I came across this free subscription to Rangefinder Magazine a while ago, had forgotten about it…and was reminded today when my first issue showed up in the mail.

From the website:

Rangefinder is the premier monthly magazine for the professional photographer. The editorial content of Rangefinder will assist professional photographers in producing better images while increasing profits. Rangefinder’s in-depth features include product and new equipment reviews; lighting and technical pieces; promotion and management issues; digital imaging tips; information for portrait, wedding, and commercial photographers; black-and-white shooting; and processing techniques.

Regular columns from top photographic professionals include Profiles, Problems and Solutions, Digital Photography, and the RF Cookbook, which has a wealth of how-to information to help you fine-tune your craft. Rangefinder also offers information on competitions and instruction, workshops, industry news, a calendar of events, and future trends.

This being my first issue, I can’t help but think how the heck are they giving this amazingly high quality magazine away for free? The issue I received is the Portrait Issue so the majority of the articles are, obviously, about portraits and portrait photographers. 202 pages of full-color glossy images and articles.

One of the articles that really caught my eye is “Proactive Tips for Fighting Through the Recession“. Very cool, a magazine that is truly timely and coming with the tips to help the pros keep afloat when economic tmes get tough.

So take advantage while the taking is there and get your FREE SUBSCRIPTION to Rangefinder Magazine today!

While we were up in Rocky Mountain National Park last weekend, I noticed an elk on the side of the road. We kept going up to Bear Lake, but I knew I’d want to stop on the return to see if I could get some pics of him.

On the way back, it became clear he had apparently moved a bit to the west. This was perfect, as there was a scenic pullout that afforded us some parking. I left everyone else in the car, put my Sigma 55-200 on the camera and headed into the woods. Much to my pleasure, there were actually 4 elk up there. 2 bucks, a doe and a younger one. There were already some people shooting them, and the elk were moving deeper into the woods. I took a guess as to which direction they were going to go and moved that way. A clambered up a hill, and another, and there they were. Good guess! I settled down into a spot so that I wouldn’t appear to be very threatening. With all of the branches in between me and the animals, there was no way that auto-focus was going to work. So, for the first time with this lens, I switched to manual focus and was able to get off a few good shots. This one is one of the better ones, even though that darned branch is covering his eye. Right after I took this one, he bolted down the hill and was gone. I thought it best to get back to the car and resume the reason we were here - Megan’s senior pictures. I was pretty happy to get these shots though.

I don’t break this lens out very often, but when I do, I am very pleased I have it. For the price point (I think it is down to $136 now), this has proven to be a great one to have in my bag. Especially until I can get a 300. If you have been debating on whether or not you want to buy this lens, go for it. I haven’t seen any quality issues, and the pics speak for themselves.

Original, originally uploaded by Sheba Wheeler.

Here is an example of a “before and after” of an image from a recent senior portrait session. Jordan’s mother requested I remove her daughter’s piercing above her right eye.

To achieve this effect, I used some healing to erase the piercing above Jordan’s right eye, smoothed out the dark circles under her eye and around her neck. I sharpened her eyes so they would pop. Then I used a plug-in filter called Portraiture for the glamour affect which softened Jordan’s skin to a flawless glow and evened out her skin tone. Further selective adjustment editing in Curves brightened her face.

If you use this type of processing, I like to apply it in a separate layer and then lower the opacity to about 60 to 65 percent. A little of this kind of touch-up goes a long way and keeps the subject realistic. This image was Jordan’s mother’s favorite from the entire session.

As we were driving into the Bear/ Sprague Lake area on Sunday, we drove alongside Mill Creek and I noticed that it had a significantly-sized channel with a lot of boulders in it. I filed it away in the back of my mind, thinking it warranted more inspection. I think Megan noticed it too.

After we wrapped up with all the shooting at Bear Lake and Sprague Lake, we started to head out of the park. It had rained pretty good, and the roads were pretty wet. As we crossed the bridge over Mill Creek, Megan and I agreed that we should at least check the site out. I was a bit concerned because of how much it had rained. The rocks looked pretty slick. We walked all the way from where we parked down to the bridge (where I took a photo of the underside of the bridge because of George Barr and his book. I still had reservations because of the wetness of the rock, but Megan wanted to do it and was confident she could if she went barefoot.

Throwing caution to the wind, we went out into the boulder field/ creek. I wouldn’t want to try this in May/ June when the runoff is raging through there, but at this time of the year the creek was pretty tame. I found what I thought was a good rock for Megan to pose on. I got a good number of shots of her on that rock. Some laughing, some serious, but all good I think. I decided to “think outside the box” a little and moved her off to one side of the frame. That resulted in the picture above. When she saw it in camera later, she was really excited. Didn’t catch what she thought of it full size on the screen. Guess I’ll have to dig into her myspace page - I am sure it is there if she liked it.

For me though, this image could be used to convey so many thoughts. I could easily see it being some type of album cover (or something along these lines at least), or an advertisement, or just an interpretive piece for the viewer to decide what it means. For some reason this image is very powerful to me. Maybe I am reading more into it since I took the image. Definitely possible. Doesn’t matter though, I really like it.

Nature is far more perfect…, originally uploaded by everyday*beautiful (Lacy).

As with the person who took this pic, I am ready for the fall. The colors are more interesting, and the weather less predictable. It all adds up to a good photo op!

In reviewing George Barr’s “Take Your Photography to the Next Level”, I noticed two things. 1. George Barr stitches a lot of images together (a topic for another day) and 2. Mr. Barr uses Helicon Focus quite a bit.

Helicon Focus is designed (per their website) for:

• micro photography (camera + optical microscope)
• macro photography (camera + macro lenses )
• landscape photography (infinite depth of field)

I have only done a couple of tests with it so far (it rained here in Colorado most of the weekend), but I think a definitive one is illustrated below. I want to thank George Barr for bringing this tool to me eyes, and to Dan Kozub (in the Ukraine) for writing it. I am going to use it a lot when I do flower macros, etc.

My first attempt at doing a test didn’t come out so well (I didn’t even save the result). The primary reason? I was trying to do it handheld. You definitely want to use a tripod for this.

Since it was raining all weekend, I just set up my small tripod on the kitchen table and took some pics looking into my wife’s office. For this test, I snapped a total of five pictures, all in manual focus mode. Here is the first:
Notice that the computer monitor and other items are well out of focus in the background. Here is the relevant EXIF data:
Camera: Olympus E-510
Exposure: 0.2 sec (1/5)
Aperture: f/5.3
Focal Length: 34 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/10 EV

Following this shot, I rotated the focus ring a little ways and snapped another. I did this 2 more times before taking this final shot (for a total of 5).
Notice that things in the background are in much better focus now. Here is the relevant EXIF data:
Camera: Olympus E-510
Exposure: 0.167 sec (1/6)
Aperture: f/5.3
Focal Length: 34 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/10 EV

Obviously you can guarantee best results by being in full Manual mode and making sure the aperture and exposure are the same for each picture. Since this was a crude, last minute test, I didn’t go that far.

Here is the resulting image from a combination of the 5, using the default settings in Helicon Focus.

The difference is pretty obvious, and pretty striking as well. All told, it took about 20 minutes for the software to process the 5 Olympus RAW images (~8MB each) into the resulting image above. I can’t wait to get out in the field and try this on some flowers. Just make sure your objects are stationary. As you can tell from the Windows logo on the computer screen, EVERYTHING makes it into the final image.

For more information, or to purchase this software, go to http://www.heliconsoft.com/heliconfocus.html - you won’t be sorry you did.

Be aware that there is not much in the way of tutorial information. You really need to experiment with the program or look in the forums to get an idea of what you are doing. I figured out that I needed to shoot several images, and then simply loaded them in and let it do it’s thing. Very cool tool!

PYWP Monthly Assignment: Rural Architecture, originally uploaded by Sheba Wheeler.

Take Your Photography to the Next Level: From Inspiration to Image, by George Barr, is a collection of the most helpful postings from his blog over the past few years. I rank this book right up there with the works of Bryan Peterson in terms of it’s importance to photographers in general. In fact, I would declare this a must read.

Mr. Barr has taken the liberty (well advised in my mind) of editing his prior posts so that they are more current or relevant for this book. I had never heard of him before, but the author is very impressive in terms of how he is able to “see” a great photo in what seem like ordinary or common objects. I do believe that, in the course of my learning to take better pictures, this is the hardest thing to do.

One of the more impressive things about this book is how the editor, author, and Rocky Nook were able to take the blog postings and meld them into a cohesive book. It follows a fairly structured order, and includes excellent photographic examples along the way. I also particularly like how the author intentionally stayed away from mentioning specific settings and (most of the time) gear used to make certain images. In a few sections of the book, it is pointed out clearly that it is the person taking the photos that is more important than the gear being used, and I agree completely (he does cover the gear he uses at the back of the book).

One other very useful sections is how to deal with rejection and criticism and the whole mindset of taking pictures. I know a few people that could apply the principles of that section (did I mention Barr is a doctor) in their photography or other aspects of their life. Very good stuff, and just another example of how Barr is able to relate to the casual and serious photographer alike.

I could go on and on about this book, but you really should get a copy for yourself. It is outstanding!

Juggling, originally uploaded by mostsb.

It’s my day to post and I forgot. OK, I didn’t forget, I just ran out of time to get the post I was working on done.

Right now, I am taking some time of from fulltime work, trying to find that perfect job that allows me to juggle work, photography, family and other hobbies.

The past week has been hectic with trying to get a number of model photo shoots scheduled and coordinated between 12 models; planning and coordinating a different set of models for an upcoming fashion show (and making sure I have enough photographers for the event); getting the kids ready to return to school…man summer sure did fly by…and actually looking for a fulltime gig. I think somewhere in there I slept.

So that book review I am working on, look for it Sunday. And maybe next week I will actually have some images to post up…I may actually brave the insanity and head to Downtown Denver and see what interesting Democratic National Convention fun I can spy.