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

St. Louis Art Museum at Night

Leaving the St. Louis Art Museum at dusk last evening, the sky was absolutely crystal clear and lighting on the statue of St. Louis spectacular.  This monochrome was processed in Nik Silver Efex Pro using a custom blue/sepia split tone.

This is the color version, pretty much straight out of the Nikon D700 set to auto white balance.  The color is accurate, which is to say, this is how the scene looked to me.  The sky is amazing, but, as Susan pointed out, it really over powers the subject.


Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikkor AF-S 50mm f1.4 G
Exposure: ISO 200, f/5.6 @ 1/8s
Support: Handheld
Lighting: Mixed dusk skylight, tungsten and mercury
Location: St. Louis Art Musem GPS
Dates: Capture - November 26, 2010, Processed - November 27, 2010
Processing: RAW in Lightroom 3 and Nik Silver Efex Pro

St. Louis in Silhouette, Single Image HDR

I was curious about how much shadow detail HDR Toning could pull out of the single RAW image from an earlier post, "St. Louis in Silhouette".  While I can't say that I really like the resulting picture better than the original post, the shadow detail here is pretty amazing.

The monochrome conversion is from the just release 64-bit version of Silver Efex Pro.  There are no new features, but processing is noticeably faster.

For comparison, here is the capture straight out of the camera.

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: Nikkor AF-S 50mm f1.4 G

Exposure: ISO 200, f/11 @ 1/800s, handheld

Lighting: Daylight 

Location: St. Louis Art Museum GPS

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

St. Louis in Silhouette

On most visits to the St. Louis Art Museum, I try to get a different take on this city landmark.  This shot is a compositional departure for me.  I usually frame for the golden ratio, but I worked this one out with triangles fitted to the golden mean.  I was shooting directly into the sun here, but the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 G exhibits no lens flare or noticeable loss of contrast.  My only complaint is that auto-focus is sluggish and barrel distortion is very pronounced.

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: Nikkor AF-S 50mm f1.4 G

Exposure: ISO 200, f/11 @ 1/800s, handheld

Lighting: Daylight 

Location: Grand Center Artist Loft Studios GPS

Processing: Lightroom 3, Nik Tools

After Metropolis #1

I'm not sure where or when we came by a model of the Chrysler building, but here is it.  It is hard for me to not think about Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" when I see it.

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8 D

Exposure: ISO 400, f/8 @ 1.0s, Auto WB, tripod

Lighting: Mixed window light and tungsten lamp

Location: Home GPS

Processing: Lightroom 3, Silver Efex Pro

Statue by Starbucks HDR

This will be a familiar view for anyone seated outside the Starbucks in the Central West End.  It is my first attempt at handheld HDR.  I shot with the camera braced against a table umbrella pole.  The picture is processed from three one stop brackets in Photoshop CS5 HDR Pro using the Photorealistic preset to start.  The little white spot above the statue's head is a way out of focus star, which I think is pretty remarkable.

The monochrome was made with Nik Silver Efex Pro, applying a simulated Wratten #58 green filter to darken the buildings.  The sepia/blue split tone was applied in Lightroom.

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.4G 

Exposure: ISO 200, three brackets around f/2 @ 1s, handheld, RAW

Lighting: Night, ambient street light 

Location: Starbucks, 4656 Maryland Ave, Saint Louis, MO 63108 GPS

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

Spartan #2

One of the first ideas I had for King Leonidas was to apply a red filter, but the effect was not pleasing.  Too much red can be numbing and dull.  For this shot, the background and front side light is tungsten balanced warm white fluorescent, while the front fill is skylight from a window.  The combination of warm rim light and bronze patina emerged to look like a combination of light from a blazing sunset and a splash of arterial spray.  Color Isolate Red develop preset eliminated the bright greenish yellow background.

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: AF Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8D

Exposure: ISO 200, f/8 @ 0.8s, tripod, cable release

Lighting: Window light and warm fluorescent lamp

Location: My house

Processing: Lightroom 3

Solarized Spartan #1

 

This picture kicks off a series of pictures based on this plaster bust of a Spartan king Leonidas and continues the Man Ray homage.  

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: AF Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8D

Exposure: ISO 200, f/8 @ 1s, 5 brackets, tripod (Gitzo Basalt GT2830 and Gitzo GH2781QR ball head)

Lighting: Window light and warm fluorescent lamp

Location: My house

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

Mercury #3

This is a very bronze from 15th century Italy.  It looks curiously modern to me, almost Art Deco.  This rendition is a faux-Fresson.

Technical: Nikon D700, Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8, ISO 1600, f/5 @ 1/30s, WB tungsten, hand-held.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 3 Beta 2, Nik Dfine and Nik Color Efex Pro.

Apparition #1

This is really just an upside down reflection of a statue in a highly polished granite floor.

Technical: Nikon D700, Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8, ISO 1600, f/5.0 @ 1/6s.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 3 Beta 2 to correct color and contrast, and spots on the floor, then Nik Color Efex Pro for the Kodachrome 64 Professional film effect, finally back in Lightroom, crank up the grain all the way.

Artemis Running, Detail #8

Returning to my favorite statue, here is a slightly different detail of Artemis Running, processed as a faux-Fresson.  This is from a series I shot with a 180mm, flattening the perspective quite a bit.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 180mm f2.8 "Leni Lens", ISO 1600, tungsten WB, f/4.0 @ 1/400s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2, Nik Dfine and Nik Color Efex Pro.

Zenobia In Chains, Study #2

Here is a front view of Harriet Hosmer's "Zenobia in Chains" at the St. Louis Art Museum.  The current lighting on her face is unfortunate, but it works for other details like her crown.  The image here is a faux-Fresson (see an exmple), similar to work by Sheila Metzner and others.  I found an interesting comparison of printing techniques at Durbin Photographics.  I'm still adjusting the technique.  For instance, I'm finding that I'll need to adjust the amount of grain noise for print size.

Technical: Nikon D700, AF-S Nikkor 50mm f1.4 G, ISO 1600, Tungsten WB, f/1.4 @ 1/250s, handheld. RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6 to crop, noise reduction with Nik Dfine, color adjusted with Nik Vivenza and Fresson effect applied with Nik Color Efex Pro.

The center sharpness of the 50mm f1.4 G at f/1.4 is amazingly good.  In fact, it looks as sharp to me as the venerable 50mm f1.8 at f/4.0.  I've seen mixed reviews on NikonGear.com and other Nikon equipment blogs, but I think it is a solid performer.

Zenobia In Chains, Study #1

One of the more celebrated statues in the St. Louis Art Museum collection is "Zenobia in Chains" c.1859 by St. Louis native Harriet Hosmer.  At the moment, the statue's face is not well lit, but I rather like this back view.  I'm still working on a faux-Fresson appearance that I think suits situations like this.  I think the bokeh here is very painterly.  The new AF-S Nikkor f1.4G is my main museum lens.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f1.4G, ISO 1600, f/1.8 @ 1/500s, custom white balance from a Color Checker Passport (2950K), handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6, noise reduction in Nik Dfine, Fresson look created in Nik Color Efex Pro Film style.

Venus of SLAM #4

This is my final variation on this bronze stature at the St. Louis Art Museum, this time with Man Ray firmly in mind.  The path here was a bit long, as per technical below.  Susan said, "She looks like she has a skin disease."  That, of course, means I'm on the right track.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 180mm f2.8, ISO 1600,  WB - Tungsten, f/3.2 @ 1/200s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6, noise reduction in Nik Dfine, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro to apply the "Gold Reflector" style, which pulled up the detail and shifted the color to an overall yellow.  Finally, monochrome conversion in Nik Silver Efex Pro, applying the Antique Solarization style, applied red filter and full strength copper toner effect.

Venus of SLAM #3

This third study of the bronze lady in the St. Louis Art Museum comes from the "Polaroid Transfer" style in Nik Silver Efex Pro.  You can see the effect of mixed lighting, where the primary source is tungsten, but the strong blue highlight on the left is the reflection of the main entrance.  The Polaroid Transfer style mutes the blue highlight color somewhat and fortuitously balances the color with by emphasizing the blue shift of daylight lit wall on the right.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 180mm f2.8, ISO 1600,  WB - Tungsten, f/3.2 @ 1/200s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6, noise reduction in Nik Dfine, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro Complete using the "Polaroid Transfer" style. 

Venus of SLAM #2

The bronze statue in the main hall of the St. Louis Art Museum presents a number of photographic technical challenges.  First, it is lit by mix of daylight and tungsten that can't be neutralized.  Second, the statue is very dark.  It is hard to see detail with the naked eye.  Finally, tripods are not allowed in the museum (without special arrangements), so multiple exposures for HDR assembly is not a viable option.

Grayscale conversion is an easy fix to the mixed light condition.  To pull out shadow detail in the film days, we'd pick a long toe film, use a filter to adjust tonal contrast, expose for the shadows, shorten development time and do some fancy dodging on a #3 paper.  Here I've done the digital equivalent in Nik Silver Efex Pro.  I started with the Ambrotype style, applied the blue filter to darken the warm walls relative to the bronze, and added a new film stock based on the old Kodak Super XX emulsion.  In this version, I'm trying for an early 1930's Art Deco feel.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 180mm f2.8, ISO 1600,  WB - Tungsten, f/3.2 @ 1/200s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6, noise reduction in Nik Dfine, monochrome conversion in Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Venus of SLAM #1

Picture of a bronze statue just inside the entrance of the St. Louis Art museum made with a Silver Efex Pro style I've been working on that helps make dark subjects pop.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 180mm f2.8, ISO 1600,  WB - Tungsten, f/3.2 @ 1/200s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6, noise reduction in Nik Dfine, monochrome conversion in Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Degas Little Dancer with Monet Water Lilies, SLAM

Susan asked that I make this picture, so I must give her art direction credit.  We came upon this scene yesterday as we were walking through the few galleries still open at the St. Louis Art Museum since the expansion project started.  My first few shots were with a 50mm, but they failed to convey the impression one gets because the Monet is too small in the frame.  The picture was made with a 180mm to pull the painting closer to the statue.  A big technical problem here is the mix of tungsten and skylight, which tends to muddy the colors.  Lightroom actually could not fully adjust the color properly without introducing some posterizaton artifacts, so I tried further editing in Nik Vivenza 2.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 180mm f2.8 (Leni lens), ISO 1600, f/2.8 @ 1/200s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6 with further editing in Nik Dfine to reduce noise (some was visible in shadows) and Nik Vivenza 2 to tweak color and contrast.  As capable as Lightroom is, I can see the value add of the Nik products.

Roman Athlete Detail #1, SLAM

Another face from antiquity, name forgotten, but likeness surviving 125 generations so far, this is a detail from a Roman athlete statue at the St. Louis Art Museum.  I'm running out of local antiquities!


Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f1.4G, ISO 1600, f/4.0 @ 1/100s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6 to adjust white balance, crop 1x1 and apply my variation of Mike Lao's "300" develop preset.

St. Louis Art Museum Muse Study #1, Solarized

The St. Louis Art Museum muse to the right of the entrance.  Both of the gals are looking worse for wear these days, suffering from missing bits and a layer of grime.  I hope the statues get some restoration attention as part of the museum expansion.  The solarization effect is a custom style I've developed for Silver Efex Pro.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f1.4 G, ISO 800, f/4.0 @ 1/8000s, hand held.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6 to crop and straighten, then edited in Nik Silver Efex Pro to apply the solarization effect.