This image was captured on my Nikon FM film camera. I photographed the negative with my full frame DSLR and imported into Adobe Lightroom for initial editing, then into Photoshop for inverting. The image on the left is pre-invert, the right, post invert. I am having a hard time deciding which I like better. The reflections on the negative version seem to pop more but, the detail of the docks stand out more on the inverted version. Your thoughts…
One of my favorite subjects to photograph in the winter is abstract ice patterns. However, this winter we have had an over abundance of snow and this has covered most of the best spots for me to find the right kind of ice. A few days ago I went to see if anything had changed and was pleasantly surprised to find bare ledge rock and pockets of ice. What makes these ice pockets unique is how the water freezes in layers, thus creating random patterns that vary from spot to spot. No two are ever the same.
I process first in Adobe Lightroom, then export to Silver Efex Pro 2 for the final version.
It often happens that an idea does not become what one wishes. The execution in the moment seemed like it would work. But the realization when editing is that not much can be recovered from the available information. So, what to do? I’m not one to just give up and walk away. I will take time and play with sliders and curves to see what I might create from the data. The October Road yields an interesting possibility.
An interpretation of a bracketed shot processed through Lightroom and HDR Efex Pro 2 in Photoshop.
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Shot indoors, a multi-image stack converted in Silver Efex Pro 2. My learning process continues with macro photography and image stacking. I’ve learned that to edit in Camera Raw and/or Lightroom before I export as JPEGS before I import into … Continue reading
As time permits, I am continuing to learn more about focus stacking. Since spring is doing it’s best to finally make an appearance in northern Minnesota, the garden is doing it’s best to respond. A few small flowers have sprung up and it seemed a good opportunity to try capturing two small clumps of blooms.
The first group is a stack of 22 images, the second was 19. If you look closely on the first, you will notice the tip of one leaf in the foreground where I missed focus. I missed several on the second. I’m excited by the possibilities of using focus stacking and look forward to applying it in other ways.
My set-up: Canon DSLR, Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro, ASUS Android tablet running DSLR Controller (works with most Canon DSLRs). I export images from Lightroom as Photoshop layers, then use the Auto-Align if needed and Auto-Blend for combining the stack. There are many videos on You-Tube that describe the technique.
Due to having injured my back pushing my car out of a frozen divot, I have not been out shooting much lately. But that doesn’t mean I can’t find something to do, which includes checking my attic windows for frost patterns. Every year the patterns are a bit different and I enjoy exploring, capturing and tweaking the best of them.
My back is finally improving and soon I expect to be outdoors searching for new winter compositions.
Canon 5DS, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM, ISO 50, 100mm, f/3.5, 1/80 sec. Processed through Adobe Lightroom and Siver Efex Pro 2. Watermark created in and added via Photoshop.
Last October I captured an image of a row of birch trees that I really liked, but when I got home and viewed the image on my computer, I noticed a wire running through the image. The updated Adobe Photoshop 2019 has an improved “Content Aware Fill” feature that seems to work much better than past versions and I gave it a try on the image. I came away pleasantly surprised by the end result. Is it absolutely perfect? No, but it’s pretty darn good and I would be willing to print the result. My plan is to print it on canvas which should aid in softening any residual effects of the process.
Canon 5D Mk ll, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS USM, ISO 50, 70mm, f/16, 1/30 sec.
Location: Whitewater Lake, Fisherman’s Point Campground, Hoyt Lakes, MN.
Canon 5D Mark IV, Tamron 28-75mm, ISO 50, 28mm, f/9.0, 5min 3sec., Post in Adobe Lightroom.
Wave action on a group of rock at the end of the south pier, Duluth entry, Canal Park.
ISO 50, 28mm, f/13, 1.6 sec, small adjustments in Adobe Lightroom and finished in Silver Efex Pro 2
Northern Visions Media 