In the Moment:
Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog
by Michael Frye | Dec 16, 2010 | Announcements, Digital Darkroom
It’s easy to find information about Photoshop, Lightroom, or just about any other aspect of the digital darkroom. But too often this information consists of random tips and tricks.
So I asked myself how I could help people put it all together. How could I help photographers develop a simple, powerful workflow, learn to make good decisions about how their photographs should look, and convey their original inspiration?
And that’s when I had the idea for this book.
In Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom I’ll take you step-by-step through each decision as I process five different images in Adobe Lightroom. You’ll see my workflow in action, and I’ll explain why I use particular techniques in a particular order. But more importantly, you’ll come to understand the esthetic judgements behind each decision—how a certain amount of contrast conveyed my vision, or why too much saturation muddied the color rather than enhanced it. As you look over my shoulder you’ll gain insights about how to convey your own unique vision, and how to squeeze every ounce of beauty, emotion, and inspiration out of your photographs.
While I use Lightroom for these examples, the basic principles apply to any software. Learning how to make good decisions and find the right balance is more important than learning any particular tool or technique.
This eBook is published in conjunction with Craft & Vision, David duChemin’s great photography eBook site. Like all their eBooks, Light & Land is normally only five dollars. But for the next four days you can get it for only four dollars. Just use the code LAND4 at checkout. Or use the code LAND20 to get 20 percent off if you buy five or more Craft & Vision eBooks.
Click here to order your copy!
by Michael Frye | Dec 15, 2010 | Critiques
“Rabbitbrush and Storm” by David Thomas
First, my new eBook, Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, will actually be released tonight at 1:00 a.m. PST, not today as I said previously. I’ll have more details in my next post tomorrow morning.
On to the critique…
This week’s photograph was made by David Thomas near Bishop, California, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada.
Light
David said that he and his dad were driving north on Highway 395 when he noticed a storm gathering over the Sierra crest beyond this dense field of rabbitbrush, “perfectly arranged, waiting to be composed.” The clouds, falling rain, and patch of blue sky provide a dramatic background, and the yellow flowers add an eye-catching foreground. There’s actually not much sun in the scene, but that works well here, especially on the rabbitbrush, where sunlight would have created harsh shadows and visual confusion. The soft light brings out the yellow color of the bushes and helps simplify the scene. The combination of blue sky and yellow flowers creates a nice warm-cool color contrast.
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by Michael Frye | Dec 10, 2010 | Digital Darkroom, Photography Tips, Video Tutorials
White Balance for Landscape Photographs – Part 1: Sunlight from Michael Frye on Vimeo.
My recent critique of Mark Wilburn’s dogwood photograph prompted a lively discussion about white balance, so this seemed like a good topic for a more in-depth treatment. I’ve created three videos on white balance for landscape photographs, and here’s part one, which looks at images with sunlight, including sunrises and sunsets. Part two will discuss photographs captured in the shade, and part three will present solutions to a common problem in landscape photographs—finding the right white balance when mixing low-angle sunlight with blue sky.
In all of these videos I discuss what I think is the key to setting color temperature—finding a good balance between warm and cool colors, and preserving the vibrance of all the individual hues.
To see this video clearly, be sure that “HD” is on (the letters “HD” should be white instead of gray; if not, click on them), and click the “expand” icon just to the right of “HD.” Once you’ve expanded you might want to turn Scaling off if you have a big monitor.
As I mentioned yesterday, my new eBook will discuss my entire workflow in depth. I’ll post more details soon.
by Michael Frye | Dec 9, 2010 | Announcements, Digital Darkroom
My first eBook, Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, will be released next week on December 15th.
Light & Land is a natural successor to my last book, Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters. In the last chapter of that volume I talk about the fundamental tenets of the digital darkroom, like workflow, creating a master file, curves, and dodging and burning. In Light & Land I delve into more detail, discussing every decision about processing five different images, demonstrating the workflow from beginning to end, and, most importantly, showing you how you can use your original idea, your inspiration for pressing the shutter, to guide you as you work in the digital darkroom.
It’s published in conjunction with Craft & Vision, David duChemin’s great photography eBook site. Like all their eBooks, Light & Land will be only five dollars.
Stay tuned for more details!
by Michael Frye | Dec 7, 2010 | Announcements
Your comments and readership have really helped this blog grow during the past year. Your passion for landscape photography, and Yosemite, has helped make this a real community. I love hearing your thoughts about a critique, your insights on the digital darkroom, or adventures trying to photograph a Yosemite snowstorm! I’ve learned as much from all of you as I hope you’ve learned from me.
To show my appreciation, and perhaps make your holiday shopping a little easier, I’m making a special offer: From now until December 15th, get three calendars for the price of one—8.99. And yes, that means six for the price of two, nine for the price of three, etc. There is no limit to how many you can order, but there is a limit to how many we have left, and the offer will end before the 15th if we run out.
This 7×7 inch calendar makes a great stocking stuffer. It features 12 of my best Yosemite photographs coupled with inspiring quotations about nature and the environment. Just click “Add to Cart” to get your copies today.
Again, thank you for your time and contributions!
by Michael Frye | Dec 2, 2010 | Critiques
“Wild Goose Overlook” by Travis Villa
Composition and Light
This week’s photograph was made by Travis Villa in Glacier National Park, Montana. Travis wrote on Flickr, “This is one of the most spectacular sunrises I have ever seen, complemented by an already beautiful location. I felt very grateful to have a good balance (not too many or too few) of clouds in the sky that morning.”
Indeed it is a spectacular scene. Wish I had been there! The color and light are dramatic; I especially like the clouds over the pointed peak on the right half of the frame. (I’m sure someone knows the name of the peak.)
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by Michael Frye | Nov 30, 2010 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
Half Dome and El Capitan, sunrise
I can’t remember seeing so much snow in November. Saturday brought another storm, and six inches of new snow to the valley floor. I went out in the blizzard Saturday afternoon to photograph snowy trees (my wife Claudia posted a photo of me in the Ahwahnee Meadow on my Facebook page). The storm cleared during the night, and Sunday was another one of those great Yosemite days—a beautiful sunrise, and fresh snow everywhere. The photo above was made from Tunnel View shortly after sunrise, and I’ve included a couple of other photos from the day below. As you can see in the last image, there is still, amazingly, some fall color in spots.
Curiously there were few other photographers in the valley. Only two other people captured the sunrise from Tunnel View—locals Evan Russell and Walter Flint. I spotted a few tripods later in the day, but was surprised there weren’t more, especially with such great conditions on a holiday weekend. Maybe no one could get reservations near the park. Or, perhaps perhaps people were actually spending time with their families instead of devoting every spare moment to photography. Imagine that! Well, with luck we’ll get many more photogenic storms this winter.
Golden reflections in the Merced River
Snow falling from oaks, Ahwahnee Meadow
by Michael Frye | Nov 25, 2010 | Announcements
Peacock
I love Thanksgiving because it’s such a universal, inclusive holiday. Regardless of your religious or spiritual beliefs everyone has something to be thankful for.
As photographers, we can be thankful for the beautiful, amazing, infinitely varied world we live in, a world that provides an endless supply of great subjects to photograph.
We can also be thankful to Daguerre, or Talbot, or whoever really invented photography, for creating this wonderful medium which gives everyone an opportunity to express themselves.
I’m thankful that photography forces me to really pay attention to everything around me instead of thinking about the mundane day-to-day problems that could so easily occupy my thoughts.
I’m thankful for the inspiring work of all my fellow photographers. You never cease to surprise me!
I’m thankful that I’ve been able to live near and photograph Yosemite for over 25 years. It’s such a special place, and a great privilege to become so intimately acquainted with it.
I’m very thankful for my family, and especially for my wonderful wife who’s always been so patient with and supportive of my photography.
I’m particularly thankful for all of you—fellow photographers, blog readers, Yosemite lovers—for reading, listening, and commenting. Your participation makes writing this blog fun, and it’s great to be able to talk about my love of photography with others who share that passion.
Happy Thanksgiving!
(P.S. The critique series is taking Thanksgiving week off, but will be back next week. See you then!)
by Michael Frye | Nov 23, 2010 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
Another cold storm arrived early this morning. Rain turned to snow at my house in Mariposa about an hour ago, and the sky is full of big, fat flakes. I was in Yosemite Valley yesterday afternoon, and found about a foot of wet snow in the meadows. There could be another foot before this latest storm ends. Looks like we’ll have a white Thanksgiving!
There’s still some nice fall color in Yosemite Valley, especially in the eastern end. The oaks adjacent to Cook’s Meadow and the Ahwahnee Meadow have retained most of their leaves, and you can find colorful dogwoods between Curry Village and the Ahwahnee Hotel.
From the comments on my previous post it sounds like many of you braved the slippery roads and made it up to Yosemite this past weekend. It was a beautiful weekend, and I bet some of you got great photos! I’m always interested in seeing what people have captured, so please feel free to include links to images in the comments.
Sunset clouds over Cathedral Rocks yesterday evening
by Michael Frye | Nov 19, 2010 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
Photographer at Tunnel View on a snowy morning
When I wrote my post the other day (First Snow?) it looked like Yosemite Valley might get a few inches of snow this weekend. Now forecasters are predicting one to two feet above 4000 feet, and 8 to 12 inches above 3000 feet. There’s a big difference in driving conditions between the two scenarios. Please go only if you’re really prepared to deal with serious winter driving.
If you do still go you’ll have to bring chains of course, but make sure they actually fit! Try them on in your driveway first. It’s no fun attempting to put chains on for the first time in the middle of a blizzard, only to find that they’re too small. Also, I recommend taking Highway 140, as this is the lowest elevation route into Yosemite Valley. However it looks like even this route will have snow outside the park near Midpines on Saturday night and Sunday.
If you’re an experienced winter driver, by all means go, and have a good time! If you’re not experienced you might want to rethink your plans.
