Category Archives: High Sierras
Everyone has surrealistic experiences and we say “wasn’t that amazing?”. Photographers search for places like Mono Lake where we can have that experience as we enjoy a special sunrise, the light changing over ancient lakes and mountain ranges. After these brisk morning shoots as I am relaxing over breakfast, my thinking is usually like that of an excited little kid; let’s do it again!!
Southwest Photographic Workshop Tour March 13 – March 17, 2016

Mono Lake Sunrise
Shooting into the sun created a lot of noise in the shadow areas which I was able to recover using DeNoise 6.
Topaz DeNoise is designed to let you shoot anywhere in any light and still get crisp, clear and noise-free images. Specializing in extremely noisy high ISO images, DeNoise removes distracting image noise while preserving image detail, giving you the image you wanted without the noise you don�t.
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Leave a comment | posted in HDR, High Sierras, Lightroom, Mono Lake, Photographic Workshops, Photoshop, Southwest Photo Workshop, Topaz DeNoise 6, Topaz Labs, Valley of Fire
Photography has become a way of life for me that has always been changing. In the early days, it was usually just me, on a hillside, waiting for the light to change and learning how to take a moment and breath it all in. Now it is more about sharing the hillsides and what I have learned with a few others. Last night was a fun evening; I gave a presentation for the Mid Michigan Photo Club in East Lansing on Lightroom workflow and some luminosity masking. It was a nice change from my solo days on hilltops and in the darkroom.

Sierra’s north of Bishop
I had bracketed this image to create an HDR +2, 0, -2 but only used the 0 exposure with a curves mask on Lights 3 channel I had created to bring down the highlights.
Click here to get to my Links page for the 15% off discount code for any of the Topaz products.
Southwest Photographic Workshop Tour
March 13 – March 17, 2016
$695/ Limited to 8 Students
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2 Comments | tags: Paul Christopher James, Southwest Photo Workshop, Topaz Clarity, Topaz Labs, Zion National Park | posted in Cotton Woods, High Sierras, Photographic Workshops, Sierra Nevada, Southwest Photo Workshop
Before the Southwest Workshop started, I was able to spent 5 days capturing images in the High Sierras with my friend Craig Osterloh. On one of our sunrise shoots we caught fresh snow on Mount Whitney.

Morning Light on Mount Whitney in the High Sierras
The Sierra runs 400 miles (640 km) north-to-south, and is approximately 70 miles (110 km) across east-to-west. Notable Sierra features include Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America; Mount Whitney at 14,505 ft (4,421 m), the highest point in the contiguous United States; and Yosemite Valley, sculpted by glaciers out of one-hundred-million-year-old granite. The Sierra is home to three national parks, twenty wilderness areas, and two national monuments. These areas include Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks and Devils Postpile National Monument.
Click here to get to my Links page for the 15% off discount code for any of the Topaz products.
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Leave a comment | tags: Paul Christopher James, Southwest Photo Workshop, Topaz Clarity | posted in HDR, High Sierras, Lightroom, Mount Whitney, Panoramic, Southwest Photo Workshop, Topaz Clarity