Going through some old photos, I picked this one to process.
This is a shot in Downtown San Francisco of the City Hall dome. This really caught my attention because of the blue skies and wisps of clouds. The dome really stood out.
>This is an HDR, 1 shot processed with a -1, 0, +1 exposures.
>Photomatix Detail Enhancer
>Topaz InFocus for sharpening
>Topaz Denoise for the noise in the sky
>Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 Pro Contrast for Contrast and Color Cast
>Adjustment Layers Levels for sky
>Adjustment Layer Levels for Dome
>Adjustment Layer Hue/Saturation to slightly remove over saturation
>High Pass Sharpening
>Cropped, sized and framed for processing
I also decided to go with a more Pano Cropping and offsetting the dome to give this a different look. I did try a more centering cropping but it really didn't stand out enough for me. This cropping also gave the attention the sky that I thought was needed.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Upward
Monday, November 28, 2011
Old Fashioned Love Song
Decided to go a little old school on this shot.
Same family from the previous shoot. But as I was processing the shots I decided to take one of them old school showing them what a little black and white can do. Was the lighting awesome or what? I would like to take credit with fabulous reflectors and lighting equipment but it is just the sunset. How cool is that?
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Precious Moments
A friend of mine wanted me to take some pictures of her and her family for xmas.
If you check out my photosteam you can see I am not much of a portrait photographer. I reluctantly accepted happy to stretch my photography skills and really hoping they came out good.
I Flickr'd all sorts of portrait photography to give myself a feel for what I was looking for.
Well this is one of the ones I ended up with. I am very happy with the results. Really makes it easy with such photographic subjects. I think one of the most impressive things about this is...I had a lot of fun doing it as well. Forecast said rain, but it did hold off to get the shots needed.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Beauty Beyond
Woke up to a beautiful morning but yet still semi-dark, packed up the tent and headed on out. No more than 5 minutes into the trip this was the view of the Canyon with the sun breaking over the ridges. After taking in the breath taking view, I decided to stop unpack the camera equipment and tripod and took a few comps before repacking and getting on the way again.
Now, the thing you have to understand with hiking and camera equipment and taking a photo, it is a semi-major decision. With taking off the 27lb pack, taking out camera, taking out tripod, possible filters, shutter release, setting all up shooting and then packing it all back up. This burns precious energy that you will need for the hike or you maybe so tired you just don't have the energy to do it.
When I do it again, a point and shoot will be in a very handy and available pocket.
The Shot:
Single Exposure, F/10, ISO 400, 1/30 Sec, 24-105L @24mm
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Hiker...Um, No!
Where I posted the note is where we started our hike the day before. It was icy and late in the day but eventually we arrived at our ending point (Crystal Creek). My friends were on the other side of the ridge enjoying the view and I am here pushing the shutter with a 10 second delay.
This doesn't really give you an idea of the vastness of the Grand Canyon but it does give you an idea of how beautiful this site is and well worth the hike.
Thanks for taking a look!! Leave a comment please!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Night Glow
Where to start this description?
Planned a hike into the Grand Canyon over this past weekend, I could tell you I have gotten back safely home but that would shorten the story way to much.
We hiked half way down the south rim of the canyon the first night (stayed at Indian Gardens) and then all the way down into the canyon and half way back up the north rim the next day and stayed at Crystal Creek.
Somewhere in the hike you ask yourself, "What am I doing here, hiking 12.9 miles, down 5,000 feet up another 1400 feet with 27lbs on my back and I still have to go turn around and go back and it is mostly up hill". Can you say "A few cards short of a full deck or sharp as a bowling ball, not the sharpest tool in the shed?" Well I did a couple of times. But camping on the edge of the Grand Canyon by yourself looking over the edge at the Colorado River. What a rush!!
The shot was taken from Crystal Creek looking up at ??? I don't know what the peak is called (a little help if anyone knows).
The color one came out ok, but the black and white has more of an eerieness to it. More what you feel while you are out there on a cloudy night.