Light Stalking

I have found an incredibly helpful website, Light Stalking.  

I'm not sure how I stumbled upon them, but I did sign up to receive their periodic emails with links to the articles they publish each week.  They feature posts on different topics, such as what makes a landscape memorable, lighting techniques, finding your personal style, etc.  They also feature photos from various photographers each week.

I find their tips give me little tweaks to think about while I am out capturing things I like. 

An example of a recent post I found very interesting can be found here.

While the blog is free to look at, they do also offer articles that you can pay to read.  

You should check out this website... I know I will continue to keep reading and learning.

Scott Kelby

Since starting my digital photography class, Scott Kelby is the name I have probably run into the most.  I have purchased tutorial books he has written on both Photoshop and Lightroom and checked his blog numerous times.  I am amazed at all this man has accomplished!  He was born in 1960 - not too far ahead of me.  In addition to capturing inspiring images, constantly adding to his blog, and, well, here are the words from his blog describing what he does...

"Editor and Publisher of Photoshop User Magazine; training director and instructor for the Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tour, President National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP), CEO of Kelby Media Group, author of a string of bestselling technology books. Conference Technical Chair for the Photoshop World Conference & Expo, author of numerous Photoshop training DVDs and online courses, and co-host of PhotoshopTV, and Photoshop Tips-N-Tricks. 10 jobs, little sleep."

Whoa!  I feel lazy just reading this!

  

One thing I love about his blog, found here 

is that he not only show the images he captured, he often shows what was involved to capture them.

   

        

The parts of his books I have read have been very helpful and a an easy ready for a newbie like me.   I look forward to learning more from him in the future.

Galen Rowell

Galen Rowell (1940 - 2002) had a love of climbing from an early age and began to photograph what he saw on his climbs so he could share what he saw with those he loved.  He was not formally trained as a photographer, but you don't have to look at many of his images to see he had a true talent in capturing what he saw.

 

His love of hiking and climbing continued throughout his life and from what I have read, he spent his days doing what he truly loved. His photographs appeared in many publications, including National Geographic.

 Sadly, he died with his wife in a plane crash on their way home from Alaska.  He left behind a legacy that shows his love for the American landscape.

You can learn more about Galen Rowell at the following websites:

http://www.bythom.com/chasing.htm 

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/locations/north-america/lessons-learned-from-galen-rowell.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galen_Rowell

Peter Henry Emerson

     Born in Cuba to an American father and a British mother,  Peter Henry Emerson (1856 - 1936), started his career as a doctor, but once he discovered photography, he left other interests behind him and pursued photography wholeheartedly.  Emerson embraced a style of photography that was very different for his time.  He felt that photographs should  show things as they really were and not posed or contrived.  This created quite a stir in the photgraphic world.

In 1889 (1889!) Emerson published a book entitled,  Naturalistic Photography for Students of Art.  I am amazed at early photographers and all the work they went through to produce an image.  I would love to see what they could accomplish with a digital camera!

If you would like to learn more about Peter Henry Emerson, you can read about him here

and here. 

Yosef Karsh

Trying to capture someone's personality in one photograph has proved been a challenge to say the least.

One portrait has stood out to me as capturing a personality (or at least perceived personality) more than any other.

This is one of Winston Churchill and Yosef Karsh is the man that captured this image.

You can read the story of how he captured this image here.

As I have read his autobiographical sketch, the thing that struck me the most about his life was his gratitude.  His life was not without early struggles, but I think he always made the most of what he found himself with.  His hard work and studies paid off.  Opportunity presented itself, and he was ready when it did.

He first learned to work with found light in his mentor's studio in Boston and later learned about composing light to work the way he wanted when he became involved with a theater group in Ottawa.

All of the portraits I have seen of his work seem to capture a unique quality about each person.

Of portraits, Karsch said, ""My chief joy is to photograph the great in heart, in mind, and in spirit, whether they be famous or humble."

-http://www.biographybase.com/biography/Karsh_Yousuf.html

It is my goal to study more about him and apply what I learn to taking portraits.

Yosef Karsh lived from 1908 to 2002.

To learn about Yosef Karsh, visit his website:

http://www.karsh.org/#

A good friend introduced me to the work of Brian Matiash.  You can find his blog here.  This man definitely loves what he does!

I have learned a lot about HDR photography reading his blog and looking at the images he has posted along with his explanations.  HDR stands for High Dynamic Range Imaging.  From what I understand so far, the goal of HDR photography is to capture more of what your eye naturally sees, from the darkest detail, to the lightest highlight.  Brian does a good job explaining how to achieve this here.

I know I am baby stepping it right now in photography and learning the software, but I hope at some point to give HDR a try.

Here is a sample of some of Brian's HDR photographs.

The image on the left is before and the one on the right is after.

Wow!!  Look at the detail that shows up!

I think you will enjoy looking at Brian's blog, even if you have no interest in HDR.  

His images are interesting and he always adds some words of wisdom for the photographer with each post.

I am really enjoying this journey of learning and discovery!