Rialto Beach Sunrise

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Rialto Beach in La Push is an amazing place to catch the sunrise. I took this picture  a few months back on a weekend trip to the coast.

TIP: Leading Lines in Nature and the Golden Ratio

If you are near the ocean and have some waves, you can always use these as "natural" leading lines. In this picture I set my subject up around the right side PHI line the horizontal direction. Then I used the ocean's waves and the shore line to lead the eye back over to the sunset at the right side. The clouds can also be used as a tool to help the eye move around the photo. I will go more in depth with the Golden Ratio in my next post. For now read up on the link provided above to find out more.

As We Enter: Architecture Shooting Tips Included

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The Suzzallo Library at University of Washington is an awesome place. No I am not supporting the University, I am a die hard West Virginia University fan till the day I die, plus who wants to support shitty sports of the PACNW. But none the less, their library is fu*#king cool! If you plan on going(photo is geo tagged) make sure to strap your tripod to your back pack and walk in like you know where you are going. This is my normal procedure anywhere I go to shoot. Otherwise they pick you off fairly quickly. 

TIP: Shooting Architecture

Anytime you shoot a scene such as this there are a few main things to keep in mind. First of all you want the details of the architecture to be super sharp. I shot this at f/9. But even f/16 would work. Second of all you want it to be symmetrical. Shoot in live mode and make sure to line everything up right down the middle, or at least close so you can fix it in photoshop upon post processing. Third and last tip, even tho there are a billion more I could go on with, set your composition up with some nice leading lines that draw the eye to a couple different focal points. I used the roof, the book shelves and the lights as leading lines. Try these tips out on your next shoot and see what you think. And if you haven't tried shooting in live mode give it a shot. I really enjoy it for most applications.

Camera Reviews

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Below I review the three cameras I have used since starting photography. Also included are some pictures I took with each camera.

Interested in the lenses I use? You can find them on my Lens Review Page!

You can find all my tutorials at: www.DaveMorrowPhotography.com/learnphotography

Starter: Canon EOS Rebel T2i 18 MP CMOS APS-C Sensor (Body Only) (560$) 

The Canon T2i was my starter camera. I got it for a birthday present in 2011 and it sat in my closet for a while. Then one day, out of boredom I picked the thing up and started photography for the first time. This is a really great investment for any beginner in the field of photography that want's to experiment and learn at fairly cheap price. At 18MP is can still produce some really nice large size prints. It is also a great for anyone that just needs a decent camera for family/friends & fun. It's small size and compact lens selection is nice for traveling. I would highly recommend this for anyone starting out in photography. Here are a few example shots I took with the camera:

Intermediate: Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-Inch LCD (Body Only) (1,350$)

The Canon 7D was the camera that really got me into photography & post processing for that matter. After shooting with my T2i for a while it was time for an upgrade. The 7D is an intermediate great bang for your buck camera. Like the T2i it is also compact with a fairly small body great for traveling. It handles high ISO very well and you can not beat the over all toughness of a metal body or water resistant casing. I would recommend this camera to anyone for as a first camera or a great pick up at any point in your photographic journey. This thing will handle anything you throw at it. Here are a few of the shots I took with the camera:

Pro: Nikon D800 36.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) (2,999$)

All Canons and then a Nikon you ask? Well the Nikon D800 is a game changer for me at a fraction of the cost of Canon or Nikon's other pro level cameras and it packs just as much punch. When I decided to make the jump to full frame(35mm) this was the only camera for me. From landscapes to night skies and the Milky Way this handles it all like a beast. Check out some of my sample pictures below including all different dynamic ranges of light. 

Lens Reviews

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I currently shoot with (5) lenses which cover nearly the entire range from 14mm all the way to 300mm. Each of the are great for different situations as described below. You can also look for the my lenses and camera gear "tags" in the righthand side bar for more picture examples.

You can find all my tutorials at: www.DaveMorrowPhotography.com/learnphotography

Interested in the camera's I shoot with? Check out my Camera Reviews Page.
For all you techies out there here is the full rundown of everything I use for photography, including computer software and hardware.
Gadgets, Gear and Other Good Stuff

Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens (1,999$)

In my opinion this is the best landscape lens on the planet. It is tack sharp at any range, and super fast at f/2.8. Another great use for this lens is star photography. I shoot all my night shots with it and have never been disappointed. Here are a few shots taken with this lens and my D800. You can find even more shots I took using this lens HERE.

Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4G (369$)

A great carry around lens for day or low light situations. I take nearly all of my “people” shots with this one due to the fact that the wide aperture blurs out the background and makes for some really interesting pictures. When traveling I often walk around with this lens on as well. It might take some practice to get great compositions at 50mm but after some work, nothing but greatness comes out of this thing. Here are a few shots with the lens, but you can find more HERE

Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S (999$)

An all around great landscape and travel lens. If you were low on money and could only afford one lens at a time, this would be it. Covering a broad range from wide angle to zoom it can be used in nearly every situation. My only issue with this lens is the auto-focus, it is a bit slow. Personally I don’t use autofocus to often so it is not an issue.  I snapped these off using this lens. You can find even more shots I took with this lens HERE.

Nikkor 16mm Fisheye
What can I say, this is an amazing lens. Think your photography needs a new outlet? Tired of your current lens selection but not sure what to get? This lens will open an entirely funky new world. After shooting for a bit with it I am completely happy with the all around sharpness and clarity. My only beef is the slightly slow & noisy auto-focus, which I rarely ever use. Here is a shot I captured with this lens. You really can't beat 180 degree field of view:) You can find even more shots I took with this lens HERE.



LensBaby Composer  Review Coming Soon!

Commercial Licensing, Sharing, & Attribution

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All my photography is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). So you ask, what does that all mean? Here are the simple guidelines:

You are free:

    to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work

Under the following conditions:

    Attribution — If you wish to use/share any of my work for non-commercial purposes, please credit Dave Morrow AND the link back to www.DaveMorrowPhotography.com DIRECTLY next the picture so it can be easily seen. (but  not in any way that suggests that I endorse you or your use of the work).

    Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes. See below for commercial usage.

    No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

These photos are free to download in high resolution for your desktop wallpaper.

I own and have registered the Copyright to all images published online.

Downloading the images and printing them yourself is not allowed, for prints see the link below.

Purchase Limited Edition Prints 

Commercial Usage:

These photos are NOT free to use for commercial purposes. Contact me at David.R.Morrow32@Gmail.com if you wish to use them for this purpose. This includes websites or platforms that make money off of ads, apps, donations or are in any way connected to profits, money or returns of any kind.

Non-profit organizations must also contact me for usage/commercial permission.

For signed prints please email me at the address denoted above.

Any other questions you may have are covered in the About Me Section of my website.

Thank you following my photography Licensing, Sharing, & Attribution guidelines.

Welcome to Dave's Star Photography Workshops!

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Congrats! You just signed up for one of my Star Photography Workshops. I will touch base with everyone around 2 months prior to your workshop date to provide full logistics, more detailed info, and to make sure everyone is ready to have a blast under the stars! Thanks for signing up I look forward to teaching all of you!

Cheers,
Dave

Action Required: Online Star Photography Post Processing Workshop Details

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Hello Everyone,

First off, thanks for signing up! I will be running the workshop through Google+ Hangouts, it seems to be the best and most user friendly way to do a group workshop.

Here is the pre-workshop checklist for everyone to go through:
Please make sure you have all of the minimum requirements as stated on the Workshop Webpage along with the following... This includes headphones!

1) Sign up for Google if you are not already & become familiar with how to join a Hangout(Google provides instructions). It is a good idea to try it out with someone just to make sure your camera and mic works.

2) Click your workshop date below and join the Google Community. This will be our starting point for the workshop "Hangout" and keep all information and communication in one place. I will also provide the download link for the RAW files we will be working on at this location. Please join your group a minimum of 72 hours before the workshop so I don't have to go chase anyone down before we start.

Sunday February 17th Workshop
Sunday March 3rd Workshop
Sunday April 7th Workshop

The following are post processing requirements that you should study up on if you do not commonly use them. You can "Google" most of this stuff and find results that is how I learned all of them.

Lightroom Skills:
Importing and exporting files, the first part of my free tutorial will help if necessary.
Using sliders in the develop module. You don't need to be an expert, just get a feel for what they do and where they are.

Photoshop Skills:
A basic understanding of "Layer Masks", how they work, and how to use the brush tool to "paint" through them. Google search provides tons of good info on this. Most of our class will require this skill so the better you are the more you will learn. I use this technique in my Free HDR Tutorial which will also give some guidance.

Please also understand your the basic Photoshop shortcuts & how to quickly perform the following actions. I will review these at the beginning of the class and use "shortcuts" to access them the rest of our session.

Duplicate Layer
Create new layer
create new layer mask
invert layer masks

Basic Understanding of Photoshop Adjustments:
You do not need to be an expert, just know their basic functions and how to access and use them.
Here is a good overview

I look forward to teaching you all. Talk to you soon & feel free to let me know if you have any questions:)