Click on image to open it enlarged in another window.
This was a three frame bracket set -2, 0, +2 EV merged and tone mapped in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 starting with the Deep 1 Preset. I made some minor changes to the amount and method strength. I also dropped a control point on the sky in the background where I adjusted the exposure and contrast. I then returned the image to Aperture 3 and adjusted the overall exposure, cleaned up some dust spots, and enhanced the vibrance slightly.
Click on the image to open it in another window.
Sometimes a simple image has a lot to say. I was photographing the final finishing of the concrete when I saw this scene in the viewfinder. It has been processed in Aperture 3 with minimal enhancement to the vibrance and a little sharpening.
Click on an image to open it in another window.
I wanted to try something a little different with these bridge images. I decided to take them into Nik Siver Efex Pro and see what might come from that. I first used my -2, 0, and +2 EV bracket set to create a HDR image in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 which I then adjusted for exposure and tone mapped it. I returned it to Aperture 3 where I made a few adjustments to saturation, vibrance and detail slider before doing my final sharpening. After doing that I took that image into NIK Silver Efex Pro where I used the antique preset to create the image above.
For the image above I followed essentially the same process, bracket set to HDR then back to Aperture for some adjustments and finally into NIK Silver Efex Pro where I applied the neutral preset and chose the Agfa 400 film look along with a little red filter to finish it
Click on the image to open it at a larger size in another window.
There is nothing extraordinary about this image I simply found the reflection of the bridge and the ripples of the rower’s oars very serene. I like the simplicity of the rower and his boat gliding along the river in the early morning light. I was using my 18-200 mm Nikkor lens that I had dropped a few days earlier which accounts for the lack of sharpness in the image. While I normally would reject an image that was as soft as this one I find that I like the impressionistic feel that the softness imparts.
I processed it in Aperture 3 without doing anything else to the image. I have sharpened it slightly which simply accentuated the soft focus. I adjusted the exposure and vibrance before saving it as a jpeg for the web.
HDR bracket set of five exposures merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2. I then used the Dark preset which I tweaked for contrast, shadows and highlights. I then returned it to Aperture 3 where I adjusted the clarity and vibrance before a final sharpening.
