The Final Post – 3 Years Later

Three years ago in January, 2009, I made my first blog post. This post will be my last one on this blog.

It has been a wonderful experience sharing photos, stories and tips about life and learning through the lens. I’ve had photo contests where I gave away lenses and trips and other goodies (how fun!). I’ve had a seriously controversial camera review (Sam and I won’t live that one down… but we do get emails daily totally in agreement with our findings)  But best of all I have shared with you the amazing work of many fellow photographers through Inspirations and Photographer of the Month posts. Thanks to these photographers for letting me feature their work!

I have been inspired and humbled by he response to this blog. Thanks mostly to you dear visitor for stopping by to read and make comments!

Going forward Samantha and I will do all our photography and community posts over at oopoomoo where we will have tons of free photography tips and tricks and techniques and of course our popular How-to and Photography Guide eBooks and announcements of workshops and tours. We still plan to keep the inspiration up and have lots to stimulate the eye and mind on the topics of photography and living better on this planet. I hope you will join us at oopoomoo.

Finally, I want to thank a Samantha Chrysanthou, Sabrina Henry and Catherine Byram for help with posting blog entries.

Darwin

Fabulous Film Fridays – The Last Post (Dec. 30, 2011)

Samantha and my Fabulous Film Fridays project that we shared between our blogs and which started on December 31, 2010 has come to its year-end. It has been a blast shooting once a week with our film cameras. If you liked this project be sure to head over to our new website and blog and get the free Fabulous Film Friday eBook which will launch next Friday (January 6, 2012). As most of you know this blog will end on December 31st with its final entry; please join me over at oopoomoo where my new adventure begins!

Speaking of end projects, Samantha is giving her course: Learning to “Speak’ the Language of Visual Expression one last time. This course has gotten rave reviews and so if you are keen to ramp up your visual knowledge, be sure to sign up for the January 2nd, 2012 start date!

Both photos taken with Tachihara Tim using Fuji Instant Print Film

Inspirations – Temple of Heaven by Christian Ortiz

© Christian Ortiz

Nikon D700, 14-24mm f/2.8 at 1/2500s ISO 200

I had seen boring pictures of the Temple of Heaven before and I wanted to capture a much more grandiose photo of it against a blazing sunrise. Unfortunately, Beijing has a bit of a pollution problem and the one day I was there I was greeted by a flat gray sky and about 1,000 tourists swarming all over the poor temple. I decided to work with what I had and see if I could spice it up in post production.  I walked around the massive structure looking for an area with minimal human density. When I found this angle, I set up my ultra wide angle lens to 14mm on a full frame D700 sitting on top of a tripod with a remote control trigger. I then began the long 37 minute wait for all the giddy school girls to finish taking pictures of their friends holding up the peace sign. I saw an opening and I fired out my shot. When I got home I liked most of the photograph, but the gray sky was so dull that I decided to take it in a more creative direction. This was the Temple of Heaven so I wanted to give it a celestial feel. I searched stock photos for a space background that seemed fitting and I purchased it and used it as my background.  I set the blending mode in Photoshop to multiply and added a layer mask to punch through the important details of the temple. I then used curve adjustments to bring out more of the intricate detail and finished it off with some unsharp mask. Making this photo was an an enjoyable exercise in unobstructed, child-like creative flow that we often don’t allow ourselves to indulge in for fear of not being taken seriously.  ~ Christian Ortiz

The Weekly Photo – December 27

This will be my last weekly photo post on this blog. I will no longer post to this blog after December 31st. After that all my blog postings and new images will appear over at oopoomoo. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter over there if you want first dibs on workshops, discounts and unpublished photo tips.

These two photos of Hoodoo Creek Bay at Abraham Lake were taken on one of the Fire and Ice Photo Tours this last November. If you are interested in the 2012 tour check out it out, it is nearly full!

©Darwin Wiggett

©Darwin Wiggett

We are very happy to announce our first oopoomoo how-to photography eBook – Sit, Stay and Smile – Easy! Outdoor Dog Photography (there will be lots more new titles coming in the future!).

We have been photographing dogs for years for  stock photography,  for magazine assignments, and for our local humane society. And now we bring all our tips and tricks on dog photography into one detailed eBook. The most challenging aspect of dog photography is understanding how to make photography a fun game for your pooch — we teach you how!.

We give you the guidelines you need to get your subjects ‘paws’itively performing for the camera! In addition, you’ll learn the essential techniques behind the lens to pull off great photos no matter what breed of dog you are photographing or what outdoor lighting situation you find yourself in. Anyone who has struggled to make exciting photos of dogs will benefit from this eBook.

To learn more simply click on the photo above –  only $10 CAN!

Big shout out to our amazing eBook designer and all around amazing collaborator on all things webby – Stephen Desroches! Stephen helped us design this website and did a spanking job on this new eBook. Plus he is a great guy and a fantastic photographer. – check out his blog as well.

Fire and Ice Photo Tour Results – Earl Merrimen

Below are Earl’s favorite six photos from his time on the Fire and Ice Photo Tour. Earl decided to ‘stretch’ himself and shoot most of the time in black-n-white.

©Earl Merrimen

©Earl Merrimen

©Earl Merrimen

©Earl Merrimen

©Earl Merrimen

©Earl Merrimen

Fabulous Film Fridays – December 23, 2011

Below are two photos made after a fresh snowfall in Cochrane while Samantha and I were walking our dog, Brando. These were shot with “Einstein” our glass lens Holga (which is our ‘sharp’ Holga). To see just how sharp, click on the photos for larger views. Thanks for looking!

©Darwin Wiggett - The Bow River at sunset in Cochrane, Alberta

©Darwin Wiggett - Park bench in Cochrane at sunset

Creative Expression Masterclass results – Philip Lo

Below are the six favorite Creative Expression Masterclass photos from Philip Lo.

©Philip Lo

©Philip Lo

©Philip Lo

©Philip Lo

©Philip Lo

©Philip Lo

Inspirations – Amanda Large

© Amanda Large

Nikon D90, 16-85 mm f/3.5-5.6, ISO 250, f/3.5, 1/25 seconds

Sometimes the images that say the most about people don’t literally show much of them at all. This portrait of my odd-socks-wearing friend was taken on the spur of the moment; hand-held, no premeditation, no set up. We were getting ready to go out, I think – or rather, he was sitting on the couch waiting for me to get ready – and I grabbed my camera in the hopes of nabbing a shot of him. Being a modest soul, he didn’t want to show his face and grabbed a conveniently located painting to hide behind. I directed him to move it slightly so that his scarf aligned with the tie in the painting and took a shot using the available light before he lost patience with me. For me, a big part being a photographer is being able to go with the flow and seize the moment. I originally set out to take a simple picture of my friend on the couch, and ended up with what I find a far more interesting portrait.

As a side note: it was pointed out to me that the painting is based on a photo (of 20th century political philosopher John Rawls), so this is actually a photograph of a painting based on a photograph. ~ Amanda Large

The Weekly Photo – December 19, 2011

©Darwin Wiggett

Click on the photo to learn the back story of this photo (and my meet-up with famous photographers!) plus see a few more photos from the shoot.