Tag Archives: Nik HDR Efex Pro

HDR – Chrysanthemum in Monochrome

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Some flowers are beautiful without color. This very small Chrysanthemum was part of a post that I did on variations in HDR imaging. This time, I wanted to concentrate on the incredible tonality of the plant by stripping the color and working in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

After getting the structure, contrast and lighting just right, I added a very small amount of dark vignetting to emphasize the center of the image.

Just for a comparison, I’ve included the original image that was very lightly post-processed. It’s very close to what came out of the camera. And I forgot to mention that I used my Micro (macro for non Nikon users) lens for this one. Even without sharpening, images are pretty crisp.  Love that lens!!!

 

HDR – Orchid in Monochrome

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I really enjoy doing HDR imaging with these beautiful orchids as my subject. This particular plant shows only one bloom of many more to come. I posted another approach to this orchid earlier showing how going to extremes can produce some nice results.

This time, I chose to start with the black and white version to show the elegant lines and texture. The monochrome conversion was done with Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 where I added a little more of a high key presentation with very slight, dark vignetting to emphasize the actual bloom. The image below is the original that I processed from 5 images using Nik HDR Efex Pro and Adobe Photoshop CS6. My final step was to add sharpening and use luminance for noise reduction with Adobe Camera Raw.

Full Circle – River in Winter

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Quick post from a cold winter day with nowhere to go. I originally posted this photo last year. Thought I’d play with this old image using a few different software combinations.

Here, I’ve posted the final version and have worked back to the original. The artistic possibilities are endless with the latest technical tools thanks to Adobe, Nik, etc.

Adobe Camera Raw/Photoshop Final

Nik HDR Efex Pro – Granny Duo

Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 – Monochrome

Adobe Photoshop – Original

HDR – Quite a Curve HTDS

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One of the many effects in Adobe Photoshop is the Curves tool. Not many people seem to use the presets to “redefine” the tonal qualities of an image. I’m going to explain how I got the above image using, first a monochrome conversion of the original and then applying some of the Curves variations. I’ts pretty amazing what can be done by just using a preset instead of trying to find that perfect curve. :-)

This is the original post processed, High Dynamic Range image. As you can see, I softened the overall image and used some sharpening and luminance in Adobe Camera Raw. This gave me the crisp edges along with a smooth texture on the rose petals. And it almost looks like the real thing, doesn’t it.

  • Quite a Curve – Black and White

By moving the image into Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 and choosing a more high key preset, I got a nice, smooth monochrome version . . . interesting but not very punchy, if you know what I mean.

Using a Curves layer back in Photoshop, I chose the presets that affect Contrast the most and also added my custom version that I’ll use for the RGB preset transition.

Yes, at first glance, they seem to look very similar. But if you look closer and notice the variations in the curves in the histogram, the differences are clear.

The Medium Contrast setting has very little curve and just a subtle variation in tone. With the Increase Contrast setting, a little more depth is added by darkening the tone shift in the petals and almost eliminating the details in the background. Strong Contrast gives a sharper definition between light and dark which gives a lot more definition to the edges of the petals. But, by lowering the bottom end of the curve in the Custom setting, I brought the petals back to a more realistic look and added more depth in the shadow areas.

The beauty of Monochrome in it’s more contrasty glory!

  • Quite a Curve – RBG

The most interesting preset for Curves is the RGB preset. The variations are infinite for color/tonal shifts when starting with a Monochrome image. The possibilities with color are also pretty mind blowing. (I’ll do a post to cover that later.)

By starting with my Monochrome beauty above and initially applying my own creative curves to the individual red, green and blue curves, I came up with the image on the left below. Then, I added a little more depth to the bottom end of the curve for the image on the right.

I thought I’d add this larger view of the initial RGB conversion for a clearer comparison to the one that I started this post with. Even though these images are not even close to reality, as artistic expressions seldom are, I enjoy going beyond reality for a change.

HDR – It’s Just Not Natural

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So why is there ice on everything this morning? I thought that Eastern North Carolina was considered “The South”. Oh Well, since I’m moving back to the Mid-West, the recent weather here is getting me acclimated. :-)

Our beautiful Rhododendrons along with all of my other lovingly cared for plants look pretty sad. I hope they survive this onslaught of winter rampage.

We’re still processing our move to the mid west and I will continue to try to do a few posts when I can. I just had to get this one in since this is a rare occasion. I think.

HDR – It’s Not The Real Thing

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I don’t usually do HDR imaging like this but I thought this subject worked well for a “Beyond Reality” version of these old trailers. I used this image for a Short and Simple HTDS (How To Do Stuff) post on Adobe Photoshop Adaptive Wide Angle. I included a video explaining that process.

But for today, I wanted to just present the original HDR image in all of it’s glory. As you can see though, I still can’t bring myself to go to extremes with High Dynamic Range images. Even though this one has been pushed a little, it still has a realistic look; except for the over saturation, edgy contrast and extreme, wide angle leaning. :-)

For the monochrome version, I simply loaded the shot into Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 and set Control Points for the lower corners to increase Structure and Contrast. I also used CPs in the sky to soften the clouds. I finished with a very smooth S curve to add more contrasty punch.

Equipment used: Nikon D700 with 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 set at 20mm, f/16, ISO 400. Handheld.

HDR – A Little More Realistic

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This High Dynamic Range, “Long Lens Landscape” image is the full frame of a photo that I posted about a year ago. That one was just a little bit less realistic. So, after a year of practice, I’ve decided to do a comparison.

Here is the original from last February.

As you can see in the image at the top of this post, I’ve managed to get the colors right . . . more like real life. And by including the full view, I’ve allowed the total scene to show more visual depth. And a little vignetting on the lower corners doesn’t hurt either. :-)

To restate what I said in the original post; “The first image was shot with the lens set to 210mm. Notice the beautiful compression of the background and foreground trees; a distance of over 100 yards. With “long” lenses, the compression will distort perspective to a certain extent but the results are very artistically appealing.”

My updated version was reprocessed using only Adobe Camera Raw and a little Photoshop Curves and Hue/Saturation to add depth and winter color, realism.

I must be totally honest though. With the re-process if this image, the monochrome version is my favorite. The texture and more drastic contracts really pop as a black and white work of art.

 Nikon D700 camera, Nikkor 70-210mm lens and post processed using Nik HDR Efex Pro, Adobe Camera Raw and Adobe Photoshop.

HDR – In The Corner at Fort Macon

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This is another High Dynamic Range image converted to Monochrome from Fort Macon in Eastern North Carolina. I was still learning how to do HDR imaging when I first processed this shot. So, I thought I would re-do this newer version now that I know a little more.

Since I strictly believe in the reality that “you’re never too old to learn new stuff”, I’ve made my life an adventure of learning new stuff . . . sometimes just winging it until I figure it out. With photography, it’s always been a pretty natural process, translating my early commercial art training to the art of photography.

Anyway, this shot is another for my Monochrome week. And here’s the “a little beyond reality” color version.

Equipment used: Nikon D700 with 50mm f/1.8 Nikkor lens at f/22, ISO 800. Bogen/Manfrotto tripod with ball head.

HDR – Monochrome Texture with Rocks and Grass

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I usually start my HDR image posts with a color photo and then present the monochrome version. But this week, I’m going to start with the black and white images. Just to be different, I guess. :-)

This “Intimate Landscape” is from Washington, North Carolina where I spent lots of time in 2012 shooting lots of images. This one is from last winter at the waterfront. The contrast of the hard rocks with the flowing grasses seemed appropriate for a statement on diversity. . .

Anyway, by stripping away the color, the pure graphic elements stand with stark conflicting boldness; black/white, hard/soft, sharp/dull, straight/bent, bla bla bla bla bla! That’s artsy talk but I just like how it looks. Another :-)

Processing: Seven shots loaded into Nik HDR Efex Pro for tone mapping and selective structuring. I usually do a global sharpening first and then apply more or less structuring to selected areas to emphasize details. For this image, I kept just about everything at the same structure settings.  I used Adobe Photoshop CS6 for Curves (contrast) and Hue/Saturation (color balancing).  For the monochrome treatement, I simply loaded the image to Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 and applied the 006 preset and added more contrast.

The color version.

Equipment used: Nikon D700 with 70-300 f/4-5.6 lens at f/27 ISO 200.

HDR Sharp and Smooth – A HTDS Process

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Many HDR images have been criticized because of the tendency of lots of photogs to go over the edge in post-processing. In this “How To Do Stuff” post, I’d like to demonstrate one of my techniques for producing realistic High Dynamic Range images that can be enlarged without losing too much visual detail. This image is a result of a bit of fine tuning with Nik HDR Efex Pro, Adobe Camera Raw and Adobe Photoshop CS6.

  • Sharp and Smooth – Un-Cooked

I’d like to start with the image as it came out of Nik HDR Efex Pro and show how I use Camera Raw for most of the post-processing.

I started with the Basic panel to modify just about everything that was needed except sharpening/luminosity and correcting chromatic aberration.

As you can see, minor adjustments of Highlights, Clarity and Vibrance can add much more punch to an image. My next step is to add sharpening and noise reduction using Luminosity on the Details tab. I’m using a before and after blowup of the side of the water tower to show the details and the sky.

I’ve found that the settings on this tab are usually dependent on the starting image. With this shot, I was able to get a pretty decent compromise of sharp and smooth. But, as you can see, this was a windy day and some of my branches are doubled from the image blending process. This shot was taken with an old Nikon zoom lens that seems to produce quite a bit of Chromatic Aberration. So, the next step required some automatic removal with the Lens Correction tab.

I realize that most people don’t get too concerned with this level of detail but if you plan on making large prints, things like detail sharpness, luminosity and chromatic aberration need to be addressed. This is usually my final step in Camera Raw unless I want to do some type of split toning or additional color correction.

  • Sharp and Smooth – Photoshopping

Now I’m ready to move into Photoshop for some final enhancements and size modifications. By working with Layers, I made adjustments to the final image. My major effort was to remove the halo effect around the trees and tower. For this I simply used the burn tool at a very light, 3% setting with a soft blend. Slight adjustments to Hue/Saturation for realistic color, Exposure for Gamma Correction and Curves for overall contrast gave me just what I wanted. Here are the before and after versions.Now that we have a nice sharp and smooth image, it’s time to do the final stage for a large print version.

  • Sharp and Smooth – Big Time

By using the Photoshop Image sizing tool, I’ll create a larger than final size image for slight sharpening using High Pass filter. I’ve found that sharpening at a larger size and then reducing the size to the final print dimensions creates a more realistic effect.  My final size is 36 x 24 inches so I’ll create a copy with a 40 inch horizontal length. I then apply the High Pass filter using 8 pixels and Soft Light at 100% Opacity and Fill. The last step is to reduce the image size. This is a comparison with a small part of the original image.

Not sure where this is? Note the red box in the image below. That’s a pretty sweet rendition for a shot from an old, not so sharp lens.

This is one of many methods that can be used for enhancing an image to produce large prints. I will be presenting a few different scenarios in the future. And I hope this has been helpful.