Horsetail

Horsetail, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Looks like I may have the opportunity to head on back to Oregon for some shooting. My trek usually starts with Seattle and then to Oregon and then back to Seattle. This time it looks to be Oregon only. Scouting locations online has brought me to revisit some of my archives. Horsetail is a great spot to shoot. Being from The OC you don't see this much so it is always exciting to head up to Oregon and the Portland area. These trips are usually only 4 days so I really try to plan and get as much shooting in as possible.
Any ideas on where to shoot, I would appreciate any advice. So far here are some of the places I am looking at:
Japanese Garden
Lower Oneonta Falls
Sparks Lake
Crater Lake
Downtown Portland
I am also looking for anything abandoned to shoot as well.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Freedom Earned

Freedom Earned, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Abandoned LA Zoo, not a lot to see, this is about the only thing I thought was worth the shooting.
Not as Creepy of a place as I thought, might go back and check it out another time. I was also short on time and I was looking to hit another spot before heading home.

Slowly but surely working on a website to show my photo's that gives a better showcase than flickr.
Check it out if you get a chance.

Tony DeSantis Photography

LA's Fine

LA's Fine, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Before there was the LA Zoo shot there was the LA Sunrise shot from the Griffith Park Observatory.
That I know of the best place to see the sunrise in LA is the Griffith Park Observatory.
75 degrees at 6am, the weather was beautiful but any sunrise shots in LA does have a hazy feel to them. I still have yet to get up here in the winter but one of these days that will happen.
This shot is just about directly out of the camera. Here is the minor photoshop post processing:

Post Processing:
>Nik Color Efex Pro 4.0
>Pro Contrast
>Tonal contrast
>Adjustment layer-Hue/Sat for sky blues
>9/16 cropping for more pano view
>Framed and sized for posting

Website:
Tony DeSantis Photography

Flesh and Bone

Flesh and Bone, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

I have sat on this shot for a while and with not going out and shooting but once in the last month I decided to revisit it. What catches my attention on this is the movement of the smoke through the frame. Simple and clear lines that really catch the eye.

Thanks for looking, your comments and thoughts are welcomed!!

Listen To The Sound

Listen To The Sound, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Cruising down the road or sitting on the beach. The smell of the air, the sound of the ocean, the breeze blowing and a song comes on the radio, it is a song you haven't heard in a long time. You close your eyes and you remember once upon a time back to that summer day and that song playing on the radio. The warm air with the windows down cruising down the road, sitting on the beach with the sandy radio blasting out a tune. Maybe it was just sitting on the beach with your girlfriend or boyfriend watching the sunset or does it go back to the days when you went to the beach with your parents and you were digging in the sand and your parents had a song come on the radio "K earth 101". Do you remember, can you feel it, almost touch it and smell the air? Yup, those were the days!!

Laguna Moon

Laguna Moon, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Walking up the hill from the beach this was a hard shot to pass up, so I didn't.
The full moon shining on the beach and water really gave a great look.
F/22 helped give the moon the star look.

Castle In the Sand

Castle In the Sand, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Where do you build your life and your faith...
In a shack on the rock or a castle in the sand?

Double Edged Sword

Double Edged Sword, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

It is really great to look at smoke and see what you see. Everyone is different in what they see and then with what they see what they feel. The previous shot was a rose and then I used my post processing to make that vision reality. This smoke shot here looked like a serpent/snake with an open mouth with a forked/knifed tongue. With that thought in mind I molded my shot to that vision. Once again the original shot was already there. I removed a small amount of plume around the sword/upper right area to complete that vision. Add a little color with filters and curves and the shot was complete.
I am enjoying the smoke abstract. Having my shots in Explore means that others have enjoyed them as well and thank you all for that. But really for all of us it is our own vision that we expand upon with the motivation to create feelings in others with that vision.

Smoke Rose

Smoke Rose, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Once again this is a photographed smoke from an incense.
Believe it or not I did very little to this to get it this way. I did paint out with a black brush some on the top end to get rid of some of the plume that gathered at the top but the original shape of stem and rose was there already. That is why I picked this shot to do "The Rose". I also added the color with Nik Color Efex Pro 4.0 Bi-color filter. After that it was a little Hue/Sat and Curves to finalize it.

Post Processing:
>Duplicate Layer
>Black Brush-Brush out areas not wanted (in this case top area plume)
>Nik Color Efex Pro 4.0-Bi-Color filter to add Green and Red
>Adjustment Layer-Hue/Sat Green-Saturation and intensify color
>Adjustment Layer-Hue/Sat Red-Saturation and intensify color
>Adjustment Layer-Curves for final contrasts
>Cropped, framed and sized for posting

Smoke'm If you Got'm

Smoke'm If you Got'm, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Spent the day in the garage shooting with the make shift studio. Water drops and smoke trails.
Started out shooting water drops, pans of water, plastic bags, koolade that was all an interesting time. But this is what I really couldn't wait to get to. I haven't shot smoke trails before so after watching a view You Tube videos on the subject I decided to go for the gusto.
First step was to go to the local smoke shop and pick up some incense and a holder. When I picked a few that I thought were good the store owner said "Oh these are very nice and they have very little smoke to them". I told her "no,no,no I need the ones with a lot of smoke". She looked at in an odd way and asked why. I told her for a photography project and she pointed me in the right direction. $3.75 out the door (How cool is that)
The set up is pretty simple:
Black Back drop, Desk Lamp, Flash gun, remote flash release, tripod, Incense and of course camera.
Put up your black cloth background, set incense in the middle, on one end you put the desk lamp and point it where the smoke is going to be, the other end you put the flash. You stand in the middle, light the incense and shoot away.
Here are my settings that don't change for the entire shoot:
Flash set to manual 1/2 power
Camera settings: 1/200 of a second (Just below sink speed), ISO 100, F/11

I shot many a shot with just smoke but I really like this showing the incense, holder with the silhouetted light.

This is pretty much right out of camera.
>Adjustment layer of Levels for contrast
>Cropped, Framed and Sized for posting

Low & Slow

Low & Slow, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

3rd shot posted from the San Clemente Car show but the 1st shot taken. Arriving at 7am was perfect for catching cars rolling down the middle of the street slowly to there staging place. It was nice to catch them with no stickers, signs, numbers, hoods up or people around the car.
Next time I will get there early catch them rolling down the road get my shots in the can and enjoy the rest of the show.

Post Processing:
>Magic Wand and masked to remove background
>CMD J for car on separate layer
>Topaz Remask to refine mask
>Replaced background
>Flood plugin for water look
>Topaz Adjust-color and contrast
>Adjustment Layer-Hue/Sat to remove double yellow line reflection in paint and chrome
>Adjustment Layer-Hue/Sat-Blue to enhance blue paint
>Nik Color Efex pro
>Tonal Contrast for definition in paint
>Bleach Bypass for defined shadow areas in paint
>High Pass Sharpening
>Cropped, Framed and sized for posting

Fenderlicious

Fenderlicious, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

2nd of a days shoot at the San Clemente Car Show. The curves, sheen, colors and overall subject matter makes these fun to shoot and then work on in Post Processing.
If anyone knows the year, make and model of this vehicle please post.

Thanks for stopping by. Your comments and critiques are welcomed.

Post Processing:
>Masked and replacement of background
>Topaz Remasked used for fine tuning mask
>Topaz adjust-color and contrast and shading
>Adjustment Layer-Hue/Sat removal of yellowing on paint job from Topaz adjust
>Adjustment Layer-Hue/Sat removal of red in grill from reflection of other vehicles
>Nik Color Efex pro 4.0-Tonal Contrast-Bleach Bypass-Opacity lowered to taste
>Adjustment Layer-Curves-Windshield reflection darkened and contrasted
>Adjustment Layer-Curves-Headlights brightened
>Cropped, framed and sized for posting

Painting from the Air

Painting from the Air, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

I took this shot on the way to Washington last year. I have reworked it through my new processing. I really like the lines that have been created by the new processing.

This is a rework of an old post. Nothing new as of right now because I have sold the Canon 1ds Mark II and I am searching for a 5D Mark II. Any hints on what to look for when buying a used camera would be helpful.

Thanks for looking and leaving comments.

Off the beaten path

Off the beaten path, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Another HDR/Painted photo.
This was taken in a industrial section off of LA. I found this area intriguing because of the road leading to the city skyline. Once again this photo is taken just before sunrise the only time to be taking photo's in LA without traffic and of course a small thing like getting run over while taking shots in the middle of the street.
I am enjoying running through past shots and working the new processing and figuring out which ones it works on and the others it really doesn't.

Here is some of the post processing steps taken:

Standard 3 shot HDR +2, 0, -2
>Photomatix-Detail Enhancer

CS-5:
>Blend in -2 ev of the original shots to remove noise in sky and overdone lamp glare from HDR processing
>Topaz adjust-To bring back color and detail
>Nik Color Efex Pro 4.0
>Oil Painting
>Sized and framed for posting

Watch Over Me

Watch Over Me, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Took this shot and I have looked it over a few times, Never really cared for how it came out in previous processing's. When I took the shot I felt a dark moody look and my Post Processing never really brought out the image that I wanted until now.
I am really quite pleased with this final processing holding off the verdict until I see some others in print and see if this all works. As I worked through the process the shades of the tree and roots became more and more of an interest to me to finalize the shot and bring out some nice detail.

I like the color of this as well but I decided to post the B&W liking the mood it portrayed.

Thanks for looking and the comments.

Parks Open

Parks Open, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Always a great view LA Skyline. Can't imagine what it is like not to live near a big city. I am blessed that LA is only a 30 minute drive from The OC at 5am on a Sunday. Haven't tried to drive this at rush hour, not really interested in trying either.
This is a mix of post processing, let me list them.

Post Processing list:
>HDR- Photomatix-Detail Enhancer
>Photo Blending
>Cloning Tool and Fill-Removal of
>Stop Sign and shadow
>Red Zone Parking
>Cross Walk
>Topaz Adjust-Detail and Color
>Pixel Bender and Mask for fence and grass area
>Nik Color Efex Pro 4.0-Misc filters to achieve desired result
>Adjustment Layer-Curves
That about sums it up

VIEW LARGE
G+
IMAGE INCEPTION BLOG
500px



I really like processing and posting but if the eventual print comes out like crap than what good is it. Well time to put the processing to the test. Gonna get some of this new processing printed. I will let you all know how they turn out. Specially the one below (Previous Post). I really like the way it turned out but it has to look good in print or this processing will go in the round file.

Bold Colors

Bold Colors, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Yesterday I finally got out to take some photo's with my friend Jermaine. We headed down to Dana Point for sunset photo's. it was a beautiful sunset and we both really felt that even if we got no shots of any significance the trip was well worth it. The lighting and high surf really created for a magical sunset. I do have some sunset shots to process but those will come later.
Along the side of the cliffs that align the shore are these ice plants that have some magnificent colors.
This didn't take a lot of processing to bring the colors out. Such bold and vibrant colors were definitely worth photographing.
I gave this a black framing around the white to bring the colors out more.

Post Processing:
Nik Color Efex Pro 4.0
Contrast Only Filter
Skylight Filter
Detail Extractor Filter
Adjustment Layer Curves for more global Contrast and color pop
Topaz Adjust Infocus for Global sharpening
White Frame with Drop shadow
Black Frame to make photo pop more
Sized for posting

Evenings Fade

Evenings Fade, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Good Morning to all, I would hope that you all are having a blessed day!

The 2 previous shots were the prelude to the sunset shot taken. The boat by the dock was just a perfect timing shot with the sun shining just right on the small boat by the dock, it just happened to be by the parking lot when we first got out of the car.
The ice plant shot was taken just walking along the rocks trying to get to a good sunset spot.

Small Explanation:
This part of the beach along Dana Point has a lot of cliffs that stick out and the beginning part of the beach faces South/West so you don't see the sun setting per say. So you need to walk around the cliffs to get to a sun facing sunset and of course while you walk you look for things to shoot. It is exactly why you get to the area you are going to shoot 1 or 2 hours ahead of time. This is why it takes you 1-2 hours to get to the spot you want to shoot and only 20 minutes to walk back after the sun has set.

Small Story:
As Jermaine and I were walking back after the sunset we came across 2 guys sitting on some rocks facing the South/West not really seeing the sunset drinking a few beers. What transpired next was the usual back and forth we all hear:
Guys on Rocks: "Get some good shots?" (Hmmm, just because I have a back pack, tripod, big ass camera attached to tripod, shutter release attached...what makes them ask that all the time?)
Tony: "Beautiful Sunset tonight"
Guys on Rocks: "Yeah this is far as we got before the sun started to go down and it started getting dark"
Moral of story...GET TO SUNSET EARLIER TO ENJOY THE MOMENT!!!

So that is a lot of story to say that it was a great sunset and whether you get a good shot or not it is just good to get out and appreciate all of God's glory and all the blessings He bestows upon us.

HDR Post Processing:
>Standard 3 shot HDR
>Photomatix-Detail Enhancer and saved as Tiff's
>HDR Tiff brought into Photoshop
>From original Raw shots I blend in all areas of the HDR shot I don't like. In this case, -2ev for sun and sky (I like to get the sun to show if possible), +2 EV for water reflection.
>Topaz Adjust to retrieve color and texture
NIK COLOR EFEX PRO 4.0
>Remove Color Cast
>Contrast Only
>Bi-Color Filter-Sky only
>Skylight filter for warmth
>Dark/Lighten Filter
>Shadow/Highlight Layer to bring out slight shadow areas in rocks and cliffs
>Cropped and framed for posting

Evening Fade by Tony DeSantis

Natural History Museum LA

Natural History Museum LA, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

I know some are not big fans of HDR. But when you walk into a room such as this what is your best way to capture it? For some I guess it would be to capture as is and let the lighting, textures and shades fall as is. The small hand hand held mini's try for a flash and walk away disappointed. For those who shoot HDR this is a dream come true. Textures, marble, lighting all move the imagination. I personally don't think there is any other way to do this room justice without HDR.
The other issue we have is "The NO Tripod rule". So here we are shooting a Pano HDR, multi upon multi shots hand held. For this shot...18 exposures. Let me explain:
I went with my family to the Natural History museum and knowing that no tripods were permitted, flashes only create bad reflections, and I really didn't like hauling around a backpack. I decided to go with my cheap lens, the 50mm 1.8. Best $100 lens on the books bar none!
The fast lens helped with some shutter speeds that were manageable. Yes the 1.8 doesn't create for great depth of field but hey with life there are always trade offs.
With that all said, you can see the final outcome. Your feed back is greatly appreciated.
Here is my Post Processing, it maybe a little long...sorry

Pano HDR in Camera:
>6 vertical 3 Exposure (+1, 0, -1) Total 18 Exposures, 1/30-1/60-1/125, 50mm, ISO 800
I did a 1EV spread because pushing a 2EV spread would have been hard at the +2 to hold without blur

1st Part of Post Processing:
>Each 3 Segment Vertical brought into Raw
>Black slider to 0, White Balance and Temperature and Tint matched
>Default Sharpening to 0
>Noise Reduction on all
>Saved as Tiffs
>Any Exposures that had to much movement were deleted and replaced by one of the other exposures at the deleted exposures EV.
>Once finished you should have 18 tiff files

Photomatix-Detail Enhancer:
>1st 3 shot Segment brought into Photomatix
>Sliders moved to taste and saved as 16 bit tiffs
>Each additional 3 shot segment brought into Photomatix, since Photomatix saves
previous settings, each panel would get the same settings by default of previous settings and saved.
>Once all 18 shots/6 segments are processed you will end up with 6 panels of the Pano all as 16 bit tiffs.

CS-5:
>All 6 HDR Tiffs brought into CS-5
>1 Panel at a time, starting with the 2nd panel CMD-A (Select All), CMD-C (Copy), CMD-W (Delete)
>Back to 1st panel, CMD-V (Paste),
>Same process for all 5 panels stacked onto the 1st panel
>Choose 1st layer (Background Layer)
>Shift/Click on the Last Layer (5th Layer) Should choose them all
>EDIT-Auto Align Layers, Wait for processing to finish
>EDIT-Auto Blend Layers, Wait for processing to finish
>Flatten Image
>Save Image but don't delete (You save image in the event you mess up somewhere or your CS-5 closes
>Crop or Duplicate and Free Transform to get rid of any white areas

2nd Stage Post Processing:
>Nik Color Efex Pro-Pro Contrast
>Nik Color Efex Pro-Tonal Contrast
>Topaz Adjust-inFocus for global sharpening
>Shadow/highlights-For middle statue alone
>Adjustment Layer Levels-Remove color cast of yellow
>Adjustment Layer Curves-Slight global Contrast
>Left Segment of pillars duplicated, Transform/Flip Vertical and aligned on floor
>Soft Light Mode/ Opacity to choice
>Redo until you move across entire floor with a nice reflection
>Cropped and Framed for posting

Your End is my Beginning

Your End is my Beginning, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

The difference of 5 minutes can make the same comp look like a total different photo.
This shot was shot 5 minutes later than the previous post. The previous had more warmth and this had more color. You can choose which one you like the best. As for me It is this one. I always like more blue in my sky, movement of colors in my sunset from yellow to blue.

The Post processing was just about the same maybe a few extra steps in the end.

Dock of the Bay

Dock of the Bay, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

I haven't been out to shoot in the past few weeks. Actually you feel like you have fallen off the face of the earth when you don't post. Heck, you feel like total rust when you don't get out to shoot at all. It really is nice to get out and just walk around looking for something to shoot, I would have been happy coming away with nothing, just being out with the water and the wind, stopping and enjoying the sight was well worth the trip.

The Shot itself:
This was taken down in Balboa, California. I parked pretty close to this area and saw this scene when I first arrived but decided to walk around for about an hour and a half looking for something to shoot and waiting for the sky to get right. Once the sun started to set I headed back to my original spot. The wind was blowing pretty heavily so I really was waiting for the sun to go down enough to get some wind swept streaking clouds. But with wind swept clouds comes many, many blurry boats. To many to process those shots. I did go with some faster shutter speeds thinking the boats were going to be to blurry.
This shot was taken at the very North end of the Balboa fun zone looking over the bay and the sunset. The rough water and sun shining on the water made for a nice composition of color and light.

The Shot:
>Standard 3 shot HDR, -2, 0, +2 with a +1 and -1 made from the OEV shot.
>F/11, 1/4-1/15-1/60 of a second, ISO 50, 24-105L @ 24mm

Post Processing:
>0EV duplicated to make -1 and +1
>All combined in Photomatix-Detail Enhancer (Exif info for settings)
>Saved as Tiff

CS-5:
>Command J-Duplicate-clone out all dust and dirt marks
>Topaz Adjust-Enhance Detail and Color
>Topaz Infocus-Global Sharpening
>Nik Color Efex Pro-Tonal Contrast-below horizon line
>Lab Color-Curves (A and B channels) Opacity 17%
>Adjustment Layer-Warm Color Filter
>Cropped (Took me forever to get a crop I liked)
>Nik Color efex Pro-Bright/Dark- Bring bright out in center and darken edges-slight vignette
>Sized and Framed for posting

Red Skies at Night

Red Skies at Night, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

This is a shot archived from a year ago. I have used some of the processing that I have learned in the past year. Nothing really spectacular or unusual on the processing side but still some fun to do.
This was shot in Dana Point, Ca. As you can see a beautiful area to shoot with the colorful rocks that line the beach.

Post Processing:
>Single Exposure-Processed into 5 tiff files through ACR -2, -1, 0, +1, +2
>Brought into Photomatix using Detail Enhancer, saved as single Tiff

CS-5:
>Cmd J to duplicate and clone tool used to remove spots and dust
>Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0-Tonal Contrast
>Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0-Tonal Contrast used again and lowered opacity to taste
>Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0-User defined Bi-color filter to change sky and water tint
>Adjustment Layer-Levels-tone down green in rocks
>Adjustment Layer-Curves-slight S curve to enhance contrast and remove foggy feel
>Sized and framed for posting

I have been asked how long does it take to process a photo. Well of actual process time varies some are more labor intensive than others depending on how much I have to do with Masking. But for the most part I would say this photo took about 2 hours from start to finish. Actual working time on the photo about 15 minutes., let me give a short explanation.
I get out the laptop, sit in my chair and turn on news or a sporting event (Lakers, Angels, NASCAR, Football) I start with an idea, do some processing, watch some TV mostly to take my attention away from the photo. After sometime I will go back to the photo and do some more work constantly taking away my focus from the photo so I am always using fresh eyes and ideas of where I want to see the photo go. I have found if I stare at a photo to long I get tunnel vision and my vision dries up. Constantly reevaluating the shot keeps the vision alive.

What is your processing time on a photo and how do you go about getting there?

Through the Open Door

Through the Open Door, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

This is another shot from Corona Del Mar, CA. I used Photomatix Fusion to process this shot. I also used the +1EV to bring out the sheen in the water.
I enjoy working through my Post Processing never really settling for 1 standard processing but running through many ideas to get the shot I envision in the end. I am really glad I took a few shots with some small waves because the shots with no waves look pretty boring in the foreground and the water just didn't have any pop. The waves weren't big this night but they do add some interest to the foreground and the surrounding rocks. The birds...well that was just a bonus in the -2EV shot that I also processed into the main photo.

Post Processing:
> 3 images- (-2,0,+2) processed through ACR and added the a -1EV and +1EV
>Photomatix-Fusion-default

CS-5
> +1EV-Processed into shot and masked for water only
>Topaz Adjust for Color and detail
>Topaz Infocus-Sharpness
>Noise Ninja-Remove noise in the sky
>Adjustment Layer-Levels-Blue's in sky
>Adjustment Layer-Levels-Blues in water
>Shadows and Highlights to bring out brightness in waves
>Nik Color Efex pro-Pro Contrast to bring overall color cast and contrasts
>Nik Color Efex pro-Gradient Filter to darken sky a bit more
>-2EV masked in for birds
>Sized and framed for posting

After The Storm

After The Storm, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

I left work really late today for shooting it was raining and cloudy but I already decided I was heading out for some comps. I went home picked up the camera and drove down to the beach. Which is only about 6 miles away but here in The OC that is still about a 20-30 minute drive. I decided to pay for parking since it is right at the start of the beach. If I went to where I normally go and walk I would have missed the sunset. Anyway, paid for the parking, grabbed the gear and headed out to the waters edge.

Reflections of...

Reflections of..., a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

No HDR this time. But that is a flood plug in used for the reflection of the water.
This comp was taken from Corona Del Mar, CA. I really liked the sunset but wasn't impressed by what I got for water so I used the (Flaming Pear) flood plug in to replace the water. Everything else is pretty much out of the camera.

Here is the post processing:

CS-5:
>Flaming Pear flood plugin to replace the water
>Lab Color-Curves enhance color
>Topaz InFocus for sharpening
>Noise Ninja-Noise reduction sky
>Adjustment Layer-Levels for contrast
>Sized and Framed for posting

Another LA Skyline

Another LA Skyline, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

The foreground learning center on the North side of LA really makes for a color foreground to the LA skyline. The crystal clear morning also creates a beautiful sight that really can't be captured by a camera. The shear size and vastness is Larger than life in. Being in the part of the city that makes you turn around with every noise at 5am gives you a little rush as well.

The processing on this was really simple and pretty much directly out of the camera:

>Minor adjustments in camera raw brought into CS-5 as Tiff
>Lab color mode
>Adjustment Layer-Curves-Lightness/A Channel/ B Channel
>Topaz Adjust-Color and Detail
>Topaz InFocus-Sharpening
>Noise Ninja-Noise Reduction for sky only
>Sized and Framed for posting

Rippled Reflection of the Palace

Rippled Reflection of the Palace, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Decided to go back to a blast from the past. This is not the best shot I could have gotten from this spot but considering the circumstances I am happy with it. I really wanted to shoot a blue hour shot from here but there just wasn't enough time in the day when I was there. I hope to go back and get a shot at sunset or even sunrise, anything to get what I would consider to be a better atmosphere.
What made this shot worth keeping is the fountain ripples in the water.
After my usual HDR post processing I decided to try a little Nik Color Efex 3.0-Glamour Glow. It really enriched the color So I decided to keep it in and post it with that extra Post Processing.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Shine On You Crazy Diamond, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

This started out as an regular HDR shot but then you start to blend in the all the different exposures here and there.
Fix the sky
Fix the blown out lamps
Replace some halo's from different lights
Darken the road...and pretty soon you have an HDR Hybrid and you end up with more bracketed photo blends than HDR. But that is ok, it gave you a nice base.
But then the real Post Processing starts because you want to get to what you visualize as the final image
Nik Color Efex Pro:
>Pro Contrast
>Bleach Bypass
>Midnight with a mask
>Adjustment Layer-curves for contrast
>Adjustment Layer-Selective colors to adjust color of sky
>Silver Efex Pro-Because for a second I thought to go black and white but then decided to change the blend mode to Soft Light and mask for city only.
You start processing a shot with a certain final image in mind but as you process the image starts to move in a slightly different direction. Sometimes it is straight ahead bam, bam , bam and done and sometimes you have to go around a little to finally get there. I think this was one of those shots that I had to go the long way home.

1303

1303, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

I really hated to go B&W on this shot but the colors were so contrasty I knew it would make for a nice B&W not to mention the last few posts all of the same bridge and sky might be a little over the top with the same colors. On this shot I must say the sky looked incredibly blue but once I tried the processing through Silver Efex Pro it wasn't very hard to change it to the B&W.
Silver Efex Pro is a great piece of software. Not only is the B&W conversion easy but the control point usage really gives you more creative control and lets you concentrate on certain areas of the shot. In this shot it really helped me to lighten up the arch and surrounding wall while darkening the outer areas for a much more contrasty shot.

This is not an HDR. But I did blend the 3 bracketed shots manually(+1, 0, -1) and took what I thought to be the best from each that I needed.

POST PROCESSING BLEND:
>The +1ev-I took the sky only because I liked the contrast it gave against the bridge not to mention the colors of blue from light to dark were awesome
>The 0ev-I took the bridge and surrounding dark city background
>The -1ev-I took just the lights and blown out areas (Light pole and inside of arch)
>In Silver Efex Pro-I converted to B&W and then used my controll points to lighten up the fence and bridge railing/sidewalk and darken the edges for a more eerie look
>Adjustment Layer-curves for global contrast
>Vignette for overall darken edges and center weighted lighting

The Other Side

The Other Side, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

The last post was facing the other way, East and to the sunrise. Here is the shot I came for in the first place.
This is what LA looks like in the winter time early in the morning. No mist, Smog, or haze which really takes away from the cityscape which is what you get in the summer time. Just a clear crisp shot and yes in the middle of the road which you probably wouldn't get to do during the work week and not get ran over.

These type of shots do create there own problems.
1st of course is keeping an ear open for cars coming up from behind. But for the most part they are few and far in between but none the less it is dark and I wasn't wearing any type of reflective vest. But the middle of the road shot is the definitely the shot to shoot. No risk, no reward!
2nd shooting from the middle where the Metro rolls past is forbidden I guess. Some of the trains stopped and told us to get off the tracks and of course when they leave you get back on. Then the Metro police rolled by and told us to get off the tracks or out of the middle. What is the big deal, It wasn't like we were standing on the tracks of the on coming train it is a very wide path. But none the less we were shoo'd to the middle of the street instead.
So the moral of the story is...stand in the middle of the street and get hit by a car instead of the empty tracks.

Don't they realize we are just trying to catch the best possible shot from the best possible angle with our thousands of dollars in camera equipment. Getting hit by a train is the last thing on our minds.
I guess they think that real responsible people are still sleeping at this time of the morning and only nut cases are out shooting cityscapes at 5am.

Bart Simpson

Bart Simpson, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

LA...just a cool place to be in the morning. Winter mornings the sky is clean and crisp. LA looks spectacular. Another early wake up and headed out with JERMAINE. We headed out to 1st Street to shoot the bridge and the LA skyline. The sun was coming up to the east away from the city so a quick look back a turn and set up. Here comes a train, perfect!
What a great morning, there will be more to come from this shoot.

Check out JERMAINE'S photostream well worth the look.

Time and Place

Time and Place, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

3rd shot of the morning and one of the last before the light got really harsh.

The comp was originally scene by Jermaine a friend I went shooting with. What a great eye he has for scene's. It is really a blessing to go shooting with him and learn about what he see's to help improve my comps.
I do recommend to anyone to find someone to shoot with. There are many advantages:
1. Share ideas and learn how to see scenes in a different way
2. Someone to watch your back when you are shooting in areas that maybe a little unsafe.
3. How about just good old conversation

Release the Hounds

Release the Hounds, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

The plan was to shoot from the otherside of the gate and get the gate and downtown LA skyline. Well we decided to enter the park and shoot the skyline from a better vantage point which is the previous post. But while the camera was doing it's 20-30 second exposure it does give you time to look around and look for other comps. This shot was way to nice to miss. What caught my eye is the way the street lights shadowed the gate on the ground. The gate was a little more open than this so I did close them a tad bit to add what I thought to be a more dramatic look.

This is an HDR.

Post Processing:
>Standard HDR Shot -2,0,+2.
>Photomatix-Detail Enhancer
>Photoshop CS-5
>Color Efex Pro-Pro Contrast, Tonal Contrast
>Adjustment Layer-Shadow/Highlight-Bring out stonework even more
>Topaz InFocus
>Noise Ninja-Sky only
>Color Efex Pro-Midnight Filter-Masked and Gradient to minimize filter upper photo.

Glorious Day

Glorious Day, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Goood Morning LA!!
It has been a little over 2 weeks since my last post and since I have gone out to shoot. It feels like forever. The opportunity arose this morning to shoot with my friend Jermaine(new to flickr). The morning was awesome, clear and beautiful. A Santa Ana condition is happening here in So. Cal (Santa Ana Condition is when high winds come off the desert and blow all the smog and fog away. it also gives us warm weather) With that said, with the wind blowing and the clear night we knew it was going to be a great morning for shooting and to our planning it made for a crystal clear morning in LA to shoot. We had plans to hit 2 or 3 spots. This was the 1st spot we hit and never left until the sun was up and harsh. But as you can see we were not a bit disappointed.

This shot was taken at a small park outside LA with a great view of the city. Sunrise was to the left which also gave to the reflection of light on the buildings.

Sees The Moment

Sees The Moment, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Cesar, a friend of mine has asked me many a time to get some shots of him surfing. Last week was finally a day to get out and give it a shot. He picked me up at 5:45am and we headed on out to Newport Beach. The waves were great but the skies were overcast. It created some even light but little in contrast of water and sky. Also early in the shooting while the sun is coming up you have to shoot in higher ISO's to get the right Shutter speed to freeze the action.
Personally I like the way the ocean looks in this shot with the foam and frozen splashes of water.
I used a 70-200L with a 2X extender. The 70-200 does not have IS (Image Stabilization) so I shot from a tripod the entire time.
The other thing of note is the way Cesar surfs I needed to shoot at an angle. So I constantly needed to move to shoot Cesar at a 45 degree angle other wise all the shots would have been of his back.
By the way all the surfers out there look alike. All in Black wet suits bobbing up and down on the water...so keep an eye on the person you are trying to shoot. One blink of an eye and they blend into everyone else.

Long Exposure Good Conversation

Long Exposure Good Conversation, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

When shooting last night one of the last shots of the night was this shot. I saw this much earlier in the day (Presunset) and wanted to get back to it while the sun was setting knowing that the algae was going to light up with the sunset. Well needless to say by the time I got back here it was pretty dark but I decided to give it a go anyway. This is an HDR of 3 shots with the shortest being the sky of about 70 seconds and the longest being the foreground of 5 minutes.
My buddy I was shooting with had some reservations on the out come with not much light coming from the crescent moon. But this is exactly the lighting I was hoping for with the smoothness of the ocean and the lit up algae. My friend did place out a light for me to find a focal point but after that this is all lighting from the crescent moon.
I am pleased with the outcome.
The title comes from hanging with Jermaine and having some great photography conversation while the camera was doing its thing.

The Shot:
>3 shot HDR 0EV for sky and then I figured out the other exposures from there knowing the sky would be the darkest exposure-ISO 320, F/11, 70 Seconds up to 5 minutes

Post Processing:
>Photomatix-Detail Enhancer

CS-5:
>Combined Sky Exposure and HDR Exposure masked off and used sky in HDR
>Lab Color
>Nik Color Efex-Pro Contrast
>Adjustment Layer-Curves increase exposure and masked for water and green land
>Adjustment Layer-Curves darkened outer areas of grass
>Topaz InFocus-Sharpening of grass area
>Noise Ninja-Noise in sky
>Cropped and vignette applied
>Sized and framed for posting


VIEW LARGE
G+
500px
IMAGE INCEPTION BLOG

Veterans Memorial Pier

Veterans Memorial Pier, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Went out shooting on this night and it was a really beautiful sunset but it seems the shots I did capture didn't really move me to post at this time. I will keep a few and ditch the rest.
I did turn away from the spectacular sunset to capture the pier. The color photo of this shot came out nice but as always I try to move towards black and white and see if the scene comes out more dramatic. In this case it did so I did some more processing in the black and white and eventually came out with this outcome.

Rise Above

Rise Above, a photo by Tony DeSantis Photography on Flickr.

Here is a shot pretty much straight from the camera. This is where a clear sky turns out nice to show silhouettes of nice clear objects and clean lines.

The Shot:
Single Exposure, F/8, ISO 200, 1/250 second, 24-105L @105mm

Post Processing:
>Nik Color Efex Pro-Bi Color filter for sky
>Adjustment Layer-Levels-Black Dropper to enhance Silhouette
>Topaz InFocus
>Noise Ninja
>Cropped and Framed for posting