#881. Let the Good Times Roll

Taken this past weekend at Discovery Green in Houston, Texas. Maybe you've seen this guy there? Great guy with almost as much personality as the golf cart which he is proud to say was in the 2008 Art Car Parade. It was built at a local high school and donated to Discovery Green because the school didn't really have a place to store it. The back of it is filled with footballs and Frisbees and hula hoops and the like to make your day at Discovery Green a little more enjoyable. I wonder if that job is as fun as being an accountant? :-)

Title: "Let the Good Times Roll"

Camera / Lens: Canon 5D Mark II / Canon 15mm fisheye
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro > Photoshop CS4 > Nik Viveza > Nik Color Efex

#788. Behind Bars

Taken this past weekend at the Old Jail Museum in Cold Spring, Texas.

Title: "Behind Bars"

Camera / Lens: Canon 5D Mark II / Canon 24-105mm L zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin > Nik Silver Efex plugin

Emma

Today's post is an image of my daughter Emma taken last weekend at the Guadalupe River RV Resort. This shot was taken in the tree house on the playground.

Title: "Emma at Guadalupe RV Resort"


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

Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine three handheld exposures to one HDR image. Photoshop CS3 crop and Curves Adjustment Layer to improve overall contrast.

Family Pics

Here are a couple of photos I took of family members while we were out running around weekend before last. The photo of my daughter Emma was taken in a gazebo at a park on Toddville Road in Seabrook and the photo of Emma and my wife Laura was taken at Armand Bayou Nature Center on the Prairie Trail. These are just "grab shots" and I know they aren't great portraits but I wanted to include them to demonstrate how HDR (first photo) can be used for portraits in harsh lighting conditions and to show off the beauty of the Prairie Trail (and my family :-) at Armand Bayou Nature Center (second photo)!

Title: "Emma - Seabrook Gazebo"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix HDR from three handheld (camera propped up on the ledge of the Gazebo and set to use the two second timer) exposures (-2, 0, +2) > Photoshop CS3 > Curves Adjustment Layer for overall contast enhancement > Levels Adjustment Layer to set a black point > Merge Visible to New Layer > Nik Viveza plugin to brighten the face which was still a little dark even after HDR processing due to the extreme contrast caused by the severe backlighting > Topaz Adjust plugin "Simplify" preset with mask to block the effect from the eyes, nose, mouth, and hair

Title: "Emma and Laura - ABNC"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Duplicate Layer > Free Transform to level the horizon > Nik Viveza to brighten the subjects > Curves Adjustment Layer for overall contast enhancement > Merge Visible to New Layer > Topaz Adjust plugin "Simplify" preset > Duplicate Layer > High Pass Sharpening in Hard Light blending mode > Merge Visible to New Layer in Screen mode at 49% opacity to make the whole image brighter