Photography Solutions Late Summer 2020

Late Summer 2020

Vol 8

Nature and Outdoor

• Travel

• Architecture

• Photo Illustrations

P h o t o g r a p h y

solutions

A William Manning Photography Publication

Vignettes Invite the Viewer into Your World 2021 Photography Tour and Workshop Schedule

Create Beyond Your Wildest Ima

2021 Destination Photography Mentorship Workshops have been designe ited to 8 photographers, field locations are selected for a variety of creative

2021 is Going to be a Great Year for Photography Learn more at:

www.williammanning.com

agination

ed to accomodate for the safety and enjoyment of our participants. Workshop participation will be lime opportunities and allowing participants to spread out for their own comfort level.

An Awesome Year Ahead The Covid-19 Pandemic has hit the photography community hard as with so many others. It may be a while before we know the true damages it has done. That being said we can’t stop planning for the future. And, this is exactly what I have decided to do.

I have spent a lot of time thinking and rethinking how to proceed with photography workshops allowing photographers who join me in a safe, comfortable environment and not take away from their experience.

I believe this can be done by reducing the number of photographers on a workshop and selecting locations that allow photographers to spread about. Limiting workshops to 8 photographers will allow me to allocate one on one afternoon editing and processing sessions.

This format will be used for my early workshop schedule and hopefully return to normal tour and workshop sessions in late spring into summer and fall.

I hope you will consider joining me in 2021. I approach each year with optimism and hope. My goal is to continue delivering programs that reward photographers with a creative, rewarding and safe experience.

Photographer’s are socialable, friendly people by nature who are eager to share and learn. I think we are all ready to put 2020 behind us and move on with a bright fun and creative year behind our cameras. I invite you to take a look at my 2021 schedule and join me for a awesome photography experience.

See you in the coming months.

William Manning Have a question? email: william@williammanning.com www.williammanning.com

Death Valley, Land of March 3-7, 2021

Truly Different, Certainly Unique, Unquestionably Colorful

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Death Valley is truly a land of extremes. This region of the Mojave Desert is a national park situated in a basin 282 feet below sea level and rises to over 11,043 feet at Telescope Peak. The beauty is equally impressive with ever-changing sand dunes, multi-colored hills, jagged mountain peaks and a desert floor covered in patterns that constantly change with the winds and the rare rainfalls.

Photographing Death Valley means early mornings and late evenings to truly capture the beauty of this desert park. The early and late hours provide a variety of hues that illuminate the landscape and tame this harsh environment with the softness that comes with morning and evening light.

Extremes

We’ll photograph Zabriski Point, Dante’s View, Badwater Basin, Mesquite Sand Dunes, but beyond these highlights, I have included in our itinerary other locations often overlooked and off the beaten path.

Many of our locations require some hiking. There are some moderate uphill hiking in a couple locations but photographers in reasonable condition should have no problem.

Springtime in the Great Smoky M

Beautiful Mountain Streams, Verdant Green Forests, and Stunning Appalachian Landscapes Learn More @ www.williammanning.com Looking Forward to Creating with You

Mountains April 28 - May 2, 2021

Spring in the Great Smoky Mountains is a photographer favorite. Spring colors canvas the surroundings with verdant green vegetation and a palette of colorful soft hues. This southern mountain region is tangled in countless streams which flow at their best after the winters snow melt and late spring flowers carpet the hillsides. This will truly be a fun and rewarding hands-on workshop providing expertise instruction and guidance.

After photographing this park over the past 25 years, I find mid to late spring my favorite for beautiful forest canopy, streams flowing at normal water levels, and minimal crowds. Our classroom is the trails and meadows that make up this incredible park.

Vignettes

Invite the Viewer into Your World

Text and Photography by William Manning ©

I have always enjoyed art, especially painting. I make an effort to visit art museums when I travel throughout the world. I have found careful study of these masterpieces can teach us a lot about how we might become better photographers. The early periods of the Renaissance movement, Mannerism, Baroque, Neoclassical, and Romanticism can teach photographers about the use of light and composition. The Realism period was a time of simplicity in composition, an effective approach to landscape photography. The Impressionist period, a favorite of many, illustrates the use of color and soft light. All of these concepts play a role into how we approach our photography.

Peter Pau The Fall o

notably the Baroque Period. Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Reubens and others used stark contrasts of dark to light to bring viewers as close as possible to the space or action in a scene, forcing the eye to an important visual point.

Rembrandt The Storm at the Sea of Galilee What is a Vignette Vignettes are not unique to photography. They have been used for centuries by painters. Matter-of-fact, we can say photographers borrowed the technique from a whole line of famous artists. A vignette is a reduction of an image’s brightness or saturation gradually changing from the outer limits towards the center. This allows the artist to draw the viewers eye towards the center of the frame or an element in the frame. This method was commonly used by painters, most

Photographers use vignettes the same way but with a more subtle approach. I use them in almost every landscape I photograph with a few exceptions. The photograph of Coal Mine Canyon on the previous page had a vignette applied. As that photo illustrates, the vignette is sublte but effective. If you’re not using vignettes in your work, give it a try. I think you’ll enjoy the results.

There are many apps available with a vignette filter option. Regardless of your choice, all are easy to apply.

Luminar 4, Topaz Studio and Nik Color Efex are the three more common apps. I own all three and use them sparingly for a variety of creative options but vignettes are not one of them. I prefer the Free Hand method with TK Actions.

Vignettes are typically the last step in a work flow. This is not a written rule but certainly the approach I take. There are times after applying a vignette I might make adjustments to the overall photo but for the most part the vignette should be the finishing touch.

As much as I like applying a vignette to my landscape photography, they can also wreck an otherwise beautiful image. I have seen photos where the vignette looks like a thoughtless frame around a composition. Feathering and or opacity of a vignette need to be carefully considered. When applying your vignette strive for a realistic look. I believe the best use of a vignette is one that looks natural. If there is no easy or natural transition from the vignette into the subject or action than you need to rework your vignette.

ul Rubens of Phaeton

Far removed from the Masterpieces above but a good example of how an extreme use of a dark to light vignette can be used in photography.

Luminar 4 Luminar 4 is a basic program for processing photography. Luminar is what I call a slider based photography processing app, honestly most apps work this way. The ease of use is what makes Luminar popular with photographers. This app offers all the basic processing tools at a reasonable price and easy to learn. Luminar offers a vignette filter. It’s a basic vignette that gives the photographer the choice of size, shape and opacity with the help of sliders.

Applying vignettes with Luminar are quite easy, simply scroll to Vignette, select and pull sliders to desired effect.

It’s that easy. The example below illustrates the Luminar workspace and what a vignette might look like with Luminar. This vignette is purposely displayed dark for illustration purposes only. Adjusting feathering and the amount in Luminar would make this a nicer transition and a more effect vignette.

Topaz Studio The Topaz Utilty Bundle is a set of powerful tools and creative filters. Topaz is an artists delight with so many incredible tools that simplify time consuming adjustments. Topaz Studio was designed for photo editing and is a good starting point for those getting started with the Topaz product line. Topaz Studio is designed for standard processing with the option of several really cool creative options such as turning a photograph into an impressionistic painting.

Topaz Studio comes with a Vignette filter. Simply choose Vignette from the Adjustments button. Topaz offers flexibilty with its vignette tool. You can change the color of the vignette, allowing the freedom to move away from the traditional black or white vignette. You also have flexibilty of placing the center of the vignette wherever

Nik Color Efex The Nik Collection is one of my favorites. It offers a lot of creative filters for a reasonable price. The Nik Collection is different than Topaz. The Nik Collection can be incorporated into your every day work flow, where as Topaz, I believe is better suited for those special creative purposes.

Nik Color Efex is part of this Nik Collection. The many options within Nik Color Efex is a Vignettte filter. Like other apps it’s adjustments are slider based. It’s easy to use with the option of changing colors, opacity, size transition and adjusting edges. Color Efex also includes two additional Vignette filters, Vignette Blur and a Camera Lens Vignette.

TK Actions TK Actions is my absolute favorite. It gives me complete control and is not slider based. TK Actions is a Adobe Photoshop Extension. It does require the photographer to have a basic understanding of Photoshop.

TK Actions allows the photographer to place exactly where the vignette sits within the composition and it doesn’t have to be oval or square based, it can be as placed around elements within the composition where you might want to subdue or bring attention to special areas. The example on the right illustrates the placement of the vignette exactly where I want it (see marching ants in the photo.

• Select the lasso tool from the Photoshop toolbox and draw a line where you want your vignette.

• Go to the TK Cx panel and at the very bottom of the panel click on the TK button, this opens the Actions option.

• Choose Freehand Vignette. A Gaussien Blur panel will open, by default the blur is set at 480 pixels ( I leave it at its default setting) and press OK..

At this point you can make adjustments if needed.

• Go to your layers panel. You will notice the Opacity is set at 50% by default. You can change the opacity to your desired setting.

• Here’s the beauty of using the Freehand Vignette, if you want to take away or add to the vignette simply select the black brush to add to the vignette or the white brush to take away from the vignette.

The Freehand Vignette is easy to apply and I believe the best of all the options. If you aren’t using vignettes as part of your workflow, you might consider exploring this finishing touch. If you are using vignettes but haven’t tried the Freehand Vignette in TK Actions you’re missing out on a powerful option.

Note: All of the photos in this publication has a vignette applied, all created with the Freehand Vignette in TK Actions with the exception of the examples on the previous page.

Death Valley National Park, CA

Mesquite Flat Dunes

Photo was processed with Adobe Photoshop and TK7. The Fr

reehand Vignette was used to effectively lead the eye into the sand dunes.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN

Swift Flowing Cascade

Photo was processed in Adobe Photoshop with TK7. I used a 6 stop neutral density fil

lter to create the soft water flow. I applied a Freehand Vignette to force the viewers eye into the water flow.

Springtime on the Beautiful Ore

Pounding Surf, Rugged Sea Coast, Stunning Landscapes and Awesome Sunsets

Learn More @ www.williammanning.com Looking Forward to Creating with You

egon Coast May 15 - 21, 2021

The Oregon coast stretches 363 miles and runs from the Columbia River to the California border. It is considered by many to be the most scenic seashore in the lower 48 states. This coastline is an inspiring landscape abundant with wild and beautiful subjects from ancient old growth forests, sand dunes, tide pools, lighthouses, roaring wave action and graphic landscapes.

There is no shortage of places to explore. Natural and made-made communities along this Pacific coast need the sea for survival and both offer a colorful and ever changing environment for us to enjoy on this beautiful coastal photo tour.

Your Oregon Coast Photography Mentorship Program begins on Saturday afternoon after everyone is picked up from the Portland airport. Each day, carefully planned locations await you for both a fun and rewarding photography experience. We rise early for sunrise or simply to catch the warm morning spreading its rays across the landscape and end our days as the sun lowers itself below the Pacific horizon.

Palouse: The Phot

Beautiful Rural American Landscapes, Rolling Hills of Vibrant Colors and Endless Patterns

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tographers Palette

June 14 - 19, 2021

Southeastern Washington better known as “The Palouse�, at least within the photography community, has become a favorite location for photographing patterns, rural scenes and artifacts of old Americana. This is a major agricultural area primarily producing wheat and legumes. Many sleepy little farming communities are hidden amongst the rolling verdant green hills in the region making this a quiet place to explore and enjoy a creative journey.

I invite you to join me in the rolling hills of the Palouse for beautiful landscapes, rustic barns, abandoned vehicles and farm equipment and much more on this rewarding photo tour. With long days, long drives and limited pull off sites along the rural roads, it makes for a more enjoyable experience when you let me do the driving and you sit back and enjoy your photography.

Iceland

July 2-12,

Land of Fire and Ice: The Extraordinary Beauty Learn More @ www.williammanning.com Looking Forward to Creating with You

, 2021

y of Iceland

Join William Manning and Adam Jones on an immersive photography adventure in one of the most dramatic landscapes in the world.

During this ten day tour, we will explore all that Iceland has to offer beneath the golden glow of the Midnight Sun, from the stunning waterfalls of the south to the geothermal areas of the north and the steaming beauty of the Highlands.

This summer photography workshop will take you to a variety of glorious locations for photography in Iceland. You’ll have incredible opportunities to capture pseudo-craters and lava fields, as well as the enchanting Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon where large icebergs float before making their way out to the Atlantic Ocean and eventually washing back up ashore onto the ice beach like diamonds glistening in the sun. Explore the magnificence of Icelandic nature and learn all there is to know about landscape photography in this wild and wonderful environment as you translate stunning scenes into compelling photographs.

This workshop has a flexible itinerary, which will allow us to adapt to the conditions to help you make the most of your time in Iceland.

Summer Land Wildflowers o

July 31 - August 6, 2021

Wildflowers, Waterfalls, Old Growth Forests, Stunning Landscapes and Majestic Mt. Rainier

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dscapes and of Mt Rainier

Majestic Mt. Rainier rises 14,410’ above beautiful subalpine meadows. Covered in a colorful display of summer wildflowers. These stunning meadows are but a small part of this diverse landscape. Mt Rainier is the tallest glaciated peak in the lower 48 states.

Your journey goes well beyond the roadways that traverse the park. You will explore the meadows at Paradise where the hillsides are covered in wildflowers backdropped by Mt Rainier. You will capture the first rays of light at Reflection Lakes as morning mist rises above the reflections. You’ll discover creative ways to capture the beautiful streams and waterfalls.

The Sunrise region of Mt Rainier is highest point in the park that can be reached via roadway. If you have the determination to explore a bit off the beaten path, you can explore quiet meadows above the Sunrise visitor center.

Your Mt Rainier Mentorship Program begins on Saturday afternoon after pickup at the Seatac International Airport. Each day, carefully selected locations will be determined depending on the weather forecast. We rise early for sunrise or simply to catch the warm morning spreading its rays across the landscape. Hiking is very much a part of outdoor and nature photography, your Mt Rainier hikes are fairly easy as long as you take your time and photograph along the way. I invite you to join me on this fun and rewarding photo journey.

Wildflowers on Hillside near Tipsoo Lake Mt Rainier National Park, Washington

The Last Frame 2020 was a late wildflower bloom in Mt Rainier National Park. I arrived the first week of August, traditionally the most predictable time for wildflowers. Tipsoo Lake was one of the few locations that had a nice display of flowers on my visit this year. Mt Rainier has so many great locations to photograph and when one thing doesn’t work out there are plenty of other great options.