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
Saturday, February 26, 2011
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
Friday, February 18, 2011
Ocean Erosion
To things happened yesterday.
I got a chance to go out and shoot and an interesting sky at the same time. It is the little things in life that make you happy!
Yesterday after lunch with my son and a quick appointment I headed out to Dana Point for some sunset shots. Driving and looking into the sky to see how the clouds were going to set up is always an interesting endeavor. I am not sure why I do it because I am going to shoot anyway it really doesn't matter what the sky is doing once I am on my way. But I do it anyway. So there I am driving down the I5 and looking into the sky at 65mph. Everything was looking good and for once in the past few months when I have had a chance to shoot the sky was going to cooperate. Eventually the sky wasn't as dramatic as I hoped but there was texture there and that made all the difference.
The nice thing is getting down to this area to shoot is simple. The parking is close so it is a short walk. I decided to set up right by the stairs that lead down to the beach area. As I was setting up facing into the sun I noticed this area where the waves were hitting the break wall and causing a rushing of water through this inlet. I decided to turn my attention about 90 degrees to my left and take a few comps of this area as well. Once I set up, little did I know that what seemed like a small amount of water rushing through this area could turn into a rushing of water about 18 inches deep. But after the first wave of water hit and my boots and pants being soaked up to my shin's. I decided to stick with it and proceed with my comps.
This is a black card technique to keep detail in the sky as well as the foreground without any multi exposure techniques or HDR.
Lessons learned on this outing:
-Never leave your camera equipment where the waves can catch it. I usually put my camera bag on an area high enough where the water can't get to it or in this case strapped to my back. Man was I glad I did that!!
-No matter if you have the most water tight shoes on...if the water gets over the top your feet will get wet and you will squish the rest of the night.
-No matter the water, the cold, the wet feet. The shot is worth it all.
The Shot:
Single Exposure, ND 400 filter, F/22, 29 seconds, ISO 400, Sigma 10-20 lens @10mm
Post Processing:
>ACR-noise reduction entire image
Photoshop:
All post processing is done in color and then converted to Black and white
I have used this website for Post Processing information http://farbspiel.wordpress.com
>Topaz Adjust-Add color and detail to entire image
>Adjustment Layer-Curves for contrast
>Adjustment Layer-Levels to sharpen tones of black and white points
>Silver Efex Pro-Red filter for sky only (Darken clouds)
>Silver Efex Pro-Rest of entire image for Black and white
>Noise Ninja-Sky area only
>High Pass Sharpening
>Framed and sized for posting
http://en.flickeflu.com/photos/tony_d
I got a chance to go out and shoot and an interesting sky at the same time. It is the little things in life that make you happy!
Yesterday after lunch with my son and a quick appointment I headed out to Dana Point for some sunset shots. Driving and looking into the sky to see how the clouds were going to set up is always an interesting endeavor. I am not sure why I do it because I am going to shoot anyway it really doesn't matter what the sky is doing once I am on my way. But I do it anyway. So there I am driving down the I5 and looking into the sky at 65mph. Everything was looking good and for once in the past few months when I have had a chance to shoot the sky was going to cooperate. Eventually the sky wasn't as dramatic as I hoped but there was texture there and that made all the difference.
The nice thing is getting down to this area to shoot is simple. The parking is close so it is a short walk. I decided to set up right by the stairs that lead down to the beach area. As I was setting up facing into the sun I noticed this area where the waves were hitting the break wall and causing a rushing of water through this inlet. I decided to turn my attention about 90 degrees to my left and take a few comps of this area as well. Once I set up, little did I know that what seemed like a small amount of water rushing through this area could turn into a rushing of water about 18 inches deep. But after the first wave of water hit and my boots and pants being soaked up to my shin's. I decided to stick with it and proceed with my comps.
This is a black card technique to keep detail in the sky as well as the foreground without any multi exposure techniques or HDR.
Lessons learned on this outing:
-Never leave your camera equipment where the waves can catch it. I usually put my camera bag on an area high enough where the water can't get to it or in this case strapped to my back. Man was I glad I did that!!
-No matter if you have the most water tight shoes on...if the water gets over the top your feet will get wet and you will squish the rest of the night.
-No matter the water, the cold, the wet feet. The shot is worth it all.
The Shot:
Single Exposure, ND 400 filter, F/22, 29 seconds, ISO 400, Sigma 10-20 lens @10mm
Post Processing:
>ACR-noise reduction entire image
Photoshop:
All post processing is done in color and then converted to Black and white
I have used this website for Post Processing information http://farbspiel.wordpress.com
>Topaz Adjust-Add color and detail to entire image
>Adjustment Layer-Curves for contrast
>Adjustment Layer-Levels to sharpen tones of black and white points
>Silver Efex Pro-Red filter for sky only (Darken clouds)
>Silver Efex Pro-Rest of entire image for Black and white
>Noise Ninja-Sky area only
>High Pass Sharpening
>Framed and sized for posting
http://en.flickeflu.com/photos/tony_d
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Gorge & Rise
Gorge & Rise, originally uploaded by Tony DeSantis Photography.
I posted this shot about 10 months ago. This is the redone shot from that time I posted the original post in the first comments so you can take a look at both. (Click on photo to see both) This one maybe a tad overdone. The other maybe a little flat. Since then I have different post processing and I also have a different way I shoot as well which makes my photo's come out differently. What I would say as better. This I feel I had to do way more post processing. I really like doing less because I have learned more about taking the photo's to begin with so the comp's are better to start with in the camera. It really makes photography more fun.
Any questions on post processing:
Topaz Adjust
Color Efex Pro 3.0
Masks
Adjustment layers
Don't hesitate to email me!
I am not sure I can remember all the post processing because I went back and forth so much. Eventually I couldn't tone it down enough to my liking so I decided to stay with the over saturated look.
The Shot:
Standard 3 shot HDR ( +2, 0, -2), F/16, ISO 50, Canon 24-105L @24mm
Post Processing:
>Photomatix-Adjust
>Topaz Adjust-enhance color and detail
>Color Efex Pro 3.0
-Pro Contrast
-Tonal Contrast
-Brilliance and warmth
-Glamour Glow-Lower Opacity 20%
>Adjustment Layer-Curves increase overall contrast
>Adjustment Layer-Levels Blues in sky and enhance white in clouds
>High Pass Sharpening
>Size and Framed for posting
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Still
This is a redone photo from May 2010. I posted it then but I always felt I could process it better. With new techniques that I have read about and studied this is the 2nd attempt at processing.
A little back drop on the photo. This was taken in the morning in Balboa Bay. I really liked the way the sun was coming over the distant mountains. I didn't really want to blow out the sun as much as I did. I do like that I was able to pull the clarity and lighting out of the boats. I didn't realize it at the time but I am also happy with the background city scape that went with this as well. When I shot this I didn't notice the city in the background with the shining sun. The city gives this some depth and layers and it also came out decently clear. So that is always nice. Thanks for dropping by and taking a look.
The Shot:
6 Shot HDR, F/11, ISO 160, 1/320 to 1/20 sec, Processed in Photomatix (Fusion), Canon 24-105L @ 65mm.
Post Processing:
>Raw photos in ACR, Noise adjustment only, saved all as Tiffs
>Photomatix (Fusion)
>Topaz Adjust-Enhance overall color and detail
>Color Efex Pro 3.0
-Pro Contrast
-Tonal Contrast
>Brightening boats (Layers Dodge and Burn)
-Click Option and click on Create New Layer at the same time
-When New Layer comes up Mode Drop down screen/Overlay/Check box 50% Gray
-Brush tool Black to Burn, White to dodge in new layer (Non destructive)
>Adjustment Layer-Levels-Adjust White and Black sliders to Enhance overall contrast
>High Pass Sharpening
>Sized and Framed for posting
A little back drop on the photo. This was taken in the morning in Balboa Bay. I really liked the way the sun was coming over the distant mountains. I didn't really want to blow out the sun as much as I did. I do like that I was able to pull the clarity and lighting out of the boats. I didn't realize it at the time but I am also happy with the background city scape that went with this as well. When I shot this I didn't notice the city in the background with the shining sun. The city gives this some depth and layers and it also came out decently clear. So that is always nice. Thanks for dropping by and taking a look.
The Shot:
6 Shot HDR, F/11, ISO 160, 1/320 to 1/20 sec, Processed in Photomatix (Fusion), Canon 24-105L @ 65mm.
Post Processing:
>Raw photos in ACR, Noise adjustment only, saved all as Tiffs
>Photomatix (Fusion)
>Topaz Adjust-Enhance overall color and detail
>Color Efex Pro 3.0
-Pro Contrast
-Tonal Contrast
>Brightening boats (Layers Dodge and Burn)
-Click Option and click on Create New Layer at the same time
-When New Layer comes up Mode Drop down screen/Overlay/Check box 50% Gray
-Brush tool Black to Burn, White to dodge in new layer (Non destructive)
>Adjustment Layer-Levels-Adjust White and Black sliders to Enhance overall contrast
>High Pass Sharpening
>Sized and Framed for posting
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