Tag: hdr image

A Path Through The Woods

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Nick Roberts

Enchanted Wood

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Today I am sharing an HDR image that has been processed with Aperture 3, NIK HDR Efex Pro 2, Adobe Camera Raw, Photoshop CS5, Topaz Clarity and OnOne Perfect Effects. I shot the scene along Floyds Fork in the new Parklands Park that is being developed in eastern Louisville. My bracket set was -2, 0 and +2 EV which gave me three versions to work with for my HDR merger and tone mapping.

I first took the three bracket set into NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 where I merged them and applied the Balanced Preset. After that I made some adjustments in Aperture 3 before opening the HDR image in Adobe Camera Raw where I adjusted color saturation and luminance and then saved it in Photoshop CS5 as a tiff file. I then used Topaz Clarity to add micro-contrast and further refine the colors in the image. After returning the image to Aperture 3 I adjusted the sharpening, definition and added a vignette. I then opened the image in OnOne Perfect Photo Suite 7 and used Perfect Effects where I first applied the Vecchio filter at approximately 75% opacity to warm the image even further. Next I added the Holga Filter to another layer in OnOne Perfect Effects before returning the image to Aperture 3 for final sharpening.

Reflections of Louisville

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Nick Roberts

The Highlands Reflected in the Leatherhead Front Windows.

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I have been trying to represent each of the eclectic business districts of Louisville in a single image for a couple of weeks now. I tried various angles but each time I wound up with too much pavement in relation to the amount of architecture. While shooting one morning last week I discovered that I could show businesses on both sides of the street by using the reflections of one side of the street in the shop window across the street.

I shot all the images in this post in three shot brackets that I merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and then finished them in Aperture 3. I built a preset in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 that I used on all these shots so that I had a consistent feel to the images. By using the preset I could quickly get the HDR image where I wanted it and then take it back into Aperture 3 for final processing.

Plehn's Bakery and Jimmy John's Deli Reflected in 60 West Windows in St. Matthews. — Plehn’s Bakery and Jimmy John’s Deli Reflected in 60 West Windows in St. Matthews.

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I used the same processing for the rest of these images.

St Mathews Hardware Window

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Highlands Businesses Reflected in Leatherhead's Front Window. — Highlands Businesses Reflected in Leatherhead’s Front Window.

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St. Matthews Reflected in 60 West Front Windows.

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Doo Wop Shop Facade With Highlands Businesses Reflections.

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Doo Wop Shop Facade #2

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Floyd’s Fork Morning

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Nick Roberts

Floyd's Fork Morning — Floyd’s Fork Morning

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This image is from the Parklands shoot I did earlier this week. It is a HDR image from three exposures -2, 0, and +2 EV that were merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 using the balanced preset with some adjustments applied. I then returned it to Aperture 3 where it was given the final adjustments to color, vibrancy and sharpening.

Combining Different Maker’s Software

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Nick Roberts

Big Four Lighting #1

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Last night I was playing around with some images I shot last week from the Big Four Bridge at sunset. I was intrigued by the patterns that the lights cast on the deck and how they contrasted with the somber sky above. The images were all created from three frame bracket sets of, -2, 0, +2 Exposure Values. The artificial lights on the ramp were set to red and I thought I would experiment with the resulting photos after merging and tone mapping them in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2. For this image I took the HDR image into Aperture 3 and adjusted several sliders in the exposure, enhance and sharpening panels before loading it into OnOne Perfect Effects where I added a vignette. The OnOne suite is another iceberg that I have barely seen the tip of; the range of effects that are available and the ability to combine them in layers within the software leads to an infinite range of looks to explore. Anything you build up in the layers can be exported as a custom preset which you can then apply to similar images and get consistent results.

Big Four Lighting #2

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This image is another HDR that I merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2. I was pleasantly surprised by how the colors of the red lights combined with the silvery blue of the overhead LED lights to create such an incredible color palette. I kept the anti-ghosting set at 20% which allowed the fast moving clouds to soften and blur as well as keeping the lone runner on the bridge in a state of motion too. I used Photoshop CS5 to do some lens correction and straightening to the image before finishing it with Aperture 3.

Big Four Lighting #3

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This image too is a three frame HDR but in this case I stayed within NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 to enhance and play around with the colors before taking it into Aperture 3 where I further altered them with the Vibrance slider. After that I simply sharpened the image and adjusted the horizon using the straighten tool in Aperture 3.

Big Four Lighting #4

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This final image is also an HDR with some OnOne adjustments and final finishing in Aperture 3. I’m beginning to discover more and more ways that combining different software from different makers can open more avenues of expression in my photography.

On a similar note there seems to be a price war going on right now between the software makers, NIK has some incredible pricing like their entire Suite for $149.00, you can add in a 15% additional discount if you use the discount code MOATS at checkout. OnOne is having a spring sale at 40% off; you can see what they are offering by clicking on the OnOne Banner in the sidebar on this page. Topaz hasn’t announced anything yet but I suspect they will be joining in on this discount war soon. There is also a link for Topaz in the sidebar. I am an affiliate for OnOne and Topaz so clicking on the banners allows me to earn a small commission should you decide to order anything.

One more plug here is for my good friends at Outdoor Photo Gear whose banner is also in the sidebar. These guys and gals are the friendliest and most knowledgable photo gear suppliers I have ever done business with. They run specials all the time and I would recommend you take a look at their site too.

Rusted Relics

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Nick Roberts

Rusted Memories of a Bygone Era

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While I was down in Alabama I took a drive out past the place where my Grandparents lived. The old house is gone now and I drove a little further down the highway to see if there was anything that might make a good photo along it. I came upon a log cabin, sitting in the middle of a field, that is covered in old metal signs and has several old gas pumps in the yard. This image is a detail of one of the pumps.

As is my practice today I shot a three bracket set of images for HDR processing. Another advantage of shooting brackets is the near certainty that one of the images will be a good exposure if I need something quick for a deadline. I don’t often need to do that but it sure is handy when the need arises.

The first thing I did was merge the three frames in NIK HDR eFex Pro 2 for tone mapping and detail adjustment. I used one of the Realistic presets as my starting point. I then took the HDR image into OnOne Perfect Photo 6 where I used a few different effects to add a vignette and enhanced some of the color. On e of the nice things about Perfect Effects is that it allows me to create layers and apply the effects in varying amounts. By stacking a few effects and adjusting the amount of each one from zero to 100% it is possible to get the feeling I’m looking for. After I had the image nearly finished I returned it to Aperture 3 where I adjusted the shadows and highlight, contrast and sharpened the image.

Keep Out

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This bird house seemed such a great subject with it’s weathered texture and the sign below it. I ran it through the same basic process and settled on this final version. I’m glad I started exploring the OnOne Perfect Photo 6 Suite again. In the future I will be using it more often when I want to convey more emotion than using only HDR techniques affords me.