation of ice south of the Arctic Circle. The pristine and opulent altitudes of crystallized vapor remain poised and purposeful along the Icefield Parkway, yet, these colossal giants are said to be considerably endangered and have an increasingly frail and

I was surrounded by nearly continuous instances showcasing the heartwarming, indescribable bond between the individual riders and their horses. Add to that the incredible teamwork and strong bond between the riders on each team, and the camaraderie and sportsmanship evident even between opposing teams, several who were visiting from other countries, and it was a recipe for inspiration.

Only later did I realize I was burnt to a lobster-red crisp by the sun at high altitude here in Colorado. If you have never watched a game of polocrosse, I strongly suggest you check it out and try and find a tournament being held near you. It is an incredibly fun game to watch and shoot!

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sensitive ecosystem.

The Athabasca Glacier is the largest of the six ice sheets which forms part of the Icefield in Jasper National Park. She is uniquely united with the five, Castleguard, Columbia, Stutfield, Saskatchewan and Snow Dome glaciers. The structure and magnitude of these spectacular glacial landmarks is a photographers year-round paradise. The world renowned Athabasca Glacier is believed to be the most popular glacial tourist attraction in North America, visited by millions of sightseers from around the world annually. However, the famous glacier is losing ice every year at an astonishing rate and some climatologists consider it to be in danger of completely vanishing by the next generation due to Climate Change and Global Warming. Although the steady fluctuating and melting of ice and snow is a regular and natural glacial occurrence, the seasonal snowfall it receives, which turns to ice to restore the surface area of the glacier, has been proven to no longer be an adequate counterbalance.

Also among the select six, the distinguished and photographically sought-after Snow Dome Glacier is certainly much more than just another pretty mountain face. It is historically and hydrologically vital.

With its particular geographical positioning, and, while reaching an impressive 3,456 meters (11,339 feet), the Dome’s glacial mass is considered by many experts to be the ‘hydrological apex’ of North Ameri-

ca. The continuous, icy down flow from Snow Dome is known for providing essential, continental water supplies through three dramatically diverse yet equally important waterways which include, the Columbia River, running westward to the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean via the Athabasca River, part of the Mackenzie basin, and, the North Saskatchewan River of the Nelson River basin, flowing north to Hudson Bay, and ultimately eastward to the Atlantic Ocean.

Water is essential for all life on earth and the Columbia Icefield is the most important clean, fresh water source in all of North America. Meltwater from these ancient ice packs plays an intricate and crucial role in sustaining the significant, multiple watersheds from which we heavily rely on. Continued scientific research on Climate Change and Global Warming promises only a glimpse of hope for our most valuable and treasured, renewable resource.

From these beloved and majestic, ice capped pillars flows an age-old, temporal life force to be forever protected and preserved for as long as perceived possible. From breathtaking wonder, primitive and pure, holistic and refreshing, from precious ice comes precious waters; from glaciers we drink.

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GOODREADS

REYKJAVIKBESTPHOTOSPOTS / Dagur Jonsson

I have always considered myself an artistic person and I have always been involved in art in one way or another. Photographing is something new and an exciting form of expression for me. I have a background in drawing and painting and learning the basic drawing skills helps me a lot in photographing. I love doing moody shots with lots of emotion and try to process my images so they look a bit dramatic with a story to tell. I love shooting landscape with dramatic scene like dark clouds or captivating sunlight. I spend a lot of time shooting within the Reykjavik capital area and use a Canon 700D and a Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens. I usually process my shots in Lightroom and Efex Pro to give them the extra mood I am always looking for.

3. Around Bakkatjorn - Seltjarnarnes Beautiful area, here you can capture amazing birdlife, the seashore in Seltjarnarnes.

Here are examples of my favorite’s photo spots in the western part of the Reykjavik capital area.

1. Island of Grotta Great spot to capture the beautiful lighthouse, birdlife and far away mountains.

2. Shore Between Grotta and Golf Course - Seltjarnarnes Beautiful seashore to photograph, great spot to capture the Grotta lighthouse and very often you can spot the sunset in the evening.

4. Grandabót at Eiðisgrandi Beautiful spot to capture the sunset during the summer and the mountains of Esja and Akrafjall.

5. The Sun Voyager sculpture / Harpa concert Hall Must visit place to capture the famous sculpture and the beautiful concert hall.

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Heather Vopni Photographer Full Portfolio

As a coast-to-coast Canadian landscape photographer, Heather Vopni pursues her creative craft almost daily with a generous level of anticipation and excitement. The geographic world for Heather is full of splendid stories waiting to be told and is constantly stimulating her imagination.

Her award-winning photographs have been showcased regularly by the tourism industry, photo contest websites and broadcast media, on many of the most popular social media sites including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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Having been recognized locally, regionally, provincially and nationally for capturing inspired earth images, Heather has acquired an added love and devotion for her fine art photography.  As an artist, her work is painted in a vast multitude of scenic portrayals, and she is continually viewing stunning landscapes through the prism of creativity.

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When Heather is not out and about, traveling around her native country behind the lens, she can be found applying her accomplished interior design skills by creating comfortable, luxurious and influential living spaces at her home in beautiful British Columbia with her children and grandchildren close by her side.

And, of course, decorating and adorning the walls of her family’s lakeside home with her abundant and dynamic array of photographic collections.

Future endeavors for Heather Vopni include publishing her very first photography coffee table book as well as being a regular contributor to various, successful photography publications.

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As an added bonus, you can now own any one or more of Heather Vopni’s outdoor artworks by visiting the world renowned website: fineartamerica.com/profiles/heather-vopni-photo-design. html Her photographs are available in various formats including museum quality prints, framed art, gallery wraps, posters, greeting cards and more!

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BEHINDTHISPHOTOGRAPH

Luminance - by Scott McCook From the minute I laid eyes on Mt. Cook I knew we had to get out there and shoot it. I don’t often have such an overwhelming feeling from a location calling out to me, but for the last few days we’d been in the area this mountain had been visible on the horizon, calling for me to get closer.

I had been checking the weather and at the last minute we got a clearing and it emerged from the clouds.

We loaded up the gear and made the hour drive from Lake Tekapo to the Hooker Valley/Mt. Cook parking lot. We had arrived a little late but I had already set my mind on a composition a little further back using the rocks and boulders left in the wake of the receding glacier and scattered by running water. I wanted to connect the scene with one of these big boulders which had most likely started it’s life up near it’s original home, Mt. Cook.

It took me a while to dial in the scene and then I waited for some cool light. I originally planned for the warm light as the sun went down and lit up the tip of the mountain, but after witnessing the whole scene over three hours, I preferred the light as we entered into twilight and the half moon came out, leaving everything looking a little cooler and with a slight magenta cast.

It was probably one of the coolest shoots I’ve ever done, made even better by enjoying it with my other half, Erica. After the action had calmed down we sat on our rocks and ate some packed dinner soaking in the onebillion-star-restaurant views, best place we’ve had a feed so far, no bookings needed and Mother Nature put on a great service.)

It’s not often I get to mix landscape photography and hanging out with Erica. It’s normally the blokes, coffee, swearing and no sleep for many days.) So it was really cool to be able to enjoy this with her and also enjoy something else I’m so passionate about.

Scott McCook Photographer / Author

Facebook 500px Instagram Flickr

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PHOTOBY: Scott McCook CAMERA: Nikon D810 LENS: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8 FOCALLENGTH: 16mm APERTURE: f/13 SHUTTERSPEED: 4 sec ISO: 100

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L L A M S

Getting Closer With Macro Photography

PHOTOBY: Moshe Levis CAMERA: Nikon D800e LENS: Sigma 70-200mm 2.8 FOCALLENGTH: 24mm APERTURE: f/8 SHUTTERSPEED: 1/60 sec ISO: 100

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QUICKANDDIRTY

featured article

by Manuel Fasssler

As a photographer who specializes mainly in people-photography, with nature photography (wildlife, landscape and macro photography) being only some kind of “hobby“ for me, I consider my way of shooting macros as “quick and dirty” as there are more sophisticated ways to do it. However, I think it is worth sharing how I do it, especially if you prefer to travel light and don’t carry much equipment around.

Speaking of equipment, I almost exclusively use my Canon EF 100mm f2.8 L Macro lens combined with a full-format camera (in the picture shown afterwards it is the Canon 5DsR). No matter where I go and what I shoot, that lens is always in my backpack as I use it for many other purposes as well. And that’s it, no flashes, no ringlights, no macro-slides, no tripods, nothing ... just a lens and a camera.

Post-processing I work with Adobe Bridge (the RAW-converter works exactly the same as in Lightroom) and Photoshop to post-process my pics. As with all my pics I only do basic corrections (lens correction, basic lighting corrections, fringing, etc.) in the RAW-converter and then do the rest in Photoshop. No matter what you do to your series, the best way is to make the exact same changes to all the pics in one series (works best with synchronizing the settings) and then load the files to Photoshop as layers.

After that just mark all the layers, press Edit- Auto align layers and Edit – Auto Blend layers and wait for the result to show up ... if you’ve done a good job on shooting the stack The main problem (especially when shooting without artifi- there will be no corrections necessary, just a little cropping cial light) with macro shooting is the very narrow depth of because you’ll get some transparent parts along the edges due field (just on to two millimeters) resulting from the “long“ to the alignment of the different pics of the stack. Now all focal length and the short distance from the sensor to the ob- you have to do is to merge all layers (Cmd+Alt+Shift+E) and ject (or in other words: the scale of the object on the camera go on like you do with all your other pics. sensor). When shooting in normal light you have to use an aperture of about f4 to f5.6 to land at some reasonable shutThat’s about it – and good luck with trying out “my” method. ter speeds without pushing the ISO too much. So what I do to solve that problem is basically using the method of “freehand-focus- stacking“. As you can google „focus-stacking“ and there are many great “how-to’s“ and tutorials out there, I won’t explain the method, but just tell you how I do it.

Taking the pictures Basically I start in manual mode with ISO 100, f4 and adjust the shutter speed until I get a well exposed photograph. I try to work with shutter speeds shorter than 1/160s, especially with the 5DsR to avoid shaky pictures. Then I set the camera to “burst mode” (five frames/s with the 5DsR), focus on the object and then switch the autofocus (AF) OFF. I then use the manual focus of the lens to adjust the sharpness to be This one is a stack made with 8 pics, same method... the fly was actually slightly in front of the object (all while keeping the camera about 3mm long at the same distance to the object – that is the tricky part!).

And now it gets real: while pressing the shutter (and keeping it pressed), I turn the focus ring, so that the focal plane wanders from “slightly in front of the object“ to “slightly behind the object“. If you have done it just perfect, you’ll have shot about 10-15 pictures (depending on the size of the object and Manuel Fassler the depth of field – maybe you’ll need more or fewer pics) Photographer / Author Photography is a chance for me to exduring that.

As a little bit of shaking can’t be avoided (at least I can’t) I’d recommend leaving enough space to allow for a little bit of cropping as you’ll have to align all the pictures in the stack afterwards. I know that this process, especially the combination of shooting, focusing during shooting and keeping a steady hand, requires some practice, but it is possible.

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press myself and my creativity. I hope I can give you the chance to see and experience the world a little bit through my eyes and see what I’ve seen ... and probably even feel a what I’ve felt, when I was taking the photos. Website

This pic was made exactly like I’ve discribed it above, made out of 12 pictures. You can see the big advantage of this method: the motif itself is tack-sharp from front to back, while the background is blurred as if the pic was shot with minimal depth-of-field.

That is actually one of my first pics made with this method. You can see a little mistake I made: a little blurred area on the wing in the lower left corner... that happens when you haven’t shot a frame which is sharp there. This can happen if you’re turning the focus wheel too fast, or your burst-rate is too slow.

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LETSTALKGEAR Reversing Ring

Reversing ring is a cool little tool that can cost you about $15. It transforms existing lenses into macro lenses! It’s an adapter, connected to the lens mount. The adapter lets you mount your lens backwards on your camera body. Although you lose autofocus and aperture control, it’s worth trying.

Very handy to get into the macro world on a tight budget.

Plus, you get to practice your eye for manual focusing. Usually 50mm prime lenses work extremely well with a reversing ring.

Close-up Lenses

If you want to add macro capabilities to a longer lens, a close-up lens is a great option. This is an optical filter that screws onto the front of your lens and allows you to focus at a closer distance. Both Canon and Nikon make very good close-up lenses that cause only minimal degradation in image quality. In many ways, close-up lenses are much easier to use than extension tubes as you don’t need to remove the lens to put them on. They also don’t affect the lens’s autofocus speed or aperture control. Close-up lenses are popular to use with zoom lenses like a 70-200 or a 100-400/80-400.

Macro Shooting Table

It’s nice to be able to practice your macro photos indoors. It’s easy to set up a mini “studio” on a table. You can get relatively inexpensive shooting tables that set up in just a few seconds. They make excellent backdrops for shooting items like flowers, jewelry and the occasional cooperative insect if you provide something for them to sit on. There are some expensive versions of these tables from Manfrotto or cheaper version from Impact Lighting Solutions. At under $90, it’s a great way to give yourself a controlled shooting environment to work on your macro skills and techniques.

Focus Rails

If you are going to use focus stacking methods, it is highly recommended to use a focusing rail. A rail such as the one pictured on the right helps to make incremental movements of your camera by using a gear mechanism that can be turned between each exposure. Without a focus rail, it’s really easy to miss a slice from your focus stack, and you’ll be left with a small area in your image that’s out of focus.

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LIVINGSMALL

PACKINGFORMACROPHOTOGRAPHY

by Moshe Levis

It’s always helpful to make a check list when it’s time for you to pack your photography equipment into one bag. Sometimes, somehow, we forget things at home and regret it for many hours (if home is far). Eventually we accept the predicament and move on with our lives.

I once forgot my SD card. Seriously. Let’s see you shooting without one (or CF card).

Packing for macro photography is no different than packing for wildlife photography or landscape photography. Infact, for me, it’s exactly the same. The simple reason is: I never shoot only macro, landscape, wildlife, portraits etc.

Think Tank Airport Security V2

WHAT’SINMYBAG Macro lens Telephoto lens Tripod Macro light Snacks Sutter release Gloves Good shoes Filters Memory cards Macro lens Telephoto lens Tripod Macro light Snacks Sutter release Gloves Good shoes Filters Memory cards

feel free to add items

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E D I S E D

Photos From the Wild Wild World

PHOTOBY: Moshe Levis CAMERA: Nikon D800e LENS: Sigma 70-200mm 2.8 FOCALLENGTH: 200mm APERTURE: f/2.8 SHUTTERSPEED: 1/500 sec ISO: 400

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Harry Eggens Photographer Website 500px Flickr

Harry Eggens was born on January 10, 1953, raised and still living in Groningen, a town in the northern part of the Netherlands.

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PORTFOLIO / HARRYEGGENS 51

In daily life he is a fitness instructor and in his spare time goes out into the wild for about four weeks per year. He has travelled from Alaska to the most northern part of Japan and from North Norway to South Africa.

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He started with photography 25 years ago, March 1990.

First he did some macro work, but very soon after he bought his first camera he decided to go for the bigger animals like bears and eagles.

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These days he’s using a Nikon D4, Nikon D800 and Nikon D300s with 200-400 AF-S VR, 70-200 AF-S VR, 24-70 AF-S and a 105mm macro lens.

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SHOOTINGWILDLIFEWITHLIMITEDRESOURCES

by Allan Pudlitzke

Is it possible to take wildlife photography seriously while only equipped with a standard kit lens? From my recent experience, it works well for some things, but falls drastically short on others.

First off, wildlife is in fact that, wild. Being that this is the case, these animals have keen protective instincts and any sort of prey animal will be long gone before you can get close enough to have a shot with an identifiable creature in it. Unless you have world-class ninja feet that can step silently through twigs, gravel and grass, you are likely going to scare your subject off before you can get your itchy finger on the shutter button. So how can you make the best of limited-range equipment?

Just to immerse myself into the wild on a cold, wet and rainy Washington fall, I went ahead and jumped at the opportunity to see what I could do with a kit lens (Canon EF 28-135), as well as a limited telephoto lens (Canon EF L f/4 70-200 non IS).

With limited range on the kit lens, and no image stabilization on the telephoto, I am literally at the mercy of my surroundings and less than steady hands at a distance. I need to move close, and I need to keep my shutter speed fast.

Over the course of two days I visited a couple of locations to see what I could accomplish. On the first day I went out and shot with the standard kit lens to see what I could capture. On the second day, I went strictly with the longer, less stabilized counterpart. To give you an idea of the experience I will dive into what I noticed about my surroundings as well as the equipment when attempting to take on the task. continue on page 60

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PHOTOBY: Allan Pudlitzke CAMERA: Canon 50D LENS: Canon EF L 70-200mm f/4 FOCALLENGTH: 200mm APERTURE: f/4 SHUTTERSPEED: 1/2500 sec ISO: 200

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Day One:

In the Northwest wildlife is very prevalent. We are mere hours from the ocean, valleys and mountains in all different directions. In some areas you may see bears, cougars, and other more ferocious wildlife, but for the most part you typically see lots of deer, birds and amphibians. Due to our first adventure being later in the day, outside of your prime deer spotting times (dawn and dusk), I was almost certain it was going to be a day filled with birds and bugs, and for the most part it was.

My wife and I found a local wildlife refuge in Ridgefield, Washington, north of where we are located. There are several of these protected sites scattered across the Northwest and all of them seem to feature different animal life, and are large grass and wetland areas.

At the refuge the birds were incredibly active and bustling in the trees, chirping to one another and flying branch to branch.

The trail was surrounded by long open meadows with chest high grass extending out for acres. We made our way down the path with the kit lens attached. Tons of great shots of birds were available, but frustratingly enough the limited range of the lens was a huge draw back for me. To get a decent shot of a blue jay or sparrow perched on a branch I needed to be within a few feet. As I would attempt to sneak closer and closer to the birds to get the shot, it was like they were playing a game of run and chase with me. It simply was not possible for me to keep up with the quick movements of the birds and at that point I began feeling a bit frustrated. However, because this was a test, I wanted to see what I could actually do before giving up on the idea completely.

We continued on our path and found a nice wetland. Just walking through the trail we found a small turtle hustling across our path to another location nearby. Frozen in fear, the turtle proceeded to play my model as I was excited to finally find something to shoot. As I got closer and closer the turtle began to tuck in its extremities more and more to the point it was just peeking out of the front of its shell.

The kit lens was great for this as my subject was close and stationary. Clearly the turtle wasn’t going anywhere fast so I had the ability to get up close and comfortable. Nearby I also found a large frog that wasn’t so skeptical of me and stayed relatively still for a while. I was able to get a few shots before it decided it was done with my nonsense.

We continued on down the beaten path and I continued to struggle capturing any form of avian life whatsoever.

At one point a huge hawk was perched on an old fence post in front of me but by the time I realized it was there, it was long gone in the tree line. We made our way back to the car but made great use of the kit lens shooting a few landscapes with the wildlife actively involved in the photo. I figured if all else failed, it would be possible to capture a flock of birds over the meadow with the widest angle of the kit lens.

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was able to walk comfortably with the lens and still get satisfactory photos, keeping the trip from being a total waste of photography. That day, I decided I would go into our second trip a little more prepared in all aspects of the equipment and the surroundings to give myself to best opportunity to capture more exciting wildlife with the telephoto lens.

Day Two:

After doing a bit of research I decided getting up early would be the best bet for us to get in the action. We (the wife and I) started off down the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge. If you are ever in the vicinity in the Pacific Northwest, a scenic drive down East Highway 14 in Washington will not disappoint‌ The drive is filled with wonderful scenic locations and you experience several variations in the geography as you clear the the mountainous pass into the plateaus and flatlands.

Towards the end of the trail I was finally able to capture a blue jay perched on an old dead stump of a tree. I was probably 30 yards or so away from the bird on an elevated pathway. We continued out towards Stevenson and onto Old Highway This was the closest I was able to get of any sort of bird pho- 8, heading in a northerly direction towards Mount Adams.

As we wound our way around Klickitat Canyon in the old tography for the day.

Subaru, we got deeper and deeper into hunting area. Coming around a hairpin corner, my wife spotted a group of wild turkeys wandering out of a fenced-off hunting area out into the roadway. I figured this would be a great way to test out the capabilities of the telephoto in comparison to the kit lens used yesterday. The turkeys were actually pretty darn fast, but I caught a photo before they were out of sight.

We continued for another 20 miles or so through the canyon until hitting where the road turned gravel, so we decided it would be good to head back. After about 20 more minutes of driving we spotted our first black tail deer sleeping next to a fence line on the road. I parked the car about a hundred yards or so from the deer and grabbed my gear to see what kind of shots I could get. The focal length of the telephoto was a huge advantage with the timid doe. The lens allowed me to get much more personal with the animal without getting too close. I was able to shoot a few photos as I moved closer and closer before the deer became uncomfortable and bounded off.

After the experience with the 28-135 lens we decided to call it a day. While it was a miserable failure for any sort of close up capture of birds or larger wildlife it worked great for getting creative by mixing the aspects of the wildlife and nature in a landscape. It was also beneficial for the close-ups of the less mobile animals. Becauwe the lens is more compact than most telephoto lenses, my back thanked me at the end of the day due to the limited weight of it attached to the camera. I continue on page 63

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We made our way back down from the canyon road to Highway 14 once again. We arranged to stop off at one final refuge in Washougal (Stiegerwald Lake). The landscape of Stiegerwald Lake was very similar to that of the location in Ridgefield. With vast meadows of grass and large lakes it was just a bit larger than the Ridgefield location but seemed to be a better opportunity to see something.

One of our first encounters was with a group of mallard ducks floating downstream in a small creek about a mile up trail. I was able to ring off a few shots with the telephoto, capturing a female continue on page 64

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mallard flapping its wings and cackling at me before continuing to float away with her group.

The trail took us over a small footbridge overpassing the previous stream. The bridge led us to another large lake running parallel with the stream. The lake was filled with mallard ducklings, turtles, and a large blue heron. Even though the subjects were at a bit of distance the lens began to pay dividends once again where the kit lens could not. I was able to get a bit closer to the subject with the lens, allowing me to be able to hang back at a comfortable distance for the animals.

Just around back and across the stream behind us, a doe and her fawn were nibbling on a blackberry bush. I snuck a bit off trail to get a shot but my bustling alerted them, and in no time I was spotted.

Continuing on our way back to the car I felt I needed to try and get some bird shots. I spotted a couple of Northern Flicker woodpeckers perched on the branches of an old tree. I was able to get a couple of decent shots at the maximum focal length of the lens and felt accomplished finally capturing a bird on a branch before finally heading back home.

While the kit lens and the telephoto lens in question are no where in the ballpark of similar quality and intended use I found that each had at least a strength and a weakness in the matter of wildlife photography. The EF 28-135mm worked really well for the wider shots such as the landscapes and was much easier to use in the lower light scenarios. The up-close shots were 64 NOTINDOOR

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satisfactory when I could get close enough to the subject, however that was also its biggest drawback. I could not get close enough to anything interesting without scaring it.

Maybe if I had camped out and intertwined myself with the surroundings for several hours or days I may have had an animal just happen to wander by.

The telephoto shined with the more active wildlife. I was able to stay just far enough away that I did not intrude the personal space of the deer or birds and got some close, highdetail shots. The focal length was slightly problematic in low light, and the lack of image stabilization made shooting clear images on slower shutter speeds very difficult, although this could be mitigated with a monopod or bumping up the ISO. All in all, getting out into nature and experiencing the wildlife was wonderful. I had not had much experience in wildlife photography prior to this so I took it as a challenge and ran with it. My advice on the matter is to be creative, think outside of the box, and do the best with the equipment you have until you can upgrade. Premium equipment will definitely make all the difference in this, but you can still learn while you progress to it and have a lot of fun along the way.

Get out, get shooting and get happy!

Allan Pudlitzke Photographer

Living in northwest my entire life kept the fire of traveling burning.

Camping, hiking and sports help my photography skills as I do it part time while being a technology consultant.

500px.com/afilteredlife afilteredlife.com

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The Adventures of Leslie A. Temanson

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AREYOUCRAZY!YOUBOUGHTAWHAT?

by Leslie A. Temanson

What’s the most bizarre thing you’ve considered buying? So outlandish that people would say “he’s crazy, why would anyone do that” A new Lamborghini? A ten-year supply of facial tissue? A dozen red roses every day of the year? A flock of pink glow-in-the-dark flamingos for your front yard? A floor-to-ceiling velvet Elvis painting? An elephant? A... wait a minute, did you say AN ELEPHANT? Not a stuffed elephant, but a real, live, two-ton elephant. Yep, that’s what I did. As improbable as it may seem, it is not impossible. There are no elephant lots, like car lots. You don’t kick its toes like tires—they kick back.

Check the yellow pages? Not really. Internet sites are a scam. So, where do you get an elephant?

The hurdles are daunting, but I, an old Minnesota farm boy, found a way. It is a curious, amusing tale beginning on one continent, crisscrossing another, eventually a third. A story of twists, turns and real choices to be made, and it began on my family homestead.

So let us begin the story there.

Of course, Minnesota farmers don’t usually raise elephants.

Cows, chickens, pigs, ducks and at times more exotic animals, like lamas or ostriches, but elephants are not something I dreamed of when young. I knew enough of the farmer’s life, a hard life; that that was not my future. Enlist in the military? Not being big and strong (I thought that would be a requirement), that was out. Short of options, I settled on becoming a teacher, following in my mother’s footsteps.

Four years later, my studies over, I had a new problem.

World events eclipsed my well-made plans. Teaching no longer seemed an option as war raged in Vietnam and Uncle Sam had a plane waiting. Now big and strong enough but feeling trapped, I reviewed my options. Then the same Uncle Sam offered me a golden opportunity, the Peace Corps: go to 70 NOTINDOOR

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Mali and help raise chickens, which, of course, I knew how to do. Where is Mali? I didn’t care. I would be saving humanity rather than bombing the hell out of it. A new world was opening to me.

The chickens I introduced in Mali were a big hit, a fast-growing breed, one simmering in every Malian housewife’s pot. Mission accomplished; on to solve Africa’s other problems. I was young, Kennedy-era idealistic, ready to dedicate my life to a cause. Two decades later, having established health programs in five countries in Africa, it was time to return to California.

Culture shock! Physically home but not emotionally, no job, no money, no prospects and no hope, this was not the time for big decisions. Blindly I charged forward. My first decision nearly bankrupted me, the second placed millions of grant dollars in my hands, and the last returned me to teaching, where I met an elephant.

No, the elephant wasn’t in a California public school classroom, though he could have been given the wild challenges of my first year. I survived, with an end-of-the-year trip to Thailand my reward. I fell in love with the country. Every summer I returned to teach English, as Thailand became my home away from home.

At 62, retired, a new uncharted world opened. Single, no dependents, financially stable, beholden to no one, I moved to an elephant camp in Thailand.

One day when the sale of a gentle young male elephant was announced, I pounced. He had all the right traits: a straight tail, right number of toenails, nice ears, unblemished trunk, good color and was only five years old, trainable. Most important, he’d follow me anywhere if I had a banana. I was in love.

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WELCOMETOTHEJUNGLE

Sold, ready to close the deal, a bombshell dropped. The price. Exorbitant! Out of my price range. No way! My emotional attachment aside, I needed to be resold. The sales pitch began.

Elephants are a great investment, better than the stock market, an IRA, or even real estate. Unlike a car, elephants don’t lose value; they actually appreciate. Look at his big feet, he’ll probably grow to over 12 feet and weigh five tons. He could live to 100 and sire many babies. Check out his ivory! Stunning for an elephant so young.

My objections gone, I took out a calculator to crunch the numbers. With the Thai banks not giving elephant loans, there could be no monthly mortgage. The asking price was due, in cash, at the time of sale, making my calculations meaningless.

No matter, I wanted to see what the monthly payments might have been.

Knowing the elephant was five and could live to 100, I amortized the sale price over 95 years. Punching in the numbers I was skeptical of the first amount, so I recalculated. Amazed, I shook my head. For under a dollar a day I could buy a cup of coffee AND this elephant!

My purchase quickly became a major topic of conversation.

“Why did you buy an elephant?” people asked.

“Why not!” I’d reply!

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Leslie A. Temanson Photographer / Author

Currently living at an elephant camp in Northern Thailand, involved in conservation efforts, after 20 years of non profit work in Africa, 5 years in hunger related grant making and 14 years as a California public school teacher and mentor.

WELCOMETOTHEJUNGLE

SOME OF LESLIE’S ADVENTURE PHOTOS

Loont T in May 2015, when I returned. He loves bananas.

Dry season sunset in the Thai jungle.

Sights along a Thai trekking trail.

Creepy crawling creatures - the jungle is alive!

Thai Boxing beetles in training!

Pedestrian bridge over Mae Tang River No elephants allowed on this bridge!

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Portraits and People Photography

PHOTOBY: George Delimosis

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PORTFOLIO / GEORGEDELIMOSIS I was born in 1982 in Drama, a town situated in the northern part of Greece. Although my base is in Greece, I am more than happy to take opportunities all around the world.

George Delimosis Photographer Facebook Page Twitter

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My relationship with art began at the age of eight through painting. Since then, a new world has opened for me and even today, painting is a necessary piece of my life.

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As a painter I have received awards in Greece and my work has been featured on SeeMe Gallery in New York and on Art Scope in Miami.

When I decided to take my painting to another level, combining it with photography, I discovered another great passion. Currently I am branching out into the fields of fine art, environmental, glamour and portrait style photography, utilizing novel and elaborate lighting techniques, mainly natural light, to create my own signature. My studio is the world outside my door.

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THEHUMANRACE

WOULDYOUSELLYOURWIFEFOR $7.5M? by Moshe Levis My wife and I dated for one year, before we got engaged in 2014, and got married. We have the best relationship a couple could ask for. Some of you are probably saying: “Call me in 10 years…”

In 1781, in South Carolina, a “Bill of Sale” of a “Wife and Property” for “Two Dollars and half Dozen Bowls of Grogg”, the buyer “to have my said Wife for ever and a Day”, is, according to Richard B. Morris, “unique of its kind”. According to Morris, “although the administration of the law was in a somewhat unsettled state during this [“British”] military occupation [of Charleston], neither at common law nor under the marriage laws then in force in South Carolina would the sale of a wife have been valid”. – According to Wikipedia Don’t get me wrong, I love my wife more than anything in the world. So, why the hell would I consider selling her?

It all began when I discovered my passion for photography and the fact that I was pretty good at taking pictures.

After my then-fiancee and I moved together to a small apartment in Hollywood I wanted to invest some money in buying a professional DSLR (Digital SLR) camera in order to start printing my photographs on a large scale. You see, the images I got with my previous camera (Pentax k-r) were pretty good, but I didn’t feel I could print them and sell them. I wasn’t confident enough. After buying my first Nikon (D800e) everything changed. The photos had more depth, came out sharper and I could print them BIG, in case one day I’d want to present them in a gallery (which I did. But that’s a different story). What happened? I think that I just got more confident and that’s why my work became better.

A few months after we moved to Hollywood, I got myself a pretty crappy strobe kit from Amazon (I won’t mention their name but you can ask me privately) and I wanted to test them as soon as possible. I never shot with strobes before. It was my first time. Ever! Can you imagine the excitement and rush I felt?

But that’s not why I considered selling my wife!

tings many times and camera settings, tried different lenses, black backdrop, white backdrop… Gosh, she’s probably so over it!

“OK. One more picture and we’re done” I said to her. She raised her head up, away from her phone, and looked to my right. It was such an honest, natural and beautiful look! For a second there, I saw everything we’ve been through since the day we met, through her mesmerizing blue eyes. I could feel her deep thoughts about past, present and future. I saw us laughing and having fun. I saw us arguing about stupid little things. I saw our future, getting old together!

I felt like a child with a new toy train. I changed the light set-

In that very little second I experienced, once again, the first

I set up the lights in the small living room and was ready to play around. Fortunately my wife was home, and who’s better modeling for me than my wife?! Sandra Bullock was pretty busy… Just kidding!

“Do I have to?” she said while on the phone. “Yes. You can keep focusing on your phone. Just sit here”, I said, trying to convince her. She doesn’t really like test-posing for me because she gets bored.

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time I looked into her eyes and fell in love!

Click! The moment was captured!

Since I put my best photos for sale I decided that this photo of my wife, the most important person in the world, is my best photo – ever!

No one in the whole universe can ever capture the same picture. Not even me!

If you are a that collector, somewhere out there, you can purchase this photograph for the small price of $7,500,000. I know it’s a little over Peter Lik’s photograph “Phantom” but it really is a small price.

That’s when I considered selling my wife. I have made a deci- Why? Because my wife is, simply put – priceless! sion to make this picture limited to only two copies. One for us (my wife and I) and one for someone in the world that can relate to that one little second I experienced before pressing the shutter release.

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PORTFOLIO / MARTINZURMUHLE

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Martin ZurmĂźhle Photographer Facebook

Martin ZurmĂźhle was born and raised in Lucerne, Switzerland. He has been shooting for 40 years in different fields: nature, landscape, architecture and travel photography.

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When Martin ZurmuĚˆhle photographs buildings or landscapes, the object is there, permanent and immobile. The perfect photograph appears by carefully selecting the best place to set the camera, creating the light or waiting for the light. The process is academic, mechanical.

When ZurmuĚˆhle shoots nudes, the process is intellectual: each shot shaped like a potter with clay, planned like an architect over his drawing board, and then created with the illusive element of chance.

A nude moves, lives and breathes. Each intake of breath, each impromptu flicker of the eyebrows, each subtle change of position will create something unforeseen: the photograph like the figure in the block of marble waiting to be discovered. The nude is life. Everything else is just waiting.

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Martin ZurmuĚˆhle was born and raised in Lucerne, Switzerland. From high school, he went to the Technical University (ETH) in Zurich, where he graduated in architecture and began taking photographs with a zeal that has lasted 30 years and taken him into every possible field: nature, landscape, architecture and travel.

ZurmuĚˆhle is something of a polyglot, dividing his time among various pursuits, as an architect still, an auditor for quality management systems, as a tutor in planning and project management and as a teacher of nude and portrait photography at his digital studio in Ebikon (www.aktschule.ch).

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It would seem that with so many diverse pursuits, Martin ZurmuĚˆhle would have no free time, but a busy man always finds more time and Martin devotes his to the role of president of nudeART (www.nudeart.ch), the union of nude photographers in Switzerland.

As a professional architect, ZurmuĚˆhle appreciates and understands form, proportions, structures and light.

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“For me, photography, architecture and art are related,” he says. “But in nude photography there is a fantastic play with emotions. Nobody is indifferent to these pictures. Everybody sees something different, depending on their own experience of life. Sometimes the border is narrow, but this makes it all the more interesting.”

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MSTDNOTWHATYOU’RETHINKING Meteors, Shutter Release, Tripod, Donuts Early this morning (late last night, August 13) there was an annual meteor shower over California and other parts of the world. I have seen many meteor showers in my life but never took a camera to document these beautiful dust particles burning in our atmosphere.

“I’m probably going to sleep. I’m tired. If you’re not tired you can go watch the meteor shower tonight.” I told my friend that wanted to hang out. This is what he said: “Dude wtf lets go see it!!!!!! Wtf dude sleeping? there’s nothing there. It’s the same shit all the time. Sleep sleep sleep. There’s a meteor shower? Let’s go see that shit!”

From my answer, “Wanna go at 12?”, you can understand I was convinced enough to eventually go.

He came to pick me up with, with two more friends in the car. One of them turned 25 at midnight. Pretty cool!

Unfortunately, I left my tripod at the office and I had no remote shutter release! Damn!

by Moshe Levis

featured article

Why only 30 seconds and why high ISO? Remember I mention I had no tripod and sitter release? Yeah, it made things way more difficult. Duh! I tried bulb mode and I held the camera for about 60 seconds. You really thing I had no movement whatsoever? Yeah right!

I positioned my camera on so many different surfaces: thick fence pole, on the ground, on a car, on rocks, on boulders…

Yeah that’s it. Because I was trying a bunch of settings, positions and locations I obviously missed a lot of shooting meteorites.

Aside from lack of equipment, there was the element of light.

We were still too close to the city. Not only that, but every freakin’ person had a phone with flashlights lighting up their path, crapping up my shots.

WARNING! BAD PICTURE AHEAD

We drove for about 45 minutes from Hollywood to Vasquez Rocks, California, to get away from the city lights.

At first, when we got there, we thought we were alone and it was a bit creepy, but after 0.3 extra miles we started seeing more and more cars parked along the sides of the road. In an instant I felt safer then ever.

We got there at around 12:30am.

OK. OK. We got there, so let’s talk camera settings, right?

WARNING! BAD PICTURE AHEAD Flashlights, shakes, exposure… You name it – 25 seconds, f/3.5, ISO 2000

WARNING! NOT METEORS

It was the first time I actually tried shooting the stars so I just tested different settings and ended up with these: • Camera: Nikon D800e • Lens: Nikkor 24-120mm • Focal length: 24mm But never give up! No matter what! You can find a solution • Shutter speed: 30 seconds (I’ll explain) and still make it happen!

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We witnessed a bunch of small and fast ones and maybe two bigger ones that were really amazing to watch.

The overall experience was really fun, going out in the middle of the night to the middle of nowhere, with good friends, watching the star-filled Milky Way and a bunch of shooting stars.

The shooting experience was pretty bad, which is really good. For the next time. This is how we learn.

PS: we ended up at Yum Yum Donuts at 3 am.

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Monthly Tutorials and Photography Lessons

A Step by Step How To – Creating Levitation Photos 95

HOWTOPHOTOGRAPHY

Levitation photos are a fun thing to do. They Step 4 – Tell the model to stand or lie on the can transform your imaginary ideas to reality – stool. According to your vision, making the sort of. model stand or lie down will give you completely different results.

Knowing how to create levitation photographs will widen your world and let you come up For example, if you want to express that your with so many different projects that can: look model is falling, you must direct her/him to lie cool, have powerful meanings, be funny or just on their stomachs and act as if they are about be fun photos because you always dreamt of to hit the ground, or stretching their hands upbeing able to fly and levitate like Superman. – wards when they lie on their backs.

That was my dream (still is)!

I had the pleasure to work with a talented actor Levitation photos are pretty straight forward and comedian, Scot Nery, on my project. In our and fairly easy to create. We will explain the case, we used a few extra props to express as process with some photos I shot for an ongoing much as possible that Scot was a window washproject of mine – Project Falling er that fell while working.

The most important things you’ll need are: Camera, tripod, chair/ladder/stool, model/object/pet...

Don’t forget anything else that you may want in your photos.

Before you go out shooting I recommend you read all steps.

Step 0 – Shoot RAW! Step 1 – Since this is a NOTINDOOR magazine, step outside and find a location where you want to shoot at. It’s great if you can connect the location to the photo idea you have in mind.

Step 5 – Shoot the picture. Focus on your subject that is on the stool, not on anything else.

After you focus once it’s good to set your camera and lens to manual focus. That way, your photo will always turn out sharp in the right places (as long as you don’t zoom in and out or start moving around).

Step 6 (One of the most important steps!) – Step 2 – Put the stool (or whatever you chose to use) in front of what you want to show in the After you have taken the desired photo, and you’re happy with what you see on the small picture.

LCD screen, Do not move your camera or triStep 3 – Position your tripod and mount your pod! Not even a single inch!

camera on it, and make sure the lens is facing the stool. Often times it is recommended to use Step 7 – Tell your model to get out of the frame and take the stool out of the frame. wide angle lenses.

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HOWTOPHOTOGRAPHY

Step 8 – Don’t change any settings on your camera. Nothing! Keep the manual focus as-is and just take a picture.

Step 10 – Grab both RAW files and open them in Photoshop. The Camera Raw plugin should automatically start and both photos will be available for processing and enhancements.

Once you’re in Camera Raw make sure to select both images and only then apply any changes.

By doing so, both images will change simultaneously and stay synced.

We had more than two photos so we selected all of them.

Why did we not refocus? Because in the previous picture you took the main subject (the model) is in focus and everything else is not.

You must stay consistent with both shots for the next steps.

As I mentioned, in our case, we had more props so we threw a bucket full of water and a squeegee. You may notice that the bucket is not After you have made all the changes, click really focused. That’s OK, because it will make “Open Images”. sense for the final image.

Step 11 – Bring the photo that contains the model and stool, on top of the other photo. You should get one Photoshop file with two layers.

At this point you may close the file that contains only one image. The decision on saving it or not is completely yours.

Step 9 – Go home, or to Starbucks like many people do, and download your photos, from the SD or CF card on your camera, to your computer.

Step 12 – Erase or “hide” the stool. There are many ways to achieve this step. I think that the best way to go will be using layer masks. If you don’t know what I’m talking about you can simply use the eraser tool and start erasing the stool. This is the moment you waited for. The model is finally levitating!

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If you don’t know how to use layer masks please write it in the comments below and I’ll make sure to cr To get the best results you have to direct your model when you take the pictures. Good posing (acting)

This is it, you should be getting some great photos. Feel free to share your results with us in our NOTIN 98 NOTINDOOR

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reate a video for you. ) will result in beautiful images.

NDOOR Facebook Group or Instagram @NOTINDOOR 99

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3 Steps to Making Any Photo Look 10 Times Better 101

HOWTOPHOTOGRAPHY

Many times when you go out and about to capture some new landscape photos, to add into your collection, you see nature in it’s beauty, just waiting for you to take a picture before the sight is gone. Why will the sight be gone? Weather, sunlight, moonlight, human interference etc.

When you finally decide to take the picture you see in front of your eyes you envision it to come out as stunning as your own eyes experience it, so you lift up your camera, aim at the target, locking the focus and shoot! Moments captured.

You look at the camera and press play to see the image you just took and… what a disappointment! “This s#%! Doesn’t look at all like what I saw. No colors, not lights. WTF?” Yeah, that happens. And guess what – the moment is gone.

But no worries! We can probably fix that. If your image looks less than you expected, the next most important thing will be the focus. If the image is not blurry your chances to save it, and actually create an incredible photo out of it, are good.

Before we go into superman mode (rescuing your image picture), you have to understand at least 2 important things: 1. The beauty you see during sunsets, sunrises, a sun-washed moment, rays of light in churches, night shots etc, will most likely look way better to the naked eye rather than a raw image on your camera, which takes us to the next point.

2. If you can, always shoot RAW images. Don’t be saving space on your CF or SD cards. Get more cards. Shoot RAW! Time to make your photograph look 10 times better, in only 3 easy steps.

For this short tutorial I chose the image below because I believe you’ll see a big improvement and how easy it is to achieve such improvement.

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HOWTOPHOTOGRAPHY

Step #0 – I don’t consider it as an actual step – Open your desired photo in Photoshop. If it’s a RAW file, it will automatically be opened in Camera Raw, which is a Photoshop plugin that is included with your subscription. If it’s not a RAW file, after opening it, at the menu bar look for Filter > Camera Raw Filter.

Step #1

Play around with the Highlights, Shadows, Whited, Blacks, Vibrance and Saturation. Don’t worry too much about exposure and contrast (unless you really have to). I say “play around” because to me it’s more of a taste thing rather than a technical thing.

Here are the adjustments I made to my image

Step #2

Now that your image is looking a lot better, let’s make sure it’s properly aligned and straightened up. If you shoot in a city (usually with a wide angle lens), buildings, polls, stop lights etc, will lean towards the center rather than being straight up.

The easy way to fix that is simply clicking on the Lens Corrections settings.

I would suggest to click the “Manual” tab and select A for automate because it works pretty well most of the times.

If that didn’t work for you try the other options. If needed, you can use the sliders below for further adjustments.

In my image the settings didn’t change anything because the horizon is already straight and there are no vertical lines to correct.

Another thing you want to fix is the Chromatic Aberration that you don’t always see if your eye is not trained for it, or you simply don’t know what it is. “Chromatic Aberration? What the hell are you smoking dude? Never heard of it.”

Chromatic Aberration, also known as “color fringing” or “purple fringing”, is a common optical problem that occurs when a lens is either unable to bring all wavelengths of color to the same focal plane, and/or when wavelengths of color are focused at different positions in the focal plane. continue on page 104

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HOWTOPHOTOGRAPHY

To fix that, click on the Color tab next to the Manual tab. To keep things simple just click the empty square next “Remove Chromatic Aberration” It’s enough for about 90% of the cases.

Step #3 - Perfect It!

You have probably noticed that your image is looking more like what your eyes saw when you were mesmerized enough you decided to capture that moment.

Just know that this step can sometimes make or break your image.

The future of an awesome creation is in your hands, make it count.

The first thing we might want to do is sharpen the image a little more, to make things pop a little more. It will look like not much happened, but will make a big difference for when you want to print it or present it on bigger screens.

Click on the Detail icon.

Under Sharpening, slide the Amount bar to about 75 and the Masking to about 90.

When you’re done sharpening, click the HSL/ Grayscale icon.

This is where you control the colors and their intensity pretty much. We won’t go into it because it’s to your liking but I’ll tell you what each of the options mean in case you don’t know.

Hue – Controls the actual pigments (amount of red green and blues in our case) so if you move the sliders, the colors will change.

Saturation – Controls the strength of each color. If you slide it all the way to the left for example there will be no color left.

Luminance – Controls the brightness of each color.

Simple, slide left to get darker colors and slide right to get brighter colors.

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HOWTOPHOTOGRAPHY

I mentioned that the last step can make or break your image because if you overdo the sharpness it will make your image grainy and if you overdo the color adjustments people may not like what they see. If you don’t care about other opinions, by all means, over do the f*#% out of it.

Here is an example

After you’re all done playing around with the settings settings it’s time to go ahead and click “Open Image” (located at the right bottom corner).

Do not click “Done” because it will just close the image (with the changed you’ve made) so you’ll have to reopen it.

After it opens into Photoshop you can save the image and name it “Look at this awesome image I just created” or any other title that you may like.

Have any questions? Feel free to email us at: info@notindoorphotography.com

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CAMERA: Nikon D800e • LENS: Sigma 70-200mm 2.8 SETTINGS: 130mm • f/2.8 • 1/1000 sec • ISO 100 LOCATION: Mammoth Lakes, California

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THEFINDING

Everyone knows Earth is doomed. A hundred years, two at most, and the rising seas will engulf all the history and human life. Civilization that took many thousands of years to create, destroyed in less than half a millennia. Anyone who wants to see humanity’s glory has a scant fifty years or so before things begin submerging. Unless they pull it together, though no one’s holding out much hope for that. Certainly not me.

I’m not here to sightsee, though seeing the dazzling cities and fascinating cultures across the world is a distinct benefit to my current trip. After a hundred years of making my way to the top of my people’s society, there’s very little I haven’t seen or done and that includs touring Earth. My earlier trips were short vacations where I played human and flew from city to city, sampling the best food and the most beautiful women at will. Simple cosmetics to cover the gold tint to my skin and contacts to hide the equally gold eyes brings me close enough to human to fool even a lover.

No, this is a kind of… working tour, one could say. I’m on a Finding. Most of my people do their Findings on our home planet but, naturally, my destiny is not so simple. When the urge to Find came upon me, I was called to a tiny blue planet on a planet of barbarians.

No, not barbarians. That’s my upbringing talking. In the high echelons of our society, I was raised to see few as my equal even on my home planet.

It’s a strategy that stood me very well in business. In my personal life, well, it’s rather let me down. Quite likely why it took so long to feel the urge to Find. I’m supposed to let go of all my old prejudices and open my mind and heart to everything during the Finding and I’m doing my best, but it’s difficult.

Earth’s scenery helps, believe it or not. There are so many hidden gems that most humans don’t know about, let alone visit. In orbit, I felt drawn to a place I’d been before: Italy. I’d visited this cradle of civilization many years ago, though not the waterlogged city of Venice. This would be one of the first cities to drown inch by inch as the temperatures rise. Of course, it’s been in such straits for a very long time by mankind’s reckoning, so people likely don’t think about the end result.

I set down in the mountains of the north and rented a car to drive to Venice, the pull inside growing stronger. The weather cooperated, remaining a steady twelve Celsius, though a bit cooler at night. Rain doesn’t even mar the November skies, which is a bit unusual. I hire a gondola to take me into the city itself but being there doesn’t soothe the need twisting in my gut. I hire a boat out to San Giorgio Maggiore, one of the lesser islands outside the city proper.

I say ‘lesser,’ but the island holds everything one needs for a life lived well, if simply. Not that many do so. It seems to be reserved mostly for tourists. From the docks, I suddenly knew this would be a stop on my quest, but not the finish line. I take the day to explore the island, taking in the beauty of the ancient theater and the arts exhibits.

The church that sits on the small island is a thing of beauty and faith. It’s not a faith I share, but I can appreciate its exultation. The inside of the cathedral rises to the heavens in arches, majestic paintings, and stained glass. I stay a while in front of the High Altar, staring at the metal angels and the massive golden globe between them and feel a brief peace. I kneel in front of a small altar of candles tucked away from the main area and 108 NOTINDOOR

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THEFINDING

soak in the sense spirits and history.

The day draws to a close too fast and I return to the boat as the sun sets behind the high tower, setting off the ocean in reds and pinks never seen on my world. I drive north once more, the wrong direction. I feel an aching pull due west. Impatience dogs me the long hours back to my ship but at last I climb inside and settle in the pilot’s chair.

I fly across the Atlantic and the entirety of the United States hidden from local radar with the push of a button. At just past dawn, I keep time over a train for a while just for fun. I go north to a lake region in California. It sounds like an oxymoron, but even one of the driest states in the land has some lakes left.

Landing carefully in the highest recesses of the Mammoth Mountains, I thankfully avoid setting off an avalanche. I don’t want to accidentally bury any skiers being impatient. It takes only a moment to don a waterproof, thermalized flight suit to keep me safe from the elements and then I step out of the ship into the deep snow. It comes to my thighs but I feel only a vague chill; not nearly enough to keep me from walking down the steep curve that led to the bottom.

I walk slowly to the frozen lake below, stopping now and again to breathe in the bitter cold air, relishing its burn through my lungs. The snow’s depth lessens as I come closer to my goal and, almost two hours after I leave the ship, I stand at the lake’s edge. The need inside abates while watching the vast stretch of ice before me.

I stay there for a long time, at the precipice of understanding but, ultimately, leave empty-handed. Whatever it is for which I search–wife, purpose, a decent whiskey–does not reside in the frozen depths of Convict Lake.

It is time to continue the search.

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