One of the cool things about taking many pictures is that you become better and better at envisioning the end result. In other words, you see the final image in your mind's eye even before you make a picture. The more pictures you take, the clearer your vision. How cool!

So the idea is to make a lot of pictures.

If you are new to photography and/or have trouble seeing the end result, try this experiment: shoot only HDR or IR pictures for a few days.

With IR, you'll start to see the sky as black and foliage as white. You'll look for pictures that will look especially good in IR – scenes that are not affected by the visible light we normally see, which makes shooting at noon even a good idea.

With HDR photography (I use Photomatix), you'll look for high-contrast scenes that can be enhanced through the magic of HDR, which enables you to capture a much wider dynamic range than even the best digital SLR on the planet.

Sticking to one type of image also works with plug-ins. If you have a favorite plug-in, take pictures with the idea of applying that plug-in in Photoshop. My current favorite plug-in is Topaz Adjust, which I used to increase the detail and tonal range of the bottom images you see here.

Click here to learn more about, plug-ins, Photomatix and Topaz Adjust.

So stick to it. Okay?

Explore the Light,
Rick