Tag: NIK HDR Efex Pro

Happy St.Patrick’s Day

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Greendrops Keep Fallin' On My Head
Greendrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head

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In the tradition of honoring my Irish roots I thought I’d post some green images today. For me green is the color of spring, hope, rebirth and my eyes. This first image is my favorite shade of green too. All these images come from the past several years of the NSRA Streetrod Nationals held here in Louisville, Kentucky.

Bullet Nose Beast
Bullet Nose Beast

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Bullet Nose Beast #2
Bullet Nose Beast #2

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REO Speed Wagon
REO Speed Wagon

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Emerald Buick
Emerald Buick

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Alabama Morning

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Alabama Morning
Alabama Morning

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These images are from my trip down to Alabama a few weeks back. While exploring the countryside I came upon this old log building that has become a piece of Americana. The owner of the property is obviously into collecting old signs and old gas pumps. The sky was full of clouds that were remnants of a thunderstorm that went through the night before while off to the east the sun was breaking through and illuminating the cabin and the surrounding area. In the distance the sky and horizon were still dark and foreboding. The light was bright enough that I was able to handhold the shots and that allowed me to move quickly around the scene.

I processed this image using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 for the merging of my three frame bracket set.  My bracket set was -2, 0 and +2 EV.  After I tone mapped the image I made some adjustments to vibrance and contrast in Aperture 3 and then I took the image into OnOne Perfect Effects 4 where I applied a vignette using the Big Softy preset.

Alabama Morning #3
Alabama Morning #3

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This is another image from the same shoot. I loved the way the sun was lighting the buildings and the field around them while in the distance the horizon and sky were still dark. I followed the same basic procedure for processing this image as I did in the one above but I spent a little more time in OnOne Perfect Photo 7 playing around with Perfect Effects where I once again added the vignette using Big Softy preset as well as experimenting with some of the other adjustments that Perfect Effects has available.

Alabama Morning #4
Alabama Morning #4

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In this image the sun went behind some clouds and it really softened the light. I shot a handheld three frame bracket at -2, 0 and +2 EV and merged them in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 before taking the merged image back into Aperture 3 for final processing. The change in the quality of the light creates an entirely different feel to the scene and I didn’t feel that Perfect Effects 4 would be of any benefit on this image so I finished it with Aperture 3.

 

One Week Left Before My HDR Workshop in Louisville KY

Posted on by Nick Roberts

My workshop will help you take your HDR skills to a new level and allow you to develop your own personal style of HDR Imagery. Only one more week to enroll. There are still a few spaces left so don’t delay.

http://outdoorphotogear.ticketleap.com/nick-roberts—hdr-photography/

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, NM
Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, NM

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This image is a single frame faux HDR image processed in HDR Efex Pro and Aperture 3. I had to shoot handheld with available light which is why there is some noise in the shadows. I was willing to accept the noise in order to get the shot; sometimes we have to make compromises in order to get an image that we may never have the opportunity to shoot again.

Old Taylor Images Revisited

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Reflected Memories #3
Reflected Memories #3

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This weekend I decided to return to some images I shot last summer at Old Taylor Distillery. I felt that I had grown greatly in my skills with NIK HDR eFex Pro 2 and wanted to see if I might improve on my earlier versions. I also wanted to make some corrections to the lens distortion with Photoshop CS5. I’m better satisfied with them after this round of processing and feel that I’ve learned a lot from going through this exercise. Just like using the camera requires constant practice to master it; using post processing software requires practice to become proficient. It all comes back to my manta “Practice, Practice, Practice” the more a photographer uses the tools of his/her craft the better he/she becomes.

Temple to the Whiskey Spirits
Temple to the Whiskey Spirits

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Reflected Memories #2
Reflected Memories #2

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Reflected Memories
Reflected Memories

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Temple to the Whiskey Spirits #1
Temple to the Whiskey Spirits #1

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One more shameless plug for my upcoming HDR workshop later this month here in Louisville. If you want to take your HDR processing to a new level this workshop is for you.

Nick Roberts – Using HDR Photography to Create Your Own Personal Style Tickets in Louisville, KY, United States.

Rusted Relics

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Rusted Memories of a Bygone Era
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
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.