Lessons Learned: Valley Forge Sunset Shoot

Image Copyright Joe McNally

I had an idea. I wanted to experiment and try an outdoor portrait session with some flashes during sunset. The inspiration came from the the truly amazing photographs of Joe McNally. His image to the right is what I always picture in my mind when I think of both Joe and working with flashes. I personally love the outdoors and get fully engrossed when photographing landscapes and Joe McNally's images such as this one resonate with my creative tastes and aspirations for photography.


A few elements that I wanted were an open scene with tall grasses, trees, and the sunset in the background with great skies and colors. I also wanted to shoot wide and use flash to add some dramatic lighting to my subject. I thought of a place and the weather for a  good sunset looked to very likely so we set on out to Valley Forge National Park.


Rebecca and I brought along our cameras, a couple of flash stands, umbrellas, and a 5-in-1 collapsible reflector. We've been to Valley Forge before so I had a good idea where I wanted to be in time for the sunset. We drove around a little, scouting a few other possible locations but ended up just where I first thought we'd be. We arrived just after 6pm so we had plenty of time to setup and prepare. Sunset wasn't until just after 8pm but the surrounding hills, trees, and some cloud cover would lessen the light considerably from about 7:30pm and on wards.

I first setup with the flash high overhead, shooting through an umbrella, pointing straight down. I metered the sky and found that I needed to shoot around f/16 and 1/250 at ISO 200 to get the sky where I wanted to. At this aperture and speed, the little SB-600 was working at full steam and then some probably. I had the SB-600 gelled with a 1/2 CTO so that along with the umbrella was really cutting down on the amount of light getting into the camera. I was shooting using iTTL as well and was set on full-matrix metering. Some test shots showed that while the sky looked pretty good, the light coming down on Rebecca and the surrounding area was just too much, too harsh. I tried to dial in some exposure compensation all the way down to -3 but that still didn't give me the results that I wanted. So I switched off from iTTL and went to manual and then experimented and tried to find the level of light that I wanted.

In hindsight, I should have used a 1-stop or 2-stop ND filter so I could open up my aperture. This may have allowed me to shoot without needing full power from the flash and would've controlled the sky. I should have also switched to spot-metering as well so iTTL didn't think it needed to light-up the whole scene evenly and fire the flash at full power. 

We rolled with some photos and there were still a couple of things that I wasn't satisfied with. First, the composition wasn't good for me. I had to work with the light stand and umbrella to the left and keep it from cropping into the scene. I also had to deal with the sun which was visible but behind the subject. On top of this I had trouble getting the flash to trigger when I moved in too close and lost my line-of-sight to the remote flash. I wanted to get closer, I was shooting with an wide-angle lens, but I couldn't because once I got too close the flash wouldn't trigger. Last, the light still was not just right. I needed some fill on her face to even out the light and shadows.


I mostly solved these problems by using a 36" gold reflector. I placed the reflector on the ground and angled it up at Rebecca. This filled in the shadows on her face and evened things out. I then decided to try putting the reflector directly under the camera and try to use it to bounce the pop-up flash to help trigger the remote. This worked! Though I couldn't get as close as I wanted, I could get closer and I didn't have to try to angle the camera upwards as much towards the remote flash.

Here's where some radio triggers, such as Pocket Wizards, really would have solved the flash triggering issue. I wouldn't have had to compromise my composition as much and worry about line-of-sight. I could have gotten closer and turned off the pop-up flash which would have prevented a few shots with blinking eyes. Having a stand with a boom or having an assistant that could hold the flash and umbrella on a boom would have opened up the left side of my frame and I wouldn't have had to compromise on composition as much by trying to prevent the stand from appearing in the frame.

As the sun started to hide behind clouds and soon the trees and hills in the background, the light changed and faded and I had to change my exposures. It actually became more difficult to achieve the correct balance of light that I was looking for even though the sky wasn't as bright and harsh as it was earlier in the shoot. I tweaked both my exposure and the flash, trying, and hoping to get it right. Once the sky started to go dark and the surrounding landscape fell into dim light as well, we stopped.

I had two very costly mistakes. One, I failed to meter for the sky again. The sky was really getting dark in my exposures and my tweaking wasn't really helping things enough. Plus don't forget that I was still in matrix-metering and that wasn't helping as well. Two, I never looked at my histogram. Not once! I always look at my histogram when shooting! Fail! Why this was any different, I don't know, but this was one of the reasons why my exposures were on the dark side. Third, I had the brightness of my LCD turned up to +3. It was set high because I was shooting in the bright afternoon sunlight earlier. I forgot to change it so what looked decent on my LCD in the evening was actually under-exposed. Double Fail!

I made lots of mistakes but at the same time I learned a great deal from this experience. We also had a lot of fun. Isn't that what photography is all about? Some of these things can easily be corrected by a visit to B&H online while others will take some more patience and practice to master. One thing that I am happy with is realizing that you really can create some dramatic photographs using just a single light. We can't wait to get out there again.

LAB Saturation

I stumbled upon a new (new to me) way for adjusting colors for my photographs in Photoshop using the LAB color mode. I'm not going to go into the technical aspects of the LAB color space because I honestly don't really understand much of it. There's lots of good information out there on the LAB color space on the Web and Dan Margulis has a book Photoshop LAB Color that I've read some if you really want to know more, especially the why part. There is good evidence that the LAB color space is good for certain types of images and certain types of edits. I figured it would be good to simply check this out and see for myself.


What I explored was adjusting color saturation using the LAB color mode. This is an alternative to other Photoshop techniques such as using Hue/Saturation or Vibrance adjustment layers. You may also use this in place of the same sliders found in Camera Raw. Putting aside theory and the why, I decided to let my eyes be the judge.

I decided to use one of my favorite images from our last trip to Scotland, Slioch upon Loch Maree. I created a new copy of my original RAW file and in Camera Raw I setup my image in my typical workflow which sets up the image with a good histogram and a rather flat or dull appearance that will later be fine-tuned and brought to life from within Photoshop. The idea I use is to start with a very workable image with the proper exposure and both highlight and shadow detail. Camera Raw helps to set things up, Photoshop is where my creativity is exercised.


Once in Photoshop I start with a Levels adjustment layer to set new black and white points. Next I'll use a Curves adjustment layer to add some initial contrast with a very basic S-Curve.








Now I'll select these new layers including the background and create a new, merged layer, using CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E (yes, I use Windows). This will create a new layer called Layer 1 that will be a combination of the two adjustment layers and the Background.


Next I'll duplicate this layer and select a New document as the destination. Right-click on the layer in the Layers panel and then select Duplicate Layer... to get the dialog to also select the destination.












Now I have a new document with the new merged layer I just created.



I set the color mode to LAB. From the menu, Image -> Mode -> LAB Color.


Next I created a Curves adjustment layer. Notice now that there are different values in the channel drop-down of the Adjustments panel. They are Lightness, a, and b.













I adjusted the three channels, adding a standard S-Curve to the Lightness channel for contrast, then I performed adjustments to the a and b channels by pulling in the curves equally on both sides. Photoshop by default places a 4x4 grid in the Curves panel. To get the 10x10 grid just hold down the ALT key and click anywhere in the grid and you'll get a 10x10 grid. Do it again to revert back to a 4x4 grid if you want.


Variances in the amount of contrast and the adjustments in the a and b channels will alter the amount of the effect. Small adjustments actually have a profound effect on the image. The steeper the curve, the more dramatic the effect. If you don't balance the sides out you'll end up with various color casts. You can certainly get very creative and wild here, however, that's note my point in this exercise. I want to simply increase the saturation and vibrancy of the colors here. My adjustments looked as follows:

From here, I selected both my Curves adjustment layer and the Background layer and then created another new merged layer using CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E. Then I duplicated this layer back to the original document I started with.


I finished up with a few more adjustments and then brought up the previous version of my image and compared them side-by-side in Photoshop.

So, there are not broad or obvious differences between these two images. The color variations are subtle. Is one better than the other? Perhaps at this time I do find the new image using the LAB saturation method more pleasing than the previous edit. Perhaps I'm just being biased to the new technique. Art's a very subjective thing and your likes and dislikes do change over time. LAB color saturation adjustments will be a new tool in my toolbox. It's certainly not the only method available and it shouldn't be. Art is subjective, remember.

Shooting How to Make Egg Rolls

Back in March, my mother invited us to help her make some Korean-style egg rolls. It is a Korean tradition for the mother to pass on her kimchi recipe to the future wife of her son so that she can make kimchi just how he likes it. Instead of kimchi we're going with egg rolls. My mother makes the best, as any good Korean mother's son would argue, so passing on this recipe is of great importance. Rather than simply write the recipe down, I decided to photograph the process while taking part in it as well. This turned out not to be as easy as I had originally thought. My mother moved quickly so I had to try to keep pace and I tried to capture the essence (and the recipe) of how to make egg rolls.

When we arrived, my mother had prepped all the ingredients, just like in those cooking shows! We showed up with about 100 dumpling wrappers and 1 lb. of fresh tofu.

What to prep:

• Finely chopped white onion, about 1 cup from 2 medium-sized onions
• Diced carrots, about 1/2 cup
• Many cloves of fresh garlic, minced, alter to taste and likening
• Chopped green onions, about 1/4 cup, green and white parts are fine

That covers some basic chopping with the knife. Next you'll want to prepare some cellophane noodles. Again this may be found in any Asian market. You'll want about 1-1/2 cups when cooked. So prepare them according to the packaging and then set aside and let cool to room temperature.

Next, brown the ground beef by sautéing in a pan over medium heat. Don't forget to season a little with some salt and pepper. Drain off the oil and fat and then set aside.





Keep that pan hot because now you'll need to soften the onion and carrots. Add a couple of tablespoons of oil and then cook the onion until translucent and the carrots soft. Season as well. This should take 6-7 minutes. Before you are done, add the minced garlic and let that cook until fragrant which is usually about 30 seconds.

Remove the carrot, onion, garlic mixture from the pan and set aside. Next, grab a packet of your tofu and drain off the liquid in a sieve or strainer. Now it's time to mix everything up and make the filling!

Grab a large mixing bowl to work with and break up the tofu, using your hands, into the bowl until you have small crumbles. Then add the browned meat. Start mixing but be careful not to break everything apart or mush everything up. You want the meat and tofu to retain some of their texture. Add the onion, carrot, garlic mixture as well and combine. Again careful not to mash everything up.








You can add a raw egg now. This will help to act as a binder and give the loosely held ingredients something to stick to. Add two if you think you need it but don't over-do it. You don't want the filling to be too wet.

Roughly chop the cooked cellophane noodles and then add them to the mix. Do you have toasted sesame seeds? No!? You can buy sesame seeds and toast them yourself in a pan over high heat. Lightly toast them, don't burn them. If they get dark brown or black and start releasing their oil you've gone too far. Usually 30-60 seconds is enough. Add a tablespoons to the mix. Some toasted sesame oil for flavor as well. Try a few tablespoons and taste. Yes, taste! I know there's raw egg in there but you have to try and taste things along the way, this is not an exact science!

The filling is done now. You should have a big bowl of stuff. Next comes the part where after a few minutes you wished you never signed-on to this gig and you realize that it would be so much easier to just order up a plate of these from your local Asian restaurant instead. Don't give up! This is the fun part and the part where your dexterity and patience is fully exercised. Plus, you can make it a little competition as well like we did and see who can make the prettiest and the most egg rolls!


First, prep your assembly area. You'll need a bowl of filling and a spoon. You'll need a small bowl with a raw egg wash. Dumpling wrappers and a tray to place your completed egg rolls on.


Assembly is essentially:

1. Place a wrapper in your hand and then with one of your fingers, coat the outside edge with the egg wash. This is what will bind the egg roll together when you fold it over later.
2. Place a spoonful of filling into the center of the wrapper. Now how much depends on the size of your wrapper. Too much and you won't be able to close it properly. Too little and you'll end up with left-over filling in the end and no more wrappers.
3. Fold the wrapper over and make a half circle.
4. Start at the corner and pinch your way across to the other corner to close the egg roll. Pinch too little and she won't stay shut. Pinch too much and you'll break the wrapper apart.
5. As long as she stays shut and nothing is leaking out, your done! Now only 99 more to go!

Remember, be gentle, don't over or under-stuff your egg roll, have fun and see how many you can make over your opponents!

That's one good looking egg roll!

Now before you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor, you'll have to lightly fry these little pockets of joy. This isn't deep-frying but just a light pan-fry with some vegetable oil.


Heat up some oil in a pan. You'll want it no more than a half an inch deep. About a small fingers width (don't put your finger in hot oil!). Don't smoke the oil, that's way too hot. Just hot enough to fry an egg roll in only a couple of minutes.

These are more than lightly fried but its up to you how much you want to cook them. They really only need about a minute or two per side. Just cook each side once then remove from the oil and let them cool down on a plate lined with some paper towels to absorb some of the oil. They will be very hot so be careful when you bite in!

Well, I wish I had more to share but by the time these were ready, the camera was down and forgotten and we were busy stuffing our faces with fresh egg rolls.


A few technical notes on the shots. I used a single flash, a Nikon SB-600 sometimes on the camera and sometimes off. When it's off I can trigger it by simply using the pop-up flash as a commander on my Nikon D700. I used a 1/2 CTO gel on the flash. Sometimes bouncing off the ceiling or wall, sometimes straight on. Everything was taken using a 50mm lens that was manual only. Being manual only was a challenge and many shots were missed because of focus. I did my best on trying to pre-focus for everything and just shoot at consistent distances. Having an auto-focus would have helped tremendously. Lighting conditions were fair enough that AF shouldn't have had problems. The flash and taking photos in close quarters with many close-ups required some additional time spent post-processing to recover highlights and tame some of the blown-out areas.

Would I have done anything differently?
Besides having an auto-focus lens I would have experimented more with depth-of-field some more to alternate between very selective focus shots and shots with everything in focus. I would have also made us of shutter-speed to blur and show some motion when cooking and assembling the egg rolls. Things to keep in mind for the next time...

Happy shooting, cooking, and eating!

Art Wolfe Seminar - Art of Composition

Art Wolfe

Just last weekend, Rebecca and I had the great pleasure of learning about the "Art of Composition" through the words and vision of world renowned nature photographer, Art Wolfe.

If you don't know who Art Wolfe is, please take some time to visit his website (www.artwolfe.com) and see the spectacular images he produces. They are truly inspiring. He also has a TV show called Travels to the Edge which airs on PBS, so check your local listings and watch.

The seminar was an all day session where Art Wolfe took us through his beginnings and his source of inspiration and dissected photography into his basic constituents of composition, light, and having an emotional impact. Art Wolfe's inspiration comes from the great painters through time; Seurat, Picasso, Dali, M.C.Escher, Matisse, Pollock, and many others. There wasn't a single focus on one type of photography, such as nature, wildlife, landscape, portrait, etc. Instead Art Wolfe looks at photography as a whole and explains what he finds as the necessary elements needed to create beautiful images. He emphasized the usage of framing by the great painters and how great photography benefits from the same application with composition. He detailed out his own top ten list of photography "don'ts" and then spoke about some technical aspects such as depth of field, focus, shutter speed, and gear.

We took copious notes and walked away with a great sense of respect and inspiration. One day we hope to meet Art Wolfe again, perhaps on a workshop, and learn even more from him. Until then, here are just a couple of quotes that we took away from the seminar:

Surround yourself with your art. Print and hang your images in your home. Make your home a place that comforts you and encourages and inspires your art.

If you only spend a second looking at an image, then I've failed you as a photographer in creating a great photograph because I didn't make a connection with you.

When you let go of the literal and find the abstract the magic will happen.