I spotted these two labels on a shop window just round the corner from the Creative Live studio in Seattle when I was over there in October presenting my Dramatic Post-production workshop. I'm not quite sure what the message refers to, so please let me know if you've come across the OMG label elsewhere.

Update: this label is for sale here, but I'm none the wiser about exactly what it refers to ... if anything.

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2.15pm on 4/10/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 45mm f/8.0 1/60 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 1x1

This was taken during my recent trip to Seattle for my Dramatic Post-Production workshop for Creative Live. I didn't have a great deal of time for photography, but having spotted this sign during the day I couldn't resist going back to shoot it at night.

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11.28pm on 8/10/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 40mm f/4.0 1/50 manual n/a evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none extended to 2x1

This is a close up of my previous image, and while it's a lot simpler, I do think I prefer it.

What I don't prefer though is its timely relevance. I set off to Dubai very early yesterday morning and flew from Manchester to Heathrow, then from Heathrow to Dubai. Unfortunately my suitcase, normally a steadfast and faithful companion on such trips, clearly had different ideas. It's now nowhere to be seen and has managed to vanish from British Airways tracking system ... which doesn't sound good.

Anyway, faithful companion or no, I couldn't care less about the suitcase, nor my clothes. The loss of both will be inconvenient, but not tragic. But my Gitzo tripod legs were also in the case, and a range of Lee filters, and various charging leads, cleaning kit, a 580EX II, and so on ... all of which I will miss. Fortunately I have my laptop, camera and lenses, and most everything else I need to run my GPP workshops, but I'm hoping that the rest of my kit will put in an appearance too.

My fingers are firmly crossed.

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12.53pm on 6/2/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/2.8 1/400 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor transformation

This is the first of two shots of this 'lost' sign, both of which were taken in Austin (TX) during my Creating Dramatic Images workshop last month. I'm posting this one now but won't be putting the second one up for a few days as I'm heading out to Dubai tomorrow for Gulf Photo Plus. I'm teaching a variety of workshops at the main event (7th-12th March) and will also be running a Faces and Places workshop in Oman with Bobbi Lane (17th-19th March).

If you're attending either event – see you soon – if not, and you can make it to Dubai or Oman on those dates, you should definitely think about attending as both are going to be fantastic events!

In other news ...

As you know, Libby has been unwell recently but I'm pleased to be able to tell you that she's now a lot better: not exactly 100% her usual sparkly self, but definitely well on the way to making a full recovery :-)

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1.00pm on 6/2/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/2.8 1/640 aperture priority +1 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor transformation

Here's another shot I took in Austin (TX) during my Creating Dramatic Images workshop: deliberately underexposed, to retain as much detail as possible in the brighter areas of the image, taken at f/16 to add the starburst effect, and then processed to add colour.

In other news, Libby's a lot better, but still in hospital. She was scheduled to head back to Bulgaria on Saturday, as I'm flying out to Dubai for Gulf Photo Plus on the 4th, but we decided it would make more sense for her to stay put and me to take the kids back to the UK for a while. The kids are all really excited about it – the younger ones haven't been back since we moved to Bulgaria two years ago – and Libby will have more help in the UK, and be nearer to decent medical facilities should she need them.

So we're heading back to the UK on Monday, and I think the journey may turn out to be a bit of a challenge. I find it a fairly tiring trip when I'm travelling on my own, but will have all six kids this time. Wish me luck :)

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2.42pm on 6/2/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 35mm f/16.0 1/800 aperture priority -2 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 1x1

This is the first of two lost shoes that I'll be posting. This one was taken in Johnson City (TX), while shooting with Dave Wilson during my recent trip to the US, while the one I'll be posting tomorrow was found on Fleetwood beach the following week.

In this instance the post-production was relatively straightforward, but I did spend a bit of time warping the content to straighten up the window in the background (top-left). It's still not ideal, but the best I could do given that I couldn't shoot at an ideal angle from the outset. Anyway, all things considered, I'm pleased with how it turned out.

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12.29pm on 2/2/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/3.5 1/125 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none warped

One of the key things I try to get across in my teaching is that it's a mistake to think of post-production as something that just comes after you take a shot. In a literal sense of course it's clearly something that occurs later – you can't post-produce a shot that doesn't exist – but, in terms of the photographic process as a whole, a better understanding of what's possible during post-production can change the way you shoot.

This image is a good example. It was taken during my Creating Dramatic Images workshop in Austin, and while the original has virtually no intrinsic merit, the final version is a lot more interesting. From a purist's point of view then, the shot wasn't worth taking: it's dull, flat, and uninteresting. With the addition of a few masked curves, a big boost in saturation, and some detail enhancement using Topaz Detail, it's considerably improved. In other words then, because I could evaluate the original scene and visualise how it could look, I knew the shot was worth taking, and while it's not going to win any awards, it is a good illustration of this point :)

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12.57pm on 6/2/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 35mm f/4.5 1/160 aperture priority +1 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Topaz Detail no

What can I tell you about an abandoned sofa? Not much I guess, other than to tell you that a) it was taken at the abandoned feed mill at Johnson City (TX), and b) is one of Libby's favourites from my trip.

Dave has also posted his version here. He's gone for a slightly less surreal image, and shot from a different angle, but I think it's an equally effective image.

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10.17am on 2/2/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/8.0 1/50 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none no

As most of you probably know, I spent last week in Austin (TX), and I had a great time. I managed to go out shooting a couple of times (despite the Arctic weather) and both my workshops went really well: I had a great bunch of students for both of them, and Dave Wilson did a great job of organising them. All being well we'll organise another workshop out there in the future.

Anyway, I'm now back in the UK for a week to run some one-to-one training and will be posting shots from my Austin trip while I'm here. I thought I'd start with this one though as no trip to Texas can possibly be complete without a shot of the state flag: taken in Johnson City.

If you take a look at the original you'll notice that the trees were quite a bit more defined in the original. In the final version I blurred them using Bokeh as I felt that they were just a bit too obvious. If the sky had been good – deep blue, fluffy clouds, and so on – this probably wouldn't have been necessary, but the shot just looked too stark and cluttered with a flat grey sky.

As always, let me know what you think.

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8.51am on 2/2/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM 120mm f/5.6 1/320 aperture priority +1 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Bokeh minor

This is another shot from my recent trip to the Johnson City feed mill with Dave Wilson. Outside the mill itself there's a covered area that used to be an outside bar and restaurant. On one wall there's a whole range of items fixed to the wall: car doors, drilling equipment, other rusty bits of metal, and so in ... including this flag.

Dave's version is here.

On a related note, my trip to the US is drawing near to it's end. I've run my HDR workshop (on Friday), which went really well, and am half way through my Creating Dramatic Images workshop (it's the last day tomorrow). After that it's a superbowl party tomorrow evening, then off to the airport on Monday morning. All good things come to an end :)

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2.12pm on 2/2/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/5.6 1/30 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 400 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Topaz Detail minor transformation

I arrived in Austin (TX) on Monday evening, and it was relatively warm: which was nice, as it was -15°C (5°F) when I left Bulgaria. Since then, however, the weather has become somewhat more Siberian. Not that I've experienced a Siberian winter, but the bone-chillingly cold winds and predictions of unprecedented amounts of snow here in the normally temperate town of Austin make drawing the comparison seem quite reasonable :)

OK, so I'm exaggerating – a bit – but it has been very cold, and snow is forecast for later today. I'm hoping that it won't be too deep, or will melt quickly if it is, as otherwise it's going to cause serious problems for people trying to get to my HDR workshop tomorrow and my Creating Dramatic Images workshop over the weekend (details here). Incidentally, there have been a couple of last minute weather-related cancellations, so if you would be interested in coming along to either or both workshops take a look at the following page:

http://davewilsonphotography.com/workshops/

Anyway, Dave and I did manage to go out yesterday – to an abandoned feed mill at Johnson City – and I got a few shots that I'm pleased with, including this one. It's an HDR of abandoned fire truck, constructed from six originals, processed and tone mapped with Photomatix Pro. The original (that you can see by hovering over the 'show the original' link beneath the image) is the metered exposure.

As always, let me know what you think.