Sligachan Bridge Panorama
Photo of the Day
On my way up to the Old Man of Storr to try to catch the sunrise, I was driving past one of my favourite sights on Skye and had to stop to catch the dawn breaking over the old bridge on the river Sligachan. Despite having gone past this place a number of times, this was the first where there was good light, so the Storr would have to wait a few moments.
I’m glad I did stop because the sunrise at the Old Man was lacklustre that day, so I happily took this as a consolation prize.
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The Old Man of Storr Panorama
Photo of the Day
I haven’t had much time to process many of the photos from the trip to the Isle of Skye in Scotland and, this Saturday, I’m set for another jaunt. This next trip is to Alston and Hadrian’s Wall will likely be the main subject of my photos. My hard drive will soon be overflowing and I’ll have even more images to try to catch up on.
One of the few photos I’ve had the chance to pay attention to is today’s photo-of-the-day offering from the Old Man of Storr. The Storr is a rocky hill sitting on the ridge that rises over much of the Trotternish Peninsula on the Isle of Skye and the Old Man is the jagged pinnacle you see in the photo below.
It took a couple of attempts to get this photo. The first morning I attempted the ascent to this position, the clouds swept in before I was in the right spot and no amount of cajoling would make them leave (actually, that seem to anger them and they rained on me fast and hard).
The second hike up the hill was much more fruitful than that blustery morning. The Isle of Skye is full of magical places and this might be one of the most magical for me. The pinnacles of rock are far more immense than this photo conveys in low resolution. The full res shot reveals a head-high sign on the path and it is completely dwarfed by the Old Man’s gargantuan size. Walking amongst those giants is like living in a fantasy novel. It’s quite a place.
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Panoramic View of the Cuillins from Elgol
Photo of the Day
The Cuillins seen from Elgol on the Isle of Skye in Scotland stand as one of Britain’s classic views. The jagged peaks rising directly from the ocean make for an impressive sight.
In shooting a panoramic, I had hoped to capture both the forbidding Scottish peaks on the other side of the water and also the rocky coast in the foreground to give a wider sense of what it was like to be there that evening.
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Adding Rendered Objects into Photos
Another fascinating tech demo today shows some new tech used to add rendered 3d models into existing photos:
Rendering Synthetic Objects into Legacy Photographs from Kevin Karsch on Vimeo.
Very cool. If product manufacturers have CAD designs of their products, get them rendered and drop them into whatever background you like. Instant photo shoot!
Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera
Well here’s a clever little idea. It’s a ball with 36 cameras mounted inside it that take a photo when tossed into the air. The result can be stitched into a 360 degree panorama with a unique viewpoint.
It seems like a pretty fun way to capture a moment. I just hope their stitching software improves a little bit and some of those stitching seams go away.
I wonder how sturdy the thing is? I’d love to have a game of basketball with it – you’d get some great photos!
Photoshop Deblurring Sneak Preview
Check out this video on a plugin for Photoshop that removes blur from photos – a potential feature in future versions of Photoshop just might make you gasp in awe as it did for this audience at Adobe Max 2011:
It looks like photographers may soon be able to rescue images from previously unusable states of blurriness. I don’t expect this to be a substitute for good shooting technique, but everybody makes mistakes. If this software can help fix those mistakes, as Rainn Wilson says, people will love this. If nothing else, it should raise the quality of drunken iphone photos on facebook.
Cross your fingers for this to be included in CS6.
Loch Slapin on the Isle of Skye
Photo of the Day
A recent trip to Scotland’s Isle of Skye was accompanied by some predictably damp Scottish weather. What I hadn’t predicted was that the tail end of a hurricane would be sailing overhead and drenching the land beneath.
For a couple days, the driving rains kept most sensible folk inside. Apart from a few stubborn moments that resulted in unusable photos of raindrops on a camera lens, I was sensible too.
But on the day of this photo, the rain had started to abate, so it was time to start exploring in earnest. While coming back from a drizzly stop in Elgol, the clouds briefly parted and illuminated the hills behind Loch Slapin and I jumped from the car excited that I might actually get to take a photo without having to hold an umbrella over my head.
A rainbow bloomed to the left and yellow light bathed patches of the landscape and this panoramic shot is the end result.
Click for a larger image:
City of Arts and Sciences #15
Photo of the Day
And for the last instalment of this series, here’s a shot of the other side of the opera house at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia Spain.
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City of Arts and Sciences #14
Photo of the Day
Clouds gather in the evening at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia Spain.
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City of Arts and Sciences #13
Photo of the Day
Curved bridges arc in front of the opera house at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia Spain.
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City of Arts and Sciences #12
Photo of the Day
L’Hemisfèric looks a bit ominous in this photo of the building at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia Spain.
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How to Save Dogs’ Lives through Photography
I had the opportunity to do a couple of shoots with dogs last week and I loved them both. Though it can be sometimes an exercise in patience when photographing pets, the rewards typically outweigh the hassles. If I get to play with a dog, I’m happy.
Even better would be to make a difference with that photography. Dallas pet photographer Teresa Berg is doing just that. After seeing too many unflattering photos on the websites of dog rescue centres, she took it upon herself to volunteer her expertise and paint the pups in a better light. The result is more adoptions and more lives saved.
City of Arts and Sciences #11
Photo of the Day
The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain.
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City of Arts and Sciences #10
Photo of the Day
Just as unusual from the other side, here’s another shot of the Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts in Valencia.
Click to see the image on a dark background:
City of Arts and Sciences #9
Photo of the Day
Today, we have another shot of El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain. This time, the organic forms of the building are lit up in the evening.
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City of Arts and Sciences #8
Photo of the Day
Today’s photo of the day is the organic, abstract spines and ribs of the top of El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain.
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City of Arts and Sciences #7
Photo of the Day
We continue our wander around the City of Arts and Sciences with another shot of the strange shapes of the Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts opera house.
Click to see the image on a black background:
City of Arts and Sciences #6
Photo of the Day
These abstract forms come from the Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe (a.k.a. the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum) at Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences.
Click to see the image on black:
City of Arts and Sciences #5
Photo of the Day
Today’s photo of the day is a wider view of Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences. El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe is on the left and L’Hemisfèric is on the right.
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City of Arts and Sciences #4
Photo of the Day
Today’s image from the City of Arts and Sciences is a detail of some of the curving and converging lines of L’Hemisfèric.
Click to see the image on a black background:
City of Arts and Sciences #3
Photo of the Day
Today’s addition to the City of Arts and Sciences series is a shot of L’Hemisfèric, an IMAX cinema and planetarium.
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City of Arts and Sciences #2
Photo of the Day
This abstract pattern of lines comes from one of the arcades supporting El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe in the City of Arts ad Sciences.
Click to see the image on a black background:
City of Arts and Sciences #1
Photo of the Day
Today, I begin a new series photo-of-the-day posts that run for the next little while. The images come from one of the more astonishing modern architectural sights I have witnessed: The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain.
These photos are actually from a few years ago and one of the buildings, l’Àgora, was under construction during my visit, so I guess that means I’ll have to go back and get more shots. What a shame that would be as I hardly had any fun at all wandering through this complex of magnificently designed buildings.
The site is designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela and looks like it should only exist somewhere in the distant future. The huge space is filled with unusual shapes and patterns, sweeping lines and giant, abstract forms. As a photographer, I felt like I was cheating – it seemed almost too east to take an interesting photo there.
This first image is of El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, an opera hall, but it might as well be the fortress of a sci-fi super villain.
Click to see the image on a black background:
Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail Courtyard
Photo of the Day
The approach to the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail is through a series of peaceful courtyards and this one stands exactly opposite the mausoleum. Photography of the Mausoleum was prohibited and I wasn’t about to go acting disrespectful in the resting place in one of the city’s most revered figures.
This little fountain was a good second prize. It was quiet enough for me to set up a tripod and do a few shots where I was able to pop off flashes so that I could highlight the edges of the fountain and give it some separation from the background.
Click to see a larger image:
Darby Sawchuk is a Canadian-born photographer who currently resides in Manchester, England. He has travelled to over 40 countries and is always adding more to the list. He creates stock for multiple agencies and is available for assignments.
+44 0790 992 8932
