Photoblog Challenges : Results #6

This week on Photoblogchallenges, the winners are  Monica for Best of 38 (09 Sep – 15 Sep) and Christine for Theme 38 : Begins with “G”.

Celine and I are permanent guest judges and since the middle of the year we switched the roles a little. She has to pick one favorite from the winning pictures and I have to pick several “non-winners”.

Each week I will try to shed some light on some of my choices.

• For Best of 38 (09 Sep – 15 Sep) : I picked Joel Schilling for his great composite work, otherworldly, Larans for a great feeling of Autumn and making me discover what elderberries are and Steve Rice.
  

• For Theme 38 – Begins with “G” : I picked up Boxman for the contrast between the old city and the new and Rue Du Lavoir for making me salivating with his sweet picture.

I did hesitate a long time for my pick of the week due to the great submissions of Blendwerk  and My Glass Eye. I loved the curve work and the photorealism of these. I was also amazed by the rendering of Monica but I finally had to settle down for the submission of Steve Rice. Steve has been with Photoblog Challenges since the early days and I’m really jealous of the result he achieved with this weeks submission.

By Sebastien Grobelny

Long Exposure #5 : To edit or not edit?

As mentioned in “What is a photographer?” and again in “Fiat Lux“, a photograph is a succession of steps.
Once your camera caught the scene the next step is to deliver it to your public, but before you do that you need to answer the question that haunts a lot of photographers: Should I edit this picture or post it “as shot”?
For some people, to not edit their shot is a credo: the shot is over as soon as you push your shutter. For others the push of the shutter button is just one of the many steps towards their final picture. For me editing is a way to bridge the gap to my ideal shot.
Below is a before (left) / after (right) shot I edited recently using Adobe Lightroom 4. I played with the colors and tones a bit in order to get a picture more vivid. Don’t you think the right one looks better? (for a look at the final result just click)

Some photographer have more restrictions than others. If you’re a photojournalist you will not be allowed to amend details that alter the meaning of the picture. It means that cropping might be allowed, contrasts and tones amended but you won’t be allowed to remove or add anything from your picture. I suggest you have a look at this article on Gizmodo to see how pictures were edited in the past.
Recently, I went with Celine on another roadtrip and our starting point was Las Vegas. We have been there several times but never really thought of capturing the Welcome sign. Unfortunately for us we just remembered it on our way to the airport, during our final day. If I were to be a purist, I might end up with the shot below.

I didn’t like much all the cables or some of the buildings but it’s not as if I could just go an bulldoze the buildings or cut the cables down. The sky was also pretty uniform as the sun was high in the sky. With Lightroom and Photoshop I was able to get the result below, with more textures in the sky and a dreamy effect, closer to what I’d like my shot to be.

Editing is for me one more tool, a way to get more control on the final result but like a super power it must be used responsibly. One of my proudest edit is a very subtle one. People liked the shot below, but very few people know that it was one of my first edit (to see the original version just click the image).

If you want to see what edit can do for you I suggest you read Mike Campau guest post on Scott Kelby’s site.

By Sebastien Grobelny

Macro

Macro is an extreme close-up.
I believe these links deserve a close-up 😉

• Challenges: You can still submit for Best of 39 (09/16-09/22), Theme 39 : Night Photography, Technique 20: Macro of Metal and Monthly Project 09: Photo Hunt on Photoblogchallenges. You can still vote until Sunday too!
• Stunning video of the week : There was no post processing used here. Zero! Nada! Everything is done through projection and synchronization. I believe that magicians and illusionists will enter a new era.
• GoPro : If you can suffer through the music and love dogs and matrix you should like this video.
• Thundercats go!
• A timelapse from Burning Man with all the frenzy.
• Wonder what could go wrong with this polish medieval fight club

By Sebastien Grobelny

Into Darkness with a poll!

It may come as a shock to some of you, but I’ve never seen a Star Trek episode growing up. I was more a Star Wars child and even though I watched shows like Stargate and Babylon-5, I’ve never watched a Star Trek episode. Sure, I knew who Spock and Kirk were, what the Enterprise looked like, that the Klingon were the bad guys but not much more.
I discovered Star Trek very recently with the J.J.Abrams movies and enjoyed it.

Below is a video of how the last title sequence was designed.

And you, are you more Star Wars or Star Trek? (If you have the opportunity I suggest you have a look at Fanboys.)

Photoblog Challenges : Results #5

This week on Photoblogchallenges, the winners are Mittened Hands  for Best of 37 (02 Sep – 08 Sep), Harmonie for Theme 37 : Candles and Ruimnm for Technique 18 : B&W High Key.

Celine  and I are permanent guest judges and since the middle of the year we switched the roles a little. She has to pick one favorite from the winning pictures and I have to pick several “non-winners”.

Each week I will try to shed some light on some of my choices.

• For Best of 37 (02 Sep – 08 Sep) : 10 votes were not too much this week as I loved a lot of submissions. Mittened Hands was in my preferred due to its great memories of childhood. I also liked Shaker very much  for giving us some last thoughts of summer. I picked Different Sensations for all his blue, Joel Schilling to bringing me back to the majesty of Bryce Canyon National Park and Remus for its festive feeling.
  

• For Theme 37 – Candles : I felt this subject very intimate. I picked up Deja for being different and original, Shaker for a very moving focus, Steve Rice for showing us a bit of culture from down there and Tapio for an heavenly flare.

• For Technique 18 : B&W High Key : Another challenge where it was very difficult to pick favorites. I picked Day One for her beautiful flower, Deja  for a very cute picture that makes me smile and Different Sensations for a very creepy picture that makes me cringe but is very good and on point.

My pick of the week among the winners was the submission for Best of 37 (02 Sep – 08 Sep) by Different Sensations. This picture is in fact the work of Giacomo, Walter’s son.  Giacomo is 3 years old. I really loved the peacefulness and zen of this picture.

Picture by Walter’s son, Giacomo, 3 years old

By Sebastien Grobelny

Long Exposure #4 : Fiat Lux

As discussed in “What is a photographer?“, I believe there are 4 big steps in a picture:

1. To think
2. To see
3. To capture
4. To deliver

The most difficult part in my opinion is the capture. You have to make compromises between what you think and what you see in order to be able to deliver something.

On film or sensor, your picture is always created by light (or its lack). If you can’t control the light, you’re at a disadvantage and will have most likely to compromise on your ideal shot.

With your camera and lens you can directly impact your light with:
– the time of exposure
– your ISO configuration
– the aperture.
Any of these changes comes with its consequences:

• Increasing the time of exposure will most likely increase the motion blur.
• Increasing the ISO will probably increase the noise.
• Playing on the aperture will impact your depth of field.

Unfortunately we can’t always control all these parameters as some are driven from our subject. For Water Droplets for instance, speed is very important.

Water droplet

To get this shot, I was at f/7.1 and 1/250s. It was “stuck” at 1/250s due to the fact I was using a flash in order to help me control the light.
Lighting is the most critical part of a shoot. With a good light you will be able to control your contrast and details and give more life to your picture. Note that controlling the dark side is as important.

Shadow in the Grand Central Crowd

I believe it’s one of the areas where I can learn the most.
I found this article from Scott Kelby about lighting a BMW650i reassuring in a sense, as it looks like even the best have to make a lot of tests and adjustments to find the right balance.

Macro

Macro is an extreme close-up.
I believe these links deserve a close-up 😉

• Challenges: You can still submit for Best of 38 (09/09-0915), Theme 38 : Begins with “G”, Technique 19: Water Droplets and Monthly Project 09: Photo Hunt on Photoblogchallenges. You can still vote until Sunday too!
• If you ever owned some mischievous furry devils you should appreciate this cat vs human strip
• I love TED. They broach all the subjects from the mundane to the highly technical. Today, the art of misdirection
• Red Panda cub! (thanks Celine)
• The art of being a manager
• For the Star Wars fans who can’t wait the new episodes

16 Reasons to Treasure Blue Jays Shortstop Munenori Kawasaki, the Jewel of MLB

Had a lot of fun thanks for Extra Mustard and Munenori Kawasaki. Thanks

RC Pilot

For some time I have this toy in my Amazon wish list:

It’s been a long time since I had an RC car and I never piloted a flying object. This one is very appealing to me because it can be controlled from iOS or Android while shooting videos and taking pictures.

I feel very small though compared to the players below. Enjoy!

Photoblog Challenges : Results #4

This week on Photoblogchallenges, the winners are  Frances for Best of 36 (26 Aug – 01 Sep), Wanderungen for Theme 36 : People Working and Ellebelle for Monthly Project 08 : Summer.

Celine  and I are permanent guest judges and since the middle of the year we switched the roles a little. She has to pick one favorite from the winning pictures and I have to pick several “non-winners”.

Each week I will try to shed some light on some of my choices.

• For Best of 36 : Love the diversity in the winners this week with a lot of people trying different new things. I picked Leovi for another take on his long project, Remus for his powerful shot that brought back memories, Twiggy for her tender stolen portrait and Shaker for his great exotic architectural shot.
  

• For Theme 36 – People Working : This was a tough challenge but you came through. I picked Different Sensations for capturing what loneliness on the job look like, Larans for a very true view of the life in an garage, Twiggy for an exotic cooking lesson full of textures and Ruimnm for another look on the security job.

• For Monthly Project 08 – Summer : The days are getting colder but we were still able to appreciate your view of summer. I picked Larans and Thorgun for their view of the big North. Looks like they had  a lot of fun under the sun. There is a feel of coldness with gorgeous like on both. I picked Twiggy for her work in depth on the summer flowers.

My pick of the week among the winners was the submission for Best of 36 by Wanderungen. I couldn’t leave this look and had the feeling to be very close to this cow with a lot of personality.