Category Archives: Navajo Nation
I hate to leave 2015 behind, it has been a year filled with family, new and old friends, travel and wonderful new images. Whether your New Year’s Eve is filled with City Lights or Quiet Meditation, I hope you ring in the New Year with peace and joy in your heart!!

Heaven and Earth – Valley of Fire

City Lights – Las Vegas
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Leave a comment | tags: Southwest Photo Workshop, Topaz Labs | posted in HDR, Las Vegas, Lightroom, Navajo Nation, Nevada, Nik Software, Paul Christopher James, Photoshop CS6, Pink Slot Canyon, Slot Canyon Workshops, Topaz Labs, Valley of Fire
Last week was the first time I had the opportunity to work with the new Photoshop Elements 13 and I was impressed by its highlight recovery. Debbie B. captured this wonderful image in Lower Antelope canyon during the Southwest workshop .

Lower Antelope Canyon Processed
If you have worked in any of the Photoshop develop modules you can work in any of the other Photoshop develop modules. They are all laid out similarly. Debbie B. emailed me this great composition that she had captured during the Southwest workshop and I walked her through the steps to process her image. The highlight recovery in Elements 13 is far superior to the highlights I have been able to recover in CS6 and Lightroom 5.7. Adobe keeps surprising me with their software magic!

Lower Antelope unprocessed
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Leave a comment | tags: Charleston Spring Photo workshop, Digital Photographic Workshop, Italian Photographic Workshop, Nik Software, Paul Christopher James, Rome photo workshop, Smoky Mountain Photo Workshop, Southwest Photo Workshop, Tuscany photo workshop, Venice Photo Workshop | posted in Adobe CS6, Charleston Photographic Workshop, Fire Canyon Arch, Fire Wave, Grand Canyon, Italian Photographic Workshop, Lower Antelope Canyon, Montepulciano in Tuscany, Natural Arch, Navajo Nation, Nik Software, Page Arizona, Paul Christopher James, Photoshop Elements 13, Piazza Navona, Pink Slot Canyon, Rome Photo Workshop, Slot Canyon Photo Workshop, Southwest Photo Workshop, Southwest Photographic Workshop Tour, Topaz Labs, Tuscan Photo Workshop, Upper Antelope Canyon, Valley of Fire, Venice Italy Photographic Workshop, Zion National Park
During the Southwest workshop I was able to spend time in Antelope canyon on the Navajo reservation near Lake Powell Arizona. The area is laced with wonderful slot canyons where the light dances off textured sandstone walls painting them with muted colors that the Southwest is famous for and gave Georgia O’Keeffe the subjects for the painting that made her famous. When you are standing in these canyons it gives me the feeling that I am in another world and I cannot wait until I return to explore more of our canyons and parks.

Tumble Weed – Antelope Canyon – Processed with Topaz Software
After I captured this image I made a few adjustments in Camera raw before opening it into Photoshop.

Tumble Weed – Antelope Canyon – Camera raw
Next I created a layer and opened it in Topaz Labs Clarity and in the Landscape Pallet I added the Sunny Day setting.

Tumble Weed – Antelope Canyon – Clarity Sunny Day
Then I added sharpening by adding Topaz Labs InFocus

Tumble Weed – Antelope Canyon – Topaz Labs InFocus
The right side of the tumbleweed was a little light so I selected a circular gradient layer and used Multiply in the Blend mode to darken the light area. This technique is similar to selective burning I used countless times in the darkroom.

Tumble Weed – Antelope Canyon – Circular Gradient Layer
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Leave a comment | tags: Florence Photographic Workshop, Paul Christopher James | posted in Adobe CS6, Antelope Canyon, Navajo Nation, Page Arizona, Paul Christopher James, Slot Canyon Workshops, Southwest Photo Workshop, Topaz Clarity, Topaz Labs, Topaz Labs Adjust 5, Topaz Photo Software
“From time to time everybody needs a little bit of desert.”
Sven Hedin, Swedish geographer and explorer.
I just returned home from photographing in the southwest where I will be conducting in November. I spent my time photographing several canyons in Nevada Utah and Arizona. These images were photographed on Navajo land within the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation where I have arraigned for one of the Navajo guides to take us onto tribal land to capture the beauty of several of the canyons. The workshop will start will be visiting Valley of fire Two of the slot canyons we will be photographing are Upper Antelope Canyon or The Crack; and Lower Antelope Canyon or The Corkscrew. The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tsé bighánílíní, which means “the place where water runs through rocks.” Lower Antelope Canyon is Hazdistazí or “spiral rock arches.”

Heart Light, Arizona
In the desert there are places where the sands constantly flow and over time the flowing sands and water form wonderful sculptures.

Sands of Time
Both of these images were processed using Photoshop CS6 and Pro Nix software Film Effects in Color Efex. Both images were captured at F-16 with 15 and 20 second time exposures which allowed me to have everything in focus.
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Leave a comment | tags: Antelope Canyon, Digital Photographic Workshop, Nik Software, Paul Christopher James | posted in Adobe CS6, Antelope Canyon, Charleston, Charleston Photographic Workshop, Color Effex Pro, Digital Photo Workshop, Navajo Nation, Nik Software, Owl Canyon, Paul Christopher James, Photographic Workshops, Rattlesnake Canyon, Slot Canyon workshop, Slot Canyon Workshops, Sven Hedin