Thursday, October 28, 2010

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

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