Photographing Snow/Photomatrix Tutorials/Abandoned New Jersey

How to Photograph Snow and Sand

Ever wonder why blizzard or snow photos made on overcast days almost always look dark gray and not snowy white like real snow? Click HERE for more information on correcting this from Ken Rockwell.

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Photomatrix Tutorials?

I was just searching the web looking for some Photomatrix Tutorials and found this (what I am really looking for is more in depth tutorials on using the sliders to my best advantage. I haven't found exactly what I'm looking for yet...and this searching and reading takes up soooooo much time!):

HDR Tutorial: How to create ‘High Dynamic Range’ images using Photomatix

If anyone knows any other good Photomatrix tutorials for free - let me know!

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Below are today's favorite works of mine...all are 3 exposures HDRs tonemapped in Photomatrix and tweaked in Photoshop.

Found these abandoned houses just by chance a couple weeks ago and I went back to shoot in this area yesterday in order to capture them. There are a handful of these abandoned houses on this one street and I can't figure out why they are all boarded up (since they look like they were in good shape).

It felt like such a ghost town...very strange being in this deserted place alone I must say. It's hard to explain...it was an eerie feeling as if they had fleed the area leaving in a hurry...parts of their world were left behind...items were still in the barn like someone was still working at the workbench.

Abandoned New Jersey
Old Barn....and a clothesline

Can't Wait for Fall

Getting excited for fall...When I edited this shot it made me very excited to capture fall in it's full glory!

Today's Subject: Neshanic Station, New Jersey

Visited Neshanic Station, NJ today with my sister. It's a beautiful area not too far from where I live. Lots of barns, silos, farms, bridges...everything I love to photograph.

Some favs from today...

This is a lenticular truss bridge in Neshanic Station. It was built in 1896 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company that was located in East Berlin, Connecticut. This bridge is still in use for vehicular traffic. It was recently renovated and is a beautiful sight to see.

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Found a random soy bean field tucked away...love this wide angle shot complete with a lovely barn & silo:

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Also decided to get really low for some shots today:

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To view my landscapes gallery click here.

To view my bridge gallery click here.

I made my 1st photo sale!

Thanks to my friend Gordon, who I work with, I made my first official photo sale of the photo below:

The photo was taken the day after the N'oreaster we had in New Jersey back on April 15th. 2007. I stopped to capture this scene while I was driving around to check out the aftermath of the flooding in my area.

I pass this farm everyday on my way home from work but the road is so tight that there is no way to pull over to take the photo unless I wanted to pull right into the farmer's driveway and I wasn't going to do that!! LOL!

So, because the road in front of the farmer's house was flooded (and I couldn't drive any further) it was the perfect opportunity to shoot the flood but then turn around and take a photo of his farm and his barn, which is another shot I also love (below).

While I was driving that day I also stumbled upon the scene below. The person got out okay but I can't say the same for their car!

Anyway, back to the original subject.....so, I sold the farm scene photograph at 18 inches wide adhered to a black backing board. It's a "large format" print so the printing and application to the special backing board was done at my sister's graphics shop. She uses the same large machine that prints the graphics for vehicles/signs, etc that prints on huge rolls of vinyl. So people can get their photos as large as a bus (no kidding!!) or as small as an 8x10. We're going to try to get more business based on large format printing (besides me trying to sell regular prints). (her website http://www.cranburycustom.com/).

I guess you can say this is my 3rd "sale" (but I'm using "sale" very losely)...My mom was the first person (besides myself) to have one of my photos blown up into a large format print and my grandfather had the same photo blown up (but not as bis as moms). This is how mom's photo of the Manhattan Bridge & the Brooklyn Bridge (where she's from) looks in her office:

My sister will be at the National Night Out in Hightstown, New Jersey tomorrow selling graphics/decals, etc so if you're in the area - stop on by and pick something up!! She'll be featuring the sale of large format photography printing featuring our photographs.

Maybe I'll make another sale somehow!

Below is the flyer she'll be sharing at the event. If you know anyonw who is interested in Large format digital prints of their own photos or any photos featured on my website http://www.jenweaverphotography/ call Cranbury Custom Vehicle Lettering & Graphics at 609-587-6444: