In the Moment:
Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog

Craft and Vision Sale

A small waterfall in Yosemite NP, CA, USA

A small waterfall in Yosemite. This photo was used for the fifth example in my Exposure for Outdoor Photography ebook, where I discuss using slow shutter speeds.

Black Friday arrived early at Craft & Vision, and everything is 50% off until midnight on Saturday. That discount includes Exposure for Outdoor Photography, my ebook about understanding the essential technical fundamentals of photography. The book starts with a comprehensive discussion of histograms and the different ways of adjusting exposure, then goes deeper by taking you through ten practical, real-life examples where I’ve used these basic principles to control the exposure, the sharpness, and the photograph’s message. Normally the book is only $5.00, but through Saturday it’s only $2.50, which is quite a steal!

(more…)

50 Percent Off Everything at Craft & Vision!

Half Dome, oaks, and high water, June 16th, 2011, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

Half Dome, oaks, and high water, Yosemite. The latest issue of Photograph magazine includes my article “Singing the Blue Sky Blues,” about how to make the most of cloudless days.

Today and tomorrow, everything is 50% off at Craft & Vision. And better yet, they’re donating 20% of every sale to the Red Cross to support Syrian refugees.

That discount inclues Exposure for Outdoor Photography, my ebook about understanding the essential technical fundamentals of photography. I also recommend Piet Van den Eynde’s Lightroom 5 Unmasked and Lightroom 6 Up to Speed as supplements to my Landscapes in Lightroom ebook; while my ebook covers the Develop Module in depth, Piet delves into all the details about the other modules. And I can also recommend anything by David duChemin.

(more…)

My Portfolio in Craft & Vision’s Photograph Magazine

Redbud reflection in the Merced River, Mariposa County, CA, USA

Redbud reflection in the Merced River (part of the portfolio)


I’m honored to have a portfolio of my images, plus an in-depth interview, included in the latest issue of Photograph digital magazine from Craft & Vision. Regular readers have probably seen most of the images in the portfolio before, but it’s nice to view them all together, and I thought the questions the interviewer asked were interesting and thought-provoking.

There are three other portfolios in this issue – a fascinating and diverse collection. I enjoy looking at different kinds of photography, and especially liked Jordan Manley’s portfolio, as it blends elements of sports, photo-journalism, and landscape in an artful way.

(more…)

Noteworthy Books

Visual Flow by Ian Plant and George Stocking

Some interesting books have been released recently that I think my readers might be interested in:

Visual Flow: Mastering the Art of Composition
by Ian Plant, with George Stocking
287 pages
24.95

Visual Flow: Mastering the Art of Composition is an ambitious eBook that delves deeply into what could be the most important aspect of photography: composition. But composition is a difficult subject to talk about, and teach, because of its complexity. Every situation a photographer encounters is different, and no rules or formulas can encompass all the variables.

Ian puts this well: “The ‘rules’ do not dictate whether a composition is good or not; rather, a composition either works or it doesn’t, and the ‘rules’ are merely an attempt (with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight) to assess common features of successful compositions. This is vitally important to remember: the ‘rules’ flow from successful compositions, not the other way around.”

I couldn’t agree more, and Ian and I are in complete agreement about this too: “Learning to think abstractly about visual elements is the single most important thing you can do to improve your compositional skills.” The less you think about the subject, and the more you think about the underlying abstract design – the lines, shapes, and patterns – the better you compositions will be.

(more…)