This photo was taken at a wedding in Quito, Ecuador.  I wasn’t the official photographer for it but I did try and get some good photos of the event to give back to the bride and groom later.  To see more photos of my first “non-official” wedding event click on the links below:

• Mathias and Maria Fernanda Baekbo: The Wedding Day
• Mathias and Maria Fernanda Baekbo: The Wedding Day II
• Mathias and Maria Fernanda Baekbo: The Wedding Day III

This photo wasn’t Photoshopped and used Adobe Lightroom only to edit it.  I used the adjustment brush (my favorite tool in Lightroom) to highlight all the area around the flowers.  Then I turned down the saturation all the way to give it the Black & White feel, leaving only the flowers in color.  This is a very simple way to add a different perspective to your work and people really like this style.  It can be a little hard depending on the photo you take, as this one took a little more time as I had to zoom in around the flowers to clean it up.

After I got everything desaturated that I wanted, I then highlighted again around the flowers to add more clarity and contrast to give the background more depth.  In total this took me about 15 minutes of editing, most  of which was spent on zooming in around the flowers.  If you have tried this technique and have a photo you want to share, please leave a comment with a link to show us.  Would be great to see what others have done.

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Desert Odyssey in Ica, Peru

This photo was taken in Ica, Peru on a desert dune buggy ride.  Most people would think I got this photo in Egypt or Dubai but Peru has a huge desert close to the coast.  Everyone just thinks of Machu Picchu for Peru but it pretty much has it all; jungle, mountains, and coast.

I didn’t have to do much to this photo to make it stand out more.  All I did was raise the black levels, clarity and saturation to bring out the colors more.  This photo was all about the lines of the desert and following them with the eye.  I wish all photos could be edited this quickly, as this only took about 10 sec to do.

Notice above how the histogram is mounded in the center.  This is ideal for a perfect exposure, if it’s to the far left the photo was underexposed (dark) and if it is to the far right it was over exposed (blown out skies).  Below the histogram you can see where I raised the black levels, clarity and saturation.  Big difference from start to finish but it only took a few tweaks to make it better.

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This photo was taken south of Quito, Ecuador in a small town know famously for it’s indigenous market.  The town of Saquisili, Ecuador is well worth a stop if your in Ecuador.  The market is open every Thursday and you will find things sold here that you wouldn’t anywhere else; from rabbits, pigs, cows and guinea pigs to cheap vegetables, exotic fruits and handicrafts.  The best part of being at an indigenous market is it’s full of indigenous people and the worse part about being at an indigenous market is thats it’s full of indigenous people who hate having their photographs taken.

I’m serious when I say people here in Ecuador are really sensitive about being photographed.  I took this photo about 60ft (18m) away and when I lifted my camera to take it (thinking I was all sneaky) she turned her head away and down.  How she seen me I don’t know but I knew she did as I held and was waiting for her to look up.  She did once to see if I had put the camera down and quickly put her head down.  I snapped one shot and walked away as you never want to make a local mad.

The original photo was way over blown and didn’t know if I would be able to recover any of the highlights because so.  I decided to crop it as well as I wanted to focus the image on the indigenous lady surrounded by her produce.  The light was actually pretty striking, as there was lots of dark shadows and highlights everywhere in this photo.

I started first with highlighting the lady.  I wanted to lighten her blue jacket and hat some.  Then I highlighted the background around her to darken it some, thus brining more attention back on her and the produce.  Last I highlighted the ground in front of her to blur some stuff out and to darken it just a tad.  This left a circle of light directed on her which brought your focus to the middle of the frame.

Again, you can see below on the sidebar where I brought the contrast and clarity up.  Notice though I pulled the Recovery tool all the way up to bring it back within range.  This shot was seriously over blown at the start and is a good reason why one should shoot in RAW all the time.  If it had been captured as a .JPEG I might not have been able to recover those highlights without adding a bunch of noticeable noise.

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I shot this photo from a moving bus on the first day in Havana, Cuba.  It was one of the first pictures I took while in Cuba and might well be one of the best shots I got while in Cuba.  The look of the boy standing with a straight stance and the framing made it come together but it lacked that pop to make it stand out.  When I loaded the photos from the day and seen this I couldn’t help but think he looked like a kid in training.  That today he was standing their like a solider and in 15 years he would more then likely be standing their again, only this time in his uniform and weapon.  All males must join the Cuban military after graduation.

As you can see below there is a big difference from original to the edited version.  I wanted to show how rugged the wall he was standing next to was so that it would highlight him more.  There was so much going on in that wall and wanted to make sure all the shadows, tears and multi-colors were the second focus spot for the photo.  The boy would be #1 for sure but if you look at the before photo the wall doesn’t really draw the eye much does it?

So, I started with clicking on the “Adjust Brush” in Adobe Lightroom and selected the wall to add more contrast and clarity.  I then selected the background to darken the street behind him some.  Not a lot but just a little to make it feel more moody.  Last, I highlighted everything except the boy and upped the contrast and clarity.

You can see the histogram on the upper right and the overall adjustments below it on the sidebar.  I upped again the contrast and clarity, plus raised the black level some.  I’ll sometimes do the same thing 3x in one section to get the feel I want (ie; raising the clarity levels over and over).  I thought about turning the tempature down some but liked the feel of it just the way it was.

If you have any questions or suggestions please let me know.  All tips are welcomed!

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This is the first of a weekly post I plan on doing showing the Before & After of a picture that I take.  I often read other photography blogs/websites and when I see their work I always wonder how it originally looked compared to after it had been post edited.  It can get really discouraging to the new photographer when he sees work that looks perfect 24/7 but odds are most of the time it’s been edited to get it to that point.

The first two things I always want to know about a photo when I first see it are:

1. What was the photo info: If you highlight over my photos on my website you will see this info (it will look like this: Canon 5D | 24-105mm | 1/100 sec | f4.0 | ISO 100).  This lets me know what type of gear he/she was using, ISO, speed exc and helps me to learn about how to set-up for a similar shot in the future when the situation arrives.  Most people won’t add this info because frankly it takes time to embed.
2. What did it originally look like:  I want to know what it looks like so I don’t get frustrated and want to throw my camera out every time I see someone using the same camera as I do but always has better stock.  Odds are he/she doesn’t capture better images than you but rather is better at post-editing than you.  But it does help reinforce the positional of a shot and will help motivate you to learn more post editing techniques.  You will only see a before and after shot when someone is trying to either A) teach a technique or B) sell a product.  I have rarely ever seen anyone who posts both pictures because most don’t want to show what they did and it takes twice the time to do so.

So this is why I will be starting a once a week before and after shot with a little info on how I edited it.  Feel free to ask questions,give suggestions or leave comments in general as I hope this will fill a void for a lot of people.  We all do better if we learn from each other so I hope people will like these posts.

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This was a great picture I took while in Cuba but knew as soon as I took it that it would need some work to make it pop even though the framing was great.  As you can tell below there is a big difference between the before shot with no editing and the after with heavy editing.  I say heavy but to be honest it only took me about 3 minutes to edit this picture in Adobe Lightroom.  I adjusted the exposure down some and raised the black level up to show the deepness of the photo and make it pop.  Then I started working on certain sections.

Above highlighted in red is what I selected to add detail to in the photo, using Adobe Lightroom.  My #1 tool when editing is the “Adjustment Brush.”  I normally will select someone’s face and color correct the skin tone, raise the contrast, up or lower the exposure and adjust the clarity.  I always select the face nearest to the camera, then work my way back if needed, always finishing by adjusting the background last (see the 3rd photo with the most red).

I threw this picture in to show you the detail when cropped.  You can see what kind of camera gear I use here, but it goes to show you how a DSLR will kick a pocket cam butt any day of the week.  If you’re only going to post pictures to Facebook or a travel blog then they work awesome.  If you want to ever print something larger than an 8×10 though it starts to get complicated.  There is software out there that will allow you to increase a photo size without loss of detail but it’s best to have the detail to start.

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I’ve been following a photo blog from Thailand for some time now.  Gavin Gough has a knack for getting images that most people only dream about.  One thing I have seen him do is get an imagine of an object (person, car, bike exc) that is in focus while the background is blurred out.  I find this style of photography leaves so much to the imagination, adds a new dimension to ones work and creates motion.  To see examples that Gavin does with this technique click on the links below.  I especially recommend checking out his post “Postcards From Delhi” with the photo of the little girls in the rickshaw.

While in Cuba I thought I would try and get a photo like Gavin does.  I tried to remember the settings he uses and spent about an hour on the street shooting.  The pictures above and below are what I got that day.  They don’t quite have the feel that Gavin’s does but I will be working on this technique more in the future.

The trick I have found is that people running or bikes on the street, is to set your camera up in manual mode to 1/15 to 1/20sec.  Then you put the focus on the subject (if a person say the face) and pan the camera left or right as they are passing.  For cars or moto-bikes you will need to increase the speed more, depending on how fast they are going.

This is a technique and not every photo will come out perfect.  For every 20 photos I took I got 1 good one.  So play around and see what you get.  Get out of your programed settings on your camera and try manual mode for once!

Today I’m a happy man!  I got my camera gear oder from the US and if it wasn’t for my good friend Melissa it wouldn’t have happened.  Living in Ecuador has many benefits but there are drawbacks as well.  One thing is shopping, especially anything electronic.  Your only option is to buy something online and have it shipped, have someone bring it to you or go without until you can pick it up somewhere else.  The problem with ordering online is that you have to pay for shipping (which can really cost) but even worse then that, you have to pay customs on all items imported into Ecuador.  You can pay as much tax as 25%-30% of the total bill for the items, so combine that with the shipping cost and your almost paying double.

So I have been wanting to put in a camera order for some time.  I tried to pick a few of these items up in Asia while I was there but had some problems with it and decided I’d do it another day.  So when I had a friend from St. Louis, MO tell me she was going to come down and visit me this year I was excited, not only to see her and her husband but because I could finally put in an order, as she could hand carry it down.  I loaded up (I should be good for another couple years) and put in my order.  No sooner then I did I found out she wouldn’t be able to come to Ecuador (she had even bought their tickets).  This sucked in so many ways and at first I didn’t even think about my camera order, then it hit me!

So I thought I would just return it all and the people at B&H were cool about me sending back a whole order even before I had gotten it.  Then my friend emailed me and said she had a co-worker who was coming down this weekend and would be able to carry my order down to Ecuador for me.  I wasn’t sure about it but if my friend trusted the guy, then I trusted her.  I got it all safe and sound on Saturday and couldn’t be happier.  If I don’t post anything for a while it’s because I’m out playing with off camera flash and experimenting on new techniques.

Below is what I picked up and no longer have a wish list anymore…well maybe only 1/2 true!

Canon Wide Angle EF 35mm f/1.4L USM Autofocus Lens:  I have read nothing but good reviews about this lens and was able to use this lens in Singapore with a friend that had one.  Fell in love with it the very first time and been trying to get this lens for the last year.  Will be a great street and portrait lens and can see myself hanging up my old 24-105mm and using this as my primary now.

Canon Telephoto EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Autofocus Lens:  A friend of mine uses this as her primary portrait lens and for the cost you can’t beat it.  Didn’t really want to get two lens on this order but I thought with the 85mm fixed lens and 1.8 could allow me to get some different shots other then with the 35mm f/1.4 above.

Canon 580EX II Speedlite TTL Shoe Mount Flash:  I picked another one of these up so I could have two light sources now.  I can’t wait it try and experiment with them and see what new affects and styles I can get out of them.

Orbis Orbis Ring Flash Diffusing Attachment:  I have been wanting one of these for a long time.  Have you ever seen the Saturday Night Live pictures of all the guests on the show, where they have no shadows…well that’s because they use a ring flash.  It will work in conjunction with the 580EX speedlight and can’t wait to start using it on the Faces series.  I also got the mounting bracket to go with it.

PocketWizard Plus II Transceiver/Relay Radio Slave:  Now that I have two flashes I needed to be able to take them off camera.  With these I can place a flash 10 ft from the subject and another one behind them to add for affect.  No longer will I have to do on-camera flash work and will allow me to be much more creative with my work.  I also had to pick up the cables for them, as you must have one to attach them to the flash from the Pocketwizard.

Rosco Strobist 55-Piece Filter Kit With Gel Holder:  I picked two of these up for each flash so that I could add gels to the light.  You wonder how people make those pictures where everything has a blue tent to to them…well they either use filters, Photoshop it or gels.  I went with the gels as it seems to give a more natural tint and doesn’t look as much Photoshopped.

A few other items I picked up:

• Hurricane Blower
• PocketWizard PC-5N Miniphone PC Screw-Lock Cable – Coiled – 21″ to 5′
• Hoya 58mm Introductory Filter Kit – Ultraviolet (UV), Circular Polarizer, Warming Filter (Intensifier) and Nylon Pouch
• B+W 58mm XS-Pro Pro Clear 007M Digital Multi-Resistant Coated (MRC) Glass Filter
• B+W 72mm XS-Pro Pro Clear 007M Digital Multi-Resistant Coated (MRC) Glass Filter
• Canon FS-72U 72mm Filter Set (Circular Polarizer, Neutral Density .8, UV, Case)

I went and picked up my business cards (I call them travel cards) today from the JJ Mall in Bangkok.  I have to say I couldn’t be more happy with them!  Maybe I’m going over board with this blogging thing but I know from personal experience that when you travel you will meet a ton of new people.  Always the same 5 questions are asked:

• What’s your name?
• Where you from?
• Where you been?
• Where you going?
• What did you like best/worse so far?

If after your 10min conversation with a new traveler, if you can still stand each other, you normally make some kind of travel plans or something.  It is really what traveling is all about….meeting new people and seeing new things.  My last little road trip was great in part because of the hostel I stayed in while in Cambodia.  Everyday there were a few people who would leave and a few people who would show up and you never drank with the exact same crew two nights in a row.

That being said you start to rack up a long list of emails, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter ID’s in no time.  Trying to remember which receipt you wrote that guy’s email from Ireland on can become hard.  I know I’m guilty of it a ton of times and not because I didn’t care but because I’m human and forget things.

My idea for a business size card would be to hand to new friends I meet along the way.  Something that they look at and think “Wow that’s different!” or “Cool card man!”  Then the burden is off of me and I can say “Check out my website and email me or leave a comment on a picture and I’ll get back with you from it so we can stay in touch.”

Making contacts while traveling is important.  As big as the world is, it’s amazing how many people you will run into when backpacking.  Might be that German couple you drank with in Hong Kong, that you see 4 weeks later in a market in Phuket, Thailand.  Maybe a French girl you shared a taxi with in Rome that you see at your hostel in London.  Even better if you know your traveling in the same direction it’s always great to make plans with new found friends to meet back up at a common location somewhere else.  With email, websites and blogs, today it’s more then ever easier to meet new people from different countries, make new friends and stay in touch…you just have to remember where you put that damn email though!

I got these in Thailand but there a ton of places along the way that make a business card for you for little or nothing.  These were my first so I kind of went all out on them and wanted something that looked and felt cool.  I bought 500 cards for 3,250 baht ($95 USD).  That comes to about $0.18 per card and think thats worth it for a new friend found, while traveling, but at those prices I won’t be handing them out at bus stops just for the heck of it.  You can get cards made as cheap as $0.02 a piece that have the same info on it.  I also bought a small stamp with my logo on it to punch into peoples Lonely Planet books along the way (almost everyone has something anymore while traveling).  Stamp was 250 baht ($7 USD) and cheap again as it will last a few years before needing ink again.

The shop I bought these from at the JJ Mall was called “Lovely.”  They are located on the 2nd floor Room S185/ cell 08-7909-3812/ Tel-Fax 02-265-9901/ email lovely_s185@hotmail.com.  Both ladies there were very helpful and gave me exactly what I wanted.