Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives has been crowned ‘Maldives Leading Dive Resort 2025’ at the prestigious World Travel Awards, marking a major milestone as the inaugural winner of this newly introduced category.
The announcement was made at a glittering gala ceremony held on 29 June in Tanzania, attended by tourism and hospitality leaders from across Africa and the Indian Ocean. The accolade honours Kandooma’s commitment to exceptional diving experiences and innovation in accessible underwater tourism.
Blend modes can be very confusing for inexperienced Lightroom and Photoshop users, and this quick tutorial with Nicholas Warner cuts through the grease by demonstrating the only ones nature photographers really need. This is what he says regarding the plethora of Blend modes available: “There are 27 of them, they have confusing names, and I’m here to let you know which ones are actually useful for nature photography.”
Spoiler alert: You can simplify your workflow by ignoring most of them. Warner describes his favorite nature photography Blend modes in descending order, beginning with “Darker Color.” He demonstrates the benefits of this mode for rehabilitating images that suffer from unsightly halos. All you have to do is grab the Clone Stamp tool, change the Blend mode from Normal to Darker Color, and follow Warner’s simple instructions for making the fix.
Next on Warner’s list is the Lighten mode which works wonders for creating star trails, or when stacking multiple images of lightning strikes. This straightforward technique begins by selecting all the images you want to include, clicking the Photo tab atop the screen, and choosing the Edit In option from the dropdown menu that appears. Then select “Open As Layers in Photoshop” from the subsequent window and get to work.
What about when your goal is to enhance the mood of a landscape photo by introducing a bit of haze or other atmospheric effect to increase the depth of your shot? There’s a Blend mode for this too known as Screen and you’ll want to add this one to your everyday workflow. The same goes for a few other options you’ll learn as the five-minute lesson proceeds.
When the video concludes make sure to visit Warner’s instructional YouTube channel where he provides inspiration and insight into how he edits outdoor photos in Lightroom and Photoshop to achieve spectacular results.
