Tag: Spicify

The Stewart Brothers

Posted on by Nick Roberts

Here’s another of my BUB International Motorcycle Speed Trials shots taken at the 3 Mile start line. I like this image for so many reasons, the colors, the composition, the expressions of the people, the racer standing in the background and most of all the serendipitous inclusion of the man leaning into the frame. I didn’t include him but just as I released the shutter he popped his head into the picture. I thought to myself “damn that just ruined the shot” so I reframed the shot and did it again. Once I was home and had time to sort the shots from that day I found that I liked this one more than the ones that excluded this guy.

This image was processed in Aperture 3 and Topaz Adjust using the Spicify preset. When I processed this image I was just getting started with Topaz Adjust a couple of years ago. The haloing in the image didn’t bother me then but as I’ve progressed with my processing I’ve begun to try and minimize it more and more.

My Former Travelling Studio

Posted on by Nick Roberts

I love to use my motorcycle to travel and take me to the sites I like to photograph. There is nothing like being able to sit there and see all around you the grandeur of the west as the smells and sounds of the road caress your senses.

This is a shot of my 2003 Road Glide I named Devilhog. I gave it that name because it was assembled on April 1, 2003 and had a VIN number that ended in 666. I rode this bike over 90,000 miles until I had a rear tire blow out on I-80 just east of Bonneville at the east bound 26.5 mile marker. I was cruising along at 80 miles an hour when suddenly the bike started shaking violently. I fisrt thought it was a tank slapper coming on but then I realized it was a blown rear tire. I had just passed a string of vehicles and was slightly ahead of an 18 wheeler when it went down on it’s right side. Fortunately for me the engine and saddlebag guards kept me from being caught under the bike and we both slid down the highway separately.

I was wearing my leather jacket and full face helmet which I’m certain saved my life. The helmet was scraping along on the face shield as I was sliding on my right side. I remember thinking this isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be; then I started thinking “damn I’m broken down on the interstate with a flat tire”. LOL … Little did I know that my bike was destroyed and I was lucky to be alive. I sprained my left wrist and had a small cut on the back of my right hand where my glove had ripped but otherwise I was OK. Some wonderful ladies who were ahead of me and saw the crash in their mirrors came back and helped me gather all my gear from the highway. They stayed with me until the EMTs and Police were on the scene and I was in safe hands.

I was amazed to find that all my stuff was intact, though my luggage was pretty tattered, and my camera, lens and laptop were unharmed. I’ve since replaced the Devilhog with a 2007 Road Glide and switched from Michellin brand tires to Metzlers. Michellin discontinued the series of tires for Harleys I was using and I suspect it was because they were not safe to ride on. I didn’t have the presence of mind to get the rear tire back so that I could find out why it blew so I probably passed up a chance to be compensated for my loss. My consolation is that I walked away from what could have been a catastrophic event because I chose to ride wearing the proper safety gear and because luck was with me that day.

This photo was taken the year before my crash; in Canyonlands National Park. I processed it using Aperture 3 and Topaz Adjust Spicify preset. Compositionally I like the way the bike’s position accentuates the perspective in the scene as the road itself leads your eye from the foreground to the horizon and the amazing rock formations of Canyonlands.

Salt Flat Sky

Posted on by Nick Roberts

Back to the Bonneville Salt Flats today. The sky on this particular morning was amazing due to two weather patterns colliding. It was raining the night before and then a high pressure front moved in which gave these amazing clouds.

I used Topaz Adjust to bring out the detail in the sky and mountains and then returned it to Aperture 3 for sharpening.

Patina Pickup

Posted on by Nick Roberts

I love hot rod, street rods, motorcycles, choppers, customs, dragsters, etc… the list just goes on and on. I am the son of a 1950s hot rodder and whenever these machines are around I’m out there with my camera recording them for posterity. One day these folks will be gone and the passion for the hobby will pass into history as so many other things have over time. I hope that my images will remain to document the creativity and engineering knowhow that make this such a unique piece of Americana.

Every August Louisville host the NSRA Street Rod Nationals. The city is filled with amazing vehicles that show so many different interpretations of what a street rod is. When the first street rods hit the street in the 1970s the cutoff point was that nothing newer than 1948 was considered a streetrod everything else was labeled as a muscle car, kustom or street machine. In those day this Chevy pickup probably wouldn’t have been entered in the Street Rod Nationals because it was too new. Times change and with the rise of the Goodguys events that allowed later model cars in the NSRA changed their rules to allow these later model vehicles into their shows as well. There was some initial grumbling, change never goes well with some folks, but for the most part the NSRA members accepted the change and started building later models too.

This little Chevy pickup is part of a movement to present vehicles that show the wear and tear of time but perform flawlessly due to modern drivelines and safety equipment. I really dig the stance of this truck and the background in the shot makes it really pop. I used TopazAdjust Spicify preset to bring out the warm tones in the sky and accent the headlights. Placing the truck diagonally in the frame and at the bottom helps reinforce the lowered stance of the vehicle while allowing the sky to spread majestically over the entire scene.

 

Back to the Boneyard

Posted on by Nick Roberts

Here’s another shot from my trip to the Studebaker Boneyard in Arizona. I really like the texture and patina that this front end from a 1950 Studebaker has. The famous “Bullet Nose” grill is an American icon. Studebaker was so far ahead of it’s competitors, in the design realm, after World War II . Unfortunately the cars themselves were pretty mediocre in terms of the quality of their components which helped seal their fate.

I shot this at midday and, as I do most times, I was using my polarizer to cut down on the glare. I find using a polarizer to photograph these abandoned vehicles helps when I do my final processing. The polarizer seems to intensify the colors and bring out the texture in the rust. I recommend using polarizers to my students when they are shooting in less than favorable light such as the light in the middle of the day.

I processed this image in Topaz Adjust using the Spicify preset then I dialed it down somewhat from the default setting. One of the real benefits of using a plug-in such as Topaz Adjust is that I can accomplish the feat of opening up the shadows and showing the detail that is in them, such as the inside of the wheelwell here, where the viewer can see the ground and the inside of the fender too.  Too often I see images that have gone through one of these plug-ins where the effect is too strong. I often advise my students to think in terms of “less is more” when using them.

Compositionally I like the way the the subject comes forward in the frame; almost as if it is trying to jump back on the highway for one more ride.  The many triangles that are formed by the composition keep the image from being flat or static. The angles move our eyes within the frame while suggesting that there is more going on just out of our sight.