By Jay Patel, on August 5th, 2011 
Photography is all about capturing a moment in time. Sometimes, we use shutter speed as long as several minutes, and sometimes we need something much faster. In order to capture this bizarre image, I used a shutter speed of just 1/2500 of a second!
What is this? It is an abstract image taken just as a bubble burst – in the boiling “mud pots” of Yellowstone National Park.
How do you create an image like this one?
- Find the right location. In this case, the bubbles were forming in the same location over and over again – if they appear randomly, it can be difficult to capture one at just the right moment.
- Set you focus in advance.Once you know where the bubble is most likely to appear, focus your lens at that location and disable the auto-focus. Now your lens is set correctly, and you can concentrate on getting the shot.
- Take some test shots. You need to decide what aperture and DOF you need to use. Choose a shutter speed fast enough to completely freeze the motion – in this case, 1/2500 sec. I chose an aperture of 5.6 in order to get sufficient depth of field. Then, I adjusted my ISO until my exposure was correct.
- Be sure to check your Histogram! Because of all that bright white mud, I had to manually overexpose the shot (~ 1.5 stops) to get the image nice and bright. But I don’t want to end up with blown highlights! A quick check of the histogram told me that my settings were just right.
On the day I took this shot, there was a light overcast sky, which helped to minimize blown highlight on the wet surfaces and – and to keep the shadows soft.
And now, all you have to do is wait… and click away. To be honest, it was a lot of fun to capture these images. Varina and I, and our students, spent a couple of hours taking 100s of shots of the bubbles…After all, even grown ups like to play with mud! (But don’t actually play IN this mud – it’s HOT!)
I processed the shot with low contrast, and cloned out a few distracting shadows in the smooth mud behind and I had my shot.
The same technique can be applied to capture other subjects in nature – such as a hummingbird that returns to the same feeder, insects visiting a pollen-rich flower, and water droplets falling in the same spot.
Here is an photography by Varina that was produced using similar technique.
By Varina Patel, on July 29th, 2011 It’s always fun to try something new. Although both of us have been wanting to do some night photography for a while now, it’s difficult to actually get out there and DO it. Not too long ago, we finally did do it while we were visiting Arizona and New Mexico. Here are a few of our attempts. What do you think?
This shot, titled “The Night Flight”, is a digital blend of two images from Bisti Wilderness in New Mexico. The image was created using a technique Jay calls “Painting with Time”, and no artificial lighting was used. He took one shot just as the last light was falling on the hoodoo – soft, directional lighting gives the formation a soft, golden glow. After taking the first shot, Jay left the camera and the tripod in place. Soon, the stars came out, and he adjusted the exposure to capture their light. (F5.6@25s, ISO 500). Later, he combined the images in Photoshop to create the final image you see above.
Varina chose a simpler technique that evening at Bisti. She wanted to capture the soft curves of the landscape with some very subtle lighting. Shortly after sunset, she used a 3.2 second shutter speed to capture these smooth hoodoos. The sky glowed with a soft magenta light in the West, and the reflected light created the slight color cast you see in the image.
 We also tried some night photography in the Vermilion Cliffs in Arizona. Jay’s shot is titled “A Night at The Control Tower”. This is an example of light panting. Although we generally prefer natural lighting, we find that a bit of artificial light can work well alongside ambient light. In this case, the ambient light was provided by the moon. Jay used a 30 second exposure (F4, ISO 200) to underexpose the scene by about 1.3 stops. He wanted to avoid a longer shutter speed, since it would result in “star trails”. He used a headlamp to light The Control Tower as he waited. Matching the exposure for the foreground and the background required some experimentation.
 While Jay was busy painting with light that night, Varina climbed high on the rocks in the dark to find a spot that offered an interesting view from above. She wanted to capture the glow of residual light on the bizarre Southwest landscape. In order to capture enough light, she used a whopping 266 second shutter speed (F16, ISO 100). (Though she could have reduced that long shutter speed by increasing the ISO.) The weird colors in the rock were enhanced by the very faint magenta glow in the western sky.
Light Painting, “Painting with Time”, star light and star trails, moon light, residual light… your options are wide open! Have you tried shooting after dark?
By Varina Patel, on July 25th, 2011
By Jay Patel, on July 22nd, 2011 
Take a look at this shot of the Toadstool hoodoo from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. The light was really nice – the sky was changing color a few minutes before sunrise, and very soft morning light kissed the orange rocks in front of me. The sun was getting ready to rise over my left shoulder – and the scene was pretty evenly lit, since I wasn’t shooting into the sun. The problem was that I couldn’t capture the entire range of light in a single frame without a Graduated Neutral Density filter… and I didn’t want to use one.
Why not? Well, as you can see, the horizon in this shot is not straight. GND filters are perfect when the horizon is relatively straight. We use them for sunset or sunrise shots – where the sky is bright and the ground is dark. The filter can slide up or down to allow the photographer to adjust for the position of the horizon. They are incredibly useful little buggers if you enjoy landscape photography.
Unfortunately, in this photograph, the line between sky and ground isn’t straight. A GND filter would have made a dark line across the top of the hoodoo. No good. So I bracketed exposures instead. I took two photographs from the same spot – using a remote release to make sure the camera didn’t move at all between exposures. The first shot was exposed correctly for the sky – so the sky looked great, but the ground was too dark. The second shot was exposed correctly for the ground – which meant the sky was too bright.
I used layers and masks in Photoshop to combine these two images and create a final photograph that represents the scene as I remember it.
Interested in learning more about blending images manually in Photoshop? Check out our webinar recordings.
By Jay Patel, on June 13th, 2011 We have heard it a thousand times… “Those colors must be Photoshopped.” Just recently, we received yet another similar comment on one of our posts – the color looks “over-cooked” in Photoshop. I’m willing to bet that most of you have heard the same thing. We’re used to the question, so it doesn’t bother us much – but it’s a worthwhile point for discussion.
Now, before we get into this – we don’t think there’s anything wrong with taking artistic liberties with your colors. This is art, and the artist makes the rules. But – it seems that sometimes people fail to realize that nature itself can “over-cook” the colors… in a good way, of course. The key is to realize that brilliant colors occur under certain condition. When you learn to take advantage of those conditions, you won’t need help from Photoshop. Let nature do it for you!
Take a look at the two photos below:
 Click to Enlarge
The colors are quite different, right? So, what’s going on here? Both these photos are from the same location. Jay used a circular polarizer for both images – and processed them with the same RAW parameters. He even used the same version of Adobe Camera RAW. You can take a look at the settings he used below…
So, if all the parameters are equal – why do the two images look so different? In this case, it comes down to two major factors – seasons and light conditions.
The photo on the left was taken in mid-summer. On that day, the skies were bright blue. Strong directional light from the upper right overexposed the greens on the left – and the shady right side ended up underexposed. The dry weather also meant that the moss had died out for the season, so the rocks are brown. Deep green, summer foliage surrounds the waterfall.
The photo on the right was taken in Spring. Jay took the shot in between rain showers, when everything was wet. Overcast skies meant filtered, non-directional light – so the whole scene is bathed in very soft light… and the diffused light makes everything seem to glow just slightly. At this time of year, the waterfall is at it’s peak – and the moss and spring foliage has a fresh golden color. A bit of morning mist adds a moody effect.
In this case – and for most of our images – vibrant colors come from nature itself.
By Jay Patel, on May 12th, 2011 In photography…great light is fleeting. Sometimes, it last for just a few minutes – or even a few brief seconds. The challenge is to be ready to shoot when the light is just right.
 We arrived at Chanticleer overlook as the clouds began to change color. A rainbow had appeared over beautiful, sun-drenched Crown Point in the distance. The last rich red light was still falling on the mountains. Jay grabbed his camera, vaulted himself onto a low stone wall, and set up his tripod in record time. He snapped the photo at the perfect moment.
Less than two minutes later, the scene had changed dramatically. The sun was no longer painting Crown Point, the rainbow had faded, the colors in the sky were almost gone.
We do our best to be prepared for this kind of light. It’s not easy – and sometimes we miss it entirely. But with a little luck – and a bit of research and preparation – we just might get what we’re hoping for. The moment is worth it!
By Jay Patel, on April 25th, 2011 So what is vignetting? Take a look at the image below. The corners are darker than the center of the image. This was intentionally done – in order to help draw your attention towards the subject. This is a pretty common technique for photographers – it’s usually pretty subtle, and can be very effective if it’s done right.
Now, as I said, it’s often done intentionally – but vignetting can be annoying when it happens in-camera. Darkening of the corners occurs because of light fall off, and it can be especially problematic when you are shooting with a large aperture. But don’t worry! Photoshop CS5 makes fixing the problem easier than ever.
- Click on the Filter Menu, and choose Lens Correction from the drop-down list
- In the Lens Correction Dialog, check the box next to Vignette and select the appropriate lens with the help of the Search Criteria menus. If your lens does not appear on the list, you can use the Custom tab to make the correction manually.
Here’s a handy little image to help clarify the process. It’s a nice little feature, isn’t it?
Now – I’d be remiss if I didn’t say there are other ways to do this. You can add or remove vignetting with the RAW converter, too. Or you could use a mask to create a similar effect with an adjustment layer. There’s no “wrong” way to do it. Just find what works for you!
By Varina Patel, on February 2nd, 2011 Jay and I always shoot together – and sometimes we find ourselves standing side by side, tripod legs crossed one over the over as we prepare to shoot. Sometimes we come away with shots that are pretty similar, but most of the time, we find that our finished images are completely different from one another.
We see things differently. Jay tends to include as much as possible in his images. He wants more details, more beautiful color, and more intensity in his imagery. I, on the other hand, work to eliminate as much as possible in my finished product. I search for simplicity, and I love subtle light. A single shoot at one location results in completely different images from each of us. Of course, we are both influenced by each other’s work as well. So you’ll see some of Jay’s high-contrast imagery in my portfolio… and some of my subtlety in Jay’s collections.
So, what do we shoot when we are standing side-by-side? Here are some fun examples…
Although I came away with some photographs of these beautiful blue bells as well, my favorite shot from that day doesn’t show the flowers at all! It’s a simple image of a water droplet clinging to a fresh, green stem. Jay’s shot shows the overwhelming beauty of this place in Spring… but is one shot “better” than the other? We don’t think so. They’re just different.
And how about these photographs from Vermillion Cliffs in Arizona? We were both shooting at the same time – a few hundred meters apart. (In fact, Jay’s hoodoo is located in actually visible in the upper left-hand corner of my image… though it’s nearly impossible to see at this size and resolution.) The finished images look completely different… even down to color balance! Why? Because Jay used a flashlight to “paint” the stones in his image… and a shutter speed of around 30 seconds. The light in his image is golden because of the color of the light he used.
My shot looks totally different because I used ambient light. The sun had already set – perhaps a half-hour before we took these shots – and the sky was dark except for a soft afterglow on the Western horizon. The extremely subtle light cast a soft, pink glow on the rocks, and a very long shutter speed – 266 seconds – captured enough light over time to show off a strange, magenta landscape.
Here’s a shot Jay took at Pine Glades Lake in Florida. His goal was to capture the reflected light on the water, and that cuddly little alligator in the foreground.
Once again, I captured something entirely different. A few minutes later, the sun dropped below the horizon and the golden glow of the sunset disappeared. I photographed the deep blue light scattered in the sky and across the water… using a long shutter speed to smooth the ripples from the water. Once again, the two shots are as different as night and day… and yet, both represent the same beautiful location.
Is one better than the other? That depends upon your perspective. Which images appeal to you? What do you look for in your own photography? And how do your images differ from those of the photographer standing next to you? ;)
One of the most intersting aspects of shooting with others is seeing how different your images are in the end. How do you challenge yourself to come up with something unique when you are shooting with others? And what about “icon” shots? If others have photographed the same location a million times, how do you create an image that isn’t just the same old shot? Others may benefit from your suggestions – so share your knowledge. Join the conversation! (And feel free to include a link to your image so others can see your work and learn from it!)
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Q & A – Finding the Balance