Month: April 2013

Playing with Topaz Adjust

Kansas Tractors
Kansas Tractors

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Today I thought I’d play around with some images of old tractors I came across in Kansas a couple of years ago. I was riding through there on my way to Utah when I spotted a junkyard full of farm equipment. As you can see from the shadows it was high noon which is usually thought to be a time of day to avoid shooting anything. I have found over the past few years that photos taken at this time of day seem to really respond to Topaz Adjust treatment.

This was a single frame that I first opened in Topaz Adjust. I used the Adjust 4 presets and chose Spicify as my starting point. I dialed it down a little before adding some color adjustments to the Cyan and Blue in Aperture 3. Before that I applied one of the vignettes and a black border in Topaz Adjust.

The Eagle and the Indian

Eagle Motorcycle
Eagle Motorcycle

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I thought I would begin this week on a different note from the last few posts. As I’ve said many times motorcycles are a passion of mine and have been for over 48 years. I started riding when I was 17 years old and still love the feel of a motorcycle as it accelerates out of a turn and blasts down the road. Nothing compares to the immediacy of riding, hearing and feeling the machine as I go through the gears on a lonesome highway.

The motorcycles in these photos harken back to an earlier time when men were just beginning to ride motorcycles. I imagine that they too felt the same way about their machines as I feel about mine today. I love to look at how elemental they were , not a lot of unneeded or frivolous components just the bare necessities.

Eagle Engine Detail
Eagle Engine Detail

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I really like the attention to detail that the early motorcycle manufacturers showed. Even though everything here has a function there is still a measure of pride in the way they are attached to the engine such as putting an acorn nut on the magneto bracket and chrome plating the oil fill neck.

The Soul of an Indian
The Soul of an Indian

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This Indian Motorcycle engine is so primitive yet in it’s day it was the epitome of internal combustion technology. Once again the engineers made sure that every part had an intrinsic beauty as well as a clearly defined function.

 

 

 

Silent Sunday

Into the Mist
Into the Mist

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Memo From the Department of Shameless Self Promotion

I am still accepting participants for my next HDR Workshop on May 17-18, 2013 here in Louisville. The last session was a great success; the participants all felt that it was time well spent and were applying the things they learned the next day. Here’s a link to the sign up page at Outdoor Photo Gear.

http://outdoorphotogear.ticketleap.com/using-hdr-photography/

 

 

Miles Lake Morning / Using Reflections to Add Interest

Miles Lake Morning #1
Miles Lake Morning #1

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When I went out to the Parklands the other morning I was hoping to get a dramatic sunrise but the eastern sky was empty. I decided to hike along the southern shore of Miles Lake to see if there might be something else in there to photograph. About half way to the end of the lake I looked behind me and saw that there was a weather front moving in from the west. I noticed that the clouds were creating an interesting reflection in the placid surface of the lake so I set up my tripod and shot a three frame bracket at -2, 0, and +2 EV.

Back home in my studio I opened the three images in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 where I merged them and since the morning had been calm I only applied 20% anti-ghosting to the merged files. Once they were merged I applied the Deep #1 preset and made some adjustments to the contrast, white, blacks, shadows and highlights sliders. I then returned the image to Aperture 3 where I adjusted the recovery and vibrance sliders very slightly before sharpening and saving the image.

Beckley Creek Panorama

Beckley Creek Morning
Beckley Creek Morning

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This is another 3 exposure HDR image processed in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and Aperture 3. I used the Balanced preset in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 after merging the three exposures with a 20% anti-ghosting setting. My goal was to recreate the scene in as realistic a way as I could while still exploiting the increased tonal range that HDR provides.

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Memo From the Department of Shameless Self Promotion

I am still accepting participants for my next HDR Workshop on May 17-18, 2013 here in Louisville. The last session was a great success; the participants all felt that it was time well spent and were applying the things they learned the next day. Here’s a link to the sign up page at Outdoor Photo Gear.

http://outdoorphotogear.ticketleap.com/using-hdr-photography/