First Light Images Photography- "Where old photos are restored to precious memories."

Display at Starbucks

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Starting today I will have a number of B&W images on display for the month of January at the Fred Meyer Startbucks in Oregon City Oregon. I hope you can stop by have cup of coffee and enjoy the images.

Until next time.
JG
Start your own blog now! Free!

Cold Weather and the Holiday Season

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Today is a very cold and snowing day in Portland. We are expecting more cold weather as a new front is about to arrive here with wind, snow and ice.

I’ve spending a great deal time the past few days to getting 20 images ready to print. Yesterday was a day for printing my images that go on display in January. I printed the images direct from Lightroom which was so cool to use for printing. You can try Lightroom software for 30 day trial from Adobe at https://www.adobe.com/ . Lightroom software plays such a role in my digital darkroom process.

The two source books that I use are Lightroom 2 by Martin Evening and Photoshop Lighroom 2 Adventure by Mikkel Aaland. I would recommend both of these books for your library.

Joe Barett's website http://www.image-space.com/ is filled with lots of great information and tips about Lightroom. I visit his site on a regular basis. Joe has written eBooks that has some great tips for Lightroom 1 and 2.
http://www.image-space.com/Downloads/Downloads.html .
Joe has a library of tips by Lightroom module for you review.

I’m spending more time these days working on B&W images in Lightroom and Photoshop. I will be posting several Spilt Tone images that I recently finished.

For you Photoshop users I was recently recommended several recipe style books by Diego Conde of the Virgin Islands. The books are The Adobe Photoshop CS3 book for digital photographers by Scott Kelby, Photoshop Photo Effects Cookbook by Tim Shelbourne and Adobe Photoshop CS3 Top 100 Tips and Tricks by Lynette Kent. These books do not duplicate each other and have a considerable number of tips and solutions for users of PS. I find these books most helpful in gaining greater understanding of PS3.

I want to use you all a very Happy Holiday Season!

Until next time…

A special gift

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The holidays are speeding towards all of us as we look for that special gift for a specific loved one. I would suggest that you retouch or restore that treasured old photo from the family album as that gift. You would be surprised by scanning the photo and using Photoshop Elements tools you can restore the precious memory for that special gift. Even if you don’t have a lot of skill using PSE there is a wonderful book out by Matt Kloskowski, “The Photoshop Elements 5 Restoration and Retouching Book”. The book is written in a recipe form with the steps very easy to follow. You can find the book on Amazon or at Barnes and Noble bookstores. Should you have a question about the photo you are working on, send me an email, along with photo and I will try to answer your question.

When printing retouched old photos I’ve completed I prefer to use a good quality matte paper. Epson, Canon and Red River have excellent matte paper.

Look forward to your questions.

Until next time….

Happy Thanksgiving

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Thanksgiving season is very special time to me this year. The past year has been an amazing journey for me. I’m so thankful for the doctors and staff which are involved in treating my cancer. The support that family and friends have provided me on this journey. I have so much to be thankful for and look forward to sharing the holiday season with my family and friends.

I started printing B&W images for folios that will be offered in the next few weeks. There are two themes for the first folios; lighthouses and covered bridges. The folios will hold 8 x 10 images. Each folio will contain 5 to 8 photos.

December is going to be a busy month as I have 18 to 20 images to print and frame for display at a local coffee house January 1^st. I have a few photo restorations scheduled to be finished in December. I will be posting several of the new restorations on this website.

Recently I started using several of the Red River papers for the folio images. The Polar Matte and Arctic Polar Satin papers work very well with the Epson 2200 and R800 printers. The B&W tones of the Polar Matte are outstanding.

You can purchase a sample pack of 18 papers for $7.99 plus postage to try the papers on your printer. http://www.redrivercatalog.com/.

Red River has a wide variety of paper and card stock to choose from. Their papers can be used with a number of inkjet printers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Until next time…

Fall Colors

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Today I went out shot some images of fall colors. It felt really great to have a camera back in my hand shooting landscapes.

Yesterday I was reading “Letting Go of the Camera” by Brooks Jensen. The book is a series of essays that span a 10 year period of his writing efforts. The essays focus on creative process and photography. Every time I read an essay, I find something that has impact on my creative thinking process. I realized that I must have read this book at least five times now and still find things to think about as a photographer.

The book is available at; http://www.lenswork.com/

Recently I was asked about if I was going to upgrade to Photoshop Elements 7. I made a decision that I was staying with PSE 5 and would migrate to Photoshop CS3 in the coming months. I first phase of the move away from Elements was to purchase Adobe Lightroom 1.3. Late spring I purchased Photoshop CS3 and started learning the new software. The learning curve is slow process and lots of sand traps along the way. I recently purchased the Lightroom 2.0 and fine the new features a real benefit over Lightroom 1.3.

On a personal note I found the PSE 5 and Graff’s actions it made this version of Elements a powerhouse product. In the past I worked with Graffi to beta test several action packages he was developing for Photoshop Elements. Griffi;s actions offer you things that you could only get with photoshop. Graffi has amazing individual actions that he shares on his website.for free. Additionally, he has grouped several bundled actions for a really great price. The actions I used the most with Handy Actions, B/W Lab, Glam Photo and Add-O-Matic.

http://www.graficalicus.com/

Graffi is really good about answering your email questions. He is continuing to create actions for Photoshop Elements 5, 6 and 7. I would encourage you to sign up for daily Rant and Ravings blog. Great “stuff”!

Another great source for PSE information is from the friendly folks at;

http://www.photoshopcreativeelements.com/. The people on this forum have a wealth of knowledge about Photoshop Elements and are welling to share.

Until next time enjoy the fall colors.

Thank you NWCS

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

First, I want to say thank to Dr. Weinstein, staff and nurses (Chemo Suite) at Northwest Cancer Specialists for your care and support. You’re the greatest. Also want to thank those special friends and family that provided me with support as I went through my chemo treatments.

It is good to back writing on my blog. I’m looking forward to getting out and using the camera again as I get more energy back in my body. One of my first projects is to continue to photograph the remaining covered bridges in Oregon.

I spend much of my day reading and learning new aspects of PS CS3 and Lighroom.2. The books I’m using with this reading curve are Photoshop CS3 one-on-one by Deke McClelland, Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Photographers by Martin Evening and Photoshop Lightroom 2 by Martin Evening. For someone that is just starting to learning a editing software like CS3 I would recommend “one-on-one” by Deke McCelland as he really walks you through the various basic concepts of Photoshop.

The past few months I read a number of books on photography. I have a special interest in black and white digital photography and wanted to share a several really good basic books on the subject. The author is John Beardsworth, “Digital black and white photography” and Advanced Digital Black & White Photography. These two books walk you through the various aspects of B&W digital photography. The author writing is clear and lots of photos to show the concept he is explaining. I found these two books a good starting point on my journey to learn more about B&W.

Another book that I have started to read again is “Welcome to OZ’ by Vincent Versace. This book is a study manual for the workflow of an image in Photoshop. This book ties in very nicely with my study of B&W darkroom techniques. This one of the best books I have acquired this past year. This book is on my recommendation list of top ten photography books of the year.

One of the subscriptions that I started this year was to LensWork. They produce a fine art black and white photography magazine along with an extended computer DVD publication, photography books, photography podcasts, and photography workshops.

http://www.lenswork.com/

I can’t say enough about the benefit you will get by subscribing to the magazine or the DVD. The images and articles are outstanding. The free podcasts can be found on iTunes and feature Brooks Jensen. If you interested in creativity and photography these podcasts will provide food for thought about helping you be a better photographer.

Until next time…

New Software

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

I’m migrating over Photoshop CS 3 photographic work. Making the decision to use this new software was a slow and thoughtful process. Using PS CS3 will open up creative options for my work that wasn’t available with earlier software. A number of my photographer pals have been encouraging to make the change and so it has now happened.

Photoshop Elements 5 is very cool software with lots of great add-on features from folks like Graffi. In analyzing what took place in my changing software was primary that I wanted more flexibly than what was available with PSE. I will continue to offer help and ideas about using PSE put my main focus will be Photoshop CS3.

Please contract if you have questions about Photshop Elements 4 or 5. I did not upgrade to the latest version Elements 6. When I find cool a add-ons to PSE 4 or 5 they will be mentioned here on the Blog.

Starting the journey with Photoshop CS3 and sharing my experiences is getting off the ground today. There is going to be learning curve for me as I gain new skills with this software. I’m really excited to reaching out to the next level of my growth as a photographer.

Several of my photographer pals have recommended to two books for CS3. Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Photographers by Martin Evening and Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks Photoshop CS3 by Lynette Kent. I would encourage you to check out these books.

Until next time…

Wonderful world of books...

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Some of you folks know how I like to read books about history, fiction, photography, etc... Two of my favorite fiction writers are Robert Parker and Vince Flynn. Their books are so hard to but down once you get started. Some of you might remember the The Spencer TV series as they were based the a number of Robert Parker novels. One of my favorite pastimes is to read a good adventure mystery. I thought I would shared with you some the books have been reading.

On the top of my list of essays are the books of Brooks Jenson (editor of Lenswork).

Single Exposures -“Random Observations on Photography, Art & Creativity”

Letting Go of the Camera – “Essays on Photography and the Creative Life”

These essays are very powerful observations that get me to think about world of creativity and being a better photographer. http://www.lenswork.com/lwp.htm

Another book that has had a big influence on my photo editing is Welcome to Qz by Vincent Versace. The author is one of America’s great photographers. The book is a cinematic approach t digital photography with Photoshop. This book is not a recipe book of directions for a specific effect in Photoshop. Welcome to Oz get into the how and why of analyzing and developing an images specific workflow. This an amazing book the author is sharing with the reader about approaching and working on an image. Welcome to Oz is a study manual and not the faint of heart. You never regret the purchase of this book.

For those of you that know my interest in the Founding Fathers of America, I would recommend the John Adams and 1776 by David McCullough.

I’m going out tomorrow with my Lens Baby to take some pictures of flowers, bridges, etc. This Lens Baby is a wonderful lens to have in your camera bag. You need to check out the website for more information. I hope to be posting Lens Baby images on this site in the next few weeks. http://lensbabies.com/

I want to thanks all the folks that have kept me in their thoughts and prayers over the months as I been on my journey to defeat cancer. I’ll be off the computer for a week or so as I’m having a surgery in a few days.

I’m so fortunate to have such a wonderful group of family, friends, photographer pals, doctors for support in this journey.

Thank you all for your continued support.

Until next time …

Photography podcast

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

I want to share with you a wonderful series of podcasts by Brooks Jensen of LensWork publications. The podcast series is called Lenswork – Photography and the Creative Process. Brooks shares his views on photography, fine art and creativity that come across his desk with these podcasts. To date there are 412 podcasts that can be downloaded to your computer or mp3 player. The style and content each podcast results in a quality product for the listener. This is a five star series in my opinion for a photographer to gain insight into becoming a better creative photographer.

Do yourself a favor and check out LensWork website.

http://www.lenswork.com

To Subscribe via the iTunes Store

Open iTunes
Go to the Store
Search for "LensWork" in the podcast area of the store
Subscribe to the podcast by clicking the SUBSCRIBE button.

Until next time,

JG

How many times have you found the perfect camera bag?

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Recently I had a discussion with several photographers about what is “the perfect camera bag”. After spending time discussing various bags and consuming many cups of coffee, we couldn't agree on the perfect bag for a photographer to use.

Twenty five plus years ago I started on the path to OZ in search of the ultimate camera bag. Many years later, I now have enough bags to open a retail bag store. I would find the perfect bag that answered my photography needs. Then months later I found another amazing bag that would be in my hands and it would go home with me. I think you see know how I ended so many camera bags.

I have extra small, small, medium, large and extra large bags. The bags styles are slingshot, backpack, shoulder, top loading, belt packs, modular harness system, digital cases….

The brands included Lowepro, Tamrac, M-Rock, Domke, Kiesel, etc.

Once I had my new found perfect bag loaded with my equipment, I then would soon run about of space to pack that extra gadget I really needed in the bag. Going a photography shoot meant taking a very piece of equipment I might ever need for the perfect picture. You can see how I needn’t to keep adding to my bag collection.

This went on for a number of years until one day I had an “ah-hah moment”.

I made a list of “stuff” needed to take for specific types of photography shoots. All of a sudden my bag was not overflowing with camera equipment.

Today, I use four types of bags and all the other bags are in the closet.

Domke Mini bag is for my G9 point & shoot camera.
Lowepro Slingshot is my main bag when I’m out and about taking photos.
Domke Backpack and the Lowepro Street and Field Modular harness system are my choices out in the field.
M-Rock (compact) shoulder bag for a D SLR & lens when out and about the city.

The point of this story is I’m still looking for the “perfect bag”. So if you find one let me know...

Until next time...
JG

Comment on: How many times have you found the perfect camera bag?

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:23:09 GMT

I'm still searching for the "perfect" camera bag, and the prefect purse... :)

Comment on: How many times have you found the perfect camera bag?

Thu, 29 May 2008 01:17:10 GMT

John, thanks! This helped! Sent you a PM also on the forum.

Happy New Year Everyone

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Santa was very good to me and left me Adobe Lightroom. This is amazing software for photographers working on their images. The ease of printing in Lightroom is reason enough to purchase the software. You can download a 30 day trial of Lightroom at http://www.adobe.com/ I found Lightroom very intuitive as you work with an image. The manual that comes with the software is only a guide to get you started with program. I bought the book "Photoshop Lightroom Adventure" by Mikkel AaLand. There a number of really good books for this software. I would recommend that you use the software for thirty days before selecting a book for Lightroom.

Check out the site
http://www.lightroomkillertips.com/
Matt Kloskowski is the moderator of this site. There are a number of very cool videos relating to different features of Lightroom.

I'm starting to move into a B&W period with my images. Currently I'm trying new papers and techniques with my B&W images. The mentoring of Diego Conde and the love of restoring old photos has influence me in this direction. I have a section on my site call B&W Gallery where I will be posting my new work.

Until next time,

JG

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

This is the season that we all seem very busy with all of our activities getting ready for the holidays. I'm in the same boat with everyone looking to the right gift for that special family member along with getting ready for the holiday.

I been busy the past days planning the new look of my website, logo, and business cards. Thanks to Don Diego Conde for wonderful design he has created. The logo design will soon be posted on my website.

I downloaded the Adobe Lightroom for a 30 day trial. This is amazing product for photographers using PSE or Photoshop. This software will help you in your workflow along with new ways increase your image optimization.
You can fine the download at     http://www.adobe.com/

The Photoshop Creative Elements Community form has 400 members and it just a month old. This is such a cool forum I hope you check it out.   http://www.photoshopcreativeelements.com/

January 1, 08 the newsletter will be released and on line for your review. I will have my followup tutorial on adding a "splash of color" to an infrared image.

I'll be spending the days up to Chistmas in front of screen printing images for gifts along with restoring several old photos.  I plan to get spend some time in the next couple weeks reading several books on B&W photography.

I would like to wish you and your family a very HAPPY HOLIDAY and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Unil next year...

JG

New Elements Forum up and running...

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

WOW! The new Photoshop Creative Elements Community Forum is open for all us to move to our new home. I was so happy to see so many folks from the old site already signed on to the new forum. You are going to the like layout, galleries, discussion sections etc... http://www.photoshopcreativeelements.com/. I want to add one important thank you to Jane (WAGS) for all her work and leadership in creating and setting up our new forum.

Look forward to seeing all you on PSCEC.

Until later...

John

New website for Marcails Photography

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

This is one of the those proud moments that a father gets to announce that his daughter has a new website http://marcailsphotography.com/ . I hope you will check out Dars (Marcail is her middle name) images and watch her site expand her site with wonderful images in the future.

For those of you thinking about a website and how difficult it is to create, check out Talkspot.
http://www.talkspot.com/ . DJ Williams at Talkspot is amazing resource if you get stuck in the mud when you are creating a website. I can't say enough about the support your get from Talkspot.

PET Forum as I mentioned last time it going to close the close down their site. One of forum members is currently spearheading efforts for the new site. I will let you know the address of the new site when it becomes available.

Until next time...

JG

Conte Imaging Website is activited

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The website of Don Diego Conde is up and can be found at http://www.condeimaging.com . Don has displayed a number Galleries showing his excellent images for your viewing. Check out his website.

We got some very sad news today about the Photoshop Elements Techniques website as KW Media announced that they will be closing the Forum in the near future. A few days ago they let the subscribers know that they were no longe going publish PET Newsletter after the first quarter of 2008. Needless to say the forum members of PET are very upset with KW Media actions. I don't what the future holds the folks of the Forum as they know it.

Until next time...

JG

The little wonder Canon G9

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The fall colors are just about over for the year. I hope you got a chance to get some colorful photos this past month. I was asked this week about filters to use with my digital camera and take autumn photos. The filters that I carry these days are a circular polarizer, enhancing and neutral density.

I've added a new page called "Wanderings" and it's a potpourri of images I have taken when I'm wandering around Oregon. I hope will stop by take look at my images. One my favorites for this month is a rusty old tractror.

My friend Diego Conde from the Virgin Islands is lauching a new website this coming week. Diego images show the power of back and white photography. Diego is a master printer and exceptional photographer that creates fine works of art. Diego was trained and mentored by the master photographer Fritz Henle known as "Mr. Rolleiflex". The detail and effort that goes into a Diego creation will soon be yours to enjoy. You will want view these excellent images that Diego has photographed over the years. I will put up a link to his website here on the blog.

I recently came in procession of the Canon G 9 camera. This new camera is an amazing camera to use for a point and shoot model. There are so many really cool things about the camera so I just mention a few of them and you read the detailed review from

http://www.dereview.com/ .

Image Stabilization
Lens range 35 to 210 mm equivalent to a 38mm camera
RAW is back in the G9
Pixels Approx 12.1 million
Large LCD screen is 3”

If you had an earlier “G” series camera you are going too really like this little wonder. This camera really feels good in my hand when taking pictures. I’m afraid that my G 2 is not going out to take photos now that I have my G9.

I just heard the Photoshop Elements Techniques Newsletter is not going to be published any more sometime in the first quarter of 2008. That is a real shame as such a great newsletter for us that use Photoshop Elements. Stay tuned as I find out more information I will pass it on to you.

Until Next time…

B and W LAB released...

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Graffi has added new actions to his latest 3.0 version B&W LAB for PSE 5 this past week. He also has a version out for PSE 6 less the LAB Actions. Handy Actions 3.0 along with B&W LAB's have really increased the horsepower of Photoshop Elments 5&6.

http://www.graficalicus.com/index.php

I have added new images of infrared covered bridges this past week. If any of you are interested in the infrared technique for PSE, send me an email and I will send you the tutorial. I will be posting this weekend a couple more infrared images that I have added a touch of sepia to the image.

I been spending the last few days learning and experimenting with some new techniques that I found in Photoshop Photo Effects Cookbook. The techniques are written in recipe format and that is very cool for me. You have to at times adapt things to work with PSE but for the most part the tutorials are very workable.

Until next time...

John

THANK YOU, Photoshop Elements 5, Glam Photo 3, and Handy Actions 3.0

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Thank you to all the folks that have sent messages of support as I start my journey of getting healed from prostrate cancer. I'm so gratful to all my friends and family for their being there for me at this time in my life. My entire being says thanks again to all of you. Stay tuned for updates of the journey...

I have decided to stay with Photoshop Elements 5 and use my current actions rather than going PSE 6. I didn't see enough changes in PSE 6 that would have positive impact on my current photography editing and that is the reason I'm not moving to PSE6. If I make a change in editing software I will look at Photoshop CS3. Stay tuned...

Graffi has realeased his latest version of Glam Photo 3 today. This package has 44 really very cool actions. Check out all the images actions on Graffi's website.

I noticed that Graffi's Handy Actions Lite for Elements 5 & 6 has been released and in the the Grafficshop this morning. Check it out...
http://www.graficalicus.com/index.php

Handy Actions 3.0 should be available later this weekend according to Graffi. He is one busy guy getting these actions ready fof PSE 6 and earlier versions of Elements.

I will be out for a day next week to photograph more covered bridges in Oregon. The images will be posted to my site next weekend.

Until next time...

JG

Photoshop Elements 6 and Covered Bridges

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Photoshop Elements 6 was released by Adobe this past week. Graffi has already started beta testing his actions for the new PSE 6. Here is the link to the site;

http://www.graficalicus.com/wp/

I've been waiting to hear more about the PSE6 before I make the change. Have gotten PSE5 fine tuned and really like the output for my photos. Stayed tuned.... Change is hard!

You will find on the Home Page and Gallery 2 a number of covered bridges I photographed this past week. Oregon landscape is rich with these wonderful bridges. Here in the Willamette Valley the following counties have a number of covered bridges; Linn, Polk, Benton, Lane.... What I found was at three of the old bridges are being restored individuals and community groups. Now that is very cool.

Until next time...

JG

Fall Foliage, Covered Bridges and the RAW Format

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Kids are back in school and weather is starting to feel a little bit like fall is not too far off. Now is the time to think about planning the trip to photograph the fall foliage colors. The best time to see the changing of foliage colors are in late September and early October. The changing fall colors start earlier in the Cascades than around the Portland area.

My favorite areas for photographing fall colors in Oregon are; Japanese Gardens, Hoyt Arboretum(Washington Park, Portland OR), Columbia River Gorge, Silver Falls State Park, The Mount Hood loop, Cascade Range over Salem, Detroit route, McKenzie River Highway, Willamette National Forest, Larch Mountain, etc…

Check out the covered bridges in Linn County and the colored foliage in that part of Oregon. Here is a link to covered bridges in Oregon;

http://coveredbridges.stateoforegon.com/

Do a Google “Oregon Fall Foliage” you find a number of really great sites for information on the subject.

Early morning shooting is one of my favorite times to catch the light and dew on the leaves. The RAW format is my preferred mode for shooting fall colors. I really like to get up close and personal with the camera to capture the details of the foliage. Pack a lunch and enjoy the day.

Using a tripod is essential in getting great fall landscape photos. Circular Polarizer, Enhancing & Neutral Density are the only filters that I carry these days. The lenses I generally carry are 20-35mm, 28-105mm, 100-300mm, 400mm and a Lens Baby.

If you have questions about using RAW check out the book "RAW 101 Better Images with Photoshop and Photoshop Elements" by Tim Grey. I have found this book to be very useful in understanding and working with RAW.

Enjoy the fall colors.

Until next time…