Friday, January 30, 2009

The Paterson Falls

Here are a few images I made on a visit to the Paterson Falls. If you haven't had a chance to see the falls and are in the area, check them out! They are definitely worth the trip.






Leave some feedback! I love to hear your criticism.

...and if you are new to the site, be sure to catch up by checking out past posts!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Bicycles!

This is an image I made of rental bikes in Frenchtown, NJ. I just love the color and light in the image, and the mix between warm and cool light. Enjoy!


Let me know what you think!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Photoshop Tip: Ocean Ripple Effect

Hey everybody! I wanted to share a great tip/trick you can do in Adobe Photoshop. I learned this technique from photographer, Rick Sammon's book: "Digital Photography Secrets," and find it not only very useful but also lots of fun. I don't know how many of you explore the filters section of Photoshop, but there's a great distortion filter called "Ocean Ripple" that gives your image the effect of rippling water. This technique is used by many professional photographers and graphic artists to give the illusion that the subject is sitting next to a body of water. Here are a couple of my images.




How it is done:

1) Choose an image

2) Copy the image

3) Paste it into a new document

4) Flip the image vertically and copy it

5) Go back to the original image and change the canvas height to twice the original size, anchoring from the top

6) Paste the flipped image in a new layer to the lower portion of the canvas

7) Now select the bottom half (the one you want to be the reflection) and go into "filters" > "distort" > "ocean ripple..."

8) You can move the sliders to the intensity you are looking for (make sure your preview button is turned on so you know what will work the best) and apply the filter

9) Now darken the reflection layer to the extent that you think is best.

10) I use the burn tool to make the merge point more even, but you might find a technique that works better for you.

11) Depending on the image, I will transform the angle of the reflection to give the viewer a different perspective.


If you use any other techniques to do the same thing or have any questions, let me know.

HAPPY REFLECTIONS!!!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Lord Stirling Park - Looks almost like Infra-Red Photography

I was just playing around in Photoshop to make this image. It looks almost like an infra-red photo with blue highlights! What do you think?


Monday, January 26, 2009

Some Scans From December

Here are some favorites of mine from the past couple months.

1) Fire Hydrant

2) Bench by the River (It looks almost like a painting)

3) Poofs in Clinton, NJ
and the same one desaturated a little:

4) An old barn in Sussex County

#2 (the bench on the river) is my favorite. Which do you like the most?
Let me know!

All Photos Copyrighted by Joel Mikulyak

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Photographer of the Week #3 - Garry Owens

Garry Owens is a photographer from California who shoots everything from portraits to vehicles. My favorite shot of his is of a Seal Hunter in Greenland. Check out the site!

http://www.garryowens.com/garry.html

I hope you enjoy it.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Wind-Blown Flags

Here is an image I made of three flags on a post in Manahawkin, NJ:


Friday, January 23, 2009

Converging Lines

Photo Tip #2: Converging Lines

Converging lines are lines that draw your attention to a subject. If you look at an image of a long straight road the lines seem to move closer the further away you look, drawing your attention to whatever is at the end of that road. It could be the sky or a mountain range. Here is an example.


The convergine lines are the lines in the floor boards, base board, basket, and even the lines of the light. They all point to the subject, the mandolin.

I hope this tip was helpful and if you have anything to add, let me know!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Christmas Season

I haven't posted in a couple days, so I thought you might like to see some photos from the Christmas season. Enjoy!

(Bethlehem, PA - Christmas Season)

(Bethlehem, PA - Christmas Season)

(Bethlehem, PA - Christmas Season)

(A sign in a store in New Hope, PA)

(Ivy on the side of a building in New Hope, PA)

(The Clinton Mill - Clinton, NJ - Christmas Season)

(Family visiting during Christmas at my house.)

And last, but certainly not least, my beautiful girlfriend:

(She is such a great model!)

As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated. Stay tuned for more photos!

All images copywrited by Joel Mikulyak

Monday, January 19, 2009

Walkin'

Yes, it is a great Miles Davis album, but it's also the title of tonights photo. I love the lines of the parking lot and all of the movement in the photo.


Football Season!

It's the end of football season so I thought I would post some photos of Ashley and I playing the game at Penn State! Hope you like them.




Stay tuned!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Photography Tip #1 : Photographing the Moon

Hello everyone, I will be periodically posting photography tips to improve the quality of your photos. There are many more to come!

TIP#1: Photographing the Moon

I am a big fan of pictures of the moon and stars on a clear, bright night. The best technique I have found is to use a tripod and to over-expose the image by one f-stop (maybe two). First, use a telephoto lense of with the highest zoom as you can get (200mm +). Shooting a full moon, with 200 ISO film, set the shutter speed to 1/200 second. Since the moon is lit by the sun's light you would think that using the "sunny f/16" rule would work. This might not work if you want a bright white sun. There is a good chance that the moon will look gray. Our eyes see it as white because of the dark surrounding sky. Instead, overexpose it by a single f-stop (changing it to f/11). This will give you a bright white moon!

This is what I have found to work best, but if you have other techniques PLEASE SHARE!

Here is the link to a site I found with other great techniques!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Photographer of the Week

Dane Sanders in one of the worlds top wedding photographers. His work is amazing. I have linked to his portfolio site and hope you take the time to check it out. He also has a book out, Fast Track Photographer, that helps you discover who YOU are as a photographer.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Bonnett Island

Here are a couple from Bonnett Island Estate in Manahawkin, NJ.



See you tomorrow!

Colorado

Good morning! Here are some photos I took on a trip to Colorado. Hope you like them.












More to come later today!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Landscape Night

It's two-for Wednesday and I'm posting three photos of the crisp winter sky above cornfields. I love the effect I get shooting while driving. The foreground is wonderfully blurred. The third photo is my favorite. I hope you like them! Leave some comments, if you'd like.




Farewell and Goodnight

Chilly River

Hey everyone! I'd like to share a couple photos I took on my Canon SD1000 in Califon, NJ. It's hard to capture the landscape by camera, because it's such a busy scene, but here is my attempt! I hope you enjoy them.



And here's one taken at Lord Stirling Park of a few geese on ice. (Also on the Canon SD1000)


More to come later today!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Photo Dinner

It's today's BONUS POST!!! (doo doo dooooo - trumpet fanfare)

Just a few more macro (close-up) shots from this evening.




Have a great night, and I'll see you tomorrow!

p.s. If anyone has anything they would like me to post, or has seen a recent photo, review, or article that they would like me to post, LET ME KNOW!!!