RW 607, Single Image HDR

I have no idea what this structure labeled RW 607 is, but the rust turned a bright red in the late afternoon and enhanced slightly with Nik HDR Efex using the default realistic preset.

This monochrome conversion comes from Nik Silver Efex Pro using a green filter and sepia/blue split tone.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	Nikkor AF 24-85mm f2.8-4 IF
Exposure:	ISO 200, 70mm @ f/11 @ 1/500s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Daylight
Support:	Handheld
Location:	Missouri Riverfront, Pioneer Park, St. Charles
Dates:	Capture - June 28, 2009, Procesed - December 4, 2010
Processing:	Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro, Photoshop CS5

Cache River at Heron Pond, HDR Test

The water was glassy smooth in the Cache River near Heron Pond yesterday.  Something about the place seems frozen in time, which I guess is the point of a nature preservation area.  This picture is the result of processing five brackets in Nik HDR Efex, using the Landscape - Fine Detail preset as a starting point, with further processing in Photoshop CS5, Nik Vivenza and a final 11x14 crop in Lightroom 3.

Monochrome generated from the HDR image in Nik Silver Efex Pro using a custom preset I made to get that purple cast you got with Rapid Selenium Toner on Kodabromide paper.

Lens: Nikkor AF 24-85mm f2.8-4 IF 

Camera: Nikon D700

Exposure: ISO 200, five brackets around 52mm @ f/11.0 @ 1/200s, Auto WB, handheld, RAW

Lighting: Daylight

Location: Heron Pond GPS

Dates: Capture - October 29, 2010, Processing - October 30, 2010

Processing: Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Falls River

Falls River, Rocky Mountain National Park. This is a 2.5 second exposure at mid-day using a really thick neutral density filter.

I recently went to a Tom Murphy seminar where he recommended an ND filter to slow the shutter to 1 second when shooting water. I probably went a little overboard with the 3.0 filter and if you want to try this I'd suggest something a little less extreme, maybe 1.8 or 2.0. But this is fun stuff and I love what it does with the image.

The B/W conversion is custom, starting with the LR low contrast preset. I added an LR graduated filter to darken the rocks in the water at the bottom of the frame - kind of the opposite of it's typical use.

Nikon D3, Nikkor 18-35mm @ 18mm, 2.5 seconds @ f/8, GPS

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.

Tug Dock Detail #2, Missouri River

Another tug boat dock pylon along the Missouri River neat the Kadi Trail Park. The mix of silver paint and rust makes an almost reptillian skin. Nikon D700, ISO 200, Nikon 180mm f2.8, f/8.0 @ 1/500s, hand held. RAW file processed in Lightroom 2 to apply the Nikon Vivid profile, add a vignette and set the tone curve to high contrast.