Speeding By | New Bern, North Carolina
This image was taken during the same sunset as my previous post. The wind had really kicked up and I wanted to capture all the motion that was going on in the scene. I not only wanted to blur the water and clouds, but the sun too, as it quickly neared the horizon. I zoomed in to 105mm and captured a single, long exposure at f/22. After processing, I think that my favorite part of this image is not the motion that I was trying to capture initially, but the stillness and sharpness of the silhouetted trees. Amazing; sometimes you set off to specifically shoot one thing and you end up liking the absolute complete opposite better!
The shot: As I stated above, it’s a single exposure shot at f/22, ISO 200…tripod mounted and fired with my new wireless remote. Adjusted the colors slightly in Photoshop using curves, added a Pro Contrast Filter from Nik Color Efex and did a little masking. That’s about all for processing!
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Leaning Right | New Bern, North Carolina
During an unseasonably warm morning, I was out and about running errands. Having my camera gear with me, I figured this was the perfect morning for an impromptu walk in the park. I headed over to Glenburnie Park, on the banks of the Neuse River, and began hiking around and snapping photos. As I reached the back corner of the park and got ready to head back toward the Jeep, I noticed how wonderfully the morning sun had back lit the canopy of leaves across the scene. I had to spend a bit of time working the scene because there was just so much to see. The leaves are the real star of the show here, but they have a fantastic supporting cast from the shadows, texture in the ground and of course, the leaning tree that is front and center.
The Shot: This photo took a particularly interesting turn in post processing, leading me to try new things and come out with great results from an unexpected place. After merging my exposures in HDR Efex Pro and doing my typical masking with the original exposures, I took the image through Silver Efex Pro. As you may or may not know, this program is used for making (amazing) black and white images. I ran the photo through High Structure with a yellow filter. This created a very bright black and white layer in Photoshop. Next, I set its blend mode to ‘Luminosity.’ Finally, I duplicated the original background layer and moved it to the top, masked out the tree trunks and other various portions of the photo and voila, brought out a ton of detail in the image. I’ll have to add this new method to my workflow!
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‘Swamp Foliage’ | Kinston, NC
I recently came across this spot near Kinston in Eastern North Carolina. On this little side road, the swamp meets the pavement on both sides creating quite an eerie feeling. It almost feels as if the road is below the water level. I always love the scene that swamps create, but they’re hard to shoot because they’re usually really dense and you can’t see in very far. This particular swamp though worked great for a shot. The depth was fantastic and I love how you can see cyprus trees rising from the muck way back in there. It’s a different and interesting take on autumn foliage.
The shot: 3 exposures (-2, 0, +2), tonemapped in Photomatix. Masked in the middle and +2 exposures to bring back natural detail in the trees, leaves and muck. Fixed a bit of color cast in Photoshop and added a little structure in the muck with Nik Viveza. Finished with a touch of Glamour Glow from Nik Color Efex.
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Autumn Sunset | New Bern, NC
A few days ago, I witnessed a blazing sunset with amazing light. As I find myself doing so often, I wheeled around and shot with the sun to my back. I love the light that a good sunset casts opposite it’s decent. This image was shot behind the North Carolina History Center on the waterfront. The concrete jetties back there make very interesting leading lines and I really enjoy shooting in these boardwalk areas.
The shot: This image is made up of a tonemapped (3 exposure) layer as well as masked layers of the middle and under exposed brackets. Nikon D90, Nikkor 18-105 lens, tripod mounted, remote fired. Tonemapped in Photomatix and finished in Photoshop CS4 with several masked layers and a touch of Nik Color Efex Pro for contrast and a finishing ‘Glamour Glow.’
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Autumn Rays | Kinston, North Carolina
Driving down a particularly long, straight and boring stretch of road, I noticed some interesting storm clouds blowing in from the West over the cotton fields in my rear view mirror. At the next opportunity, I pulled a u-turn across the median and found a nice dirt road that cut through the fields. Stepping out of my car and feeling the breeze and humidity, I could tell it was going to storm very soon. I was only able to capture a few frames before the sun was covered by the incoming dark clouds. This was the last frame I shot and thanks to those quickly approaching clouds, I really like the way the sun is showing a few rays, but mostly casting great diffused light across the sky. The colors in the foreground are about as close to fall foliage that I’ve seen in our area (thanks to countless pine trees) and it shows very vibrantly thanks to the sunlight’s brief bathing of the foreground. Storms coming in like this often are a very frustrating time to shoot. On one hand, the clouds and changing conditions around the sun make for some of the best lighting. On the other, conditions often change so quickly that you only get one chance to make the scene. It’s important to always be ready when you’re out shooting during weather conditions like this— you never know when you may need to make a u-turn and snap that scene!
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The shot: 3 exposures, hand held (no time to get out the tripod). Merged in Photomatix Pro, finished in Photoshop CS4. Very little other work- I really liked the feel and softness of the sky.
