March / April 2019
Nature and Outdoor • Travel • Architecture • Photo Illustrations
P h o t o g r a p h y
solutions e-zine
A William Manning Photography Publication
Sharpening with Topaz AI Clear Create with Photoshop’s Warp Tool Covered Bridges of Ashtabula County
Photography Tours
Portfolio Showcase
Editor’s Comments The photo below was taken in Florence Italy many years ago on Fuji Velvia. This is an old film scan run through Topaz AI Clear. You would never guess this was a film scan. Look it over carefully. Intrigued? Read our feature article, Topaz AI Clear Changes the Sharpening Game.
This March/April issue of Photography Solutions is the second issue of the publication. The first was a success but it wasn’t perfect. I received several comments from readers and made adjustments in the design of the magazine. Readers wanted a larger cover photo and bigger photos in the interior of the magazine. Others wanted to see the
word Photography larger on the cover. Several adjustments were minor but had a big effect on the overall publication design. Comments are always welcome. This issue is important to me. I want to grow my readers and followers of Photography Solutions. I need your help. If you like what you are seeing in this e-magazine spread the word to your camera clubs, through your social media followers, photography friends, etc... I would like to reach 1000 new readers this issue. Please consider helping me out. You can copy and paste the link below to your social media, emails, etc...
Copy, Paste and Share: https://williammanning.com/marchapril2019photographysolutionsezine/ If you are not a subscriber yourself please subscribe below: Click here to subcribe to Photography Solutions. The March/April edition features three articles, Topaz AI Clear, Photoshop’s Warp Tool, and Covered Bridges of Ashtabula County. Two of the three articles offer solutions to creative issues or maybe even a creative slump. We all have them from time to time. Each issue I’ll feature some location off the beaten path for travel ideas. This issue is the first to share a readers portfolio. Future issue’s will feature a photographers portfolio with their bio and/or a short story behind their work. Check out March/April’s Portfolio Showcase featuring the work of Crystal Gurry. Would you like your photography to be considered for our next issue. Guidelines can be found at the following link.
Click here for Portfolio Submission Guidelines.
Topaz AI Clear Changes Text and Photography by William Manning © We all like sharp photos, but just how far we go can be a creative decision that can make or break an otherwise beautiful photo. Lets first identify, in a nutshell, whats happening to a photo when we apply a sharpening technique, of which there are many. Sharpening basically works by exaggerating the brightness difference along edges in a photo. All to often, photographers get overly agressive with their sharpening and when this happens they create sharpening artifacts, often refered to as a halo or glow. Most of us photographers are not technical gurus nor do we care how our equipment or software was engineered, we just want our tools to work. Therefore, I’m not going to get into the engineering process behind Topaz AI Clear, but rather talk about the results of using AI Clear. Let me first share how I came about using Topaz AI Clear. I heard another photographer say in a webinar he uses AI Clear on all his photos. When I heard this, I thought to myself, this dude has got to be crazy. I don’t know of any Topaz software I would use on every photo. Topaz makes some great stuff but I would never use anything they have on all my photos. This comment caught my attention so I decided to check it out.
One of my favorite uses for AI Clear is on film scans. The photo on the right is a 6x7 film scan (The Italian rooftops on previous page is a 35mm film scan). As with all film scans there is noise / film grain involved in the photo. This can be distracting and in most cases leads to a soft looking photo. I ran this scan through Topaz AI Clear using the Auto setting after testing the low and high noise setting. Auto produced the better results although the others were acceptable. Notice the detail in the foreground grasses, the tree bark and the distant tree branches and the far right tree in the distance. AI Clear brought these details to life with no distracting artifacts caused by over sharpening.
the Sharpening Game
Defining Topaz AI Clear Topaz AI Clear eliminates noise, removes artifacts, restores detail and sharpens photos. Regardless of the number of megapixels, size of sensor and the camera lens all digital photos need some sharpening. AI Clear now simplifies a process that left many photographers confused and frustrated to the point they often avoided any sharpening. My first thoughts on using Topaz AI Clear was simply to run the software at its default settings which is Auto. Pretty simple, considering there’s only a couple options. I was amazed at the results, but the skeptic I can sometimes be, I knew I needed to run another test photo. Again, I was amazed. I tried a third time and again, I was thrilled at what I was seeing. Of the three test photos, all were amazingly sharp with no distracting halos. To express my sincere enthusiasm about the results with AI Clear is saying a lot. My pet peeve with so many photographs I see online and in prints is the unrealistic look of their subjects, especially nature scenes. Nature is not razor sharp, there is a softness to the outdoors and this is what I expect to see when looking at outdoor photos. Keep in mind, there is a difference between details and sharpness. Sharpness should enhance details. AI Clear produces what I deem a realistic look and feel to my photography, defining detail with crisp clean edge sharpness.
The Creative Tool Box AI Clear is a software that is part of Topaz Studio. Topaz Studio is a free creative toolbox that comes with several free useful plug-ins such as Basic Adjustments, Brightness and Contrast, Tone Curves, Vignette and several others. The truly fun, artsy plug-ins are paid products. AI Clear is one of these pay to use plug-ins. You can pick and choose which tools you find useful for your work. I think of Topaz Studio as a toolbox where I store my
creative tools. Topaz Studio can be used as a stand alone or as a plug-in for both Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.
Using AI Clear Open Topaz Studio in Adobe Photoshop, found under the Filters pulldown menu. Once Topaz Studio opens you’ll see an Adjustment button in the top right hand corner. Click the Adjustment button and a pulldown menu appears giving you a choice of the 10 free plug-ins and the remaining options are the paid options. The plug-ins that are paid will appear in black. Select AI Clear and it will open below the adjustments button. Once AI Clear is open you have the option of creating a mask that allows protection of areas you don’t want any sharpening applied. Likely, a mask won’t be applied very often but it is available if needed. You also have an opacity slider which can be used after noise and sharpness adjustments have been made to reduce the effect. I prefer to change opacity or reduce sharpening in Photoshop, but to do this you need to make a duplicate background layer in Photoshop before you open AI Clear. Once the photo is reopened in Photoshop create a mask on the duplicate layer. Select the black brush and paint out sharpening where you choose. This can be done incrementally. This method gives you more control. Remove Noise and Enhance Sharpness are the controls that bring your photos to life. There really isn’t much to do here but you do have some control if needed. Remove Noise is the first control. Your choices are, Auto, Low, Med, High. I have found Auto to do a fantastic job, other than Auto, I have used Low. The High selection often softens backgrounds and mute colors. The Low setting on Enhance Sharpness is what I have used 90% of the time. Simply toggle between the two to see your preference.
Unsharpened
Sharpened
This photo was cropped to illustrate the difference in details between an unsharpeded to a sharpened photo. Compare the difference in the feathers, eye and beak. The sharpening renders beautiful details where you expect them. These are the kind of results we should be looking for when sharpening wildlife photos.
Unsharpened
Sharpened
Again, this photo illustrates details in areas that often get overlooked. Look carefully at the gloves and threads in the jacket. When the finer details pop you bring life into your photography.
The Romanian woman above and interior on right were both sharpened in Auto mode with AI Clear. Observe the fine hairs and the detail in the threads of the womans head scarf. The details in the interior photo bring all the elements to life.
The Exposure and Clarity sliders are the last of the controls. Exposure adjustments are only done in cases where the sharpening mode may have darkened the image. Clarity should be used with caution. It can be useful at times but with minor adjustments. I have found it can reintroduce noise back into the photo. You can use the split screen option in the top right of the Topaz window to see
the difference between your original photo and the adjustments you are making. Go ahead and give it a try. Topaz offers a 30 day free trial. I think you’ll be thrilled with the results. This is one Topaz filter you’ll use on all your photos.
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Photography Tour
The Balkans : Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia
August 31 - September 14, 2019 Join William Manning and Adam Jones in the Beautiful Balkans. Our Balkans Photography Tour takes us into a land of natural beauty, a rich history and experience a people who still honor traditions from their ancestral past.
The Balkans is a geographic region in southeastern Europe made up of 12 countries, often referred to as the Balkan States. These countries are made up of mountains surrounded by the Adriatic, Ionian, Aegean and Black Seas. Beauty, history, traditions, and culture are a few words that might describe this region but many more could certainly be used. Our Balkan Photography tour has been in the making for a couple of years. This tour is made up of three countries, Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia. It would be...
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https://williammanning.com/travelprograms/balkansphotographytour/
Exaggerate your Photos
Photoshop’s Warp Tool Text and Photography by William Manning ©
Looking to break out of a creative slump? Try one of my favorite Adobe Photoshop Tools, The Warp Tool. Looking for a fresh approach to creativity isn’t an easy task. There are so many creative photographers roaming the planet that finding something new and different is a challenge. It’s truly a compliment when your work stands out as something different and unique. I don’t pretend to think using the warp tool is something new, but it’s worth considering if you want
Bending skyscrapers is fun. When I’m looking to do something unique to cityscapes the Warp Tool in Adobe Photoshop is my go to effect. As you can see from the two original inset photos, they are nice photos but nothing special. Once you start bending buildings you begin to see fun and creative things happen to that once ordinary shot.
to throw a curve ball into your work. Using the warp tool on a photo can make a powerful statement and turn an ordinary photograph into something unique and fun. It’s common for me to spend time during those rare slow times and comb through my library looking for photos I can use for an illustration. I don’t typically have a technique in mind while combing through
my library until I come across that special photo. Knowing your tools is truly the key to creativity. I have an arsenal of tools at my disposal and know how to use them. Often the photos I select for creating an illustration are not interesting until I start playing with it.
SuperPlane My SuperPlane illustration is an excellent example of what we can do with ho hum photos and turn them into something fun and interesting. Take a look at the top two photos on the right. As you
can see there’s nothing special about either photo, but when you merge them, interesting things start to happen. This is a fairly simple illustration to produce.
Cut and Place the Airplane To start this illustration, I had to cut the the airplane out with the Pen Tool in Adobe Photoshop, the Quick Selection Tool can also be used. Once
the airplane is cut out, the graphics from the plane had to be removed. I did this with the paintbrush. The second step was to bring the airplane cutout into the cloud photo, which will be our background layer. I selected the background layer (clouds) and added a motion blur to the clouds giving the aircraft the look and feel of movement. Motion blur is found in the Filter pulldown menu under Blur.
Create Cloud Blur Once motion blur is applied I create a mask on the airplane layer and choose the black paint brush to brush away portions of the aircraft. I set the brush opacity setting low, somewhere in the 20% and brush away incrementally. This allowed the plane to blend into the clouds giving a realistic appearance of the plane breaking through the clouds. The next step is to merge the two layers into one. I then create a duplicate layer of the new background layer I just created. This is what I call my insurance layer, it allows me to back track if I don’t like the results of the next couple of steps.
Create a Black and White Layer I convert my duplicate layer into a black and white image. I did this with Nik Silver Effects Pro. There are several ways to convert color photos into black and white. You can do this with Photoshop, Nik Silver Effects, Topaz Black and White and several others.
Bend the Plane The next step, apply the Warp tool to the photo. To get to the Warp Tool go to the Edit pulldown menu and navigate to Transform and another menu appears allowing you to choose Warp. Once Warp is chosen a graph will appear on the photo.
The illustration above is a bit more complex to create, but the the creative process. The difference is it is applied in three diff right, left and at the top. The cars were added from multiple p
e Warp Tool is applied at the same stage in fferent directions to give the balloon look, photos.
Twisting, Bending, Curving Add Character and Brings Life Into A Photograph Place your curser anywhere on the photo and play with adjustments to your liking. You may have to practice a bit before you get the results you like. This is really the fun part, enjoy. I encourage you to experiment with your work and find new ways to break away from the crowd. Be creative and let your work stand out. You can view more and my photo illustrations in my gallery at www.williammanning.com.
Photography Tour
Landscapes of Arches and Canyonlands November 9-15, 2019
Join William Manning on this Colorful Journey of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks November was chosen for this photo tour because of the changing seasons providing interesting skies, shorter days but longer low light situations setting us up for many unique photo situations. The iconic landmarks of Arches and Canyonlands National Park are known throughout the world and have been the subject of photographers for many years. This red rock landscape sits in the northern region of the Colorado Plateau in southeastern Utah but offers so much more than those iconic shots. This photography tour will put photographers on ....
Learn more:
https://williammanning.com/travelprograms/archescanyonlandsphototour/
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Portfolio Showcase:
Crystal Gurry
Crystal is an accomplished amateur photographer who resides in Cincinnati, OH. She loves to travel and photograph on her journeys. Crystal travels with her husband but also participates in many photo tours and workshops. Her porfolio encompasses a wide range of subjects from nature to travel. She is always learning and experimenting with new techniques. Crystal is an active member
of the West Chester Camera Club in Cincinnati.
Thank You Thank you Crystal for sharing some awesome work with Photography Solutions readers.
Photography Solutions E-Magazine features the photography of one of our readers every issue. We invite you to to submit a portfolio to be considered. Please click here for Submission Guidelines.
Romania A Photographic Journey into the Past
August 8-20, 2019 Join Professional Travel Photographer William Manning and Local Expert Daniel Rosca on this extraordinary journey through time in the Beautiful Romanian Countryside. If you enjoy travel photography and love to photograph traditional cultures, medieval villages and historic architecture, Romania is your place. Join us on this incredible photographic journey and step back in time. We’ll walk the cobblestoned paths inside medieval villages, explore castles that once protected Romanian rulers, photograph special festivals that celebrate the rich and colorful past, witness traditional customs that are still practiced and hopefully photograph a traditional Romanian wedding as the celebration takes to the streets. Join William and our local expert Daniel on this rewarding journey. William will share his expertise in capturing the cultural and historic past of this rich and diverse country on camera and Daniel will share his love of his home country and their customs and traditions. This is a true travel photographers journey.
Learn More:
Visit www.williammanning.com
Covered Bridges of Ashtabula County And Beautiful Rural Landscapes of Surrounding Counties Text and Photography by William Manning ©
Windsor Mill Bridge shown on right Benetka Covered Bridge shown below
Covered bridges are Americana Landmarks that link us to the past. On most occasions I come across these iconic landmarks by surprise while scouting or driving enroute to some unknown place. I recall my first Ohio covered bridge driving through the countryside in the northeastern part of the state. It was a beautiful structure that caught me offguard. Most of the covered bridges I’ve photographed in the past have been in New England. I don’t recall what took me to northeastern Ohio on that occasion but I do know it wasn’t covered bridges. After discovering my first Ohio covered bridge I spent an hour exploring several vantage points before continuing on my way. Several weeks passed before I had time to edit photos from that road trip. It was when I researched the name of that bridge I come to find out I had been in Ashtubula County, Ohio, home of 19 beautiful covered bridges. The folks of Ashtubula County take pride in their covered bridges and do a wonderful job mapping out their whereabouts. Finding information on these bridges is fairly easy with a few clicks of the mouse. Instead of sharing route information, since it’s easy to find great maps directing you from bridge to bridge, I’ll share with you my opinion on the bridges that lend themselves to the best photo opportunities. Of the 19 bridges in Ashtubula County a handful are worth exploring from multiple angles and make for fun photography. The others are either a one shot deal or their surroundings are less desirable for photography. If time is on your side, go ahead and explore all of the bridges, you just might find that one special shot.
Olins Covered Bridge above
Netcher Road Covered Bridge Netcher Road Covered Bridge is a Neo Victorian designed structure. This was the first covered bridge I discovered by meanering the backroads of Ashtabula County. The bridge is located at 1544 Netcher Road just outside of Jefferson, Ohio. This is a beautiful bridge but only a couple angles to work your shots. This bridge can be photographed in both the morning and late afternoon light. There is a steep embankment on both sides of the bridge.
Benetka Road Bridge Benetka Road Bridge crosses the Ashtabula River. This is one of my favorite bridges in the area. It sits in a peaceful area, although most of the bridges
are situated in peaceful settings. Easy access to the river below allows you several angles to work. There’s a nice pulloff area beside the bridge with plenty of trees to hang a hammock if you want to wait out the midday light for the better late afternoon light. The bridge is located at 4500 Benetka Road in Sheffield Township.
Olins Bridge Olins Bridge is a short 2.5 mile drive from Benetka Bridge. This bridge can be photographed in both the morning and late afternoon light. I like the morning light best as it provides a couple options for photographing. Easy access to river opens creative opportunities. The bridge is located at 1880 Dewey Road, Plymouth Township.
There are a lot of old Mail Pouch Barns scattered across the rural counties of Ohio. This barn is located in Columbiana County.
Doyle Road Bridge Doyle Road Bridge crosses Mill Creek. Morning light will give you best angles to photograph. The best views is on private property. I have never had any problems with setting a tripod up on the property but please do respect the land and leave no trace. The biggest problem with this bridge is electrical lines running next to bridge. It is possible to work around using nearby trees. The bridge is located at 1300 Doyle Road in Jefferson.
Windsor Mill Bridge Windsor Mill Bridge is probably one of my favorites. This is a beautiful bridge that crosses Phelps Creek and sits in an isolated area. There is a trail
on the south side of bridge that takes you to the creek bed. There are several nice compositions to work by the waters edge. The bridge is located at 7696 Warner Hallow Road in Windsor.
Harpersville and Caine Road Bridge The five bridges mentioned above offer the best photo opportunities but there are a few others worth considering. As with anything, light and other favorable factors can make an otherwise difficult photo situation fun and rewarding. If you have the desire to continue shooting bridges consider Harpersville Bridge and Caine Road Bridge. Other than the bridges I mentioned I think you’ll find compositional challenges with the remaining bridges in Ashtabula County, but there are lots of other awesome photo opportunities in Ashtabula and surrounding counties heading south and west.
Amish Country Ashtabula County and it’s neighbors to the south offers more than covered bridges. This is also Amish country with endless miles of beautiful farming commuties scattered with old barns, historic architecture and abandoned buildings with lots of creative potential. When I head out to scout photo locations I carry either a DeLormes Atlas and Gazetteer or a Benchmark Atlas with me. These two map publishers produce the best road maps of every state in the union. These are detailed maps that cover every road from major asphault highways to small rural gravel roads. These Atlases will get you where you want to explore without the worry of getting lost. When you head into the rural roads of Ashtabula and neighboring counties simply pick any road from your atlas and drive it. You’ll find plenty of old barns, buildings and landscapes to photograph.
Austinburg As of the summer of 2018 the tiny town of Austinburg had some abandoned store fronts that lend themselves to fun HDR grungy photos. Skippy’s Sandwich is an interesting place to have lunch at the corner of RT 307 and 45.
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a small rural community with a photogenic and authenic Amish Country Store. There is a small parking area across from the store where to Amish tie their horses and park their buggies. You can find lots to photograph in this area.
Historic Landmarks There are a lot of Mail Pouch barns still standing throughout these counties and if you head far enough south you’ll run into the small community
of Minerva . The historic Lincoln Highway runs through town that has a beautul restored gas station (above) from the 1930’s. It has been restored and has several cool little compositions to work.
Explore Ashtabula County’s covered bridges and it’s beautiful rural landscapes. It’s a really nice long weekend photo journey, you can’t go wrong.
Photography Tour
American Southwest
Off the Beaten Path April 10-14, 2019
Join William Manning and Adam Jones in the Great American Southwest Photographers favor the American Southwest for good reason. It’s a vast wilderness where one can still escape the crowds. From a creative stand point, there’s countless locations with diverse land features and few footprints. This region has several incredible national parks and other popular photo hotspots, but if one can resist the temptation to visit these parks there are many awesome photo opportunities hidden along the backroads. I scouted the region and designed this workshop to give participants an opportunity to create photos in lesser traveled destinations with one exception, Bryce Canyon National Park. A journey into the wilderness of the American Southwest requires some driving. Our itinerary will allow us to travel during the harsh light of the afternoon with time for sightseeing along the way. Our photo experience will be...
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American Southwest: Off the Beaten Path April 10-14, 2019
California Redwoods and Oregon Coast
Photography Tour
May 20-25, 2019
Join William Manning and Adam Jones in the Beautifil Redwoods and Oregon Coast California’s Redwood Forests are a inspiring site to behold and photograph. Northern California’s Redwood National and State Parks are home to the tallest trees on earth. Standing beneath these giants is special and to photograph them is a memorable experience not to be forgotten. Our photo journey puts us on location during the rhododendron blooms and likely mother nature will throw in a little fog adding for a little extra mood. The region most people call Redwood Forests is actually a group of state and national park lands. It encompasses forests, meadows and beaches. It is difficult to say exactly where we will land each day at the time of this posting as most of it will depend on the light, weather and rhododendron blooms. Regardless, you can bet we’ll get you to the best locations in the region. In past photo shoots some of best photography came from Redwood National Park’s Lady Bird Johnson Grove, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and ...
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California Redwoods and Oregon Coast May 20-25, 2019
Photography Tour
Land of Fire and Ice
The Extraordinary Beauty of Iceland July 3 - 13, 2020
Join William Manning and Adam Jones on this Extraordinary Journey into the Land of Fire and Ice Join William Manning and Adam Jones on an immersive photography adventure in one of the most dramatic landscapes in the world. During this ten day tour, we will explore all that Iceland has to offer beneath the golden glow of the Midnight Sun, from the stunning waterfalls of the south to the geothermal areas of the north and the steaming beauty of the Highlands. This summer photography workshop will take you to a variety of glorious locations for photography in Iceland. You’ll have incredible opportunities to capture pseudo-craters and lava fields, as well as the enchanting Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon where ...
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Land of Fire and Ice: The Extraordinary Beauty of Iceland
Photography Tour
Autumn Landscapes of Bulgaria
September 27 - October 12th, 2020
Join William Manning and Iordan Hristov (Dancho) on this unforgettable journey Our journey into Bulgaria will take us to some of the most spectacular regions in the country. Bulgaria is a hidden gem with endless miles of natural beauty awaiting the photographer to explore this land of extraordinary opportunities. The diversity of the land, made up of beautiful high alpine mountains, forests, fertile farmland, mineral springs, sand pyramids, waterfalls, and a rugged coastline make Bulgaria unique and a rewarding photo journey. All of this wrapped up into a small country with lots of history and a friendly population between it all.
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Autumn Landscapes of Bulgaria
The Last Frame:
A United States Airforce F-15 Eagle high above the clouds over the eastern U.S. The curved sky was created with the warp tool in Adobe Photoshop and the finishing touches were run through Topaz AI Clear. Both tools are featured in articles in this issue of Photography Solutions.
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