Free DxO photo editing software (LIMITED TIME OFFER)

    Looking to get beyond iPhoto, Apple's Photos or the basic editing software that came with your camera, but can't afford Adobe's Lightroom or Photoshop?

    DxO Labs is offering a free license for its DxO OpticsPro 9, a $130 value. All you need to do is enter your email address here, and they will send you a download link and a serial number to unlock the software and use it indefinitely.

    There are a few catches. The offer is only good until Feb. 28, 2017, and the software cannot be updated. But, if you are looking at getting beyond the basic editing software, this is a free alternative to more expensive software or "rent" the right to use software.

Improving video sound quality for less than $5

    As you recall from an earlier post, I discovered that using my digital voice recorder improved the audio quality of my videos.

    But I knew I could do a bit better. Having my subject hold a voice recorder was not exactly the most professional approach, and it did have some problems with wind, as I learned early one morning in a cherry orchard.

    I started looking at lavaliere microphones, but a lot of them were quite expensive, starting at $20.

    Then, I found this lavaliere on eBay for $3.99. I decided to take the gamble, and it paid off. The microphone comes with a foam wind cover, a 6-foot cable and is stereo. I combined it with my Sony digital voice recorder, and I found the sound quality is incredible.

    Here's a sound test video I made to show my co-workers how well this mic works. It goes from the shots with the mic to straight out of the camera and back to the mic.

    Plus, another benefit I noticed is that it makes me seem more professional when I mic someone, rather than either asking them to hold a recorder or getting in their face with an cellphone.

Knoptop and my wife's crafting save my monopod

    Thanks to a tip from Knoptop, and my wife's interest in craft projects, I didn't have to get a new monopod.

    On a trip to Seattle last year, the top came off the quick-release plate of my monopod. I have yet to figure out how it happened, but the top padding was gone from the plate, the tripod screw was falling out and the camera wasn't sitting as secure as before.

    I jerry-rigged it using tape, but it wasn't a perfect situation. At that point, I thought I had two options: Try to find a new quick-release plate (next to impossible) or buy a new monopod.

    But while watching Knoptop's video on his PVC shoulder rig I found a solution. He recommended using craft foam to better seat the camera in the mount.

    I asked my wife if she had any foam in her craft materials, and she did. So, with a pair of scissors, an Xacto knife and a hot-glue gun, I was able to make a new pad that has worked just as well as the original.

    And if there's another mishap, the repair will be quick and cost a fraction of a new monopod.

Doing long exposures without a tripod or neutral-density filters

    In the last entry, I told you how to make a variable neutral-density filter so you can get long-exposure photos even in broad daylight.

    Now, I'll show you how to do it without using a filter, or even a tripod for that matter. I found this tip on Digital Photography School, and I found it works beautifully for the most part.

    I'll give you the tl;dr version of the article: Take multiple pictures of a scene, load them into Photoshop as layers, convert them into a smart object and then set your stack mode to "mean", which will cause the moving elements to blur, giving you the long-exposure effect you're looking for.

    Here's an example I did. If you're a fan of "Twin Peaks," you'll recognize Snoqualmie Falls.

I shot this with a shutter speed of 1/6 of a second, and while it blurs the water somewhat, it wasn't what I was hoping for. So, I took about 11 more pictures, with the same setting and then merged them.

This is the finished result.

    As you can see the water has a much smoother effect that would normally be the result of a much longer exposure than I could have got under the existing conditions. It is more of what I was looking for.

    So now you have another tool you can use when you want to get a long-exposure effect.

Make your own variable neutral-density filter

    We've all seen the long-exposure shots of waterfalls where the water's silky smooth, or the clouds just streak across the sky.

    The technique can also help eliminate crowds from pictures, especially if they move fast enough.

    The problem is, if you try to do them in daylight, you can't stop down far enough to get the really smooth effect. Even if you set your ISO as low as the camera permits and use the smallest aperture, you might be able to get a second, at most.

    One way to reduce the amount of light coming in is to use a variable neutral-density filter, which allows you to dial in the amount of light-blocking you need to lengthen out the exposure.

    But if you can't find one, or afford one, there are a couple alternatives. This time we'll talk about using a pair of polarizing filters to do the job.

    As you know, a polarizer works by blocking light coming from particular angles. Normally, photographers use the filters to darken the sky, increase contrast or eliminate reflections.

    But if you put two of them together, you wind up blocking most of the light coming into the camera. Try looking through a polarizing filter while wearing polarized sunglasses, and you'll see the effect.

    To do this with a camera, you need two polarizing filters screwed together and then placed in front of the lens. By turning one of them, you can darken the image to the point where you can get a long exposure.

    Here's a photo taken without the filter in place. It's about 1/25 of a second.

 

    You can see the water in the pond doesn't look smooth, and the water cascading down the rocks has some detail in it.

    Here's the same shot at 81 seconds.

    Now, we have the smooth water and the streams almost look like a mist. The only drawback to this method is the blue cast from the filters. But I was able to fix that by increasing the color temperature.

    You'll need to lock the focus in before you darken the filters, and it may take some guestimating on the exact exposure, but the effect works.

    Next time, I'll show you a way to do it without a filter, even in broad daylight.