Hi, everyone. I hope your year has had a fantastic start! I had the pleasure to visit Iceland for the first time. It was an amazing place to travel. I will be creating a series of photographs from there, here is a teaser from my first night there. I'm currently working on a new set of Presets for star and landscape photography. The set will be released in the following two weeks.
Exif & Equipment
Nikon D810, Nikkor 14 - 24 mm f/2.8 G ED 14 mm, 30 sec. ISO 6400, f/2.8 with a timer
After a long wait, I finally present you the new fine art landscape and night sky Lightroom Preset Collection Saga! If you want to add a unique look to your night and landscape photographs the Saga Presets are perfect for you! It includes over 180 presets to suit your style with my post-processing techniques. The collection uses the same technique of step by step process as the Phase Presets. Below you can find before and after photographs edited with the new collection.
I visited Kilpisjärvi in February and while I was there I had the pleasure to go out and explore the landscapes. I had a vision how I wanted to show the landscape. I captured this photograph on my first evening there. It was a quite windy, cold yet quiet environment. Standing in this beautiful scenery alone in the dark was an amazing experience. I captured the scenery using my Vision of Depth technique. Which you can find in my Star Photography Masterclass eBook.
Equipment & Exif
Nikon D810, Nikkor 14-24 mm f/2.8 & Sirui Tripod & Ball head. Foreground: 4 min 32 sec, f/8 ISO 800, 14 mm Stars: 30 sec. f/2.8, ISO 1600, 14 mm
Since I get a lot of questions about my photography gear and tools I use, I decided to create a new series of equipment. As many have said – gear doesn't matter! However, if you have decent gear, it can inspire and help you to create more! I look at gear as tools, when it works great it works with you and won't get in your visions way. When it doesn't work like you would want it to work it controls and limits your vision. Don't fell into the trap of more gear is better because it might not ease the process but rather confuse what to use. For the first part of the series, here is a list of my most used equipment.
Nikon D810 & D800— Why do I carry two camera bodies? Well because I tend to shoot long exposures. So when the other camera (usually D810) is taking for example 10 minute long exposure, I go and scout for the next landscape I want to capture or shoot a time-lapse with the D800. When I'm out photographing in the daytime, I keep the wide-angle lens on the D810 and a telephoto lens on the D800. This way if something interesting happens far away I can just grab the other camera and start shooting.
Lenses
Nikkor 14–24 mm f/2.8 G ED — This is my go-to lens, I use it 90% of the time on my D810. It's super sharp and excellent for star photography with the aperture of 2.8. View my full review of this lens here.
Nikkor 16–35 mm f/4.0 VR — I bought this as my first full frame wide-angle lens back in December 2012 and used it to capture all of my landscape photographs. I still use this lens but most of the time handheld, because it has a great image stabilisation. It's not as sharp as the 14–24 mm lens, but it's already quite sharp wide open at f/4.0. After my interest in star photography, I wanted a wider lens with a larger aperture, so I bought the Samyang 14 mm f/2.8.
Samyang 14 mm f/2.8 — This was my most used lens for astrophotography until I bought the 14–24 mm Nikkor. I still use this lens when I want to capture time-lapse at night with the D800 or when I'm scouting.
Nikkor 50 mm f/1.4 G — I always have at least one faster lens in my camera back in case I want to shoot shallow depth of field or if I wish to capture any behind the scene footage. This lens is so small that I almost always prefer it over my Sigma ART lenses.
Nikkor 70–300 mm f/5.6–6.3 VR — I don't use a telephoto lens too often. I first bought this lens for my first camera Nikon D90. It is a decent lens if you want to add some range to your camera. It is the next lens I will be replacing with the superb Nikkor 70–200 mm f/4.0 VR.
Camera Accessories & Backpack
Hähnel Giga T Pro II— This is my go-to remote controller for the Nikon D810. I use it to capture sharper images and when I need the extra range to take a self-portrait. What I like about is that you have a lot of options you can adjust. When used in cold temperature with gloves it's too small and hard to change the settings without taking the gloves off.
Lee Filter System for Nikkor 14–24 mm — I always have these filters with me when I'm photographing sunrise/sunset or daylight. These filters are top quality yet pricey.
Lens Cloths — I have at least three lens cloths with me every time I head out to photograph. When using filters, one cloth is simply not enough. These are needed if you shoot near open water or in high humidity.
Lowepro ProTactic 450AW— I have used quite a few backpacks in my days as a photographer. The ProTactic from Lowepro is the best one I have ever tried and used. The build quality is superb. You can access your gear four different ways. It is very helpful when you have two camera bodies and a lot of lenses in the bag. The customizability of the straps and pockets is fantastic. I carry my Lee Filter pouch with all of my filters and a tripod in the straps behind the bag. The backpack also has two different small pockets in the front strap where you can put a headlamp and lens cloths, which is handy.
Mobile Phone App
PhotoPills— When I need to capture scenery using my "Vision of Depth" technique I use PhotoPills to calculate the exposure. It's also very handy when scouting a location! It's unfortunately only available for iPhones.
Tripod
Sirui R4203 L — I always have at least one tripod with me. I use my Sirui tripod most of the time I go out to photograph. I have a lighter tripod for my travels, but I still prefer the Sirui.
Manfrotto MHXPRO–3WAY — I love this tripod head. It's so much quicker to adjust in cold temperatures than the Sirui K-40X which I also use. You don't need an L-bracket for your camera when changing from vertical to horizontal frames when using this Manfrotto 3-Way head. Which makes it quick and easy to find better composition and perspective.
Manfrotto MT190CX PRO 4 — I bought this tripod for my travels because it's light and fits in my bigger bag. I would recommend getting these Retractable Rubber Spikes with it because there are no spikes in the tripod and these are really important when you photograph in snow or ice.
That's it for the first part of my gear list. I hope you enjoyed reading. The next list will be for the scouting gear I use. Meanwhile subscribe to my newsletter to receive new tutorials and photo gear talk as soon as they are released fresh to your email. I will also make a list of my favorite accessories and tools I use when I edit my photographs, so stay tuned!
Last year I had the pleasure to visit Chile and the Torres Del Paine national park with Konsta Punkka and the crew. We stayed there for eight days and shot a mini-doc series Exploring Earth's first episodes. If you haven't seen the series, check it out here: Exploring Earth – Patagonia.
I captured this view from a different perspective than the usual views of this mountain line. I used two exposures to capture the scenery and then blended them together in Photoshop.
Equipment & Exif
Nikon D810, Nikkor 14-24 mm f/2.8 - Tripod RRS TVC-34, BH-40 Ballhead. Sky ISO 6400, 30 sec, f/2.8 @ 14 mm Water & Mountains ISO 800, 215 sec, f/4.0 @ 20 mm
Post-processing
I blended the two vertical images manually in Photoshop CC. Learn this blending technique from my eBook Star Photography Masterclass. After combining the images, I opened the final work in Lightroom and edited it with Phase Presets: Hazy Night.
We released a new tutorial in collaborating with JuusoHD. The tutorial contains information and step-by-step process how to blend night and day images together using Lightroom and Photoshop. You can view the tutorial here.
YOU WILL LEARN
How to Create Composite Milky Way and Night Sky Photograph
How to Edit Star & Foggy Landscape Photograph in Lightroom
In this tutorial, you will learn how to match two photographs colors in Lightroom to create a composite image. We will take advantage of the new Reference View in the Lightroom CC Develop Module to see the images side by side. I chose cold colors to give this final image cool atmosphere.
1. Import pictures and Create a collection
Open Lightroom and import the images from File > Import Photographs. Choose the images you want to match the colors and create the composite. Once the pictures are imported, select both of them and create a new collection from the Collections Panel. Having the both images in the same collection helps you to visualize the final image.
Give the collection a name. I usually have a date first and then a title for the edit.
2. Base Image Edit
The first step is to select the base image and edit it individually. Use shortcut D to get to Develop Module.
2.1. BASIC SETTINGS
The settings depend on what kind of image you are working on and what is the final outlook you want to create. In this step focus on color and light. I always start by reducing saturation and adding some detail to shadows.
2.2. COLOR
Looking through the color panel, see if there are some color you wish to edit. I tend to leave most of these colors untouched. I personally love the green hue over blue color.
To enhance the cold atmosphere of the base image add cool Split Toning.
Settings used for this image Highlights: Hue 210, Saturation 26 Shadows: Hue 210, Saturation 18
3. Reference View
You can now use Reference view in Lightroom's latest CC update to see the images open in the Develop Module. You can open the Reference View by using shortcut SHIFT+R.
Now you have both images side by side in the Develop Mode. You can change the reference photograph by dragging an image from the filmstrip.
3.1 Basic Settings
Edit the basic settings to make them consistent with the base image. For star photographs, I add contrast and clarity.
3.2 Color
Editing the colors from the Color Panel is the most important step to make the colors work perfectly with the reference image.
Settings used for this image Aqua: Hue -29 Blue: Hue -38, Saturation -13, Luminance +13
3.3 Split Toning
Similarly to the reference image add some blue tones with Split Toning.
Settings used for this image Highlights: Hue 210, Saturation 17 Shadows: Hue 210, Saturation 11
The colors look similar thanks to the reference view and the cool thing is that you can fine tune it as much as you need in the Develop mode.
Here is the final image edited in Lightroom and blended together in Photoshop with the techniques in our new Star Photography Composite tutorial.
Star Photography Composite
If you wish to learn how to create composite images, see our new tutorial with step by step process. On sale for limited time!
The most typical question I get is what do I currently use for my photography. So here is the 2017 version of the gear I use daily in my photography and also some unusual stuff such as my favorite books at the moment.
Camera Bag
Let's start with the obvious, the camera bag. I have used plenty of different camera bags most of them from Lowepro. Currently, I use a Lowepro Protactic 450 AW. The customizability and size are perfect for my equipment.
What's on my shopping list
The f-stop SHINN looks impressive for long hikes when you need to have room for all of your gear and essentials.
Cameras
I use two camera bodies the Nikon D810 and D800. Mostly I just have the D810 with me, but for longer travels, I have the D800 as a backup. I also use the D800 to shoot timelapse while I have the D810 to shoot stills.
What's on my shopping list
Nothing. I'm very pleased with the D810 at the moment, but if Nikon releases a successor to the D810, I'm sure I will be considering an upgrade.
Lenses
To be honest, I have too many lenses at the moment. Most of which I leave at home and don't use at all. I'll be selling those because I don't need them anymore. Recently I received a Laowa 12 mm f/2.8 ultra wide angle lens which is excellent for night sky photography. What I love about the Laowa is the smooth focusing in the dark because of the hard mechanical stop for infinity.
In My Bag
Nikon 14-24 mm f/2.8 - My go to lens for landscapes and star photography - sharp! Nikon 50 mm f/1.4 G - A great low light lens for shallow depth of field. Weights nothing! Nikon 70-200 mm f/4.0 VR II - Sharp telephoto lens for landscapes and detail shots. Laowa 12 mm f/2.8 (only Canon and Pentax mounts avail at the moment in Amazon) - Excellent for astrophotography, weights about half of the Nikon 14-24 mm.
I first bought most of these when I switched to the D800, and since then have been gradually upgrading to the ones I have in my bag. All of these would be good enough for what I do. I think the upgrades have not really impacted the quality of my work so remember that when you first start.
Nikon 16-35 mm f/4.0 VR - Great sharp wide angle for landscapes with screw on filters. Nikon 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6 VR- Small, cheap and light tele zoom. Nikon 105 mm f2.5 AI - A legendary sharp lens for tight landscapes and smooth backgrounds. Samyang 14 mm f/2.8 - Light and sharp astrophotography lens with huge wave distortion (fixable though). Sigma 50 mm f/1.4 - As sharp as the Nikon I use, but much heavier, so it has been sitting on the shelf for too long. Sigma 70 mm f/2.8 Macro - Excellent for macro photography, sharp but slow autofocus.
What's on my shopping list
I will be getting a Nikon 28-300 mm f/3.5-5.6 VR soon as a travel lens, and it is what I will be carrying with me for the long hikes accompanied with an ultra wide angle lens for landscapes and star photography.
Tripod & Other Accessories
I recently bought a Really Right Stuff TVC-24L Tripod with BH-40 LR Ballhead and quick release lever. I also got the TA-3-FRC Rock Claw Foot for it. These are fantastic for a slippery surface and of course for rocky terrain. The best choice was to get an L-plate for the Nikon D810. It makes it so much faster to change from vertical to horizontal and likewise. The only thing that is a bit annoying is that when it's freezing, the quick lever seems to jam in the middle. If I want to change the camera to the horizontal position I need to slide it from the end of the quick release platform and slide it back and then lock it in the position.
Remote Controller
I use a standard Pixel remote controller for time-lapse work. And a Hahnel Giga T Pro II when I need more than 20 second's to get in the frame of my shot. Usually, I use the self-timer on my camera to get sharp images with either 2 sec or 5 sec timer.
Filters
I recently received a set of Nisi filters with the filter holder for the Nikon 14-24 mm f/2.8, and I must admit the holder feels much more robust than the equivalent Lee holder. The only downside to the Nisi holder is that it seems to jam the zoom slightly when you screw it on the Nikon 14-24 mm which makes the zooming feel uncomfortable.
Nisi Soft IR GND8 (0.9) - soft grad for balancing the exposures. Nisi IR ND1000 (3.0) - 10 stop filter, excellent for long exposure. Seems to have less vignetting than the Lee Big Stopper. Nisi HD Polarizer - This is a great filter to remove reflections or boost them. You can quickly rotate the holder so it's adjustable.
Mavic Pro
I recently purchased a DJI Mavic Pro fly more combo to widen my possibilities in capturing different perspectives. I love using the Mavic Pro. The drone is small and easy to operate, and it fits perfectly with the rest of my gear in the camera bag.
Favorite Resources
I'm currently reading
I used to have a lot of different books lying around my office, but once I got the Amazon Kindle, I have been using it a lot. It's so convenient to take with you rather than all the 40+ large books I have stored in it. I love the look of the display and I can read it in complete darkness when my wife is sleeping, and don't want the lights on anymore. If I really enjoy a book I will get a printed copy as well.
Chase Jarvis - Inspiring photographer, entrepreneur and creator Casey Neistat - Probably the most watched vlogger at the moment Marques Brownlee - Tech review guy on YouTube Peter McKinnon - Great source of inspiration and tips for photographers Tales by Light - Inspiring photography documentary on Netflix
Apps I'm Using
Photographer's Ephemeris - Great tool for sunset and Milky Way scouting PhotoPills - Another tool to make plans and see the Milky Way location Star Walk - A stargazing app, great to learn stars and planet's
In January, I visited Iceland for the first time in my life. It was a magical experience to drive around the beautiful country. I'm sure I will return there some day. Here is a brief moment captured in Vík when the clouds gave .
Equipment & Exif
Nikon D810, Tamron 70–200 mm f2.8 VC ISO 100, 90 mm, f/5.6, 1/640
If you are a beginner in post-processing or want to learn new ways to enhance your photographs – I have created a Complete Photography Bundle to share all of my knowledge about post-processing and night sky photography in a single collection. For the past couple of years, I have made Lightroom Presets, an eBook and Photoshop Actions to share my knowledge. For a limited time, you can get all of these Presets, Actions, and the Star Photography Masterclass in one collection for 99,90€!
In this weeks tutorial, I’m going to talk about the forever relevant subject: inspiration. Have you ever been uninspired to take photographs? I sure have been. And as I was talking with my photography friends yesterday, it’s quite common to lose interest and inspiration to take pictures. When you are in that place, you need to decide if it’s time to take a break or push through it. I think that the lack of inspiration comes every now and then, but when it happens, you need to take a step back and examine why is it that you find yourself lacking inspiration? I also wrote about motivation a few weeks ago so check that out as well.
These are the four tools I use to find my inspiration.
1. TAKE A BREAK
If you feel so uninspired that you don't even want to think about photography, it might be time to take a break. I recommend starting with a short break so you won't drift along too long. Schedule a date for examples a week from now and put it into your calendar. When I'm in this situation, I schedule at least two hours and focus on the next following tools to figure out if I can find inspiration.
2. FIRST INSPIRATION
The second advice I want to give to you is to go back all the way when you first started photography. What was the first inspiration you got before you took photography as a hobby? Write down a couple of sentences and reasons. It will help you to get into a state of inspiration and you might just want to grab your camera and head out!
For example, my very first inspiration to start photography came to me over ten years ago. I saw a striking autumn landscape view of a sunset. The field was covered with mist. I stopped my car and was thinking to myself that these type of moments in time I want to start to capture.
3. DON'T SHARE YOUR PHOTOS
It is somewhat counter-intuitive, but sometimes you need to photograph only for yourself. If you wish to find your true inspiration, there is no better way than photographing for yourself.
It can be paralyzing when you shoot only to share the photographs. I have found myself in situations that I'm just photographing because I want to share something with my audience. It takes away the whole experience of pressing the shutter and enjoying the moment if you are already thinking about how people will react to your work. Create for the sake of creating!
4. ANALYZE YOUR PAST WORK
If you still don't find the inspiration, go to your catalog of photographs and go through them. See if there are photographs you just love. Write down why you find the images inspiring and if you know how you got encouraged to capture the pictures, write it down as well. Focus on the uplifting moments of your photography journey, and you will inspire yourself to create more of those experiences.
Mikko Lagerstedt – Long Shadows II – Kilpisjärvi, Finland 2018
I hope you enjoyed this weeks tutorial. Next week I will talk about how I create a catalog of inspiration. I use it now and then when I feel uninspired with my work. Have an inspiring week!
I would love to hear from you. How do you find inspiration? What was the first inspiration you got to start photography?
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How to feel more inspired? What inspires me? It's good to ask yourself these questions. For me, it's a collection of things. I have always loved to view paintings, drawings, watch movies and listen to music to feel inspired. Of course, there are plenty of ways to stay inspired. Some work for others and some don't.
In this weeks tutorial, we are building a catalog of inspiration which is one of my favorite ways to stay inspired. Even if you are not a photographer, I recommend that you have one of these lists. It is one of the best ways to get fired up.
Surround yourself with inspiring works of art. Even though you might be the same as me and your go-to source of inspiration is nature, I believe it’s essential to have an archive of inspiring works of art in your home, on your computer or online.
Whenever you lack inspiration, or can’t quite figure out what it is you want to create, I recommend that you flip through your catalog of inspiration and get excited about photography or whatever it is you enjoy making.
Online or Offline?
You can create these types of catalogs in many ways. My recommendation is to have an Inspiration -folder divided into subfolders on your computer.
If you wish to build an online list, I highly recommend Pinterest. It doesn’t work great with notes, but other than that it’s a great way to search for inspiration and put anything you like on different boards.
Pinterest Overview
Divide your catalog into categories or folders. Be intentional when you are creating your lists. Stay off from the place of "this get's more likes than this". It's the wrong way to start producing anything.
1. Notes
The first folder includes your notes from the different photo shoots you have had. Notes come handy when your memory starts to fade, and it has been a long time since you captured the photographs. With notes, you can keep the focus on your inner inspiration, feelings, and vision. I highly recommend you take a few minutes after each photo shoot to put down few words about the work you just captured. There are many ways you can archive your photo notes.
To keep my notes in one place, I take a photograph of my moleskin page and send it to my Evernote with a tag: notes. As I'm sitting on my computer editing the photos, I can search and flip through my notes quickly.
2. Your best photos
Select photographs YOU are most proud of and put it into a folder. Better yet print them, hang them and be continuously inspired. Be sure that you enjoy the work. Why do you like this and why does it inspire you? Don't be fooled by how other people saw the creation, or how many likes the photographs got in social media be true to yourself. Stop chasing those likes.
3. Movies & Cinema Stills
Create a list of movies that you love and visually stunning movies that you like to watch. Do not care if other people find those movies garbage, stay true to yourself. Include stills from those movies in the folder. This way you can easily see some of the moving scenes without going through the whole film. (Hint Tumblr and Pinterest have a lot of beautiful cinematography you can go through.)
4. Quotes & Books & Poems
Create a folder with your favorite books, quotes, and poems. The fantastic aspect about amazon kindle is that you can share your citations and send them to your email straight from your device. Some people frame their favorite quotes so that they can see them daily. By all means, do it if you find it inspiring.
5. Paintings, Illustrations & Graphic Designs
This part can be a great addition to your inspiration catalog. I love to have a folder including paintings, illustrations, drawings and graphic designs. If this is something you find inspiring as well, do it! Again ask yourself why do you like this and why does it inspire you? What is it in this work of art that you enjoy?
6. Music
Make a list of music that inspires you. Do at least a couple of different playlists that you can switch between depending on your mood. I recommend using Spotify because of the massive amount of different kinds of music you can find. You might want to listen to the music while you are driving to a photo shoot or when you are editing the photographs.
7. Photography
Whenever you see something unique in the photography world, take a screen capture or download the picture and put it into the photography folder. I rarely go through the photographs, because I tend to favor the other mediums for inspiration. Again ask yourself why do you like this and why does it inspire you? What is it in this work of art that you enjoy?
Pinterest Boards Example
I hope you enjoyed this article! Have you ever had anything like the inspiration catalog? Has it helped you to feel inspired?
Would you be interested in a guide to find your unique style in photography? I'm considering to create a free guide for you. Let me know!
If you enjoy my free tutorials and want to support them, or you want to learn how to create unique ideas for your photography and create work you that inspires you? You can learn it all from my video course Day & Night. We are running a Summer sale on it now. Check it out here.
Have a wonderful new week and keep on creating work that excites you.
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It doesn't matter if you go out to photograph landscapes or portraits there is always a story to be told. Here is a short story about the "Old Ghost" photograph. Woke up at 2 am feeling tired yet excited. Got my gear and drove to the coast. I didn't have a plan for what to photograph in this particular morning; I just knew that there was a possibility of mist. So, I decided to visit a couple of different places. I got out of my car in Emäsalo. The fog was thick, the air smelled like rust. It was a cold yet beautiful morning.
The shipwreck in the picture was once tilted and almost entirely submerged in water. The wreck was fixed a few years ago, and now you can find it sitting in the middle of a seashore. I walked around the area and saw the wreck from a different perspective than I have used to seeing. One seagull kept circling the shipwreck. I shot a couple of photographs, and once the seagull was in the perfect spot, I took this one.
Exif & Equipment
Nikon D810, Nikkor 24-120 f/4.0 VR 95 mm, ISO 200, 1/125, f/8.0
Post-Processing
I used Lightroom basic settings to edit the photograph. The colors I modified by using my Phase Preset Collection – Blue Preset.
One of my favorite mornings in 2018 has to be this one. I shared last week a view captured on the same morning. Old Ghost was taken just a few hours before the picture in this post. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this old pier floating in the mist. You can never be sure what you will find or capture when you grab your gear and head out.
For me, finding inspiring views like these is the beauty of photography. The unpredictable faces of nature and places, in which weather plays a huge role. This view was particularly compelling to me at the time I captured it. The moment made me appreciate my time in nature and ground my thoughts to the base of life. Before I went out to photograph, I seemed to be lost in feelings of worry and anxiety. I believe that taking action in something you love to do will free your thoughts and make you appreciate what you have.
Take a slow breath and focus on the things that make you happy.
Equipment & Exif
Nikon D810, Nikon 24-120 mm f/4.0 VR ISO 100, 24 mm, f/8.0 & 1/200 sec.
Post-Processing
I used Lightroom to edit this photo. I went through basic settings, lens corrections and finally, I used the transform panel to straighten the perspective. Colors were modified with a preset Blue & Yellow from my Phase Preset Collection.
Mikko Lagerstedt - Breathe - Finland - 2018
In other news. I've just created a new page, where you can quickly scroll through my favorite photographs with stories, equipment, and other information. See Behind The Photography.
I will be posting more of these stories here on my blog as well. The idea behind the page is to give you easier access to the stories behind my favorite photographs. Is there something specific you would like to see in the behind the photography posts? Let me know.
In Finland and northern Europe, the summer weather has been hot, and it has lasted far longer than the typical summers. I fell in love with the warm mornings. Waking up early in the morning has its advantages, and in Summer when the sun rises around, 4 am you need to be early to catch it. For the past three weeks, I have woken up around 3 am to head out before the first rays hit the landscapes. The rains have been scarce, but recently after long hot days, the storms have arrived.
The storm gives a fresh feel to nature. Humidity and wind make you feel alive. Heart of the Storm is a vision I created by combining three of my images to create this surreal looking seascape view.
Exif & Equipment
Nikon D810, Nikkor 14-24 mm f/2.8, RRS Tripod Sky: ISO 100, 14 mm, f/7.1, 1/100 Seascape: ISO 100, 15 mm, f/11, 109 sec. Lightning: ISO 64, 24 mm, f/9, 3.0 sec.
Post-processing
The photographs were first edited in Lightroom to match the light and color using the reference view. After this, the set was opened as smart objects inside Photoshop and drafted together using the techniques in my Day & Night -course. Finally, opened in Lightroom to make the final color adjustments using Phase Collection - Discreet - Blues preset.
Whenever I force myself out of bed at 3 am to catch the sunrise and mist. I never feel disappointed with the time I spend outside. I might feel tired and frustrated if I don't find anything to photograph, but I always try to learn something from these situations. It's not easy by no means. Sometimes I might learn that no, I should have gone photograph the stars instead or create a timelapse. After a shoot, I try to write a few words if I feel frustrated with my work to help solve the feeling. Usually, I just feel that I let myself down by not being good enough in some situation. I also write a few words of what could I do differently next time I go out. I try not to make the same mistakes but of course, I might forget these learning experiences when time goes on, I guess it's part of being a creative.
This morning I felt cold as my shoes got wet by walking around the wet field. It didn't bother me much. My goal was to capture the setting moon as I knew it was a full moon morning. After some experimenting with compositions, I chose a simplistic approach. Mist, trees and the moon. Sometimes the simplest things can be the one I find myself enjoying the most. I hope you enjoy it as well!
Equipment & Exif
Nikon D810, Nikon 70-200 mm f/4.0 VR & RRS tripod 200 mm, f/8.0, 1/30 sec. ISO 100.
Post-processing
Lightroom basic settings and radial and gradual filters. I also applied a Discreet - Blue preset from the Phase preset collection.
I’m proud to release a new eBook ATMOSPHERE ~ How to create atmospheric photography. I took all my knowledge about how to create evocative photographs and combined them into the eBook. If you want to learn how I approach mood in photography and editing take a look, and I believe anyone can learn something from the eBook.
The ATMOSPHERE eBook includes topics about what creates mood and from generating ideas to planning and capturing the photographs. The eBook consists of seven different editing tutorials from some of my favorite pictures.
These are the things you will learn from the eBook
What creates mystery and atmosphere
How to use color to create mood
How to capture atmospheric photographs
In-Depth Editing tutorials
First Snow ~ Color editing
Old Ghost In The Mist ~ Learn simplistic editing
Blizzard ~ Learn light editing
Path ~ How to use color to create mood
Heart of the Storm ~ How to create atmospheric photo manipulations
A new Preset Collection included in the ATMOSPHERE Bundle you can find on the eBook page. The ATMOSPHERE Preset Collection was made with the photographs in the eBook and it contains 23 high-quality presets for Lightroom CC Classic (7.3 and later) and for Camera Raw.
Example images created entirely with the new presets
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I'm excited to announce a one-of-a-kind Winter Workshop in the Finnish Lapland and Northern Norway. 6-days full of unique places chasing the Northern Lights and Winter landscapes. I have teamed up with Konsta Punkka and Juuso Hämäläinen to create this fantastic opportunity for a lucky few. We will explore from Kittilä to Kilpisjärvi and all the way to Northern Norway. We explore Kilpisjärvi area with snowmobiles throughout our time there.
The workshop also includes post-processing lectures with an opportunity to learn our secrets in capturing and post-processing images.
Here is a new series of photographs captured in the last two years. You can view the set of images on my Behance page. The collection of images featured on Colossal as well.
The photographs were captured in 2018-2019 in Finland. From Lapland to Southern Finland. My goal is to convey the feeling I had when I was photographing the subjects. To appreciate the never-ending beauty of trees. In our lives, we rarely recognize them, yet trees surround us with their beauty. They tell us many stories about life and the struggle to survive in harsh conditions.
Fine art prints are also available of the images here.
It has been a long while since the last time I wrote a tutorial or a longer post. Here is a short story of what I learned by taking over six months off from photography and social media.
I have been photographing for over ten years and using social media for the past eight years, so I thought I probably should take a break.
After our wildly successful workshop in February 2019, I finally decided to take a break from photography and social media. I didn’t have a plan on how long I would be out or what I would do in between the time. I just wanted to do something different. I was tired of the whole social media loop (post, comment, like, and repeat). The major reason was that it was starting to affect my thoughts when I was out photographing. Social media was not why I enjoyed photography in the first place; in fact, it started to make me dislike photography. The way I felt when I looked at my photographs was also concerning, I didn’t enjoy anything I had done or shot in a few years.
I started the experiment by deleting all social media apps from my phone and decided to logout from all the platforms. The first week was quite easy to do, and I didn’t have any regrets about my decision. Occasionally I would find myself taking my phone and realizing that I was trying to fill in the habit of looking at the apps, but in few days, I caught myself before I even picked up my phone.
The only thing I wanted to accomplish with this experiment was to follow my internal inspiration. I wanted to do anything I was drawn to and try and learn if it was something I really wanted to do now and in the future. The process led me to study and read a lot of books about self-development, habits, and life in general. As I was learning more about self-development, I started taking notes and quotes from the books I read. I wasn’t trying to get anything out of it. The whole studying was just a way of self-discovery and to find out where my inspiration might lead me. Actually, I’m still not sure what I will do with more than 50 pages of notes and translations of my favorite books. I might write about them later, who knows.
I had one photography assignment and made two major photography licensing deals in the time I had the break, so I didn’t have to worry about what I would do for money. I kept saying to myself that if things went sideways, I could always go and work for someone else. I wouldn’t care what other people might think of me.
So were there any significant breakthroughs? Not really, but after five or six months without taking a single photograph, I started to feel a subtle inspiration towards photography again. I opened Lightroom for the first time in a long while to go through my past work, and I didn’t feel sick while doing so, which was a huge thing. After a while, I started to re-introduce social media back in my life. I still don’t have any social media apps installed on my phone; I use my iPad if I want to share photos or comment on something on Instagram. The most significant difference to before I began the experiment is that I don’t use social media as much as before, and I don’t have to check it out compulsively. My focus has developed a lot, and I stay in the present moment far more than before. I know there is always a struggle to keep it that way.
What I learned
If my goal is to inspire others, I have to feel inspired first to transfer that to others.
Taking break from social media might not be the key to restore your inspiration, but it can lead to finding your inner inspiration if you are too caught up with the “loop”.
Photography, to me, is about spending time outside and feeling the inner inspiration rather than getting external validation.
I don’t need to spend time on social media when I don’t have anything to share. No fear of missing out.
If I feel the urge to share something on social media, even if I don’t have anything to share, I don’t do it anymore.
Whenever I’m out photographing, I don’t always think and compare myself to other photographers.
If my work doesn’t get the recognition, I thought it would; I don’t care if I still enjoy the work myself.
So what comes next? At this moment, I just want to enjoy photography. Share my work whenever I feel inspired to do so. When I started the experiment I had no inspiration towards photography, now I’m happy to say that my inspiration has grown day by day. I will be creating new work and projects in the future.
I hope you learn something out of my experiment, and if you feel a need to have a change in course, try it out yourself. The amount of extra time you get might be worth it.
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No blog post of mine is complete without a picture, so here is a view from Lofoten back from 2017. Stormy winds and views for days.
Descent - Lofoten, Norway - 2017
“Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.”
