B&W Conversions

On one of my recent workshops, I shared my post-processing for B&W conversions, I was going to send my client a re-cap of the steps but decided to write them down here for all of you.

The above image was processed in Photoshop, the conversion was not done in Nik, I prefer to convert my B&W images on my own.

In many cameras today there are many different Picture Styles to choose from. I like to put my camera on Monochrome I do this in the field only when working in RAW mode. It is a good way to determine if a B&W conversion will work for your selected image. Because I am working in RAW when I convert in Lightroom/ACR my image will automatically go back to color. I am only using this feature in the field as a guide. Again, I am working with a RAW capture.

Several factors will influence my decision to go with a B&W image. The first is contrast. If the light is bright my words to my groups are often; when the light is not right- think tight or think B&W. Why, because working tight will often times allow you to control the light. Why B&W, contrast. Contrast is the key to dramatic B&W images. So the next time you are out and the light seems a bit bright-try this tip.  I also consider the sky an important element, if it is a dramatic sky I often think about a B&W scene.

And now for the fun part, the processing. I consider a B&W conversion an art form of its own. There are many plug-ins that will do the conversion for you but often times you are left with very noisy images. In the above image I did not need to apply any noise reduction, because I controlled each step of the conversion myself.

I start my processing my image in Lightroom/ACR first. I make adjustments to the WB, I adjust my exposure-if needed. I adjust the clarity, open up my shadows a touch, tone down my highlights and/or whatever other tweaks I need to do to prepare my image as I would with any other image before bringing it into Photoshop.

Once in Photoshop I duplicate my layer. Next I go to Image> Adjustments > B&W. For a dramatic effect like above I usually select the High Contrast Red Filter from the preset dropdown menu (I use this just as a guide). Then I selectively go into each color channel and move the sliders until I am happy with the look. 

Now, I do not know the image you will be working on and I can't advise you specifically but I can tell you that if you scroll through the dropdown presets and find one that you like and use it as a starting point you can then fine tune each channel. You will most likely end up with a nice base B&W image that can be further tweaked.

Depending on the outcome sometimes I will duplicate my layer and go to Image> Adjustments> Equalize for a little more punch. I often times increase the brightness, use your judgement. I like to go into Selective Color and adjust the Neutrals. To do so go to Image> Adjustments> Selective Color, once inside the dialogue box I will select Neutrals from the colors dropdown. Then slide the black channel to the right until you are happy with the look. I also use Auto Tone and/or Auto Contrast at approximately 20%. Auto Tone and Auto Contrast are hideous at 100% (most of the time) so be judicious. The most important thing to remember is to make small adjustments on layers and reduce the opacity or use a layer mask to control each adjustment. I suggest trying to do your own B&W conversions. You may be surprised at how good you are at creating your own B&W images.

*The above image was captured in the Palouse, many years ago. I don’t think the building is still there, the last time I was there it had fallen over.

Mara, Amboseli, Samburu- Trip Report

I just returned home from another amazing safari in Kenya with private clients. A big shout out to Donna Bourdon who co- led this private safari with me, the clients benefited greatly.

My clients met up with us in Nairobi. After a long flight (I booked Newark> Brussels> Nairobi thru United) with a few delays I ended up making it to Nairobi on schedule. The pilots really can make up some time in the air. I never transferred through Brussels before, the line for the transfer terminal was ridiculously long. Probably not going thru Brussels again…

Our first stop on this Mara/Amboseli/Samburu private safari was Amboseli. The clients wanted to visit Amboseli for the large tuskers. The first day we arrived, we saw Craig (the giant Tucker, age 53) he was alone, and our group had him all to ourselves. In addition to Craig, we saw 2 other big tuskers. Needless to say, Amboseli was a big hit with everyone.

Our next stop was Samburu. I love Samburu for the change of terrain from the Mara but also because it is less crowded and you have most of the sightings all to yourself. If you go when it’s their dry season you can have great opportunities for backlit dust shots. This was not their hot season and the weather was delightful. 

Unfortunately we didn’t have great light for this shot. But the shot does show the coloration difference between the cubs and the adult female.

Within minutes of landing on the small airstrip in Samburu our guide spotted a leopard with a three-month-old cub; it turns out this leopard actually had 2 young cubs. It was amazing how our Maasai guide zeroed in on where the monkeys were alerting. He quickly spotted the leopard and then the cub. We had the sighting all to ourselves, but the light was bright and the vegetation in that area was a hindrance. Still, it was a great sighting. 

Later the next day we found the leopard again, this time with both of her cubs. On our final night we spotted the leopard going up a tree to take a brief nap. While she got herself comfortable, she continually made a barking noise to alert other leopards that this was her territory. The sun was starting to set, the background was lovely, and her chosen branch/perch was beautiful. All the makings for a great photo. And then out of nowhere she stood up and leapt to a higher position. My client Glenn got the ultimate shot with all four paws in mid-air, and he didn’t clip the tail!

I loved seeing her legs straddle the branch.

During our time in Samburu, we also saw a lioness up a tree, she was sitting down when our guide spotted her. As we waited, hoping she would climb down or jump—she did a big cat stretch for us!!

We also saw each of the special 5 species (Beisa oryx; reticulated giraffe; Somali ostrich; Grevy's zebra and Gerenuk). I was especially happy with one of my abstract shots of three Grevy’s zebra.

Grevy’s zebra abstract, the one in the back is covered in dust.

Vulturine Guinea Fowl abstract.

Vulturine Guinea Fowl in-camera blur

One of my absolute favorite species to see in Samburu are the Vulturine Guinea Fowl. They make great subjects for abstracts and in-camera blurs. Their bright blue colors are striking. Plus, they are hysterical to watch as they flutter around. 

Our upscale camp was loved by all. Each room had a private plunge pool that sparkled like a bag of diamonds. The food was fantastic with a wide variety of scrumptious dishes, including vegetarian offerings. 

Our last and final destination was the Maasai Mara. Of course, the Mara does not disappoint. One of the group’s favorite sightings was a male lion, but not just any male lion. This one was so beautiful with a large, black, flowing mane glowing in the early morning light (opening image). I had to decrease the vibrancy a bit in post- processing to tone down the golden hues.

One morning before the sun came up, we spotted three Bat-eared fox; they were too skittish to sit and watch and/or photograph, but we did get a few fleeting shots of them. We also photographed a lot of birds during this trip. One of the clients enjoys shooting birds, so we made a point of stopping for as many as he wanted. 

Yellow-necked Spurfowl in late afternoon sun doing a shake-off to rid itself of dust.

Here is another shot of the Yellow-necked Spurfowl, but here you can see how it gets its name.

Secretarybird

Grey crowned cranes

There was a controlled burn with lots of smoke in a section far away from us, but we could see the smoke against the sky. As the sun set, the smoke looked like a fire in the sky! We played around with silhouettes, and I got a few shots I loved. 

On our last morning drive, before saying our goodbyes, we spotted a male cheetah sitting on a mound. The warm morning light added to the photos. It didn’t hurt that our cheetah was a poser. It was a wonderful send off for the group. 

Overall, the trip was a great success. Everyone got a wide variety of photographs and memories. I’ll see Donna in Iceland as we start our Grimsey trip in a few days. 

*For all the photos in this post I used a Sony a9II, Sony 200-600mm lens (my favorite Safari lens) and my Sony 12-24mm lens. All handheld with natural light. All processed using Lightroom and/or Photoshop. I have a lot more images to sort through, so I’ll post more later. 

Vervet monkey showing his goods.

I love the grasses the cheetah is walking in.

Have You Ever Seen the Rain...

Rain is one of the best elements to encounter while on safari. According to our main guide, many prey are distracted by the rain making it a good time for the predators to hunt.

I also like to change up my shutter speed in the rain, creating either snow-like drops or streaks. For streaks, I use anywhere from 1/30 of a second to 1/60 of a second, you could go even lower but I have never had any luck at all with slower than 1/30 of a second. To capture the drops or freezing the rain, I like a shutter speed over 1/500 of a second. These numbers that I have given also depend on other variables-how far you are from your subject, how fast the rain is coming down, lens selection and more. The background color tone matters as the lighter it is the harder it is to see the rain—if it is very light you may not even see rain. The two images directly below show the difference of the rain’s appearance using a faster versus a slower shutter speed.

1/400, As I was experimenting with my shutter speed, I noticed that 1/400 in this situation, created a snow-like look to the rain drops.

1/60. My subject was not moving.

Ultra slow shutter speeds, like shown below can show the rain as just a soft streak. Be careful if your subject moves!

Sometimes, it can be hard to see the streaks.

I also like trying for head shakes in the rain. I have never gotten one really good male lion head shake in the rain. Above is my best attempt (not much of a shake), but I have seen some incredible head shakes and I keep trying each time I go on safari.

Speaking of safari’s, I’m heading out this afternoon for one of my private safari’s. We will be visiting the Mara, Samburu and Amboseli. Hopefully we will have some rain—fingers crossed!

[Chorus]

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?

Comin' down on a sunny day

“Have You Ever Seen the Rain” was released as a single in 1971 from the album Pendulum (1970) by roots rock group Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Distant rain

Roses are Red--or Are They?

I prefer purple, pink or lavender roses myself. I absolutely love a Stirling rose with its intoxicating smell. I can still recreate that smell in my mind if I try hard enough. Another favorite of mine is an Osiana rose, it is a soft ivory-peach colored rose with a long stem and a high petal count. It is also very fragrant. Fragrant roses appeal to me a lot. I’ll be on the lookout for some of these while at the International Rose Test Garden in Portland Oregon during my Swan Island Dahlia workshop. At the Portland rose garden there are over 650 varieties and over 10,000 bushes—that incredible. Who knows, I may even look for some deep red roses or orange roses to photograph this year, it’s hard to say until I get there.

When I used to own my larger garden center, I spent hours looking at the Jackson and Perkins catalog, choosing the roses I wanted to sell. I had some favorites and some tried and true best sellers that always made it on the list, but I always managed to add a few more varieties to my order each year. I ended up taking over an entire section of the garden center with my roses. When customers would come in to buy a rose bush they would ask for me by name, the word in town was that I loved roses and could walk anyone through their first year with their plant.

One of the best parts of visiting a rose garden like the one in Portland is the myriad of roses and walkways that seem endless. For me it brings me back to my days when ordering, caring and selling roses was part of my seasonal work. This time I will savor the sights and smells a bit more…I will walk the garden with even more joy as the anticipation of a return trip has gotten my creative juices flowing.

Below are some of my past favorites, hopefully they brighten your day. Try to imagine the smell as you view each photo.

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A Creative Adventure ~ Swan Island Dahlia Farm Photography Workshop $1899.

Join award winning photographer Denise Ippolito at world renowned Swan Island Dahlia Farm in Canby Oregon (just south of Portland) for a great learning and photography experience. Swan Island features more than 40 acres with over 350 varieties of dahlias in a plethora of colors, shapes and sizes, making it one of the largest growers in the United States. Here we will have a slightly early and late access at peak time for the blooms. The dahlias at Swan Island have been featured on my Forever Stamp Collection with the USPS. This is where it all began for me. Swan Island is putting together a celebration of my stamps and offering garden walks and photo signings by yours truly. This will be right after the workshop and you are welcome to stay and join the fun.

My assistant for this workshop is Donna Bourdon- Donna has been growing dahlias for over 30 years and she is a member of the American Dahlia Society and the Tennessee Dahlia Society.

Meet & Greet August 18th at 8pm in the hotel lobby. This will give some time to those flying in on the 18th to get situated.

We will enjoy five morning and four afternoon photography sessions with image sharing daily. While we will do most of our photography at the Swan Island Dahlia Farm, we will also visit the Portland Rose Garden on this workshop (Yay!). The in-the-field instruction will include seeing the situation, the use of selective focus, creative use of depth of field, histogram and exposure guidance, designing creative images, choosing your background, isolating your subject, lens options, and the use of reflectors and diffusers. In addition to in-the-field instruction, participants will share their photos daily during our working lunches. At that time, I will offer advice and guidance with each image as well as some Photoshop tips. I will also do “small break-out” Photoshop sessions with everyone so that it can be a more intense learning time focusing more on individual needs. Our field sessions will also include challenging photography assignments (with small prizes for the winners!) geared to get you out of your comfort zone. I hope that you can join me for a creative learning experience with some of the best flower photography to be had in North America.

Daily Photo Schedule:

Morning shoot 7:00am-10:00am -(we will arrive before the fields open and shoot on the outskirts with the sun at our back. Afterwards, we will park inside the gates and explore the flower fields!)

Morning break

Lunch @ noon with clients Image Review

Afternoon shoot 3:30pm-6:30pm (5:30-6:30-private time in the gardens with just our group, we will have access to areas that others do not!)

Portland Rose Garden day will be an all day event with a lunch stop.

Our last day (August 23rd) will end after our morning photo session around 10:00am.

*All times are tentative and subject to change based on weather and local conditions.

Not Included: All meals, transportation and lodging. I will send a group email so that folks can ride-share or even room share once we get our group together. I’ll also send a detailed information sheet with gear and clothing suggestions.

SIGN UP HERE.

Fire on the Mountain

I think the phrase Fire on the Mountain has a lot of different meanings and origins—the California gold rush, some religious interpretations, first light on mountain peaks, etc.… But for me it will always be The Marshall Tucker Band - Fire On The Mountain song that rings in my ear every time I see alpenglow on a mountain peak; it reminds me of some good old times with my younger brother. We listened to all kinds of music together but country rock stayed in our hearts through the years.

My brother Nick, recently lost his battle with cancer. He had moved back to NJ to be with his family for his final months. Listening to this song reminded me of him and a lifetime ago. I raise a beer to you in heaven Nick, I love you and miss you. I will never look at another fiery mountain scene the same.

The chorus:

“And there's fire on the mountain, lightning in the air
Gold in them hills and it's waiting for me there...”

I like the live version of this song below. It gives you a sense of the times.

with love, denise