Photoshopped

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Scott Thomas Photography

Up until this year, I really did not see a need for a different photo editor beyond Apple’s Aperture 3.x.  I envied from a far the Adobe Photoshop community and their endless supply of support.  The price of joining the Photoshop world is steep.  One must invest not only in the tools of his craft but in one’s self as well.

Entering a new chapter of digital photo-processing.

To help in this large undertaking, I have enlisted Photoshop guru Scott Kelby…kind of. I will be using his acclaimed book, The Adobe Photoshop CS6 Book for Digital Photographers, as my guide over the next few weeks.  In fact, November of 2012 will be  dedicated to getting comfortable with Photoshop processing.  Wish me luck!

If you have any tips, suggestions, websites, books or other materials you found helpful in taming the Photoshop beast, please, tell me in the comments below.  Thank you!

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Every Storm

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Scott Thomas Photography

Runs Out of Rain

Photo © Scott Thomas Photography. All Rights Reserved.

A new song by one of my favorite Country artists.  Hope you enjoy it.

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Northern Red Oak

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Scott Thomas Photography

The Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) has been called “one of the handsomest, cleanest, and stateliest trees in North America” by naturalist Joseph S. Illick, and it is widely considered a national treasure. The Red Oak is especially valued for its adaptability and usefulness, including its hardiness in urban settings. This medium to large tree is known for its brilliant fall color and its acorns are of great value to wildlife.

Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) leafs changing color in late October in Baldwinsville, New York.

Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) leaves changing color in late October in Baldwinsville, New York.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/500s, f/5.6, ISO 1250, EV +0.3, 230mm focal length.

Northern Red Oaks change color later than maples each autumn and often are not as brilliant in color. This year with all the maples in my area changing early and only in orange, yellow and some straight to brown, the red colors from these oaks will be a welcome sight over the next couple of weeks.

You may notice the the fast shutter speed I used here.  There was a steady breeze which kept the foliage in motion.  I switched to Shutter Priority mode and cranked up the shutter to 1/500th of a second to freeze the leaves.  It also created a shallow depth of field which I emphasized by using a dark vignette.

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View 251: Wine Tour East

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Scott Thomas Photography

For my Aunt’s 80th birthday, my cousins arranged for a limo bus to take a wine tour of a few eastern Seneca Lake wineries.  Last year, I had sampled some of the western Seneca Lake wineries.  Both tours had one winery in common, Three Brothers.

Three Brothers Wineries consist of three different wineries and a microbrewery.  Each winery is distinctively different.  Stony Lonesome features upscale wines, Passion Feet has a party atmosphere and then there is Bagg Dare, the black sheep of the three.  Bagg Dare reminded me of a Disney themed restaurant.  With a rusted and rustic exterior making you wonder what you are getting yourself into.

Bagg Dare winery outdoor display at the Three Brothers Wineries on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

Bagg Dare winery outdoor display at the Three Brothers Wineries on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
Nikon D700/24-85G, 1/60s, f/16, ISO 3200, EV 0, 24mm focal length.

Bagg Dare is a place for adult fun and innuendo with wine tasting servers pouring wines with the names of Poor Limp Richard, Well Hung, Driv’er Home and 69 Ways to Have Fun.  My Aunt and her friends got a real hoot out of those names.

Bagg Dare server pours a small amount of wine for a tasting at the Three Brothers Wineries on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

Bagg Dare wine tasting server pours a small amount of wine for a tasting at the Three Brothers Wineries on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
Nikon D700/24-85G, 1/60s, f/16, ISO 3200, EV 0, 24mm focal length, SB-700 flash.

After the fun of Three Brothers and the purchase of a few wines and wine slushy mixes. We loaded back onto the bus to head down the eastern Seneca Lake shore to our next destination.

Ventosa Vineyards takes its queue from Italian chalets.  The back terrace, where we sampled the wines, overlooked the vineyard and Seneca Lake.  The warm autumn day and colors of the season created a heady feeling.  Or maybe it was the wine?

Grape vines behind the Ventosa Vineyards on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

Grape vines behind the Ventosa Vineyards on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
Nikon D700/24-85G, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 1100, EV 0, 85mm focal length.

This was the only winery we stopped at where I could get close to the vines.  Using my newly acquired  Nikon SB-700 Speedlight, I enjoyed lining up some photos of the grapes still waiting to be harvested.

Grapes on the vine at the Ventosa Vineyards on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

Grapes on the vine at the Ventosa Vineyards on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
Nikon D700/24-85G, 1/500s, f/4.5, ISO 1400, EV 0, 80mm focal length, fill flash.

After enjoying a picnic lunch, we visited the Kings Garden Vineyards.  The tasting area and store was quaint and beautifully landscaped for so late in the year.

The Kings Garden Vineyards wine tasting facility on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

The Kings Garden Vineyards wine tasting facility on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
Nikon D700/24-85G, f/16, ISO 450, EV +0.3, 24mm focal length, HDR Image.

Our wine tasting server meet us at the door and took us to the back deck where we were introduced to the three sisters: Royal Pain, Wicked Wench and Sinister Sister.

The Three Sisters. Wines ready to be served for a tasting at the Kings Garden Vineyards on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

The Three Sisters. Wines ready to be served for a tasting at the Kings Garden Vineyards on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
Nikon D700/24-85G, 1/160s, f/6.3, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 24mm focal length.

Our last stop in the wine tour was the Hazlitt Vineyards.  Hazlitt has a beautiful building for its wine tasting and store but my group was drawn to the Tiki Tent nestled between willow trees on the other side of the parking lot.

The Tiki Tent at the Hazlitt Vineyards on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

The Tiki Tent at the Hazlitt Vineyards on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
Nikon D700/24-85G, f/16, ISO 720, EV +0.3, 24mm focal length, HDR image.

Throughout the day, one of my cousins kept telling us not to get the wine tasting at Hazlitt.  Money was better spent getting one of the Red Cat wine slushies. I must admit it was excellent advice.  However, the slushies after a day of wine tasting and the drinking of beer, champagne and mixed drinks on the bus between wineries…well, see for yourself.

My Aunt dancing on the table for her 80th Birthday in the Tiki Tent at Hazlitt Vineyards on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

My Aunt dancing on the table for her 80th Birthday in the Tiki Tent at Hazlitt Vineyards on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
Nikon D700/24-85G, 1/50s, f/5.6, ISO 560, EV +0.3, 30mm focal length, bounced flash.

This photo posted on Facebook had one of my friends quip, “I want to be like her when I grow up!” I must agree.  It was a fun day with family and friends in the Seneca Lake wine country.

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Tower of Terror Night HDR

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Scott Thomas Photography

For those of you who have attended a special event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios like Star Wars Weekend or maybe an ESPN Weekend, you know about the area past Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and to the side of the Tower of Terror. I had only been back there during the day previously.

Three weekends ago, I attended the Villain’s Bash Party in conjunction with the inaugural running of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10 Miler by runDisney. This gave me an opportunity to bring in my tripod and do some shooting for a couple of hours before my daughter, who ran in the race, crossed the finish line.

First, I want to show you what I considered the best one shot exposure. As always, the Exif data is below the photo.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 13s, f/16, ISO 200, EV 0, 40mm focal length.

TIP: The lens I was using, the Nikon 28-300 f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR Zoom, is a great travel lens but, when placed on a tripod, the Vibration Reduction or VR must be turned off.  The VR technology will actually cause vibrations when locked down this way. If you use a VR lens (That’s IS for you Canon people) on a tripod, read the lens’ specs to see how to properly use it.

From the setting above, I bracketed around it with eight more exposures in one stop intervals (1/2s, 1s, 2s, 4s, 8s, 25s, 60s, 120s).  The last two exposures are approximate as I was using my Apple iPhone’s Stop Watch App to know when to close the shutter as my camera does not go past 30 seconds. I used Bulb mode and manually opened and closed the shutter with a remote release.

I processed the nine photos in Photomatix Pro 4 Plugin for Aperture.  Applied a favorite preset, adjusted to my liking and finished processing in Aperture 3.x photo management and editing software.

The final image looks is a bit more HDR-ish than I was looking for.

Night HDR Image of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

Night HDR Image of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, f/16, ISO 200, EV 0, 40mm focal length.

You can see how the shadowed areas were opened up and the combined exposures caught light changing over the time it took to take the photos which was done manually. I have been struggling with night time HDR images for awhile now.  Still a work in progress. 🙂 Any suggestions or comments are appreciated.

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