Tag Archives: normal photography

Sun on The River

Posted on by
1

Believe it or not, that small stretch of water is the mighty Mississippi just above Alton Illinois. And it’s one of the wider sections of the river. This was shot with a 80-200mm f/2.8 Nikkor lens. You can see how the 200mm setting compresses the scene and in this case gives a much more intimate view.

And even though this is kind of a cliche shot, the simplicity of the color in contrast with the deep shadows creates a dramatically dynamic visual. To get the smooth tonality while maintaining the details of the foreground trees, I used sharpening and luminance in Adobe Camera Raw.

And for more of an artistic expression, here’s a Monochrome version created with Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

Begin the Night

Posted on by
7

End of day is only another beginning of the blackish essence of nightness. End of day, end of light, end of sight, ending now. Though I love the sun in bright mid day, something about the light on the horizon as it sinks into the west, warms my innards.

Gibberish?  Quite so!

Selective Color in Color Can Bee Interesting

Posted on by
6

I don’t usually do selective color so just to be different, I used a monochrome sepia for this image. The original photo makes an overwhelmingly yellow statement. It’s nice but the bee seemed to be drowning in a pool of petals. And besides, this version is much more artistic!

I used my Nikon D100 with a Nikkor 105mm Micro lens. . .effectively 157.5mm which gives me lots of room to work. . .at a distance. Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 was used for monochrome conversion and a light vignette. Then I saved the image using Brush and isolated the bee by painting the rest of the image. Photoshop, Photo Filter supplied a sepia tone at about 80% strength. This allowed me to keep the (complementary) colors of the bee and give a warm feel to the image. An artsy touch!

The Haagsche Tramweg-Maatschappij 1329 Trolley

Posted on by
4

This beautiful streetcar is another resident of the National Capital Trolley Museum in Colesville Maryland. Since this was a “moving target”, I’ve produced this pseudo-HDR image.

Here is a brief quote from the National Capital Trolley Museum website: “HTM 1329 represents a unique success story of the American PCC car in Europe. Nowhere else in Europe did so many “American style” PCCs operate than in Den Haag. After the Second World War, Haagsche Tramweg-Maatschappij (HTM) had, like many European systems, an urgent need for new equipment to replace war losses and worn-out stock.”  Please check the full and very interesting description of this more marvelously modern machine.

Processing: I loaded a single exposure into Nik HDR Efex Pro for tone mapping. I increased the color saturation and sharpness using Adobe Photoshop, Curves and High Pass Filter. Since this streetcar (trolley) is from a time that most of us don’t remember, I decided to load the image into Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 for a more nostalgic look. The version below is a result of my first attempt with the software (new to me) and I am pretty pleased with what it can do.

I added a small amount of vignette and used the Agfa APX Pro 100 film type. I then used Photo Filter sepia tone in Photoshop for the final antique look. I’ll be experimenting more with the Nik software later.

Equipment used: Nikon D700 with 28-70 f/2.8 lens set to f/16, ISO 400. Manfrotto 190XPROB with 486RC2 ball head.

Blues Way Back – In To It 97

Posted on by
3

Wish you could have been there. If you love blues, that is. Just another, and my last for now, shot from the 1997 St Louis Blues Heritage Festival.  I decided to keep this one in color. That beautiful instrument made color a must.

Processing: The original color transparency was scanned and worked in Adobe Photoshop to bring out more of the details and balance colors.

Equipment used: During the festival, I used a couple of Nikon n90s bodies with a 28-70mm f/2.8, 80-200 f/2.8 and a 20-35mm f/3.5-f/4.5.

Blues Way Back – Duct Tape Dobro 97

Posted on by
Reply

Well, sometimes ya just gotta make do. Right? The fact that the front plate of that dobro (might just be a Regal RC-58 Tricone Metal Body Texas Tea Resonator) is held on with duct tape is not an issue for this guy. Actually that’s what he might just be smiling about. Seriously though, if I remember correctly, I think he was doing some incredible slide work at that time. . .and enjoying every second.  I can relate!

This is another shot from the 1997 St Louis Blues Heritage Festival. And again, I’ve chosen B&W since the very colorful clothing seemed to distract from the performer and his expression.

Processing: The original color transparency was scanned and worked in Adobe Photoshop to bring out more of the details and balance colors.  The black and white version was produced using Image > Adjustments > Black & White.

Equipment used: During the festival, I used a couple of Nikon n90s bodies with a 28-70mm f/2.8, 80-200 f/2.8 and a 20-35mm f/3.5-f/4.0.. Flash was Vivitar 285 Zoom Thyristor.

Blues Way Back – Blues Harp Heaven 97

Posted on by
1

Carrying on from yesterday, I want to present another of my images from the 1997 St Louis Blues Heritage Festival at Buder Park in St Louis County. I chose B&W for this image though the color version has lots of drama as well. Still, the monochrome tends to produce a more dramatic tone.

Processing: The original color transparency was scanned and worked in Adobe Photoshop to bring out more of the details.  The black and white version was produced using Image > Adjustments > Black & White.

Equipment used: During the festival, I used a couple of Nikon n90s bodies with a 28-70mm f/2.8, 80-200 f/2.8 and a 20-35mm f/3.5-f/4.0.

Be Careful – I Think It Bites (Aeschynanthus radicans)

Posted on by
2

Aw, just kidding! Actually, this is one of the most beautiful blooming plants that we’ve ever had. But, I’ve always thought that those tan things look like teeth.

I shot this Lipstick plant a few years ago when I first started using a digital camera. It was my new Nikon D100 (basically first edition) with my old 105mm Nikkor Micro lens. That made it a 157mm macro lens. . .great for getting close at a distance but not for deep depth of field in low light. But, notice that incredibly creamy bokeh. Love that lens!

Processing: These images were processed exclusively in Adobe Photoshop. Before HDR imaging became popular, many of us would process raw images in photoshop and get just about the same results. As you can see in the second image below, the tonal range is beautiful for pseudo-HDR.Equipment: Nikon D100 with 105mm f/2.8 Micro Nikkor set to f/8.0 (top) and f/11 (bottom) with ISO 200. Bogen/Manfrotto 3221 tripod with 3028 Manfrotto head

Back When Slides Were The Tops

Posted on by
2

This image is from way back when digital cameras were still trying to win the favor of the professional community. At that time, my camera of choice was a trusty Nikon n90. This color slide image (probably some kind of Fujifilm product) shows the beauty and limitations of those great little transparencies. Though I loved working with the different films, I doubt that I will ever go back except for an occasional fun fling with my old rangefinders.

Adobe Photoshop was my favorite darkroom then as now.

HDR – The heArt of Washington

Posted on by
10

Continuing my photo walk in Washington NC, I found this very colorful and expressive window art. Perfect for an HDR image. I think it kind of speaks for itself.

Five different exposures of this image were loaded into Nik HDR Efex Pro for tone mapping and selective Control Point processing to add some structure. Then I used Adobe Photoshop for Image > Adjustments > Shadow/Highlights to balance the tones. I also made color adjustments using Hue/Saturation.

Equipment used: Nikon D700 with AF 50mm f/1.8 D lens set to f/4.8, ISO 800.