Backlit pines and oaks, from El Capitan Meadow

Backlit pines and oaks, from El Capitan Meadow,
Yosemite National Park, California 2009

1/40 sec at f/16, focal length: 87mm, ISO 400, Aperture Priority,
- November 4, 2009 9:59am PST. Photographed with Canon EOS 5D MarkII, EF 70-200mm f/4L, Tripod Mounted

Have a great weekend! If you get bored check out the photoshop file available in the previous post for you to download...but better yet, go have an adventure!
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Free Download - Example .PSD file

Spring reflections and fallen pine, Willow Creek,
Sierra National Forest, California 2009

0.3 sec at f/5.6, focal length: 200mm, ISO 400, Aperture Priority, -2/3 EV
- May 31, 2009 8:32am PDT. Photographed with Canon EOS 5D MarkII, EF 70-200mm f/4L, Tripod Mounted


*If you're in a hurry, the download is at the bottom of this post!

I've tossed around the idea of putting together some online photoshop/lightroom tutorials and ultimately, have decided against it. There is just too much time and effort involved given how much content is already available on the net. But, I do believe in sharing knowledge and, obviously, with just how much instructional content is available there seems to be a high demand for it. The problem was finding a good way to contribute to the learning machine without saying what's been said and becoming redundant. Enter David Nightingale, aka Chromasia. He's published his "tutorial schedule" for the year and has included "mini-PSDs" as a new feature. I thought this was a great idea and the perfect way for me to contribute.

The basic concept is to provide a low-res layered .psd file with no further write up or tutorial. You can download the file, poke around through the layers and hopefully learn some new techniques to apply to your own files.

Although I won't be writing an accompanying tutorial for these example .psd's, I do, however, welcome any questions you may have. I'll try to name each layer as a sort of note as to what each layer is doing.

Some tips on exploring .psd files:

• option(alt) + click on the eye next to a layer in the layers palette to "turn off" all other layers


• option(alt) + click on a layer mask to show that mask


• shift + click on a layer mask to disable that mask and reveal the adjustment layer's effect on all pixels


• double click on a layer to the right of the layer's name to display the "Layer Style" window. Be sure to check the "Blend If" sliders found under "Blending Options". I use this fairly often.

Now, with that said, "Spring reflections and fallen pine, Willow Creek..." will be the first example PSD available. This file was chosen for it's relatively simple processing but at the same time not so common processing. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments so that everyone will be able to see them, and the answer.

Click on the download link below to get started, and just in case it needs to be said, you will need Adobe Photoshop to view this file. You can download a free trial here.


Download "Spring reflections and fallen pine, Willow Creek, Sierra National Forest, California 2009" example file (approx 5MB)




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Rare Light Handheld, Why Not?

Sierra Storm at Sunset, Ahwahnee, California 2010

1/25 sec at f/5.6, focal length: 22mm, ISO 320, Aperture Priority,
- January 8, 2010 6:02pm PST. Photographed with Canon EOS 5D MarkII, EF 17-40mm f/4L, hand held

Friday evening gave one of the best light shows I think I've ever seen here in the Sierra Nevada foothills. So why would I photograph it hand held therefore sacrificing image quality? Because I was being lazy. I didn't want to bother with my tripod and honestly I wasn't even planning on photographing in the first place. I was having fun with my kids and sometimes things are just better experienced without a camera in hand. I thought this was going to be one of those times but then I saw this...

So I finally grabbed my camera, switched to a custom setting that is basically aperture priority with auto ISO and ran out into the yard. You can see that it's still just a record shot of an incredible rainbow (double rainbow if you look close enough) and incredible light. But then the clouds started to break and progress towards what you see above and I just went with it. There was no time to grab a tripod. Light and clouds were changing rapidly. It was exciting, loose, and liberating all at the same time. The camera truly became an extension of completely experiencing nature's amazing display. There was no need to focus on technique or nitpick the composition. I could drop the camera to my side, out of view, feel the light rain fall on my face, breathe in the fresh smell of water on earth and hear the silence that occurs as a storm is breaking. Then I could bring the camera back to my eye and discover what there was to see.

15 minutes and 68 images later, I walked back inside, set the camera down and resumed my fatherly duties.
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Elements of Water at The Center for Fine Art Photography

Jeffrey Pine and Bridalveil in Mist,
Yosemite National Park, California 2008

1/20 sec at f/16, focal length: 200mm, ISO 200, Aperture Priority, +1 EV,
- November 2, 2008 6:16pm PST. Photographed with Canon EOS 20D, EF 70-200mm f/4L, Tripod Mounted


If you're following me on Twitter you may have already caught that I've had an image accepted into the "Elements of Water" exhibit at The Center for Fine Art Photography in Ft. Collins, Colorado. I'm told over 2,300 images were entered and juror, John Paul Caponigro, managed to edit the selection down to about 50 pieces. An incredibly difficult task to be sure. I'm honored that a print of the image above will be included!

The exhibit runs from February 19 – March 13, 2010 with the reception on March 5, 2010. I hope to make it to the reception but it's hard to say at this time, but if you're in the area you should definitely go. There will be a lot of great work on display, more of which can be seen here.
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FALLEN

Fallen, Cooper's Hawk #1,
Oakhurst, California 2009

1/30 sec at f/22, focal length: 70mm, ISO 200, Aperture Priority,
- December 9, 2009 at 2:32pm PST. Photographed with Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/4L, Tripod Mounted


Earlier in the week, this beautiful cooper's hawk's life prematurely came to an end. While the why of what had actually happened is unknown, you can read more about the event on William Neill's blog post here: "In Memorial...". Though the idea of keeping this "Broken Spirit" around for a few days to seek inspiration and honor it's life through a photograph may seem grim, this majestic creature has no other choice but to hold your gaze and invoke contemplation.

Fallen, Cooper's Hawk #1,
Oakhurst, California 2009

1/13 sec at f/22, focal length: 78mm, ISO 200, Aperture Priority,
- December 9, 2009 at 2:36pm PST. Photographed with Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/4L, Tripod Mounted
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Remains, Hensley Lake, California 2009

2 sec at f/32, focal length: 145mm, ISO 50, Aperture Priority, +2/3 EV
- November 25, 2009 at 5:49pm PST. Photographed with Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/4L, Tripod Mounted


I hope you all are having a wonderful day spent with family, friends and immersed in love. By now you're probably half alive from stuffing yourselves with delicious eats, but I wanted to let you know that today, I am thankful for all of you, my readers! This blog is just a little over one year old and it's been a great and even enlightening experience thanks to you. So happy Thanksgiving!

And to all my non-stateside readers, you're included in my gratitude!

Cheers, Love and Peace!
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Free Shipping and Holiday Sales

Autumn, Black Oaks, Yosemite Valley,
Yosemite National Park, California 2009

Multiple Exposures at f/22, Merged to HDR and tonemapped in Photomatix, focal length: 131mm, ISO 50, Aperture Priority,
- November 4, 2009 at 9:35am PST. Photographed with Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/4L, Tripod Mounted


So the holidays are here and sales are everywhere! To do my part I'm running a few promotions as well:

• FREE Shipping on all orders of $50 USD or more to anywhere in the U.S.


• Buy 3 get the 4th FREE of Special Edition Gift Prints or Posters




• Gift Prints are available in two sizes; 6x9 matted to 11x14 and 9x14 matted 16x20. Only $30 and $80 respectively.


• All images found on my website, in my flickr photostream (excluding certain images of people) and here on this blog are available as Gift Prints as well as Limited Edition Prints.


• NEW Yosemite posters have been added. Take a look here.




• 50% OFF all Limited Edition Fine Art Prints in inventory! View what's in inventory here.

To order Gift Prints or Limited Edition prints, make note of the image(s) and size(s) that you'd like then send me an email. You can use the contact form found here on my website, or email me at john[at]johnoconnorphoto.com. (replace the '[at]' with '@'). I will then send you an invoice via PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account to pay the invoice, any credit card will do. This is the most expedient way to process orders and get them shipped.

If you have any questions, please contact me via the methods mentioned above.

Happy Turkey Day! (If you're in the U.S., otherwise have a Happy Day!)
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