Short demo of image processing possibilities

First thing I will say is I am always available for advice and discussion. If anyone wants to talk photography, I am willing -- no, anxious -- to do so. Riding Rex is my life but photography is my passion.

A few people have said to me, “I wish I could take photos like you do.” I am very flattered but it does not take a genius or someone akin to Merlin casting magic spells to get great images. I take the same images that everyone else does. I do have some very good equipment, especially great lenses. The single most important item in the image capture mechanics is the glass. If you have poor glass you get poor images. 

Other pieces of hardware are important but none as much as the lens. I thank the great lens designers/manufacturers and programmers at Adobe every day for giving me some great tools to work with (and for taking a lot of my money – HA). If you let the auto-everything camera make image decisions it will be hit or miss (mostly miss) as to what quality image you get.

Here are three views of an image taken by me with the camera mounted on a tripod and one that records the setup using my cell phone camera. The captions will explain. So I guess that those many hours spent in geekdom, sitting in front of my computer over these many years have paid off.

What an automatic camera would record.

What I recorded without after exposure image processing.

My final image, with colors converted to B&W (each color seperately)
Also corrected tree perspective and enlarged just the sun.

As recorded with a cell phone.

Another very important thing is to be there when the light is right. Have you ever noticed that when you are in a beautiful scenic location early in the morning or later in the afternoon the view seems so much more beautiful? And when there in the midday the same scene looks flat and boring? Usually the best time for dramatic images is before 10am and after 3pm, but there are ALWAYS exceptions.

Regardless of brand, the camera makers as well as many publishing companies offer great guides to improve your photography. Get a book or DVD and study, then practice, practice, and practice some more.