Mark S. Johnson Videos

www.msjphotography.com Believe it or not, it's possible to capture only one frame and tone map it into a surreal or grungy scene using a few sneaky workarounds in Photomatix Pro. Think of this as an alternative HDR approach that produces its own unique look. To achieve the most satisfying single-image results, it's best to work with an image that doesn't exhibit blown out highlights or blocked up shadows. My thanks goes out to Tony Sweet (web.me.com/tonysweetphoto/tonysweet_blog/Blog/Blog.html) for engineering this method and to Steve Orr (www.orrimages.com) for introducing me to it. Author: MarkSJohnson

www.msjphotography.com In the last Workbench, we processed a single image of old trucks several times in Photomatix Pro to create a grungy, pseudo-HDR look. The image in question was captured using a 10.5 mm fisheye lens. Wide angle and extreme wide angle lenses are infamous for creating an artifact referred to as chromatic aberration. In today's Workbench, we'll examine a method for reducing it. Author: MarkSJohnson

www.msjphotography.com Combining black and white with color can be an effective way to seduce the viewer's eye into an important part of the scene. To produce a successful color/black and white combo, it's common to add a Black & White adjustment layer, then paint the mask with black to reveal the central subject's original color. In cases where the central subject and the adjacent subject don't share a common color, there is a wonderful shortcut. In this Workbench, we'll explore a quick and simple method for eliminating color where it meets with black and white. Author: MarkSJohnson

www.msjphotography.com I dream of the day when Canon or Nikon produces an ultra-high ISO camera that is truly noise-free. Until that time, I will continue to use a tripod when shooting in low light conditions so that I can set the lowest possible ISO. But what is a person to do in scenarios where a tripod simply isn't practical, such as museum shooting or when you are in the right place at the right time and your tripod appears to have taken a vacation? Fortunately, the always amazing Katrin Eismann (www.photoshopdiva.com) has invented a Photoshop CS4 Extended solution to this dilemma. Author: MarkSJohnson

www.msjphotography.com Alec Johnson (http://blog.acjohnsonphoto.com), my friend and an occasional contributor to this site, loves converting color images to dramatic black and white. Recently, he decided to explore what might happen if he bracketed his exposures, processed the files through Photomatix Pro (www.hdrsoft.com), then used Photoshop's adjustment layers to transform the color image to black and white. The results were impressive, so he shared them with me. Today, I'll take you on a brief journey through his process. Author: MarkSJohnson

www.msjphotography.com Recently, I took a trip to the local airport to photograph planes. My goal was to create a series of tone mapped HDR photographs. I’ve fallen head over heels for Photomatix Pro (www.hdrsoft.com), but keep encountering the same problem––a noisy, sometimes blotchy sky. Although it’s possible to process a scene twice––once for the subject, and again to produce a noiseless sky––this approach rarely satisfies me. The noiseless version of the sky possesses weaker richness and contrast than the noisy one. In today’s tutorial, we’ll examine an approach for dealing with this challenge. Author: MarkSJohnson

www.msjphotography.com Graphic subjects that stand in stark contrast to the background are ideal candidates for producing a grunge look. The process of achieving the grunge look in Photoshop begins with color toning. Following toning, one or more photographic textures are blended with the base image to produce scratches or worn areas. To complete the process, most grunge composites benefit from an edge vignette. Author: MarkSJohnson