cow skull fun

I’m a fan of some of Georgia O’Keeffe’s art and with her inspiration I am using multiple images and this cow skull on the fence that I photographed at the last Arizona Professional Photographers all day event where I was teaching at a Western set town called Canyon Creek Ranch… (should you ever be in the area it’s a fun place to visit with history, jeep rides, horseback riding and more)

cow skull art

Inspired by O’keeffe

I call this process Photo-Synthesis whereby I use multiple images and blend them together to create something that I believe is greater than the sum of the parts.texture on the fence was created with two leaf images and a sheet metal image using differing Blend Modes in Adobe Photoshop.

This image is part of my ‘play to learn’ time. ‘Play to learn time’ is important for growing your skills and stretching vision.

What have you done lately to push your skills to another level??

Yours in Creative Photography,    Bob

PS – If you would like to have me come speak to your local photography group or set up one on one lessons let me know…

aurora HDR

If you follow Trey Ratcliff you probably already heard about the brand new MacPhun plugin/app AURORA HDR. Well I can’t wait to try it out when it becomes available for download tomorrow but here is a sneak peek video by Trey show you some possibilities…

trey ratcliff image using aurora HDR software

Trey Ratcliff image using aurora HDR software

Trey’s Vid.
If you are looking to learn more about the HDR software click below.

https://store.stuckincustoms.com/software

Yours in Creative Photography,     Bob

more sky ranch lodge

More images from the Sky Ranch Lodge photo shoot in Sedona, Arizona. If you would like to see details about the shoot and additional images you can check them out here.

sky ranch lodge room sedona

King Fireplace room.

 pillow detail at sky ranch lodge

Pillow & headboard treatment detail.

kitchenette and Fireplace room sedona arizona

Kitchenette and fireplace room.

reat property with wonderful grounds and spectacular views. Coming to Sedona? Check it out…

Yours in creative Photography,       Bob

old west photo shoot

The AZPPA put on a wonderful event in which I was one of the presenters thanks to Panasonic and the Lumix Camera line. There were five different instructors and the participants were broken down into small groups and rotated through all the education stations. AZPPA through Bruce Roscoe and Alyanya Photography got access to a western town. They added actors ten actors in period costume and a grand time was had by all.

western walk

The ‘Shoot-out at OK Corral’ walk through town.

saloon girls

Not to be outdone our female actors commandeered the weapons for a photo OP of their own!

jerry poses for the class

Jerry poses during my class showing Lumix camera gear and Wescott LED lighting equipment.

old west sheriff

Old west sheriff.

I used the Lumix GH4 and 12-35mm f2.8 Lens for the top images and the 35-100mm f2.8 for the portraits. Lighting was provided by FJ Wescott. The Skylux LED lights with soft box and strip lights were used for the portrait images. Working with continuous lighting is a great way to know what you are getting. The LEDS were bright enough to work with even in their soft boxes. A little bump in ISO made them perfect for portraiture.

sky ranch lodge sedona az

Got a chance to work with my buddy Jack Hillman of Hillman Design Group on another shoot with Sky Ranch Lodge in Sedona, Arizona this past week and we dodged rain and wind to traverse between the eight rooms we needed to photograph for the web site and marketing.

Had a chance to work with LED lighting instead of my traditional flash units to supplement the lighting in the rooms and I like it. Because I had more powerful LED lights from FJ Wescott I was able to see the final image a bit better as I was working. Kicking a little light here and there and seeing the effect immediately was a great way to work.

 sky ranch lodge sedona arizona double queen room

This is a double queen room. The daylight balance lights made it relatively easy to balance with the light entering the room from outside the window.

sky rnch lodge fireplace and table detail

Sky Ranch Lodge fireplace and table detail. Simple rooms but very neat & comfortable.

lamp detail sky ranch lodge sedona

Lamp detail. I enjoy when I get the tell the story of a property in detail images like this. Over the years many properties have tried to show everything in a room in one photo and the message of how wonderful the property actually is can get lost.

 The lights I was working with are Skylux LED lights that are designed for studio video work. I pushed them into location lighting for the resort I was photographing. All images were captured with my workhorse Lumix GH4 camera body. ANd the most used lens was the 12-35mm f2.8 Lumix Vario with an assist from the stunning 42.5mm f1.2 Nocticron.

Yours in Creative Photography,    Bob