Black and White version of the previous post. So what is the verdict? Of course as the photographer of both I like them both. There are not to many of the photo's that I do that I like in both B & W and Color, but this subject I is one. I also enjoyed processing both of these photo's. Now the question will be which one do I print for the wall?
The Shot:
Single Exposure, F/22, 151 Seconds, ISO 100, Sigma 10-20mm Lens @ 11mm.
Post Processing:
>Adobe Raw with minor adjustments to exposure, Contrast, Black
CS-5:
Process Done in Color:
>Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0-Pro Contrast
>Topaz Adjust-Enhance Color and Detail
>Duplicate Background Layer-Clone out most spots or dirt in photo
>Silver Efex Pro 2.0-Black and White Conversion
>Adjustment Layer Curves-Deeper contrast in sky
>Adjustment Layers Curves-Darken Roof
>Adjustment Layer Curves-Remove dark shadows in building
>Adjustment Layer Curves-Darken lower trim
>Adjustment Layer Curves-Darken street
>Fill Layer Black for Vignette
>Noise Ninja-Reduction in noise sky
>High Pass sharpening-Overall photo
>Cropped, Sized and Framed for posting
http://en.flickeflu.com/photos/tony_d
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The Villa Riviera
The Villa Riviera, originally uploaded by Tony DeSantis Photography.
Located at 800 East Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, California, the Villa Riviera Hotel was constructed in 1929. At the time, it was the second-tallest building in Southern California after Los Angeles City Hall.
Built in 1928 as homage to Gothic revivalism, the Villa Riviera has survived as a symbol of world-class living—from “own-your-own” cooperatives and fine hotel luxury, to the condominium association of today—and, after more than 80 years, remains a beacon of the West.
Prestige, however, is nothing without recognition: in 1996, the Villa Riviera earned its rightful place on the National Register of Historic Places, ensuring it as one of the most important landmarks in California.
The Shot:
Standard 3 shot HDR (+2, 0, -2), F/19, ISO 100, Sigma 10-20mm @10mm, Tripod mounted
Post Processing:
>Adobe Raw-White Balance warming, Slight Noise Reduction, Saved as Tiffs
>Photomatix 4.0 (Detail Enhancer)
CS-5:
>Color Efex Pro 3.0-Pro Contrast
>Topaz Adjust-Overall Enhance of Color and Detail
>Color Efex Pro 3.0-Tonal Contrast-More Controlled Detail
>Adjustment Layer Curves-Increase Brightness in Selective areas of building
>Adjustment Layer Curves-Increase Brightness in building behind Riviera
>Adjustment Layer Hue/Sat-Green in Roof
>Noise Ninja-Selective areas throughout entire photo with Layer Mask for more in some areas and less in others
>Slight image rotation
>High Pass Sharpening
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Morning Shower
I was putting out the trash this morning and I walked passed the planter in the front of my house. I noticed all of the water droplets from the sprinklers. So I went in and grabbed the camera for a few comps. The colors and contrasts really caught my eye. I have tried to shoot macro objects like this before but they really never seemed to come out like I wanted whether the focus or colors. But after reading a few articles on the subject and watching a few post processing videos I decided to give it another shot. Here is the way this one was shot and maybe my experiences can help you the next time you want to branch out.
First I chose a very low angle on this. Laying my tripod flat on the ground and using the 90 degree angle on the tripod to lower the camera all the way to the ground. I grabbed a towel from the house and got down on my knees to see through the view finder.
Camera Equipment Used:
>Camera Body and lens (No Macro Lens Used)
>25mm Extension Tube
>Tripod
>Remote Shutter Release
The Shot:
12 Shots: F/2.8, ISO 250, 1/100 second, 70-200L Lens @ 175mm
>Each shot taken using different focal points of subject until all focal points are covered of entire subject (This subject just happened to be 12 shots)
Post Processing: Using MacBook for processing
>Opened all Raw photo's in CS-5 as tiffs
>First tiff was my main subject (Doesn't matter which shot you use)
>One at a time I -Selected All (Command A) / Copied (Command C) / went to main subject Pasted (Command V) / Closed file, REPEATED FOR ALL FILES.
>Now you should have X number of Layers all in your Main Subject Layers Menu
>Because you had different focal points your subject will not be perfectly aligned so you will need to align all of your layers. To do this you highlight your background layer and shift/click on your last layer you copied into your Layers menu. This should highlight all layers. Go to Edit/Align All Layers and wait, and wait, and wait.
>After all layers are aligned you will need to blend all layers. Keep all layers highlighted and go to Edit/Blend All-Layers/Choose Stack Images and wait and wait and wait.
This process will align all layers and stack all layers taking the sharpest and clearest parts of all pictures and move them into one image.
>Flatten Image and proceed to process
CS-5 Final Image Process:
>Adjustment Layer Levels-Global Contrast
>Color Efex Pro-Tonal Contrast 60% opacity
>Adjustment Layer-Hue/Sat-Yellows for greens in entire image
>Adjustment Layer-Hue/Sat-Yellows for deeper yellows in flower
>Adjustment Layer-Curves-Brighten pedals on flowers
>Noise Ninja-Adjustment in Background only
>High Pass Sharpening/Sized/Framed for posting
http://en.flickeflu.com/photos/tony_d
First I chose a very low angle on this. Laying my tripod flat on the ground and using the 90 degree angle on the tripod to lower the camera all the way to the ground. I grabbed a towel from the house and got down on my knees to see through the view finder.
Camera Equipment Used:
>Camera Body and lens (No Macro Lens Used)
>25mm Extension Tube
>Tripod
>Remote Shutter Release
The Shot:
12 Shots: F/2.8, ISO 250, 1/100 second, 70-200L Lens @ 175mm
>Each shot taken using different focal points of subject until all focal points are covered of entire subject (This subject just happened to be 12 shots)
Post Processing: Using MacBook for processing
>Opened all Raw photo's in CS-5 as tiffs
>First tiff was my main subject (Doesn't matter which shot you use)
>One at a time I -Selected All (Command A) / Copied (Command C) / went to main subject Pasted (Command V) / Closed file, REPEATED FOR ALL FILES.
>Now you should have X number of Layers all in your Main Subject Layers Menu
>Because you had different focal points your subject will not be perfectly aligned so you will need to align all of your layers. To do this you highlight your background layer and shift/click on your last layer you copied into your Layers menu. This should highlight all layers. Go to Edit/Align All Layers and wait, and wait, and wait.
>After all layers are aligned you will need to blend all layers. Keep all layers highlighted and go to Edit/Blend All-Layers/Choose Stack Images and wait and wait and wait.
This process will align all layers and stack all layers taking the sharpest and clearest parts of all pictures and move them into one image.
>Flatten Image and proceed to process
CS-5 Final Image Process:
>Adjustment Layer Levels-Global Contrast
>Color Efex Pro-Tonal Contrast 60% opacity
>Adjustment Layer-Hue/Sat-Yellows for greens in entire image
>Adjustment Layer-Hue/Sat-Yellows for deeper yellows in flower
>Adjustment Layer-Curves-Brighten pedals on flowers
>Noise Ninja-Adjustment in Background only
>High Pass Sharpening/Sized/Framed for posting
http://en.flickeflu.com/photos/tony_d
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Light Source
While shooting a long exposure on the Jetty rocks you have a lot of time to look around at other photo opportunities. The sun was shining through the clouds so it pays to have a 2nd camera by your side to snap off a potential opportunity.
The Black and white rocks was taken with a 30D on a tripod. This shot was taken with a 1DS Mark II on the hip with a Black Rapids Strap.
The Shot:
Standard 3 Exposure HDR (+2, 0, -2). 1/800, 1/3200, 1/8000 Hand Held
F/8, ISO 400, Canon 24-105L @ 85mm
Post Processing:
>3 Shots brought into ACR-Noise Reduction and White Balance Adjusted, saved as Tiffs
>Photomatix (Detail Enhancer)
CS-5:
>Color Efex Pro 3.0-Pro Contrast
>Topaz Adjust-Overall Color and detail enhanced
>Adjustment Layer-Levels for sky color and contrasts
>Adjustment Layer-Levels for water brightness and color
>Adjustment Layer-Levels Black and white point for overall contrast
>Noise Ninja-Noise adjustment for upper sky only
>Vignette with HDR Cookbook Technique
>Framed and sized for posting
http://en.flickeflu.com/photos/tony_d
The Black and white rocks was taken with a 30D on a tripod. This shot was taken with a 1DS Mark II on the hip with a Black Rapids Strap.
The Shot:
Standard 3 Exposure HDR (+2, 0, -2). 1/800, 1/3200, 1/8000 Hand Held
F/8, ISO 400, Canon 24-105L @ 85mm
Post Processing:
>3 Shots brought into ACR-Noise Reduction and White Balance Adjusted, saved as Tiffs
>Photomatix (Detail Enhancer)
CS-5:
>Color Efex Pro 3.0-Pro Contrast
>Topaz Adjust-Overall Color and detail enhanced
>Adjustment Layer-Levels for sky color and contrasts
>Adjustment Layer-Levels for water brightness and color
>Adjustment Layer-Levels Black and white point for overall contrast
>Noise Ninja-Noise adjustment for upper sky only
>Vignette with HDR Cookbook Technique
>Framed and sized for posting
http://en.flickeflu.com/photos/tony_d
Friday, February 25, 2011
Goods for Sale
This was taken as a larger shot of a building in Balboa Bay. I found the building not as interesting as the doorway. So the doorway it is!!
I was out for some nighttime/sunset shooting. The night turned out to be not as interesting or as inspiring as I would have liked. But this doorway came out all in all not to bad. Like I stated above, this doorway was apart of an entire building I shot I thought might have been interesting. Eventually after some processing the building didn't really have any pop. But to me this doorway to this shop did. So I concentrated my efforts here and like I said earlier, I am not totally unhappy with the way it turned out. I felt it was worthy of posting. So here it is.
The Shot:
3 Shot Exposure HDR, (+2, 0, -2), 1/640-1/160-1/40 of a second, F/9, ISO 400, Hand held, 24-105L Lens @47mm.
Post Processing:
>ACR-Noise reduction on all images
>Photomatix (Detail Enhancer)
CS-5:
>Topaz Adjust-Color and detail
>Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0-Pro Contrast-Contrast Adjustment
>Cropped for doorway only
>Free Transform-Adjust doorway distortion
>Adjustment Layer-Levels-White Point-Remove purple and blue color cast from brinks
>Adjustment Layer-Hue/Sat-Enhance blues in shirt on rack
>Adjustment Layer-Hue/Sat-Enhance green in archway
>High Pass Sharpening
>Sized and Framed for posting
http://en.flickeflu.com/photos/tony_d
I was out for some nighttime/sunset shooting. The night turned out to be not as interesting or as inspiring as I would have liked. But this doorway came out all in all not to bad. Like I stated above, this doorway was apart of an entire building I shot I thought might have been interesting. Eventually after some processing the building didn't really have any pop. But to me this doorway to this shop did. So I concentrated my efforts here and like I said earlier, I am not totally unhappy with the way it turned out. I felt it was worthy of posting. So here it is.
The Shot:
3 Shot Exposure HDR, (+2, 0, -2), 1/640-1/160-1/40 of a second, F/9, ISO 400, Hand held, 24-105L Lens @47mm.
Post Processing:
>ACR-Noise reduction on all images
>Photomatix (Detail Enhancer)
CS-5:
>Topaz Adjust-Color and detail
>Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0-Pro Contrast-Contrast Adjustment
>Cropped for doorway only
>Free Transform-Adjust doorway distortion
>Adjustment Layer-Levels-White Point-Remove purple and blue color cast from brinks
>Adjustment Layer-Hue/Sat-Enhance blues in shirt on rack
>Adjustment Layer-Hue/Sat-Enhance green in archway
>High Pass Sharpening
>Sized and Framed for posting
http://en.flickeflu.com/photos/tony_d
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Life's a Rocky Road
I have been able to get out more and photograph at night. Still can't seem to pull my lazy butt out of bed in the mornings. Anyway, this shot was from last night. I have been looking for more Black and White type shots.
This was taken in Seal Beach, Ca. I have driven by this spot a few times and have really wanted to get out and shoot it. I am not sure what was keeping me from doing it. I would always look and pass by on my way to another spot. Today I decided to stop and hike out onto the rocks and snap off a few comps. Good idea for photo's bad idea because I was wearing cowboy boots and they don't transverse the rocks very well. Thank God that your tripod can double as a walking stick to give you balance. The most trying point was walking back to the car in the dark. Carrying a flash light in your camera bag comes in very handy.
Lessons Learned:
Always carry spare boots or shoes in the event you go shooting and need to transverse rough ground
Always carry a flash light
Don't be afraid you use your tripod for something other than a tripod
The Shot:
Single Exposure ND 400 Filter, F/8, ISO 100, 260 seconds, Sigma 10-20mm Lens @ 10mm
Post Processing:
>Camera Raw-Increase in exposure, fill light, blacks and contrast
CS-5:
>Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0-Pro Contrast
>Adjustment Layer-Levels-Black and White points for color and contrast
>Cloned out small defects in water for smoother look (Buoy's and Birds)
>Silver Efex Pro-Yellow Filter-Masked for Contrast in Rocks and Sky
>Silver Efex Pro-Blue Filter-Masked for smooth white water
>Topaz Denoise-Water only (After increasing exposure it left the water very noisy)
>Noise Ninja- Slight Noise in sky
>High Pass Sharpening-Rocks only
>Vignette-technique supplied by HDR COOKBOOK
>Framed and sized for posting
http://en.flickeflu.com/photos/tony_d
This was taken in Seal Beach, Ca. I have driven by this spot a few times and have really wanted to get out and shoot it. I am not sure what was keeping me from doing it. I would always look and pass by on my way to another spot. Today I decided to stop and hike out onto the rocks and snap off a few comps. Good idea for photo's bad idea because I was wearing cowboy boots and they don't transverse the rocks very well. Thank God that your tripod can double as a walking stick to give you balance. The most trying point was walking back to the car in the dark. Carrying a flash light in your camera bag comes in very handy.
Lessons Learned:
Always carry spare boots or shoes in the event you go shooting and need to transverse rough ground
Always carry a flash light
Don't be afraid you use your tripod for something other than a tripod
The Shot:
Single Exposure ND 400 Filter, F/8, ISO 100, 260 seconds, Sigma 10-20mm Lens @ 10mm
Post Processing:
>Camera Raw-Increase in exposure, fill light, blacks and contrast
CS-5:
>Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0-Pro Contrast
>Adjustment Layer-Levels-Black and White points for color and contrast
>Cloned out small defects in water for smoother look (Buoy's and Birds)
>Silver Efex Pro-Yellow Filter-Masked for Contrast in Rocks and Sky
>Silver Efex Pro-Blue Filter-Masked for smooth white water
>Topaz Denoise-Water only (After increasing exposure it left the water very noisy)
>Noise Ninja- Slight Noise in sky
>High Pass Sharpening-Rocks only
>Vignette-technique supplied by HDR COOKBOOK
>Framed and sized for posting
http://en.flickeflu.com/photos/tony_d
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Nightly Aura
Some nights can be magical, streaking clouds, full moon, perfect lighting, but how do you capture that moment? This would be my feeble attempt at putting that moment down on paper/hard drive. Colors have been enhanced and this is an HDR. Night time HDR's create all there own issues of creation with camera settings and high ISO's.
Night Time HDR:
I haven't done much in the way of nighttime HDR, so this was more of an experiment in exposures and settings as well as post processing than anything else. Lets set the stage.
After shooting down the beach and heading back to the truck I looked across the little bay that separates the parking lot from the Dana Point Yacht club and Marina. It looked great, streaking clouds, full moon great colors. I decided to set up for a few shots and see how this would work in the digital darkroom. After composing the shot I had to figure the exposure times. HDR was going to be the only way to capture it all. For me this was trial and error time. To the best of my ability I figured on an exposure time. I took the ISO, multiplied by 4, divided by 2, tripled that number, multiplied by 3.14 (pi) and added 10...so basically...I guessed!
I started out with a 60 second exposure and adjusted from there. That didn't seem light enough for my over exposure (+2 Exposure). Seemed good for the 0 Exposure but not the over exposure. So I decided on a 90 second exposure. That seemed to just about nail it but I thought I would add another 10 seconds to that in case I get home and wish I had more, that would be my starting point.
Exposure times ended up as:
100 seconds, 80 seconds, 60 seconds, 45 seconds, 30 seconds, 15 seconds, 10 seconds, 5 seconds.
I may have over done it but better to over do than under do.
Eventually I didn't use the 100 or 80 second exposure. I kept it to the 60 thru 10. That seemed to give me a nice blend of what I was looking for, but I didn't figure that out until I got home and started processing. It was nice to have the options of the higher exposures.
Post Processing:
>ACR-5 photo's brought into Raw-Noise reduction only, saved as Tiffs
>Photomatix 4.0- Detail Enhancer (Adjustments to taste)
>ACR-HDR Tiff brought into Raw and slight adjustment to White Balance for bluer tones, opened into CS-5
CS-5:
>Topaz Adjust-Recapture Colors and detail
>Color Efex Pro- Pro Contrast for slight contrast adjustment and glow in water
>Adjustment Layer-Levels-Red Channel-masked to tone down street lights and building lights
>Adjustment Layer-Levels- Red Channel-Masked to bring colors out in sky
>Adjustment Layer-Curves-Slight curve for contrast
>Noise Ninja-Selective Noise Reduction for sky and water
>High Pass Sharpening-Overall photo (100% in some areas and less in others)
>Framed and sized for posting
http://en.flickeflu.com/photos/tony_d
Night Time HDR:
I haven't done much in the way of nighttime HDR, so this was more of an experiment in exposures and settings as well as post processing than anything else. Lets set the stage.
After shooting down the beach and heading back to the truck I looked across the little bay that separates the parking lot from the Dana Point Yacht club and Marina. It looked great, streaking clouds, full moon great colors. I decided to set up for a few shots and see how this would work in the digital darkroom. After composing the shot I had to figure the exposure times. HDR was going to be the only way to capture it all. For me this was trial and error time. To the best of my ability I figured on an exposure time. I took the ISO, multiplied by 4, divided by 2, tripled that number, multiplied by 3.14 (pi) and added 10...so basically...I guessed!
I started out with a 60 second exposure and adjusted from there. That didn't seem light enough for my over exposure (+2 Exposure). Seemed good for the 0 Exposure but not the over exposure. So I decided on a 90 second exposure. That seemed to just about nail it but I thought I would add another 10 seconds to that in case I get home and wish I had more, that would be my starting point.
Exposure times ended up as:
100 seconds, 80 seconds, 60 seconds, 45 seconds, 30 seconds, 15 seconds, 10 seconds, 5 seconds.
I may have over done it but better to over do than under do.
Eventually I didn't use the 100 or 80 second exposure. I kept it to the 60 thru 10. That seemed to give me a nice blend of what I was looking for, but I didn't figure that out until I got home and started processing. It was nice to have the options of the higher exposures.
Post Processing:
>ACR-5 photo's brought into Raw-Noise reduction only, saved as Tiffs
>Photomatix 4.0- Detail Enhancer (Adjustments to taste)
>ACR-HDR Tiff brought into Raw and slight adjustment to White Balance for bluer tones, opened into CS-5
CS-5:
>Topaz Adjust-Recapture Colors and detail
>Color Efex Pro- Pro Contrast for slight contrast adjustment and glow in water
>Adjustment Layer-Levels-Red Channel-masked to tone down street lights and building lights
>Adjustment Layer-Levels- Red Channel-Masked to bring colors out in sky
>Adjustment Layer-Curves-Slight curve for contrast
>Noise Ninja-Selective Noise Reduction for sky and water
>High Pass Sharpening-Overall photo (100% in some areas and less in others)
>Framed and sized for posting
http://en.flickeflu.com/photos/tony_d
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