All posts by Marianne Skov Jensen

no flash no tripod allowed

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We went to Flagstaff yesterday first going to the Arboretum and then because we figured we had
plenty of time, we checked out the Museum of Northern Arizona. As it turned out, we lucked into
being there on the last day of an exhibit of a mystery Sickle-Claw Dinosaur called Therizinosaur.

Tripods and flash are not allowed in the Museum so I decided to experiment with high ISO. Always impressive!
Even at ISO 2500, noise was more than acceptable. We only had a few minutes with the Therizinosaur but
the exhibit is moving to Mesa’s Arizona Museum of Natural History so I hope to go for some detail shots.

Canon 5KMK2, Canon 24-70mm at 24mm, ISO 2500, f/6.7/, 1/180th sec
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Canon 5KMK2, Canon 24-70mm at 24mm, ISO 1600, f/6.7/, 1/60th sec
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Canon 5KMK2, Canon 24-70mm at 24mm, ISO 500, f/8/, 1/4th sec
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Canon 5KMK2, Canon 24-70mm at 24mm, ISO 2000, f/6.7/, 1/20th sec
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NOTE: All images were shot in the RAW format which allowed for recovery of highlight and shadows.
I also used Topaz Adjust to increase contrast.

photomontage

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I’m posting a photomontage today to extoll the virtues of Photoshop Elements. Successful compositing
requires total control over the components in your project and the only way to have total control is with
Layer Masks which Elements doesn’t offer. BUT you can have access to Layer Masks as well as many
other tools from the full version courtesy of Richard Lynch’s Hidden Elements. His full bundle at $24.95,
gives you almost everything you’d want from the full version of Photoshop BUT even better is that you
can get Layer Masks for FREE. His free bundle has several other useful tools including a channel mixer.

HIDDEN ELEMENTS

The photomontage below was done entirely in Elements 7 with the help of free tool bundle from Hidden Elements.
(If you decide to try them, follow the installation instructions EXACTLY! I skipped one step so it took awhile to load).

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My montage is made up of 10 images: The background shot is of a rock in my backyard and then there are
5 images of petroglyphs shot in Utah a few years ago; A silhouette of a photographer that I selected out of
another image; A map of rock art sites in Utah; Two texture layers. One is a shot of tightly crumpled paper
and the other is a macro shot of a rough surfaced rock. Each of these was blended using blend modes and
opacity. Since this particular image is mostly monotone, I also use color adjustments to match the colors.

Here is a screenshot of all the layers and masking I did with Elements 7.

photomontage_layers_sm


Click here for a larger version.

Katrin Eismann was who I learned from but I now know someone else who is a master at compositing!
Carol Leigh. She’s been creating some beautiful photomontages and is considering offering instruction.
Her new website; PHOTOMOTIVATION will be up an running soon. Visit the site and sign up for her mailing list!

photography tips

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For my friends who are new to photography (or not), here are some very simple photography tips.
Memorize them or write them down and carry with you. They’ll make photography more fun!

Rick Sammon’s Top Ten Digital Photography Tips
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1Unv6DPJiU

Here’s a link to Rick’s YouTube Channel where you’ll find more photography tips:
http://www.youtube.com/user/pixelmagic

Michael The Mentor – Lessons on how to use a Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSm1J9d15Gk

Here’s a link to his YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/MichaelTheMentor

MomPhotographer – Especially for compact camera users
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VFapgda0T8

Here’s a link to her YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/momphotographer

quick photoshop art

I was in the mood to create a greeting card for a friend yesterday so for today’s post,
I thought I’d share a Photoshop art tutorial I found recently. A link to the tutorial is below.

Before:

flat lighting but decent composition can be good candidate for a card
flat lighting but decent composition can be good candidate for a card

After:

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Tutorial:

Photoshop Watercolor by Steve Patterson

TIPS: 1. Experiment with the values of filters. The strength of filter effects is dependent on file size and the amount
of detail in an image so what works for one image might not work for another. 2. Once you’re finished all the steps,
play with the opacity of each layer. I also did a final color adjustment, a little cloning and added a border.

steel boulders

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It took 2 years of trying to make things grow before I gave up and decided to grow boulders
and yard art instead. Here’s a photo of some steel boulders I asked my artist friend Joan Waters
to make for me. They serve two purposes. The first is to hold back the bank and the second
is to look cool! During the last month, I noticed that as the sun was rising, it was “kissing” the
tops of the boulders. With a little help from Photoshop, this is what I was seeing.

steel boulders created by Joan Waters
steel boulders created by Joan Waters

rusty roadrunner

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Like Bobcats, Roadrunners are very camera shy. They rarely stand still so I was really excited yesterday
when I saw one standing on one of the newly placed boulders. Doubly excited because, coincidentally,
I had placed a rusty roadrunner at the base of that boulder the day before. What a cool shot!

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my camera fast enough so I ended up getting a shot of the shadow
cast by the rusty roadrunner. Not as exciting as the real thing but I like it!

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Visualize a real roadrunner on top of the rock!
Visualize a real roadrunner on top of the rock!

4 tons of topsoil

When I was cycling, I used to ride up to 200 miles a week. On really long rides, endorphins
kicked in causing a euphoric state of mind. I wondered if I could ever get that feeling again.

I can! It’s called “landscaping”. Digging/lifting/lugging/planting can put me in that same
meditative state which explains why I was actually excited as I watched the dump truck
unloading 4 tons of topsoil. (In case you’re wondering, the endorphins balance out the pain) 🙂

I forgot to get a shot of the full pile but here it is after removing 25 wheel barrel loads.

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Front yard piles:

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Back yard:

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It’s been very hot so progress is slow. For every hour or so of work, I take a half hour of rest.
The last few weeks were spent on contouring ground for better rain runoff and implementing
other water harvesting techniques. I’ve also planted several native shrubs and two trees.

On my breaks during the last few days, I took photos of all the things that are blooming now.

First is the Little Leaf Cordia which has turned out to be a great wildlife attractor!

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Yes, Joan...they do look like they're made of tiolet paper :-)
Yes, Joan...they do look like they're made of tiolet paper 🙂

Next is a Golden Barrel bloom. They’re so small that I sometimes miss them.

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Then the red Candy Barrel. Only two blooms opened but check out that ring of buds! I’m hoping 🙂
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As it turns out, I have 5 of our native Candy Barrel Cactus. I forgot about this one. Yummy.
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The prize capture of the day, though, was this precious Pincushion Cactus (Mammillaria).
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(Sorry if it took a lot of time to load these images. In hindsight, I should have given you a slideshow. )

monsoon show

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Wowie wow! What a night! When the thunder and lightning started, I ran upstairs and pressed
my camera against the window (too tired to find tripod). It was so dark, I had to guess at the focus.
30 seconds later, I have this! Another storm is forecast so the tripod/camera are upstairs read to go.

shaky, yes, but who cares! I captured some lightening :-)
shaky, yes, but who cares! I captured some lightening 🙂

For inquiring minds: Canon 5DMK2, Canon 24-70mm, ISO 800, f9.5, 30 seconds

Since more rain is forecast, I thought there would be a red sky this morning but it was orange.

A little wider shot from same window.
A little wider shot from same window.