Category Archives: photography

Free is Sometimes Good

Posted by Mike on

I thought maybe today I would try something a little different. Well, at least a little different for me. I’m finding it more difficult each day to get out and explore with the camera. The hope for cooperating weekends don’t always work out so today I’m posting some information about image processing.

When I started this journey into photography I was as green as could be. My extent of photographic ability amounted to transferring the pictures from the camera to my computer and throwing away the ones that didn’t make the cut. I used Google Picasa to organize the images and do minor adjustments like cropping or rotating. The first piece of software I trialed was Lightroom. I eventually purchased a full version and have been using it as my main processing tool for over a year

The second piece of software I started using was Photoshop Elements. My daughter had a copy with the tablet she received for Christmas one year and after struggling with version 7 I decided to buy myself the latest version which was 10. I’m getting better at using Elements and find I use it for an image that needs more than a basic manipulation.

And then the most exciting thing happened just about a year ago…

I entered my name in a contest offered by one of the photographers on Google+ for a copy of Topaz Labs plugins for Lightroom/Photoshop. Now, I have the most terrible of luck and actually forgot all about the contest until I received an email stating I won a copy of the whole plugin bundle. It really changed the way I work on my images. Of course, at first I went overboard and was doing too much processing. Eventually I learned when and how to use all the tools to create the images I wanted. Sometimes I want a natural looking image and sometimes I want to create something more than just a picture.

I recently downloaded onOne Software’s Perfect Effects 4 Free. Which is a completely free fully functioning version of their software but with only a handful of the presets used to manipulate an image. I’m always curious about other options. I am very impressed with this software! With just a few clicks I was able to manipulate an otherwise blah image and pump it up.

The image below is straight out of the camera other than my normal import processing and cropping.

Going to the Birds... (SOOC) Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1s, 70mm, f/16, ISO 100

Going to the Birds… (SOOC)
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1s, 70mm, f/16, ISO 100


In the Perfects Effects software I used two of the included presets; Tonal Contrast and Orton Hears a Who. The software uses layers to allow for staking of the preset effects. Also included are basic manipulation brushes for color, contrast, dodge, burn, etc. There is a masking technology built into the software so it is extremely easy to only affect the area of your image you want to modify.

Going to the Birds... Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1s, 70mm, f/16, ISO 100

Going to the Birds…
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1s, 70mm, f/16, ISO 100


This normally would not have been an image I would have worked on. I wanted to capture the geese on the swamp but I only brought my wide angle zoom and did not have the reach I needed for the image. I loaded this one into the Perfect Effects software just to play around and ended up being pleasantly surprised. It has me looking closer at the onOne software and maybe after the first of the year I’ll get myself a belated Christmas present. 🙂

Calendar Contest Update

Posted by Mike on

I received some good news today via email. One of my pictures entered in the photo contest for the Mohawk Valley 2013 calendar was selected by the readers. The picture below will be for the month of February. The calendar comes out on January 1st in the Observer-Dispatch paper.

This particular image was taken during lunch back on March 1st for an event on Google+. I ended up not using this image for the event and tried some not normal processing on it. I was very happy with the result because I felt it had a post card feel to it and I was able to keep the falling snow visible.

It is not my most favorite image but I thought it represented the Mohawk Valley which is what I thought the intent of the contest was.  Based on the other images in the competition it was more for photographers from the Mohawk Valley.  Anyway, I was happy to have two images selected for the competition and I’m thrilled to have one actually be in the calendar.

Canal Lock 20

Canal Lock 20

Barge at Sunrise

Posted by Mike on

Some more images from my early morning walk on Sunday. I usually find something interesting when I walk the trails along the barge canal. This barge and tug were docked just beyond a gate into an access area for Utica, NY. I have noticed quite a lot of activity the past few weeks along the canal. I think there is an effort to dredge our section of the canal and keep it accessible.

Both of these images are three exposure brackets combined using Photomatix. I generally start with a simple tone mapped default and tweak the settings to achieve the image I want. I tend to keep the color saturation to a minimum and hopefully create a more realistic, natural image rather than an ‘over the top’ HDR image. Finally adjustments to the exposure and a slight gradient added in Lightroom.

Barge at Sunrise Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (1/3, 1.3, 5s bracket), 19mm, f/16, ISO 100

Barge at Sunrise
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (1/3, 1.3, 5s bracket), 19mm, f/16, ISO 100

Tug and Barge Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (0.8, 3, 15s bracket), 70mm, f/16, ISO 100

Tug and Barge
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (0.8, 3, 15s bracket), 70mm, f/16, ISO 100

Pre-Sunrise over the Thruway

Posted by Mike on

My plans changed this morning when I received a text from an operator at work and I decided it was easier to drive in to help him. I ended up staying about an hour getting some parts in place to make tomorrow a little easier. As I left work around 6:30am the sun was just making its presence known in the sky. I decided it would be a good time to capture the image I have been wanting from the pedestrian walkway over the NY State thruway.

I had the lens as close as possible to the chain link fence but I just couldn’t keep it out of the image. I suppose if I didn’t have the wide angle lens on the camera it would have been easier to not include the fence. The colors in the sky and the light trails from the cars is what I really wanted anyway. Mission accomplished…

Pre-Sunrise over the ThruwayNikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 15s, 70mm, f/22, ISO 100

Pre-Sunrise over the Thruway
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 15s, 70mm, f/22, ISO 100

Forgotten Hero

Posted by Mike on

I decided yesterday that I was going to get out of the office during lunch and go for a walk with the camera. It had been over a week since we had any time together. Of course, as soon as I walked out the door it started to snow but I didn’t let that stop me.

I headed toward the town park which is only a quarter mile up the road from the plant with the hope of finding a few image possibilities. It didn’t have to be anything majestic, I was just looking for a few clicks of the shutter. Just about half way to the park I passed a very old cemetery in the woods across the road from the walking trail. I noticed an old flag fluttering in the wind and couldn’t resist exploring.

The fenced in area wasn’t any bigger than 30′ x 30′ and looked like it hadn’t been visited in years. The trees have grown so large that their roots have disturbed the headstones. You could see where some attempts had been made to support them but it was obviously a losing battle. The flag that caught my eye was a memorial to a war veteran. Upon closer inspection I noticed it was for a Revolutionary War veteran. The information on the headstone had been all but polished away by the elements over the years but someone has tried to keep this veteran’s service honored.

I never did make it to the park…

ForgottenNikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/15s, 38mm, f/8, ISO 400

Forgotten
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/15s, 38mm, f/8, ISO 400

‘Tis The Season

Posted by Mike on

Well, it is time to end my recent hiatus, I just wish it could be with a new picture. The weather, shorter daylight hours and quite a bit more activity at work as the year ends has kept me away from my camera. I even tried to enjoy today off from work but the constant drizzle outside and grey, overcast sky has left me with no opportunity to go exploring. To partially remedy this situation and relieve my posting withdrawal symptoms I decided to recycle and old image.

This image is from almost a year ago. I was still using my old point & shoot camera to learn on and was about three weeks into my attempt at a 365 project (that project eventually ended after 91 days, but that is another story). I had just finished hanging the lights on the house and realized I needed a picture for the day. I liked the way “cool blue” lights looked against the surrounding blackness.

As you can see from the original I was still learning my way around Lightroom. The Sony only saved JPEG images but I generally was able to create the image I wanted. I still hadn’t learned about blown highlights or white balance. The changes I made to this image are subtle. I corrected the color of the lights and recovered some detail in the highlights. I applied a little more noise reduction and sharpened the image with the newer techniques I have learned.  Small differences but I do like the new image better.

Xmas Lights Original Sony DSC-H20, 1/20s, 12.7mm, f/4, ISO 200

Xmas Lights Original
Sony DSC-H20, 1/20s, 12.7mm, f/4, ISO 200

Xmas Lights Redo Sony DSC-H20, 1/20s, 12.7mm, f/4, ISO 200

Xmas Lights Redo
Sony DSC-H20, 1/20s, 12.7mm, f/4, ISO 200