Safari preparations

I have plans on going on a safari in Africa this autumn or spring. Reading everything I can get my hands on like best period, weather, klimate, gear etc. There are plenty of companys to choose from and I haven't decided yet. If you have any suggestions please tell me in the comments below.

I know that practise makes perfect so I've started to try and catch some Swedish animals with my camera, earlier I almost only shot landscape. The advantage with this is that I've been out much and knows the nature around where I live. Starting last Friday I now bring my 70-200 mm f 2,8 and my 28-300 mm lens with my while I'm out scouting for nice landscape. 

The pic below is my first wildlife pic ever. It was taken last Friday, I had sent out invitations to mr Moose and mrs Venison, hoping they weren't busy. But it was a no show, only this little fellow showed up. Now don't get me wrong we had a great time the two of us :-). The pic is heavely cropped sense my Buddy was a bit shy. This is why I on Saturday bought the Nikon teleconverter TC-20E III AF-S cranking up my 70-200 to 140-400 mm hoping this will cure some of the shyness my friends have.

HDR Tutorial

It’s been a while since my last post, for that I am sorry. 

But this post has been worth the wait I hope.

This is going to be a tutorial on my HDR workflow.

Last weekend I went for a walk in my hometown. This is a old backyard.

Here is where I start, 3 exposures. First one 2 stops underexposed, second one normal, third one 2 stops overexposed. I almost always shoot this way, even if it doesn’t seems like a HDR situation. Better to have them and throw them away then not having them when needed. This is the three I picked in a set about 10 different compositions I took. Here I like the stones in the bottom, the stone path leading to the door. I also like the framing of the whole photo.

After selecting these three pic’s I threw them in to Photomatix Pro that merges the three exposures in to one. First of all I press the default version (Photomatix always remembers the last HDR setting) so you have a starting point. I know that +Trey Ratcliff uses his presets as startingpoints but this way works good for me.

Ok, let the magic begin :-)

I always use, align and remove CA.

Once inside Photomatix, always start by clicking the default option top right side. Photomatix has a memory of an elephant so the the settings from the last processed picture is the preset.

Ok, let the fun begin I usually press the strength, color saturation and detail contrast very much to the right. In this picture though, the color saturation made the whole pic much to red.

Once I'm happy I press process. This is not the final image.

Now I look at the result and thinking about what more is needed. 

I think it needs some more structure in the middle and a bit brighter framing.

First I take the normal exposed photo and play with it in Lightroom, concentrating on the middle part of the image. 

Then I take the overexposed image, play with it in Lightroom concentrating on the red frame.

After this is done I take the three versions (the Photomatix one and the two I've played with in Lightroom) and open them in photoshop as layers.

Aligning them, put the Photomatix one on top and create a layer-mask and with a soft big brush on about 30% flow I paint in what I like from the layer beneath in this case the brighter framing one. Merge those two, create a new layer-mask and paint in what I like from the more contrasty one. Again merge. (sorry I forgot to "print screen" while I was in Photoshop)

When this is done I usually use a filter called Nik Efex Pro 4, there I play with some settings. Remember that you are going to do the same process in photoshop again, painting in the effects you like with a layer-mask and probably not at 100%.

This is the final version.

Hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and enjoy your weekend

Best Top Photographer

I'm very excited, I got an assignment from Best Top Photographer group www.besttopphotographer.com/ I am to pick the most beautiful photos every sunday. And there is a lot of beautiful photos being shared on BTP's google plus page. But it's a pleasant assignment, because who doesn't love watching beauty.

While looking for the cream of the crop I'm sure I get some tips and ideas for my own photographing. There are so much beauty out there that catches one's eyes, the problem isn't finding it, the problem is to narrow it down to fit my viewfinder.

Another thing I look forward to is my first winter wedding shoot. Some challenges lurking around something like that, as white on white (hoping for snow). But I think it's going to be a great session.

Today I will grab my "Big Stopper" and shoot some moving water, having ice and snow as backdrop. Stay tuned for the results.

Wishing you all a great sunday

www.besttopphotographer.com

Wide angle view

Something that has changed since I got in to photographing is my own view. What I mean is, now I have a much wider view when I'm out driving, walking etc. I first heard about this phenomenon from +Trey Ratcliff on youtube. He had also experienced this, my guess is that most photographers get this "new" view of the world. Please give me some input, is this true or?

For instance before while driving my main focus was on taking me from A to B and not causing any accidents. Nowadays I have a wider view, of course at same time driving safe, it's not like I'm turning my head to and fro. No, it's like the sight at the corner of my eye's have improved. I can see a field far out to the corners that catches my eye's and then I turn my head and give it a glance estimating it's potential.

So what is it that catches my eye's? I guess it's what you're looking for as a photographer as leading lines, patterns or something that stands out. This simplify the scouting for great photo opportunities.

On the subject "scouting", yesterday I was on a scouting tour and went to my home where I was born and raised. This is on the countryside, knowing that our neighbors was some what eccentric I went there. Two brothers that had a little farm and they drove it like they did in the old days. Nowadays the brothers is in a retirement home and the farm hasn't been in use for many years creating a photographic wonderland. The pic's below are from yesterday. As usual you can visit my page www.larssonsphoto.com for full rez pic's

I wish you all a great weekend

2014 ... Watch out here I come :-)

It's about that time of the year when you shall reveal all goals and projects the coming year. Sense this is a blog about my photography, I will spare you goals about health and training. What 2014 have installed for me I don't know but I have some goals regarding my photographing.
Let's go ahead and list them.

My photographing
A year now I have been looking at different photo workshops, Iceland, Africa, south of France just to mention a few. This year I promise my self to take one of these trips. Perhaps some of you guys have a suggestions. This summer me and my fiancee is taking a trip that I really look forward to. We are taking the coast road north in Sweden ending up at Tromsö, Norway. Then we take the Norwegian coastline home. A 3 week journey, better pack lots of memory-cards. And the best part ... it was my fiancee's suggestion, she is not into photo at all.

My photographing II
I shoot very much HDR witch I love and will continue doing. Something I want to learn more about is night-photography, right now I'm reading up on this and taking some online courses very psyched about this. I will continue looking for great photo opportunities while I'm out driving, walking etc.

My web page
I have two pages, one in English www.larssonsphoto.com and one in Swedish www.larssonsfoto.se, both needs attending to. I need to make the Swedish one more attractive for potential customers such as weddings, portraits and so forth. It also need a major promotion tour. The English one I will make more easy to click around just looking at my pictures and easy to buy prints and downloads. I have a Smugmug account for the English one and I'm very satisfied with them.

Prints
Last year I sold some large prints, it's a very satisfying feeling when someone likes your work and want to put it on their wall. I have a collaboration with a local frame maker that works great. My goal for 2014 is to double the large print sales. This is somewhat related to the part above more accessible web page. Also talk to my local community perhaps hang some of my prints in restaurants or in display windows.

My blog
Trying to post a blog a week and publish some hands on tutorial will be my goal for this year so keep following me and I hope I won't disappoint you.

Leaving you with a photo taken last winter sense the snow hasn't come yet, global warming I guess. Right now I'm longing for snow so I can head out and take some great snowscapes. Please leave a note below to have a say.
As always more pic's is to be found on my page www.larssonsphoto.com

I wish you all a great 2014

2013 flashbacks

As we approach New Year's Eve, I guess it's inevitable to do some flashback thinking about the year that's about to end. 2013 was a great year for me and my photographing aspirations. This was the year that I started my own small photo business, I still have a full-time job, but this has made it possible to make some money on doing the thing I love. Mostly to afford some more camera equipment.

So what have I been doing this year?

The year started of in great way, I got an assignment taking some product-photos really big company and one of my photos ended up in their paper for their customers.

During spring I was contacted by a non-profit association that was about to start a project involving a book about the old parts of my home-town documenting what it looked like during the last 100 years. For this they wanted a bunch of photos from what it looks like today, ending up in about 50 of my photos in the book.

At the same time I have sold some big print landscape photos and this kind of photographing is what I love, I'm excited every time I get a mail in which it is a order for one of my big prints. This acts like a form of confirmation that people like my photographing.

I'll end up with a thank you all who have followed me on social media and here on my blog giving me support and cheers. Next week I will write a post about goals 2014.
I wish you all a Happy New Year

Macro

I bought my first Macro lens ever a couple of weeks ago, this last weekend it was time to test this baby out. It's a Nikon 105 mm, 2.8 Micro lens. I've read some great reviews about this lens and if you don't want to cash up more then twice the price for a 200 mm macro lens this was the way to go.

First of I got to tell you, wow, the sharpness aren't from this world. I mean you can see things that are so small that you hardly see it with your own eyes until you magnify it on your screen, and it's really sharp. This has opened up a new world for me. 

With the 1:1 ratio in the viewfinder you can discover all kinds of small things in the forest like a landscape in the moss or a stone with some cool texture. Add some water on the moss or on a flower and you have very cool reflections.

Some argue that it's too big and heavy in comparison to the 40 mm and the 85 mm, and sure I weighs more and is a bit more clumsy, or so I think sense I haven't had either the 40 mm or the 85 mm. But 99 times out of 100 I don't care because I almost always shoot on a tripod.

I even tried some HDR with the macro lens, see first photo beneath. And I'm pretty psyched about it, sure this one isn't one of my better shots, but I think about the possibilities with macro shots in hard lighting conditions.  

I've talked to a portrait-photographer who has this lens in his camerabag and he says that it's one of his go to lenses. He loves the bokeh it creates and the sharpness, shallow dept of field etc. I haven't tried it on portraits so I'll take his word for it.

Can I recommend this lens? Yes, if you have the money I think it's a great lens. You can have so much fun with a macro lens, the possibilities enormous. Me I think I'll read up on "How to photograph a snowflake" and see If I can nail one.

You all have a great week, beneath there are some examples from this weekend's macro shots.

 Macro- HDR

Macro