Trisha Bradshaw - HDR Dark City Variations

At long last, I worked through the details of applying the HDR tone mapping I used for architecture, which adds turquoise to mid tones and yellow to highlights, to people without making them look monstrous.  Trisha Bradshaw is standing on the fire escape for the Grand Center Artist studios, with makeup by Sarah Lynn and styling by Susan Page.  The base shot at the bottom of this post was processed in Nik HDR Efex for single image tone mapping, which I softened quite a bit with the Glamor Glow tool in Nik Color Efex Pro.  The acid wash border came from PhotoFrame Free.

From "Dark City" to "Sin City", the Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 has a new selective tone feature for control points, which allows dialing some original color back in.

This picture is from the Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 "Yellowstone 2" preset, which looks like an old print from Polaroid PN 55 or the high contrast night shots Helmut Newton produced in the early '70s.  

Here is the un-varnished picture, straight out of Nik HDR Efex.  It isn't all that rough now that I look at it.

This is the straight shot, before the grunge processing.    

For reference, here is a processed "Dark City" architecture shot I'm trying to match.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED
Exposure:	ISO 200, f/5.6 @ 1/60s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	D700 built-in flash
Support:	Handheld
Location:	Grand Center Artists' Studios GPS
Dates:	Capture - February 19, 2011, Processed - February 23, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2, Nik Color Efex Pro

Trisha Bradshaw - Bond Girl in Dark City Variations

 It took nearly a week to find the right balance of grunge, but I finally got 'round to processing Trisha Bradshaw's Bond girl into the Dark City series.  This picture is straight out of Nik HDR Efex Pro using a custom single image tone mapping I call "Dark Vintage".  Many thanks to Trisha, makeup artist Sarah Lynn and Susan Page.

This is the base image, color corrected in Lightroom 3 and level adjusted in Photoshop CS5.

So how could I resist the new "Film Noir 1" preset in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2, with green filter and blue/sepia split tone.

Exploring the new selective color tool in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2, with dark blue toner and green filter, Trisha becomes something of a vamp.

Working the night shift for "CSI Miami" thanks to Nik Color Efex Pro.

And finally, a gritty Fresson from Nik Color Efex Pro.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G
Exposure:	ISO 200, f/4 @ 1/60s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Ambient night plus on camera flash
Support:	Handheld
Location:	Grand Center Artists' Studios
Dates:	Capture - February 19, 2011, Processed - February 25, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro, Nik Color Efex Pro

Trisha Bradshaw - HDR Bond Girl Test

 This single image HDR test, starring model Trisha Bradshaw and makeup by Sarah Lynn, is an homage to the Connery-era Bond Girl.  Both Trisha and Sarah nailed the concept.  The picture got single image HDR tone mapping in Nik HDR Efex using a preset I named "Realistic Nude", followed by levels and curves adjustment in Photoshop CS5.

The first shot looked a little "catalog clean" to me, so I took it through processing in Nik Color Efex Pro to make it look like a Fresson print.  I think the grain makes the tie to the '60s stronger.

The monochrome was processed in Nik Silver Efex Pro using my "Grainy Nude" preset.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G
Exposure:	ISO 200, f/13 @ 1/60s, Daylight WB, RAW
Lighting:	Single Broncolor head and small Chimera Super Pro bank
Support:	Gitzo Basalt tripod w/Acratech GP head and RRS L-bracket
Location:	Grand Center Artists' Studios
Dates:	Capture - February 19, 2011, Processed - February 19, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro, Nik Color Efex Pro

Trisha Bradshaw - Sin City Version

Many thanks to makeup artist Sarah Lynn and model Trisha Bradshaw, who lent their considerable talents to me today to make some pictures.  Trisha and Sarah did such a great job, I have about 100 picks to sift through.  I was eager to start processing, so I picked, almost at random, this very last shot of the day.  We shot this on the fire escape of the Grand Center Artist Studios.  Light is a mix of ambient and the D700 pop-up flash. I followed these processing steps:

1. Nik HDR Efex tone mapping using the "Granny's Attic" preset as a starting point.
2. Adjusted Levels in Photoshop CS5
3. Some localized color and brightness correction in Nik Vivenza
4. Add the "CSI Miami" glamor glow in Nik Color Efex Pro
5. Applied a "Color Isolate Red" develop preset in Lightroom 3, as well as some burning and dodging.
6. The sepia/blue split tone below was processed in Nik Silver Efex Pro.

The picture needs some refining before I make prints, but I was eager to share the work in progress.  I was not expecting to channel Helmut Newton, but apparently I can't help it :)  More to come...

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G
Exposure:	ISO 200, f/4 @ 1/60s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Ambient night plus on camera flash
Support:	Handheld
Location:	Grand Center Artists' Studios
Dates:	Capture - February 19, 2011, Processed - February 19, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro, Nik Color Efex Pro

Lobster, St. Louis Science Center

Part of an exhibit of shelled ocean creatures at the St. Louis Science Center, this lobster was a stand out in terms of color and texture.

Monochrome was generated from the color picture above in Nik Silver Efex Pro with a preset I made to simulate late the look of a Leica I and 1920's 35mm film.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED
Exposure:	ISO 1600, f/8.0 @ 080s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Mixed tungsten and fluorescent light
Support:	Handheld
Location:	St. Louis Science Center
Dates:	Capture - January 2, 2011, Processed - January 3, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro, Nik Color Efex Pro

Diamondback Rattlesnake

This guy calls a dimly lit display case at the St. Louis Science Center home.  Processing steps include Photoshop CS5 to adjust levels, Nik HDR Efex to improve tone mapping and Nik Color Efex Pro to apply the "CSI Miami" glow.  

I think the monochrome "reads" better.  Processed in Nik Silver Efex Pro using a weak green filter and strong coffee toner.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED
Exposure:	ISO 1600, f/11 @ 010s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Mixed tungsten and fluorescent light
Support:	Handheld
Location:	St. Louis Science Center
Dates:	Capture - January 2, 2011, Processed - January 2, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro, Nik Color Efex Pro

Chrysthanemum Variations

This is my first test shot with my new AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED, improvised with a bowl of fortuitously wilting chrysthanemums sitting on our breakfast table.  The lens is a beauty.  Auto-focus is snappy, image amazingly crisp, color rich and its bokeh as good as it gets.

The monochrome is courtesy Nik Silver Efex Pro and blue/sepia split tone from Lightroom 3.

Ray-O-Gram solarization effect courtesy Nik Color Efex Pro.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED
Exposure:	ISO 200, f/11 @ 0.5s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Heavy overcast window light
Support:	Gitzo Basalt Tripod, Acratech GP head, Really Right Stuff L-bracket
Location:	My house
Dates:	Capture - December 25, 2010, Processed - December 25, 2010
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro, Nik Color Efex Pro