My first HD timelapse! Shot entirely with my Nikon DSLR and 8mm Rokinon lens.
Shot at Lawson Creek Park in New Bern, NC.
Standing at the Edge of the World | Emerald Isle, NC
Here’s a shot of my friend and fellow photog Brad Styron taking in an awesome sunset on the coast. I thought I would use this shot to take a moment and explain some of my post-processing a little more in-depth than usual. My methods have changed recently and this adaptation in processing has helped to strengthen my images. Where I used to tonemap and create HDR images, I now manually blend exposures. Hopefully the workflow breakdown below can explain it better:
Gear: Nikon D90, 18-105mm VR Nikkor lens, tripod
EXIF: Three bracketed exposures @ f/22, ISO-200. (1/6 sec., 1/2 sec., 2.5 sec.) Manual white balance.
Step 1: I opened all 3 files in Photoshop. Adjusted the levels slightly in the lowest and middle exposures to bring out a little more brightness.
Step 2: Masking. How you do this is based on your preference. I like to layer my darkest exposure on top of the middle, work on it & flatten it, then layer that on top of my brightest exposure. I just like to work on a darker image and lighten it as I go.
There was only minor blending on the first two exposures, but on the final mask I brought in the water at 100% opacity. Using a brush of around 15%, I slowly lightened some of the highlights in the sky. That’s it. I then flattened the image.
Step 3: Using Nik Color Efex, I fixed the blue color cast in the image and added just a touch of contrast using the Pro Contrast Filter.
Step 4: With Nik Viveza, I selectively adjusted the structure in the foreground to add some extra sharpness. On a separate layer of Viveza, I dropped the saturation in the foreground sand (again, using the selective area feature). After applying the layer, I then masked a bit of it away in Photoshop to get rid of some of the over spill of the adjustment.
Step 5: I duplicated that layer and used the Dodge Tool to lighten the foam of the surf and the highlights in the clouds. Mind you, the tool was set very low (5-10%) and set to dodge the midtones. This was just a minor tweak to bring the scene back to more of my taste.
Step 6: After this was all done, I flattened the image and added on final filter. Using Nik Color Efex, I added a Glamour Glow (set very low, at 8%) with a very low touch of warmth to bring a calm, minimal glow to the scene. I flattened again and saved.
If there was one theme that you noticed, it was the use of ‘just a touch,’ ‘a little bit,’ ‘very low,’ and ‘light.’ The key to what I’ve been doing lately is to use every effect in moderation. Just because a slider or setting goes up to 100 doesn’t mean it should.
Most of what I do pretty much follows that workflow. Maybe a few less or few more uses of Viveza and Color Efex or a little more dodging and burning, but that’s the gist of it. Also, many times I end up simply blending two exposures rather than all three. It’s usually the darkest exposure that gets discarded in that case.
Hope that helps to explain what I do and can help you make a better image!
As always, you can comment or pick my brain at any of these sites: Facebook | Twitter | Flickr | 500px | Google+
©2012 Zach Frailey
‘Sleeping Giant’ | Pittsburgh Zoo
*Update…A friend on Facebook informed me that this lion, named Juma, passed away last March at the age of 21. That deeply saddens me because that means this was the same guy that I saw each and every time I visited the zoo. I hope this image serves as a remembrance of him.*
Lately I have found myself really being drawn to a more ‘cinematic’ look in my post processing. I’m really liking a flatter, film-like finish. That’s what I was shooting for in this image by combining some Nik Viveza, Silver Efex and multiple texture layers in Photoshop. I finished it with a layer of about -50% contrast to flatten the image out. I then masked out a few portions of the lion and the foreground to bring back it’s contrasty look.
This technique is a work in progress.
‘Wet Feet’ Limited Edition Print Release
I am proud to announce the release of the second image in my limited edition series, ‘Wet Feet!’ The photo is printed on 8” x 10” 100% cotton rag paper. This stock gives a real feeling of calm and brings out the subdued tones of this relaxing sunset. Each print is signed, numbered and dated and includes a Certificate of Authenticity card which is also signed and numbered to match the print. The first 5 prints in the series are Artist Proofs and are specially marked with an ‘AP.’
I’ll try to keep a running tally here for easy reference of availability:
- $50 each
- Print Run- 50
- Remaining- 50
Email me (zach@uprootedphotographer.com), contact me via Facebook, Twitter or any other media for more info, to order or reserve your print. This image will not be reproduced in this medium and size ever again!
As always, thanks for your support!
Wet Feet | Emerald Isle, NC
This one is appropriately named ‘Wet Feet,’ because that’s exactly what I got while shooting it. I am also pretty sure this is the same wave that filled the moving parts of my tripod with saltwater and sand. It was all totally worth it though.
This was part of this evening that provided probably the best light that I’ve shot in. The late afternoon sky was deep blue with wispy clouds, the sunset too on the hues above and after the sun went down, the sky turned deep pink and red!
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The Shot: Nikon D90, 8mm Rokinon lens, tripod held. f/22, 1/8 sec., ISO 200.
