Category: Texture

Angel’s Envy

Office of the Angels
Office of the Angels

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I really like to shoot buildings that are in a state of deterioration and neglect because they contain so many textures and interesting details. I enjoy the beauty of things as they weather and deteriorate and I strive to share that beauty with the world. The Japanese term Wabi-sabi, which means to appreciate and accept the forces of transience and imperfection and find the beauty that exists in the state of impermanence, is often applied to this type of photography. 

I was down on Main Street last week to photograph the construction taking place as the Ohio River Bridges Project begins to take shape along I-65. While shooting the cranes and the activity around them I also started shooting the Vermont America Building as it exists today. This image is from above the door at the old Vermont America Building which has been closed for many years but will be reopened in the future as Angel’s Envy Distillery. This building is slated be renovated as the main headquarters for Angel’s Envy Distillery.

I used a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and – 2 EV at ISO 200 to create this HDR image. I processed it in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 to merge and tone map the image. I also created my own preset from these adjustments so that I could experiment with other versions such as monotone or black and white without having to go through the merging process again if I wanted to try applying them to the image. In the end I settled on this version as the one that best captured my vision for the image. I then returned the merged image to Aperture 3 where I completed the finishing touches such a sharpening and straightening.

 

 

 

 

More Playing with Topaz Adjust

He Retired in Kansas
Retired Kansas Farm Truck

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Here’s another image from Cawker, Kansas. I had a polarizer on my Nikkor 12-24 mm lens which really cut down on the glare and saturated the colors before any processing was done. Once again the sun was almost directly overhead but by using Topaz Adjust with the Spicify preset I was able to bring out the texture and patina on this old Ford farm truck. Spicify really enhanced the crazed windshield glass as well as the reflections inside the headlights.

The current version of Topaz Adjust has the ability to create layers of effects and control the amount and transparency they apply. Not only that, they have added a robust Vignette and Borders feature that didn’t exist in earlier version. I can also apply sharpening within the Topaz application which allows me to finish the image inside Topaz and eliminate the added step of returning to Aperture 3 for final sharpening.

Texture Tuesday

Big Four Connector #1
Big Four Connector #1

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These images are detail shots of the massive nuts that are at the junction of the bridge spans. The nuts are at least 12 inches in diameter and when I first noticed them I wondered how big the wrench must have been that was used to tighten them. They are visible at the ends of each bridge span where it connects to the next span. They are down behind the curb; you can also see that the handrail looks different where it goes past them.

These images are single exposures that were first tone mapped in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 them taken into Color Efex Pro 4 where I used the detail extractor preset to emphasize the texture on the surfaces. I then returned them to Aperture 3 where I adjusted vibrance, contrast and sharpening.

Big Four Connector #2
Big Four Connector #2

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This image went through the same post processing routine as the one above. These colors are all there it just takes opening your mind and eyes to see them when you are photographing them. I don’t change the colors in my images but I do enhance their luminance when I get them into my digital darkroom.

The next time you are up on the Big Four Bridge take a look at these connectors. If you bring your camera try to remember that there is more to shoot on the Big Four Bridge than sunsets and bridge architecture; look for images in the textures and juxtapositions of surfaces that are all around you.

Rusted Relics

Rusted Memories of a Bygone Era
Rusted Memories of a Bygone Era

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While I was down in Alabama I took a drive out past the place where my Grandparents lived. The old house is gone now and I drove a little further down the highway to see if there was anything that might make a good photo along it. I came upon a log cabin, sitting in the middle of a field, that is covered in old metal signs and has several old gas pumps in the yard. This image is a detail of one of the pumps.

As is my practice today I shot a three bracket set of images for HDR processing. Another advantage of shooting brackets is the near certainty that one of the images will be a good exposure if I need something quick for a deadline. I don’t often need to do that but it sure is handy when the need arises.

The first thing I did was merge the three frames in NIK HDR eFex Pro 2 for tone mapping and detail adjustment. I used one of the Realistic presets as my starting point. I then took the HDR image into OnOne Perfect Photo 6 where I used a few different effects to add a vignette and enhanced some of the color. On e of the nice things about Perfect Effects is that it allows me to create layers and apply the effects in varying amounts. By stacking a few effects and adjusting the amount of each one from zero to 100% it is possible to get the feeling I’m looking for. After I had the image nearly finished I returned it to Aperture 3 where I adjusted the shadows and highlight, contrast and sharpened the image.

Keep Out
Keep Out

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This bird house seemed such a great subject with it’s weathered texture and the sign below it. I ran it through the same basic process and settled on this final version. I’m glad I started exploring the OnOne Perfect Photo 6 Suite again. In the future I will be using it more often when I want to convey more emotion than using only HDR techniques affords me.

Rusted Rivets

Bridge Reinforcement Plate Detail
Bridge Reinforcement Plate Detail

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These images are black and white conversions of HDR images that I created from a three shot bracket set using +2, 0 and -2 EV frames that I first merged  in NIK HDR EFex Pro 2 to create a HDR image. After merging and tone mapping them I returned them to Aperture 3 where I applied the black and white adjustment with an orange filter. I also sharpened them and added a little mid-contrast to show the texture in the rust and intensify the shadows.

Rivets Detail
Rivets Detail