May 2017 – We’ve got a lot going on in this issue of HDR News. If you click on only one link in this newsletter make sure it’s to the film short by Filmspektakel. It’s a masterpiece of time lapse photography you need to see. Then we look at a sad story about a photographer who lost $20K in photo equipment in a way that could easily happen to you.

If you’re a budding nature and wildlife photographer but can’t afford a ten thousand dollar 500mm telephoto lens you’ll be happy to learn that there’s an affordable lens out there that produces pro results. We finish up with an overview of sub $1000 interchangeable lens cameras and a set of composition suggestions that don’t go anywhere near the rule of thirds. And then, at the very end, there’s The Strobist. He may just push you to the next level.

Been Blown Away Lately?

Filmspektakel is an off-the-hook time lapse, 360 recording and film production company based in Austria. They have perfected their own unique techniques to produce film sequences that would seem almost impossible to achieve with traditional methods. You MUST see this, the third episode of their “A Taste of…” time lapse series filmed in September 2016 in New York City.

Check out the video HERE

Check out the company’s website HERE

 

Photographer loses $20K In Gear from Overhead Bin

Being the intelligent, savvy photographer you are you surely avoid checking your camera gear on airline flights. The potential for damage is very real and quite likely. So, you carry on your camera bag knowing it will be safe. Think twice as you read the sad story of photographer Sam Hurd who had $20,000 in gear stolen from the overhead bin on his flight.

Find out how it when down HERE.

 

 Need A Long Lens For Wildlife Photography, On The (relative) Cheap?

Most likely when you see a close up image of a wild bird or animal it inspires you to go out and do it yourself. But, as you know, these types of images require the use of a lens in the 300mm to 600mm range and longer. Nikon’s 400mm f2.8 sells new for around $11,000 and their 600mm f4 goes for over $12,000. Shocking. However there is an alternative from Nikon which may surprise you. Their 200-500mm F5.6 VR lens is in the $1,400 range and even less, used, on eBay. Are you a little unsure about the image quality on a moderately priced zoom with a fixed f5.6 aperture? Check out this review on Photography Life and you might be convinced to get in the wildlife photography game.

Find out about the lens HERE

 

2017 Roundup: Interchangeable Lens Cameras $500-$900

Is it time for you to move up to an interchangeable lens camera? Looking for a backup camera or a great “walking around” camera. This dpReview round up of a wide range of sub-$1,000 cameras will give you the info you need to make the right decision.

Read the story HERE

 

 5 Photography Composition Tips

This article isn’t about the rule of thirds: anything but. This is a neat blog post by photographer Eric Kim who isn’t afraid to go low, go wide and go crazy. No matter what kind of photography you do, this quick read may give you a little compositional boost. If you dig down to the bottom of the blog page you’ll see links to a series of composition videos. Even if you don’t agree with his advice you’ll surely re-examine your own composition tendencies.</p>

Shake up your composition HERE

 

Do You Own A Flash? – Let’s Get Serious

OK. This is HDR News. Do HDR photographers use a flash? Well, maybe they should if they wanted to push the envelop of HDR photography. What we would like to do here is turn you on to a newspaper photojournalist who’s had to make the best photos possible with normal DSLR flash units. He equals or betters most studio photographers with minimal equipment. His website, The Strobist, is legendary among photojournalists. You should check out his Lighting 101 page. You can thank us later.</p>

Visit The Strobist’s Lighting 101

April 2017 – New products have arrived and old publications have headed for pasture. In this issue we take a look at a mirrorless
camera that is targeted right at the market Canon and Nikon believe they own: sports photographers. In publishing news we say “good-by” to a magazine that many of us used to learn about photography. We highlight the results of an outstanding photo competition as well as the photo winners of the most prestigious journalism awards in the world.

 

The Sony Awards

The Sony World Photography Awards is now one of the finest photography competitions on the planet. It features Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus divisionswhich promotes great submissions from across the spectrum of photographers. This collection of winning photographs on the Huffington Post website is lean on words and honors the photos with large reproduction (for a website). It’s worth checking out.

Take A Look!

 

Pop Photo Dies

As publications move to the Internet they usually lose income from reader subscriptions and advertising. Making a profit in Internet publishing is the holy-grail problem print publications have been trying to solve since the web became established. Only a few publications have been able to make the transition to online such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Now the world’s most venerable imaging publication, Pop Photo (formerly Popular Photography) is shutting down. The magazine started publishing in 1937. Read the obituary on PetaPixel.

Find out about the demise of Pop Photo.

 

Sony a9 (mirrorless) Sports Camera Introduction

Sony’s still cameras have risen to the top of photographer’s consideration in spite of incredibly stiff competition from the iconic camera makers Canon and Nikon. Targeted at sports photographers, the new a9 mirrorless camera touts almost unbelievable shooting speeds. According to Sony’s website “α9 liberates you from the limits of conventional SLRs that rely on mechanical systems. First to use high-speed stacked design, its 24.2-megapixel full-frame image sensor temporarily stores large-volume data in the integral memory for overall 20 times faster readout speed…”. According to dpReview “The Sony a9 is a masterpiece of technology.”

All that sounds impressive but, is a pro sports shooter going to change systems? Check out dpReview’s “first look” at the camera and another article where they share working sports photographer’s opinions on changing camera systems.

Read about sports shooters changing systems HERE

 

Pulitzer Prizes for Photography

According to the Pulitzer Prizes site “In the latter years of the 19th century, Joseph Pulitzer stood out as the very embodiment of American journalism. Hungarian-born, an intense indomitable figure, Pulitzer was the most skillful of newspaper publishers, a passionate crusader against dishonest government, a fierce, hawk-like competitor who did not shrink from sensationalism in circulation struggles, and a visionary who richly endowed his profession.”

In his 1904 will Pulitzer established the Pulitzer prizes as an incentive to journalistic excellence. Today, winning a Pulitzer is one of the most, if not the most coveted award in all of journalism. Fortunately for us photographers there are two categories of the awards which cover breaking news photography and feature photography.

This year’s winners were announced on April 10 with the Breaking News award going to freelance photographer Daniel Berehulak and theFeature Photography award going to E. Jason Wambasgans of The Chicago Tribune.

In both cases the winning photography can be gruesome to view but the work reveals not only the essence of deep reporting but alsothe lengths to which a committed photojournalist is willing to go to tell a story.

See the Feature Photography winner.

See the Breaking News Photography winner.

Read the whole story.

 

America’s Coolest National Parks You Didn’t Know You Needed To See

It’s time to start planning your summer photo trips for creating multiple HDR exposures and processing them in HDR Expose, HDR Express or 32 Float. Some of the best places to make those exposures are our National Parks. You’ve heard about Zion, Arches and Yellowstone National Parks and you can be sure they’re going to be flush with visitors all summer. Here are neat national park destinations that you probably didn’t know about that could offer you the unfettered shooting you’re looking for.

Discover little known National Parks.

 

Smartphone Camera Shootout: Galaxy S8, iPhone 7, Google Pixel and LG G6

The best camera is the camera you have with you. And, you always have your phone with you so, which one takes the best photos. The Galaxy S8 is the newest. Is it the best? This writer has an opinion and he’s got photos to prove it.

See the best smartphone camera.

March 2017 – Welcome Again To HDR News

So many of us believe our photographs are good enough for publication and, they most likely are good enough. In this issue, to help us live vicariously, we look at a major publication’s reader awards. Then we highlight a set of photos that have you feeling like you’re on the highest point of a rollercoaster – must see. We’ll also point you to a good article to help you make sense of the DSLR vs. Mirrorless camera choice you’re likely to be making in the near future. We end with a great look at must-photograph locations in Europe. Let’s dive in!

You can always read HDR News online at https://wp.pinnacleimagingsystems.com/

 

Popular Photography Reader Photos of the Year

There are so many talented photographers out there who work constantly at the craft while toiling away at jobs that “pay the bills”. These photographers rarely get the joy, satisfaction and validation that published photographers frequently get when they’re published in a national publication. Last month, vernable Pop Photo (formerly Popular Photography for you more experienced shooters) gave many of their readers such a pleasure when they issued the winners of it’s 2016 Annual Readers Contest. There’s some very meritorious work in the collection and some work that says to the unpublished photographer, “ like, hey I can do that!”

Take A Look

Sureal Rollercoaster-like Images

What do you get when you combine a drone, 3D rendering and Photoshop to creatively process photos of the American southwest? You transform the area into a rollercoaster. The article describing this quirky set of photos starts out;

“Pity the poor rancher who finds himself trapped in an Aydın Büyüktaş photo. There he is in his pickup, cruising along a flat Texas road with nothing but cows and cacti for miles around. The perspective shifts, he feels a tickle in his stomach, and suddenly he’s plunging down the first big drop on a rollercoaster.”

See The Photos, Read The Article

DSLR or Mirrorless – Help For Your Decision

Mmmm. You’ve got your Holiday bills paid off, the spring blooms are happening and, you might be yearning for a new camera. No shame there. We love to make photos and we love the equipment that makes it happen. If you’ve been hearing bits and pieces about mirrorless cameras but need to know more about them before you make the DSLR or mirrorless choice, this is the article for you. It reduces the controversy to categories and makes a call on each one.

Read About DSLR vs. Mirrorless

7 Epic European Landscape Photography Spots

If you haven’t traveled to Europe to photograph any of it’s plethora of dazzling landscapes this short collection of suggestions may push you over the edge. Many of the locations you’ve dreamed of and a few you may not have considered. Travel isn’t the real inhibitor these days as fares from the East Coast to London and Paris in October 2016 can be found under $600. From the West Coast they can be found for under $750.

Check Out The Article And Consider It!

Not Photoshopped

These days Photoshop experts are so proficient we can’t tell how much an image has been manipulated and passed off as a one-shot creation. Manipulation of an image is considered a capital crime in photojournalism, as in being a firing offense. Nevertheless, we love those images with juxtapositions and weird alignments that make them seem the result of a Photoshop master post processor. Here’s a nice collection of those images.

See The Photos

February 2017 – Welcome Again to HDR News

It’s always nice to break out our cameras and spend some quality time in the field. When we do get out there, having the right gear with us can make getting the image a lot easier. In this issue of HDR News we’ll alert you to a piece of equipment that you probably dismissed but will improve your panoramas and your video footage. We’ll also share the stories of two intrepid British photographers who chase down tornados. Then we’ll look at the photographer who’s had the deepest access to the inner happenings in the White House, ever. Finally, we take a look at a new lens that gets you close to the results of a view camera. Let’s go!

 

Why You Should Consider A Fluid Head for your Tripod

We know you shoot landscapes. And, you most likely shoot multiple image panoramas during your excursions. The results created by the ball head sitting on your tripod tend to be problematic when it’s time to stitch them together to create the panorama. Starting with the far-most left or right section of the scene and then continuing with subsequent exposures across the landscape results in cockeyed images that, when stitched cause you to lose a lot of your photo to cropping.

Why not try a fluid head for your tripod? They were developed for video but their features are an excellent fit for still photography.  Contrary to common assumption, good fluid heads can be found for as little as $135.

Check out this video by photographer Hudson Henry about why you should get a fluid head; you’ll be surprised.

Watch The Video

 

See how easy it is to create HDR panoramas with the HDR Pano feature in HDR Expose 3
          
Part I:  http://pinnacleimagingsystems.com/video-tutorials/hdr-expose-3-0?yt=tVGgPgiBWCM 
Part II: http://pinnacleimagingsystems.com/video-tutorials/hdr-expose-3-0?yt=Wir1UbBR5Tk

 

Chasing Deadly Weather – For The Photos

Each spring for the last seven years British photographers Cammie Czuchnicki and Tim Moxon, known as Weather Studios, have traveled to the U.S. to photograph the spectacular weather stretching from central Texas north to the Dakotas and as far east as the Great Lakes during tornado season. They’ve been very productive and very lucky. Finding, following and dodging lethal weather has been treacherous but the photographic results have been beyond amazing.

Cameo Czuchnicki on her first visit: “…nothing prepared us for the impact of witnessing our first supercell (rotating storm)….The scale of the storm, strength of the wind and the speed in which it approached nearly caught us off guard as we struggled to get the car doors shut and escape to safety. We got some great photos though – and our new addiction had started!”

Read The Article

 

White House photographer Pete Souza

During much of the Obama presidency major publication news photographers from outlets like the Washington Post, NY Times and Time magazine were often shut out of the intimate, day-to-day photo opportunities surrounding the president. Those opportunities went to Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza, often under the rationale of crowd manageability but derided as control by the mainstream press photographers.

Raised in South Dartmouth MA and schooled in journalism at Kansas State and Boston University, Souza did a ten-year stint as a staff photographer at the Chicago Tribune. During this period Souza was asked to take photographs for a project documenting Barack Obama’s first year as U.S. Senator which, resulted in the best-selling photo book The Rise Of Barack Obama that featured photos from the 2005 to 2008 period. During the project Souza became close to Obama and eventually was invited to be the White House photographer.

Now that the Obama presidency is history The Guardian has published a fascinating collection of Souza’s photos that take you behind the scenes of this most public of institutions and reveals the humanity of the people inside.

Read The Article

You should think about following Souza on Instagram where you’ll view history from an insider’s perspective.

 

Nikon 19mm PC Nikor F4E Sample Gallery

The photos produced by Nikon’s new masterpiece of glass, the 19mm, tilt-shift lens are beyond impressive. It’s delivering interiors without the bending lines that scream “wide angle lens”, landscapes with tree trunks that don’t look deformed and, cityscapes that look like they were shot with a view camera. But at a cool $3,400 this may be a toy we’ll have to rent if we want to use it.  Nevertheless, we can dream.

Take a look at samples from dpReview and Nikon Rumors

 

Bad HDR

C’est l’heure. Yes, it’s time to make one of our infrequent visits to the (Bad) HDR page on the Redditt website. It’s true, the determination of any “photography” lies with beholder. But, there are some HDR techniques that go too far in our estimation. Techniques like posterization, halos and garish saturation or de-saturation put HDR in a bad light. Hey, we’re the home of “Natural HDR”. So, it’s good to know that there are lovers of photography out there who feel the way we do.

Check out Reddit’s bad HDR page and click on any of the examples on the page for a cleansing of your most malevolent HDR tendencies.

January 2017 – Welcome Again to HDR News and Happy New Year!

It’s a new year and it’s the perfect time to get some artistic inspiration. We start with a great video on processing in 32-bit mode in Photoshop. We follow with an award winning, globe trekking photographer whose images reveal a strong graphic sense.

We also take a look at a Russia-based photographer who uses long-lenses to create unique images of kids and canines: yes, his photos are inspiring. Not to forget about new gear, we’ll point you to a leading publication’s picks for the best photo equipment of 2016. Lastly, we alert you to a new movie about the photojournalist’s photojournalist.

 

Tired Of Photoshop’s 32-bit Limitations?

If you’re a Photoshop lover (of course, we use it too) you must have tried merging two or more files into an HDR file using Photoshop’s Merge To HDR Pro function. If you’re merging RAW files, the processing window gives you the option to select the bit depth of the resulting HDR file. If you choose “32-bit” your resulting HDR files will have a robust 32-bits per channel to assign colors to each pixel; pretty powerful.

But, you can lose functionality in 32-bit mode in many apps, including Photoshop. Just open your newly merged file in Photoshop and select Image > Mode > 32-bit. Then look at the pull-down Image > Adjustments. You’ll see that many common Photoshop tool selections are now unavailable to you including Brightness/Contrast, Curves, Vibrance and Color Balance. Wow!

Why not use 32 Float v3 to work on your HDR file in Photoshop. 32 Float uses our Beyond RGB color space so that you can adjust brightness, contrast & tone mapping parameters without affecting the color of the image. Yes, you can make your edits and be sure that your colors will remain unchanged. With 32 Float you’ll even get the full set of HDR presets and tools found in HDR Expose 3.

Working With 32 Float v3 Inside Photoshop

 

Travel Photographer Of The Year

There are many Photographer Of The Year competitions in various locations around the globe and the TPOTY competition based in Suffolk England may not be familiar to you. However, it has been going strong since 2003 and its judges have consistently made excellent, thoughtfu winner selections.

We are impressed with this year’s <strong>winner Joel Santos</strong> from Portugal. Unlike many travel photographers Santos’ photos cover not only the physical landscape of the land he’s travelling but he also gets into the people and culture of an area in a way that reveals the connection between a land and its inhabitants.

Visit Santos website at joelsantos.net

Visit the TPOTY website to see if this competition is right for you.

 

Big Dogs And Little Kids – The Great Dane Chronicles

You just can’t dismiss a well executed photograph of a young child. Combine that child subject with an extra large dog and you’ve got the theme for a book.

Yes, it’s dog photography but it’s difficult to overlook the work of hugely popular photographer Andy Seliverstoff of St. Petersburg, Russia. His new book Little Kids And Their Big Dogs is just that and it’s really worth a look. No matter how jaded you may be, his deft long-lens technique and gorgeous subjects are a joy to view.

Visit Seliverstoff’s website at www.greatdane.photography

 

The Photojournalist’s Photojournalist

You may not know his name but, for sure, you know his photographs. Harry Benson has literally seen it all. From the Beatles to assassinations to African famines Benson seems to have always clicked his shutter at right time and in the right places. But what makes his work stand out from most other photojournalists is he “… gets the joke about life.”

Now there is a new movie on Harry Benson titled Shoot First. Check out the trailer HERE.

 

 

 

Best Photo Gear of 2016

Lot’s of cool new gear gets purchased and gifted right about now. Maybe you’ve got cash left over after taking care of your loved ones and it’s now time to take care of yourself. Where do you start? There’s no better starting point than dpReview’s Gear Of The Year for 2016.

Even more interesting than the selected winners are the product categories; Best Prosumer Camera Drone, Best Accessory, Best Mobile/VR Product and more. Check it out HERE.

Early December 2016 – Welcome Again To HDR News And Happy Holidays!

What a wonderful time of year it is to be a photographer. Scenes of fall colors morph into snow enhanced wonders and eventually, everything turns white. Inspiration is all around you. We’ve been seeing some great images lately with the closing of 2016 Pinnacle HDR contest. Also, a few other photo competitions recently closed providing us with lots to admire and a few shooting ideas as well. We hope this issue of HDR News gets you out there and then back into the digital darkroom to explore your HDR possibilities with HDR Expose, HDR Express or 32 Float v2

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Congratulations To The Winners!

The 2016 Pinnacle HDR Contest ended with its usual rush of fine entries which made it difficult to identify the exceptional photos. This year’s winning image by Stanley Klasz is a finely processed waterside scene that is hauntingly calm and nuanced.Congratulations to Stanley and the great Honorable Mention winners!

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USA Landscape Photographer Of The Year

The USA Landscape Photographer Of The Year competition was created by photographer Charlie Waite who started the UK version of competition in 2006. Judging was done by some of the heftiest names in landscape photography; Art Wolfe, Marc Muench and Tim Fitzharris. The 2016 winner is Alex Noriega for his sunrise lit image of Mount Rainier as it rises above low clouds. A visit to the competition website will truly inspire your photography. Make sure you click into the site to view the winners video.

http://www.usalpoty.com/

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Useful Winter Shooting Advice

It’s that time of year when the photo magazines run their “winter shooting tips” articles. They tend to focus on how the colder, wetter weather affects your equipment but provide little in the way of content ideas. It was surprising to find this useful articleHow To Capture Winter Photos Like A Pro” in the British daily newspaper, The Telegraph.

It’s a quick read and it should get your creative motor going.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/preserving-memories/winter-photography-tips/

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Off The Grid In The Netherlands

Netherlands photographer Gerard Kingma set out on a project to document the abandoned industrial area near his home in the northern most province of the country (a subject for many HDR photographers). What he found was a group of people living “off-the-grid”. He says: “The group welcomed me into their way of life without wariness or argument. They showed me a different way…”  

After each shoot he presented the group with the photos. Using a 4×5 camera and sheet film required the cooperation of the subjects. The results smash our windmill and wooden shoe preconceptions of the country.

http://www.featureshoot.com/2016/11/a-transient-community-in-the-industrial-ruins-of-the-netherlands/

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Inspiration From The Greatest

“You don’t have to be an artist to appreciate the sage advice offered by icons like Jackson Pollock or Frida Kahlo. Nor do they all apply just to making art” The editors of thenew book titled “Art Is The Highest Form Of Hope” went deep into iconic artist’s letters, diaries, interviews and more to create a collection of well-researched quotes that are insightful. This article gives you fifteen of them.

Here’s a representative quote from artist Salvador Dali; ““Mistakes are almost always of a sacred nature.”Check out the article, it may give you a boost!

http://mentalfloss.com/article/88822/15-pieces-inspirational-advice-artists

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October 2016 – Welcome again to HDR News!

Most likely you’ve got a ton of beautiful images from your summer shooting excursions and quite a few family photos as well. In this issue we’ll point you to some great info on making sure you never lose those price- less photos. We’ll also discover the back story to one of the great portraits of the last century and we’ll look at some great new photography as well.

After Labor Day is the time to dig into processing your great images made during your summer shooting. We hope you find a few gems on your memory cards and work them up in HDR Expose, Express or 32 Float.

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Enter The 2016 HDR Contest – It’s Fun, It’s Free!

 

 

 

 

Autumn is truly the golden season. The sun is lower in the sky, casting sculpting shadows across your scene. It’s the perfect time for shooting bracketed exposures and creating big, open photographs. Right now is also the time to submit those photos in the 2016 Pinnacle HDR Contest and have a chance to win the $500 grand prize. The contest is free to enter.

Learn more: https://pinnacleimagingsystems.leadpages.co/hdr-contest-landing-page-2a/

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What If Your Hard Drive Crashed?

Archiving your work in 2016 is not like the old days when shooters had file cabinets full of negatives, contact sheets and prints. Finding a location secure from fire or water was the primary concern. Despite all the advantages of digital photography a photog- rapher’s collection is more at-risk than it’s ever been and the reason is: hard drives. All it takes is one electrical surge to fry your working hard drive and decades of work and family memories could be gone forever.  It takes a good strategy, multiple hard drives, backup software and even a cloud service to adequately protect your prized files. The good news is you can pick up a great 2TB hard drive for under $100. Great backup software is even less expensive and cloud backup services are reasonable. So, there’s no excuse for not having a good backup system in place. Here are a few good sources of information to get you going.

Mirroring Your Photo Library To A Second Drive And The Cloud:  https://photofocus.com/2016/10/02/mirroring-your-photo-library-to-a-second-drive-and-the-cloud/

MacBackup Software Reviews:    http://www.toptenreviews.com/software/backup-recovery/best-mac-backup-software/

Best free and paid-for backup software and services for Mac:   http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/mac-software/best-mac-backup-software-3641849/

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The Story Behind An Iconic Photograph

One of the most famous and intriguing portraits of an artist is Phillipe Halsman’s photo of Salvador Dali caught in mid-air together with cats chasing flowing water and even a chair. Halsman and Dali were good friends and their collaboration for the photo shows how imagination and patience can create magic.

http://www.americanphotomag.com/watch-this-how-philippe-halsman-captured-salvador-dali-in-flight

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The Ethreal Horses Of Southern France

The Camargue horse is an ancient breed indigenous to the Camargue area in southern France. They are feral creatues who live in the marshes. Drew Doggett traveled more than 6,000 miles to meet them in person. His Book Band of Rebels: White Horses of Camague is the result. Camagues are all white so it takes good photographic technique to do them justice. Doggett did them justice.  Check it out.

http://www.featureshoot.com/2016/10/spellbinding-world-wild-camargue-horses/

August 2016 – Welcome again to HDR News!.

It’s Coming! Readers of HDR News are the first to know that later in August we’ll be announcing the 2016 Pinnacle HDR Contest. Keep an eye on your Inbox for our formal announcement and start planning to execute some great HDR entries during your summer vacation and fall shooting excursions. Entries will start being accepted in August and continue into September. Stay tuned!

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Get Off The Beaten Path

This summer it’s very likely that you’re headed off to do some serious shooting at a National Park. The parks are treasures and have been photographed over and over again but likely not by you. You’ll probably have many of the park’s iconic scenes in your mind as you start off on your journey with the goal of replicating them for yourself. What you won’t expect is the army of visitors elbowing you for the same shots like Delicate Arch in Arches NP, the Hoodoos in Bryce NP and Yosemite Valley in Yosemite NP. This article implores you to “…leave the signs behind”.

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/on-location/featured-stories/a-new-perspective-on-the-parks/

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Drone Mounted Flash For Action Photography

What do you do when you need to capture kayakers tumbling down an almost dark water shoot? The kayakers are moving fast and you’re too far away to use a strobe that will give you a short enough flash duration to stop the action. What do you do? Mount your strobes on a drone and position the flying rig right over the diving kayakers. Read how Canon Master Krystle Wright made it happen.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1068899446/australian-photographer-krystle-wright-captures-kayakers-with-drone-mounted-speedlites?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2016-july-13&ref_=pe_1822230_200211830_dpr_nl_211_32

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Magnum Photography Award Winners

Previously in HDR News we alerted you to the wonderful Magnum Photos – Lens Culture Photography Awards. The winners are in and represent an extremely broad view of current photography. Check out the award winners and be prepared to be startled, pleased, instructed and even moved.

https://www.lensculture.com/2016-magnum-photography-award-winners?utm_source=General+List&utm_campaign=8ca5516ddb-PA16-Winners+Announcement&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f1724e682d-8ca5516ddb-89178181

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When It Sticks With You

When you’re shooting news and human interest stories with a short lens you’re in close with your subjects. That’s when you also get involved with your story in a personal way that in some cases can stick with you for a lifetime. Here’s a compelling look at a California-based New York Times photographer who still has a particular image from one of those stories stuck in her mind and she’s still searching for a resolution.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/07/25/welcome-to-new-york-now-shoot/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Multimedia&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body

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“My eyes are crying blood”

To you, our fellow lovers of natural looking HDR photography there is a little area on Reddit that regularly displays HDR photos that are so badly over-processed you simultaneously laugh and lose your breath at the same time https://www.reddit.com/r/shittyHDR/. Check out the whole page and then pay special attention to this one titled by the submitter “My eyes are crying blood” that truly earns the moniker “priceless”. https://i.imgur.com/XMsfKFW.jpg

May 22, 2016 – Welcome again to HDR News!

We hope you’re out there executing on all the creative photo ideas you’ve collected over the winter months. With the longer days we have great opportunities to catch warm, golden late afternoon light.  It’s HDR time!

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BACK TO BASICS

No matter how long you’ve been pursuing your love of photography there comes a time when you need to revisit the fundamentals of the craft and, indeed, the basics of visual arts.  Following the rules and breaking the rules of framing, composition, shapes and more are the thought processes required to help you execute a photographic inspiration.  We found this great little article that whittles those rules down to a quick read that will refresh all you knew about the basics and more.  Check it out:  https://www.slrlounge.com/simple-photography-tips-5-tips-frame-perfect-photo/

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SAVE $20 ON HDR EXPOSE, HDR EXPRESS AND 32 FLOAT THIS WEEK

If you’re looking to move up to HDR Expose 3, just get started in HDR with HDR Express 3 or add powerful HDR editing to Photoshop you can SAVE $20 when you purchase one of the our products anytime on or before May 25th

Need Pro Capabilities?; Upgrade to HDR Expose 3.  Here are just some of the advantages of upgrading:

• Selective color tuning to exactly dial in a selected color without compromising the entire image
• Manual alignment and de-ghosting let’s you select the right image in your merge group for the best movement stopping results
• Veiling Glare correction that clears up the lens barrel haze that can be amplified when merging multiple images
• 32-bit color neutral dodging and burning for exact color reproduction
  • …. and much, much more

Need To Make HDR Easy?  Try HDR Express 3.  When you need speed or just don’t want to wrestle with detailed HDR editing HDR Express 3 will get the job done, beautifully.

• Auto tonemapping presets that give you great HDR results in one click
• The same 32-bit, super powered technology under the hood as HDR Expose 3
• 3rd generation HDR Merge, Auto Alignment and De-ghosting
• The same Adaptive Tone Mapping technology in HDR Expose 3 that adjusts tonemapping to each individual image

Want To Stay In Photoshop For Your HDR Editing?  Install the 32 Float v3 Photoshop Plugin and get the same 32-bit editing capabilities of HDR Expose 3 (uses Photoshop’s file merge function).

Use the code MEMORIAL16 on checkout to get the savings.  Offer ends May 25th.  To learn more click here: http://unifiedcolor.leadpages.co/memorial-weekend-sale-fb/

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A BIG CONTEST – HURRY, ENTRIES CLOSE TUESDAY, MAY 24TH

LensCulture magazine and the legendary Magnum photo agency are teaming up to run an excellent opportunity for photographers all over the world to be recognized and rewarded for their work.  Entries will be juried by an all-star panel that includes Magnum photographer David Alan Harvey, Magnum CEO David Kogan and MSNBC Director of Photography Amy Pereira.  

The grandaddy of all independent photo agencies is Magnum.  Born during the heyday of print photojournalism it’s founding members and following members came back from their missions with incredible and memorable images. Magnum was formed two years after the end of World War II by photo icons Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and David “Chim” Seymour.  Some of the most recent photo essays on the Magnum website are “The Cycle of Rice” by John Vink, The Fall of Flint by Matt Black and China Too Fast by Patrick Bachman.

Magnum Photo Contest

https://www.lensculture.com/magnum-photography-awards-2016?utm_source=General+List&utm_campaign=dcad253902-Newsletter-Photog-20160512&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f1724e682d-dcad253902-89178181

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TULIPS IN GERMANY

It’s spring and spring means flower photography.  It comes in all forms from landscapes of blossom carpeted fields to macro close-ups of lily stamens that look like Georgia O’Keefe paintings.  Here’s a great collection of tulips in Germany that could very well jumpstart your flower photography.

Tulip Blossoms In Germany

https://flipboard.com/@thephotodesk/the-photo-desk-galleries-cpjmjjkiz/tulips-blossom-in-germany%3A-pictures/a-fzM-F_aeSACzP7o7aGVVfw%3Aa%3A94188136-336fd64909%2Fflipboard.com?utm_campaign=photodesk&flab_cell_id=3&flab_experiment_id=130&utm_medium=photodesk.0506&utm_source=email

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PHOTOGRAPHING CHINA WITHOUT THE CROWDS

With nearly 1.4 billion people (that’s B as in Billion) photographs of China tend to show crowded public areas, fierce congestion on the roads and foul air that looks like the result of an out of control forest fire. The photographer Bence Bakonyi sees things a little differently.  His series, Segue, resulted from a six-month solo journey through China in 2014.  His work is a radical departure from the expected that is certainly unique and thought provoking.  Take a look:

China Without People 

http://www.citylab.com/design/2016/04/photographing-a-china-without-people/479913/

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BELIEVE IT OR NOT – GREAT MILITARY PHOTOGRAPHY

You wouldn’t think that the military thinks much about editorial photography, only images of targets and equipment.  But, they do.  Military activities can be dramatic in their own right but when they are captured by a talented photographer those photographs can surpass some of the best photojournalism out there. 

“More than 2,432 photos were entered into the annual Visual Information Awards Program which is run by the Department of Defense.  The program celebrates the work of photographers, videographers, journalists, mass communications specialists and graphic artists serving in different branches of the Armed Services.”

See the winners, it’s really worth few minutes spent:

Military Photo Awards

http://mashable.com/2016/04/27/25-powerful-photos-from-the-2016-military-photo-awards/#jHbpZHMvs8q4

April 17, 2016 – Welcome again to HDR News!  

Spring is in the air. Temperatures are moderating and blooms are carpeting many areas right now.  This is the time when you can make close-ups of lovely blossoms or vast panoramas of flower covered fields and hillsides. Any way you go, shoot bracketed exposures for HDR processing to open up the detail in your shadows and obtain nuanced highlights.

To get started with HDR processing you can always download a free, 30-day trial of the most powerful HDR software available, HDR Expose, HDR Express and 32 Float here:

– HDR Expose 3: http://pinnacleimagingsystems.com/download-hdr-expose-3

– HDR Express 3: http://pinnacleimagingsystems.com/download-hdr-express-3

– 32 Float v3: http://pinnacleimagingsystems.com/download-32-float-3

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AN INSPIRATIONAL EXAMPLE OF PHOTOJOURNALISM

We’re fortunate here at Pinnacle to see a ton of great photography. It ranges from the obvious HDR subject areas like landscapes and interiors of aged buildings to high-key sports. Our endless search for visual inspiration brought us to, what we believe, is a photo story that is extraordinary in composition and technical excellence.  Photographed by multiple New York Times photographers it tells a romantic story of a Cuba whose culture has been trapped in amber since the 1960’s and will soon disappear as tourists flood the tiny island. 

Photographically the processing of the images really caught our eyes.  There is richness evident in the colors of each image that at the same time seem almost colorized.  The result makes you recall the results from the color film stock of four decades ago. Click on the link and spend a few minutes with this wonderful story. 

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/19/world/americas/cuba-on-the-edge-of-change-photo-essay.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=nytmm_FadingSlideShow_item&module=b-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

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IS THERE ANY ADVANTAGE TO MANUAL FOCUS?

There sure is. There is a way to set the focal length and focus of your prime lens so that everything between predetermined distance ranges will be in focus. Many photographers who learned their craft in the days of manual everything cameras know this technique as “hyper-focal focusing”.  The technique works for all forms of photography and it’s especially useful in situations where the subjects are quickly changing as in event and street photography.  The technique is simple and really works.  Check out this feature by Tokyo-based photographer Lukasz Polka on how to do it.

http://petapixel.com/2016/03/15/guide-mastering-manual-focus/

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TED ON PHOTOGRAPHY

If you’ve never experienced a TED talk, or even if you have, you need to hear what TED has to say about photography. According to Wikipedia, TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a global set of conferences run by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation under the slogan “Ideas Worth Spreading”. This collection of memorable TED talks on and around the subject of photography take you beyond just photographs but reveal the underlying social effects and the joy of the craft. These eleven talks on photography are pure gold. Visit the page if for no other reason than to experience the inspiring presentation by Sebastiao Salgado.

http://petapixel.com/2016/01/04/11-ted-talks-on-photography-worth-watching/

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CANON 80D – THE DP REVIEW

Have you been diligently working at your photography with a Canon Rebel and your gut is telling you you need more dynamic range?  At the same time are you saying to yourself I just can’t afford a $3,000 camera to get the quality I need?  The Canon 80D may just be the answer to your dilemma. The oracle of camera reviewers, DP Review had this to say about the 80D; “For Canon system users, specifically enthusiasts considering an upgrade from either a Rebel or an older camera, there is an awful lot to like about the 80D.  (With) an easy-to-use interface….and a familiar design (and) toss in the fact that it offers maybe the best dynamic range of any Canon DSLR to date…the 80D has even more appeal.”  Check out the review and samples:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/9204499001/canon-eos-80d-shooting-experience?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=generic&ref_=pe_1822230_188351550_dpr_nl_196_6