Heres a lil tidbit till I get some new shots.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Back in the HDR business...
So one of the first things I got into was HDR photography. It was a very frustrating process because at first I did not have a cable release, nor do I have a steady hand. Anyways, even upon getting a CR I didn't get back into it too much because its kind of a snooze when it comes to editing in CS2. Its not any better with CS4...but it IS better, with Photomatix 3.2. This is what this program does...HDR...tone mapping...that is it. Man o man does this make it a world simpler, and cleaner images. Not to mention all the controls actually make sense (WTF is local adaptation and gamma anyways Adobe? Oh well, needless to say my photo game has just become High-dynamic.
Heres a lil tidbit till I get some new shots.
Heres a lil tidbit till I get some new shots.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Nature Calls
I tend to consider myself a "big picture" type of photagrapher. I like the whole kit and kaboodle. That is why cityscape is my favorite type of photography, panoramics, high vantages...etc. If it doesn't fit in my kit lens from 500 feet away...Its good stuff. Half of the thrill is finding locations to fit the image in my lens. I mean, Chicago makes it easy with a 103 story elevator takes you to the top of the Willis tower to give you a 50 mile vantage on a clear day...But scouring Detroit for a location to give you a great view is just as fun as finalizing the photo. What I'm getting at is part of my attempt to become a better photographer is to take images outside my "comfort zone". Not that its any more difficult to take a picture of a landscape...but it is just not what I am naturally attracted to. In conclusion here are some photographs of my attempt at capturing the essence of nature.
This image is of the West Falls of the Black River. I found these in a small town called Elyria just outside of Cleveland Ohio. This was a rather low flow day due to the lack or recent rain. Normally the two seperate falls can be found cascading as one due to the large amount of water, but such was not the case. I did not mind however, as I though the detail in the rocks was just as great as the flowing water itself. I just wish that at the time I had a ND filter of some sort, as the sky is extremely blown out and it was rather blue that day. But for the sake of the trip I couldn't sit around and wait for the sun to set.
This tree was in a park off of Walton in downtown Rochester, MI. The colors were perfect that day as this image was barely altered during post-processing. The reds and oranges of the tree popped right off the blue sky, and the clouds were perfect. Normally I would crop this shot lower, but this image blows up perfectly in 3:2 ratio, and the clouds look phenomenal and add more depth to the shot.
Also in downtown Rochester this was a nice wispy river underneath Rochester road (underneath the bridge heading north from the Rochester Hills to downtown Rochester. It was very tough getting any motion in the water as the sun was extremely bright. Thankfully it was under a bridge, I had a ND2x filter on me and I just made the aperture as miniscule as possible. This allowed for a great depth of field allowing crisp rocks, clear water motion, and a sharp background.
I photoagraphed this little gem in a fountain in Cranbrook. I thought the water and leaf had great freshwater colors, often found in Michigan fall. The leaf was very deteriorated and had obviously been there a while but I thought it looked great as it passed under water droplets from the fountain.
This tree is from a summer day at St. Clair Shores, MI. I was trying to find some good lanscapes with water in the background, but the lake colors looked very poor in the bright sun. So I was fooling around with a new combination of equipment and was getting a little annoyed with the sun. So I used this tree to block it and the shadow lined right up to my feet. I decided that the high contrast would work great in black and white and I really like the image. I just wish such an open tree was a little more detached from society because I do not like the park slide, gymnasium, and cars in the background.
This is another monument from Cranbrook. This fountain made for a great reflection, and the differing colored trees, great symmetry, and nice afternoon clouds all paired together for an excelling snap.
Just another version of the tree from above. I was actually using the sunset setting on my Sony alpha-300, to try and boost the reds. I think this is a great image and looked awesome on my computer background...I also really like the varying colors of trees in the background, some already naked, others with greens and yellows.
This image is of the West Falls of the Black River. I found these in a small town called Elyria just outside of Cleveland Ohio. This was a rather low flow day due to the lack or recent rain. Normally the two seperate falls can be found cascading as one due to the large amount of water, but such was not the case. I did not mind however, as I though the detail in the rocks was just as great as the flowing water itself. I just wish that at the time I had a ND filter of some sort, as the sky is extremely blown out and it was rather blue that day. But for the sake of the trip I couldn't sit around and wait for the sun to set.
This tree was in a park off of Walton in downtown Rochester, MI. The colors were perfect that day as this image was barely altered during post-processing. The reds and oranges of the tree popped right off the blue sky, and the clouds were perfect. Normally I would crop this shot lower, but this image blows up perfectly in 3:2 ratio, and the clouds look phenomenal and add more depth to the shot.
Also in downtown Rochester this was a nice wispy river underneath Rochester road (underneath the bridge heading north from the Rochester Hills to downtown Rochester. It was very tough getting any motion in the water as the sun was extremely bright. Thankfully it was under a bridge, I had a ND2x filter on me and I just made the aperture as miniscule as possible. This allowed for a great depth of field allowing crisp rocks, clear water motion, and a sharp background.
I photoagraphed this little gem in a fountain in Cranbrook. I thought the water and leaf had great freshwater colors, often found in Michigan fall. The leaf was very deteriorated and had obviously been there a while but I thought it looked great as it passed under water droplets from the fountain.
This tree is from a summer day at St. Clair Shores, MI. I was trying to find some good lanscapes with water in the background, but the lake colors looked very poor in the bright sun. So I was fooling around with a new combination of equipment and was getting a little annoyed with the sun. So I used this tree to block it and the shadow lined right up to my feet. I decided that the high contrast would work great in black and white and I really like the image. I just wish such an open tree was a little more detached from society because I do not like the park slide, gymnasium, and cars in the background.
This is another monument from Cranbrook. This fountain made for a great reflection, and the differing colored trees, great symmetry, and nice afternoon clouds all paired together for an excelling snap.
Just another version of the tree from above. I was actually using the sunset setting on my Sony alpha-300, to try and boost the reds. I think this is a great image and looked awesome on my computer background...I also really like the varying colors of trees in the background, some already naked, others with greens and yellows.
Crown Me
Tonight I had the wonderful idea to attempt to photograph a water crown. 10 minutes into this venture I realized how unequipped I am. With only the kit camera flash, my camera's shutter speed will only reach extremely inappropriate fractions of a second that make freezing water nearly impossible. Without a macro lens I was left with only the option to keep my cam back a ways and focus on the entire shot glass I used, and later crop it all out. So here you are my final result, best 2 out of 84 shots, which based on what I had to work with I am extremely happy with.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
OP Prime takes over
So i'm half sad half excited to say that lately my hours have been filled more with editing and creating images from scratch in CS4 rather than being out taking pictures. Not to say nothing quality is coming out. But that will all change once I start my next project for a friend on tuesday which I am pumped for.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Partial Desaturations
Partial Desaturations have become one of my favorite post processing techniques. It is a simple yet elegant way to make something pop more than usual, and truly show where the business is at. The rest is just details. On the contrary, the same technique can be used to make things blend more, such with the images from Comerica Park. I felt the colors were a little intense and the PD's were a great way to tone the image down yet leave some life in it.
Friday, November 13, 2009
The Windy City
Chicago is definetly my favorite urban place to go. The city is oozing with life, architecture, art, business, and everything else you could possibly imagine. I would love to one day own a home very close to the city. As for photography I have yet to find somewhere more photogenic. Put together the record breaking buildings, with the amentities such as Navy Pier and Willis tower, with a waterside view and everchanging weather and you have endless photographic possibilities.
The Wondrous City of Detroit
I have been to quite a few places in this world, not a satisfactory amount for me but I'd say I have seen quite a bit. Detroit, the largest city that is "close" to my home town is actually quite visually astounding. Sure it may not be the safest nor most promising location to live but its beauty is both alive and unique.
This was in the back of a random building downtown, right across the street from the old tiger stadium, and very close to the abandoned train station. This whole wall really popped out to me. The only thing is I'm pretty sure all this graffiti was allowed, as the whole building is completely done up very nicely.
This is the back door of St. Andrews, a venue for bands in downtown Detroit, MI. I really liked the framing of this shot and feel as though the composition is one of my best, perhaps not enough negative space.
The Nark wall, another one of my top images, especially for being my first trip down to Detroit with the dSLR. The contrast is through the roof on this image but I felt as though it really cleaned the image up.
This MJ shot was right next to the first graffiti image on this post.
I thought this sign was very ironic, the No Trespassing sign over a barbed fence, with obvious disobedience right behind it. I feel that the depth of field worked out great.
My original HDR of the MCS building. I feel that my more recent is much more realistic, but this one still has a great sense of surrealism so I have to keep it up.
This is Hart plaza at night. Luckily I got there while the light was still on!
This bit of graffiti is right across the alley from the MJ/first piece on this page. It looks great, and when I returned to shoot an HDR of it...it had been torn down.
This is from the top of Greektown Casino's parking garage...at around 5 am just as the sky gained some color. Sadly after about 10 shots we were asked to leave.
These two are both of Comerica park, where the Detroit Tigers currently play. I really like how this park looks when its not game day.
This is a warehouse that had a sign on it stating it was "community art space". It was extremely dark outside, but nothing 30 seconds couldn't handle.
This was in the back of a random building downtown, right across the street from the old tiger stadium, and very close to the abandoned train station. This whole wall really popped out to me. The only thing is I'm pretty sure all this graffiti was allowed, as the whole building is completely done up very nicely.
This is the back door of St. Andrews, a venue for bands in downtown Detroit, MI. I really liked the framing of this shot and feel as though the composition is one of my best, perhaps not enough negative space.
The Nark wall, another one of my top images, especially for being my first trip down to Detroit with the dSLR. The contrast is through the roof on this image but I felt as though it really cleaned the image up.
This MJ shot was right next to the first graffiti image on this post.
I thought this sign was very ironic, the No Trespassing sign over a barbed fence, with obvious disobedience right behind it. I feel that the depth of field worked out great.
My original HDR of the MCS building. I feel that my more recent is much more realistic, but this one still has a great sense of surrealism so I have to keep it up.
This is Hart plaza at night. Luckily I got there while the light was still on!
This bit of graffiti is right across the alley from the MJ/first piece on this page. It looks great, and when I returned to shoot an HDR of it...it had been torn down.
This is from the top of Greektown Casino's parking garage...at around 5 am just as the sky gained some color. Sadly after about 10 shots we were asked to leave.
These two are both of Comerica park, where the Detroit Tigers currently play. I really like how this park looks when its not game day.
This is a warehouse that had a sign on it stating it was "community art space". It was extremely dark outside, but nothing 30 seconds couldn't handle.
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