Highlands Dawn Canon 1DS Mk III, 1/6 sec @f/16, ISO 100, 19mm
It’s been a while since I’ve made a Lightroom video tutorial, and I do plan on creating these more regularly based on feedback from many of you. So here’s one of a recent image I made right here in the Hudson Valley – “Highlands Dawn.” A big part of my workflow is having a clear vision of what the final print will look like, and that’s something I find extremely important when processing RAW files. Knowing why you’re making an adjustment, or having a sense of what you want the image to convey will help tremendously when making critical decisions in the processing and overall workflow.
I hope this tutorial helps you think about these things when you’re processing your own images, and improves both your workflow and final result. Please leave any comments or questions below – the feedback helps me for future tutorials, and I’m always willing to help as much as I can.
The March 2013 Free Desktop Wallpaper is now available for download. The Hudson River is a tidal estuary, and is constantly changing depending on the time of day, weather, season, and quality of light. It is never the same, and for a landscape photographer, offers many opportunities to study and appreciate the beauty of the region and nature itself.
As always, come closer to nature in the Hudson Valley.
First determine your screen size. Your Current Resolution Is:
Then click on the link for the correct size. When the image opens in a new browser window, right click on the image and select “Set as Wallpaper” (on a Mac, select “Use Image as Desktop Picture”).
The sound of fresh snow under my feet, the muted silence of the forest, the stillness of the air—these are all things I love about nature on a cold winter morning. I have hiked the same trail countless times, but when the conditions are right, something special happens, something I can’t really explain yet I know it and feel it intimately.
Everything I see reminds me of my existence, right at that moment in time. And I see the simplest things in a way that gives them more meaning, more interest, and makes them worth considering a little more than usual.
It’s this shift in perception, ever so slight but never subtle, that I seek each and every time I venture out into the landscape. It gives me an awareness of things I normally don’t pay attention to, mainly out of habit, but also because of human nature’s tendency to become less interested in the familiar.
The photograph tries to capture and explain some of this, yet the nuances of the moment and my emotions can only truly exist in memory. But there is a sense that conveying the experience is possible, simply from the fact that I can show someone what I saw and hope their imagination kicks in to fill in the rest.
How we as photographers trigger the imagination, and give the viewer reasons to contemplate the image just a bit longer, are the keys to making images that stand out and become extra special.
Questions
Here are a few questions to think about when you look at this image.
How many patterns can you identify?
Does the image feel calm or tense? Why
Did you notice how the snow makes textured(trees) and un-textured (ground) surfaces to create contrast and interest?
Comments and feedback are always welcome, it helps keep me focused on what you want to read and learn about most. Thanks for reading!
The February 2013 Free Desktop Wallpaper is now available for download. The Catskill Mountains are legendary in New York, inspiring artists from Thomas Cole to Washington Irving, to countless photographers and writers today. Great light during a passing storm created the atmospherics that are so rare, but so special. 30mph winds made the job difficult, but […]
Ice, Hudson River / Canon 60D, 0.5 sec @f/18, 17mm, ISO 100 A very familiar location, but always enlightening to realize how infinitely variable it can be. Whether composition, light, mood, feel, or most importantly my own willingness to see these things clearly. That for me has become the biggest challenge, as well as the most […]
On my recent Q+A session on Facebook, I received some great questions that I thought would be better answered here where I can elaborate a little better. I really enjoy answering the questions and sharing whatever knowledge I have that might help you in your photographic endeavors, plus it makes for a great community • […]
