The Disneyland Photo of the Day...

[chris001]

Won't be back until Thanksgiving week, so will probably try Ariel's then. Seem to get pretty decent reviews.

[Hot Sauce 1]

Here's a quick little "Pretty" for today. I was going through some old folders of photos and found several fireworks shots that I hadn't done anything with. It felt like finding money in the couch cushions or one more bag of Peanut M&M's in the bottom of your Easter basket.

Are You Talking To Me? by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

[cfrith5]

I just found this thread and absolutely LOVE looking through all these photos! GREAT job!!!!

---------- Post added 04-13-2012 at 02:13 PM ----------

Do you have a blog? This would great with each Lesson posted on a blog!

[Hot Sauce 1]

I just found this thread and absolutely LOVE looking through all these photos! GREAT job!!!!

---------- Post added 04-13-2012 at 02:13 PM ----------

Do you have a blog? This would great with each Lesson posted on a blog!

Thank you. No, I don't have a blog. I just use Mice Chat as it has much more readers than I would ever get on my own.

[Hot Sauce 1]

Here's a little bit o' Pretty for today. I'm working on another article that I hope to have up in a few days. Works been crazy lately!

The Empty Streets of Tomorrow... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

[TTFN92]

8-1-10
For today’s “Disneyland Photo Tip of the Day”, I decided to tackle a subject we here in Southern California know all too well called May Gray and June Gloom.

For anyone not from Southern California, those terms refer to the months when we have a very heavy Marine Layer and the sky is very gray and dull all day long, sometime for weeks on end.

From a photographic standpoint, a gray sky makes pictures very flat, colorless and lacking in contrast. It also makes any picture that has a gray sky in it, pretty boring to look at. However, after today, you won’t have to worry about that any more. In Photoshop Elements you can quickly and easily replace that bland colorless sky with one of your choosing. (This also brings up that point that a necessary item to have in your “photo catalog” is lots of pictures of the sky on nice days, sunrises and sunsets)

Here are some examples of pictures I took on one of those depressing, gray sky days at Disneyland and what they look like after replacing the sky.
















Here is a link to a video tutorial that shows how easy it is to change the sky in Photoshop Elements. This can be done on any jpeg photos, so any camera works. You can do this from a Point & Shoot or DSLR.

Alibony Videos - Lesson 12: Quick Colorless Sky Replacement

There is one important thing that she didn’t mention in the video. If that picture were really taken with a bright pretty blue sky, the subject would be brighter, have more contrast and more color. Once I replace the sky, I also use the Selection Tool to select only the non sky portion of the picture, use the Lighten Shadows slider to brighten it up, use the Contrast slider to increase the contrast, use the Saturation slider to increase the color saturation a little and then I use the Temperature slider to increase the temperature 1 point. I increase the Temperature 1 point because a bright sunny day has a warmer temperature of light than a dull day does and it makes the photo appear more like it was really taken on that beautiful day.

Here is an example of other fun things you can do if you have some really cool sunset sky photos. I like to call this one Splash Mountain Apocalypse.



Depending upon the detail or subject of the picture, it usually takes me between 10 to 15 minutes per picture. If you have a photo that you really like except for that ugly sky and want to enjoy to its fullest, it is well worth the time to make it the best it can be.

I hope you enjoyed this little foray into Photoshop Elements and Sky replacement.

Happy Snapping!
© Michael Greening 2010

I know this is an old one but I'm just beginning to go thru this thread. I haven't watched the video yet but I love this. You get the great, soft light that a cloudy day gives you but with a beautiful, blue sky, or whatever color you want it to be. We are going to DL in June and I told my DH that I want to take some time to go off on my own and take some pics. All these photos, from all the threads, are giving me the photography bug again .

[Hot Sauce 1]

Here's another shot from my bad experience at World of Color. I didn't notice it before but look closely at the smoke and flames next to the kids shoulder. There is a really creepy face looking face in it. And no, I didn't put it there.

I hope to have the next article done in a few days. It's taking longer than I thought.


Fire Dancers... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

[Tiki]

That face is so photoshopped
jk - really enjoying reading your tutorials as always Mike!

Reminds me of college psych class where we looked at magazine liquor ads and found the ghoulish faces that they airbrushed into the ice cubes.

In the ads when they showed a photo of a glass with ice and some of the liquor poured in, they had an airbrush artist make ghoulish faces and hang men and stuff. Was supposed to be a subliminal message to stimulate the brain of party-goer and bar types. Don't know if it really worked or not....

[Hot Sauce 1]

That face is so photoshopped
jk - really enjoying reading your tutorials as always Mike!

Reminds me of college psych class where we looked at magazine liquor ads and found the ghoulish faces that they airbrushed into the ice cubes.

In the ads when they showed a photo of a glass with ice and some of the liquor poured in, they had an airbrush artist make ghoulish faces and hang men and stuff. Was supposed to be a subliminal message to stimulate the brain of party-goer and bar types. Don't know if it really worked or not....

I remember looking at those ads too, especially upside down because the brain sees it upside down.

I swear, I didn't photoshop it. I didn't even notice it until I put it on Flickr.

[Hot Sauce 1]

I'm still working on the next article. Between being swamped at work and other things happening, it seems to be taking forever. Here's a strange bit o pretty for today. I took this during the Halloween Party. It was one of the special lighting effects they had up in Frontierland.

Someone's At The Door... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

[Hot Sauce 1]

4-20-12

Today's "Disneyland Photo Tip of the Day" hopefully answers some questions that some of you may have about purchasing a new camera.

11 things to consider before buying a new camera.

I'm often asked "What kind of camera should I buy?", so I figured I might as well post my thoughts for all to see, or at least for the few people who actually read this.

What kind of camera you should buy is an impossible question to answer properly. Everyone has different needs, different budgets, different abilities and different desires for what they want a camera to do, as well as how much control they want to have over the camera.

Since I can't give an exact answer, I will share some insight that I have gained over the past few years and several thousand dollars that I have spent on photography.

I will start with the assumption that because you are reading this you are somewhat serious about photography and have a reasonably strong desire to take better photos.

1. No matter what type of camera you buy, remember that the camera is only a small part of the overall expense. You will have to purchase extra batteries, memory cards, a camera case and in the case of DSLR, probably other lenses and accessories. The bare minimum extra expense for a Point & Shoot camera will be at least $100.00. Also keep in mind that a new camera also means that you will want to do more with your photos so you might end up buying new software for photo editing. Those can easily add up to a few hundred dollars.

2. The very first thing you need to buy after purchasing any camera is a book on how to use it. DO NOT rely on the manual that comes with it. They are so boring and written so badly that you will read 2 pages and put it away, never to be opened again. Get an after market book with photos. Before buying that book, look at the different ones for your specific model camera. There will probably be a few choices. Look through them and choose the one that is easiest for you to understand. If' you've spent that much money on a new camera, you might as well learn to use it. The more time you take to learn your camera, the more you will get out of it, the more you will enjoy it and the better your pictures will be.

3. If you are upgrading from a current camera, be it a Point & Shoot or DSLR and you understand the menu system and how to maneuver through the functions, it might be a good idea to stick with that brand of camera. You will have a big head start on learning the new one. Unless of course it is an odd brand like HP or something. Then I recommend going to one of the 2 big names.

4. If you plan on buying a new Point & Shoot camera, choose one that offers RAW format and shoot in that format. Even if you don't do much post processing or care about the ability to change some of the settings like White Balance later on, you may be in a situation where a photo of a very special, once in a life time occasion is terrible because it was taken indoors and everyone is yellow from the incandescent light. By shooting in RAW you can change that and save that photo. It only takes once for it to pay off. The camera rarely ever gets everything right.

Also make sure it has a Manual setting. I'm seeing more and more of the newer P&S's don't give you manual control and are filled with so called "Smart Modes". Be honest, how many times do you actually use those Smart Modes or even remember what they are or how to get to them? I don't care how smart they say they are, the camera isn't as smart as you and it won't get everything right.

5. If you plan on purchasing a new DSLR, figure on 30-40% of your budget going to the camera body only. The rest will go for lenses, batteries, memory cards, lens filters, tripod, possibly a flash or a new camera bag,

6. Regardless of P&S or DSLR, it is my opinion that you should stick with one of the 2 major brands of cameras, Canon and Nikon. The day will come when you want to upgrade and when that day comes, you will most likely be upgrading to a Canon or Nikon, so why not start now and give yourself a head start on understanding that brand.

7. For DSLR users, keep in mind that your current lenses may not fit the new camera you are looking at. If you are like me and use a Canon DSLR with a Crop Sensor, the lenses for that camera will not work on a Full Frame Sensor Canon. Each brand of lens is only compatible with that brand of camera. I've spent a lot of money on lenses, so when I upgraded from my Canon T1i, I went to the Canon 7D because all my lenses will fit it.

8. When buying a Tripod, spend the money right the first time. I have 4 tripods in my trunk and finally wised up and spent the money on a good Carbon Fiber one that works perfectly for all my uses and it is light weight.

9. All glass is not created equal. If you are serious about your photography and plan on doing it to make a living, spend the money on one good quality lens instead of several different cheaper lenses.

10. If you are on the fence about buying a P&S or a DSLR and aren't sure if you want to carry around a big heavy camera, it is money well spent to rent one first. You can rent any type of camera and lens at Rent professional cameras or camera lenses for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Leica and Pentax.

11. If Disneyland is where you plan on using your new camera, the lenses I recommend are the 50mm F/1.8 (the Nifty Fifty). This one is great for Dark Rides. The other lens I recommend is a zoom lens. Both of these are not expenses that have to come when you buy your camera. The kit lens that comes with it is the most versatile lens and you should learn the camera with it before purchasing others.

Money spent wisely is money well spent. I hope this helps.

Since there weren't any photos in this post, here's a few for Fireworks Friday.

Fireworks Friday 1/3 by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr


Fireworks Friday 2/3 by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr


Fireworks Friday 3/3 by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

[mpabis525]

Is there a thread like this for Disney World at all? The Disneyland tips and pics are amazing, especially with how to shoot specific rides and attractions. I love reading this one and want to start planning ahead for what to look for at WDW when my family and I head out there next year.

[Hot Sauce 1]

Is there a thread like this for Disney World at all? The Disneyland tips and pics are amazing, especially with how to shoot specific rides and attractions. I love reading this one and want to start planning ahead for what to look for at WDW when my family and I head out there next year.

As far as I know there isn't a thread for WDW on this blog but there is a whole blog website dedicated to it that is excellent.
That link is: Disney World & Disneyland Pictures & Photo Tips - Disney Photography Blog
There is also Disney Tourist Blog - Disney World & Disneyland Photos, Food Reviews, Planning Guide & Trip Reports which covers all kinds of things including photography at both parks.
The same people also do a wonderful photography podcast called ISO5571 that you can download on iTunes.

I should have a new tutorial up later today that I hope you will enjoy.
In the mean time, here's a little bit o' pretty for today.

Making Way... by Ring of Fire Hot Sauce 1, on Flickr

[Hot Sauce 1]

4-24-12
Today’s “Disneyland Photo Tip of the Day” takes a look at Focus.

Human beings have an innate need to find the meaning in things, to understand them and put them in some kind of order that we can easily comprehend. If we do not understand what we are looking at, we generally don’t feel comfortable looking at it.

In photography, the word “Focus” can have several different meanings. It can refer to how well focused a photo is, giving it a desired sharpness. Is the main subject in focus or out of focus. It can also refer to the main subject that you want the viewer to see, the "focus" of the photo so to speak.

As photographers, it is our job to tell a story with a photograph which conveys to the viewer the feeling or emotion or simply the subject we want them to see. The eye of the viewer will automatically be drawn to the area of the photo that is in the sharpest focus. It is the fastest and or easiest way for us to find the meaning in it. It is how you the photographer tell the viewer what you want them to look at. In the same context, the viewer's eye will also be drawn to the brightest or most colorful spot in a photo, which can be another way of steering them towards your desired subject.

Here's a few examples to show what I mean.
In the first photo of the Pinocchio statue I used a large aperture of F/1.4 and placed the focus point on Jiminy Cricket. With Jiminy being the object in the sharpest focus and the depth of field created by the large aperture, your eye is automatically lead right to Jiminy and it shows his side of the relationship between him and Pinocchio.


Simply by switching the focal point to Pinocchio's face, now he is the main subject and your eye goes right past Jiminy to Pinocchio where you experience his emotion towards Jiminy.


Sadly, the vast majority of Point & Shoot cameras automatically put everything in focus and don't give you any focus points to control or a way of using depth of field. A few do but mostly this can only be done with a DSLR.

In this photo of the flowers blooming on the trees near Grizzly River Rapids, there is a little bit of depth of field which kind of steers your eye to the flower in the foreground but the lighting is very flat as are the colors.


With just a few simple edits in Photoscape, I blurred the background further, sharpened the main flower, brightened it and darkened the others, then saturated the color a bit more. I also added a slight vignette to the edges, making the outside of the frame less important to look at, which gives the main flower more importance and tells your eyes where to go.


I hope this brief discussion about Focus gives you a new way of seeing things and brings your photography into better focus.

Happy Snapping!

[baker0465]

Hot Sauce 1. Thank you for taking the time to do these tutorials. I have learned so much from just reading these. I truly appreciate the time and effort you put into it.