Month #2 - September - Exploration

This is month #2 in this current venture. While I don't expect to continue to count the months, I do think it's interesting to tick off the first few if only for my own reference. In reviewing the work I've done during September I notice a few things that I would not have expected going in.

Being that I'm increasingly relying on plugins to modify my base images I'm using layering a LOT more than previously. I still use Lightroom as the repository for my images and for initial processing tasks - and also for final tweaks before publishing. But using masks means that I have 2 choices: Photoshop (CC 2014) or OnOne Perfect Photo Suite 8 (hopefully version 9 will be delivered this month).

Both these programs offer layering, but one significant difference is that while Photoshop supports 3rd party plugins, Perfect Suite doesn't. It's kind of frustrating when I need to use a particular plugin and then want to apply some of Perfect Suite's textures or its masking (which it does much more easily and better than does Photoshop).

And while I love the plugins I've also been experimenting with more of Photoshop's built in filters. The new special blur filters are (or at least can be) magical. I'm still working with them and making lots of mistakes, but being able to create blur on a path or in a rotation, and do so in non-destructive mode allows me to recover more easily from my mistakes and simply start over.



The other thing I've been relying on is my light box. I built this last month and have been using it to create images with white backgrounds. These lend themselves to easy background removal for transparent backgrounds, or simply for nice high-key shots.

I've been using an LED light as well as my ring-light to illuminate the front of the items on the light box, and the control I'm able to exercise is very interesting. The combination of backlight that comes through things like flowers and leaves, combined with directional front lighting is fun to play with and creates some interesting colors.

Lastly, for my light box shots I've been leaving my camera on the tripod. The Fujifilm S1's battery and memory card are really poorly placed. In order to remove either one it's necessary to remove the tripod mount. That would make for a lot of unscrewing and much less fun. For that reason I've been using the camera's built in WiFi connector. When I'm done shooting my subject I simply click a couple menu items, the camera attaches through my WiFi network to my computer, and the images automatically download - then the camera turns off.

All that's left is to import the images to Lightroom and review them. Because of the way Lightroom's 'watch folder' works I'm not able to automate the import, but there may be some tweaks I can make either in the import module or in Lightroom to resolve this. Either way it's not a big deal since I generally set file names and keywords at import time.

With Autumn here I may actually get outdoors and do some shooting of the changing colors in the mountains. But I still have thousands of images that seem to offer me inspiration and lots of ways to experiment.