Topaz Adjust is a Photoshop filter plugin that allows you to create endless possibilities for your images with, very often, just one or two clicks.  The differences that the filter displays in the images are dramatic, in most cases.  Topaz Adjust, for me, is the quickest and easiest way to take a good photo and turn it into something stunning.

Topaz Adjust’s included Preset Preview allows a user to click through a variety of different looks for an image.  Once you’ve chosen a preset that suits your image you can further fine tune the filter by using a series of sliders that control exposure, detail, color and noise.  You can even create and save your own Preset to add to the software for future use.

Yesterday, Topaz Adjust turned out its Version 4.  Just in time for me, because I was getting a little bored with the previous version.  I immediately downloaded my FREE upgrade (available to all previous Topaz Adjust owners).  I then went through a bunch of digital images I took over last summer and grabbed a couple of photos that I thought were good, but not good enough to be “gallery worthy”.

Here are my before and after results.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little bit of information regarding Topaz Adjust v.4.  Topaz offers many other filter add ons for Photoshop.  Any of their filters can be downloaded for trial periods before purchase.  The filters cost around $40 – $60, depending on the filter.  They also offer all of their filters in one bundle for around $180.00.

For a limited time, use the coupon code NEWADJUST for a 20% discount on Topaz Adjust or the Photoshop bundle. Expires 3/15/2010, so act now!

Enjoy!

~ Joanne

I’ve been dancing around these characters on my computer keyboard for over a week now, trying to come up with a great topic for all of our members.  I was supposed to do a piece on the fantastic time we all had at the Atlantis Aquarium, but Mother Nature dumped nearly two feet of snow on us and, ‘viola’, another field trip and blog post thwarted!

So before the weather gets too nice and all of Spring has sprung, please refocus your photography minds and efforts on two HUGE things in this blog post.

First -  your NEW Long Island Photo Gallery website, your NEW Fire Island Photography website, your NEW Members area, your NEW Photography Resource area and your NEW Photography Equipment area.

Whoa guys! (I said this was HUGE!)

All of this has been revamped and expanded to drive more visitors (a.k.a. shoppers) to us all.

I want to send out a HUGE thank you to Jessica Hirschmann who has been working like a woman possessed with this for a couple of months!  It would mean the world to ME … if YOU … would take a moment to post a THANK YOU to Jessica.  She deserves our collective praise for making us all look great!

Second – our Print Gallery located at 1650 Sycamore Ave, Bohemia needs your print work!  We have NEW prints on the walls in Bohemia and want to continue to build our physical gallery.  We are looking to advertise the Bohemia gallery to the public and want each of you to have something hanging in the gallery and marked “For Sale”.  Call me!  I want to help grow our physical gallery into the real deal and to sell, sell, sell for you.

Short, but SWEET!  As always, we welcome your comments.  And don’t forget to post a thank you to Jessica!

~ Joanne

As promised, 2010 is starting out to be a much anticipated, ‘Year of Action’ for Long Island Photo Gallery and its members.  Last night was the start of the push to increase opportunity for our members while helping to ignite the creative juices for us all.  If you love photography like we do, a great way to kick the year off is to have a Critique Night.  There’s nothing like a group of photographers, of all levels, joining together to enjoy each others favorite photos while having those same images critiqued by a jury of their peers.

Submitted by photographer Joanne Henig

Last night we held our first ever, Long Island Photo Gallery critique night. We met new members and had a new guest of LIPG sit in and participate in the event.  We had a great group of photographers assembled and we saw some really great photography.  The purpose of critiquing images is to help the photographer grow as an artist and to help them reach their personal photographic goals.  It is extremely difficult to critique your own images.  You, of course, know what you like and what you don’t like about your photos. But, an independent fresh set of eyes can sometimes point out the simplest suggestions to improve upon an image.  In many cases, this can take an image from being ordinary to extraordinary!

Submitted by photographer Jessica Hirschmann

Those that attended last night’s meeting walked away with a FREE Long Island Photo Gallery 2010 wall calendar.  Believe it or not, we are starting to zero in on the 2011 Long Island Photo Gallery calendar.  If you would like to get your images in the calendar, please contact either Joanne or Jessica at LIPG.

What’s next?

<————-  Scroll through our events calendar on the top – left of our blog page to see a complete list of events for 2010.  Don’t be shy.  Sign up.  Come on out and share your love of photography with fellow Long Islanders.

Submitted by photographer Mike Stein

Missed last night’s critique night?  No worries.  Sign up for our next critique night on April 14th, 2010.  We would love to see you and your images there.  Can’t promise a FREE calender, however : )

Stay In Focus!

Become a Long Island Photo Gallery Member. Click HERE.

Two members of LIPG spent a few hours volunteering their time, in coordination with thousands of photographers worldwide through the organization Help-Portrait,  to photograph individuals and give those individuals the resulting portraits.  Thank you Kim Pace & Joanne Henig for giving your time to give those in need something they can have for a lifetime, a portrait of their family!

Here is a copy of a recent press release from Help – Portrait explaining the day and project further.

Nashville, TN (PRWEB) December 18, 2009 — Last Saturday, December 12th, the world stood still as photographers worldwide united in a photography movement called Help-Portrait, which gave more than 40,000 individuals portraits to treasure for a lifetime. On Saturday, more than 8300 photographers and volunteers participated in 715 locations in 42 countries.

“On December 12th, cultural borders were crossed on one side of the camera and competitive borders on the other.”

Help-Portrait was founded by celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart with his vision of the photography community and individuals giving back this holiday season. This event reached a magnitude that nobody saw coming.

“On December 12th, cultural borders were crossed on one side of the camera and competitive borders on the other,” reflects Cowart. “I honestly don’t know which side of the camera was blessed more. For many of our subjects across the world, Help-Portrait provided them with their first-ever family photo. However, we’re consistently hearing from many photographers worldwide that this is the greatest thing they’ve ever done with their cameras.”

Information about Help-Portrait has spread across the globe through the Social Media phenomena– Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Blogging. Cowart used his 10,000+ Twitter followers to help share information and vision about Help-Portrait, thus snowballing into this cultural event that gave back so much more than just a portrait to those in need.

In addition this movement has nabbed the attention of local, national and international media throughout the weekend and this week. Help-Portrait stories have been featured on CNN, CNN.com, CNN International, CBS Evening News, HLN Headline News, The ONE Campaign, AOL Philanthropy Project, Sears/GNN.com, BritneySpears.com blog, New York Daily News, CTV News (Canadian), Egyptian Satellite Channel and more. Those photographed all had a story – all unique and heartbreaking in its own way.

“Poverty steals a lot of things, like your home, car and food, but it also steals something on the inside. Help-Portrait feeds that something on the inside,” states Help-Portrait Event Coordinator Annie Downs.

Moved and inspired by the response from those who participated this weekend, the Help-Portrait team is thrilled to announce the 2010 date of December 4th. It is setting the precedent of future Help-Portrait events annually on the first Saturday of December.

Inspiring quotes from those impacted by Help-Portrait:

“The portrait,” he said, “Represented where I’m going, not where I’ve been.” – Phillip Jackovich, Help-Portrait subject, OC Register story

“One of the ladies at Help-Portrait today cried the entire time I took her photo. I said ‘Are those happy tears?’ She said, ‘Yes, very happy!’” – Millie Holloman – Help-Portrait Photographer, Wilmington, NY

“Giving a photo to a stranger gives you a unique opportunity to speak a kind word of encouragement, value, beauty and truth that isn’t quite as tangible without that photo to give your words context. It’s hard to argue with art when you give it positive meaning. It was profound how encouragement, value, self-esteem and worth were given through actions, words and the foundation? A photograph.” – Joel Mills -Help-Portrait volunteer, photo editor Charlottesville, VA

“Today was the one of the best days I have had as a photographer and as a human being.” Kwame Reed – Photographer, Brentwood, California

For more information on Help-Portrait: Visit the official site, follow the H-P team on Twitter @help_portrait (Hashtag #helpportrait), be a friend on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/helpportrait and watch the official YouTube videos . Videos from around the world can be found on the YouTube tagged page here. Photos from the events posted can be found here

About Help-Portrait:
The goal of Help-Portrait was simple: 1. Find someone in need 2. Take their portrait 3. Print their portrait and 4. Deliver their portrait. This movement began just over four months ago with the YouTube video launch from Cowart. Help-Portrait was formed by celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart as he contemplated using his skills and expertise to give back to those who may not have the opportunity for a professional photo. The idea is that a photographer has the opportunity to help someone smile, laugh and to remember – it is a movement, a shift in photography.

About Jeremy Cowart:
Cowart began full-time photography in 2005 and has traveled to 6 continents with his talent. He’s photographed Imogen Heap, Sting, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Carrie Underwood and more. He’s also worked with entertainment clients ABC, E!, Fox, A&E, FX, The Style Network, CMT and more. You can view his photos and learn more at: http://www.jeremycowart.com/ or read his blog:http://blog.jeremycowart.com/ and follow him on Twitter @jeremycowart .

Hello fellow photogs!

What do you want for Christmas (or the holiday)?  My pat answer is usually, “I don’t know.”

Wrong!

Tis that season to blurt out a definitive answer to that age old question. Here are some ideas for photography buffs (like us) and an ideal response.

Gary Fong

Gary who?  The Gary Fong light defuser has been around for quite a while and is a definite must have for all indoor portrait work.  Turn that washed out, direct flash photo into a beautiful, softly lit photo.  Lose the back shadows that often come with a harsh flash photograph.  And it’s lightweight and easy to transport!  

NEW to his line of great flash defusers is the Lightsphere Collapsible.  The defuser collapses down to a 1.5″  thick ring which allows for easy storage and transport.

Gorillapod Flexible Tripod by Joby
The revolutionary little tripod is strong and remarkably flexible.  The legs allow it to securely wrap around pretty much anything, be it a post, bicycle handle bars, railing, or tree branch (hence its catchy name). The magic stems from its two-dozen-plus leg joints, which not only bend but also rotate 360-degrees.

It’s a bona fide miracle of modern tripod engineering. You can twist the legs into any shape you like without worrying that they’ll buckle or break. And if you just want to set it up like a standard tripod, rubberized balls at the end of each leg make for a rock steady mount. Meanwhile, a small quick release clip that can remain attached to the camera lets users snap their shooters onto the stand via a secure locking mechanism in less than a second.

I have one of these little tripods and it has come in handy on several occasions.  It is light weight and easy to throw in the camera bag.  Add this to your ‘Holiday Wish List’.

Books and Magazines

There are so many cool books geared towards photography that it is a daunting task to try to choose just one.  So ask for several!  Photography is a visual art and is well suited for the printed page.  Shop around the depths of Amazon.com.  You’re sure to find a few that interest you.  Maybe something technical?  Or instructive?  Or just one with pretty pictures of your favorite photographic subject to rival your own portfolio.  Get some books on your ‘Holiday Wish List’.

How about a monthly subscription to a photography magazine?  A few years ago I subscribed to Outdoor Photographer magazine.  I love it.  It arrives each month and is loaded with all the latest and greatest outdoor photography information, techniques, equipment, stories, contests and field trips.

Outdoor Photographer is just one of a multitude of monthly photography periodicals that offer insight into your favorite subject matter.  Do some research to help out your gift-giver and add one or two to your ‘Holiday Wish List’.

Remote Cable Release

Attention gift givers!  Here’s a piece of equipment that I bet your photographer knows they need to have or always wanted to have in their gear bag but don’t.  There’s a simple reason for this.  Us photographers are easily distracted by the really high-end equipment and toys when we walk into a camera store that our eyes glaze over, our brains go to mush and we forget to add the simple, less attractive Remote Cable Release to our shopping cart.

Camera manufacturers make it easy.  Just plug the cable end of the RCR into the USB port on the camera. You’re ready to shoot without shake.  And, you will Get more natural poses from your subjects and sharper images due to less shake of the camera.  This is on my ‘Holiday Wish List’ .. hint, hint.

Photography T-Shirts (By CafePress)

Clever play on words on a classic ‘T’ always make great gifts.  Express your inner giggle when wearing any of the great designs by CafePress.  All sizes, colors, styles and sayings for any photography buff are affordable and make for great gifts.

Lenses

This category is for ME!  I would LOVE a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS lens or a Sigma APO 50-500mm F4-6.3 lens, in case my gift givers ever read this post.

Happy holidays and above all, happy unwrapping!

If you’re  looking for something new to do with your photos, here’s a great idea! Try converting some of your favorite images into fine art posters.  It is amazing fun to turn an ordinary photo into a stunning piece of wall decor by adding a simple white border around the image and a caption along the bottom edge.  Here’s how to do make a 24″ x 36″  poster in Photoshop.

First, choose a beautiful image.  I’ve chosen an image of a red boat that was resting along the shore of Davis Park on Fire Island.Second, open the image in Photoshop.  Since we are looking to create a final overall size of 24″ x 36″ we need to CROP the image so that it fits inside a 24″ x 36″ canvas.  Grab your crop tool and crop the image to 19″ x 34″.  This will allow the canvas to hang over the image by 1″ on the top, right and left side and 3″ along the bottom.

Next, build your canvas out one side at a time.  1.- Choose ‘Image’, ‘Canvas Size’, Change the height to 20″, click the bottom / middle anchor, choose the canvas color that you want and hit OK.  2.- Choose ‘Image’, ‘Canvas Size’, Change the width to 35″, click the left / middle anchor, choose the canvas color that you want and hit OK. 3.- Choose ‘Image’, ‘Canvas Size’, Change the width to 36″, click the right / middle anchor, choose the canvas color that you want and hit OK.  4.- Finally, Choose ‘Image’, ‘Canvas Size’, Change the height to 24″, click the top / middle anchor, choose the canvas color that you want and hit OK.

Time to add a caption along the bottom edge.  First, create a new layer.  Next, select your Type Tool, choose your font and size and type your caption inside the wide border along the bottom edge.  Center our text.  To add your name, create a new layer, select the Type Tool, choose your font and size and type your name under the caption.  Center your name under the caption.

Finally, flatten your image and ‘Save As’ to add it to your image library without losing your original image.  Here is my result.

Posters make great wall art and even better gifts!

View more Fine Art Posters at Long Island Photo Gallery.

Congratulations to Long Island Photo Gallery members who will be exhibiting their best fine art photography from 12/5/09 – 1/31/2010 at Empire State Studios in Oceanside, NY.

Members Jim Cook, Kim Pace, Debra Moody, Turtle MacDermott, Jessica Hirschmann and Joanne Henig are participating in the event.

Come down and check out some awesome photos from some talented artists.

Empire is located at:

222 Merrick Road

Oceanside, NY 11572

There will be a full reception at 7 pm on 12/5/09 for all the exhibitors and their guests.  Hope to see you there!

What surprises await you at Fink’s Country Farm?  It is hard to say.  Every time I visit I have a unique experience and a whole lot of fun.  Fink’s Farm is family owned and operated for over 50 years and is a secluded country farm that offers fun for the whole family.  The staff is friendly and love to interact with their guests.

It’s easy to roam the grounds and find something unique to do.  Try your skills as a ‘calf’ roper in the cowboy corral, dress up and take some pictures at the ’saloon’, take a hay ride, shoot the corn cannon or sling a pumpkin in the giant sling shot.

Relax under the oak trees in the sprawling picnic area while enjoying some of the fine country comfort food, including roasted corn, pumpkin italian ices, refreshments and more all available on the premises.

Walk and talk to the animals, including Dud Dud the 450 pound hog.  Watch the mountain goats climb up, up, up above the farm guests. Pick your own pumpkins, get lost in the corn maze or shop in the country gift store.

Don’t forget to stop at the farm stand out front before you head home.  It is filled with fresh, local, seasonal vegetables, fruits, potatoes, corn stalks, holiday decorations and more!

SEE YOU SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24TH AT 3 PM AT FINK’S FARM.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Because I love photography, I am always looking for new ways to kick start my photographic creativity juices.  It is easy for me to get stuck in a rut with my personal photography style or subject matter.

Here I am at the end of a remarkable summer.  I’ve expanded my personal photographic knowledge and my artistic reach, yet I am yearning for something new to do with my camera.

When I get like this I like to challenge myself.  Did I mention that I hate to work alone?  Here’s my creativity challenge to myself and to all of you. Pick a task below.  Follow the directions.  Get out the camera and start shooting.

1.) Choose an inert object (wood, glass, metal, fabric …). For the next 30 days, take 30 macro pictures of 30 different inert objects from your chosen category .  Answer this question: How did your creativity grow?

2.) Most photographers like to be behind the lens.  This task involves flipping the camera around. For the next 30 days take 30 different self portraits of yourself.  Answer this question: Have you gained a new prospective about being in front of the lens?

3.) Choose a busy setting or spot in your yard. For the next 30 days take 30 pictures of that busy setting or spot at the same time each day.  Answer this question: Were the trees really that green 30 days ago?

4.) Choose your favorite 30 images that you have taken over the past 30 days. Convert them to black and white using your favorite editing software.  Answer this question: How did your conversion skills improve from image 1 to image 30?

And finally,

5.) From your home, jump in your car each day and drive 5 minutes in any direction once a day for 30 days. Take a picture of anything.  Answer this question: Do your neighbors think your nuts?

I hope you choose one of these creativity challenges.  In fact, choose one of each of the challenges over the next 5 months and you should see your artistic production improve by leaps and bounds.  These challenges are the stepping stones to turn a picture into fine art, from ordinary to extraordinary.

By, Joanne Henig

LongIslandPhotoGallery.com

“Community With Opportunity”

No formula exists for making fine art. It is the elusive quality that makes the work of art rare and consequential. However, certain important elements can be explored. One is the idea of commitment. For the Fine Art photographer, there must first be the commitment to being an artist. Then we have the commitment to photography as the means of expression. There is commitment to a particular set of choices available to the photographer—subject matter, equipment, lighting, film, printing, location and so on. Eventually, there is hyper-commitment to each and every element in every frame a photographer chooses to expose. This is the time when the artist trusts himself so thoroughly that he has cast aside any need for outside approval.

I encourage my students to commit. When a student has very little idea how to begin this process, I will ask him or her to commit to anything! Making specific choices does not limit the artist, but frees him to fully develop his gifts. My students rapidly discover if their choices are incompatible with their real passions. In this case, they usually lose interest in the area of their commitment. This can lead to a certain soul-searching that draws the artist closer to his or her natural calling, closer to an instinctive realization that more and more specific commitments are ‘right’ for that individual.

Read more >>>>>

This is a series of articles by professional photographer, educator and author Rob Goldman.  All articles are the property of Mr. Goldman and may not be reprinted without express, written permission.

The following images were taken by members of Long Island Photo Gallery in the spirit of their personal commitment to Fine Art Photography.