SAFA Skysailor Magazine

12 SKY SAILOR May | June 2020 every second at the peak of action and then grab selected shots as the paraglider changes it profile to the camera. After a while, the photographs become a bit of a blur and you start looking for that something that makes a photo standout from the pack. In the photo above, the pilot is twisted in his harness with his right arm close into the body and his left fully extended. There’s something about the photo that says to me, yep, that one’s a keeper. Formats and effects I shoot in RAW format and use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop to process my photographs. There are a range of editing software packages available in price and sophistication – I prefer Adobe. Yes, there is a steep learning curve, but this is true of most software. Being able to do full justice to your photographs is what it’s all about, and I gain as much satisfaction processing the photos as I do taking them. I have mentioned the challenge of shooting into the sun or against an overcast sky. Shooting anywhere near the sun usually results in an over- exposed image of the paraglider and pilot (colours washout – silhouetted against the sky), whereas in heavily clouded situations the photo overall can be quite dark. Using Lightroom, I can recover some of the detail, but these will never be great photos. I find the best lighting conditions are usually in the morning and late afternoon. If I can get a little cloud against a blue sky, I find that usually helps the shot. But conditions are what they are, and you just have to crack on and give it a go. The more experienced you become with the camera and your processing software, the more options you have. If the sky is lackluster, you might be able to change it. There is much debate in the photography community about the ethics of making substantive changes to photographs. The following two photo- graphs demonstrate what I mean. The one on the left is as I took it, with basic processing in Light- room. The sky is overcast and the image lacks ‘pop’. Get the Shot