I have been involved with Lightroom for more than a decade now, and I had forgotten many of the older ways of digital preparation using Photoshop. With the usual extra free time in winter compounded this year by the endless issues of COVID-19, I embarked on a season of learning. Having learned from Creative Live in the past and then perusing it in January, I chose a 128 lesson series on Photoshop with an instructor I have always liked, Ben Wilmore. I have completed up to lesson 70 now and have found something of value in virtually every class. Lightroom is incredible for artistic photographers; but Photoshop has been around a LONG time, many tools in the program are far more advanced, and there are many features which are not in Lightroom. I began to look through older images in my Lightroom catalogue - to review them using a greater knowledge of both programs and, I must admit, to see what my increasingly foggy mind missed in earlier years.
In June 2011, I made what at the time seemed to be a near useless trip up to the Palisades for a dawn shoot. The night was astonishing beautiful. I had hoped that this lake would be melted a bit, but the winter of 2011 had been very heavy and there was more snow than I expected. I forgot about the entire journey for almost 10 years and for whatever reason never even considered this capture! It is amazing that I did not recognize the potential of this image. Using one of the newer techniques of blending a bright sky with the darker foregrounds made a difference in this image, and I am pleased with result here. The Palisades are an astonishing gorgeous area.
Margaret and I leave in a few days to pick up our new La Casita travel trailer in Texas and then will be off on a six-week journey through the American Southwest in March and April. With all the new technology out there these days, we manage the business on the road and I’ll be sending emails of our travels as we go. I love comments from my clients, so and please keep in touch!
Vern, Margaret, Dylan, and Sabrina