a visitor`s - Click magazine

PAGE 03
CANON EXPO 2012
a visitor’s
viewpoint
PAGE 37
ZIV
KOREN
WE GET INSIDE THE
MIND OF A CANON
AMBASSADOR
PAGE 47
STUDENT
UNDER THE
SPOTLIGHT
SA’S PHOTOGRAPHY SCHOOLS
REVEAL THEIR STARS
PHOTO BY ZIV KOREN
EDITOR’S
NOTE
Dear All,
As we reach our final issue for 2012, I am taking the time in the last few days at the office to look back at this crazy year. As a 25th
anniversary year, 2012 was truly astonishing for the EOS sub-brand. An unprecedented amount of announcements and accolades as well
as new directions saw EOS become even more prominent as the brand of choice amongst serious photographers. The expansion of the EOS
Cinema products was notable, as well as the new range of cinematic zoom and prime lenses - showing Canon to be a brand that can utilise
many separate components to create great products.
The Cinema products have sensor and lens mount technology from our photo department, video process and compression technology from
our video department coupled with lens technology and film-making expertise from our broadcast lens division. There aren’t too many competitors that can draw on the same level of expertise to create new cameras. The first step that Canon has taken into the mirrorless market
also has its roots in several other departments - the common ground between digital compact and EOS DSLR’s is quite evident in this new
direction.
We have also seen a whole bunch of other technology come creeping in this year. For the first time, things like touch screen, on-camera
HDR, Built-in GPS, Wi-Fi and super low light auto focus capability have been seen on EOS models. All of these factors make us all wonder
- “Where to from here?” While I am not actually allowed to answer that question, suffice it to say that we are listening to professional and
amateur photographers worldwide to get ideas for the next directions. We see a lot of the activities in online forums and social media sites
and the discussions do not go unnoticed.
On a final note, we have just finished packing up and storing our Expo display. We were over the moon with the response from all of you
who took the time to come see what we had to offer. Highlights of the show this year were the wide array of free workshops from noted
local photographers mixing it up with some big international names, an area we are looking at growing in the future. The almost mythical
EF 200-400mm f4 L zoom lens also proved to be quite the drawcard. People came from far and wide just to tell their friends that they’d
seen one in real life.
INDEX
03 Canon EXPO 2012 - read up on a third party’s viewpoint
08
Weblinks - your direct line to two Canon Ambassadors and more
09
Unveiled: the PowerShot SX500 IS and the PowerShot SX160 IS
13
Canon’s new image management platform - Project 1709
17
Photography Basics
More software programmes continued
21
Photoshop Tutorial - Putting the rock into star
37 We get to interview Canon Ambassador & renowned
Photojournalist Ziv Koren
47
Student under the spotlight
SA’s photography schools reveal their stars
Again - on behalf of Canon SA, I would like to thank you all for your continued support this year and wish you all the best for the upcoming
festive season. If you are travelling, take it easy please - stop to take pictures as often as you can and take the time to relax - I get the feeling
that 2013 is going to start with a bang. I wish each and every one of you health, wealth and prosperity for the new year.
Regards
Roger Machin
Product Manager PVDVC Products Canon SA
1
2
Canon
2012 Expo:
“Inspired to dream”
By Loftus Viljoen [Q.Q. Africa Photography]
Dreams are said to be born out of a succession of emotions,
images, ideas and sensations which occur involuntarily in the
mind, or some people would say the brain, during certain
stages when you are sleeping. You can dream up to 2 hours
during a normal period of 8 hours of sleep. However, for the
creative mind, dreams can occur involuntarily while you are
awake and this is called daydreaming.
The funny thing about dreams is that they occur during a
period of high brain activity - while daydreaming has long
been made out as being a lazy, non-productive pastime,
it is now commonly acknowledged that daydreaming can
be constructive in some contexts. According to Wikipedia
there are numerous examples of people in creative or
artistic careers, such as composers, novelists and filmmakers
[and photographers], developing new ideas through
daydreaming. Similarly, research scientists, mathematicians
and physicists have developed new ideas by daydreaming
about their subject areas.
It does not matter what the scientific, philosophical or
religious explanations are, we all have dreams.
Dreams can sometimes be triggered by something seemingly
uneventful, new angle on a subject or it could be triggered
by something specific.
3
Last year’s “It’s all in the detail” winner and photojournalist,
Naomi Myburgh, checking out some serious lenses
With something like 250 million pictures posted on social
media/internet everyday, everybody has now become
“photo aware” and more and more people are looking
at buying new quality cameras and lenses – Canon has
globally sold 10 million new lenses in the last 10 months
and that itself tells you a story. The competition between the
various brands is fierce.
During the course of 2012 new products and services
were introduced and launched on the photographic scene
followed by various workshops, presentations and lectures to
equip the photography consumer with new skills or a better
understanding of the product or service. Unfortunately some
of those product/service providers deemed it fit to present the
same content with the same examples as a repeat course/
lecture of something similar I attended earlier the year. That
did not do anything to enhance my skills or promote the
product/service to me and was a waste of my time – they
only had to inform the consumer that it was a repeat course
and I would have aligned my plans accordingly. There is
nothing wrong to repeat courses or lectures as there are
many people that did not attend it before.
On the photography scene two of the most anticipated
events were the Photo & Film Expo and the Canon Expo
respectively. The main difference between these events is
that at the Photo & Film Expo you had anything up to 300
exhibitors displaying an array of products and/or services
they are marketing and for the privilege to have nearly
everything at one place the photography consumer pays a
hefty entrance fee. With the internet and online media you
will rarely find a new product launch or even see a new
product or service at the Photo & Film Expo. I am on a “new
product watch” on the internet so if there are rumours about
something new I will know about it long before it is freely
available on the market so I do not go to Shows/Expos to
buy new products.
The Canon Expo on the other hand is solely a display of
Canon products/services and no, you do not have to pay an
entrance fee to visit this Expo. At a commercial expo you will
find that the exhibitors will lure you with all kind of deals or
offers to buy their products/services whereas at a branded
expo you will find that all the focus is on the branded
products/services. The similarities of the Canon Expo with
the Photo & Film Expo are that they are all photography
related, have very attractive competitions, but most of all
they offer a variety of workshops, presentations or lectures.
By looking at other people’s work and techniques you are able
to judge where you are with your work, skills and techniques.
This will determine where you are going photography wise.
Being in the safari rental business, as I am, I have often
seen people go on a photographic safari equipped with
the best cameras, lenses and equipment available on the
market but without the knowledge of how their equipment
works. Very often that little book [called a manual] that
came with the camera has never been opened or studied
– when I ask people if they have ever read their manual
the general answer is that they are difficult to understand.
What I also find is that many of the guests on safari do not
5
know what the functions of aperture, shutter-speed and ISO
are and what the influence the one has on the other. And,
if you want to add more to the confusion talk about white
balance or colour temperatures. If you know these basics
you will understand the dials, buttons and functions of your
camera/s better.
Attending the various workshops or lectures, gives me the
opportunity to get the “feel” of new products or branded
products and I get to check out the basic functions, but
my primary objective is to learn. You are never too old
to learn. I have attended workshops on various genres of
photography this year, like portraits, studio, weddings,
travel, photojournalism and wildlife, despite the fact that my
preferred field is wildlife photography. On each of these
workshops I have learnt something or got some useful tips,
for example in night photography shoot in Raw and set your
camera WB to “daylight” and this will enable you to capture
both tungsten and fluorescent lights in their natural colour.
The “daylight” WB setting is “neutral” and captures the full
colour range.
The Canon Expo is probably the last major photographic
expo of 2012 and before I visited this show I knew that they
would have a couple of international speakers [as I have
seen their work on the internet] as well as local presenters,
but I also knew that Canon would have the much talked
and much anticipated Canon 200-400mm f4 L lens with IS
and 1.4x built in converter on show. This lens unofficially
appeared at the London Olympics of 2012 and I knew that
they had to make certain adjustments for the professional
photographers on the final production model.
As far as I am aware of it is also the first time outside Europe
that this lens was on display and this shows you the status
of the Canon SA Expo in the global context. So I checked
the Canon programs for the weekend and decided to go
on Saturday. The skies were dull and rain eminent so we
6
decided to leave our cameras at home – bad decision,
because as we approached the Convention Centre we saw
a vagrant sleeping next to the extraction vent for the parking
lot with the warm air blowing over him: this was a photo
opportunity lost.
As we entered the Sandton Convention Centre we were
pleasantly surprised to find that there were banners up from
last year’s competition winners, but as we went into the main
exhibition area I saw that there was a major improvement on
the flow and movement of people – there was a centre focus
point in the middle where people could walk around with
extra display areas on the outside parameter and 3 lecture
areas [as opposed to last year’s 1]. The competition exhibits
were much easier to access than last year.
When we got there the first lectures had already started
and we quickly slipped in to listen and then something
small caught my attention. A mirror-less camera that is able
to accommodate all my EF-S and L-lenses. This camera is
small and very handy as a back-up or even a travel camera.
Inspiration to dream…
Then… I laid my hands on the 200-400mm f4 [throughout
the zoom range] with its 1.4x built in converter on a Canon
1Dx camera [what a combination…dream on…!!!]. Apart
from rumours, nothing is really known about this lens, but
from what I have seen was that it was fast and I liked the turn
dial for the zoom as opposed to the slide out system of my
old 100-400mm lens. It seemed to be lighter than my old
300mm f2.8 lens. The “bulge” on the left hand side of the
lens which holds the 1.4x - which apparently bothered the
Olympic photographers, was either redesigned or changed
but for wildlife photography or even action photography it
does not bother me. The closest focus appears to be 2 metres
and I noted that it has 3 IS settings. The switch for the 1.4x
converter is L-shaped and had a bit of play. How durable it
is or how the harsh desert conditions of the Namib or the
7
Kalahari would have on it I don’t know - I do not believe
that the “play” on the display model would influence its
dust/water resistant seals. I would certainly love to have this
lens on my Wild Horses of the Namib trip next year [dream
on……]. Back to reality it is rumoured that this lens is going
to cost about R130,000 in South Africa which will probably
put it out of reach of many photographers.
On the presentations - I was mesmerised with Brutus
Östling’s take on bird photography – his setting up of the
shots and the settings he used on his camera [it was all on
the big presentation screen]. And then Ziv Koren did his bit
on photojournalism and although I have seen some of his
pictures before [especially the AIDS Project in KwaZulu] it was
just interesting to hear him speak about it and the difference
in the same photo shot with various cameras, especially what
the 1Dx has to offer…triggering new dreams - what it could
do to my photography with the new 200-400mm f4 lens.
I liked Manus van Dyk’s fresh approach to the basics
of aperture, shutter-speed and ISO and where to focus
to achieve certain effects in DoF. By the time we finished
listening to Manus the day was gone. Funny how time flies
when you are enjoying something.
LINKS AnD
LEMONS
THESE WEBSITES ARE
DEFINITELY WORTHWHILE CHECKING OUT.
http://www.zivkoren.com/
http://www.brutusostling.se/english/main.html
Israeli photojournalist Ziv Koren is a Canon ambassador
that truly gets close to the real life action found in war torn
countries.
Canon ambassador Brutus Östling, is a highly respected
bird and wildlife photographer with a spectacular portfolio
of rare birds.
http://www.dslrtraining.co.za/
http://www.marleneneumann.com/
DSLR Training teaches you to “explore
every angle” of the world around you
through the lens of your camera.
Marlene Neumann - A woman who
has broken the boundaries of Fine Art
Photography in South Africa. Her unique
approach has won her international
recognition.
Whether it is logistically possible, I don’t know, but what
I would have loved to see at the show was a free sensor
cleaning service for our Canon cameras.
My impression of the Canon 2012 Expo, and my guess is
many visitors to the show had the same, is….“Inspired to
dream”. ■
8
Get closer: Canon unveils the
PowerShot
&
PowerShot SX500 IS – key features:
• Mini 30x ultra-zoom camera with 24mm wide lens
• 16 MP
• Intelligent IS
• Large 7.5 cm (3.0”) LCD
• Smart Auto mode detects 32 scenes
• HD movies (720p) with HDMI
• Zoom Framing Assist
• Fun Creative Filters
• Full Manual control
• Face Detection
SX500 IS
SX160 IS
Canon has unveiled two new additions to its collection
of powerful superzoom compact cameras – the
PowerShot SX500 IS and PowerShot SX160 IS.
“Perfect for getting you closer to the action, the
PowerShot SX500 IS is the world’s smallest 30x optical
zoom camera, giving you the flexibility to capture
subjects in the far distance, in an astoundingly sleek
and compact body,” comments Abri Kriegler, Product
Manager at Canon South Africa.
For families wanting a camera that everyone can enjoy,
the PowerShot SX160 IS features an impressive 16x
optical zoom in a compact body, so life’s memorable
moments can be captured no matter how far away
you are.
From first-time camera users to creative families
who want to capture every moment, the
PowerShot SX500 IS and PowerShot SX160 IS make
it easy to capture impressive stills and HD movies.
Both models merge a range of quick and easy-to-use
features with Canon’s acclaimed imaging technologies
for superb image quality. With Canon’s advanced
optical Image Stabilizer with Intelligent IS, pictures
will be crisp and sharp, regardless of the scene you’re
shooting, while Smart Auto detects the shooting scenario
and automatically adjusts settings to the most suitable mode
for the shot. With a fun range of Creative Filters, different
effects can be added to stills and movies instantly, letting
you explore your creative side and giving you unique shots
every time.
zoom, this new lens offers the flexibility to snap everything
from group shots at children’s birthday parties, to longdistance close-ups of animals at the zoo.
Powerful zooms made small
From recording family holidays to capturing a special day,
both new PowerShot models’ optical zoom lenses make it
easy to capture every moment, even when you can’t get as
close to the action as you’d like.
For getting even closer to your subject, Canon’s
ZoomPlus technology digitally extends the lens
reach of both new models, zooming as far as 60x
on the PowerShot SX500 IS and 32x on the
PowerShot SX160 IS. With the PowerShot SX500 IS,
Zoom Framing Assist is on hand to help when using the
full reach of the powerful zoom, letting you zoom out at
the touch of a button and relocate your subject, before
zooming back in as you release the button to take your shot.
The PowerShot SX500 IS is the ideal option for users looking
for compact power. Utilising Canon’s extensive expertise in
lens design, it features a newly-developed 24mm wide-angle,
30x optical zoom lens, small enough to fit in a travel-friendly
body. The PowerShot SX160 IS is an affordable, easy-to-use
superzoom, boasting a versatile lens custom-designed for
this model alone. With a 28mm wide-angle and 16x optical
For sharp, steady shots throughout the zoom range, both
new cameras feature Canon’s advanced optical Image
Stabilizer and Intelligent IS technologies. Intelligent IS
automatically selects the correct Image Stabilizer mode
from seven different settings to match the subject and
shooting situation – so whether you’re shooting a
close-up of a baby’s face or capturing a movie on
the move at full zoom, both new cameras will deliver sharp results.
Picture-perfect every time
The PowerShot SX500 IS and PowerShot SX160 IS are packed full of clever
imaging technologies to ensure photos are captured in crystal clear detail. Both
models feature a new 16 Megapixel sensor that captures vivid colours and
striking detail, resulting in shots that wow friends and family. Canon’s DIGIC 4
image processor ensures that pictures are captured quickly and in life-like detail,
whether shot at sunset or against the challenging bright snowscapes of winter
holidays.
No matter what’s being captured, from family picnics to days out at theme parks,
or evenings at the beach, the PowerShot SX500 IS and PowerShot SX160 IS help
you to capture the perfect shot at the touch of a button, thanks to Smart Auto with
Advanced Subject Detection technology.
Cleverly detecting 32 different scenes, Smart Auto analyses the scene and
automatically changes the camera’s settings to capture pictures you can be
proud of.
Once you’ve got to grips with the camera and are ready to experiment even more,
you can easily switch to Full Manual Control, where you can control individual
camera settings including shutter speed and aperture. Creating unique, fun shots
with the new PowerShot SX500 IS and PowerShot SX160 IS is also simple with a
range of easy-to-use Creative Filters, which instantly transform your images and
movies with one of six different effects. Add a new perspective to pictures with
Fish-eye Effect, or create a retro-style shot using Toy Camera Effect.
PowerShot SX160 IS – key features:
• 16x optical zoom, 28mm wide Canon lens
• 16 MP
• Intelligent IS
• Large 7.5 cm (3.0”) LCD; Hints & Tips
• Smart Auto mode detects 32 scenes
• HD movies with HDMI
• Fun Creative Filters
• Full Manual control
• iFrame movie
• AA batteries
Big screen viewing for stills and movies
Images can be composed and shared instantly on the PowerShot SX500 IS and
PowerShot SX160 IS’s large 7.5cm (3.0’’) LCD screen, which displays everything
in crisp detail and rich colour. New users can also access a range of helpful
on-screen Hints & Tips which include an easy guide to mastering your camera’s
settings and modes.
Thanks to the PowerShot SX500 IS and PowerShot SX160 IS, special family
moments can be relived for years to come with the ability to capture high-quality
HD movie footage with stereo sound. A dedicated Movie Record Button also
lets you switch instantly from stills to movies, for complete flexibility and creative
control, while a HDMI-CEC connection offers big screen viewing on compatible
HD TVs. ■
12
Your lifetime of
images, on demand
for the modern photographer, providing instant access to
Canon unveils new image
management platform
Project 1709
months and years ahead.”
Canon announced the beta launch of a new image
image collections. Unlike any other service, it integrates
management platform under the working title Project 1709.
disparate image collections – regardless of how they’ve
Designed to seamlessly bring your entire photography
been captured and where they are stored – into one easy-to-
collection together, the new cloud-based service makes
use platform that provides access to all images.
their entire collections whenever and wherever they want it.
We’re excited at the prospect of working with photographers
during the beta programme, and evolving the platform in the
Easily store, find, access, improve and enjoy
Totally cloud-based, the platform has been designed to offer
a central location to organise, access and view all digital
it easy to store and access images, regardless of where
they’ve been saved. With unique indexing and tagging
The platform’s clean, tiled design gives a fresh and enjoyable
functionality, you can easily find any image stored on
new way to view images, with a customisable timeline ribbon
the cloud, or share your collection of photographs with
and tag-based filtering options that make it easier to find
friends, family and social networks thanks to integration
images using important dates, location, user-added tags,
with services such as Facebook.
and much more.
“Since the advent of digital photography, people are
The platform has been created around five core principles
taking more photos on a range of devices, and it’s become
designed to make it easier for photographers to manage
more challenging to effectively manage and enjoy these
their images:
Project 1709 - key features:
• Store a lifetime of your images.
• Find any image when you need it.
• Access all your photos anytime, everywhere.
• Enjoy and make the most of your photos.
• Improve your photos to make them the best they can be.
images,” said Rainer Fuehres, Head of Consumer Imaging,
13
Canon Europe. “In Project 1709 we’ve developed a unique
• Store: Allowing you to store a lifetime of images, all on
solution that makes it easier to manage photo collections
one platform. You can upload images from any device
across different platforms – whether stored on a hard drive,
using either the dedicated desktop uploader or directly
a social network, or in the cloud. This platform is designed
from the web page. Even if the same image is stored in
14
multiple locations, advanced image matching technology
photography and social interactions easily accessible
identifies duplicate images and enables users to easily
from within the interface.
remove them from their library.
• Access: Instantly access any image, at any point in time
• Find: The intuitive search functionality allows you to
quickly and easily using a web browser. This ensures
quickly filter through photos to locate the image needed.
you will never be caught without an image to share with
Meaningful tags added by you, as well as EXIF data,
friends and family.
device information, dates, and geo-tags, can all be
searched within the interface – making images easily
Designed around users
findable, whichever way you search. With the advanced
The Project 1709 beta offers versions in English and German.
search functionality you can enjoy a timeline of images
During the beta phase, users will be able to enjoy the ability
providing the perfect way to document a child growing
to store and access images, and use the intuitive tagging and
through the years.
search functionality to manage image collections. Facebook
integration is also available from today, with additional
• Improve: As well as storing a library of pictures, a
third party services to be added as the beta programme
concise overview of EXIF data – including the camera’s
develops. Canon will also invite participating users to share
model, exposure time, aperture and ISO speed – is
their thoughts and feedback, as well as suggest ideas for
also displayed to help you understand camera settings
new features.
on your favourite shots. Using advanced indexing
technology, you can build up a lifetime of images with
Project 1709 is scheduled for a full public launch in 2013,
an extensive collection of contextual data that can be
when the platform identity and additional features will be
used to theme images, organise collections and make
unveiled. The public launch will also include enhanced search
special photos easy to find.
and tagging functionality, as well as integration with a wider
range of third party services, including content upload and
• Enjoy: The platform makes it easy to enjoy and make
sharing platforms.
the most of digital photography, as well as share your
favourite images. With Facebook integration you can
Consumers interested in the beta can register their interest at
publish images, pull in and store comments and manage
www.Project1709.com ■
Facebook photos as part of your collection – making
15
16
We continue with Colour Space in this issue of Photography Basics.
Customising Picture Styles
Parameter Adjustments
• Picture Style parameters can be customised to produce more tailored results to
suit the needs of the user.
• Each Picture Style offers four parameters to adjust:
– Saturation
– Contrast
– Sharpness
– Colour Tone
• These parameters can also be adjusted afterwards in DPP.
• Saturation
– Changes the strength of the colour in an image.
– + Makes the colours stronger.
– - Makes them paler.
– Adjustment range from -4 to +4.
– All preset Picture Styles set to 0.
Picture Styles, while preset for specific results, can also be customised by the user
to suit their needs. Each Picture Style offers four parameters that can be adjusted –
saturation, contrast, colour tone and sharpness. If the user does not want to adjust
these on the camera, they can be applied to RAW files in DPP processing on the
computer afterwards.
17
Saturation is the amount of colour being recorded. If the
Saturation is set to a low figure the colours come out muted
and flat, whilst if the Saturation is set to a high figure the
colours can become almost electric in intensity. The range
is -4 to +4 and all of the picture styles start on 0.
Saturation = 0
Saturation = -4
The right image, with -4 saturation shows much
weaker, subdued colours.
18
Colour Tone is a shift in the colours the cameras produces to either a redder colour - a minus correction, or a yellower
tone - a plus correction. This is intended for studio and portrait photographers.
+
+
Saturation = 0
Saturation = +4
The right image with +4 saturation shows much stronger
colour than the image on the left.
• Contrast
– Makes the difference between the blacks and
white more or less pronounced.
– + Makes the image appear harder with less
tones but stronger blacks and whites.
– - Makes the image appear softer with a greater
range of tones but blacks and whites are
more muted.
– Adjustment range from -4 to +4.
– All preset Picture Styles set to 0.
Contrast is the range of tones available in an image. If
the Contrast is set to a low figure the image will look
dull and flat but will have lots of shadow detail and lots
of highlight detail, a side effect of this is that the image
will also look softer. If the Contrast is increased then the
image will look bolder but the shadows and highlights
will have less detail in them. It also makes the image look
harder. The range is -4 to +4 and all of the picture styles
start on 0.
19
One of the best ways to experiment with the Picture Style overrides is to take a RAW picture and use the Digital Photo
Professional software to look at the file as this allows you to set the same settings as can be set on the camera.
-
Contrast = -4
Contrast = 0
The right image with -4 contrast shows lower definition
and less difference between shadows and highlights.
Colour tone = 0
The image on the right appears to have a redder tint due to the -4 colour tone adjustment.
+
Contrast = 0
Colour tone = -4
+
Contrast = +4
The image on the right, with +4 contrast shows a harder
image with less detail in shadows and highlights.
• Colour Tone
– Changes the colour balance of an image.
– - Correction produces a redder image.
– + Correction produces a yellower image.
– Range of adjustments from -4 to +4.
– All preset Picture Styles (except Monochrome)
set to 0.
Colour tone = 0
Colour tone = +4
The image on the right has a yellower tone due to the +4 colour tone adjustment.
We hope this has been informative. Next week we will continue with black and white picture styles.
See you then.
■
20
T U T O R I A L
Design the Retro Futurism Photo Manipulation ‘Cosmic Rocker’
Author: Tom – founder of PSDFAN
Here is a preview of the image that we are going to
be creating:
Resources Used In This Tutorial
Step 2
Nebula Background
http://www.fotolia.com/id/23616694
Now paste in the nebula texture
from the resources for this tutorial.
Resize and position it to fit your
canvas.
Guitarist
http://www.fotolia.com/id/3352016
Light Beams Brush Set
http://redheadstock.deviantart.com/gallery/?q=light#/d175s20
21
Now reduce this layer’s opacity
to 55% and apply a layer mask.
Use a large, soft black paintbrush
to mask off the top corners of your
nebula image.
Step 1
Apply a levels adjustment layer.
Create a new document (1100X1000px). Fill your canvas with
black.
Levels Adjustment Layer Settings:
9 / 1.25 / 215
page
Paste your guitarist photo into the
left half of your canvas, and apply
a levels adjustment layer. Be sure
to apply a clipping mask to this
adjustment layer, so that it only
affects your underlying guitarist
layer, not your entire canvas.
Levels Adjustment Layer Settings:
2 / 0.88 / 244
Now apply a layer mask. Use a
soft black paintbrush to mask off
most of the background of your
guitarist. Also mask away his
legs, blending them smoothly into
the background.
22
Luckily the background behind his hair is already looking
good against our main background, so it doesn’t require
much masking. This is useful as masking off hair is tricky stuff!
Step 4
With your selection in place go to filter>render>clouds and
render some black/white clouds:
We want to soften the background. To do this, create a new
layer called ‘background lighting’, above your nebula/
background layers but beneath your guitarist layer. Use your
eye dropper tool to sample some of the light colours around
your guitarist’s hair.
Then use a large, soft paintbrush and brush some over areas
at the top right of your background.
Go to edit>transform>distort. Distort your rippling circle until
it appears like the image below.
Step 3
The cable coming from the guitar is actually distracting away
from the composition as a whole.
Zoom in on your guitar and ensure your guitarist layer is
selected. Use your clone stamp tool to clone out where the
guitar cable is:
Step 5
Create a new layer called ‘clouds ripple’.
Drag out a circular selection from the center of your canvas.
Use your elliptical marquee tool for this, and ensure that your
selection has a 30px feather in order to give it a nice soft
edge.
23
Go to filter>convert for smart filters. This will convert your
clouded circle layer into a smart object, allowing you to apply
filters non-destructively.
I also applied a layer mask and used a large, soft, black
paintbrush at a low opacity to mask off the top left of this
circle shape:
Go to filter>distort>zigzag.
ZigZag Filter Settings:
Amount: 100
Ridges: 8
Pond Style: Pond Ripples
24
Change this layer’s blend mode to ‘overlay’. This will make the
effect almost invisible, but you’ll still get a subtle ripple effect
against your background and guitarist:
Repeat this technique creating a smaller rippling oval in the
right of your canvas. Ensure that this ripple layer is also set to
‘overlay’ blend mode, but reduce its opacity to 30% to make
the effect more subtle:
Now apply an outer glow, inner glow and colour overlay
blending option to this layer. Be sure to give each adjustment
layer a clipping mask.
Outer Glow Blending Option Settings:
Blend Mode: Overlay
Opacity: 100%
Colour: ffffff
Spread: 0%
Size: 81px
Duplicate your ‘clouds ripple’. This will make your ripple effect
more visible and intense. If needed mask off more of your
duplicate ripple until you’re happy with the result.
You want to try and mask off more of the left side of the
ripple, make it appear that the ripple is spreading out from
the guitar in a kind of soundwave, echoing out to the right of
your canvas.
Inner Glow Blending Option Settings:
Blend Mode: Overlay
Opacity: 100%
Colour: ffffff
Choke: 0%
Size: 98px
Step 6
Create another smaller ripple over your guitar area. This will
provide the basis for your main sound waves.
25
Colour Overlay Blending Option Settings:
Blend Mode: Colour
Colour: fdd092
Opacity: 26%
26
Step 8
Apply an outer glow blending option to your path line layer:
Select your paintbrush tool and select a 2px white paintbrush.
Then use your path tool to create a wavy path line stemming
out from your guitar. In your path palette right click on your
path and click ‘stroke path’. Make sure that you have ‘simulate
pressure’ box.
Outer Glow Blending Option Settings:
Blend Mode: Normal
Opacity: 100%
Colour: fdda87
Spread: 0%
Size: 13px
Step 9
Step 7
Repeat step 8 multiple times to create several lines of light
streaming out from your guitar:
Duplicate your ‘cloud ripple small’ layer twice. With each
duplicate make the object smaller, and center it over your
guitar.
By duplicating your overlay layers like this, you’ll be making
the light and colour of this area much more intense:
Keep this layer’s opacity at 100%, but reduce its fill opacity to
30%. This will make your line effect more subtle, but keep the
outer glow effect nice and obvious:
27
28
Step 10
It’s time to add some distortion to our light lines. To do this,
select your smudge tool, and ensure its set to 30% strength.
Then select each individual light line layer, and with each
layer smudge out the line, following the shape of the contours
of your larger ripple effect.You can see in the image below
where I’ve smudged my light lines and the direction in which
I’ve smudged them:
Fill this selection with white:
Now duplicate your ‘light over lines’ layer. Keep the blend
mode at ‘overlay’ but reduce the layer opacity to just 6%.
Reduce this layer’s opacity to 50% and change its blend mode
Apply a gradient overlay blending option, which will give a
great rainbow light effect over your light lines:
Create a new layer called ‘light specks’.
Select your paintbrush tool and apply the brush settings shown
below:
Gradient Overlay Blending Option Settings:
Blend Mode: Normal
Opacity: 100%
Gradient: default rainbow gradient
Style: Linear
Angle: 90
Step 13
to ‘overlay’. This should give a subtle lighting effect over your
lines of light:
Step 12
Step 11
Create a new layer called ‘light over lines’.
Use your polygon lasso tool (feather: 30px) to create a
selection over your light lines area.
29
30
Reduce the opacity of your light brush layers until it looks
something like the image below. Try to keep your light effects
fairly subtle, and don’t overwhelm your overall composition
with your light rays:
Now paint a scatter of white brush marks over your light lines:
Apply an outer glow to your ‘light specks’ layer:
Outer Glow Blending Option Settings:
Blend Mode: Screen
Opacity: 100%
Colour: ffdd95
Spread: 0%
Size: 13px
Step 14
Download the light rays brush set found in the resources
section for this tutorial.
Apply a couple of the brushes over your lit up area:
31
32
Step 15
Create a new layer called ‘vignette’. Select a very large, soft
black paintbrush at around 50% and paint around the edges
of your image. Focus particularly on the bottom left corner, as
you want this to be the darkest area, whilst your guitar/light
effects illuminate the right part of your canvas.
The images below show the dodge/burn layer at ‘normal’
blend mode and then at ‘overlay’ blend mode:
Step 17
On a new layer, type out the word ‘ROCK’ using white text,
just over your lines of light area.
It’s not particularly important what font you use, but try and
use something quite elegant and not too chunky/bold:
Stroke Blending Option Settings:
Size: 1px
Position: Outside
Blend Mode: Colour Dodge
Opacity: 50%
Fill Type: Colour
Colour: ffffff
Now reduce the fill opacity of this layer to 0%, keeping the
main layer opacity at 100%.
Step 16
Create a new layer called ‘dodge/burn’.
Go to edit>fill and fill your layer with 50% grey. Then change
your layer’s blend mode to ‘overlay’. This will allow you to
dodge/burn your image non-destructively. Simply select a
soft paintbrush (around 10% opacity) and paint over your
image with black to burn and white to dodge.
33
Apply an outer glow and stroke blending option to your text
layer:
Outer Glow Blending Option Settings:
Blend Mode: Colour Dodge
Opacity: 10%
Colour: ffffff
Spread: 0%
Size: 50px
34
Step 19
Finally, apply two adjustment layers to help bring your
composition together. DO NOT give either of these adjustment
layers a clipping mask, as you want your adjustments to affect
your entire canvas, not just the underlying layer.
Levels Adjustment Layer Settings:
5 / 1.09 / 229
Gradient Map Adjustment Layer Settings:
Gradient: default purple to orange gradient
Layer opacity: 20%
Step 18
Duplicate your text layer multiple times (I duplicated mine 9
times). With each duplicate layer move it very slightly from
the position of the original. This movement only needs to be a
few pixels, but by layering up these glowing text layers you’ll
create a nice piece of lighting effect typography.
And We’re Done!
Here’s the final outcome. I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial
and would love to hear your feedback on the techniques and
outcome. ■
35
ZIV
Koren
Canon Ambassador
One of the speakers we were honoured to have at the
Canon Expo 2102 was Ziv Koren. He is an internationally
acclaimed Israeli photojournalist who for many years
has been capturing images that are at the cutting edge
of reality. Immeasurably intertwined with emotionally
high human conditions this man is a stalwart in the
photojournalistic community.
37
■
What/who initiated your desire for
photojournalism and when did you get your first
camera?
I studied art in high school and started to take
some pictures as an amateur. In Israel, military
service is mandatory, I was accepted as a military
photographer and that’s what gave me my first
experience in what photojournalism is all about.
It was during the first gulf war in 1991 that I
understood that this is what I want to do in life.
40
■
What is your most used Canon equipment
would you say?
I use the EOS 1DX that I think is the best camera
I ever worked with and the EOS 5D Mark III, my
most used lenses are 16-35 f2.8 and a 24 f1.4,
lately I got the new 24-70 f2.8 and I found its high
end quality amazing.
■
Your photographs cover many diverse subjects
especially in Israel – religion, war and the people
that live and cope within those elements. How do
the people of Israel view you?
I do projects and assignments inside and outside
of Israel. I think the questions should be how my
pictures are being viewed and not me personally,
because I usually deal with subjects that are not
very popular, and I expose stories that most people
would sometimes prefer not to see. I think that the
big challenge is to use this platform of photography
to raise awareness, regardless of how difficult the
story is.
■
Are you able to distance/detach yourself from
some of these captured moments and images that
show the sensitive realities?
Whoever thinks that the camera can disconnect
you from the situation you are photographing is
very wrong.
Being there, not only that you see it with your eyes,
you hear the voices and smell the smells... it’s not
something you can just walk away from. I think
that every major event I have photographed in my
career has left a scar on me.
41
■
What do you feel are the rewards and difficulties
with regards to your profession?
Photography is an international language that
everybody can speak - if the pictures are good, you
can make people feel, think and understand anywhere
around the world.
■
What has been your most memorable shoot and
why?
I can’t talk about a single image, I would rather think
about a story or a reportage that made a difference.
Like the coverage of the earthquake in Haiti - after the
reportage was published, people donated money to
rebuild a school that was destroyed and gave hope to
400 children that otherwise had no chance of proper
education.
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■ If you weren’t a photojournalist what would you be
doing?
I have no idea. I’ve never done anything else in my life.
We appreciate the time Ziv has given us for this
interview.
To view more of his work, go to
http://www.zivkoren.com ■
45
STUDENT
UNDER
THE SPOTLIGHT
Monthly, we are showcasing a student from
photography schools around the country. So get
involved and if you have a student you’d like to tell us
about, email us at [email protected]
Sven Kristian
Barbara Wildenboer, Rima Geffen and Georgina
Karvellas are the three photography course lecturers
that have assisted Sven Kristian during his course at
City Varsity’s Cape Town campus. Sven has some
great work to check out so join us as we interview
another student who’s making some waves already.
47
“Don’t keep your images or your
talents to yourself.”
- Sven Kristian
THE PERSONALITY
I’m a German Namibian fella living
in sunny Cape Town. I spent almost 10 years in
Scotland and England working in the hotel industry.
Unfortunately it took me that long to get myself into
gear and realise that I love photography and that
I should take those ambitions further. So I did. I
bought my first digital, Canon 40D in London in
2008, and it was just a matter of time before I
decided to head home and change my career. So
here I am.
THE GEAR
Currently I use a Canon 5D Mark II that
I upgraded from the Canon 40D. I use mainly
prime lenses and other Canon items. Over the
years I have acquired the Canon 85mm f1.8
lens, the 50mm f1.4 lens, the 28mm f1.8 lens, a
Canon 430 EXII speedlight plus off camera shoe
cord, a Canon timer remote control and a wireless
shutter release. I do plenty of on-location shooting
using artificial lighting on set, but these are different
branded studio strobes and modifiers.
THE STYLE
Commercially I am really interested in
fashion and am making it my aim to break into
this tough section of photography. I have heard
more negative things about the fashion industry
49
40
than positive, and so this is motivating me to succeed
within it. It does not have to be the way some of it
has been portrayed. I also want to break into music
photography, but more the promotional, set-up and
conceptualised photoshoots and perhaps doing the
artwork for CD covers and inlays. Having said that,
I also have a great interest in fine art, and with my
photography I enjoy creating concepts. Most recently
I have been creating many images that are either
surreal or uncanny in some way. I do, however, want
to gain experience in various techniques applicable
to different genres, so I constantly read up on things
and watch tutorials.
THE COURSE
There has been a very fine artistic approach
to our course, and had it not been for that, I don’t
think I would have had half of my concepts realised
today. My lecturers got me into thinking conceptually.
Before that, I was only focused on documenting what
I saw around me.
THE ADVICE
I have said this before in a previous
interview, so I am going to repeat it word for word:
1. Don’t keep your images or your talents to
yourself. Share them, even if you find them
mundane. Let the world see, it may just be the
exact opposite! Check out the story of Vivian
52
Maier on Youtube, and you will know what I am
talking about. It’s inspiring! http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=HWEDOnBfDUI
2. Brand yourself. Find an identity that speaks for
you, get a logo, make a stamp of your logo, get
a business card - clients love seeing this kind of
thing. I went in for an interview with an agency
and before they even saw any images, they
said that they already liked me because of how
I presented myself to them, first impressions are
lasting impressions. Then let your images work
their magic, simple!
3. Lastly: GET A WEBSITE! There are so many free
and amazing options available for free websites,
get your portfolio online now, while you are a
student!
INSPIRING LAST WORDS
ABS = “Always Be Shooting” – Nick Onken
To view more of Sven’s work go to
www.svenkristian.com
and
his
blog
at
www.svenkristian.tumblr.com where you can see
more of his personal projects.
For more information on the courses offered at City
Varsity you can call their Cape Town campus at
+27 021 466 6800 or go to their website
http://www.cityvarsity.co.za/homepage.php ■
53
44
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