Silent Sunday
On The River
Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/640s, 42mm, f/8, ISO 400
On The River
Category Archives: monochrome
Photo Fix Friday
Photo Fix Friday
I have been posting quite a lot of my Disney images lately as a stop gap to my current trend of not capturing anything new with the camera. That trend I plan on remedying this weekend! So as not to get everyone to hate Disney I thought I would try something different – Photo Fix Friday.
I was looking over my older images (from 2012/2013) to see where I started and try to understand if I have improved any over the years. The improvement can come in many forms – image composition, style, post-processing, etc. I think it is good to review your older work. It definitely lets me appreciate my current work even more.
So on to the “fix”…
This image was captured at the beginning of my journey. I had just spent 9 months learning about photography and using my Sony point -n- shoot for all it could give me. I had just purchased my first DSLR, a Nikon D5100 and a pair of lenses to get me on the next leg of my photography trip. This is also during the phase of constant Google+ theme participation. This image being part of my Grass series of images.
As you can see from the original I was experimenting heavily with post-processing. This particular image getting the old sepia treatment. I hadn’t learned of the word subtle yet… 🙂
Three Sisters – Original
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/640s, 42mm, f/4, ISO 400
I liked the composition for Three Sister. I was also fascinated with shallow depth of focus as you can see. If I was to capture this image again I would definitely increase the DoF to get more of the foreground grass in focus. This second image is practically what came out of the camera. A few minor tweaks in Lightroom but my starting image none the less.
Three Sisters – Start
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/640s, 42mm, f/4, ISO 400
For this Photo Fix I chose to go with a less cramped crop on the grass. I know now that I cropped the image to remove the lump of blurry, green grass on the left of the image which I felt was a little distraction. Today, I used Photoshop to blend it away. The larger crop allows for more of the background to be visible and provide some breathing room for the subject.
I also stayed away from the sepia tone and went with my more preferred silver tone for the black & white processing. You will also notice a little less contrast in the new image which gives a more natural look to the details in focus and not so much a processed look. I can now look at this image without cringing… LOL.
Three Sisters – New
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/640s, 42mm, f/4, ISO 400
Light & Shadow
Spaceship Earth, Future World, Epcot
Light & Shadow
Olympus OM-D E-M10, M. Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II R, 1/1250s, 41mm, f/8, ISO 200
Wordless Wednesday: Chained
In the Shop – ITS17
Squared – SQ82
Chained
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8, 1/125s, f/8, ISO 200
Interrupted
West Canada Creek
Frequent readers of my posts know how much I love playing in a creek. When I was young it was about building dams and diverting water to watch it flow over different areas of the creek bed. I use to spend hours with my hands in the water adding stones here and there to create a bigger wall for the water.
Now I am fascinated by flowing water. I love that I can capture a different pattern in the same area of a creek just by adjusting the time on my shutter. A second faster or a second slower and the entire scene changes. These water images all about that control over the capture just like my dam building was about controlling the direction the water was taking. I hope I never get tired of playing…
Interrupted
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/3s, 40mm, f/16, ISO 200
Big Rocks
West Canada Creek
Although the last day of the year was an overcast day I took the opportunity with the recent rains to go play in the West Canada Creek. The area just below Trenton Falls is a favorite spot of mine and always provides me with great views for images. I was also trying out my adapter ring to allow me to use my old 77mm circular polarizer with my 12-40mm lens. I can’t use the lens hood with the filter but on a day like yesterday, a hood wasn’t needed.
There was a light coat of snow on the rocks around the overflow area which made for some slippery footing. My biggest fear was ending up in the water! Luckily I avoided that concern with some good balancing maneuvers.
I’ve mentioned before that capturing the water flow is a balancing act in itself. I don’t want too long of an exposure and completely smooth out the water, but I also do not want to freeze the motion with a quick shutter either. For this image an almost 1 second exposure produced the water flow I was looking for. The polarizer did not help a great deal with the shine on the rocks but I think the shine adds a nice contrast to the water.
These water images always look better in black & white. I also do not do as much sharpening on these water images as I like the look of the water with the long exposure. After all processing is done, I add just a slight silver tone to the image which is really just a personal preference.
Staring at the image I can still hear the water rushing past… it is very hypnotic.
Big Rocks
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.8s, 25mm, f/16, ISO 200
Simplicity
Riverside Park, Indiatlantic, FL
On the last morning of my vacation I headed out for one more photo opportunity. The full moon was still high in the sky but the clouds were starting to roll in. I had not scouted very many locations although the few I had used held plenty of opportunities. I decided to return to Riverside Park in Indiatlantic, which is just across the Indian River from Melbourne.
My original goal was to capture some images of the 192 bridge with this great dock in the foreground. If everything worked out I would catch the moon and its reflection as well. I did manage did get the images I wanted but as I was standing on the shore I noticed this great dock/boat lift off to my right. It wasn’t the colorful view I was getting with the bridge and sky but it reminded me of fine art, long exposure black and white images that I admire from a few photographers. This is my attempt at that style…
Simplicity
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 25s, 40mm, f/11, ISO 800
Moody Morning
Fog Filled, Moody Morning
The morning did not have the perfect conditions for a glorious sunrise but it was perfect for another type of image. I love me some B&W, foggy morning images. As I mentioned yesterday I headed out early to go exploring before groceries.
I stopped at the abandoned Air Force radar site which I have been driving by for twenty-five years. This year there has been a lot of activity at the site. The grounds have been almost completely cleared and a new gate was installed. I was able to get my telephoto lens close enough to the gate to shoot through the chain link and capture this view of a few of the buildings. I would love to have the opportunity to explore the whole site with my camera.
Bygone Era
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R, 1.3s, 49mm, f/16, ISO 200
After groceries there was still great atmosphere hanging over the canal so I detoured up to Bellamy Harbor Park before heading home. The groceries would be fine in the trunk until I was done exploring. The view of the canal from the park was not anything to get excited about but then I remembered the city built a new boat launch on the other side of the Mill Street bridge. Luckily there is a small dock jutting out into the canal. These images are looking East and West from the end of that dock.
Moody Morning East
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/50s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200
Moody Morning West
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/40s, 25mm, f/20, ISO 200
It was a good decision to stop before going home. Abut 5 minutes from my house the sun broke through the clouds and the fog quickly lifted. I would have lost these images if I hadn’t detoured first… 🙂
MLCreations Photography 