The SpectraLight Photography Blog

The place to expand your knowledge and love of photography.
dad and sextuplets

Even dad fell asleep during the creation of this photo

As a professional photographer, I really love seeing what other pros are doing with our craft. Brian and Janine Killian of Peters Photography in London, Ohio really hit a home run – no - a grand slam, with an amazing photo they created for Mia and Rozonno McGhee of their adorable sextuplets.

The photo went viral after being posted on Facebook prompting ABC’s “Good Morning America” to call for permission to use it the next morning! Next thing you know, Oprah Winfrey jumps on the band wagon followed by a cover shot for Professional Photographers of America member magazine.

One of the keys to a successful photo of six newborns is a toasty-warm studio. The photo session lasted nearly five hours (due partly to a power outage during the shoot) and required seven people who passed around babies – feeding, burping and diapering throughout the process. Dad and camera were “locked down” to avoid any movement while the individual babies were brought in and photographed, one-at-a-time. In other words, this photo required six different shots that were later combined in Photoshop!

The process of creating this photo is a great illustration of why one should enlist a professional photographer for a truly memorable photograph that will be cherished for generations. Anyone can take a snapshot with a digital camera; but only a highly trained professional can create a work-of-art.

Read more about this amazing session on the Peter’s Photography blog.

water damaged photo

This photo was severely damaged in a flood and then later recovered with digital photo restoration

With the recent flooding in Northeast Ohio and possibly more high water on the way, I decided to put together several tips to save water-damaged, heirloom photos.

When floods and fires hit, most people don’t grieve losing a stove or couch. It’s the loss of valued family photos, scrapbooks and memorabilia that makes them cry. Living in North Ridgeville and seeing how hard the residents were hit was a real “eye-opener.” It motivated me to do some research and put together a guide to help flood victims save their photos.

When facing piles of soggy, mud-spattered photos and other valuables – saving them may be possible by using some of following tips.

  1. Carefully lift the photos from the mud or dirty water. Remove photos from soaked albums and separate any that are stuck together. Be careful not to rub or touch the wet photo surface.
  2. Gently rinse both sides of the photo in a sink filled with clear, cold water. Again, don’t wipe the photos and be sure to change the water often.
  3. If you have time and space, immediately lay each wet photo – picture side up – on clean blotting paper like a paper towel. Don’t use newspapers or printed paper towels because the ink may transfer to your wet photos. Change the blotting paper every hour or two until the photos dry. It is best to dry the photos indoors if possible because wind and sun will cause photos to curl more quickly.

For more tips on saving flood-damaged photos, download our free guide found at: http://spectralight.com/copyrest

Do you have a personal experience with photos damaged by flood water? Please click “comment” and share it here.

Photo from parade.com

More than 10 million Americans are victimized by identity theft every year, according to a study conducted by the Identity Theft Resource Center in 2003 and 2004. A statistical analysis on identify theft, The Aftermath Study was created by the group to further determine ways to combat the crime.

According to the study, the post-identity theft recovery time can last as few as three hours and up to 5,840 hours depending on the severity of the identity crime, which varies from a missing credit card to social security card fraud.
To learn about a few simple precautions to avoid being an identity theft victim, read a short article at parade.com. Very simple and easy suggestions that could save you thousands of hours and dollars getting your life back in order.
bent objects

Here's just one of many creative photos from the "bent" mind of Terry Border

Some might think Terry Border has a little too much time on his hands. After looking at many of his amazing creations, it is clear that he invests plenty of time conceptualizing and photographing just about anything but the kitchen sink (and I’m betting he’ll come up with something for that as well) with a humorous “bent.”

Terry uses everyday items such as peanuts, eggs, Oreos, fingernail clippers along with wire hands and feet to make any object come to life.

If you’re having a “bad day,” click on over to his blog and have a chuckle: http://bentobjects.blogspot.com

A new conspiracy theory spreading throughout Northeast Ohio is that Cleveland’s legendary meteorologist Dick Goddard used his “mystical powers” to summon the huge snow storm that has buried the area.

Thursday marked Goddard’s 80th birthday so rumor has it that he wanted it to be remembered for the blizzard that hit the area late last night and extending through this morning.

Happy birthday Dick – and thank you for all you do for the animals!

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The photo of Dick Goddard in the snow was created by placing his portrait (bottom left) over the photo of the snow gnome (bottom right). I then erased part of his portrait so that it just covered the snow gnome’s face. All this was done in Adobe Photoshop but can be achieved in many other less expensive photo editing programs.

Mark Madere of SpectraLight Photography shows a before-and-after example of how two separate pictures of a man and a woman can be digitally combined to create a new photograph depicting them as a couple.

On February 21st – amid blustery weather conditions, 14 people made their way to the North Ridgeville Library to see my special presentation: “Photo Restoration – The Art and Science of Resurrecting Damaged and Faded Photographs.”

The presentation was sponsored by the North Ridgeville Arts Council and was open to the community. I covered the causes of damage and fading to photographs and how to avoid it. There were several before-and-after photos showing how pictures that were once unsalvageable using old restoration techniques can now be restored to their original glory with “digital magic.”

See other examples of photos that were in near-unsalvageable condition that were restored to their original condition: http://www.spectralight.com/copyrest/index.html 

A special thank you to Alan Willoughby who e-mailed the following comment: “Janet and I enjoyed your photo restoration presentation at the Arts Council meeting on Monday evening. It was time well spent despite the snow.”

I am available to speak to other groups or clubs on this topic. Just comment on this post or send an e-mail.

Before-and-after photos show how badly damaged pictures can be restored to their original glory.

The North Ridgeville Arts Council invites the community to a special presentation: “Photo Restoration – The Art and Science of Resurrecting Damaged and Faded Photographs.” It will be presented by Mark Madere – a professional photographer based in North Ridgeville. He has owned SpectraLight Photography & Design since 1986.

The presentation will cover what causes damage and fading to photographs and how to avoid it. There are several before-and-after photos showing how pictures that were once unsalvageable using old restoration techniques can now be restored to their original glory with “digital magic.”

The meeting is on Monday, Feb. 21st at 7 p.m. at North Ridgeville Library, 35700 Bainbridge Rd, North Ridgeville. For additional information, contact Betty Lou Palmer at bettylou.palmer@gmail.com or call 440-327-9751

 

I grew up 30 just minutes from Punxsy but never experienced the fun and festivities of Punxsutawney Phil and Groundhog Day.

In 2003, I decided to document all the crazy activities surrounding this world renown occasion. This video captures the residence of Phil (the Punxsy library), the members of the Inner Circle with their top hats and tuxedos and photos of the news media from around the world. Even Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell got it on the action!

You’ll also witness Phil’s wedding chapel where couples actually get married to coincide with Groundhog Day, Phil-themed games for the kiddies, vendors selling groundhog mementos, ice sculpture and wood carving contests and even a 5K race.

The last photo in the video is a three story groundhog located next to a burger joint on the edge of town!

Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney is a “must-see” event that will warm your heart.

See article for how the top photo was created.

February 2nd – the magical day when the world’s attention turns to a little town in western Pennsylvania where an over sized rodent predicts whether spring will arrive early.

I had the opportunity to witness the fun and festivities in 2003. My goal was to capture the essence of the celebration in just one photograph. A monumental task when you discover all the cool things going on around Punxsy (that’s what the locals call their town) during the week surrounding the great prognostication (prediction).

Although I created a photo that captures the spirit of the day; it required three different photos blended together in Photoshop to create the image seen here. I first took the photo of local high school boys on stage as they “entertained” the 25,000 spectators at Gobbler’s Knob. About 18 minutes later – the fireworks were set off. In fact, the fireworks were in a different part of the sky – not over the stage. After I overlaid the fireworks over the boys, I had to digitally “erase” some of the fireworks so they wouldn’t appear to be exploding right in front the boys.

This year’s festivities may be the best yet as they celebrate their 125th “Groundhog Day.” For more information, visit the official Groundhog Day website.

As a side note, I found that battling the photographers who came from around the world for best photo position was worse than photographing Jimmy Carter’s arrival in Cleveland for the Presidential Debates in 1980!

Susan Johnson, member of the Lakewood Photographic Society, took top honors in both categories she entered.

Yesterday, I was honored to serve as a judge for the Lakewood Photographic Society (LPS) photo contest. Having judged their contests for the past five years, I couldn’t turn down this opportunity to view some of the Cleveland area’s most creative photography. As usual, I was not disappointed. Photographs covered a wide spectrum of subjects: portraits, flowers, animals, scenics and more. There’s always something for every taste.

Susan Johnson of Lakewood did extremely well with two of her images taking top honors in the two categories she entered. She was gracious enough to allow me to post those images here.

LPS is a club for all camera enthusiasts serving the  Cleveland area for over 75 years. Their members range from beginners with easy-to-use point-and-shoot cameras to very advanced, experienced photographers. They use everything from 35mm cameras to 4×5 view cameras and of course – digital.

LPS meets every Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Lakewood Senior Center at 16024 Madison Avenue. Check ‘em out – you’ll be glad you did.