Image Enhancement Software - Selection Tools

     In one of my previous posts I touched on the use of software programs to enhance your images.  I thought that in this post I would expound on that subject and show you a few applications that I have found to work well.  First of all the program with the most name recognition when it comes to image enhancement is Adobe Photoshop, and rightly so.  Photoshop is used by graphic artists, publishers, and even Hollywood effects artists due to its robust features and flexibility.  No doubt that everyone would probably own it if not for one little catch, the full version is around $1500.  Now does the average photographer need the full on version, well I guess that depends on your budget and needs, but off hand I would say no.  However Adobe also offers Photoshop Elements, and although it can’t match the power and benefits of its big brother, for around $70 it does some pretty fantastic things.  Also they have a specialty image program called Lightroom which sells for around $150 and would be more than adequate for even high end professional photographers.
     Personally I use Corel Draw, Corel Photoshop, and Paintshop Pro along with Adobe   Photoshop Elements for all of my image enhancement.  I have found that with these products I can create just about any effect or enhancement that I care to use.  There are also some fine free image enhancement products available for free download that can do a descent if not stunning job.  So there, all you have to do is purchase or download any one of these great products and you’re off and running!  Ah if it were only that simple.  If you already have one of these products I don’t need to tell you that being able to fully utilize them takes only slightly longer than getting a Masters Degree in Micro Biology, so unless you are a geek prodigy, only take on the task of learning to use them one program at a time.
     The shame is that most people who purchase one of these programs never get passed the auto-fix selection in the adjust/drop down menu.  Don’t get me wrong, if you need it fast or aren’t too picky about your finished product this function will do just fine.  But if you find that you need to work on a selected portion of the image you will have to know how to segregate that portion from the rest of the image before making the improvements.  One of the most useful tools that these programs offer is what is called a selection tool.  It may go by slightly different names from one program to another and it may have options like quick select or magic wand, but when it comes down to it they all do about the same thing.  They select an area of the photo to be worked on without effecting the rest of
the photo.  We will now look at an example of this on the following photos.

     Here we have a public domain copy of an old impressionist painting with a small amount of enhancement added to bring out the colors.  But lets say we want to center more attention on the mother and daughter without changing the rest of the photo. By using the selection tool we can add more or different colors to specific areas that will hopefully catch the viewers eye and direct them to what we want them to notice.
     In this image I added more pink to the little girl’s dress and more blue highlights to the mother’s umbrella, thereby focusing more attention on the human elements of the painting.

     Being able to effect a color change, or light setting can take a nice photo from okay to something special.  Remember that anything you can apply to the entire photo can be applied to the selected area.  With a little practice the selection tool will become one of your favorite tools for creating eye catching appeal in your photos.
   

Unsung Hero's

     From time to time I like to stand up on a soap box and talk about things that I feel are not given enough attention.  One of my pet interests is men and women who have had a profound effect on history but rarely get credit for their accomplishments.  Being from the Harpers Ferry area of the country there is an individual, who after leaning his story has certainly earned my respect.  Of course I am speaking of John H. Hall.  What?  You never heard of John H. Hall, well don’t beat yourself up too badly, probably a good 99% of America couldn’t tell you who he was.  John Hall was born in the year 1781 in Portland, Maine and worked in his father’s leather tanning business until around 1810 when he borrowed $750 and opened up his own woodworking and boat building shop.  There aren’t any records of how John did with this business but we do know that he was fond of firearm design and was always tinkering with rifles in his spare time.  This led to a patent being issued to him to him in
1811 for a single shot breech loading rife, which he estimated he could produce at the rate of 50 per year.  Someone took notice of the rifle at the United States Army Ordnance Department and promptly ordered 200 rifles.  This was a case of too much too soon and John had to turn down the order for fear he could not produce the rifles by the delivery date called for in the contract.  But this proved to be providential since if got him to thinking that there had to be a better way to make arms than one rifle built by one man, one at a time, which was the only method of manufacture in use then.
     From this experience Hall became a disciple of the “Uniformity Principal”, or what would eventually become the process of assembling a finished product from “Interchangeable Parts.”  In 1816 Hall went back to the Army and convinced them of the future of his concept and was
awarded a contract for 1000 of his new “Model 1819 Breech Loading Rifle design.”  Hall established a factory on Virginius Island, in the Shenandoah River at Harpers Ferry Virginia (it didn’t become West Virginia until the end of the Civil War) and invested $150,000 of his own and the U.S. Government’s money in building “The Hall Rifle Works.”  This task was complicated by the fact that a Federal Armory already existed at Harpers Ferry that had been established by George Washington.  The men who worked at the Federal Armory saw Hall’s factory as a threat to their jobs, and to say that relations between the two armories were poor would be a gross understatement.  Undeterred by the infighting Hall accomplished what most believed to be impossible.  When Government Ordinance inspectors visited the Hall Rifle works Colonel George Talcott had this to say, “[Hall’s] manufactory has been carried to a greater degree of perfection, as regards the quality of work and uniformity of parts than is to be found elsewhere almost everything is performed by machinery, leaving very little dependent on manual labor.”
     Even for those who know who John Hall was and what he accomplished, little credit is given to him for his work on using hydro energy as a power source for his machinery.  He utilized the waters of the Shenandoah River and water wheels to power belt driven lathes and heavy drills that attained speeds of nearly 3000 rpms, a rate that was hitherto unheard of.  The old factory was burned at the start of the Civil War but men like Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison toured the ruins and gleaned a great deal of knowledge from the decaying machines which they used to create the great assembly lines of the future.  So now that you know the story it would be nice to think that the next time you buy a replacement part for an appliance, auto, or any of the thousands of other machines that use interchangeable parts, you might give a little thought to the man who started it all.

How to make money with your photographs!

     In my last post on how to make money with your photographs I went over some general topics like, finding your niche, testing the markets, and photo enhancement software.  In this post we are going to cover what I think is the most basic way of making money with your camera, and that is by taking photos of your own or someone else’s and preparing them for framing.  Virtually every home in America or the world for that matter has some sort of decoration on the walls, and in a great many cases these are photographs.  Although not all photographs are displayed in frames this is the exception and not the rule, which means that the photos must be printed, placed on some kind of backer and have a mat cut to surround the printed area.  In order for an individual to have his favorite photo made ready for display they will either have to print the photo themselves or take it to a copy printing
center to have it printed.  Next if they don’t possess the skills to prepare the photo for framing, they must take it to a craft store or framing specialty shop to have it fitted and prepared for framing, and this is where the process begins to get expensive.
     If you are a serious photographer you have at some point taken one of your photos to a matting and framing business to get a price on having it prepared for hanging.  If you have, then I am sure your have uttered the term “how much did you say?” as the store clerk was waving smelling salts under your nose after you fainted.  Rule of thumb in the matting, backing, and framing business is to mark up the cost of your product 800% to calculate the finished price, i.e. if the materials and labor run $50 then retail of the item should be $400.  This may seem to be a bit exorbitant and probably is, but it provides a great opportunity for the aspiring photographic entrepreneur to get started.
     The first thing you will need is a business license, the reason for this is that without this most wholesale distributors will not sell to you.  Now the laws for obtaining a business license varies greatly from state to state, but in most cases obtaining the license is not terribly difficult or involved and will save you a lot of trouble later on.  Note:  If you intend to go to customers homes, have customers to your place of business, or attend events such as weddings and birthday parties to take photos you should consult an insurance broker about obtaining liability insurance.
     At this point I can only tell you what has worked well for me, and leave the amount of involvement you want to take on to you.  I have always made it a point to stay away from custom framing, the reason being that the cost of the equipment and inventory of moldings can easily accelerate out of reason.  My approach has been to offer my matted and backed prints in popular frame sizes like 8X10, 11X14, and 16X20 which fit standard frames that can be purchased at reasonable prices from most big box department stores or craft outlets.  By doing this you place the obligation of choosing and buying the frame on the customer and there by simplifying your business.  Starting out you should purchase your mats and foam core backer from a craft or art supply store until you get going, then you can begin ordering from the major wholesale suppliers like CMI Mouldings, or BD Matboards.  Believe me the price difference is staggering but when buying  wholesale you have to order in bulk (usually a 25 sheet minimum of 32x40 inch matboard and backer) which can be a burden to a fledgling business.  The other materials that you might want I will go into later as they are important but you may consider optional.
     Now lets touch on equipment.  You will need to buy a mat cutter and mat holder.  A quick search on Amazon for mat cutters and blades will yield an assortment of cutters and mat holders at varying prices.  I use Logan products as they are economical and the blades
are sold in most craft stores.  Another item that I think produces a professional looking product and also helps keep your finished work spotlessly clean is a shrink wrap system.  These systems completely seal you product inside a plastic pouch and cost only pennies per print to use.  I myself use the heat gun to shrink the pouch to a wrinkle free finish which makes the print look as if it were under glass, but this requires a delicate touch to keep from burning through the thin plastic wrap.  As far as how to operate the mat cutter and the shrink wrap system Youtube is loaded with instructional videos so I will not go into that process any further.  One last piece of equipment is the choice of printer.  Practically everyone has a favorite printer brand, mine happens to be Epson, but most any will do.  I use a Epson Artisan 1430 wide format printer for several reasons, first it does a fantastic job of color rendering, second it will handle 13X19 paper and last, you can buy emulator ink cartridges for it which is a great money savings over the Epson cartridges.  By the way I advise using heavyweight matte paper if the print is to go under glass since using glossy paper will create reflection and glare problems.
     Well I think that about covers the basics, I will go into the finer details in a furture post but for now I think I have provided you with enough to think about.  
 

Road Trip Break

     The old saying goes that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, well we certainly don't want to be considered dull do we?  So, I thought I would take you on a short excursion to some of the most picturesque real estate in America.  The area I am referring to is Northern Virginia, or more specifically Loudoun and its adjoining counties.
Topographically speaking, it is made up of rolling hills and low mountain ridges with tranquil wooded areas, and lush meadows that are crisscrossed by streams, runs, creeks, and rivers that meander through on their way to the Chesapeake Bay.  The weather is moderate, unlike New England that turns into a deep freeze for six months of the year or the South which like its world famous chicken has a tendency to fry in the summer.  Having abundant water, moderate climate, fertile land, and bucolic beauty has made it the perfect location to raise, that’s right you guessed it, rich people!
     Yes you can’t throw a rock without hitting a multimillionaire, and when I say rich I mean old money, the kind that demands respect and gets it.  Riding along the well maintained two lane roads that carry you through the countryside (note:  I have discovered that wealthy people don’t put up with bad roads) you encounter one estate after another with a gated entrance and a lane that disappears over a hill where you can just bet sits a residence fit for a king.  All this raises the question what does one do to entertain oneself when oneself is loaded!  The answer should be perfectly obvious, you raise horses, go fox hunting, play polo.  To put it mildly this area of the Mid-Atlantic is horse country, as a matter of fact the town of Middleburg, Virginia has been called the horsiest (and yes
dear reader horsiest is a real word) place in America.
     Middleburg is the un-official capitol of Virginia horse country.  As a matter of fact it is home to the National Sporting Library and Museum which houses a magnificent collection of art and sculpture dedicated to Equine and Canine sporting, a.k.a. foxhunting and cross-country racing.  Until recently the town remained the exclusive stomping grounds for ultra wealthy residents that include or have included Robert Duval, John F. Kennedy, Kate Jackson, Dickie Smothers and Elizabeth Taylor and their super rich kinfolk, who own most of the surrounding countryside.  But alas the irrepresible tourist ferreted out the town and retail merchants soon began to cater to the day visitor.  So much for the neighborhood eh!  Well not really, a strange thing occurred, the original aristocratic gentry decided to accept the visitors, (though I am sure begrudgingly) as a part of the changing times.  So the town now thrives with the influx of middle class wallets just waiting to buy dinner, a souvenir, an antique or a piece of art in on of the many shops.  One event hosted by Middleburg that is to my knowledge unique in nature, is the annual Christmas Parade.  Not that Christmas Parades are unusual, but few of them feature one hundred untethered pure bred fox hounds and fifty mounted riders attired in traditional fox hunting outfits riding through town on Route 50 which they have closed down for the day.
     I suppose by now it looks as though I am jealous of the wealth that lives in Virginia Horse Country, not at all, well okay maybe a little, alright so a lot.  But I am not so blinded by my jealousy that I don’t realize that if these folks did not keep and hold this land it would soon be overrun with thousands of vinyl siding track homes, and the beautiful scenery that I so dearly love to ride my motorcycle through would be gone.  So I say, “way to go filthy rich horse lovers of Northern Virginia, keep up the good work!”

Can photography pay?

     Over the years people have asked me numerous questions about what it takes to be a financially successful photographer, and I have found that the best answer I can give them is “I don’t know, I’ll let you know when I become a success.”  Of course I mean this in a joking manner, but there is a thread of truth to it.  You see with the advent of the digital image processor the marketing of photographs got turned upside down and inside out.  Before the digital camera came along professional photography was only practiced by a few dedicated individuals that were willing to
suffer long hours in a dark processing lab, exposure to caustic chemicals, and hauling around a truckload of equipment that cost as much as a middle class home.
     Not so today, even our phones are now capable of capturing a comparatively good image, not to mention the prolific assortment of really fine SLR  and sports cameras available to photographers.  Everyone takes pictures and videos of everything today.  As a matter of fact I really believe that if famous film and plate photographers such as  Alexander Gardner, Ansel Adams, or Yousuf Karsh were to come back today they would probably look for another career field.  The advantage of having a device that can just keep capturing images one after another in rapid succession with the only limitation being the size of your memory card is mind blowing.  Photo enthusiasts can capture  thousand of images of a subject without incurring so much as the cost of pack of chewing gum!  So how is one to make money from an occupation where the number of competitors might number in the hundreds of millions?  Well as you might have guessed that’s the point of this post.
     Strangely enough the key to success still lies in what made photographers like Gardner, Adams, and Karsh practiced.  First of all they didn’t just go out into the world and start taking pictures of every subject that struck their fancy.  They specialized in something that peaked their interest, for Adams it was nature, Karsh loved the infinite expression contained in the human face, and Gardner sought to destroy the deluded notion that there was something romantic or chivalrous about a bloody battlefield.
     So the first element of success I recommend is to pick a subject that peaks your interest and become immersed in it.  If you read my first post you will remember me talking about what my dear old Granddad had to say about things,  Well here’s another one of his gems, “you can make a million dollars selling pencils on the street corner, if you make sure you are selling the best damn pencil money can buy, and you work your butt off every day.”  In other words a half hearted try will end up in failure before you can even get started.
     The second element is learn your market, for example if you choose flowers as you field of endeavor you might think of getting a booth at a local flower show and exhibit your work to the people who have a real interest in your subject.  Doing this will give opportunity to hear both criticism and praise for your work, but a word to the wise develop a tough skin as people can be cruel.  Another good way to get your work noticed is to contribute to local newspapers and TV stations, they are always looking for “stringers” to provide free work.  In other words start small but not slow, the more ways that you offer yourself to the world the quicker the world will respond.
     The last element is quality of work, all modern photographers use a photo paint program to adust their work, learning to use one of these programs is essential, and I really mean learning to use it, just hitting the auto correction button will not get it in today’s competitive market.  Well good luck, next time we’ll go over some of the software and hardware that can help your work to achieve an individual look.
 

A wonderful life!

      I suppose that you may have guessed by the title of this post that I have made the most of my sixty-six years here on this little planet of ours.  I have been what many might call a “Jack of all Trades” and what some of my detractors might call a master of none.  I have changed careers almost as often as people change their choice of cell phone.  I have built commercial buildings and private homes, owned my own home improvement business, sold cars, owned my own motorcycle business,

and when my body began to show the signs of wear and tear I switched to author, photographer and videographer.  I have sold over five thousand photo products, twenty-five thousand books, and three thousand DVDs in National Park Service Book Stores.  I have had better than average success in nearly all of my endeavors by maintaining a simple philosophy that my good old granddad imparted to me in my youth.  One day when I was feeling particularly anxious about my future I asked him for advise and he looked me straight in the eye and said, “don’t talk foolishness boy, go ahead and try whatever you think will work, besides what’s the worst the world can do to you if you fail and end up on your butt, hell they can’t eat you!”  He went on to say (by this time he was wound up) “that no one ever really succeeded by clinging to what they had, it’s the person who learns to let go that finishes near the top.”
     Well I took my grandfathers advice, (at least for the most part, wives and children do not appreciate a total devil may care attitude in their bread winner) and made the most of my meager talents.  Now that my demise is nearly staring me in the face I have decided to have a little fun and perhaps share what little knowledge I have gleaned from my experiences with anyone fool enough to listen.  By the way on the subject of dying, I think that like the aging poet when asked what he wanted engraved on his tombstone said, just put “I just knew something like this was going to happen.”  In any case back to the original subject, my posts will cover, history, creating good photos, making video products, riding motorcycles, favorite travel spots, otherworldly matters, and how to become a great lover!  The last one I threw in just for fun, after all, if I was a great lover would I have time to write a stupid Blog.
   

 By the way, the main title “The real fun is in the curves” in case you hadn’t guessed by now doesn’t just pertain to roadways, motorcycles or young women in bikinis, it's my incredible sly use of a metaphor to describe  how one should take on life.  After all driving down a perfectly straight road might be safe and sure, but it tends to put one to sleep.  It’s only when that hairpin curve pops up out of nowhere that you really begin to pay attention and thereby live life to the fullest, unless of course you were asleep when you got to the hairpin curve in which case you probably aren’t reading this post.  So sit back and try to enjoy my humble effort to entertain you, who knows you might even end up  as illiterate as I are.