Sunday, November 30, 2008

Climatron

Nikon D100, ISO 200, 24mm, f/11 @ 1/250s.  The light was very flat, so some curves adjustment and WB applied in Lightroom 2.  A few people were removed using Photoshop CS4.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

The Ragtimers at Dressel's Pub

The St Louis Ragtimers play at Dressel's every year on the night before Thanksgiving in honor of Scott Joplin's birthday. I brought the wide lens and showed up early because i hoped to get in close and get a shot like this. The stage was fairly dark and I eventually used just a straight-up bounce (SB-800) at -1 2/3. I would have liked to fill the shadow under the hat but any straight-on light seemed too strong. The lights seen in the window are street lamps on Euclid. The B&W conversion is the Aged Photo preset in Lightroom with the saturation all the way down and the brightness kicked up. Nikon D200, ISO 400, 1/20 at f/4, Nikon 12-24mm at 24.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Young Lion

This male lion is around two years old.  Nikon D2x, ISO 200, 1/125 at f4, Nikon 300mm f/4, lens, Gitzo carbon fiber tripod w/RRS head.  I'm also using an RRS replacement tripod ring - the original Nikon ring is notoriously unstable.  

Friday, November 14, 2008

Infrared Water Lily Pads - MoBot

Nikon D100, ISO 200, 105mm Micro w/Polarizer and Hoya R72 Infrared filters, f/16 @ 1/6s, Bogen tripod and ball head.  The original is dark red and very flat, despite the backlight.  Retouching in Photoshop CS4 to remove coins on the upper left pad and a stray leaf on the foreground pad, then Sepia conversion in Lightroom 2.  After some hit and miss results, I find that the best workflow for digital Infrared is to edit in Photoshop first, then finish up in Lightroom.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Three Lily Pads

Early September, late afternoon light at Mobot. Shooting around the Chihuly glass is getting very difficult! Nikon D100, ISO 200, 105mm Micro w/Polarizer and graduated ND, f/16 @ 1/15s using -0.5 exposure compensation.

Bald Landscape 1979

A while back I scanned some negatives of landscapes I shot in the late '70s and just got around to looking at them in Lightroom. This is a straight scan, no manipulation. I took this between setups on a fashion shoot, using the exterior of a building 180 degrees behind the shooting position. If memory serves, this from a Leica M2, 50mm w/B+W black net filter, f/8 @ 1/25s on Agfa 25 developed in Rodinal. A Starbucks beverage of your choice goes to the first person correctly name the location :)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Autumn, Heron Pond

At Heron Pond I was amazed to find the Bald Cypress had turned and were dropping leaves.  Nikon D3, ISO 200, 1/25 at f/8, Nikon 24-70mm lens, WB 5000k, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod w/RRS Head.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Marble Torso Study #2 - Phantom of Liberty

I find this work one of the most intriguing pieces in the St. Louis Art Museum.  It just dawned on me that I've been admiring this statue for more than 50 years, making it perhaps my oldest friend!  Nikon D100, ISO 800, 50mm, f/1.8 @ 1/80s.  Cropped and color corrected in Lightroom 2.

Abandoned House, Karnak, Illinois

Not exactly St. Louis, this is near Heron Pond in the Shawnee National Forest.  I used the Direct Positive preset then reduced saturation by 15.  24mm at f/8.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Decayed Gourd Study


Lightroom 2 antique greyscale conversion with the contrast dialed down.  The print actually looks like an albumin contact print.  The detail blocks up in the JPEG conversion, but the seeds really pop.
Here is the original grab shot with Nikon D100, ISO 200, 24-85mm @ 85 in Macro mode, f/11 @ 1/350s.  Cropped in Lightroom 2.1.  The color reminds me of a much better execution of the same subject by Irving Penn from ~1959.  Even just doing a casual homage makes me appreciate just how amazingly good Penn is.