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_IIIII___

May 17, 2010 by Justin 6 Comments

After my run this weekend, I decided to swing by a couple locations I have had on the radar for a while. Surprisingly, this facility is fairly accessible at 7am on a Sunday. I approached it from a variety of angles, however because the sky was as clear as it has been in quite some time, I didn’t have the backdrop of interest I was looking for. I did find a couple of interesting foreground elements to incorporate, but nothing was really working. I thought to myself, what can I do with huge white silos and a blue sky? My decision was simple….Orange Filter! I applied an orange filter in my Silver Efex pro conversion, darkened the sky up, and created the contrast I was looking for to surround these structures.

Capture Notes:

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16 ATX Pro
Gitzo Traveler

Exposure: 1/4000 sec
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 14 mm
Exposure Bias: -2 EV
ISO Speed: 200

Processing Notes:

Capture (1 images)
Nik Siler Efex Pro – High contrast orange filter
NIk Viveza 2 – Selective boost to structure/brightness in foreground
Sized for web
Nik Sharpener 2.0 – Adaptive 40%
LightAsMagic.com

Filed Under: Black & White, Colorado, Denver, Gitzo Traveler, Nik Software, Nikon D300, One Click, Out My Front Door, Processing Notes, Tokina 11-16

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Ominous House On The Prairie

May 9, 2010 by Justin 7 Comments

I doubt the studios would have ‘green lighted’ such a show….Michael Landon starring as Gomez Adams? He was much better as Charles Ingalls.

I shot this image while we were filling up the truck at a gas station near Moab. It is amazing what you find when you have your camera with you. Cliff bar, 16 gallons of gas, and a lasting memory.

Capture Notes:

Nikon D300
Tokina ATX Pro 11-16
Gitzo Traveler

Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 14 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Processing Notes:

Capture (9 Images @ 1ev)
Photomatix – HDR/Tonemapping
NIk Color Efex Pro – ProContrast
Nik Color Efex Pro – Glamour Glow
Nik Color Efex Pro – Glamour Glow
Photoshop – Channel Mixer Adjustment
Nik Define 2.0 – Noise Reduction
Sized For Web
LightAsMagic.com

Filed Under: Americana, Gitzo Traveler, HDR, Moab, Nik Software, Nikon D300, Photography of Opportunity, Processing Notes, Tokina 11-16, Travel, Utah

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Bob Ross, The HDRtist

April 27, 2010 by Justin 13 Comments

This is another image I received some questions about, so I thought I would put together a quick (< 8 mins) processing video to show you some of the steps I took after generating the initial Tonemapped HDR .tiff. Also, I really dig Nik Silver Efex Pro. I dig it so much, I was trying to find ways of using it for color images. In this video, I use Nik's Silver Efex Pro High Structure preset to bring out the texture and character of the building. I liked results, and I hope you do to.

For my other processing videos, click here!

Also, if you are interested in the tools I used in this video, you can use the coupon code LIGHTASMAGIC to receive 15% off of Photmatix or any Nik Tools.

For more information on some of my favorite Nik filters, and how they fit into my work-flow, click here.

Filed Under: Colorado, Denver, Gitzo Traveler, HDR, My Favorites, Nikon D300, Out My Front Door, Tokina 11-16, Tutorials, Urbanscapes
Tagged With: ,

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Denver Board of Tourism

April 18, 2010 by Justin 2 Comments

A bit ‘Denver Board of Tourism’, but a fun image to capture nonetheless. I shot the image last month on the monthly photo-walk. My trusty Gitzo Traveler had 2 legs in the river and one resting against the slippery rocks. I was lying on my back, in an area frequented by our homeless population (had they only been there to cheer me on), trying my darndesst (sp?) to see through the view finder. My abs were crying in pain as I held myself above the water to compose the image….now that I think about it, maybe it wasn’t quite as fun as I thought. Either way, the composition was set, I turned the shutter over, and this is what I brought home.

I have returned from the desert, and hope to share a couple images I made along the way. I had high hopes of capturing stunning scenes from the remote desert locations we were mountain biking to, however I couldn’t bring myself to risk my kit in the event of a crash . That, and I think I would have been pushing the team’s morale a bit if we were stopping every 5 mins to bracket a sequence of frames. Look for a majority of the remote desert images this week on iPhone-Friday, I was very happy with the results and I am looking forward to sharing them.

I did get a second to swing by a regional airport to shoot some frames safely, and crash free, with my primary gear. Look for those images (primarily HDR brackets) over the next couple of days. Also, I have been posting on location images via Twitter if you are interested.

Capture Notes:

Nikon D300
Tokina ATX 11-16 ATX Pro
Gitzo Traveler

Exposure: 15
Aperture: f/22.0
Focal Length: 11 mm
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
ISO Speed:200

Processing Notes:

Capture (1 Image)
Adobe RAW (conversion)
Nik Viveza 2 (brighten foreground rocks)
Photoshop (Curves adjustment and color correction)
Nik Color Efex Pro (Tonal Contrast selective to buildings)
Nik Define 2.0 (Noise reduction selective to sky/water)
Photoshop (Lens Correction)
Photoshop (Crop to 5×4)
Size for web
NIK Sharpener (display selective to buildings)
LightAsMagic.com

Filed Under: Colorado, Denver, Gitzo Traveler, Nik Software, Nikon D300, Photo Walks, Tokina 11-16, Travel
Tagged With:

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Play Ball!

April 10, 2010 by Justin 1 Comment

There are a bunch of things technically wrong with this image (lens flare being a big one), but because it reminds me of the start of summer, it is sooooo right. Summer is close! Opening day was Friday, and as my good friend said, “Mother Nature set the thermostat to AWESOME!”. I am feeling very inspired, and I hope you are too.

I shot a couple photos from the iPhone while out enjoying the AWESOME…wish I had my 300mm when I ran by a couple of elk.

http://bestc.am/photographers/15879

Note: I will be posting a new video tomorrow. It it geared towards those just getting into photography. I hope to answer the question that new photographers are commonly faced with….”Why don’t my pictures look like that?” Quick answer: Pixel pushing! Also, tomorrow night I will be shooting a local wine bar where I will be having a spring show, so stay tuned for the details.

Capture Notes:

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16 ATX Pro (no lens hood)
Gitzo Traveler

Aperture: f/11.0
Focal Length: 11 mm
ISO Speed:400

Processing Notes:

Capture (9 images @ 1ev)
Photomatix (HDR/Tonemapping)
Nik Sliver Efex Pro (High Structure – luminosity layer)
Nik Color Efex Pro (Pro Contrast)
Nik Color Efex Pro (Tontal Contrast – selective to the concrete)
Resized for web
LightAsMagic.com

Tip: As I mentioned in the critique above, lens flare was a serious problem in this image. Sure, I didn’t have a lens hood with me, but I doubt that would have solved it . Had I not been trying to dodge the errant foul ball, I might have tried this slick technique from a fellow photographer. Jump on over to his site to see a neat solution to lens flare.

Filed Under: Colorado, Gitzo Traveler, HDR, Nik Software, Nikon D1X, Out My Front Door, Processing Notes, Tips, Tokina 11-16

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