Blog - Capture Life Through a Geek's Lens - Jeff Smallwood Photography

Jan 18, 2014

digital editing photoclub photography photoshop technique

Daylight on the left. Evening on the right. Being a member of a photo club or photo group can have great rewards when you're pushed to try something new. That's exactly what happened here.

The Calvert Photo Club's January assignment/challenge was the term "motion". I've wanted to experiment with capturing motion in the car for quite a while but never got around to it. Having to produce something for the monthly challenge finally kicked my butt in gear. Keep reading to see how this image was created.

Jan 5, 2014

digital editing lightroom photography photoshop software technique

In the quest to improve my photography skills (does that ever end?), I've been looking at the work of others I admire. I've been looking at portraits in particular and one of the techniques I've been interested in learning is how to create gritty, dark, black and white portraits. I figured that before I try this with photos of anyone else, I better experiment on my own photo first. What follows is a detailed step-by-step on exactly how I created this self-portrait.

Jan 2, 2014

digital editing photography

A compilation of photos from the last two years I've taken in the morning, evening, and night. Music is titled "Stars Collide" by Josh Woodward.

Stacking and Bulb Ramping

Dec 31, 2013

digital editing photography photoshop technique

Bulb ramping is the ideal technique for shooting time lapse segments, but you can do more with the resulting photos than just animating them. Stacking them together allows you to simulate extremely long exposures without the use of filters, and helps preserve the original contrasts and colors of the scene.

The Hidden Gem

Aug 21, 2013

adventures photography

Found a very cool spot, totally hidden and secluded, on the side of the road in West Virginia. This waterfall is proof that you should not only pay attention with your eyes when photographing, but pay attention to your ears as well. Read more to find out where it is and how I found it.

Don't Be Late - A Poem

Aug 6, 2013

opinion photography poetry

Sometimes we need the innocence of youth to remind us what's important...this time captured in a poem.

Jul 21, 2013

facebook opinion photography technology

I've been asked why I frequently post only smaller size photos to Facebook and why I provide links to my photography website for the same shot. The answer boils down to quality. This is not about the content of the photos on Facebook, but rather the digital quality that Facebook uses to display them. To be straight with you, Facebook photo quality sucks. Here's a prime example.

Jul 14, 2013

equipment photography technique

From ISO to HDR to filters, this post includes lots of tips and tricks to help you capture high quality long exposure photos. This is the follow-up post to what we learned in part 1 from Ratatouille: that "anyone can cook".

Solitary Tree

Jul 13, 2013

photography poetry

A poem inspired by this solitary tree

A Walk in the Woods

Jul 6, 2013

adventures photography poetry

Being out in the wilderness for days on end can rejuvenate your perspectives on the world. I decided this image goes with a poem I wrote last year on that same subject titled "A Walk in the Woods"

Jun 20, 2013

equipment photography technique

What is long exposure photography? How do you use it? What are some tips, tricks, and lessons learned that can help you get started?

But first, what can Chef Gusteau and the Pixar hit movie Ratatouille teach us about long exposure photography (or photography in general for that matter)?

I'll answer all those questions and more. So if you've ever wanted to learn about long exposures or weren't sure where to get started, this post will help you get the ball rolling.

Jun 17, 2013

equipment photography technology

When it comes to aperture settings on our cameras, we've all learned that a smaller aperture not only means less light, but it also means greater depth of field (DoF). But did you know there can be a significant downside to that tiny aperture you're using?

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