May 18, 2011 | Photography
I really wanted a vertical, a tight shot of a rod and the great neon sign. I wondered and wondered trying to find the right spot and I settled on this angle. The gray sky was the real killer for me, minimizing it while not messing with the angles. This is another HDR again to pull out the color and shades that make the rod so spectacular. A couple of the finishing notes to this image. There was a white banner on the right door, I removed it. Stuff in the background, some has been removed and some more needs to go. The biggie is the neon sign itself. While it might be a HDR image, I finished it “realistically” but I want the neon to glow. To achieve that I simply used Nik Color Efex Pro Tonal contrast and ran it just on the neon sign.
I think I like this one the best of all. I shot this at f/2.8 focusing on the front grill of the truck. And even though the image is a HDR, I ran again Nik’s Color Efex Pro Tonal Contrast on all the image except the truck on the right. The lining up of the cab on the right with the building and the yellow pump going down the middle were done intentionally to frame all the elements. While I have no intention to go back to my car shooting days of my youth, it sure was fun revisiting them and exploring them with radically new tools. The participants not only had a great time but produced some gorgeous images. What a great way to play in the rain!
Photos captured by D3x, 70-200VR2 (top HDR Efex Pro, bottom Photomatix Pro) on Lexar UDMA digital film
May 18, 2011 | Photography
DLWS this years is taking it way beyond the boundary and exploring light is many new and grand ways. Today we were with world renown hot roders courtesy of my dear friend Richard Small. We left the lodge in rain, drove in rain and shot in rain and it was GREAT!!! We couldn’t have had better weather for shooting great color and shapes then what was presented us. And man, did we shoot! Fred’s this morning was a not stop pixel burner. I was only able to make a couple of clicks because of all the fun helping the participants, but here are a couple that I enjoy.
Now I shot nothing but HDR of all the rods. Why? Look at the color, look at the black and chrome, look at the gorgeous highlights on all the surfaces. What better tool for capturing all of that cleanly, quickly and easily then HDR. You might be saying, “They don’t look like HDR.” I wanted all the subtle color, not the whacked out color. I wanted you to enjoy the color, not laugh at it. And while I used HDR for the heavy lifting, I still used ACR and Photoshop to go in and finish the images. It was a killer morning with great lessons on color and light. I can’t thank Fred & Richard more for the great opportunity!
Photos captured by D3x, 70-200VR2 (top image HDR Efex Pro, bottom Photomatix Pro) on Lexar UDMA digital film
May 17, 2011 | Landscape Photography
I simply refuse to not shoot just because the obvious great shot doesn’t walk up, smack me in the face and say, “Take me!’ This is not to be confused with “not feeling the love” of some location. This is when you know, know there is a photograph it’s just not glaring at you. When some cranky guy is screaming at you waving a wrench because he’s not slept off the party from the night before, it’s a distraction that hopefully convinces you there is a photo to be had. We had overcast skies which when there is color about, is perfect. You’ve just gotta pull that color out and often in post. This top photo that was done by doing a one image HDR. Real simple post processing with the actual capture real simple, when you have a 24f1.4AFS and shoot at f1.4. It tells the story by blurring out so much making you think there is more then there really is.
Then there is Molly that first, had to have a whole bunch of “stuff” removed from its bow to clean her up and then the colors popped using Nik Color Efex Pro’s Tonal Contrast. And that I think this is the challenge for most photographers, mastering not only the camera part of photography, the technology and techniques (let alone own the gear) but also the back end. If you didn’t know those post techniques most photographers would have walked by the photo opportunities. Again, are they the best clicks? No, not by any stretch but they are a practice in the art of communication and the more you do of that, when the really great opportunity presents itself, and it will, you are prepared with all the tools and techniques both at camera and computer to make it all happen. And isn’t that really what it’s all about?
Photos captured by D3x, 24f1.4AFS / 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
May 17, 2011 | Landscape Photography
Then, after a while, not giving up on the scene but rather just taking in the moment without the camera attached to your nose, a moment light breaks. What do you do? What I do is mentally scramble, looking for that one, single element that has the light playing upon it and then seeing if there is a photograph there. A lot of time, it’s so fleeting that making any kind of dash is a waste of time and experience. And then there are times when it is not. When clouds light up, often it will last long enough to make it worth your while to make a photographic commitment to the moment.
The top photo was a no-bainer, not so with the bottom one. You can’t really make it out, it’s just a white speak in the bottom left corner but that’s a boat heading out to see. Jake saw it and pointed it out to me. I was looking at the cloud’s reflection in the ocean but I didn’t see the boat coming into view. It’s so small but in a 11×14 it is very obvious. And just as quickly as the light came, the light left. Great shots, no. Do I love the challenge and the chase? Oh yeah!
Photos captured by D3x, 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
May 17, 2011 | Landscape Photography
I mean really, you get up at o’dark thirty and drive for an hour, the least the sun can do is make an appearance. Right?! Of course, it doesn’t work that way and there is no complaint dept, there’s just moving forward which is what we did the best that we could. Since light is a critical element to color photography, the lack of light to me is a natural for B&W photography. That means looking for textures, patterns and details that black can make pop.
And while I’m pretty lucky and pretty good at pulling a rabbit out of the hat more often then not, there are simply times when, you really come back is not. By not, I mean images that won’t stand the test of time, ones you’re not going to print up 24×30 or really share with friends even. These two images, they are OK but they are not ones I would put out there as being a great representation of anything more then, a valid attempt to making the most of the opportunity at hand. And while they are photographic blas…I did learn a couple of things and food for thought for the next time presented with the same lack of greatness. So goes the photographic game.
Photos captured by D3x, 24-120VR on Lexar UDMA digital film
May 14, 2011 | B&W Photography
I could spend hours trying to make the best click of surf patterns as they recede. Simple gorgeous patterns.
