Back from Colorado!

Well...I got back about 3 weeks ago. I've had several matters that needed my attention. In the past 3 weeks I have made 4 presentations at camera clubs (upcoming schedule below). Three of these presentations were on my upcoming eBook (stay tuned for that announcement). I've also had a chance to get out and make some photographs. Photographers making photographs...what a concept!

As I had mentioned in my earlier blog post, the Colorado visit was not going to be a photography trip since I was showing my Mom around. I was almost always driving to and from locations during the best light but I was lucky to have favorable conditions at times. While we visited a few familiar locations, I also used the time to scout out some new locations that I might visit in the future.

If you haven't been to Colorado, you must visit! It's scenery is amazing and it is almost a guarantee that you will run into some kind of wildlife if you get away from the city.

 

White River National Forest, Colorado

The biggest attraction are the Rocky Mountains.

Photo of the week on National Wildlife Federation website

I am pleased to announce that my photograph "The Island" has been selected as the photo of the week on National Wildlife Federations website.
Please click on the link below to view the larger photo.
http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/PhotoZone/Archives/2010/photo-of-the-week-9-15-10-lake-island.aspx

Last chance to sign-up for the West Virginia Fall Tour

Sign-up now for a chance to photograph an amazing display of fall color, waterfalls, mountain ridges and more. Only 3 more spots available.
View photos at http://www.nikhilbahl.com/portfolios/west_virginia_autumn/index.html
Register at http://www.nikhilbahl.com/photography_workshops.html

West Virginia Fall Tour (Davis, West Virginia)
Date: October 7-10, 2010
Tuition: $375
Limit: 5 participants
Schedule: Start - 4:30pm Oct. 7, End - 11am Oct. 10


UPCOMING WORKSHOPS/CLASSES
http://www.nikhilbahl.com/photography_workshops.html
C&O Canal and the Potomac (field session) - Sept. 26
West Virginia Fall Tour - October 7-10 (3 spots available)
Great Falls - October 30-31 (only 2 spot available)
Great Falls (field session) - Nov. 6
Photoshop for Photographers (One day workshop) - Nov. 7
Chincoteague Island - November 19-21 (only 2 spots available)

Off to Colorado!

I'm off to Colorado for 5 days. It's not really a photography trip since I will be showing my Mom around. But I'm sure I'll take a few photos to document the tour.
Looking forward to re-visiting some of the amazing Colorado parks. Too bad I won't be visiting one of my favorites; Great Sand Dunes Nation Park and Preserve.
The photo above was made on during my last visit.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS/CLASSES
http://www.nikhilbahl.com/photography_workshops.html
C&O Canal and the Potomac (field session) - Sept. 26
West Virginia Fall Tour - October 7-10 (4 spots available)
Great Falls - October 30-31 (only 2 spot available)
Great Falls (field session) - Nov. 6
Photoshop for Photographers (One day workshop) - Nov. 7
Chincoteague Island - November 19-21 (3 spots available)

Computers for Photographers

(Nikon D3s, 24mm f/1.4, processed with Lightroom, Photoshop, Nik Software, Topaz and Photomatix for realistic look)

While I get numerous questions about camera gear and software, hardly anyone asks me about computer hardware. In the world of digital photography the computer is "essential gear". To facilitate digital work-flow photographers need good computer hardware along with software. Please note: I said need not want :)

I just replaced my old Dell computer with a custom build thanks to my friend Rob Engels. I was very close to purchasing a Mac but being able to build a PC (with Windows 7) for one third the cost was hard to ignore.

The computer configuration:

• i7 (930) processor - All i7 processors are quad core and really fast.
• 16GB RAM - This might seem like a lot but Adobe products tend to use a lot of RAM. More is better in the long run. With every new version of software more processing power and RAM is required.
• 2TB hard drive - Plenty of space since I store my photos on external hard drives.
• GeForce GTX 275 video card (896MB on board RAM) - Excellent video card. Good for 3D gaming and video.
• USB 3.0 enabled motherboard - While I currently don't have any USB 3.0 devices, USB 3.0 is going to become commonplace in no time. From what I have read it is supposed to be 10 times faster than USB 2.0.

I upgrade my computer every 3 years or so. That is the reason I chose this configuration. It took me a couple of weeks to get everything setup. Now that I do, I am really enjoying it. Windows 7 is a lot nicer than XP (I skipped Vista). It's a little Mac like. The 64 bit OS and software are noticeably faster. Processing photos is a pleasure compared to what I was dealing with before. In fact, that's what I will do now.

6 degrees

For those who question how global warming can affect us; here is a short video that sums it up concisely.

Photo Impressionism - Zoom & Flick

I demonstrated the swipe/blur technique at a workshop this past weekend. This technique is all about coordinating the shutter release and the movement of your camera. Sunflowers make a great subject for this technique. The first time I visited this Sunflower field I made about 250 photographs. Out of those, over 200 were abstract and photo impressionistic.

It's very easy to create photos that are abstract. It's much harder to create a photo impressionistic image, especially in the camera. Being able to understand what the subject is and yet see it rendered in a different fashion is always more intriguing.