Find Beauty Anywhere

Caryn Esplin Photodesign: Inspiring photography -- Tips and Tricks -- www.carynesplin.com

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Chasing the light Saturday at #Schwabacher Landing in Grand Teton National Park. It was a gorgeous morning with my #comm316 class! -- PHOTO TIP -- Shoot the icons! I am all about getting a creative and unique shot, but it's fun to also capture some of the #worldfamous #landscapes Many people miss this beaver pond #reflection because there are so many other spectacular scenes along the path to this spot where people are often married! So be sure you go all the way to the end of the path for this #famous National Geographic vantage point. #natgeo #fujixt1 #gtnp #tetons (at Schwabacher Landing)

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Thanks for another great Photoshop World @scottkelby @kelbyonepics ... 23 of us from BYU-Idaho! We are loving the amazing line up this year. #byuipsw15 (at Mandalay Bay Convention Center)

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THE ROUNDUP We followed this cattle drive for miles on our way home from Sun Valley to #Rexburg and thoroughly enjoyed it. #idaho #idahome #idahodaily #roundup #cattledrive #cowboy

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COWBOY CHECKERS Two of my favorite Montana Cowboys who donate their time to come and model for all our #Comm300 #digitalimaging classes at #Bannack ghost town. Thanks a million, Jake and Duster! PHOTOTIP: Use Auxiliary Lighting! The Cowboy's face would have been very dark if I hadn't used a flash with #Rogue #Flashbender from off camera left...to balance the window light coming in from the right side. It is often the best technique to place your auxiliary light source opposite the natural light. The strongest light will be your main light (aka key light) and the weaker light will be your fill light. You can also add a third light behind your subject for a hair or background light. The quickest way to set your photography apart from all the other portrait project is to use auxiliary lighting well and that takes practice. So force yourself to using speed light at least part of the time during every portrait session. Before long you'll learn to balance all your light sources for a natural, pleasing look. (at Bannack Ghost Town, Montana)

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MOAB RULE BREAKER The complementary orange and blue colors in Arches National Park make for great contrast. PHOTOTIP: SEEK INNOVATION & DIVINE INSPIRATION We all know it's best to shoot during Golden Hour, but you can break the rules and still get great shots during midday, If you pray for innovation. Seriously, you can get new brilliant strokes of divine inspiration! Try for something no one else is doing. Example: While shooting in Arches National Park most serious photographers had put their cameras away because it was too late in the morning. The beautiful sunrise ops had ended. However I gave myself a "self assignment" to find something new and creative and I prayed to see things in a new way. I positioned myself on the ground to catch a sunflare off the edge of this pinnacle and focus on the fascinating shadows of this dead tree. Look for the extraordinary in the ordinary. #OSES #ordinaryshotextraordinaryshot #moab #arches #shadowsassubject #shootfromtheground #lowangle #findbeautyanytime #rulebreaker #notgoldenhour #utah #utahgram #newPOV #newperspective #outofthebox #getcreative

[carynesplin]

ISLAND PARK MILKY WAY I captured this nightscape recently on the Buffalo River. I love shooting the Milky Way and adding light painting to the foreground. PHOTOTIP: Finding the Milky Way - Download a smart phone app that has good ratings and you can easily identify the location of the Milky Way in relationship to your landscape. This will help you plan out an appealing #nightscape composition. Keep in mind that the earth is moving constantly so the Milky Way will move in the night sky...so timing is important to position things correctly. Be sure you schedule your shoot when there is no moon up in the sky. You also need to be far away from any town or city so the light "pollution" won't overpower the stars. #lightpainting #idahodaily #idaho #idahome #longexposure #starts #milkyway #nightphotography (at Buffalo River, Island Park, Idaho)

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BUFFALO RIVER SUNSET I just love it when the sensor color spreads across the entire sky! PHOTOTIP: REVERSAL RULE once you have some good shots of a nice sunset, turn around to the opposite direction and see what's happening behind you. Sometimes it's even better behind you! In this I practiced this "reversal rule" and captured this beauty. (at Buffalo River, Island Park, Idaho)

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SUNSET ON THE TRACKS mellow colors and Old school grain silos by the railroad tracks on the Rexburg bench. PHOTOTIP: COLOR COMBINATIONS: Whenever you can include complementary colors such as orange and blue in the same image it is a pleasing combination. Most people are drawn to warm colors, however cool colors set a mysterious or calming mood. So including both makes for an intriguing photograph.

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SIGNAL MOUNTAIN NIGHTSCAPE One of my favorite types of photography is like painting! We use the warm halogen light from the far right off camera side to Adlich to the trees and dock. PHOTOTIP -- NIGHTSCAPE WITH CLOUDS: if you go out to shoot the stars and there are too many clouds, don't despair. If there's a town in the distance the glow from the lights can reflect off the clouds for a very nice light painting effect! #lightpainting #nightscape (at Grand Teton National Park)

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TETONS & WILDFLOWERS What a great color combination! PHOTOTIP: CREATIVE POINT OF VIEW: Shoot an iconic location and look for a new angle or technique. All kinds of wildflowers bloom throughout the summer so try a low angle to put a splash of color in the foreground. Zoom in to compress the scene and make the Tetons look even larger. Then try a shallower depth of field to show the Majestic Tetons slightly out of focus...for a slightly dreamy, large-as-life backdrop. #wildflowers #tetons #daisies #iconic #newPOV (at Antelope Flat Rd. near Grand Teton National Park)

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-- MAGICAL MORNING -- it was a beautiful morning on the Teton bass overlooking Wilson, Wyoming, near Jackson Hole. PHOTOTIP: WHEN ONLY A PANO WILL DO: This was one of those times when the only way to capture the moment was with a #panoramic. Notice the natural smile curve of the #landscape. Whenever you can see this shape occur in #nature it's always evokes #happy emotions because it looks like the land personifying a human #smile. #Wyoming #TetonPass #pano #panorama #iphone6plus #iphone #magic #magical (at Teton Pass Peak)

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TETON PASS SUNRISE The colors were gorgeous on the way home from Jackson Hole, Wyoming A few mornings ago. PHOTOTIP: THE SECRET FOR CREATIVE LANDSCAPE COMPOSITIONS: When applying the rule of thirds we usually think of placing things on the horizontal and vertical thirds. Also try changing your cameras vantage point so you can achieve the rule of thirds with depth of field. In this case, I took a few quick shots to make sure I capture the light, which was outstanding. Then I looked for something interesting near the ground in front of me. I saw the little white flowers and a rock. So I positioned myself low to be sure I had something interesting in the foreground, in the middle ground and in the background. There's a lot to consider when composing a creative landscape. (at Teton Pass Peak)

[carynesplin]

MILKY WAY OVER THE RIVER: The skies were clear early Monday morning in Island Park, Idaho. PHOTOTIP: Choose a moonless night and use a #halogen #lithiumiion spotlight and bounce the light off a reflector or rock to keep it subtle. #milkyway #lightpainting #buffaloriver #islandpark #idahome #idaho #idahodaily @roycebairphoto @tylerclaymedia @meganmkelly @tallroids (at Buffalo River, Island Park, Idaho)

[carynesplin]

LIGHT PAINTING SODA BOTTLES One of my favorite things to light paint is colored glass and colored liquid because you get interesting, glowing reflections. It works well if you hold a small LED light just behind the top of the bottle and pointed downward to light up the liquid and let it glow for a few seconds. #tabletop #lightpainting #longexposure #sodapop

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ROOSEVELT ARCH -- This famous Roosevelt Arch, built in 1903, is the North entrance gate to Yellowstone Park, right outside Gardiner, MT, where we spent the first night of our adventure in a Victorian Inn. I could not resist walking out to the arch after dark to do a few light paintings with my halogen lithium ion spotlight. I used a 30 sec exposure with tungsten white balance, f/16, ISO 400. Fun times in Gardiner! #lightpainting #nightphotography #longexposure #moon #moonstar #moonflare #rooseveltarch #gate #yellowstone #nps #ynp (at Gardiner, MT)

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LIGHT PAINTING STILL LIFE ... I do love to spend hours in the dark painting in the light to reveal my subject. This is a great technique for commercial photography because it has a unique look. I find it to be a more creative way of illuminating my subjects. You can create a more interesting capture by starting with a completely black canvas and use light as your paint! It's important to leave shadows because as my friend, Dave Black says "If you want something to look interesting, only light part of it!" #tabletop #lightpainting #vintage #antique #creative #longexposure #findbeautyanywhere Caryn Esplin Photodesign © 2015.

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VINTAGE CAMERAS - LIGHT PAINTING Follow these steps to paint light on your subject for more creative photography: Step 1. Set up your camera on a tripod and focus on your subject. Then turn your focus to manual so the focus will stay locked. Step 2. Turn off all the lights. Step 3. Try a 30-sec exposure at ISO 200, f/8 Step 4. Use a flashlight from the side for interesting shadows to reveal your subject with creative light strokes. #tabletop #lightpainting #carynesplinphotodesgin #carynesplin.com/tutorials #phototip #findbeautyanywhere