Cloud Play №1

 Nature  4 Responses »
Apr 162011
 


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Photographed last November, this one sat in the archives because I didn’t have the skills to process. As you can see in the original capture, contrast was low and detail soft:

In the tutorials of Tony Kuyper Photography, I discovered two procedures which helped make the image pop:

1. Curves>Auto>(Options) Enhance Monochromatic Contrast adjustment. Try this early in the editing process, and adjust clipping of black and white points to taste.

2. High Pass sharpening with a large radius. The starting point was 25px, but I bumped it up to 40px. I actually learned this several years ago from Mark Johnson, who used it in his Botanical Dreaming series to bring out detail in soft focus images. However, I didn’t really understand how it works until Tony applied it to clouds—which turn out to be a perfect subject for this approach.

I’m grateful to photographers who share their process with all of us!

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Panasonic DMC-FZ40; f8 @ 1/80sec, ISO 80 (handheld);
Focal length: 8.1mm (47mm EFL)

Tread Carefully

 Patterns  4 Responses »
Apr 072011
 

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Returning home one afternoon, this pattern of light and shadow on our front steps caught my eye. The hues actually shifted from warm to cool in the scene.

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Nikon D300; f11 @ 1/125sec, ISO 200 (handheld);
50mm f/1.8 (75mm EFL); focus distance 2m

 

Every Which Way

 Patterns  4 Responses »
Apr 012011
 

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I came across this subject in the courtyard of a fabulous place called “Architectural Artifacts“, where they generously let me roam and take pictures to my heart’s content. Propped upright against a fence, it was perhaps 15 feet tall and I have no idea what it is.  🙂

An 80,000 square foot complex on three levels packed with oddities, Architectural Artifacts is my new bad weather go-to location.

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Nikon D300; f8 @ 1/250sec, ISO 400 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 18mm (27mm EFL); focus distance .79m

Barrel №3

 Walks  5 Responses »
Mar 232011
 

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Continuing the series…

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Nikon D300; f9.5 @ 1/30sec, ISO 200 (Neotech tripod);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 48mm (72mm EFL); focus distance .89m

Barrel №2

 Walks  No Responses »
Mar 222011
 

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This is another subject photographed in the same location as Barrel №1. I’d taken some hand held shots the day before, but upon reviewing them decided to return with my tripod. I also took along a collapsible reflector to help throw light into the deep shadows, but actually ended up using it to block the rising sun. Even so, I caught a bit of flare—which fortunately seems to belong in the scene.

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Nikon D300; f13 @ 1/6sec, ISO 200 (Neotech tripod);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 65mm (97mm EFL); focus distance 1.5m

Barrel №1

 Walks  1 Response »
Mar 202011
 

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Detail of a trash barrel used for charcoal ashes in our local park.

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Nikon D300; f11 @ 1/10sec, ISO 200 (Neotech tripod);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 70mm (105mm EFL); focus distance .71m

Footprints

 Walks  5 Responses »
Mar 052011
 

Splat!
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Nikon D300; f11 @ 1/125sec, ISO 900 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 60mm (90mm EFL); focus distance 1.33m

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Just Passing Through
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Nikon D300; f11 @ 1/125sec, ISO 720
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 35mm (52mm EFL); focus distance 2.66m

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Rediscovered while “cleaning house”, this pair of images was photographed last September when our neighborhood streets and sidewalks were under construction. I wonder if the workmen were annoyed…

Remember…

 Walks  2 Responses »
Feb 272011
 

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Discovered in front of an empty playground one winter morning.

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Nikon D300; f5.6 @ 1/180sec, ISO 200 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 150mm (225mm EFL); focus distance 1.12m

Untitled

 Equipment, Everyday Life, Process  6 Responses »
Feb 262011
 

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I love the Neotec tripod.

Walking upstairs the other evening in our home, I was stopped by color in this scene. Light from the setting sun was changing rapidly, so I ran down to grab my camera which was already mounted on the tripod with a cable release attached. It took no time to find the right vantage point and set the legs on different steps. Even working that quickly, there was time for only two exposures before the moment was gone.

Noise was a problem during post-processing, despite in-camera long-exposure noise reduction. I exposed for highlights to capture the window as I saw it—spot meter +2EV—and let shadows fall where they may. In hindsight, to “expose right” even further and darken later would have been a better approach. Then, however, I’d have to rely on memory as a reference and try not to fall into the trap of opening everything up for detail.

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Nikon D300; f9.5 @ 20sec, ISO 200 (tripod);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 44mm (66mm EFL); focus distance 5.96m

A Hazy Shade of Winter

 Walks  4 Responses »
Feb 172011
 

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This scene was monochromatic, so it was photographed using the black and white Color Effect mode in the Lumix. As Craig Tanner has so often suggested, that let me preview and capture a black and white JPEG file for reference along with the full color RAW file for processing.

The title dates me! Read the lyrics or listen to the song—but be forewarned: I now have an earworm from the latter which is likely to last several days.

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Lumix DMC-FZ40; f5.6 @ 1/60sec, ISO 800 (handheld);
Focal length: 9.2mm (51mm EFL)

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