|
|
Getting rewarded for braving the rain |
|
I had a night workshop in New York City last Saturday. The day started off with constant heavy rain and it was miserable outside. I had postponed the workshop from the week before because of snow and ice, which was a good decision. But Saturday it was warm with lots of rain. I don't believe forecasts much, especially in New York, but I was monitoring several apps and it looked like a front would move through around 6:00 p.m. and the rain would clear. We were starting at 3:00 p.m. so I knew it could mean a couple of hours of rain but hopefully it would stop.
I adjusted our schedule so we'd start shooting indoors before heading down to Brooklyn. We went to Grand Central Terminal and when we came out the rain had stopped. By the time we got to one of my favorite spots in Brooklyn the clouds were breaking up and we were getting great light. As darkness fell, fog rolled in and gave us a fun and different look. We went up to Dumbo and the fog lifted and it turned into a beautiful night.
All too often I hear people say they don't want to go out on rainy or stormy days, but you can't have rainbows without rain. It can be harder to make pictures in the rain but the rewards can be much greater. It seems much of life is like that, if we take chances we get big rewards. Sometimes we only get wet and fail, but we can always dry off and try it again later. |
| | Off to Iceland for more beauty |
|
I'm heading to Iceland in a couple of weeks which has me thinking about my August trip there. I guess you could say I've rather fallen for Iceland. This next trip will be my sixth there since 2018 and it just keeps giving. Iceland has become one of the top tourist destinations for a reason, the place is amazing! The climate isn't as cold as you'd think, the people are friendly and speak English, the landscapes are unique and the food is great. Several photographers have gone multiple times with me and one is going for her third trip this summer. I still have some openings for August, explore it while you can. https://lorenphotos.com/mevents/iceland-summer-photography-workshop-aug-2020/ |
| | | I like to always get feedback from photographers to help understand what's on your mind, so I created a quick seven question survey online. It is anonymous and fast. I'd appreciate you taking survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XLDBXKX and always letting me know what is on your mind. |
| | Acadia in SpringOne of my favorite places in the U.S. is Maine's Acadia National Park. It is a mixture of the best Maine has to offer, beautiful sunrises, open rocky coast line, little fishing villages, unique beaches and diverse forests. I do a workshop there every other year and this is the year, so I'm very excited to go there again. I have the workshop in June, which is still spring there and it is before all the tourists pour in. The green of spring is special there and the photos are magical. Plus we do light painting on a lighthouse, which is always fun. There is still some space available, click here for more info. |
| | 2021: Cuba, Croatia, Iceland, Peru, Vietnam
|
| 2021 is looking like it will be lots of fun with some great trips coming. I mentioned before the trip to Vietnam in March, which will be a fun adventure starting in Hanoi and going out into the countryside to photograph the people and culture. I am excited to go to Peru and the area around Machu Picchu in Nov. The details are being wrapped up on a May workshop in Croatia and Slovenia. The scenery is special and the people are friendly, which makes for great photos. I am working with a local photographer and guide who will take us to photograph some incredible scenes. Iceland in August is a wonderful place to be, so another workshop is being planned there. I'm burying the news but I'm also planning a Feb. trip to Cuba to follow up this year's trip. Details should be on my website in a couple of weeks, so if you are interested let me know, I'll put you on the pre-sale list. This year's Cuba trip sold out in about two weeks, so if you want to go don't wait too long.
|
| | | Monthly free seminar: Preparing Your Photos for Printing Each month I do a free photography seminar that you can attend at my gallery in Bedminster, NJ, or online through my video conferencing service. February's topic is Preparing Your Photos for Printing. We’ll talk about what you need to do to make sure you are getting the best prints you can. I’ll be working with Lightroom Classic but it doesn’t matter what software you use for many of the concepts I’ll talk about. Join us Feb. 25 from 7:00-8:99 p.m. https://lorenphotos.com/mevents/free-monthly-seminar-preparing-your-photo-for-printing/ |
| |
|
Upcoming workshops
• Feb. 2021 Cuba • May 2021, Croatia and Slovenia • Aug. 2021, Iceland |
| Personal coaching If you want to improve your photography, learn more about your camera, get a better handle on Lightroom or Photoshop, or need help with your photo business, then I can help you with one-on-one mentoring that is customized to fit your needs. Read more..
Visit the gallery Stop by and see me and my work 2493 Lamington Rd, Bedminster, NJ 07921 908-375-8389
|
|
|
|
|
| | One of the trickier exposures is photographing the sun right when it is on the horizon, especially at sunrise. I love shooting at sunrise, especially in Acadia but sunrise is harder than sunset because you don’t know exactly where the sun will be, it is dark and I’m usually sleepy. But I want to capture the color in the sky without it getting too light while not letting the foreground go too dark. Plus I don’t want the sun to be a bright, hot white blob. So how do you accomplish all of that? It is all about getting the right exposure. If you just use the overall meter reading from your camera you probably aren’t going to nail it. I’ve found that the best way to get the closest reading is to use spot metering and take a reading just above the sun. That will get you in the ballpark and then it is a matter of adjusting darker or lighter to suit your taste. The safest way to go is bracket your exposures, that is take the exact same photo several times at different exposures. I shoot in manual exposure, so I’m changing my shutter speed a stop at time to get darker and lighter shots than what the camera said is correct. If you shoot in Aperture Priority exposure mode then you need to use Exposure Compensation to bracket your exposures. If you just change your aperture the camera is going to change the shutter speed the same amount and your exposures won’t look different.
|
| |
|
|