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Flickr is the most successful picture website with social networking aspects built right into their business model. Since some of my visitors keep asking about my Flickr Stream and my lack of presence on Flickr I decided to create my own user account and try it out.

Flickr is a fantastic repository of great photography and knowledge and I always wanted to participate in this giant community to explore new aspects of social networking. When the publishers of PicMarkr asked me to review their software I jumped on the chance to try out their software which functions as a Flickr Interface.

What it does

PicMarkr Pro targets Flickr users with their software. Integrating with Flickr, it lets users manipulate their photos locally on their computers or remotely on their Flickr accounts. The editing functions are limited to resizing, rotating and adding watermarks. The main selling argument for the software is thus its seamless integration with Flickr.

What I did like

Easy interface: The interface takes no time at all to understand. The software is easy to use. I did not bother to read a manual.

Large images: I was able to process my 222 Megapixel Machu Picchu Image and save it to my computer.

No installer: The program runs directly from the executable file you download. It does not clutter the registry.

Batch Processing: Batch resizing does not get much simpler than with PicMarkr.

Flickr Import: The tool can import pictures directly from Flickr, process them and re-upload them to Flickr. It makes adding watermarks to images already in your Flickr account a breeze.

Beginner Friendly: Even computer beginners will be able to operate PicMarkr.

Tiling: Adding multiple watermark tiles is easy.

What I did not like

Limited options: The ease of use comes at a price of reduced functionality. I cannot set compression ratios or sharpen images after resizing them. That is a necessity by my standards and a complication for others. Having a separate interface for advanced mode would solve this quite nicely.

Photoshop: If you have Photoshop, you do not need PicMarkr. I have already set up a watermarking action in Photoshop.

Style: The watermark styles are somewhat limited, although sufficient.

No save: I am missing a save preferences function. After adjusting a watermark to my liking, I wish to reuse it in the future with a single click. To keep with the simplicity, the program could default to the last setting.

Only Flickr: It would be nice to get support for other sites like SmugMug where I have a pro account.

Conclusion

Infrequent Flickr users and Flickr hobbyists will find it hard to justify spending $21.99 on a software that does little else than providing an easy way of watermarking pictures via a luxurious interface to Flickr. Flickr power users who spend $24.95 / yr on their pro accounts should consider the software as a comfortably interface.

If you already have a Flickr account with a large number of photographs that you wish to watermark, the software really plays out its strength. You can import all your Flickr photographs at once, apply a watermark to all of them and upload all photographs at once.

This gives me an interesting application idea. Flickr users could use the software to change their watermarks every week to display certain messages to your audience. You would need a local copy of un-watermarked files (just download all with the software and save them locally).

I will be using PicMarkr because it saves me time. Since you can try before you buy, download PicMarkr and form your own opinion:

PicMarkr Website

Here are some example images:

Andre’s Flickr Account

Update

Learn how to create stunning HDR photos from a single RAW file.

The rapid progression of camera technology and new options in Photomatix require an update to this tutorial.

Cameras are now 14-bit

When I wrote this tutorial over 1.5 years ago, most cameras were using 12-bit sensors. Camera makers have switched to higher dynamic range sensors now. I am currently using a consumer level Canon Rebel XSi which already exceeds the performance of many professional cameras of just a few years ago.

Ideally, 14-bit RAW files contain 4 times more information than 12-bit RAW files in the shadows. Realistically the gain may be limited somewhat by noise, but the noise levels also improved, leaving us with more bits to use. This much dynamic range just begs being made visible.

The picture above was taken in Central Park. The picture on the left side was processed via this HDR method. You can see a larger version here.

In the processed image you can see people outside and the fountain, while those are clipped in the unprocessed version. The histogram of the uncompensated picture, a picture processed for highlights and a picture processed for shadows is shown on the left side. The HDR is a combination of 5 images between EV-2 to EV+2.

Learn to shoot in every light situation.

On a sunny day you will find hard shadows and bright highlights. Many photographers prefer not to shoot under such conditions and many declare that you can’t take good photographs under such conditions.

As travel photographers we often have to roll with the available light and we cannot always afford to be so picky. Not only would we miss out on a lot of quality shooting time and practice, we would also miss the creative opportunity that the light offers us.

Hard light

Most photographers avoid this time of the day. They scout locations, eat, relax or drive to the next shoot. It is true that this light is unforgiving and the extreme contrast can be discouraging, but we should see this as an opportunity instead.

Many people have fallen to the absurd notion that no pixel can be completely white or black, that everything in a picture needs to be within the visible range. What a mindless way to rationalize creativity.

Here are some examples on creative options the hard light affords us.

I picked the first two pictures from my own gallery.

In the picture of the man in Los Angeles, the overexposed background perfectly separates him. The viewer is drawn to his expression and is not distracted by a busy background. I did expose him perfectly, focusing attention on the subject itself and the foreground while the background fades away. If we do not actively focus on the background, we won’t even see it at first glance. The picture has an almost three dimensional property where the subject appears to be leaping out of the picture.

In the photograph of Arches National Park, I am using the shadows to draw the viewer towards the arch. The sun shining through the arch emphasizes the hole in the rock and gives it an otherworldly property. Although I did somewhat boost dynamic range in this image, it is not an HDR. I often prefer realism over the perfection of HDR. The world is not supposed to be perfect and we should not try to make it so or our subconscious mind will reject the result.

There are many other ways we can use hard light to our advantage.

The hint of prison bars in this photograph sends a very powerful message of desperation. Inevitably we make the connection and we start asking questions about the prison which is not visible in the picture.

We can photograph a shadow instead of the subject itself to hint a presence without revealing everything. Imagine an innocent child with a large shadow looming over the child.

We can use shadows of two people who are seemingly close appearing to drift apart or vice versa.

I found one of the most powerful shadow plays on flickr in an image by vernhart showing a wedding band with a heart shaped shadow. The shadow seems to tell us a story and suddenly the ring becomes much more. The shadow seems to be the heart and soul of the ring.

Shadows can create unexpected patterns like in this image by flickr user CatDancing. With the pattern superimposed, the picture draws attention.

I hope that these examples drive home my point that strong photographs can be created even under hard lighting conditions.

The photographs are often hard to predict and scenes come together by chance very quickly, especially when you are photographing people. That is the reason why we should always carry a camera with us, even during the time of day most “serious” photographers will not bother with.

This article is a part of a larger series on becoming good photographers. I hope you like it and that you subscribe to my feed to stay updated with my next posts.

I am sure you have some good examples of your own. Please feel free to share them below.

Learn how to summon a rainbow.

While waiting for a rainbow in Yosemite one day some years ago, people passing by saw my tripod and stopped to see what I was photographing. Most grew tired quickly and left after a few seconds of secretly checking me out.

A few stuck around long enough to witness a rainbow come to life and disappear within minutes. Suddenly other photographers started setting up tripods and a flurry of activity developed, shutters snapping and people shoveling around. I had the best spot occupied and I had my tripod set up far in advance. I only had to focus on composition.

The picture I took this day started my career as a photographer: Vernal Fall with Rainbow

We can greatly enhance our chance of capturing inspiring landscape photographs if we are able to predict the light. That day I knew the rainbow would show up and it made the difference.

Where to look for Rainbows

When sunlight reflects from water droplets, we see rainbows. Refraction causes the light to decompose into different wavelengths (colors) just like in a prism.

We do not need to study optics to understand rainbows. The only thing we need to care about is the position of the sun, the water droplets and the photographer.

A rainbow is really a complete circle whose center is usually hidden from us. It occurs at the side opposing the sun on a line connecting the sun, the observer and the water droplets. A rainbow will always occur in the same direction, opposite to the sun, relative to the photographer. Most of the rainbow will be hidden due to the earth and only the top half (or less) will be visible, creating the bow.

Sometimes we can observe a full rainbow. One of the few places where this is possible is on Haleakala in Hawaii. The volcano is the highest point of the island, surrounded by water. During the sunrise and sunset, the sun is momentarily lower on the horizon than the observer. If you are lucky enough to have cloud cover on the opposing side of the sun, your shadow will be projected on the clouds surrounded by a full rainbow. I have not been fortunate enough to have the right conditions for this effect, but I have seen a full rainbow from an airplane you may have too.

Plan for Rainbows

Since we understand rainbows, we can take an active role positioning ourselves for maximum effect. We all love taking photographs of waterfalls, but if we can predict the sun to set behind us while we are photographing the waterfall (looking east/west), we should consider arriving in time for sunset/sunrise for a rainbow effect. If you know where the sun sets, you can position yourself such that your shadow points towards the center of the rainbow.

On the California coast you should expect rainbows only during sunrise, but not during sunset, since you are looking west. On most parts of the Atlantic coast the exact opposite is true, look for rainbows during sunset. You won’t see them during sunrise.

This short article is part of a larger series on learning photography. If you like to follow along, subscribe to my feed.

Learn how light influences our photography and how we can influence light.

We as photographers often define good weather with quality of light. We get thrilled if heavy clouds cover the sky, with the sun breaking through here and there, creating fantastic spot light; while non-photographers get excited with a clear blue sky.

Reflections of city lights on a wet pavement are more immediately apparent to us than the discomforts of rain. The weather often tries our patience and sometimes we cannot get the shot we want, but if we do, everyone will wonder how we got so lucky. We smile and nod, knowing that luck had nothing to do with it.

Direct and Indirect Light

Photography literally means painting with light. As light (photons) enters our digital sensor, the photons knock lose some electrons (photodiode). The camera can measure these electrons to construct the image.

Different types of light sources influence how our photographs will look like.

As light strikes an object, it reflects off the object. This is the reason our camera can see the object. If there is no light source, we are blind, although the objects are still there.

Each object also absorbs certain frequencies of light and reflects others. Green reflects color frequencies of green and absorbs other frequencies. That is why grass looks green.

Light reflecting from one object also illuminates other objects. We call this indirect light, since the source of light is the light the first object reflects. Depending on the properties of the first object, the way the second object appears changes.

Imagine a deep canyon. Direct light rarely hits the canyon floor. The canyon walls reflect the light into the depth of the canyon, thus giving the light a different property. Photographers at the bottom of the canyon have a diffuse light with a much warmer color temperature.

What does this do for your photography?

Studio photographers create their light. They can control it with strobes, lamps and reflectors.

But even landscape photographers can create indirect light. Although we have no way to influence the lighting of a macro landscape, we can influence light on a smaller scale.

Landscape photographers often obsess with depth of field, creating images with a breathtaking depth. We use wide-angle lenses to maximize the impact of the foreground and to create emotional compositions. With wide-angle lenses, the foreground and middle ground extend only a couple of feet from our cameras.

Foreground elements are often in the shade, while backgrounds are often brightly lit. Such scenes challenge all cameras and we may be tempted to try HDR to handle this much dynamic range, but HDR can look over-processed.

We can use a cheap reflector to direct light into the foreground and middle ground of our scene, reducing the harsh contrast between the shadows and highlights.

We could also just use our jackets as a replacement for a reflector. A friend (or a tree if you photograph alone) can hold your jacket to create an additional indirect light source.

During the day, when the color temperature is neutral, shadows often render blue in photographs, because the sky works like a large reflector box, illuminating the shade.

If we use a jacket with a reddish tone, we can counter balance the blue tones, creating a much more pleasing color rendition of the scene.

A cheap lighting technique for portrait photographers uses a garage as a giant soft box. The photographer simply opens the garage door, letting the light flood the garage. Light bounces around and creates a diffuse look without harsh shadows. By covering the walls and floor with colored cloths, we can control the color of the light and set the mood.

It is not always possible to manipulate lighting, but understanding how light reflects and changes throughout the day helps us predict good light. We can choose to return to a scene later, waiting for reflected light from a rock face, skyscraper or other large objects to illuminate our scene.

We can watch the clouds and determine how light will reflect, maximizing our chances to “be at the right place at the right time”. Instead of relying on chance, we rely on knowledge. As experienced photographers, we start to recognize shapes, lights and patterns beyond the immediately visible.

This article is part of a larger series on becoming great photographers. You can stay updated by subscribing to my feed.

I would like to hear feedback, suggestions for future articles, examples and criticism. Since I moved from the technical to the creative, I would like to hear if this series resonates with you.

Tonight I was fortunate to be at the San Jose City Council Meeting "Legends and Leaders" with lead speaker Rudy Giuliani. During his inspiring speach, he proofed that greatness transcends parties and that we need to work together to get over the most recent hurdles. His speech was humorous and optimistic. The crowd rewarded "America's Mayor" richly with applause.

And the food was good too :), although I feel stuffed like a turkey.

The viewer’s imagination exceeds the beauty of reality.

I recently imagined that it must be beneficial to our images if we let the viewer fill in the “gaps” that we deliberately leave.

We can improve our photographs by purposely excluding elements, just as we can enhance nudity by leaving some things to the mind’s eye.

Engage the Viewer

Engage your audience on a level that spikes their interest without spilling the whole bucket in front of their feet!

We need to draw the viewer into our pictures and guide them towards the most interesting parts of the picture, by means of visual aids, such as shadows, lines, wavy curves or suggested lines (the viewing angle of a person in the picture, movement towards a point of interest).

Once the viewer has absorbed the image, we can leave some things for his imagination, giving him/her a chance to engage emotionally with the images by interpreting the images differently. A single image can have a different meaning to each person.

We can captivate our audience by stimulating their visual senses with our art and leading them towards a certain feeling we want to transpire. Eventually we have to trust our audience to interpret an image, some of whom may have a greater imagination than we do. We must not limit their experience to our own imagination or confine it by reality.

Examples

Instead of dealing with the large dynamic range of some images by means of HDR, we can simply choose to crop the image to reduce the dynamic range dramatically. When you take photographs of waterfalls, you do not have to show the upper edge, which tends to create a very strong and unpleasing cut in our images and often leads to blown out highlights. A tighter vertical crop will often produce pleasing results. Everyone knows how the top of a fall looks like. Our minds will thus fill the gap and often do a better job at it than reality.

We can deliberately choose to blow out highlights in indoor/outdoor scenes. I am imagining a scene of our model (partner, child, professional) looking outside from within a dark room. Most of such images would suffer from too much detail outside. We could rather have the model look into the light from the dark room and create a much stronger interplay of light and shadow. This form of abstraction leaves many questions open for the viewer to answer. Why is the model looking outside? What is going on outside? What causes the expression on our models face? What would you see looking outside your window right now? We immediately identify with our model and see ourselves as a part of the image. We connect more closely to an image we can imagine ourselves to be a part of.

Now imagine we would reveal the outdoor part of our image, by carefully constructing an HDR image.

A large part of our audience will not live in a similar environment. Immediately we put up a barrier for them to identify themselves with our picture. They become observers (voyeurs) instead of participants.

Or, instead of cramming an entire skyscraper into our viewfinder, we could simply shoot a vertical image of the first 10 floors. The viewer is likely to imagine a skyscraper that exceeds the dimensions of the real building. Including a subject looking upwards and bending way back, with their hands shielding the eyes from the sun will significantly enhance the perception of the buildings real size.

Such visual cues are much more effective at guiding people but not restricting their imagination.

Conclusion

Enhancing composition by simplification is another tool at our disposal (and subject of a later essay), but deliberately leaving out elements or cutting highlights to hide elements of our image is a new concept for me as well. It will require some trial and error and maybe some chance results for us to become the true photo ninja’s we strive to be. It never hurts to explore and to keep an open mind to something new.

I am sure you can find many examples where showing less can enhance our images.

Feel free to share them below. I love learning from you as well and I get a lot of inspiration from comments.

This article is part of a larger series on becoming better photographers. Sign up for my feed to get supplied with the latest articles.

I uploaded some Quebec City pictures yesterday. Unfortunately I did not have much time in Quebec City, mostly due to poor planning. I was positively surprised by Quebec City. I have plans to come back here and stay for a day or two to fully explore the city. Someone suggested Christmas in Montreal. It shounds intriguing to come back here during the winter season for some unique photos, although I have heard that it gets extremely cold.