Lightroom 3 Publish Services

I'm finding Lightroom's Publish Services very useful for managing photo portfolios on the web and devices. I never imagined the Hard Drive publishing could be so useful - as soon as any change is made to an image in a Publish Folder it will move to an unpublished state so that you know to re-publish - very cool.

Check out this Terry White tutorial on publishing for iDevices. The only thing I'd add to his advice is regarding the iPad. Instead of using his recommendation of 1024x768 at 72ppi, I'd recommend exporting at 2048x1536 at 132ppi. 132 is the resolution of the iPad screen and doubling the pixel dimensions will give you some room to magnify the image. I can't confirm that this is optimal for iPhone 4, but it works well for iPhone 3.

Bust of Hygia #3

A bust of Hygia hangs out at our studio, usually on a window ledge.  This is an iPhone 4 Instagram image, processed in Nik Silver Efex Pro for a monochrome conversion using my "Grainy Nude" preset.  The blue/sepia split tone came from Lightroom 3, as well as lens correction.

Technical
Camera:	Apple iPhone 4
Lens:	Apple 3.85
Exposure:	ISO 500, f/2.8 @ 1/500s, Auto WB, JPEG
Lighting:	Window daylight
Support:	Handheld
Location:	Grand Center Artist Studios
Dates:	Capture - December 5, 2010, Processed - December 19, 2010
Processing:	Lightroom 3, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Cypress Trunks, Heron Pond, HDR

This is a good example, I think, of a shot saved by HDR processing.  It was taken near dusk and the light was very flat and kind of sickly.  I liked the composition, but the tonality was just too deadly to make a picture with any punch.  Luckily, I had bracketed the exposures and was able to pull out some detail by processing the shots in Nik HDR Efex using my custom landscape preset.  The colors version of this shot is not very attractive, but the detail was punched up with enough tonal separation to give me a wide range of options for the monochrome conversion in Nik Silver Efex Pro.  The final touch here is a sepia/blue split tone applied in Lightroom 3.  The print looks a bit like charcoal on mylar.

Lens: Nikkor AF 24-85mm f2.8-4 IF 

Camera: Nikon D100

Exposure: ISO 200, 50mm @ f/8 @ 1/6s, Auto WB, tripod, RAW

Lighting: Daylight at dusk

Location: Cache River Natural Area, Heron Pond GPS

Dates: Capture - April 15, 2006, Processing - November 18, 2010

Processing: RAW file in Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Cypress Knees, Heron Pond, HDR Test

The cypress knees are curious structures that are part of the root system.  This version started with the color picture below, made from three half-stop brackets processed in Nik HDR Efex, then applied a "Color Isolate Red" develop preset in Lightroom 3.  The knees got lost is the straight monochrome conversion.

This HDR color version captures fairly well the minor chord dusk light and mood of the swamp.  

In Nik Silver Efex Pro, I was able to get good separation between the knees and water without loosing detail using a split tone preset I made for landscapes.

Lens: Nikkor AF 24-85mm f2.8-4 IF 

Camera: Nikon D100

Exposure: ISO 200, 50mm @ f/8 @ 1/6s, Auto WB, tripod, RAW

Lighting: Daylight at dusk

Location: Cache River Natural Area, Heron Pond GPS

Dates: Capture - April 15, 2006, Processing - November 18, 2010

Processing: RAW file in Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Cypress Trees #4, Heron Pond, HDR Test

Once you see it, you can't un-see it - the outline of a sort-of Superman shield on the swamp floor.  This picture is five brackets made in extreme back light conditions (I shot directly into the sun) processed in Nik HDR Efex using a preset I made for the Heron Pond landscapes.  I've settled on this workflow for now:

• Import pictures into Lightroom 3
• Export to Nik HDR Efex and process
• Do easy spotting, light remove sensor dust, and apply lens adjustments in Lightroom 3
• Sharpen in Nik Dfine
• Edit in Nik Vivenza, usually to only adjust brightness, structure and contrast no more than 10%
• Edit in Photoshop CS5 for pixel retouching if needed, tweak levels
• Edit in Nik Color Efex Pro to add the "CSI Miami" preset
• If needed, crop and straighten in Lightroom 3

The monochrome is made in Nik Silver Efex Pro using one of my custom blue/sepia split blue tone presets.
This was the first time I used quite a few pieces of new gear in the field that I'd like to mention...

• The Think Tank Streetwalker Pro camera backpack is pretty nearly perfect.
• The Really Right Stuff L-bracket fits the D700 perfectly.  It is solid and will not shift.
• The Acratech GP ballhead is a joy and very flexible.  I used it in gimbal mode more that I though I would.
• The Acratech Leveling Base is easy to use and very fast to adjust.  The large rubber adjustment knob and level can get in the way of the camera when using the GP in gimbal mode.  I had to rotate the head a couple of times to clear the level.  
• The Acratech Nodal Rail  is very sturdy.  I found it was long enough to use the Nikon 180mm f/2.8.
• The Gitzo Basalt Series 2 tripod is light and sturdy.  With the legs fully extended but column down, the camera viewfinder is at my eye level.  I'm 5'11" on the rare occasions that I stand up straight.  

Lens: Nikkor AF-S 50mm f1.4 G 

Camera: Nikon D700

Exposure: ISO 200, five brackets around f/11.0 @ 1/20s, Auto WB, tripod

Lighting: Daylight

Location: Cache River Natural Area, Heron Pond GPS

Dates: Capture - October 29, 2010, Processing - November 1, 2010

Processing: RAW file in Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Egyptian Abstract #2, HDR Redux

Most HDR pictures celebrate wide angle, deep focus, saturated color.  Some of my favorite photographic abstractions combine shadows, reflections and blurring.  As part of my HDR education, this picture of a shadow on a wall with a small Egyptian figurine in the foreground felt like an interesting anti-pattern to exercise with Nik HDR Efex.  This monochrome started with the color shot below, converted in Nik Silver Efex Pro using a preset I made for high structure and a sepia/blue split tone.  

This color version is the result of single image tone mapping in Nik HDR Efex.  I wound up creating a new preset for Nik HDR Efex that I call "Electric Cool Aid" pulls acidic colors out of neutral shades.  It reminds me of the old cross processing technique I first saw in the early '70s, where Ektachrome is used at a high ASA, like 32,000,  developed in a b&w developer like HC-100, then processed as a color negative in C-22.

Lens: Nikkor AF 24-85mm f2.8-4 IF 

Camera: Nikon D100

Exposure: ISO 1000, 85mm @ f/8.0 @ 1/200s, Auto WB, handheld, RAW

Lighting: Tungsten and daylight mix

Location: St. Louis Art Museum GPS

Dates: Capture - June 25, 2006, Processing - October 27, 2010

Processing: Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Lafayette Park Pond #1, Infrared HDR Test

The Lafayette Park pond and bridge is one of those little garden jewels, maintained by neighborhood volunteers.  I remember visiting it in the '50s when it was a public wading pool.  This picture is made from three one-stop brackets shot through a Cokin P007 filter and processed in Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex and Nik Silver Efex Pro.  

Lens: Nikkor AF 24-85mm f2.8-4 IF 

Camera: Nikon D100

Exposure: ISO 200, three 1-stop brackets, 50mm @ f/16 @ 0.8s, Cokin P007 filter, Auto WB, tripod, RAW

Lighting: Daylight filtered through trees

Location: Lafayette Park, St. Louis GPS

Dates: Capture - June 25, 2006, Processing - October 27, 2010

Processing: Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro, Photoshop CS5

Gears, Outside the McDonnell Planetarium

These gears are part of an educational exhibit outside the McDonnell Planetarium.  I like the shapes, but the original shot is really dull.  Nik HDR Efex helped lift some texture and tonality using a custom preset I call Dark Vintage.

The monochrome comes from Silver Efex Pro using a high structure, split tone effect.

Lens: Nikkor AF 24-85mm f2.8-4 IF 

Camera: Nikon D100

Exposure: ISO 400, 60mm @ f/8 @ 1/250s, Auto WB, handheld, RAW

Lighting: Daylight  

Location: 5050 Oakland Avenue, St. Louis, MO (Forest Park) GPS

Date: Capture - 2009-03-07, Processing - 2010-10-17

Processing: Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Child Mummy #3, St. Louis Science Center

This version of the portrait of the South American child mummy at the St. Louis Science Center is even more intimate that the first two.  Processing started with #2 post in Nik HDR Efex using the "Sepia?" preset available for download from Nik, then converted to monochrome in Nik Silver Efex pro using a custom preset I call "High Structure w/Split Tone".

Lens: Nikkor AF 24-85mm f2.8-4 IF 

Camera: Nikon D100

Exposure: ISO 400, 85mm @ f/4.0 @ 1/15s, Auto WB, handheld, RAW

Lighting: Mercury vapor and window light

Location: 5050 Oakland Avenue, St. Louis, MO GPS

Date: Capture - 2007-08-26, Processing - 2010-10-20

Processing: Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Grid #11 Redux with Nik HDR Efex Test

So now I'm starting to be fairly impressed by Nik HDR Efex.  Though I like the first version of Grid #11 processed in Photoshop CS5 HDR Pro, HDR Efex delivers visibly extra detail and color depth.  

The monochrome conversion was processed in Nik Silver Efex Pro with a light green filter and aqua/sepia split tone applied in Lightroom.

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.4G 

Exposure: ISO 200, three brackets around f/11 @ 1/200s, tripod, RAW

Lighting: Direct daylight  

Location: Alley behind the Grand Center Artist Loft Studios GPS

Processing: Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Pro, Nik Silver Efex Pro