Category: Topaz Plug-in

Reflected Beauties

Posted on by Nick Roberts

As I posted yesterday sometimes a photographer needs to try a different approach to a familiar subject. I attend several car shows every year in search of memorable images of automotive art. Given that there literally thousands of photographers who share my passion for early automobiles it is a daunting task to find a fresh way to showcase these vehicles. For this particular photo shoot I decided to focus on using reflections to capture the essence of the Streetrod Nationals.

This image shows the beauty of a traditional 1940 Ford coupe and a 1938 Chevrolet reflected in the side of a 1940 Graham sedan. The Graham is a nontraditional vehicle for the streetrod scene which is the reason I chose it as the main subject for this image. I found the juxtaposition of the reflected cars with the beauty of the lines of the Graham to be compelling enough to warrant exploring using the reflections as the main theme of the image.

I processed the image in Aperture 3 and Topaz Adjust to saturate and intensify the colors and details in the scene. The composition is another case of using the rule of thirds to balance the image. The strong foreground elements of the Graham fender and the reflections in it help to draw the eye into the image while the repetition of the Ford and Chevy in so many surfaces unifies the composition as well. As you view the image try to see how many times the Ford and Chevy are represented in the image.

Self Portrait with the Devilhog

Posted on by Nick Roberts

This self portrait was taken a couple of years ago at the entrance to the Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway. I used Topaz Adjust bring out the details and colors in the scene.

I’m still feeling my way through this startup of the Speeddemon2 blog and trying to wrap my head around the WordPress analytics that show how many visitors the blog gets each day. There have been days where over 200 people viewed the blog and there have been days when as few as 30 people have stopped by. I’m trying to correlate those numbers with the posts from those days to better understand how I can deliver photos and information that will lead people to return each day or each week. I truly want to be a resource for photographers and ordinary folks to learn more about the work I produce and to find help, or inspiration, to further their artistic vision.

I would really appreciate hearing from you, the visitors, about what worked over the past few weeks and what didn’t. I studied fine art in a school that valued critiques as a way to grow and expand an artist’s thinking and inform his or her work. I’m asking anyone who has something constructive to say to post it in the comment section. I’m sitting here writing these word though and I’m wondering how I’ll deal with the possibility that no one will say anything. Oh well I can’t control the universe so I’ll take my chances with this post.

Cyclops

Posted on by Nick Roberts

This image sums up this week’s composition themes, leading lines, texture and complimentary color contrast. Not much to add to what I’ve already written on the subject this week. Processed in Topaz Adjust and Aperture 3.

Enjoy your weekend; I’ll see you next week.

 

 

Great Basin Vista

Posted on by Nick Roberts

Today’s image is once again from the Great Basin along US 50. In this image I was trying to capture the vastness of the Great Basin as well as the clouds that had been gathering all day. As I rode along US 50 this particular day I was treated to seeing a thunderstorm develop. During the day I watched as a large mass of clouds in the southern sky coalesced  into a thunderstorm. As the day went on I noticed how every cloud in the sky moved over to become part of the storm. It was fascinating to see that even small clouds that were miles away from the main body would quickly move toward the growing mass until by the end of the day the entire sky had become part of the storm.

Compositionally I used the large boulder in the foreground as a way to bring the viewer into the scene. The triangles formed by the foreground element and the sloping terrain on the left side help to direct the viewer’s eyes down the highway and into the Great Basin while the clouds themselves frame the distant horizon. I used Topaz Adjust to process this image before applying some final tweaks in Aperture 3.

Using Diagonal Lines as Compositional Elements

Posted on by Nick Roberts

This is another photo incorporating the highway as a major compositional element. I can’t recall where I took this photo but I really like the way the highway sweeps across the frame from right to left forming several triangles that converge at the horizon. Even the clouds are forming triangular patterns and reinforcing the diagonal slopes of the distant mountains.

It is also pretty obvious that this photo was taken at midday yet it still has enough contrast and detail to remain interesting. I processed this image with Topaz Adjust before final sharpening was done in Aperture 3.