Creating Lightroom Presets

Creating presets in Lightroom is very easy, I have seen people selling them and I hate to see people paying for something that is so simple.

While in the develop module, start by creating a folder, select somewhere inside the presets menu on the upper left  as shown and select new folder.

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Name that new folder and hit enter, you now have a location to put your presets, think about what you want to call it, you can click on it and delete it if you need to and start over.

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Now go in and make adjustments to an image that you would like your presets to match up to, things like tone curve, colors, sharpening, etc., once your satisfied select the "+" symbol to the right of "Presets" in the upper right as shown and give your preset a name, from the pull down menu select the folder you created earlier, every thing you did to that image is now saved in that preset in that folder for you to apply to future images.

One for color: click image to see bigger

One for Black and White: click image to see bigger

As simple as that, this is especially useful for Fuji X users that want to get that out of camera look. Make as many as you need, they are easy to create and delete.

Ross

Images In Light

Super Telephoto Compression

Image: 5D Mk III, EF 300 f/2.8 L IS, 1/800sec at f/11

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Using a super telephoto lens compresses objects in an image, in other words it appears to bring distant objects closer together than they normally appear, in this case the cruise ship appears a lot closer to the sun, where a wide angle lens would have done the opposite.

Some times a wide angle lens is not what we want to reach for when doing a landscape shot, I don't get to use this lens (EF 300 f/2.8L IS) a lot due to its size, but I do enjoy using it for landscape work when I can.

Ross

Images In Light

Atmosphere

 Image:Near camp Kiser, 5D Mk III, EF 24-70 f/2.8L II, 47mm, f/11 at 1/100 sec, tripod.

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 Image:Ptarmigan Ridge, 5D Mk III, EF 24-70 f/2.8L II, 70mm, f/11 at 1/500 sec, tripod.
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Its not always about light, sometimes atmosphere is needed to add a little extra to an image, I have had available time but decided not to go on a shoot because the weather is just to nice. I like going in to the mountains just after a storm or coming out just as a storm approaches.

I remember spending a stormy night in a lookout on top of Park Butte the next morning the lenticular cloud over Mt Baker was fantastic.

Mt Baker, North Cascades.

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Mist, fog, snow, clouds or even rain can add a lot of atmosphere to a scene, I especially like clouds swirling around mountain tops.

 

Columbia Ice Field, Banff, Ca.

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Plains in Wyoming.

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Some times its worth getting a little wet.

Ross

Images In Light

ISO 25,600, whats it for ?

 Image: 5D Mk III, EF 24-70f/2.8L II, 70mm 1/125 sec at f/2.8, ISO 25,600.
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Low light photography like this was not even conceivable 10 years ago, now with only a candle and ambient night time light we can shoot at ISO 25,600 and have usable images, its really quit extraordinary.

100% crop

When the image is downsized as in the top image, noise is virtually none existent, the 100% crop shows some noise, but this is still incredible performance for today's cameras.

This will be very helpful in low light performance and concert photography, not to mention a new form of portrait photography.

Ross

Images In Light

My favorite place to shoot

Image: 5D Mk III, EF 24-70f/2.8L II, 70mm, f/16, 1/20th sec, tripod.

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Image: 5D Mk III, EF 24-70f/2.8L II, 70mm, f/11, 1/30th sec, tripod.
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Image: 5D Mk III, EF 70-200 f4L IS, 200mm, f/4.5, 1/250th sec, ISO 400.
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Most photographers have a favorite place to shoot, mine would have to be Mt Rainier National Park.

The ever present Mountain in these parts is Mt Rainier or as we call it "The Mountain", it has attracted me from a very young age and I'm a regular visitor to the park in all four seasons, I ski in the winter and hike the rest of the year, I even managed a summit back in 2000 with a group of friends.

When I go hike the Mountain I usually come across wildlife of some kind, this time it was a mother Black bear and her two cubs, but this is one of my favorite weeks to be on the Mountain, the Bloom is in peak near Chinook pass and I chose the Naches Loop for this days hike.

Image: 5D Mk III, EF 100f/2.8L IS, f/7.1, 1/125th sec, hand held.

Image: Upper Tipsoo lake, x100s, 1/280sec at f/8, ISO 400

The hike starts and ends at Tipsoo lake, so I started there at sunrise and completed the hike 2 1/2 hours later, I highly recommend it if you go to Rainier, fall will be especially nice as well maybe the first week of October to catch the fall colors

Image: Mountain Anemone, 5D Mk III, EF 100f/2.8L IS, f/3.5, 1/4000th sec, hand held, sky background.

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Ross 

Images In Light

Lumix GX7

Updated new video from the Lumix product manager



Another very interesting camera announcement, this time a micro 4/3's sensor, recently they have had some excellent new offerings, including the older Olympus E-M5 and the newer E-P5 here

This one ticks all the right box's: dual control wheels, AE/AF lock button, good auto focus,  hi-res tilt screen, interchangeable lenses, touch screen menu (includes AF point), state of the art tilting electronic view finder, a new 16mp sensor that includes image stabilization and a built in flash, an enthusiast's camera for sure.

The Lumix GX7 has a wide range of features and can use a wide range of lenses, including the excellent Olympus  45mm and  75mm primes. This looks like a pretty complete camera, it has all the controls in the right place, a new Panasonic 16mp sensor and promising auto focus, we shall see when the full reviews are out.

Interview with Ian Berry in Rome.



Things are looking better in the Micro Four Third's world and I am looking forward to carrying around a smaller camera some of the time that can give me excellent image quality.

DPreview here

See preview here and here

Reviews: here , here
here

Camera Labs here

Amateur Photographer here

 order the GX7  for $999.00 here

Panasonic site and here

Also announced is the Panasonic/Leica 42.5mm f/1.2 Nocticron lens this is the fastest Micro Four Thirds lens yet available for the system.

DxOmark selects best lenses for M43's 

Ross

Images in Light