Category: The Rutter

Harness the Wind by Dave Scott.

According to Wikipedia, a Rutter is a mariner’s handbook of written sailing directions. Any explorer would keep a Rutter, or a logbook where they would journal items like:

  • instructions on how to repeat an effect applied in Lightroom or Photoshop
  • notes about the gear I’m using while in the field and in the office
  • the occasional rant about the state of the world

It is meant to be our reference manual if you will, which is basically the function of a Rutter.

Labels for Prints

It’s not a photograph until it’s printed.

I am not entirely in agreement with this idea, I am printing more of my photos and hanging them in my home and office. I derive a great deal of pleasure when I look up and see reminders of places I have been and the reminder of how the photograph was created.

Several years ago, I attended a seminar the subject of which was presenting a printed portfolio of your work. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of the presenter, but he did have some interesting ideas. Some of these I have adopted and expanded.

His approach was to ditch the photo album. Instead present your collection loose, in a box. His thought was it gives your audience the freedom to arrange your photos as they see fit. If you are sharing with a group, everyone gets a chance to review the prints individually.

He also printed some information on the back of each print, an idea I have expanded upon.

Hahnemuhle Photo Cards that I use as my portfolio presentation

My Print Portfolio.

I am using Hahnemuhle FineArt InkJet Photo Cards to present my work.

The photograph is printed on the good side of the cards. Information about the photograph is printed on the reverse side.

I am using Hahnemuhle’s FineArt Pearl paper. The results, to my eye, are awesome.

Using Lightroom to Print the Label.

Adobe’s Lightroom Classic is a great tool for managing your photos. It has become the industry standard. If you do a good job of adding titles, captions, and other information to your photos, then Lightroom can be used to print that information on your print label.

Continue reading Labels for Prints →

Continuing Evolution

November is drawing to a close. Turkey Day is behind us. Black Friday was profitable. Cyber Monday is upon us.

Liddy and I travelled to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks last month. I haven’t gotten around to posting the images because the previous web layout just didn’t speak to me. This one promises to be better so the evolution of this site continues.

New Theme

The new theme I have chosen presents well, I think. Well at least I think so right now 😁.

I searched the WordPress.org (WP) repository using the keywords photography and accessibility. I was rewarded with nine choices. This new theme, Visualize, by Nick Halsey, is what I have decided to move forward with. Several of the other theme choices were his. I was drawn to the big splashy header image on the home page, and the presentation of the featured image on blog posts and pages.

Continue reading Continuing Evolution →

Too much innovation?

When I set up the previous home page for this site, I thought a huge hero image rotating across your screen would be a cool innovation. Trouble is it also comes with a butt load of maintenance just to set up a new slide. Run away! Run away!

In fact many of my designs – especially the places galleries require a bit more attention than I am willing to give them so… I am reworking them too.

Many of the issues arise out of how I have managed my photos in Lightroom. After giving the site a rest for a couple of months, I come back to it with fresh eyes.

I see that I have used multiple copies of the same photo in the site galleries. Instead of one file, there are multiple. Sometimes that might be good, but mostly, not.

Continue reading Too much innovation? →
Harper Fishing Pier by David Scott.

Of Eagles, Herons and Exposure

On Friday, I was over in Seabeck attempting to shoot the eagles who are there in numbers, or were, (I think the midshipman fish migration on Hood Canal is done so the eagles have moved on.)

Anyway, on Friday, Liddy and I were over at Seabeck attempting to shoot bald eagles. The morning tide didn’t drop low enough to reveal all of oyster encrusted beach and the small tide pools that trap the fish making them easy prey for eagles and great blue herons.

The herons did all right. Their long legs allowed them to wade in the deeper water. Eagles. Not so much. The few that I saw were hanging out in the trees around Big Bear Creek waiting for the afternoon tide which would be the much lower tide.

Continue reading Of Eagles, Herons and Exposure →

ProPanel Plugin for Photoshop

The vernal equinox has just passed. Spring, for those of us north of the equator, has officially begun.

A week or so ago, Liddy and I took a moment to wander along the banks of the White River. The willows were blooming. Their little fuzzy flowers in full show.

Having an engineering bent, I seem to be drawn to details. I took advantage of the Canon R6’s focus stacking feature to capture this willow branch – well 35 different focus points of this willow branch.

Continue reading ProPanel Plugin for Photoshop →

My Lightroom Workflow

After returning from a photo shoot or photo expedition, I will have hundreds if not thousands of images to process. This article describes the steps I go through to move my images from my camera into my catalog.

I assume you are using Lightroom Classic (LRc) – different from Lightroom (LR) (the cloud-based version). Also, I assume you already have LRc installed on your computer or laptop.

Continue reading My Lightroom Workflow →

Photography is Simplification

Photography is an art form that provides its greatest impact when the image is simple. When all non-essential elements have been removed and what remains is the essence of the story.

What I am trying to accomplish with this site is to present my work for those who care. That’s all. I’m not trying to sell images or workshops – not that I would be offended if asked – I am just putting my work on display to the world.

I feel I have over engineered this site. I have added too many bells and whistles so… its time to get out the razor and cut out some of the stuff that is in the way.

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About Color Space or Profiles

Frequently, in our photo competitions at the Tacoma Photographic Society, makers have comments like “My image was brighter on my screen at home.”

99.9% of the time the issue is likely caused by the maker exporting the image to an incorrect color space or color profile.

If you are exporting an image to be displayed on a website, it is absolutely critical that you choose the correct color space.

There is only one: sRGB.

Continue reading About Color Space or Profiles →
Reflection of Table Mountain #5 by David Scott.

Table Mountain Reflections

This photograph captures the reflections of Table Mountain in a small tarn, Austin Pass Lake, near the Artists Point Visitor’s Center at Heather Meadows. Liddy and I were beginning a six-mile hike around the Chain Lakes Loop on our first visit to the Mount Baker National Recreation Area.

But hey. This article is not about the hike, it’s about getting to this photograph. I learned to see a little better as I improved the impact of my subject, the reflections in the tarn.

Continue reading Table Mountain Reflections →