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Field Test Your Vision

January 24, 2011 by Justin 5 Comments

Field Testing Your Vision

A while back I talked a bit about how I use my iPhone as a way to test an image on location. Often, when I am out and about, I will snap a quick image, take into my darkroom, apply some global/selective adjustments, and get a feel for a scene. All this right from my iPhone! If I am diggin’ it, I will take it to the next level with my SLR. Sunday I was out shooting images for an upcoming tutorial and discovered this garage door. I first shot it with the iPhone (the iPhone is below), then applied a touch contrast and desaturated it. I liked what I was seeing, so I went back and deployed my DSLR to make the image you see above. It is a great way to quickly test out and discover new ideas in the field. I hope you give it a try and let me know what you think.

The iPhone version from the field test.

Continue for Capture/Processing Notes…

Filed Under: Canada, Gitzo Traveler, HDR, Nik Software, Nikon 28-300 VRII, Nikon D700, Out My Front Door, Photomatix, Processing Notes, Tips, Urbanscapes

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Shapes and Tones

January 5, 2011 by Justin 7 Comments

Shapes And Tones

Over the weekend I was excited to try out a present I received this Christmas. The outside of box read ‘fragile’, but surprisingly it wasn’t Italian (hopefully you have seen A Christmas Story). It was a Nikon’s new travel lens for the full frame camera. The 28-300 VR II. Yep, all systems go! My kit is complete. It was high noon and the sky was the haziest I have seen it in a while. I wasn’t going to let that stop me. Heck no! I spent the better part of the day taking the long way home just to put it through the paces. Check back next week for a full recap of the journey. Anyways, back to the image at hand. I really was hoping for a nice clean clear image of the Denver skyline. Again, not today. However, once I had the image back home, I was pleasantly surprised. I decided a slight contrast boost, some added texture in the foreground, and a hint of toning was just what the image ordered. It was full of shapes and tones, so I went with it.

Filed Under: Colorado, Denver, Nikon 28-300 VRII, Nikon D700, One Click, Out My Front Door, Urbanscapes

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Anatomy of a Photo-Walk: Part VI

December 6, 2010 by Justin 2 Comments

Little Boxes

See that big shadow running across the face of the Denver Library? That shadow is being cast by the structure from yesterday’s post. Nothing like a big arrow pointing you towards something to photograph. I didn’t mind, I have been wanting to photograph the Denver Library for quite a while. It is an interesting building. The smaller windows and varying heights make it a small skyline of its own. I have always been fascinated by this design so I tried to emphasize that in when making this image. I used the properties of the Nikon 45mm PCE to create a plane of focus that fools the viewers eye into believing it was looking at a miniature model. Similar to what the architect did with the entire Library.

Continue for Capture/Processing Notes…

Filed Under: Album Covers, Black & White, Colorado, Denver, Gitzo Traveler, Nik Software, Nikon 45mm PC-E, Nikon D700, One Click, Out My Front Door, Photo Walks, Processing Notes, Urbanscapes

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Anatomy of a Photo-Walk: Part IV

December 1, 2010 by Justin 5 Comments

Denver Takes The Stage

Thanks for the comments yesterday. It was great to read where your eyes were going. Here’s what happened to me. As I packed up from the previous composition, and started to head towards the Denver Art Museum (DAM) I turned around to see the skyline framed by the stage of the amphitheater. I couldn’t pass this one up. I had to wait for a couple that were getting their engagement photos taken to move, but the image was worth the wait. The framing of the image took some work. It is always amazing how wide a fisheye lens is. I would end up setting my tripod down, look through the viewfinder, then move a couple feet forward. I repeated this about 5 times before I was satisfied with the composition. Once I was, I waited a couple of minutes for the crowds to clear and grabbed a couple of brackets.

I thought my series ‘Anatomy of a Photo-Walk’ was only going to span this week. However, after processing the remaining photos I decided to carry it through next week. I have 4 more images I would like to post. Because tomorrow is iPhone Friday, and I take a break on the weekend, we will pick this back up next Monday. I hope you are enjoying it!

Continue for Capture/Processing Notes…

Filed Under: Colorado, Denver, Gitzo Traveler, HDR, Nik Software, Nikon D700, onOne Software, Photo Walks, Photomatix, Sigma 15mm Fisheye, Urbanscapes

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Anatomy of a Photo-Walk: Part III

November 30, 2010 by Justin 10 Comments

Denver Coliseum

Photo-walks are not only for exercises in composition and capture, they are also a great way to harvest material to experiment with in post processing. For example, I am still learning the in-n-outs of the new Nik HDR Effects Pro toolset. Its advantage over other toolsets is its ability to streamline my workflow. As an exercise, I processed this image exclusively with HDR Effects Pro. Dang, photography has such a fun learning curve!

Let’s have some fun! Based on this image, can you guess where I decided to explore next? Leave a comment if you do. Better yet, leave a comment about where you might explore next. I will reveal the next image from the photo-walk tomorrow. It will be fun to hear where everyone’s eye takes them.

Continue for Capture/Processing Notes…

Filed Under: Colorado, Denver, Gitzo Traveler, HDR, Nik Software, Nikon D700, Photo Walks, Processing Notes, Urbanscapes

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