Please take the time to click on the artist’s name and visit their website. Words of encouragement are powerful sources of inspiration!

Original Photo Reference above (click photo to enlarge)

March 2010 Challenge Gallery Submissions

Dana Cooper

Pauline Chapel in Colorado Springs

What? Another painting challenge you say? Well I had to offer one after photographing this pretty church near the Boadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado last weekend. I was driving by when I saw the really cool interplay of light and shadow on the face of the chapel with the tower in full light. Ripe ingredients for a sweet oil or watercolor painting!

I would like to think that this is a better than average photo reference for people to paint from because I used a high dynamic range (HDR) photography process to capture the colors. Please note the warm light up against the cool shadows in their near-to-life colors.

I am planning to offer a high quality license-free photo up once per month for people to paint. If you are interested, let’s have all entries in by March 31 and I will post them to a gallery page right here on ADNW. I will promote the entries with an ad type thingy on the home page.

I promise to post only what I deem to be high quality HDR photos for you to paint. Sedona, Switzerland and Italy painting challenges are possible in coming months with my current travel plans. I hope to see a few fun and beautiful paintings!

To submit a painting, please email me a high-quality jpg image of your painting that is at least 480 pixels along its longest dimension at 72 pixels per inch.

Please use the link immediately below to submit your painting.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT A PAINTING

Oh, and just click the picture for a higher resolution version!

Let me know by comment if you need anything else and let’s see what happens!

Sincerely,
Lee

See the gallery of submissions here GO>

Shove Memorial Chapel at Colorado College

After hearing my wife’s sister sing for the Colorado Springs Vocal Arts Ensemble at the Colorado College Shove Memorial Chapel last Christmas, I have been wanting to make the short trip to downtown Colorado Springs to capture the beauty of the Chapel’s interior. In the depths of the Great Depression, Colorado College built this long-awaited Chapel that is considered one of the finest examples of Norman Romanesque architecture in Colorado. After stopping to grab a cappuccino Saturday morning, my best friend Ric and I were lucky enough to slip into the Chapel about an hour before a wedding party arrived. The Chapel is quite beautiful and meticulously maintained. The basic lighting allowed me to take nine separate exposures for each picture. I am quite happy with how they turned out and they really do give an accurate sense of the mood in the Chapel during the shoot! I honestly believe that HDR photos can serve as excellent references when taking larger plein air work back into the studio for finishing.

The pipe organ at Shove Memorial Chapel

The chapel received the 40,000-pound Welte-Tripp concert type pipe organ shown above in 1931. A representative of the firm once stated that the instrument was the “finest organ ever built by our organization.” It was crafted “with emphasis on features of tonal and physical beauty to coordinate with the new Colorado College building.” It looked quite majestic in its setting an provided an awesome focal point of the interior photos.

Shove Memorial Chapel Exterior

As fate would have it, my son is planning to get married here is just over a year. Considering that, I am sure we will have a few more pictures of this beautiful building before we are done!

Historical content provided by Colorado College.

Take the following image for example. If you were painting this scene, what color would you mix for the center square on each of the sides in light and shadow? My first inclination is to say, “brown on the top and yellow on the bottom.”

What color would you mix for the center squares?

Using a simple mask layer in Photoshop reveals that the the center squares in light and shadow are actually the same exact color! To paint this scene accurately, we would need to use the same color and understand that it is what surrounds the color that creates the visual impression. Look at the image below to see proof through your own eyes. I am sure experienced painters can process this phenomenon subconsciously, but for newbies like me, this is powerful information!

Our ability to see is why artist's are awesome and people pay for paintings!

In the next example, look at the grays in both light and shadow within the stripes. How would you mix them?

What value are the gray stripes?

Using the same masking technique reveals that the dark grays in light and and the light grays in shadow are actually the same, but what they are surrounded by creates a completely different illusion.

The alarming truth of the grays is revealed!

I feel that having a better understanding of these principles will help me dial in color more accurately and limit my wandering down paths of color that lead nowhere. I will certainly work harder to to see more accurately after considering the power of illusion. If you want more heavy reading on this topic, I encourage you to visit the Lotto Lab site for more information.

Images courtesy of R. Beau Lotto

As I have said before, the odds are good that Apple’s iPad will breathe new life into the publishing industry. Having been involved in marketing and advertising for the past 20 years, I have seen with my own eyes what the web has done to many trade magazines. Most seem to be scrambling to come up with ways to make money as consumers become accustomed to getting their information for free. I suppose in some small way, I am contributing to the chaos by self-publishing this blog.

With tight advertising budgets, I don’t buy print advertising anymore in favor of highly targeted online lead generation programs via conversion-based advertising. For a fraction of the cost of a print advertisement, I can market directly to my target audience and provide potential customers with a clickable path to a web-based micro site filled with relevant information about my products. If they are interested, they will provide contact information in order to download a white paper or other product related resources. In the end, I have a reasonably qualified lead that the sales force is eager to follow up on and a happy boss that likes the way I am stretching the company’s advertising dollar. Pretty simple really and quite effective. I am sure the accelerating trend toward online advertising is why many of the magazines I have dealt with over the years are a fraction of their thickness today compared to years past and several have gone out of business.

Arguably, art magazines are quite different than the technical trade magazines I have dealt with in the past. I personally subscribe to two print magazines, which are Art of the West and Southwest Art. Frankly, they seem to be doing reasonably well based on the amount of ad pages they have month after month. I particularly like thumbing through these magazines to read the articles and to see who is moving and shaking in the art world. This is all well and good but they, in addition to countless other magazines, will need to prepare themselves to step into the new era of digital publishing or risk getting left behind.

You see, I believe we are heading into a digital publishing era that will provide an opportunity for established magazines to regain some of the ground they have lost to the web. On the flip side, they will also be forced to compete with the inevitable onslaught of self-publishers with increasingly sophisticated tools at their fingertips. Just look at the recent democratization of the mobile gaming industry. Although major companies like Electronic Arts are represented among the providers of iPhone gaming apps, there is a huge number of small gaming developers that have been put in business by Apple’s iPhone software development platform and distribution model via the App Store and iTunes. It’s not just the big fish that can create, market and sell their products anymore.

Just as iTunes and the iPhone have enabled garage bands and garage software developers to distribute their products globally to an enthusiastic customer base, the addition of the iPad will enable established and self-publishers alike to reach their readers at a price and on a scale never before imagined. Would I gladly trade my print subscriptions for content-rich digital versions delivered directly to my iPad each month? In a heartbeat! Especially if they were published in a way that actually elevates the reading experience. Imagine flipping though a digital version of Southwest Art on an iPad with touch scalable high-resolution paintings embedded in both the articles and the advertising. Then just touch a gallery ad to instantly see the latest inventory of paintings by an up and coming artist. Better yet, the magazine could embed geo-located advertising that displays local gallery ads based on where the device is being read. What’s more, all of the content including past issues would be fully searchable, thereby increasing the overall value of the subscription.

I am not talking about browsing art magazine web sites. I am talking about paying for and downloading professionally produced digital content that mimics and enriches the magazine reading experience. Frankly, I am a bit concerned that some, will in fact, get left behind. If you browse the websites of some of the prominent art magazines, they are pretty bland and technologically sterile. To me, that indicates that they are clinging to a branch of hope that the print versions will thrive forever amid the sea of change occurring around them. I firmly believe that in order to flourish, art magazines will need to seriously consider how they are going to truly embrace technological change to retain and grow their audiences. Keep in mind that, assuming this publishing model takes hold, I too could band together with a few of my closest art aficionados to create a magazine that could be distributed globally along side established art magazines – just like the small entrepreneurial mobile game developers do among the giants. True, we would have to build a respected brand based on good journalism and compelling content, but that would boil down to enthusiastic writers, an effective marketing strategy, and time.

I think publishing development platforms for iPad are imminent. Just as WordPress revolutionized click publishing for bloggers, publishing tools for devices like the iPad will enable the rapid development of premium digitally published content for smartphones, computers and slate type devices. E-readers may not be for everyone but I am increasingly convinced they will take hold. For Christmas last year, we bought my wife’s not-so-tech-savvy mother an Amazon Kindle. We were not sure how she would like it since she usually buys her books used from garage sales. Well the results are in. She recently told us that she really loves her Kindle and has been buying a ton of books from the convenience of her couch. As much as some would like to disagree, I think heading to Barnes and Noble to by a book or magazine will eventually seem as antiquated as heading the Best Buy to pick up a CD.

I would love to hear your perspectives on this topic.

If you have time, check out the following video that highlights Wired Magazine’s take on the future of digital publishing.

The Golden Gate Bridge from Fort Mason

My goal was to take two shots while I was in San Francisco last week. One of the San Francisco skyline at night and another of the Golden Gate Bridge from the the quintessential money shot location at Fort Mason. Unfortunately I was not able to get the skyline shot from my target location because hotel security would let me on the roof. Imagine that, even after I asked nice! I stayed at the Grand Hyatt at Union Square, where on the 36th floor of the hotel they have the most premium view of downtown San Francisco with the Transamerica Pyramid in the foreground. I highly recommend eating there one night or grabbing a drink in the bar just to take in the view. Just go into the lobby, board the elevator, and press 36! I didn’t want to shoot through the glass of the restaurant so I ordered a drink and marveled at the skyline that can only be San Francisco.

So, reeling from my defeat at the hotel the night before, I was determined to get the best shot of the Golden Gate Bridge I could, which would mean a trek across town to Fort Mason. Light was dwindling, so I decided to grab a cab at 4 o’clock in the afternoon to the base of the bridge. If you ever want to go yourself, just ask the driver to take you to Fort Point.

Although I have driven past Fort Mason before, I did not realize that there is an awesome walking/jogging trail all along the water leading up to the base of the bridge. I had the driver drop me off short of the bridge so the view would reveal itself as I approached it. The light was a little flat due to the unpredictable cloud cover, but armed with my new HDR photo knowledge, I shot quite a few compositions and exposures to try and capture something worthwhile. I did not think I was going to get much while shooting but when I returned home to process the images, I was very pleased with the shot above. I wish the cars and motorcycles were not in the image but I thought the police would not take it too kindly if I told them to scram because I had some shooting to do. I am continually amazed at how much data the camera sensor picks up in the way of color and detail. Tis a great time to be a photographer! One reason I think I like this image so much its visual path. The old rusty chains take my eye along the path to the base of the bridge tower and up and over the water.

Late day at the San Francisco Ferry Building

Just above is another fun shot of the ferry building at the Port of San Francisco. It is a really neat looking building and a great place to walk around. In 2003, the building reopened as an upscale gourmet marketplace, office building, and re-dedicated ferry terminal. The restoration project spanned several years, with an emphasis on recreating the building’s 1898 ambiance. San Francisco’s most well known farmers market is held there on Saturdays from 8 am to 2 pm, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 am – 2pm, year-round. The blue and yellow caught my eye so I set up the old tripod and snapped the picture!

Jet-powered commuter vehicle

Perry Brown's "Out Work" 23x19 framed, Oil

I was pleasantly surprised to find a note in the mail today from Breckenridge Gallery letting me know about Perry Brown’s upcoming one man show in Breckenridge Colorado on March 13th, 2010. They sent me three pictures of Perry’s latest rural and urban landscapes, all of which were very nice paintings. One, called The Pond, was painted of the very place I was taking pictures last week in Central Park. I already own one of Perry’s New York paintings and encourage you to take a look at the gallery’s inventory. By the way, I love it when a gallery knows what you like and takes the time to write a note and send some pictures of the paintings! Oh, be sure to check out Perry’s fine art site and blog – you won’t be disappointed!

I am off to San Francisco tomorrow morning…camera in hand. Hoping to find something interesting to bring back on the memory card. Time will be tight but there will be a ton of subject matter. Have a good rest of the week!

Photo credit: Breckenridge Gallery

A Day Not Wasted goes magazine style

Well, I’m sure you noticed that A Day Not Wasted has had a major facelift. I wanted to achieve three objectives with the blog redesign. First, I wanted to better organize the presentation of my passions for consumption by a diverse audience. I think the new online magazine format allows those with specific interests to dive right in to a subject of their liking. Second, I wanted to create a more robust platform for other ADNW contributors. Take Donna, my wife, for instance. She is am amazing cook with lots to share and no time to run a blog. Look for her to make an appearance in the not too distant future with cooking tips, especially related to baking. Honestly, I have wept with joy over some of her creations. Also, I have a very best friend that spends a fair amount of time traveling the world taking pictures and making videos for humanitarian efforts. His name is Ric, he is a really interesting guy, and I look forward to featuring his posts as well. And third, I am totally jazzed about the upcoming digital publishing revolution. The publishing industry has been suffering for a while now and I think the new e-reader gadgets, like the impending iPad, are going to breathe new life into the industry. The new ADNW format lends itself nicely to the e-reader format and I am happy to give my small little piece of cyber publishing a go. I hope this does not come as too much a shock for the hundreds of visitors ADNW gets a month. I sincerely appreciate all the visits and comments on the site and look forward to more interaction in the future!

3 EV merge to HDR result in Photoshop

Photoshop has an automated Merge to HDR script built into the FILE>AUTOMATE menu that will allow you to combine multiple exposures of the same scene into a single optimized image. It is generally accepted that you need at least three exposures to create a decent HDR image. Some folks use as many as seven to nine exposures! The image above is the result of running Photoshop’s HDR Merge script on three images I took in Times Square last week. All the exposures were taken in RAW image format at an ISO setting of 100, which was set to minimize noise from the long-ish exposures. When shooting in RAW, the only settings in the camera that really matter are ISO (film speed), shutter speed and aperture. Instead of the camera doing the post processing for things like white balance and image compression, you take control once the image is downloaded into your computer with a RAW conversion program like Photoshop. It is really amazing how much control you have when working with the RAW sensor data. It takes a little practice but once you figure it out, you will never go back to accepting JPEG output again. As you can see, the merged image (number 1) is pretty nice with a good balance between the light and shadow portions of the image. For those interested, I used a 17mm to 40mm professional Canon lens on my 15 megapixel Canon 50D for the shoot. I used aperture priority at f20 to maximize the focus area of the image. Since I was using a tripod, the long exposures did not matter that much.

Although Photoshop has the HDR merging capability, a number of seasoned photographers recommend an additional program called Photomatix Pro by HDRSoft – especially for tone mapping.

Photoshop HDR image tone mapped in Photomatix

You can use Photomatix Pro to do the HDR merge if you like but I have heard that Photoshop is among the best at getting the alignment of the exposures spot on. So, for the purposes of this experiment, I took the file that I merged in Photoshop, converted it from 32-bit file to a 16-bit file (again with Photoshop) and then opened it in Photomatix. I then tone mapped the file to see what I would get. The best way to explain the result is that the lights suddenly went on! Compare the Photohop file (number 1) with the Photomatix tone mapped file (number 2). Look at the “Wicked” sign and how the green and white actually looks illuminated compared to the top photo. Also notice the gladiator dude on the right and how there is so much more rich color in the sign. The building also glows more giving the sense of being lit by the floodlights. Trust me, I tried to get the same effect right in Photoshop by pushing sliders around and it seemed unattainable without blowing out parts of the image. So, the Photomatix step results in a much better image in my view but there are things that I am not happy with that will need to be adjusted again back in Photoshop.

Blended files in Photoshop for desired result

I saved the Photomatix file and then brought both image (1) and (2) back into Photoshop for a little layer blending. The cross of lights between the big signs lost a little something in the Photomatix result (2) and I wanted to tone the far building lights back a little as well as reduce the glow of street level lights since they seemed a little hot and distracting to my eye. To accomplish this, I put the Photomatix layer (2) at the top and the the original Photoshop merged file (1) on the layer below it. I then clicked the Photomatix layer (2) and chose LAYER>LAYERMASK>REVEAL ALL. This creates a mask that I can paint with black to reveal the layer underneath. With my brush set at 30% opacity, I clicked and moved my mouse over the areas that I wanted to show through from underneath. The changes in the composite image are subtle, but if you compare the photo number (3) to number (2), you will see that I have all the vibrance of the Photomatix result (2) with the selectively toned down areas of the original Photoshop merged image (1). I hope this makes sense. If not email me an I would be happy to clarify.

Rich black and white conversion of final image

Incidentally, I tried merging the exposures and tone mapping the files completely with Photomatix. The result was nice but in my opinion, not as good as merging with Photoshop and then tone mapping with Photomatix.

Finally, with all the dynamics of the color image, I wanted to see what it would look like as a black and white photo. As you can see, it makes a pretty nice impression. I love the subtle gradations combined with the high contrast. There is a nice balance with no areas that are distractingly blown out across the dynamic range of the image.

I know all this techo-geek stuff is not for everyone but I wanted to share because I feel that my photographic possibilities were magnified exponentially this week!

3 Exposure HDR image of Times Square

One of my goals this year is to improve my photography skills so I can create better photographic references for studio paintings. I have read over and over again that cameras are not equipped to capture the true essence of a scene like our eyes are, and that painting from life is the only real answer. In principle I wholeheartedly agree, but my current life situation does not afford me the luxury of setting up my easel in the middle of Times Square at 11:30 at night to paint. Besides, camera technology was no where near where it is today when John F. Carlson wrote his treatise on landscape painting, in which he condemned the use of cameras for capturing nature. If I have to paint from photos for the time being, my primary task is to try and capture as much of a scene’s impression on the silicon sensor of my digital SLR as possible.

HDR of restored structure in Central Park

I have learned recently that the best way to capture high fidelity images with my DSLR is through multiple exposure HDR photographic techniques. High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography is becoming quite popular with the advent of high resolution cameras and the increasing affordability memory storage. HDR techniques allow a greater dynamic range of luminances between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods. This wider dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight.

Times Square 3 exposure HDR long shot

Having read up on HDR last week, I was eager to take my camera and new found knowledge to New York City on a two and a half day business trip to capture some HDR-ready images. This was how day one went: catch an 11am flight to LaGuardia, land at 4:30pm, dinner at 6:30 at Il Postino with business colleagues, back to the room at 50th and Lexington at 10:30pm, grab camera, lenses and tripod (required) and shoot Times Square untill midnight. On day two, I was able to squeeze an hour and a half of shooting in Central Park in before dinner. It was a bit chaotic but honestly, one of the perks of business travel is the opportunity to see many great things and explore creative outlets that would otherwise be unattainable.

Commercial NYC sculpture in HDR

One cool thing about New York is you can probably run around naked and no one would really care. During my shoots, I trucked around my fully extended tripod and camera and plopped it down any time I saw something that caught my eye. For every shot, I took three exposures. The first shot was spot metered on the subject, and the other two were shot two steps above and below my first. My Canon 50D can take all three exposures automatically with a simple menu setting called auto exposure bracketing. The three exposures allow me to capture the full dynamic range of the light in both the shadow and lit portions of the scene. I also shoot in RAW mode, which is the actual sensor data from the camera. Since the RAW picture format is not compressed, it allows me to have a lot of control during the post processing stage with the computer.

Park Avenue water effects in HDR

Each image contains about 150 megabytes of data. Once I have the image back at home, I use HDR software called Photomatix Pro to merge the three exposures into a single HDR image. I then take the HDR image into Photoshop as a base layer and bring in the original exposures into separate layers so I can use a variety of masking and editing steps to tweak the final image to my liking. Since I was at the location while shooting, I can use my memory to try to recreate the first hand visual impression of the scene. When I am happy with the result, I do a final crop and save the image in a standard picture format.

Rockerfeller Plaza HDR

If you are interested in learning more, I found an excellent tutorial here that will help you get started. It is a bit of work but the end results are quite satisfying.