Tag: junkyard

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.

Studebaker Boneyard

Studebaker Boneyard

Every vehicle in this shot is a Studebaker truck. The location is in western Arizona along US 50. Even though it was midday I was able to create a memorable shot which comes back to my belief that with practice and study a photographer can capture good images no matter what time of day he is shooting.

I really like the way Topaz Adjust helped me bring out the colors in this shot. I have printed this image at 24″x36″ and the detail is amazing.

I use a local print shop, Unique Imaging Concepts, to print most of my work. They print on many different substrates but my choice is their glossy aluminum. Their process is dye-sublimation which really works well to preserve the vibrance and detail that I require in my work for gallery exhibition. I still print on paper when the client or gallery requires that but my preference is printing on aluminum.