Before and After
Waiting for the bus I discovered a stripe of light behind me. The light cast a shadow on the ground. I selected a slow shutter speed of 1/30 seconds to blur out the background and the left shot was the result. After preparing this image for black & white, I used a split toning effect [...]
The Buddha Obsession
When I look through my files I have to smile at how many different angles and times of day I have managed to capture this Buddha. This shot is taken from a very low angle to position the head of the Buddha in the top right corner of the frame. In Photoshop the important steps were [...]
Autumn Colours
Just a grab shot on my way back from work yesterday. I love how the green bicycle blends in with the grass and the red Ivy. Green and red is compositionwise perceived as a good combination. I used a low viewpoint to make the bike stand out better, which perhaps is not obvious. A wide angle [...]
Repeating Objects
One thing to look for when composing pictures is repeating objects. I discovered the lady in the painting inside the window and waited patiently until I could also include the reflection of the woman passing behind me, and also her shadow.
After and Before – Vignette and Split Toning
A little fun in Photoshop! I straightened the horizon and cropped the image to a square format. One composition rule says that if people are walking from the left to the right in the frame they are perceived to be on their way to something. If they are walking from the right to the left, [...]
Vignette or not
We cycled out to our local beach today, which of course is not very crowded this time of year, temperatures being just above the freezing point. For this shot I underexposed to get more details from the sky and to only capture the silhouette of the man.In Photoshop I added a vignette. There are several [...]
Lighthouse and Ferry
From Bygdøy, Oslo. The ferry from Nesodden passes on its way back to Aker Brygge. I have chosen to keep the lighthouse sharp, and the ferry out of focus. I could also have decided to have the ferry in focus and the lighthouse blurred. Or to keep both of them sharp. Today’s subject is about [...]
Flight
Leaving Haugesund in the rain and arriving in Oslo to a water leakage in the train station. I chose to focus on the raindrops on the window in this first image. If you are in Auto Mode it is impossible to take a shot like this, because Auto Mode calculates the focus based on several [...]
Yay! “My” WTF videos are on Youtube!
I’ve mentioned before that two of my photos has been discussed on the Within the Frame podcasts.It felt a bit surreal seeing my picture on the “cover” of the WTF video on YouTube :-) In episode 16 it is approximately nine minutes into the video. To embed a video in a blog post, go to the [...]
Oooooh…. Imbalance!
I’ll admit, this is a picture I am a bit reluctant to show you but it helps pointing out the one single composition rule that is most important to me.The rule of compositional balance. To me, there are two objects with weight in this picture. The first is the three soldiers. The second is the drainpipe. Can [...]
Breaking the rule of… Walking into the frame
Usually you would allow space in front of people, let them walk into the frame. Sometimes it is okay to break this rule. For example when you want the viewers eye to be led past the person and into the frame. But to break the rule you have to learn it first :-)
Talk
I went to an exhibition opening at StatoilHydro‘s offices at Vækerø two days ago to see “Photography Matters” – The Helsinki School. I was a bit early so I walked down towards the beach next to their offices. So did several other people. And I got this shot. It was getting dark, but still an [...]
Freezing Motion
The first shot freezes the moment completely with a shutter speed of 1/2500 second. The second shot follows the skateboarder with a slow shutter speed of 1/30 sec.So what is best? It depends… :-) In both cases I would shoot a series of shots, with the setting that lets the camera refocus for each shot.Use [...]
Fun in Photoshop
This image was shot on the marble bridge over to the Oslo Opera, just after sunset. The camera was placed on the edge of the bridge, with a slow shutter speed set. The focusing was adjusted approximately and then switched to manual. Every time she took a step forward, I pressed the shutter. The multiple photos [...]
Turn windows into reflective mirrors
It can be done with any large window if the light is right. Place your camera sideways, as close as you can to a glass window and you will see it turn into a mirror.
Skateboarders at Dyvekes Bru in Oslo
I love going to this skateboard park that I have discovered on one of the weekly walks with OSLO KAMERA KLUBB. My favourite viewpoint is from above, i.e on the bridge. I was lucky to get these two guys in the same frame, as they are moving in opposite directions. To me balancing a composition is [...]
Shadows and Highlights in Photoshop
The camera is not capable of seeing the same range of light as the eye. For that reason you get shots where the bright is too bright, and the dark is too dark. This picture can serve as an example. I wanted to capture the details of the granite floor where the light from the [...]
Split Toning in Photoshop
As an alternative to pure black and white you can use Split Toning in Photoshop. In this example you can see that the black has a blue tint, and the white has beige tint. Split toning with two colours is also called Duotone. First convert your image to black and white. This is not a [...]
Travel Photography Tips
Today there is an interview with David duChemin about travel photography and how to shoot people when travelling. The video is not embedded so click on the link below the picture to see the video. If you are in a hurry, start the video at 1:53 minutes to get his three tips. Photoshop User TV [...]
“Jump!” discussed in podcast
My favourite photography author is creating a series of 20 podcasts. In episode 14 he discusses my picture “Jump!”. The picture is taken on the roof of the new operahouse in Oslo. The sun comes in from the side, which is why the two shadows to the left are almost mirror images of the two [...]
Simple Resizing in Photoshop
Resizing your pictures before uploading them to web is a way of using less of your allowed space, for example on Flickr. Select your crop tool, then enter the width and/or height of your final version. Enter px for pixels. In this example a width of 194 px and a height of 205 px is [...]
Within The Frame
I would like to recommend this book! For the how an why on taking pictures. It can be ordered on Amazon.co.uk. You can read a pdf with a sample from the book at Peachpit.com. Do read The Travel Photographers review HERE. The Wandering Photographer calls it the photo book of the year HERE.
The Photographer’s Eye
I am truly fascinated by books that help me “seeing” pictures. To understand when they work and when they don’t. The Photographer’s Eye av Michael Freeman is to me the ultimate book on composition. Photography changed completely for me after reading this book. You’ll find it on Amazon.
Create a Triptych in Photoshop
A triptych is simply a set of three images on one page.These three pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 400D, on ISO 1600 and with a fast 50mm f 1.8. lens. As it was a party and very dark i had to make do with a slow shutter speed, and I also had to [...]
