Kaelin’s Custom Cycles Hot Rod shop truck is a cool little vehicle with lots of character.
Tag: Topaz Adjust
Carpenters Working On Concrete Forms (Gallery)
The images in this gallery are of the Carpenters working on concrete forms on the Indiana Approach for the Downtown Span of the Ohio River Bridges Project. The carpenters are installing cooling lines that will carry water from the river through the concrete after it sets in order to keep it from overheating as it cures. Concrete cures due to a catalytic reaction between the cement and other chemicals in the mixture. If the concrete overheats during the curing process it may not be strong enough to do it’s job which is why it is crucial that some way to transfer the heat from curing out of the mass of material.
I processed the full color versions of these images using Adobe Camera Raw using a series of steps that i learned from reading Scot Kelby’s book on using Photoshop CS5. Rather than use my usual method of creating HDR images from three frame bracket sets I instead decided to work with the “normal” exposure alone and see what I could accomplish using ACR.
After creating the color images I decided to use [thirstylink linkid=”13827″ linktext=”Topaz” class=”thirstylink” title=”Topaz”] B&W Effects to produce versions that have an antique feel to them. I used various adjustments to create my own preset that desaturated the colors and added a vignette of faded edges. I then applied a border from Topaz that I thought fit the idea I had for the final images. I saved this preset to use later on other images that may benefit from similar treatment.
Click on any of the images to open a lightbox and slideshow of all these images.
Merry Christmas
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This is one of my favorite Christmas images. It was late one evening and I was out looking for something to shoot that spoke to the season when I came upon these guys working at the christmas tree stand in Waterfront Park. I liked the way the wet street was reflecting the lights in the stand and the strong colors that were present in the scene.
Whenever I can I like to include the people who work behind the scene to enrich our lives. These guys looked so comfortable with each other and for me their friendship showed in the way they walked and talked as they went about their job tending the stand. I hope those of you who stop by here today enjoy this photo and that it speaks to you as it did to me.
With that I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas; I hope the day brings you joy, friendship, happiness and lots of egg nog, cookies and fruitcake. 😉
BTW for those who are interested the image was processed in Topaz Adjust and Aperture 3 from a single exposure.
Using Topaz Adjust to Process Vintage Tin Photos
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On my motorcycle ride up US 31 yesterday I came across a 1940 Chevrolet sedan sitting outside BABBS Auto Collision Center in Sellersburg Indiana. It was around 12 o’clock and the sun was pretty high in the sky which is almost always regarded as a poor time to shoot anything. I decided to stop anyway and shoot some rusty vintage tin for processing with Topaz Adjust. I knew from experience that the Spicify preset in Topaz Adjust would reveal a rainbow of iridescent colors in weathered dark paint that is streaked with iron oxides from the rust around it. As you can see I was well rewarded and captured some incredible textures and colors in this image. I finished it with a small black border that just felt right to me when I applied it.
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Here’s another version of the same car from another frame that I captured with a normal exposure value. The previous image started out as a 2 stops underexposed frame and this normal exposure produced even more iridescence when the Spicify preset was applied in Topaz Adjust. As with the previous image I added that small black border I have come to like for these sorts of images.
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Same basic processing as the two previous images using Topaz Adjust and the Spicify preset.
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Americana
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Sometimes the only thing I need to do is some simple editing in Aperture 3. I chose this composition to capitalize on the linear elements that the power wires imparted to the image. I did add a small black border in Topaz Adjust but there wasn’t much else to do there.
