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    Popular Photography - May 2009

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    \UTOP CAMERAS 1 epi El ¢|| | | WORLD'S LARGEST IMAGING MAGAZINE R 30 MOST, PHOTO-.. ; FRIENDLY CITIES ee Nags 7 HOW-TO SPECIAL TIPS & GEAR YOU NEED RIGHT NOW! HOW-TO TRICKS *Close-ups eLandscapes eAnd more SIGMA LIZ O. BAYLEN SHOOTS THE WORLD WITH A SIGMA LENS Focusing on the ball, just as a player would, here in New York’s Central Park The passion that this croquet player infuses into this ball is apparent in his fingertips. This shot was aptured by a Sigma lens, a large aperture standard 3s optimized for full-frame digital SLR cameras. Benefiting optical design, body length of only 3. : D), Sp n (SLE m ph jor aberrations and ensure high image q\ ti Coatin and the Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) ensures quiet al focu With case, petal-type hood (LH876 Nikon, Sony, Pentax ull-rame digital SLR cameras that features a compact design and an HSM system. SIGMA 24-70mF2.8 IF EX DG HSM iaaucsiaias SIGMA CORPORATION OF AMERICA 15 Fleetwood Cour, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779 «S31 586-1144 Visit us on the Web at wivw.sigma-phto.com USA 4 Year Service Protection photographer with Surfer magazine, Fueled by the joy of turning his pasion into a career, he DD ese re inp nents sae Tom Sra / Bain Min 15, Seas ove w Calo he p20 fd met para ang A ip ol pap dae Seta se OuR«] Fe do GAT: 43 DE OS HM, Osan ep of WwW TOM SERVAIS SHOOTS THE WORLD WITH A SIGMA LENS. Aman at the beach is enveloped by the gentle rays of the setting California sun. Inthe fading light of day, on his way home from work, a man hits the waves. This single moment in the ‘man’s lifetime was captured by a high magnification, compact Sigma zoom lens for digital SLR cam ras equipped with Sigma’s original Optical Stabilizer function. Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass clements and aspherical tens elements provide excellent image quality throughout the entire zoom range. The Super mut-layer coating helps reduce flare and ghosting, and the Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) ensures a quiet and high-speed AF.With lens hood (LH780-04) 182s 3543 00 For Sigma, Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Pentax cameras rte ‘high magatication zoom lens for digital SLR cameras with Sigra’s orignal Optical Stabilizer function that beasts a wide 200m range SIGMA 18-2508 F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSIM iasaiaas SIGMA CORPORATION OF AMERICA 15 Fleetwood Court, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779 «631-585-1144 In Canada exclusively distributed by Gentec international, Markham, Onera Visit us on the Web at www.sigma-photo.com ery Gitzo focus on forever Traveler Tripods Incredibly compact * World's most compact, full size tripod * Advanced carbon fiber engineering maximizes vibration absorption, stability, and weight to strength ratio * Unique space saving closing system © Limited lifetime warranty in the U.S. * Choice of 4 oF 5 leg section tripod * Ultra Compact 6 Section Traveler Monopod it unfolds before me focusing on the image to tell the story. Ihave chosen Gitzo tripods for over 20 years because they work and | need rellabilty. I carry the compact Traveler triood." Karen Kasmauski As an award winning photojournalist, Keren Kasmauski has photographed 25 mejor stores for National Geographic magazine. Learn more about her work (@ www.kasmauskicom To locate a Gitzo 5 star dealer with products an alsplay and in stock Go2 www.bogenimaging.us/gitzoSstar Gitzo US subsidiary: Bogen Imaging Inc. 201 818 2600 wwrncbogenimaging.us info@bogerimaging,com HOW-TO FEATURES COLUMNS/ DEPARTMENTS TESTS/REVIEWS America’s Most Photo-Friendly Ce Raced teas eri best for photographers? The results will Eee 3 Behind the Masks Loam the secrets of a Photoshop ‘master. A Digital Toolbox Special By Robert Bowen & Debbie Grossman 5 ‘Travel Photography 2.0 The new way to great shots is with Google in your viewlinder By Lori Fredrickson 2 Nature Arm yourself with photography's secret weapon for perfect exposures and color. By Guy Tal 4 Tips From a Pro Infuse ordinary moments with visual drama though subtle use of HDR. By Laurence Chen 10 caters Aree rsaotors lesson in thinking outside-and inside-the camera bag. " By John Owens 1 ‘The Goods A dynamo of a camera, contortionist of a lens, and other great gear to check out now. 1 High 5 Serious camera phones for serious photographers. And they even make calls 7G LENS TEST: Sigma 240 70mm {/2.8 EX DG HSM AF This fullframe lens is top-drawor, with a useful focal range for event shooters, and photojournalists. 80 LENS TEST: Nikon 50mm 1/1.4G AF-S Nikkor AF The ‘newest version of Nikon's storied prime is a fast and rugged workhorse for everyday use, 82 HANDS ON: HP Designjet 3200 Large-format printing gets bigger and bolder with this wide- ‘gamut inkjet designed for pros. EN Mes 62 Lighting Your Way A quide to every type of lighting gear for every type of shooter. By Peter Kolonia 7 2 10 Camera Bargains Get big firepower for litle cash— just $499 and under. And not a DSLR ‘among them. ‘By Philp Ryan You Can Do it Go buggy with a macro lens and some help from the weatherman, By Martin Amm ‘Three Ways 108 Bose oes win 3) Kathlen Davis 1G temisner ms Aprtogacher weleomes spring, and iss his cameras, in an explosion of color QoQ) Piers eter ce snes taed opty ln Photoshon, plus 2 Gagnosi or Hain uation 12 Backstory A photographer and ‘graphic designer team up to create an unnerving image ofa bionic woman, Which Tripod Should | Buy? For the European vacation of allfetime, an unconventional monopod isabetter choice PLUS 8 Letters 20. Your Best Shot 38. The Fix 40. Why It Works 98. ‘Time Exposure 106. ‘Cheat Sheet 12 ‘By the Book 16. Tech Support 119... Speaking of Photography ON OUR COVER NEWSSTANDS: The Canon re Sa Crete eae re ameras we found for $499, Page 72. Photo by Ton ee eur) peer rent ete en Gece a NEWS, REVIEWS, AND MORE HOW-TOS ‘What you need to know ‘about the latest cameras, lenses, and other gear— and how to use them to take better pictures. YOUR PHOTO: ‘OUR CRITIQUE In our Pop Photo Flash blog, we tell you exactly what we like (and don't) about your picture, Send ‘your submissions to flash@PopPhoto.com. SOMETHING FOR NOTHING ‘And the tips are free! Sign up for our no- cost weekly newsletter and have the best of PopPhoto.com sent straight to your inbox. SOON 7 a po eo POPULAR Gg Photigraphy Serior Vice Pre cnChiet John Owens Vice President/Publsher Jeffrey Roberts Pt inthony M. Ruot é nit aetry pra x od -then transforms into a agate Sal sturdy, top stand. The Atvortaing Sate Ottoos flip: ™ attaches easily to your camera's tripod socket, giving you the flex- ibility to raise or lower your view, shoot horizontals, ver- ticals, and even macros. Allows you to be part of the memory when taking those group shots! It's sturdy, lightweight and enables you to make the most out of your point and shoot camera. Available in many colors beginning June 2009. Worldwi (GARY FONG 800-906- 6447 -com/pop ee ee ‘When you're fighting wind and vertigo forthe perfec shot, you don’t have lime to worry about your memory card. Lexor" Professional memory cords have exceptional relobiliy and speed —excellet for shooting burst mode sills ond high-definition video. With Lexar, you can take your photography to new heights. Lexar. When Soa i Mi et ready for the photographic journey of a lfetime as Mentor Pe eee ees See ene eee and Mark Alberhasky while photographing dynamic landscapes, spectacular pyramids and the glorious Nile River. Visit the Three Great Pyramids of Giza in Cairo, a glorious backdrop to capture camel drivers and their camels. Want to see the Pict eta ee tee ee ee ee ee ea Comers Photograph Upper Egypt and explore the charming city of Aswan. Travel by boat to the Temple of Phlae, located on its own island, Ce ec he oe techs ea ee our a ree nets floating hotel for the next 4-days, where the journey will provide you with many spontaneous photo ops of Egyptian life along the Nile. Disembark in Kom Omibo and discover the unique photo ops of this Glorious temple. Next, enjoy a visit to the extremely well preserved ee eee nic c A oh il sp) | September 27 — October 7, 2009 \ Lon throughout the period of the new kingdom. Here, you'l find vast pylons and pillars of Karnak Temple and take a horse carriage ride to the Temple of Luxor. As you cross the Nile, you'll vst the burial ground Cen ee nar a ecu corns Soo ey colors of the Black Desert and its volcanic remains, the White Desert ee ren ee ae eke) rrr Se ee eat ee ry eee he ey cart ea) spend some time expioring the Khan el Khalil Bazaar. In the narrow alleyways of the Bazaar, you'll find a busting marketplace with ee ee ue ger) and bustle of Egyptian life. You and your camera will revel in the sights Beet From the deserts to the Nile, the pyramids to the temples, Egypt's eye-catching views will stimulate your senses and provide you with fantastic photos. Sign up today for a memorable trek that will bring Ciacci TO Orn emis = iS Register Online Pky 1.888.676.6468 Ws EGYPT ) vd 0 When | travel, | enjoy photographing the interiors of museums. And as I've visited museums throughout the U.S. and Europe, I've picked up a few pointers that T'd like to share. ‘While most museums permit photography inside, almost every one has regulations against flash, tripods, and commercial use. Usually the rules are posted by the museum's entrance and tickets booths. The rules are also posted on museums’ websites. Instead of a tripod, I use a steady surface and the selftimer or a cable release. For this shot inside London's Museum of Natural History, Iplaced my Canon EOS 40D on a big donation box. I made a donation, and nobody said a word. With flash prohibited and a steady surface, I shot at ISO 100 and 15 seconds at £18. For handheld work, I'll go up to ISO 800, and I've never had a problem with noise from my 40D. Capturing the architecture inside halls with high transparent ceilings ona bright day can be tricky, Card tricks Thave a DSLR that uses CF cards and a point-and-shoot that takes SD cards. Recently in Hong Kong, I found an ‘SD-to-CF adapter for less than $20 (no brand name). It works perfectly, and I now can use SD cards in both cameras. Am I giving up anything? Poul Mork Singapore Back off | would like to express my concern regarding the third-place photo in the ‘November 2008 Your Best Shot. It's a close-up of a chick in a nest taken with a 100mm macro lens. In order to take this frame-flling close-up, the e Especially when using a wide-angle Jens. That's when I add a neutral- density filter, such as B+ W's 502 graduated ND, which has 2 stops of density at the top. Instead of multiple lenses, I use a wide-range zoom with image photographer must have gotten much closer to the nest than is advisable. In his "Nature Photography Field Guide,” John Shaw writes: “I would strongly urge you not to photograph birds at their nests... Nesting birds have a strong instinct to care for their young, 0 up-close photographic activity of any sort just adds stress to an already stressful time. Some birds tolerate very litle disruption at the nest site and will immediately desert the nest, dooming eggs or chicks...No photograph whatsoever is more important than the welfare of the subject.” Veronica Scalise Naperville, IL Circular logic When I use my circular polarizer on a digital camera, it doesn't seem to have the same effect as with film. True? Or am I imagining it? Peter James ‘South Glastonbury, CT www.PoPPHoTO.com stabilization, such as Canon's EF 28-135mm £/3.5-5.6 IS USM for the close-ups. For architecture, I use a wide-angle zoom, such as the Canon EF-S 10-22mm {/3.5-4.5 USM. Alexander Viduetsky Valley Village, CA the blue of that blue sky Experiment with different sett ou ° GETIN TOUCH! E-mail us at PopEditor@htmus.com. POP PHOTO MAY 2009 [ALEXANDER VIDUETSKY “2008 CAMERA OF THE YEAR.” Awarded by Popular Photography DON'T MIND US, WE'RE JUST REDEFINING PHOTOGRAPHY. i Be) Panasonic ideas for life Thinking inside— and outside—the camera bag When packing for a trip, we all face that angel and devil on our shoulders whispering “Travel light!” and “Don't forget to bring [fill in the blank].” The trouble is it's tough to tell who's saying what. Take too little, and for the want of the right gear you could miss the images ofa lifetime. Bring too much, and you'll be like the Clampetts rolling into Beverly Hills. know, because I've been at both extremes. But on a recent trip with my wife and daughter to Hong Kong and Vietnam, I was thoroughly happy with my packing list and what I captured. ‘The DSLR: a Canon EOS 40D, a solid, familiar middleweight. Just one body, since I didn't expect any camera- killing activities, nor the kind of action that would require instant access to both a long, fast lens and a short, fast one. This was, after all, a vacation. While there's much to recommend a wide-ranging zoom—such as an 18-200mm, the extreme Sigma 18-250mm, or the more extreme Tamron 18-270mm—I rarely use such along lens. I knew from experience that short to mid focal lengths would serve me best. Hong Kong is perhaps the most concentrated ball of ambition, commerce, crassness, and culture on the planet. [love the place. And the photo ops are so tightly packed that there's no reason to aim your camera over there when you've got great subjects right bere. ‘That's why in Hong Kong, most of the time my 40D sported a Tokina 12— 24mm £/4 ATX Pro, At 1.25 pounds, it’s relatively heavy, but I've had great success with this lens over the years, and that 12mm (19mm full-frame 10 ROAD RAGE: ‘A slow shutter puts fun into the serious business of crossing tthe street in Ho ‘Chi Minh City. equivalent on my Canon) was just the thing for subjects ranging, from a gaudy grilled squid stand to colorfully chaotic street markets. Vietnam? I could ramble on about photographing this landscape of rice paddies, war relics, and captivating people, But the most surprising thing, Tencountered—and was determined to capture—was Ho Chi Minh City’s traffic. To say “swarms of motorbikes to the infinite power” doesn't fully describe this city’s transportation system. Cars, bicycles, and old-time cxelo (“see-klo”) peddle-taxis are ‘massively outnumbered by whirring, buzzing two-wheelers that crowd the streets and even the sidewalks in a free-for-all of urban mobility How to capture it? I shot this photo at 1/30 sec, 722, and ISO 800. It shows my wife, Demetria, just seconds—and dozens of motorbikes— behind my daughter and me crossing a street. The shutter speed was slow ‘enough to blur the bikes, but fast enough to be easily handheld, For depth of field that didn't quit, I went with the small aperture (which, in turn, required the high ISO), www.PoPPHOTO.coM The lens: a Canon EF 28-135mm {735-56 IS USM. Along with the wide- angle Tokina, this glass dominated my shooting in Vietnam. But I'm most delighted that at the last minute I tossed a Casio Exilim EX- ZI50, a petite compact, into my bag The streets converging in front of the city's central market surge with a nonstop flood of motorbikes. Crossing requires courage, stupidity, and a willingness (I learned from the locals) to neither pause nor deviate from a steady course across the fast-moving potentially lethal flow. Just go. Thuddled my family on my leeward side, turned on the Casio's video ‘mode, and held the camera at waist level, pointing toward the oncoming motorbikes. As we walked, I narrated above the din of internal combustion. ‘Okay, maybe you had to be there, but to the Owens clan, this video l funny forever keepsake. While I'm a confirmed DSLR shooter who tries to bring only what's necessary, I'm sure glad I packed that little Casio. I just can't figure out ifit was the angel or the devil who suggested it. ° POP PHOTO MAY 2009 (ee Photograph & Design ? GraphicAuthority.com Who's that behind those Foster Grants B sony idisita, FosterGrant. O-P-I cc moxr ‘Special thanks to: Warren Tricomi Haircare (warrentricomi.com), Digital Days (digitaldaysphoto.com), Splashlight (splashlight.com), Poliform Furniture (poliformusa.com), Evoque Candles (evoque.com), Hoover (hoover.com), Simmons Jewelry Co, (Simmonsjewelryco.com) and flowers by Aristocratic (aristocraticbytammy.com) THE GOODS GEAR — Ee. Dynamic Possibiliti Even if high dynamic range imaging isn't your cup of tea, you've got to appreciate its usefulness in scenes with dificult lighting. Ricoh’s 9.3-megapixel CX1 can automatically take two exposures, one each for the dark and light areas cof a scene, and then combine their property exposed portions—in the camera. Multi-pattern auto white balance, mulitarget AF, 28-200mm (full-frame equivalent) optical zoom lens, and 120 frames per second slow-motion video mode. NOT: More manual controls would be nice. your portraits. Mpix's digital retouching costs only $8 per service, per head. You ‘can even have braces, removed for a metal-free smile. (wwww.mpix.com) Give Tilt a Whirl to your prints with Unibind's Photos N Sounds customized picture albums. A sound recording and playback device embedded in the cover lets you create your ‘own message or play prerecorded theme music. (Available May 1, price rot announced; www, \nibind.com) Looking for an entirely diferent way of photographing? Try a tit-shift lens. The tit movernents allow you to selectively position depth of field at any aperture, and the shift ‘movernents correct apparent distortion of tall objects ‘such as buildings. Now, prepare to be impressed— (Canon's new TS-E 17mm f/4L full-frame lons is the widest tit-shift available. Extreme wide angle that's equivalent to 27mm on Canon's APS: C-sized sensors. The ability to combine titing and shifting within the range of 90 degrees. NOT: At 14, it's the slowest in Canon's titt-shift line. And obviously, the price is as serious as the lens. Canon a photography with the Super-Secret Spy Lens. Pointing your camera directly at strangers can be a litle scary, So why do it? With this mirtored lens, they don't have to know you're taking their photo. Through a cut-out in the side of the lens, your subject is (on your flank, letting you get a totally candid shot. ($50, direct; www. hotojojo.com/store) © The Pen is Mightier ‘Sometimes technology is at its best when it mimics traditional media, ‘Take Wacom's Intuos4 digital pen-and-tablet set. The new pen has 2048 levels of pressure (twice what the previous model afforded) and a pressure-sensitive eraser. ‘And the tablet is reversible, allowing you rotate it for right- or left-hand use. ‘Application-specific ExpressKeys with OLED displays to remind you of their function so you don't have to rely on ‘memory. Available in four sizes NOT: The small version is missing displays for the ExpressKeys, JTHER COOL STUFF ( “ www.PorPHOTO.cOM POP PHOTO MAY 2009 18mm ZOOM (Ps The Ultimate All-In-One Zoom: Longest, Steadiest Lens On Earth ‘Tamron USA ine. =e Tamron New eyes for industry THE GOODS 1. Apple iPhone 3G With just a 2MP camera, the iPhone's fun is in all the downloadable photo applications, many of them free. Vigo, for example, lets you make your picture look old, or painted on canvas, or shot in the rain. And some help your “reat” photography: BitWerk’'s 1/8 DoF Calculator ($4) tells you—based (on your DSLR, lens, and subject—the hhyperfocal distance, depth of field at any aperture and focal length, and how much of the scene will be in focus. 2. Motorola Motozine ZN5 Motorola joined forces with Kodak to Create its latest camera phone, This litle unit is loaded with a SMP sensor, 2.4- inch LCD screen, and Xenon flash, along with Kodak's Perfect Touch image- processing technology. The result? A handsome litle camera phone that can snap very nice photos and store them HIGH 5 (on microSD cards with capacities of up to 4GB. We just wish the card slot were more easly accessible—you have to take out the battery to insert or remove ‘a memory card. 3. Nokia N85 With a reputation for image quality, this Nokia includes a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens and a 2.6-inch OLED screen that ‘can reproduce up to 16.7 milion colors. ‘A dual-LED flash helps to conquer dim lighting conditions, while the side- ‘mounted microSD card slot makes it easy to swap out the memory card (8GB microSD card included). And, because the phone works on the GSM spectrum, you can use it anywhere in the world. 4. Samsung Memoir This sleek 8MP model sports @ 26-inch touchscreen on one side and avery compact camera design on the other. \Www.PoPPHOTO.COM The customizable TouchWiz interface puts your favorite photo upload too! (rom Flickr, Kodak, Photobucket, or Snapfish) within easy reach, Face and blink detection make portraits a snap, and you ‘can set the phone to geotag your images ‘automatically. A nifty Panorama mode ses a green box to guide you in aligning your images perfecty 5. Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot C905 With an 8.1MP sensor, this phone (soon to be released officially in the U.S) is for serious shooters. A sliding metal cover protects the lens, a Memory Stick Micro slot (2GB card included) puts cards within easy reach, a Xenon flash helps inlow light, and a subtle rubbery finish helps keep itn your hand. There's also built-in GPS for geotagging your photos and face detection for focus and exposure. Can't wait until it gets here officially? You can find an international version online for about $550. ° POP PHOTO MAY 2009, Asimple site design, easy ordering, CeCe los Acna ae oa Ro eM uti Seneca etm ice tela at oon ecco are en FR ) PRINTS Ukrainian-born photographer Dima Gavrysh (www.dimagavrysh, com) didn't wait until he graduated from the National Cinema Academy of Ukraine before he began working as a photographer. Instead, he started his freelance journalism career early. and in a few years he traded up from an internship in the U.S. at the Associated Press website to shooting for AP, Bloomberg News, and the New York Times. Although he's now based in New York, he prefers to be far from home—traveling and photographing, Q. What are we looking at? This is the Holi festival, a Hinda festival of color and springtime. The powdered color honors Lord ishna. It began in the small town BRAVING THE PAINT DURING HOLI of Mathura, Krishna's birthplace. Not every region of India celebrates it on the same day, but I decided I needed to go where it started because that’s where it is most intense. The holiday usually takes place at the full moon in March, It starts around 10 in the morning and goes until 3 in the afternoon. Then people get exhausted and retreat to their homes. 8 PHOTOS BY DIMA GAVRYSH; INTERVIEW BY DEBBIE GROSSMAN ‘THE OUTTAKES: These guys (A) give you ‘a. sense of how hard itis to breathe, but what's really missing is the energy of the festival. Still a great shot (B), but without the flying powder, i's not the winner. During the day it’s very intense: People hug strangers, people throw powder at each other. All shapes are covered in powdered pink, yellow, green—any color you can think of, When it all mixes together, it looks like smog. In this picture you're seeing a mix of purple, red, land yellow. That's why you can't really tell what color itis. POP PHOTO MAY 2009, Ce SCT Pench) ers Q. How did you keep your cameras clean? I tried to cover them with plastic bags, but it didn’t work. You cannot shoot when you cannot reach the controls. Plus the camera immediately gets dirty with the powder. It’s a mess. Luckily [ had two ‘Canon EOS-1D Mark II cameras. They're water-tight and dustproof. I wnww.PoPPHoTO.coM was able to go through this madness without any mechanical problems. I had a filter, and that's what saved the lens. The entire day I was shooting nonstop without any protection for my cameras. Afterward, I couldn't clean them the traditional way—I put them under the hot water tap and scrubbed them with a toothbrush. There was no damage. That's why I have so much respect for Canon engineers. Q. What lens did you use? The Canon TS-E 24mm {/3.5L tilt-shift lens. That's why the powder is sharp and the kids in the middle are sharp and everything to the left and right is blurred. Because Holi is so often photographed, I wanted to shoot it like no other photographer did. People are used to such sharp, bright pictures that are so correct that they're no longer interesting. When I use the tilt-shif, it’s a little puzzling and people can't figure out right away what they're looking at. Q. How did you set exposure? The light changed constantly because the streets were narrow and filled with powder. I changed my ISO from 100 to 800 and then to 400. Then Thad to change my white balance from Auto to Daylight and then to Shadow to get atleast remotely correct color reproduction. Eventually I ended up shooting everything with the Cloudy , then tweaking it in RAW conversion. This exposure was set in aperture-priority to £/4.5 at 1/800 sec. Q. What makes this one the best shot? It has the color and the emotion and it gives you an idea how crazy the festival is. The powder that you see flying through the air is actually flying at me. The next moment was covered in it. ° 1” Pel oo Ed Renato) Ce ee CMe ceric) yA ee t Place Color Control BTN GOLDSTEIN, a Ree eon Etc Pere ee eed ACU: Om Canada, has an eye Peg rte ee etes CeO ecCCs Car cag erent photo of beads in a Snes SeeCOC COR an Td ee Reroucea sy ee ee re rear Paes ee ee beg Peony Ure ue mero mere es Pte as judges of Pop bide boty PUTT oa boeken ed PA Ce Poe Ee aod Dee ecaLas n og Bo RR Cer eg ie Le ee eens eee Photoshop CS3. —s Ee aac) | Lens Protection and TT a er Ds) eure erg Optical Glas 8-layer Anti-Reflective Multi-Coating Mecmac sc icg Recor eS ceuy Meee eed ee ar gegen ee as a Eee Mor eho TOE daa) ‘THIK PHOTO PRODUCTS, INC. See Oe eer ng Det cae etre tear Pa uta With skill and creativity, you can @)nd Place take stellar wildlife shots without say risking your life. Electronics technician DAN WELLS, 64, battled only the crowds at the Flint RiverQuarium in Albany, GA, to get what would otherwise be dangerously close to this alligator. TECH INFO: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT with 28-70mm f/2.8 Tokina lens. Exposure, 1/125 sec at 1/5, 1SO 200. Reflections and spots on glass removed, and converted to black-and-white in Adobe Photoshop CS2. @rd Place Sunset Surprise anning to take part in the Mobile (AL) Arts Council's “Pulse of the Bayou” exhibit, local photographer she had plenty of time to get it. But as she looke along the shore, she noticed the sun was sinking much faster than she'd anticipated, She managed to readjust her camera settings quickly enough to capture this shrimp boat at sunset. Check out more of her work at swww.avantgardeimaging.com. TECH INFO: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi with 24~105mm /4 Canon IS lens. Exposure, 1/500 sec at {17.1, ISO 400. Noise reduction, sharpening, and saturation adjustments in Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X. ° Tokina | amar VV Pea ol] IMPROVED ATX 124 PRO DX I] ew mutticcoating AF 1 2- 2 a t/ 4 Motorized for eee AF 11-16mmt/28 AF 10-17mm/35-45 MORE WIDE-ANGLE LENSES APX 116 PRO DX AT-X 107 DX Fisheye Ultra-Speed, Ultra-Wi Round Your NATURE Text and photos by Guy Tal GRAPHIC Scenes Help from digital photography’s superhero Don't be afraid of the mighty histogram. Once you understand what it has to say, this chart—when displayed on your camera's LCD screen—can help you take significantly better photos. Histograms give you valuable information on exposure, dynamic range, color cas, the need for filters, and the risk of image noise—at a glance. Here's how to use them when you're in the field. Exposure: Watch your tail The histogram's horizontal axis represents tones ranging from 0 on the far left (pure black) to 255 on the far right (pure white). The vertical axis is a relative indication of the number of pixels at each level An image comprised primarily of dark tones will show higher values towards the left and taper off to the right, while one comprised of bright tones will show the opposite bias. www.PoPPHOTO.coM Images in even light, with a lot of midtone detail, will generally tend to show peaks around the center. Once you've captured an image, the histogram tells you quickly if both highlight and shadow areas have usable detail—both tails fit neatly within the horizontal scale. Ahistogram that ends abruptly on either side of the scale (called lipping) indicates lost detail. If its clipped on the let side, some POP PHOTO MAY 2009 ‘Qn. moran, GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, WY dark areas are underexposed. On the right, you've lost highlight detail due to overexposure. Adjust your settings accordingly and keep the histogram until both sides are contained on the scale Your camera's sensor, though, can tect only a limited range of tones between pure black and pure white This dynamic range is around 6 to 8 stops of light for most DSLRs, enough to capture both the shadow and POP PHOTO MAY 2000 highlight detail in most scenes. But if the contrast range of the scene you're shooting exceeds the sensor's dynamic range, you may get clipping in both the dark and bright areas—adjusting exposure may help bring one tail of the histogram into range, but not both, How do you fix this? One way is to sacrifice detail in either the shadows or the highlights. (Keep in mind that erally be more tolerant of blocked-up shadows than most viewers will g www. PoPPHOTO.com blown-out highlights.) Another is to reduce the contrast range by using a hard-edge or graduated split neutral- density filter to mask off the brightest portion of the scene, such as sky above a shadowed foreground. If you don't have a filter, or ifthe scene has no straight dividing line, you can blend multiple exposures, commonly called high dynamic range (HDR) imaging. Blend them together using software such as Adobe 2 © suattows oF THe GREAT SALT LAKE, UT ‘To keep the high-key effect, the graph was placed ip Soap vdedl ba hecgen. taeaenaeee ts previous spread 1280 seca 72,180 100 Photoshop. Photoshop versions CS3 and higher offer automated HDR blending, as do other programs such as Photomatix Pro from HDRsoft. With automated HDR, combining five to nine exposures taken at 2/3-stop intervals works well BFine-tuning tips Expose to the right: Digital sensors can distinguish between much finer variances in highlights than in shadows, capturing more detail ‘on the right side of the histogram. And there's a greater risk of visible noise on the histogram’s left, where an incorrect reading will be more pronounced. So by exposing to push the curve as far to the right side as possible, without going over the edge, you can maximize detail while minimizing noise. When you do this, the image on the camera's LCD may seem much brighter than you want, so you may need to fix this later. I highly recommend shooting RAW images and correcting exposure during conversion. When you shoot JPEGs, exposing to the right boosts the risk of lost highlight detail Sithouettes and high-key images: You shouldn't always fit both tails of the histogram neatly within the horizontal axis—for instance, if you want deep blacks or pure whites in the final image. For a silhouette, where the foreground object is rendered completely black while the background maintains detail, shift the exposure so that the histogram is clipped on the left side but retains detail throughout the rest of the range. Conversely, when you want very bright objects to appear pure white, allow the histogram to be clipped on the right side. The image (bottom left) of the sun rising through a foggy shroud is a good example: Although a fairly large portion Q suswav” Pots in ZION NATIONAL PARK, UT Highlight and shadow detail could not both Be maintained ina single expose. So two exposures, one forthe highlights (@ see at #16, ISO 100) and anther forthe shadows (25 sec at #16), were combined in Adobe Photoshop O54, resulting inthe histogram shown, Tipod-mounted Canon EOS 50 wth 14-40mm VAL Canon EF lens, with circular polarizer to suppress water reflections. Smonnna roa, cARBON COUNTY, UT [nan tary th ler ipl ee ced to spill over on the right-hand (overexposure) side to enor tho sun asa spectral highight. Tipod- tmounted Canon EOS 5D wth 24-105mn Canon EF ons 1/250 sc at 16,180 100, 2% POP PHOTO MAY 2009 PortraitProfessional Portrait touch-up software Ultra easy Ultra quick Free trial www.portraitProfessional.com Portrait Professional 8 is award winning, incredibly easy to use porta ‘enhancement software. Not just a skin enhancer, it offers complete Creative contro. Improve any aspect of your portraits instantly, ust by moving sliders. Fast. Easy. Great results ‘Don't take our word fort, Download the free trial for Max www PortraitProfessional.com and 86e for yourselt And 7 the standard version, i knocks spots off the competition, as well as your subject ‘Special 10% extra discount for Popular Photography ors if you enter the coupon MC939 when buying online. WITHOUT SPLIT ND FILTER WITH SPLIT ND FILTER, of the scene is overexposed, it still appears natural—in fact, it would look odd if the sun had any detail ™Change the channel We've been talking about luminosity (or brightness) histograms, which combine readings from all three color channels, But while these work well for evaluating overall exposure, they can be misleading. Take a scene containing a bright red flower. The histogram may show perfect exposure, since somewhere in the frame all tonal ranges are found in one or more of the color channels. But it won't tell you that pixels in the red flower may not have any readings in the blue channel or may have oversaturated (i., clipped) the red channel. You will get no detail in the flower, even though the luminosity histogram shows a full range of tones. For greater insight and control, most DSLRs today can also show separate red, green, and blue channel histograms. The RGB graphs make it is easy to spot cases when one or two channels are clipped, and to correct 2 Qtermat oot, yeLLowsToNe NATIONAL PARK, WY The contrast dynamic range of the camera, so a 2-stop split ND filter was used ove the sky to allow for detail in bath highlights and shadows. Tripod EO: at 1/22, ISO 2 pinc LEAF IN FROZEN POOL sure according t ‘sity histogram resulted in ear-neutral gray. To ol blues, | adjusted t ne blue channel in the RGB gram was further to the right than the other channels. Tripod-mounted Canon EOS-10s with 50mm #/2.5 Canon Macro EF; 0.8 s accordingly. As with exposure, try to fit both tails of each color channel's histogram within the scale, This information is useful if you plan to convert your image to black-and-white and discard one of the color channels. (For instance, applying a red filter effectively WWWLPOPPHOTO.COM discards information from the blue channel). In this case you will want to make sure that the channels you wish to keep are not clipped. Reviewing each channel separately also lets you creatively use color casts. In the picture of the leaf (above, right), I increased the amount of blue to enhance the image's cold mood. I did this by carefully adjusting my camera's white balance, keeping an eye on the blue channel histogram to make sure I pushed it just far enough without losing detail ° To sce more of Guy Tal's images, his website, guytal.com. POP PHOTO MAY 2009 ? Complete Digital Photo Lighting Kit Prose ndee cdl ae iey Ele] staid a PAR el lei Dee ie a OMe iy-l=o anal tol Neat eerie ails e} - Educational DVD featuring CA: AP) Pert Fred seen 7 he Please call 800.888.1689 H T® Eman yer) Daf ols(ecail=is Perr Cre aR eet tolocate a BERIND THE Text by Robert Bowen and Debbie Grossman Pe a Mat at SECRETS OF A PHOTOSHOP LUN tay As photographers, many of us use Adobe Photoshop all the time, but rarely do we take it to the heights the pros do. Theit work, which has created perfected almost every advertisement you see these days, is so seamless that even the most well-versed Photoshopper might be hard pressed to figure out how they ¥ made. So I asked Robert Bowen, a master compositor and retoucher who works for high-end advertising clients, to show us how he accomplished a few of his favorite composites. Then I got him to reveal some of his best tips and techniques so you can boost your skills, too, —Debbie Grossman

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