Welcome to the 5th issue of the Digital Darkroom

Hi

This month we have several truly stunning photos in our Photo Discussions for you. BetterPhoto members discuss everything from toning black and white photos to enhancing images in Photoshop.

The Featured Photo is a fantastic composite by Jim Zuckerman, author of Digital Effects: Jim Zuckerman's Secrets to Great Photographs (as well as several other photography books) and instructor of Creative Techniques in Photoshop here at BetterPhoto.com

If you are hoping to capture great fireworks photos this Fourth of July, we have a collection of tips to help you make the best fireworks images you have ever made.

And one last announce that we have added a new Grand Prize to our monthly photo contest. Now, the Grand Prize winner can choose between a Deluxe BetterPholio™ or an online photography course - Brenda Tharp's Creating Visual Impact.

To read the online version of the Digital Darkroom at our Web site, visit http://www.betterphoto.com/digitalpics/

Have a great month!
Jim Miotke
http://www.betterphoto.com/MG.asp?ID=124

In This Issue: Wednesday, July 02, 2003

• Featured Photo: FO-942
• Featured Article: Top Tips for Shooting Fireworks
• Digital Before and After
• New Photo Discussion 1: Sand Hills
• New Photo Discussion 2: Upper Downtown
• New Photo Discussion 3: Whispers and Giggles
• New Photo Discussion 4: Rainbow, Gordes, France
• New Photo Discussion 5: 360 Spin! Panoramic Composite
• New Photo Discussion 6: Young Orangutan
• New Photo Discussion 7: Special Request
• New Photo Discussion 8: *Los Angeles 2028*
• The Next Step: Where to Go From Here

Featured Photo: FO-942

FO-942 © Jim Zuckerman corporatefineart.com Eight Steps Course Mastering Light Course Photoshop Course

Featured Article: Top Tips for Shooting Fireworks
If you are more interested in photographing fireworks than fires, you are likely planning on some fun photography this week. I know that many of our American subscribers are gearing up for a spectacular display of fireworks as we celebrate the Fourth of July this Friday. If you are aiming to make amazing and beautiful images of the pyrotechnics this year, you will want to read our article on the subject. It's filled with the most important tips and tricks. Whether you shoot with a digital camera or scan your images into the computer, this brief article is your fast track to shooting great fireworks photos.
Read more...
 

Digital Before and After

Oops! I Missed The Pot This bright blue larkspur pokes up between a pile of clay pots at the Antique Rose Emporium.

Original Orientation

One Week Till Summer School - Online PhotoCourses™ at BetterPhoto.com

Make this summer an adventure by enrolling in an online photography course! Improve your image-making skills while having a great time enjoying the summer months. Each class is focused on teaching you how to improve your understanding of photography through exciting weekly assignments and helpful critiques direct from the instructor. This patriotic image was made by our newest instructor, Brenda Tharp. You may have seen Brenda on Canon's TV show Photo Safari. Or at your local bookstore, you can grab a copy of her recently published Creative Outdoor and Nature Photography. Enroll in Brenda's two online photo courses - Creating Visual Impact or Beyond the Postcard - for excellent and inspiring instruction on creativity and capturing a sense of place.  Learn more...

New Photo Discussions

New Photo Discussion 1: Sand Hills Sand Hills Bay of Islands,New Zealand, May 2003 © Jacob Karkula Canon PowerShot S2... Stunning..clean and clear capture! Beautiful landscape,Jacob! - Brinn MacDougall Response 1:What type of film did you use, what were your camera settings and camera make? I love this shot! - Paula M. Showen Response 2:I love it... the colors, the contrast, the sharpness. - Gaby Cunha See Gaby's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:I used a Canon Powershot S230 Digital ELPH Camera. It is a 3.2 Megapixel. - Jacob Karkula Response 4:Gorgeous! I can't believe the colors and clarity...WOW! Great job! - America A. Block Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 2: Upper Downtown Upper Downtown A look at a portion of the Seattle waterfront through an infrared eye. © Bernard B. Travers Canon PowerShot G2... What a great shot, Bernard. I love the composition and the IR. I'm impressed!! - Leanne M.E. Boyd Response 1:Well, aren't we getting fancy?? This is really nice, Bernie!! I just love it!! - Carolyn Fletcher See Carolyn's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:I've often wondered what a cityscape would look like in IR... thanks for sharing your vision. This is great. - Connie L. Carpenter See Connie's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:Thanks Leanne, Carolyn and Connie. Well, most people seem to be fond of the nature subjects for IR. I like to experiment - you know, push the envelope. Didn't come out too shabby, I think. Thanks again. - Bernard B. Travers See Bernard 's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 4:Lookin' good, Bernard. The IR works very well and of course your compostion is top rate. Bravo! - Murry Grigsby See Murry's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit mcgphotocards.com - Murry's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 3: Whispers and Giggles Whispers and Giggles colour image converted to b/w and colourized © Ursula Abresch Olympus Camedia C-... Great image! - America A. Block Response 1:This is fantastic! - Connie L. Carpenter See Connie's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:I love this picture. It makes me want to call my mom. - Jennifer S. Becker Response 3:What great expressions! The title fits perfectly. I like the soft colorization and wonderful moment you have captured. Nicely done! - Thomasa Paul See Thomasa's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 4:Ursula, this is my favorite photo so far this month! Wonderful! - Margaret Z. Wolff See Margaret's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 4: Rainbow, Gordes, France Rainbow, Gordes, France computer enhanced image © Lewis Kemper Beautiful image, Lewis. Perfect composite. The warmth of the late day sun matches well with the colorful rainbow. This makes me what to drop everything and head on out to Provence. Welcome aboard! - Jim at BetterPhoto.com See Jim Miotke's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit Jim Miotke's Deluxe BetterPholio™ - Miotke.com Take an Online PhotoCourse™ with Jim Miotke: Jim Miotke's Online Photography Courses Response 1:Thanks for the comments, now for the truth. There really was a rainbow there but it was very faint. The warm glow was actually rather weak, so in the computer I created a warming filter and also created a new rainbow to place in the scene. Is it real or is it Memorex or in this case Photoshop? - Lewis Kemper See Lewis 's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 5: 360 Spin! Panoramic Composite 360 spin! Venice Beach Nokia 5100 Core Tour. Nikon D1x, 17-35mm 2.8, SB-28DX. Composite of 4 images. © Kevin Boutwell Nikon D1X Digital ... Once again, you outdid yourself, Kevin. Great composite! I like how you put the lens flare to use, with each strand of lights leading to one of the three left riders. This is really wonderful work. - Jim at BetterPhoto.com See Jim Miotke's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit Jim Miotke's Deluxe BetterPholio™ - Miotke.com Take an Online PhotoCourse™ with Jim Miotke: Jim Miotke's Online Photography Courses Response 1:Thanks Jim! Each of those riders is actually the same rider. I motordrived off 4 frames of him doing a 360 spin and put them together. Thanks Again. - Kevin Boutwell See Kevin's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Beautiful work, Kevin. Amazing how you put this together. - Judith G. Secco See Judith's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:Very clever work! -G - Gunther Allen See Gunther's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 6: Young Orangutan Young Orangutan One of the orangutans, who are among my favorite creatures at the San Diego Zoo. This one happened to be sitting close to the viewing window, and was holding a branch of dried leaves, which you see framing her face. Nikon Coolpix 4500, macro setting, shutter speed 1/60. As the glass seems to give images a blue cast, I did a minor color adjustment in Photoshop. © Mary-Ella Keith Wonderful capture, these shots are very hard to get! - Sharon D. Waters Response 1:I agree, that's a really good photo!! - Hannah C. Alexander Response 2:Excellent capture..wonderful look on his face, clean and crisp shot! - Brinn MacDougall Response 3:Thanks for your kind comments Sharon, Hannah and Brinn. I was lucky that day - she sat still for the longest time, quite near the window, so I had plenty of time to get the settings and composition right! - Mary-Ella Keith See Mary-Ella's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 4:Mary-Ella - great shot! Love the framing and perfect depth of field! - Sharon E. Lowe See Sharon's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit photosbysharon.com - Sharon's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 7: Special Request Special Request © Roseann E. Dreasher Nice mix of textures, colors, shapes and a little humor! Very sharp. - Carol Brill Response 1: Original Special Request This was the original photo before some enhancements... © Roseann E. Dreasher Thank you. Here is the original photo before uping the color up a notch. - Roseann E. Dreasher Response 2:Thanks for showing the original. I don't have the "technology" to do such enhancements so I'm amazed to see what's possible. - Brian Neill See Brian's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:Hey Brian! This contest would be a whole nother ball of wax if no one used enhancements with their photos. Some people are just better photographers, and others better at enhancing their photos. I probably fall into the last category. I have a degree in digital media design, so of course I have all the software I need to enhance photos. There is a delicate balance that sometimes is not met when alterring a photo, and the result can be very obviously enhanced. I prefer subtle as to not distract from the original but just to alter colors or maybe take an element out that might be distracting in the photo. I am in awe with the photography on this site! Each one of us has our own style and can learn from the variety of talent on here. - Roseann E. Dreasher Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 8: *Los Angeles 2028* *Los Angeles 2028* My vision of what downtown L.A. might look like in 25 years. Images shot with Canon D60 / Canon EF28-70mm2.8L © Thomas Mcconville Canon EOS D60 Digi... Wonderful image, Thomas. Nice job. - Judith G. Secco See Judith's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Fabulous lighting- love the affect it has on the overall photo. The red is so-o-o L.A.! Please explain how you did this. Is it a composite of different photos? What, if any, program did you use? Thanks for sharing and God bless you and yours. - Joann Tompkins-Winborn Response 2:Hi Joann, this image is about 8 different layers. It was made up from three separate images, the freeway, the skyscrapers, and the sunset. I then duplicated the skyscrapers twice and and changed their perspective here and there. I used Photoshop elements. Wish I had the monye to get PS 7, need some tools in there. Thanks for your comments. - Thomas Mcconville See Thomas's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:Great work! I love the futuristic look! - June Marie Sobrito See June Marie's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 4:Spectacular, Thomas! A great, dramatic vision! - Patricia Marroquin See Patricia's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 5:Very cool! - Jill Battaglia See Jill's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

The Next Step: Where to Go From Here

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