Questions for Nik Users

I've had a few days to work with the Nik Complete Edition for Lightroom, primarily Color Efex and Silver Efex, and I'm finding some really useful enhancement tools - the Pro Contrast tool is killer.

The user manual can be hard to understand, partly because it covers both the PS and LR/Aperture editions. So I have some questions about using the tools:

1. In Color Efex, is it possible to apply multiple filters to an image? Or is this an advantage of the Photoshop edition? I can see now how convenient it would be to place each filter in it's own layer...
2. Is there anyway to track which filter(s) have been applied to a particular file? I create a lot of files while experimenting and need a way to know how they've been altered. Do you use metadata for this? or is there a better way?

I hope these aren't *really* dumb questions, and advice will be much appreciated...

Trisha Bradshaw - 70s Portrait Variations #1

Channeling the style Victor Skrebneski used in the '70s for celebrity portraits, where he dressed everyone from Bette Davis to Orson Welles in the same black turtleneck, this picture was made with my collaborators, makeup artist Sarah Lynn, model Trisha Bradshaw and stylist Susan Page.  Pulling off this seemingly simple portrait sitting was actually fairly involved.  The picture above is exactly the look we aimed for.  Nik Silver Efex Pro made the conversion based on the color picture below, and the lower left detail was removed in Photoshop CS5.

The shot above is the starting point for all the variations.  Processing involved basic Lightroom 3 workflow adjustments, like color balance, cropping and some burning in, followed by levels adjustments in Photoshop CS5.  Next came contrast and brightness fixes in Nik Vivenza and adding a touch of crispness with Nik Sharpener Pro 3.  Note Trisha's wrist and chair highlight in the lower left corner.  I kind of like the balance it brings, but can see where it would be distracting.  Any opinions?

The Fresson print look is courtesy Nik Color Efex Pro.  This might be my favorite version.

It is pretty easy to hit the button for "CSI Miami" preset I made for Nik Color Efex Pro, so I usually do just to see what it looks like.  Trisha picked up a bit of tan this trip South.

Finally, back to Silver Efex Pro to apply my "Grainy Nude" preset.  The idea is to look like a gum print, and I think it comes pretty close.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 D
Exposure:	ISO 200, f/4 @ 1/13s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Single Calumet Quattro beauty with 5500K fluorescent bulbs
Support:	Gitzo Basalt Tripod, Acratech GP head, RRS L-bracket
Location:	Grand Center Artists' Studios
Dates:	Capture - February 19, 2011, Processed - February 21, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik Silver Efex Pro, Nik Color Efex Pro

Vase #2 - HDR Test

This vase currently sits on a table next to the stairwell leading our basement.  This is a five shot of +/- one stop brackets processed in HDR Pro and the Nik Suite of tools.

This monochrome version was processed in Nik Silver Efex Pro with the blue/sepia split tone applied in Lightroom 3.

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8 D

Exposure: ISO 200, f/22 @ 1s, auto WB, RAW, tripod

Lighting: Bounced window daylight

Location: Home GPS

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

Skull Study #4

After researching the properties of an alternative printing method called the "German Two Color Bromoil Process", I decided to see if I could reproduce the effect.  This picture is the result of my first attempt.

Camera: Nikon D700 

Lens: Nikkor 180mm f2.8 "Leni Lens"

Exposure: ISO 200, f/4.8 @ 1/30s, handheld, window light

Location: Grand Center Artist Lofts

Processing: DNG in Lightroom 2.7 and Nik Suite.

Chinese Demon Bust

This piece from 5th Century China would feel at home in a Wes Craven film.  The eyes are amazingly powerful.  The tattoo illustrations are very faded, but the original detail must have been awesome.

Technical: Nikon D700, Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8, ISO 1600, f/4.5 @ 1/40s.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 3 Beta 2 and the Nik Suite of tools.  I've been reading some negative criticism about the bokeh for this lens, but I think it is actually very good.

Park Bench In Flood #2, Day for Night

I posted an earlier version of this picture, but felt it did not have enough contrast and didn't quite make the leap to abstraction.  Playing with it in Lightroom 3, I was thinking it might be a good "day-for-night" candidate.  In the film days, you'd shoot tungsten stock in daylight and underexpose by 1-2 stops.  So in Lightroom I changed the white balance of the RAW file to tungsten, dropped the exposure and boosted contrast and saturation.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 180mm f2.8 "Leni Lens", ISO 200, f/4.0 @ 1/640s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 3 Beta 2 64-bit and Nik Dfine, Vivenza and Color Efex Pro Complete, in which I applied the "Glamor Glow" and the "Polaroid Transfer" styles.

Dried Flower #3

The potpourri bowl offered up this little mummified flower.  The leathery petals still have vivid magenta, red, orange and yellow in spots.  Photographed on a Calumet portable light table, lit with a single Calumet Quattro 5500K fluorescent beauty dish.    

Technical: Nikon D700, Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8, ISO 200, f/16 @ 1/6s, manual focus, tripod, cable release, tethered to a laptop.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6, Nik Dfine, Nik RAW Sharpener, Nik Vivenza and Nik Output Sharpener.  The fluorescent lighting isn't exactly 5500K, so I use the X-Rite Color Passport system to make a custom camera profile for Lightroom.

Back Yard Fall Color Variations

This past year, my plans to seriously shoot the fall foliage never came to pass, but I did manage to grab a few shots from my back yard of this line of trees along Fish Pot Creek.  I've been working on sorting and archiving this weekend, and came across this shot.  The picture has a little clean up with Nik tools, but the colors were naturally saturated by the setting sun.

 
When the light is relatively flat on foliage, I like to see what a monochrome conversion with the contrast kicked up looks like.  While this version has no indication of fall, I like how "silvery" the leaves became.

Because it is almost as easy a clicking a button, if I'm in Nik Silver Efex Pro anyway, I try a solarization.  This version that looks has that line drawing or etching I thought was interesting enough to share.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-f4, ISO 200, 70mm @ f/8.0 @ 1/20s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6 and Nik Software Complete Collection.

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.

Moon, Before and After Nik Tools

I purchased the Nik Software Complete Collection for Lightroom last night, so I'm revisiting some photos I've already posted here to see if they can be improved with the Nik tools set.  This is picture of the moon from my back yard with an inexpensive Celestron mirror telescope.  While the Newtonian design is free of chromatic aberration, the sharpness, resolution and contrast are very low.  There isn't much that can be done about the resolution, but there are digital tools available to improve contrast and apparent sharpness.

This first image is was processed in Lightroom 2 and improved as much as possible by adjusting contrast and clarity, but still looks muddy due to lack of sharpness.    

Technical: Nikon D700, Celestron Newtonian telescope (1000 mm equivalent), ISO 200,  f/11 @ 1/400s, Zone VI wood tripod with a Gitzo pan/tilt head.  RAW file cropped to 1x1 and adjusted in Lightroom 2.

This version is the result of additional editing in the Nik Software collection, using Nik's suggested workflow.  First, I applied a mild noise reduction with Dfine 2.0, which helped remove some of the "fuzz" characteristic of capture from cheap telescopes.  Next, ran the picture through the Sharpener Pro RAW Pre-Sharpener to improve general sharpness, followed by the "Contrast Only" tool in Color Efex Pro give a slight boost to contrast, brightness and structure.  Finally, I used Sharpener Pro's Output sharpening for "Display".

The Nik tools are no substitute for a good lens, but based on the degree of improvement here, I'll be running more pictures through a similar workflow.