Dead Leaves Redux #1

Looking at the first Dead Leaves post from 2008, the picture feels a little flat.  I decided to throw the entire Nik suite at the picture to see it could be improved.  The workflow was Lightroom minor adjustments, Dfine, RAW Pre-Sharpener, Silver Efex Pro Landscape Sepia style w/Orange filter, Output Sharpener for Display, Lightroom JPEG export.  The result is definitely crisper, with a longer tonal range.

Technical: Nikon D100, Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-f4.0, 84mm @ f/8.0 @ 1/60s, macro mode, on camera fill flash, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6 and Nik Suite as above.

Port Glass #3

This is my first real test of shooting tethered with Nikon Camera Control Pro 2, a Nikon D700 and a 17-inch laptop running Windows 7.  There are a number of permutations for configuring how files are handled.  For this setup, I created a new Lightroom catalog for for the occasion, set it to watch a folder on the C:\ drive and move the files to an external hard drive.  Then I set CCP2 to save files to the watch folder.  Shooting with Lightroom running in full screen mode, the images show on screen in Lightroom about 10 seconds after the shot with camera adjustments applied.  The shooting experience is very nice.

A few months ago, I was running the trial and have an important observation has to do with the USB cable that comes with the camera.  First, it is a bit short at 5 ft.  Second, I experienced several lockups that I blamed on the software, chilling my enthusiasm for tethered shooting.  When I started to think about going tethered again, I bought a better cable at the same time I ordered CCP2.  Amazon.com has a line of very good cables branded AmazonBasics.  The heavy duty 6ft. gold plated A-Male to Mini-B USB cable is $3.61 and the 9.8ft heavy duty gold plated USB extension is $5.92.  This time around, the transfers were fast and stable.  I shot burst tests with and without the extension and the extension didn't seem to slow the transfers.

Technical: Nikon D700, Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8, ISO 200, f/22 @ 1/2s.  RAW file processed with Lightroom 2.6 and Nik Silver Efex Pro.  

Mummified Orange Slice

Among our cherished family possessions is this mummified orange slice.  Okay, maybe cherished is a bit strong.  Usually this is the type of thing you find lurking under the fridge, but we keep ours in a glass jar in the living room.  Here are two interpretations.  The monochrome version above is derived from the Nik Silver Efex Pro "Grainy Portrait" style.  The color version below has the "nice bright colors" of Kodachrome, courtesy the Film Effects tool in Nik Color Efex Pro.

Technical: Nikon D700, Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8, ISO 200, f/16 @ 1/13s, tripod. The pod is sitting on white plexi and lit with a single Calumet Quattro lights, sans shower cap.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6, Nik Dfine, Nik Silver Efex Pro and Nik Color Efex Pro.

jQuery Portfolio Engine

I've reworked my online portfoilios using a jQuery solution: Galleria. The code is not new but it works pretty nicely. It also allows navigating the portfolio by clicking the large image which means it works fairly well on the iPhone. Please check out the implementation on my site and let me know your thoughts on its usability.

Botanical Abrstract #2a

With an "Oh, that's creepy!" comment from Susan, here is a runner up version of "Botanical Abrstract #2" as a solarized film effect, shifting the same picture in from Blossfeld to Man Ray in feel.

Technical: Nikon D700, Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8, ISO 200, f/16 @ 1/20s, tripod. The pod is sitting on white plexi and lit with a single Calumet Quattro lights, sans shower cap.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6, Nik Dfine and Nik Color Efex Pro, starting with Solarization style #7.

Botanical Abrstract #2

I've been meaning for some time to photograph the contents of a bowl of dried plants that took up residence in our house a few years ago, and kicked off the project today with the bottom view of a seed pod.

Technical: Nikon D700, Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8, ISO 200, f/16 @ 1/20s, tripod.  The pod is sitting on white plexi, lit with a single Calumet Quattro head without the "shower cap".  RAW file processed with Lightroom 2.6, Nik Dfine and Nik Silver Efex Pro for conversion to monochrome and toning.

Tufted Puffin

To celebrate Valentine's Day, Jan and I had an excellent brunch at the Coronado. Afterwards we headed to the zoo and I found myself in an unusual situation: at the zoo without long lens or flash. So in Penguin/Puffin Cove I ran the 24-70mm out to 70mm, cranked the ISO to 3200, and shot at 1/50th at f/2.8 - and hoped for the best.

This young puffin took an interest in me. I'm not sure if it was the lens or the shutter sound, but the bird was intrigued and came very close, sometimes too close to focus.

I had to increase exposure by a stop in lightroom, but the ISO noise is really not bad.

Nikon D3, Nikon 24-70mm, 1/50 @ f/2.8, ISO 3200, Handheld

Solarized Foliage #2

The push-button solarization offered by Nik Silver Efex Pro is very convenient and I've standardized on a custom setting that I like, but because of the way it goes about the style, control of the output is very limited.  Now I've discovered the Solarization effect in Nik Color Efex Pro that offers a strong set of tools to precisely control the tonality, reversal effects and character of the Sabbitier lines.

Technical:  Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-f4, ISO 800, 56mm @ f/4.0 @ 1/60s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6, Nik Dfine to reduce noise, Nik Color Efex Pro to solarize, Nik Silver Efex Pro to apply Copper Toning effect.

Forgotten Roman Goddess #2

This is a slightly softer, Fresson version of an earlier post, using a film effects preset I developed for Nik Color Efex Pro based on Fujichrome 1600 film.  I'm considering new interpretations of my antiquity shots using this process.  As an experiment, I tried to use Lightroom 3 Beta to generate the grain and film characteristic curve to imitate the Fresson look, but the control just isn't there yet.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f1.4G, ISO 800, tungsten WB, f/2.0 @ 1/250s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6, Nik Dfine and Nik Silver Efex Pro.

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.

Utility Pole At Dusk With Moon, Solarized

This solarized version of Utility Pole At Dusk With Moon is the result of my continued exploration of trying to control the endless combination of settings in Nik Silver Efex Pro.  Contact me or leave a comment here if you'd like a copy of my variations on the default Antique Solarization style.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-f4, ISO 200, 70mm @ f/4.5 @ 1/30s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6, then Nik Silver Efex Pro.  

Solarized Foliage #1

It isn't always easy to corral a clump of leaves into a composition without pruning shears and the Missouri Botanical Gardens really frowns on the shears.  The beautiful, unusual leaves are an explosion of magenta outlined with bright green - way to cheerful for me!  As I worked on a a monochrome conversion, I drifted into the solarization effect and liked it.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-f4, macro mode, ISO 800, daylight WB, 56mm @ f/4.0 @ 1/60s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6, monochrome conversion in Nik Silver Efex Pro.