Tag Archives: Adobe Bridge

HDR – Lines and Texture

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Today is another HDR, photo art expression from Washington, North Carolina. I originally titled this image, “Scales of Justice” for an obvious reason. But upon reflection, I thought it would be a better example of a more abstract use of lines and texture.  Interesting combinations can sometimes be found in architecture.

And to go even further, I decided to push this image beyond reality for more of a modern, High Dynamic Rangy look. (But not too extreme)

Processing: Five images loaded into Nik HDR Efex Pro for light tone mapping and Structuring. In Adobe Photoshop CS6, I used HDR Toning to get a slight surreal appearance while staying close to reality.

Equipment used: Nikon D700 with 50mm f/1.8 AF Nikkor at f/2, ISO 800.

HDR for Real – Storm Approaching

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The day started with a very bright, sunny, photo excursion to the Emerald Isle/Crystal Coast area of North Carolina. And this is how it ended.  Even though the clouds were rolling in and there was not a lot of contrast, I still managed to get this HDR image using Adobe Photoshop.

Processing: Nine images from -4 to +4 ev at 1 ev intervals were loaded into Photoshop for HDR processing. I worked on various areas to enhance the details and darkened the top of the frame to add a little more drama. I used Shadows/Highlights, Curves, Hue/Saturation and High Pass filter.

Equipment used: Nikon D700 with 28-70mm f/2.8 lens at 28mm, f/16, ISO 1600.

I’ve included the shot below to give a little perspective. That was a BIG storm. We decided to head north to avoid the predicted quarter size hail that was probably only minutes away.

This last set of “on the road” photos that my wife, Renee shot with her iPhone, show the incredible intensity of the approaching storm. Beautiful, isn’t it!Check out the boat, lower right, in the last picture. Really BIG storm!

HDR – 309 Middle Street with Some Pizzaz – HTDS

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My HDR “How To Do Stuff (HTDS)” this week is a little different. The various expressions of exposure blending are subtle but distinctive. Today, I’m looking at Nik, Adobe and a little bit of post processing with Gimp.

I decided to give this image a little HDR, “Just Beyond Reality“, punch since the tones and textures just seemed to jump out of the scene. This is what’s inside 309 Middle Street in New Bern NC.

When I first saw my brackets, I got pretty excited. All those highlights and shadows in nine exposures to play with. I usually shoot at full stop intervals. But for these, I chose half stops to gain a little finer transition in light and tone.

  • The Same but Different

I’m starting to enjoy the flexibility that I get with more, closely spaced shots. My workflow is a bit slower but the results give me much more to work with in post processing. I can now increase the blending of transitions in my highlight and shadow areas without risking those abrupt distinctions between them.

The two combined exposure examples below are from Nik HDR Efex Pro and Adobe Photoshop. If you look closely, the Nik version is much more vibrant to start with. But, the Photoshop example has more balance in tonality and lighting. For a purely realistic image, either of these work beautifully, depending on taste. And they’re both perfect for further processing to bring out the personal preferences of the artist. . . like my starting image. As I said, both of these images are pretty nice and if I wanted the most realistic HDR image, I wouldn’t need to do anymore processing. But not today.

  • The Nuts and Bolts of Post Processing

Processing: I used the Nik version and made lots of tone mapping enhancements in Nik HDR Efex Pro. As you can see, the colors and visual tonality are pretty far from both of the clean, (out of the box) versions above. I especially concentrated on Structure to get the details that I wanted and used many Control Points to manipulate the lighting and details of the scene. Very little was necessary in Photoshop. Mainly final Curves adjustments and High Pass Filter.  And to top it off, I used Transform to get a realistic perspective. Yes, I lost lots of image. But I shot the original knowing that I would be correcting the lines.

The nice thing about working an image like this is that many people would accept it as an un-manipulated photograph.

Equipment used: Nikon D700 with 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 lens, 20mm, f/4.8, ISO 3200. Handheld.

  • One Last Hurrah!

You don’t hear much about the freeware called Gimp. So, I decided to throw the blended, Photoshop version, into Gimp and do a little enhancement work. Though the software is a little less intuitive, and, in some ways, much more sensitive than Photoshop, it can produce some pretty nice results.

I also managed to remove quite a bit of distortion with Gimp by adjusting the perspective and cropping a bit. It’s actually a pretty good tool.  And free at that!

HDR for Real – River Storm

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The nice thing about the weather at the Inner Banks of North Carolina is that it’s always changing. And, for High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography, the changes are perfect. My last visit to Washington, NC was a real challenge since scenes like this were the norm. . .one minute clear skies with clouds in the distance and the next, rain. Check out those drops hitting the water. Is that cool or what.  :)

This image was produced from seven shots, -1.5 to +1.5 ev. I usually space my shots at 1 ev apart but decided to try something a little different this time. And I think the tighter variation seems to make a difference. Even though my total range is smaller, the fine placement and tonality gave me a bit more tonal gradation to work with. At least it seemed that way.

Processing: The seven shots were loaded into Nik HDR Efex Pro for tone mapping.  I added quite a bit of structure in the water to get that smooth texture along with the more pronounced lighting variation. . .more realistic than what the camera with only one shot can produce.  I didn’t do anything with the sky/clouds. Yes, they really look like that at the inner banks. For the final polish, I used Curves and Shadows/Highlights in Adobe Photoshop CS6. I’ve started using the Filter > Adaptive Wide Angle function but found it to be too croppy for this image. For perfectly straight verticals, I would need to eliminate much of the foreground dock and a large part of the right and left sides of the image. I felt that it would ruin my original composition. (Spoiler) – I’ll be doing a post next week describing how the Adaptive Wide Angle tool really comes in handy.

Equipment used: Nikon D700 with 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 set at 20mm, f/14, ISO 400.  No tripod.

HDR – The Capital Transit Snow Sweeper – Monochrome HTDS

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This week’s “How To Do Stuff” will focus on how different High Dynamic Range (HDR), monochrome conversions can enhance a subject and draw attention to specific details that can get lost in a full color image. I’ve chosen a beautiful piece of machinery from the National Capital Trolley Museum, the Capital Transit Company (CTCo) 09.

While strolling through the museum garage, I noticed these odd looking brushes at the front and rear of a beautiful red caboose like trolley. So, I focused on the details and came up with this image.

  • Monochrome in Beautiful B&W

The color image, though nice, just doesn’t seem to do justice to the brushes. And that’s the reason for this HTDS post. Many folks consider black and white photography to be the only true expression of monochromatic imaging. But, the definition describes it as art work or photography created with one color or shades of a single color.  So, that leaves us with a very large potpourri of possibilities.

To start with, I used Image > Adjustments > Black & White in Adobe Photoshop and pretty much left the conversion alone except for a slight increase of the yellow to add a little more contrast in the brushes. I’m making global modifications to show that it doesn’t take very much effort to get some pretty interesting transformations. I added a small amount of sharpening and contrast to bring out the depth of the brushes and wheels of the trolley.

  • Monochrome in Warm Tones

To add more of an artistic expression to the image, I loaded it into Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 and added a very slight Vignette. To warm things up I applied the Toning, Sepia 21 filter for that slightly warm tobacco stain look that seems to be so popular.This version turned out very nice with the warmer tones. So, not wanting to stop yet, I moved the image back into Photoshop for a final transformation into what we usually see as a Sepia tone photograph.I added an adjustment layer and applied Photo Filter with Sepia set at 90% and voila, the perfect, classic sepia toned image.

  • Monochrome in Living Color

I’ve included a few additional monochrome examples using the Photoshop Photo Filter Adjustments Layer to show just how versatile monochrome techniques can be from an artistic perspective.

You can either navigate to the Photo Filter selections by going to Image > Adjustments> Photo Filter or by opening a “Create new fill or adjustment layer” on the Layers tab and selecting it there.

I’ve shown the color selections here. And, as you can see, there are many choices available along with the ability to select the strength. I’ve used nine colors at 50% intensity but adjustments can be made for more or less dramatic effects.

I normally don’t overdo it when working with monochrome. But, for a stronger statement, the higher percentages usually “speak louder” so to speak.  :)The variations are endless. This is only a small sampling of what you can do with the Photoshop filters. I will be doing another post on this subject to cover the Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 variations and to showcase the strength of that software.

Equipment used: Nikon D700 with 28-70 f/2.8 lens set to f/16, ISO 3200. Manfrotto 190XPROB with 486RC2 ball head.

HDR – Catch the Trolley – CTCo 522

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Not this one!. As you can see in this HDR image, this antique trolley has seen better days. I had a chance to visit the National Capital Trolley Museum and took advantage of the great, vintage finds there.

Though not totally restored, this old trolley still has lots of character. This gorgeous specimen from the past is the Capital Traction Company (CTCo) 522. And, according to the information at the Trolley Museum, this beauty is operable and just waiting for full restoration.

Processing: The indoor shots at the museum were a little difficult due to the darkness of the room. These images were each produced from three shots, -1 to +1 ev. Nik HDR Efex Pro was used for tone mapping and a bit of selective structuring. I used Adobe Photoshop CS6 (ta da!) for the finishing touches with Exposure, Hue/Saturation, Curves and a small amount of sharpening using High Pass Filter.

Equipment used: Nikon D700 with 28-70 f/2.8 lens set to f/4.8, top f/8 bottom, ISO 1600.Manfrotto 190XPROB with 486RC2 ball head.

HDR – Pearly Tuners

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I really enjoy using my Macro (Nikon micro) lens for just about any subject. Here, I’ve created an HDR image of the tuners on my nylon string guitar. Though I don’t get much of a chance to play anymore, I still enjoy the beauty of all my instruments. But, my acoustic guitars have become more of a pleasure to play. I’ve still got my good ol Fender standbys when I’m in the mood for some electric blues or headbanging stuff. :)  Never too old, right!

Processing: Five shots from -2 to +2 ev loaded into Nik HDR Efex Pro from Adobe Bridge and processed to balance the highlights with shadows for a little more contrast. I exaggerated those plastic, pearloid tuners just a little by adding structure using Control Points for each one.  In Photoshop, I did my usually Exposure, Hue/Saturation, Curves and High Pass filter routine to “polish and sharpen” the final image.

Equipment used: Nikon D700 with Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 Micro lens set to f/8, ISO 1250. Manfrotto 190XPROB with 486RC2 ball head. Taylor NS44-CE.

HDR – Photo Art Hinges on Filters – HTDS

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I started a new Category on “How To Do Stuff“ (HTDS) a couple of weeks ago and hope to continue posting a new How To every Wednesday. I’ve also added a few older “How To Do” posts to the new category.

Today’s HDR Photo Art will focus on a couple of different techniques I use for Techno Art results. I’m starting with a finished image in beautiful Black and White that looks just a little surreal. And, as you’ll see, it should, based on my process.
To get this result, I started with the scene on the right using seven exposures from -3 to +3 ev. I loaded the brackets into Nik HDR Efex Pro where I did tone mapping and adjustments for texture, lighting and structure. Then, in Adobe Photoshop, I did major correction to perspective to get all of the verticals lined up. This shot really needed quite a bit of de-distorting, so to speak. I finally got the result below which is what I usually aim for as a realistic HDR image.Now back to the beginning, monochrome artsy work above.

  • Black and White – It Hinges on Filters

I took the finished HDR, color version and applied the Photoshop filter called Defused Glow with the parameters set to Graininess = 6, Glow Amount = 8 and Clear = 10. The resulting color image was OK but not what I really wanted.

After applying the Defused Glow, I converted the image to Black and White using the High Contrast Red filter where I pulled the red and yellow sliders down a bit for more shadow. The result is the shot on the left below. I added another layer and applied a dark vignette using Filter > Render > Lighting Effects as you see in the center image. I then backed the fill down to 35% for the exact intensity needed to draw attention to the hinge without destroying the corner details.This image does well in black and white even without the additional tone mapping and use of the defusion filter. But, when converting photo art to techno art, a lack of realism is preferred. And, the nice thing about these software tools is that the final result can be as unique as you want it to be. Starting with an idea and technique should only be the beginning of further exploration.

  • Color – It Also Hinges on The Filters

And speaking of exploration, This exercise wouldn’t be complete without a stroll down the color path with a slightly different direction. For this, I decided to start with the same photograph and go for a more exaggerated HDR image with a slight twist at the end.

Starting with the realistic HDR image above, I loaded it back into Nik HDR Efex Pro for some extreme texturing by adding a high Structure to the complete image. Then back in Photoshop, I applied more intense color and flattened the depth with Curves as seen on the left below. My final, kinda realistic HDR image is on the right with just a bit of depth and saturation added.So, what about that twist I mentioned? I’ve been revisiting some of the filters in Photoshop that I haven’t used in quite a while and remembered the good old “Smudge Stick” which I applied here with Stroke Length = 5, Highlight Area = 15 and Intensity set to 5. I then set Exposure, Gamma to 1.50 and finally de-saturated the image by -20.  As you can see in the image below, it doesn’t really look like a photograph but still retains a vague resemblance.I hope you can see that your photo software tools of choice contain many ways to create Photo Art and transform it into any type of artsy art that you prefer. I hope to be presenting another exercise in my further explorations next week.

Equipment used: Nikon D700 with 50mm f/1.8 lens set to f/19, ISO 800.Manfrotto 190XPROB with 486RC2 ball head.

HDR – Is It Always Necessary?

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This is another HDR image from my visit to St Peters Episcopal church in Washington North Carolina. The old cemetery is really perfect for photography and is full of potentially beautiful images. I spotted this very large tree trunk next to an iron fence and immediately started framing my shot. The texture of the ivy, tree, and fence had me imagining tone mapping heaven.

There are times when HDR imaging may not really be necessary to get the full tonal and lighting range of a photograph. This shot was processed using five exposures spaced from -2 to +2 ev. I worked with control points in Nik HDR Efex Pro to do very slight enhancements to the textures in the ivy, tree and fence.

Of course, this image could really “punch and glow” with additional tone mapping and further enhancements to get a “beyond reality” look as with this example. Here the contrast was increased along with adding depth and a more defined edging on the ivy and fence. I also included a slight, dark vignette at the corners to draw more attention to the fence and ivy. This still leans more to reality but has been pushed to more of an extreme.

But, for a realistic result, just manipulating a raw image file is sometimes all that is necessary. The image below was loaded from Adobe Bridge into the Photoshop raw conversion process and adjusted for a totally realistic look. As you can see, it is almost identical to the five image HDR example above.

With a little additional work in any photo editing software, this single image version could be made to look exactly the same.

Equipment used: Nikon D700 with AF 50mm f/1.8 D lens set to f/5.6, ISO 800. One human body.