It’s Sunday, September 9th, and I am sitting here working on the newsletter wondering where the last two months have gone. Actually I know where they’ve gone!  We were barely able to squeeze in a couple of weekend trips in July and August because I’ve been so busy preparing all of my work for a stock photo agency. We are very excited! It’s a lot of work, but I don’t mind at all. Once all the images have been submitted and they are ready to begin promoting my work, I’ll share the details.

I have a new tip for everyone this month that I have found simplifies my processing load and time significantly. I was fortunate to get this from a guy who has been doing this for nearly three decades. It’s such a simple technique. Many of you may remember the HDR tips from the November 06 newsletter. There are still times when you may want to use HDR techniques, but it isn’t always practical, especially with wildlife. This new technique uses the Shadow/Highlight feature in advanced mode from Photoshop. I am using CS2 but I am reasonably sure it is available in Photoshop CS if you have that version. I didn’t find it Photoshop 7 so my guess is you will need CS or higher. By playing with the settings in the advanced mode you can pull up the shadows and bring down the highlights with a very good degree of control and accuracy. All of the images in this month’s newsletter use this technique and even though I had multiple exposures I was not able to produce better results with HDR. It is a simple tip but it will provide you with excellent results quickly.


 

My first trip was to the Trinity Lakes area. Although I took a lot of pictures, I wanted to highlight this particular one since it clearly shows the benefits of the shadow/highlight tool in CS2. The image is very well balanced with good details in the shadows. This was very late in the afternoon and I really thought it would be a lost image.

 


 

 

 

Rock Outcrop – Trinity Creek
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 28-105 at 28 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Manual Metering
Digital UV Filter
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO 100 - 1/8 Sec @ F16

 

 

 

 


 

In July, we made a  weekend trip to the Wallowa mountains in Oregon. I am transitioning to include more shots that will be useful for the stock agency so you will see a little different focus than I have taken in the past. This cut in the hilltop glowed red in midday sun.

 

 


 

 

 

Red Grade Cut – Wallow Mountain Loop
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 28-105 at 28 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
Digital UV Filter
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO 100 - 1/250 Sec @ F11

 

 

 


 

 

I wondered if it was a good idea to lug camera gear down a ravine to get this shot at the river bottom. On the way back up I really had to wonder about my sanity but the shot was worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

Bend in Creek – N. Pine Creek
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 28-105 at 28 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
Digital UV Filter
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO 100 - 1/30 Sec @ F11

 


 

 

Just outside of Joseph, we spotted this old truck in a field on the back roads. 

 

 

 

 

 

Old Truck – Joseph, Or.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 28-105 at 83 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
Digital UV Filter
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO 100 - 1/200 Sec @ F8.0

 


 

 

August found us squeezing a day out of a trip to north Idaho to celebrate Fran’s father’s 75th birthday. We had threatened to explore the area around Cottonwood and Ferdinand before but this time we did it. It was hay season and these round bales were everywhere.
 

 

 

 

 

Hay Bales – Highway 95 outside of Cottonwood
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 28-105 at 63 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
Digital UV Filter
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO 100 - 1/400 Sec @ F11

 


 

 

We just couldn’t resist the old vehicles scattered around the area. Fran especially liked the faded colors on this old Dodge.

 

 

 

 

 

Old Dodge – Old Highway 95
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 28-105 at 80 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
Digital UV Filter
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO 100 - 1/160 Sec @ F11

 


 

 

There were old farms and buildings everywhere—too numerous to display everything we got in this news letter. This old abandoned farm was very picturesque against the distant mountains.

 

 

 

 

Abandoned Farm – Keuterville, Id.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 28-105 at 105 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
Digital UV Filter
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO 100 - 1/500 Sec @ F11

 


 


 

 

What trip to this part of Idaho would be complete without a picture of trestles? The railroad was abandoned long ago but this trestle is still a famous landmark along old highway 95.
 

 

 

 

 

Camas Prairie Trestle – Lawyer Canyon.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 28-105 at 28 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
Digital UV Filter
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO 100 - 1/160 Sec @ F11

 
 


 


 

 

 

Finally we end this news letter with a panoramic sunset through the smoke of summer forest fires on the outskirts of Boise.
 

 

 

 

 

Vivid Pastel Sunset – Bonneville Point
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 28-105 at 82 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
Digital UV Filter
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO 100 - 1/40 Sec @ F11

 


 

For additional information or to order prints go to our website: www.bmckain.net 

 

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