Three Bridges Re-Do

I received lots of terrific feedback on this photo (thanks Larry, Jan, Patrick, and Cindi). I tried to implement as many of the suggestions as I could in my revised post-processing. I'm posting the original crop and two crop alternatives because I really ended up liking all three.

Title: "Three Bridges V2"


Title: "Three Bridges V2 Crop 1"


Title: "Three Bridges V2 Crop 2"


The extra post-processing I did was to add a curves adjustment layer to increase overall contrast, added a Levels adjustment with a layer mask isolating the sky to make the sky much darker and highlighting the clouds, a Nik Viveza plugin adjustment to brighten the area around the third bridge and a Brightness / Contrast Adjustment layer to brighten up the entire image. I also did some cloning and transformations to level out the first bridge along the horizon.

Three Bridges

I was going back through photos from my Austin trip a couple of weeks ago and found this photo. It was taken in La Grange, Texas at a park on the Colorado River.

Title: "Three Bridges"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 50mm f/1.4 prime
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Background Layer > Topaz Adjust plugin "Simplify" preset > Hue / Saturation Adjustment Layer to increase saturation and bring out more vibrant fall colors > Merge Visable to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Adrian

This is my seven month old nephew, Adrian! Hopefully you can still tell, even with my heavy post-processing in Photoshop, that he's a beautiful child!

Title: "Adrian"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Layer > Topaz Adjust plugin "Dramatic" preset > Merge Visable to new Layer > Topaz Adjust Noise Reduction > Merge Visable to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Cousins

We were in Teague, Texas yesterday for a family Thanksgiving get together and of course I took a few pictures. These two photos are of cousins out playing on a playground. For both shots I had my camera's exposure compensation set to -2 and used a Vivitar flash off-camera with a Lumiquest Mini-Soft Box mounted to a monopod.

Title: "Cousins"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Background Layer > Topaz Adjust "Dramatic" preset

Title: "Cousins 2"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Background Layer > Topaz Adjust "Dramatic" preset with mask to preserve the original exposure of the main subjects face

Festival Singers

I was going back through the photos from my most recent trip to the Texas Renaissance Festival and found this photo of a group of singers. In spite of a couple of technical flaws I like the way it turned out.

Title: "Festival Singers"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Background > Topaz Adjust "Spicify" preset > High Pass Sharpening > Red Paw Media Beautifier > Merge Visable to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Relaxing Evening

A couple of weeks ago we were sitting outside on the back patio just taking it easy as the sun went down and the moon came up. Of course I couldn't relax completely because I had to get up to go get my camera! :-)

Title: "Tak'in It Easy"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 lens
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Background > Topaz Adjust "Simplify" + Noise Reduction > Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Inner Space Caverns

On my trip to Austin this past weekend I went to Inner Space Cavern. Entry to and exit from the cave is via this cable car. In this photo I'm looking up to the cable car and the "light at the end of the tunnel" is (wild guess following) about 50 yards up a 30% grade beyond the car.

Title: "Inner Space Cable Car"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 50mm f/1.4

Photo Re-do(s)

Today I'm re-posting a couple of photos visitors to the blog have suggested might be improved by cropping more closely. Kyle thought the "Ever Watchful Dragon" I posted a couple of days ago had a little too much negative space on top and I agreed so here is the result of the new crop.

Title: "Ever Watchful Dragon V2"


This crop makes the dragon more significant in the shot and also moves it more to a more important placement for the rule of thirds. Thanks for the suggestion Kyle!

Patrick thought "The Monk" would also benefit from a tighter crop so here is the revised version.

Title: "The Monk V2"


I cut quite a bit of background out of the photo and I don't miss any of it and I think it is a much more powerful photo cropped this way. Thank you Patrick!

The original version of each photo is below (Nov 22 and Nov 20, respectively.

Natural Bridge Caverns

This weekend I went to New Braunfels and Austin, Texas. In New Braunfels I visited the Natural Bridge Caverns. I wanted to shoot in available light so I used my Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens and set my Canon 40D to 3,200 ISO. The resulting photos were pretty grainy but I was able to use Tapaz Adjust to deal with the noise in a fairly effective manner during post-processing. This photo was shot was at f/1.4 for 1/60 sec.

Title: "Natural Bridge Cavern Column"


Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust plugin "Spicify" > Merve Visable to New Layer > Topaz Adjust Plugin "Noise Reduction" > Levels Adjustment Layer to set black point

Ever Watchful Dragon

This photo comes from the Texas Renaissance Festival grounds. I took the photo last weekend when some fellow Bay Area Photo Club members and I were there.

Title: "Ever Watchful Dragon"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix to convert three handheld exposures (-2,0,+2) to an High Dynamic Range image > Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Background Layer > Topaz Adjust “Simplify” + "Noise Reduction" using Linear Burn blending mode with a layer mask using a diamond gradiant > Merge Visible to New Layer > Unsharp Mask > Duplicate Layer > Topaz Adjust Noise Reduction with Layer Mask to preserve detail of the dragon > Merge Visible to New Layer to do some minor clean-up work with the cloning tool

Best Hat Ever

Best hat ever ... or at least I hope it's a hat! LOL

Title: "Best Hat Ever"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust “Spicify” @ 78% Opacity > Merge Visible to New Layer > Texturizer Sandstone > Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

The Monk

Another character from this past weekend's outing to the Texas Renaissance Festival.

Title: "The Monk"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust “Spicify” > Merge Visible to New Layer > Virtual Photographer "Character" # 50% Opacity > Merge Visible to New Layer > I cloned some foliage from a portion of the photo I ultimately cropped away to cover a tree truck in the middle of the background (and the subject's head)

I couldn't decide if I liked the color or B&W version better so here is the B&W version for your consideration as well (same processing as the color version with the addition of a B&W Adjustment Layer in Photoshop CS3).

Title: "B&W Monk"

The Sheriff

Here is my photographic interpretation of the Sheriff of Nottingham taken this past weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival!

Title: "The Sheriff"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Background > > Topaz Adjust Plugin “Simplify” @ 89% opacity > Curves Adjustment layer for improved contrast > Merge Visible to New Layer > Red Paw Media Bleach Bypass plugin @ 34% opacity > Merge Visible to New Layer > Cloning to remove high contrast distractions in the background and a button on subject jacket

Amazing Maze

This maze is located at the Texas Renaissance Festival. I photographed this maze this past Sunday from a platform located in the middle of it. It took me about 15 minutes of walking to find the platform so I have to say it is a pretty good maze in addition to being colorful! LOL

Title: "Amazing Maze"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust “Vibrance” > Curves Adjustment layer to improve contrast > Merge Visible to New Layer > Crop and Free Transform Skew to imphasize the maze and de-emphasize the background > Merge Visible to New Layer > Brightness and Contrast Adjustment Layer to brighten up the image > Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Water Garden Fountain

Sunday I went to the Texas Renaissance Festival for the second time this season. This time I went with a group of photographers from the Bay Area Photo Club. Very early in the day I took this shot in the Water Garden Wedding Chapel.

Title: "Magic Fountain"

If the image is too tall for your screen resolution you should be able to click it and get a size that just fits your screen!

Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix to convert three handheld exposures (-2,0,+2) to a High Dynamic Range image > Photoshop CS3 > Duplicated background layer and performed a slight crop and rotation > NIK Viveza plugin for increasing local brightness in a couple of areas on the fountain > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust “Vibrance” with a layer mask to mask off the sky [the mask is invaluable in minimizing halos] > Curves Adjustment layer to improve contrast > added a second Curves Adjustment Layer to improve contrast with layer mask to mask off the sky [the sky was already at a point I liked]

Tattoo Contest

The motorcycle rally I attended in Liberty, Texas yesterday featured a tattoo contest (I know, I know, it's hard to imagine a biker with tattoos :-)!

Title: "Tattooed Redhead"


Camera / Lens / Other Equipment: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom / Vivitar 285HV flash w/ Lumiquest Mini Softbos mounted off-camera on a monopod and fired with Pocket Wizards

Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Red Paw Media Beautifier plugin @ 72% opacity > Merge Visible to New Layer > Curves Adjustment Layer for improved contrast > Create New Layer Fill Black with Mask to simplify the background and create a custom vignette

Iron Angels Motorcycle Rally

Today I spent a few hours taking photographs at the Iron Angles Motorcycle Rally in Liberty, Texas. I caught this guy with one of my first clicks.

Title: "Death Mask"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17/55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust “Spicify” + Noise Reduction > Curves Adjustment Layer for increased contrast > Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Galveston Seawall Riprap

This is a photo taken on the Bay Area Photo Club field trip to Galveston a couple of weekends ago. This riprap is piled in front of the seawall in many places. This particular shot was taken at the west end of the seawall.

Title: "Riprap"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: HDR conversion from three handheld exposures (-2,0,+2) processed by Photomatix > Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Background Layer > Topaz Adjust plugin "Clarity" > Duplicate Layer > Topaz Adjust plugin "Vibrance" > Curves Adjustment layer to improve contrast > Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Gorilla

This past weekend when I went to visit my friend John at Gorilla Sportswear in Baytown it seemed as though I saw a gorilla everywhere I looked!

Title: "Little Ape"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Levels Adjustment layer to set Black and White points> Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Galveston Fishing Pier

Today's photo is of a fishing pier destroyed by Hurricane Ike. I took this photo on the BAPC field trip to Galveston the weekend before last. It was getting late in the morning when I took this shot and the light was beginning to get a little harsh. I was able to use Photoshop to salvage what I think is a decent image. I hope you like it!

Title: "Fishing Under the Pier"


Camera / lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55 f/2.8 zoom lens
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust “Spicify” with a layer mask used to tone down the adjustment on some parts of the subject > Merge Visible to New Layer > Spot Healing to remove some imperfections in the sky caused by dust on the sensor > Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette > Brightness / Contrast adjustment layer to increase brightness

Environmental Portrait - John

On Sunday I went by Gorilla Sportswear to visit my friend John (the owner). John was working, as usual, but he slowed down long enough to let me take a couple of shots of him doing what he does best (printing T-shirts)!

Title: "John"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom

Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Background Layer > Topaz Adjust “Vibrance” > Merge Visible to New Layer > Lens Blur with mask to effect only the background > Merge Visible to New Layer > Spot Healing > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust Noise Reduction and Detail Reduction with mask to effect only the background > Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Environmental Portrait - Simone

Last Thursday I went to the offices of a local accounting firm to practice shooting some portraits. Simone is a partner at the firm and was gracious enough to let me use her and some of here co-workers as guinea pigs to practice lighting with some new equipment I recently acquired. I went over on my lunch hour and had to work very quickly. I used two Vivitar 285HV strobes, one fired into a silver umbrella about 45% to Simone's right for the key light and one fired through a white umbrella to the left for fill. The flashes were fired with Pocket Wizards. I photographed six people in about 45 minutes. This was by far the best photo I took that day. This is the first time I attempted a shoot like this so I would really appreciate any feedback you can offer!

Title: "Simone"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 lens

Farming Accident

Today I was driving around the Baytown area and stumbled upon this horrible farming accident. Warning: This may be too graphic for some to handle! LOL

Title: "Fallen Farmer"

Click the image for a larger version!

Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Background Layer> Topaz Adjust “Photo Pop” > Merge Visible to New Layer > Cloning to remove some high contast background elements and a background road > Merge Visible to New Layer > > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Fish out of Water

This shrimp boat was dumped in this Willie G's restaurant parking lot in Galveston by Hurricane Ike. The photo was taken last Saturday on the Bay Area Photo Club's field trip down to Galveston.

Title: "Fish Out of Water"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust “Vibrance” @ 48% Opacity > Merge Visible to New Layer > Virtual Photographer "Anvil" # 34% Opacity > Merge Visible to New Layer > > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Galveston Souvenir Shop

On my trip down to Galveston last Saturday with the Bay Area Photo Club, we went back to the seawall and to this site where a souvenir shop built out from the seawall over the Gulf of Mexico was destroyed by Hurricane Ike. You can see it in the background of this photo. The subject in the foreground is the remnant of a piling from a different building that was also destroyed.

Title: "Perspective on Damaged Shop"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8mm zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust Plugin "Simplify" > Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Sheetrock Wizard

I ran into this gentleman on the Bay Area Photo Club field trip last Saturday. I don't recall his name but the name of his company is Sheetrock Wizard. He is working on repairing Hurricane Ike damage to one of the buildings on the Strand.

Title: "Sheetrock Wizard"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS3 > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust Plugin "Spicify" at 75% Opacity > Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Galveston Seawall

In this photo some Bay Area Photo Club Members take photos from the Seawall during this past Saturday's field trip to Galveston.

Title: "BAPC on the Seawall"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust Plugin Simplify + Noise Reduction > Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

Open House, Hurrican Ike Damage

I attended the Bay Area Photo Club's field trip down to Galveston Island this past Saturday. This was my first trip down to the west end of the island and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the damage wasn't nearly as extensive as the damage suffered to the east of Galveston toward Bolivar and Gilchrist. This house was an exception.

Title: "Open House"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust Plugin "Photo Pop" + "Noise Reduction" > Merge Visible to New Layer > Distort Lens Correction Vignette

%#%& Verification!

Not a photo today but rather an original graphic of my new pet peeve: Internet Security gone wrong - very, very wrong!

Title: "%#%& Verification!"


If you surf the Internet much at all then you have seen these types of verification tools. They provide you with a graphic representation of a word that can easily be read by the human eye but not so easily by a computer (because because it is a graphic rather than a font). The trouble is that sometimes the graphic is a little too difficult for even the human eye to read!

Gilded Sarcophagus

This is the last of the pics I will be posting from my visit to the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston, Texas last Saturday (I think)!

Title: "Gilded Sarcophagus"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm lens
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust Plugin "Spicify + Noise Reduction" > Curves Adjustment Layer to improve contrast > Contrast / Brightness Adjustment Layer to increase brightness

National Museum of Funeral History

This is one of the National Museum of Funeral History's hearses. I didn't count but I think they had about twenty different antique hearses at the museum. The older ones, like this one, tend to feature incredibly detailed woodworking on the sides!

Title: "Antique Hearse"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > High Pass Sharpening > Merge Visible to New Layer > Cloning to remove post and rope perimeter > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust Plugin Spicify > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust Plugin Noise Reduction > Curves Adjustment Layer to improve contrast > Levels Adjustment Layer to set the black point > Merge Visible To New Layer > Nik Viveza plugin to lighten up the back part of the vehicle > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust Plugin Noise Reduction with a layer mask used to exclude the vehicle from this round of noise reduction