Tag Archives: landscape

Creating an Image

Posted by Mike on

I have mentioned in a few of my more recent posts that I am using a different process to create some of my images.  Specifically, the high dynamic range (HDR) images.  In the past I have used tools such as Photomatix and even the newer versions of Lightroom or Photoshop CC.  All these programs work their magic wonderfully but they do not always allow for the fine control sometimes needed.

If you search for HDR or even digital blending you will be overwhelmed with options and selecting any of the links will get you started.  I found a few photographers (artists) that have helped me with a manual method or blending to allow more control over the final image.  Check out Blake Rudis or Jimmy McIntyre for great information about creating an image.

Both of these photographers have opened my eyes to the use of luminosity masks in my image creation process.  I will not attempt to duplicate either of these artist’s lessons but I will try to show you a little of the power of this methodology.

I know that it is mid December but we have been spoiled here in Upstate NY with great weather so when it was overcast and dreary I went looking through my summer images for color.  I found a bracket of images I captured down at the barge canal just as the sun was setting.  These images will work great for my attempt to show off this process.

Here are the three original images…

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; LuminosityStart-1

Normal Exposure

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; LuminosityStart-2

Underexposed

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; LuminosityStart-3

Overexposed

I start by making a few adjustments in Lightroom, correcting white balance, noise reduction, etc. and then bring all three images into Photoshop as separate layers. I set the normal exposure layer as the background layer as I will be painting in the information I need from the other two exposures.

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash;

Starting Point

I have already created the luminosity masks and you can see some of them in the Channels panel on the middle right of the images. These channels are various portions of the image with different brightness values. I use a panel created by Jimmy McIntyre to easily create these masks.

The first area I wish to enhance are the edges of the canal. In the normal exposure the trees lining the canal are dark due to the back lighting of the setting sun. I will paint in the trees from the overexposed image by creating a layer mask on that layer, selecting the appropriate mask (Darks 6) and using the brush tools to add portions of the image to my normal exposure. By using the brush tool you can control the amount of the image that gets added. Painting over an area more than once will enhance the effect. The area in red has been painted in.

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash;

Overexposed Info

I repeat this process with the underexposed image to add in detail and color to the sky and its reflection on the water. I do not need as much of this information so I select Brights 2 and lightly paint those areas.

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash;

Underexposed Info

What I end up with at the end of this blending is an image that has a greater dynamic range than I was able to capture with a single exposure. I can then then use that image to start my normal post-processing and create my final image.

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash;

Blended Image

This particular image was finished off with a few of the Topaz Labs filters such as Clarity and Adjust. I ended with a High Pass filter in Photoshop to sharpen the mid-tones. This was accomplished by using another of the luminosity masks and only applying the filter to those areas of the image. This way I could add detail to the trees but not overly sharpen the sky and reflection.

The final image…

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Sunset Canal

Sunset Canal
Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, {1/6, 1/13 & 1/25s bracket}, 21mm, f/16, ISO 100

I am in no way an expert in post-processing but I do have fun learning new techniques. Not every image needs this type of work but it is nice to have a different trick up my sleeve to create the view I remember when I was out exploring with my camera. If you are interested in exploring more about digital blending I would definitely recommend either or both sites for Blake Rudis and/or Jimmy McIntyre.

Field House from the Field

Posted by Mike on

SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Another interesting night as I was leaving work. The sun was setting into the clouds and everything was washed in an orange glow. By the time I reached the SUNY Poly campus the sun was gone but there was still great color in the sky and with the wind some very cool movement in the clouds and field grass.

I hadn’t captured an image of the Field House from the hill above so naturally the car drove itself right to the parking lot on the hill. I was having a hard time capturing the view in my head until I worked my way down toward the soccer field. The tall obstructions changed from thistles and goldenrod to some nice sway grass (just a guess). I wanted to capture the movement of the clouds and the grass with the campus buildings standing steady in the middle.

It sort of worked… 🙂

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Field House from the Field

Field House from the Field
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 6s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 200

Trails to the City

Posted by Mike on

Utica, New York

Either I am getting more adventurous (I doubt it) or that voice in my head is winning more of the arguments but I stopped again last night to capture an image I have been passing by for over a year. When my daughter started going to the local college last year I would pass the time before picking her up at the shopping plaza across the highway from the school. The quickest way to the campus is to go up the road, exit, swing over the bridge and come in the back entrance. This view of the Mohawk Valley and Utica, New York is always on my left as I make my way to the campus.

I almost stopped late last week but something held me back. Last night the time must have been right. As soon as I was over the bridge I pulled the car over. Attached the camera to to the tripod and walked back to the bridge. The lights from the car dealership can be a little over powering in the image. They tend to drown out the lights of the city in the valley. I do like the light trails from the cars though.

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Trails to the City

Trails to the City
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 8s, 40mm, f/16, ISO 400

This image is actually a blend of two separate images. I wasn’t using the images to create a high dynamic range picture, I needed the different views of the light trails to create the look that I wanted. The drivers of the cars were not fully cooperating so using different images and painting the trails where I needed them was the best solution.

Moody Morning

Posted by Mike on

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.

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Bygone Era

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.

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Moody Morning East

Moody Morning East
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/50s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Moody Morning West

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… 🙂

Cayan Library

Posted by Mike on

SUNY Polytechnic Institute

There is definitely something about this library on the SUNY Poly campus that I draws me in. I capture images of this building every time I pull my camera out. On Thursday night it was obviously the dark sky contrasting with the color of the building and light coming from within.

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Cayan Library Front

Cayan Library Front
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 13s, 13mm, f/16, ISO 200

As I drive into the campus I pass the back of the library and have been thinking to myself what an interesting image it is as well. I finally walked all the way around the library to capture this view. I’ll let you try to find my correction… I had to remove a water spot from this image caused by a raindrop on my lens filter. I think I did a pretty good job removing it. 🙂

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Cayan Library Back

Cayan Library Back
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 10s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200

My playing on campus also allowed me to try out the remote shutter release for the Olympus camera. Well worth the purchase. This camera has a ton more bracketing features than my Nikon but no great way to trigger all the exposures so the remote works out perfectly.

Review Everything

Posted by Mike on

Wildcats Student Center
SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Normally on a Thursday I pick my daughter up from college around 5pm. This works out good for me since I generally get out of work at 4pm and then I have a little time if there are any errands I need to run or if I have something I want to go photograph. Last night she texted me she was going out with her friends for a little while and I had until 5:30pm before she needed to be picked up.

We had a snow/rain mixture going through our area which at the time I was leaving work had paused. I had some wonderful clouds moving around and the sun was getting ready to set. I headed over to the SUNY Poly campus to grab some dusk images of the buildings. I was very excited about this image of the Student Center.

The dark blue sky contrasted nicely with the grass and also with the lights from the building. I found a small puddle to get some reflections and add a nice visual element to my composition. I setup the camera to capture a three exposure bracket and fired away. A quick look at one of the images had me already thinking about how I was going to process the image so I packed up everything and headed back to the car.

I really like the image, except for the lens flare! Gggrrr! I didn’t review the whole image before I packed everything away. Now that lens flare is all I can see when I look at the image. Maybe I’ll be able to ‘hide’ it with my post processing skills.

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Wildcats Original

Wildcats Student Center – Original
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, {4, 10 & 25s bracket}, 12mm, f/ll, ISO 200

The dreaded lens flare up close! As you can probably tell by the tone of this post… my skills were not adequate to the task.

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Lens Flare

Wildcats Student Center – Lens Flare
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, {4, 10 & 25s bracket}, 12mm, f/ll, ISO 200

In order to remove that visual distraction from my image I changed the crop to 1×1. Still a nice picture but not the one I had in my head as I was on the campus capturing images. This version of the image does not have the same impact for me as the top image.

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Wildcats Student Center

Wildcats Student Center
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, {4, 10 & 25s bracket}, 12mm, f/ll, ISO 200

This reinforced a practice I seem to always forget when I get excited about a particular image. Review more closely to ensure you have everything you need to create the image you are so excited about. I have to remind myself of this more often than I should.

I still had a great time running around the campus, tripod and camera in tow, grabbing images of the buildings. It was a good night!

Time Passes

Posted by Mike on

Japan Pavilion, World Showcase,
Epcot, Walt Disney World

If I was to be pressed into picking my favorite park at Walt Disney World I am not sure I could give a single answer. It will always depend on the time of year, what events are currently happening and even what my mood is at the time of the question. Each parks holds something special that I enjoy.

There is one activity though that I can always answer as a favorite and that is photographing the pavilions around World Showcase at night. Especially after Illuminations as the park is emptying out and I practically have the areas to myself. My only constraint is staying a step ahead of security as is sweeps the park for guests.

On this night I planned to watch the fireworks from the entrance to World Showcase so I could work my way back toward the International Gateway, and my room at the Beach Club. This would allow me the largest number of pavilions if I take the long way around by starting in Mexico. One of my favorite pavilions for photography is Japan and I am always looking for interesting compositions although this is a straight on look trying to capture everything in the pavilion.

Time Passes

Time Passes
Nikon D7100, Tokina 12-28mm f/4, 60s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200

Pillars at Sunrise

Posted by Mike on

Hinkley Reservoir

I have to resort to an image I captured Thanksgiving morning since the moment I backed the car out of the garage it started to rain. We never received the rain late yesterday and it is not forecast to rain today. Oh well, I can work with what I have and hopefully the weather will improve as the day progresses.

The Isolation image posted a few days ago was captured on my way up to the reservoir. It is a miracle I make it to where I want to go as I am always looking for images as I drive. Today’s image is the one I had in my head when I set out Thursday morning.

I have not found out what these pillars are doing next to the dam in the reservoir but they are interesting to photograph. They are barely visible when the water level in the Spring is high but during the summer and winter they emerge from the lake.

Pillars at Sunrise

Pillars at Sunrise
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/3s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200