Widgets

I stumbled upon this pretty cool site that allows the user to choose from several different widgets ( a portable chunk of code) to display photographs in a fun clean artful way. All widgets are free but allow only limited photos. You may purchase the Widget for a nominal fee in order to display many more images. The site is called goodwidgets.com and you can also customize size, duration, and accent or background colors to blend with and post to your website or blog. Give it a try it's pretty fun.

Creative Photography Lighting

As the rain and winds of late have kept me homebound and unable to seek out natural landscapes of Oregon I find myself experimenting and looking for different ways to communicate something photographic. The photo you see here of the chess set was a culmination of creating an improvised setup then finishing the image in Photoshop.
For the setup I simply balanced my glass chess set between two speaker stands and the provided a black foam board as a backdrop. Next I used a lamp without the shade to place directly underneath the table with a 100-watt bulb. Finally I look for color by finding a glass vase that fit over the bare light bulb to diffuse and disperse light upward. Placing My Pentax K10d on a tripod fitted with a 16-45mm f4 lens I was able to take several second exposures allowing the sensor to pick up all that color. I worked the levels and saturation in PS Elements. I only wish I would have photographed the setup for demonstration purposes. I like the results, as the set almost looks cartoonish. Other perspectives of the board including a monochrome version can be found at ShalamarImages.com. This is proof positive that you don’t always need a flash unit or a strobe to take interesting indoor images.

Christmas wishes

Well as I sit here in my home in Oregon us Oregonians are going through one of the worst snow storms in years. It's really quite beautiful and treacherous at the same time. Once things calm down I hope to get out and take some photos to document this historic event. I just wanted to wish all a wonderful Christmas season and warmest regards. We at ShalamarImages hope all of you can be with friends and family this year enjoying this wonderful time. Let's not forget however those who sacrifice everything for us on the battlefield. Please keep our soldiers in your prayers and that everyone can come home soon.
Merry Christmas

Blurb Online bookmaking Reviews

As promised I am now ready to make an honest assessment of the services offered by Blurb.com. After receiving a copy of my book I was somewhat disappointed. I do realize that this review might be counter productive to my book sales but the truth must be told.
First off for those of you wanting to display photos for artistic and not editorial reasons I would order the largest book size that Blurb offers. Having said that, for me cost was a factor as I find these books quite pricey. Go to Costco and you can pick up a massive coffee table book for under $50.00.
The cover was nice although it was a bit sloppy and loose and will move around while trying to examine the pages. I only wish that the Content pages were of higher quality and had more of a glossy look to them. My photographs didn't look nearly as nice as when printed on My Epson home printer. Note however that there is an option to order upgraded paper with more weight and sheen to them, which I simply forgot to check when ordering, so I can’t really speak to that end.
The binding seem adequate and solid just like most store bought books. Shipping time was average about 7 –10 days for standard rates. I really liked the software and templates called book smart. It was very simple to use.
I've done some research and found that they are several companies providing online book making for the masses but couldn't really say which stands out as the leader. One of the big names seems to be Shutterfly Photo Books. All of these companies price point seems very similar and a little expensive.
To recap I would recommend Blurb to you if your willing to spend more on your book than seems reasonable and would recommend the largest size that fits you're budget. Don't forget to check the box for upgraded premium paper it's only a few dollars more and worth it. Just don’t expect to sell many books at such a high price point. Blurb does not make public its sales figures and therefore I don’t know if any books are selling through the blurb bookstore. All in all it is fun and rewarding to create a book with your own images it makes a great conversation piece. No matter which company you choose and even if to show only to friends and relatives I would recommend making your own book. Take care

New Oregon Landscape Book

We just published a new book using blurb.com . will give a recommendation after receiving the first copy. Until then you may preview and purchase this all Oregon hardcover coffee table book for yourself or a gift.

All Oregon

From Sea To Mountains

By Shawn Martin

Book Preview

Shroom Season

 

For all you photographers out there who may be in the doldrums this time of year now that we are between fall color and heavy snow fall, I offer you an alternative to your regular landscape photography. Yes it is shroom season between September and the first substantial snowfalls. Pull out you're favorite macro or any suitable lens to find theses sometimes hidden gems in the forest. I recently got back from Silver Creek State Park primarily to shoot waterfalls. The weather was a misty rain and heavy fog which enabled me to divert my attention to the forest floor. This is something very new to me but I can really see pursuing Fungi and mushrooms as a subject for the camera. As I am always looking for color the Amanita Muscaria is more along the lines of those I would prefer to shoot. You know the one, it's bulb shaped with a red top and covered with white flakes. I won't attempt to identify everything I shoot in that there are thousands of species in North America alone. I did find it interesting to learn from different Mycology websites that mushrooms are really the flowering part of Fungi and that the latter is mostly found underground.

Oregon Fall Color Report

For most landscape photographers and nature lovers the the change of fall foliage represents an exciting time. Oregon has far fewer deciduous trees and therefore will not display quit as dramatic change of seasons as lets say New England. Having said that you won't be disappointed if you know where to look. I routinely make trips through the Oregon coast range and find that there is a dramatic change in color this week mid October as opposed to just one week ago.The seasons have definitely changed and been pushed back from years past as summer hangs on much longer now.Our trip to the Japanese Gardens proved to be quite a disappointment as my earlier blog mentions.The Hoyt arboretum at Washington Park continues to be a perennial favorite where you will find some 8000 different planted species. You may also find a great show along the banks of the Columbia river and the eastern part of the Gorge. Catherine Creek Wayside on the Washington side is very popular as well. Although I did not make the trip this year The Indian Heaven Wilderness is one of my favorite places in any season with 20,000 acres of pristine wilderness dotted with small alpine lakes and beautiful meadows. Another option would be the Oregon Garden near Silverton.It is a fantastic place with many varieties and water features. Don't get bogged down always looking for that grand landscape to show off the changing seasons. I'm guilty of this as much as the next photographer. Simply pull out that macro lens from your bag and a whole new world will open up allowing you the photographer many more ways to communicate this colorful time of year. Happy fall, From Shawn at
ShalamarImages.com

Portland's Japanese Gardens

 
Laurie and I recently took a trip to Portlands Japanese gardens. A place to which niether of us had ever been despite living in Oregon for several decades. We thought october would be prime fall foliage color but come to find out that early november is a much more colorful time to go. There is a sense of serentity as you walk among the maples and rock gardens ( the Zen thing I guess). We would recommend a trip there but plan it carefully if your looking for fall color. Admittance is $8.00 and there is a $2.00 dollar tripod fee for those so inclined.

Covered Bridges Of Cottage Grove

 

Well I guess not all photo ventures can be fulfilling. Looking for fall color in Oregon, Laurie and I set out for cottage grove to experience and photograph old bridges along the covered bridge tour route. To say we were disappointed would be an understatement. Heading south from the Portland towards Eugene the clouds began to thicken to the point that the sky became a drab shade of cement. We came to our first of seven bridges and noticed that you don't actually drive through these bridges at all, in fact there all just sitting next to modern day asphalt roads which takes away the historical feel right away. Some of the bridges were somewhat dilapidated and covered with graffiti. I would have thought that these bridges would fall under some historical jurisdiction and would require that they be kept up. The nicest one we saw was the Dorena Bridge that you see above. As for the fall color all we saw were ugly yellows browns and mostly just dead non inspiring foliage. Unfortunately I can't say that we would recommend this trip. Very anti climatic and uninspiring.

Dahlias In Bloom

 

Laurie and I decided to go out to the Swan Island Dahlia farm in Canby Oregon today and maybe capture a little color.
apparently this particular farm is the largest grower of Dahlias in America with over 40 acres planted. We were astonished to see how many varieties were planted. The color and visual impact really rivaled that of the tulip farms we visited months earlier.You can check out a few more shots on the website. Dahlias will look great up to the first frost of the season, so if your looking for a hearty flower for your own landscapes you can check out their websiteHere .