Cypress Trunks, Heron Pond, HDR

This is a good example, I think, of a shot saved by HDR processing.  It was taken near dusk and the light was very flat and kind of sickly.  I liked the composition, but the tonality was just too deadly to make a picture with any punch.  Luckily, I had bracketed the exposures and was able to pull out some detail by processing the shots in Nik HDR Efex using my custom landscape preset.  The colors version of this shot is not very attractive, but the detail was punched up with enough tonal separation to give me a wide range of options for the monochrome conversion in Nik Silver Efex Pro.  The final touch here is a sepia/blue split tone applied in Lightroom 3.  The print looks a bit like charcoal on mylar.

Lens: Nikkor AF 24-85mm f2.8-4 IF 

Camera: Nikon D100

Exposure: ISO 200, 50mm @ f/8 @ 1/6s, Auto WB, tripod, RAW

Lighting: Daylight at dusk

Location: Cache River Natural Area, Heron Pond GPS

Dates: Capture - April 15, 2006, Processing - November 18, 2010

Processing: RAW file in Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Cypress Trees #2, Heron Pond, HDR Test

Among the tall cypress tress in Heron Pond are these short, conical stubs called knees that are part of the root system.  Their precise function is not understood according several sources.  This HDR picture is made from five one stop brackets processed in Nik HDR Efex, Nik Color Efex Pro and Photoshop CS5.

 The monochrome was made in Nik Silver Efex Pro using a green filter.  The blue/sepia split tone was applied in Lightroom 3.

Lens: Nikkor AF-S 50mm f1.4 G 

Camera: Nikon D700

Exposure: ISO 200, five brackets around f/11.0 @ 1/60s, Auto WB, tripod

Lighting: Daylight

Location: Cache River Natural Area, Heron Pond GPS

Dates: Capture - October 29, 2010, Processing - October 31, 2010

Processing: RAW file in Lightroom 3 and Nik HDR Efex

Treetops #1, HDR Test

This is the top of a cypress tree in Heron Pond and an experiment in monochrome HDR.  Starting with five one stop brackets processed in Nik HDR Efex using a presets I made for landscapes, I finished the picture in Lightroom 3 with a custom "Color Isolate Red" development preset.

Lens: Nikkor AF-S 50mm f1.4 G 

Camera: Nikon D700

Exposure: ISO 200, five brackets around f/11.0 @ 1/250s, Auto WB, tripod

Lighting: Daylight

Location: Cache River Natural Area, Heron Pond GPS

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

Processing: RAW file in Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Infrared Trees, Tower Grove Park

A high contrast version of this picture posted earlier as Infrared Tree Abstract #1. In the post, I mentioned a Photoshop tutorial on the Life Pixel web site that explains how to process digital infrared captures.  The picture I posted, however, ultimately had very little to do with the tutorial.  I also had a few questions about the infrared processing, so I thought I'd post the intermediate steps.  This picture is a more conventional monochrome conversion with a sepia highlight/blue shadow split tone, much like a print on Ilford Multigrade FB that has been bleached in Farmer's Reducer then toned with Selenium.     

Above left is the straight color shot.  Center was shot using a Cokin P007 infrared filter.  On the right is the output of the center image in Photoshop after applying a custom white balance and swapping the red and blue color channels. 

Here is a runner up version I like quite a bit.  It is based on the color corrected output, processed as a Polaroid transfer in Nik Color Efex Pro, then a split tone applied in Lightroom.

Camera: Nikon D100 

Lens: AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8 D

Exposure: ISO 200, f/11.0 @ 1/2s, Cokin P007 filter

Location: Tower Grove Park, St. Louis, MO GPS

Processing: RAW file in Photoshop CS5, Lightroom 2.7 and Nik Sharpener

Infrared Tree Abstract #1

On LifePixel.com, the company sells kits to convert cameras to be dedicated infrared devices, there is an excellent tutorial about how to process digital infrared captures in Photoshop that caught my attention.  I decided to play along at home with an old infrared shot from Tower Grove Park.  The key step in the tutorials is to pick a custom white balance to get good tonal separation from the dull red capture.  I had to rough it up a bit beyond the tutorial, but I like the final product as an abstraction.

Technical: Nikon D100, Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8, Cokin P007 infrared filter, ISO 200, f/11 @ 1/2s.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2, translating the Life Pixel recommended Photoshop processing steps, then adding a few of my own, including a sepia/aqua split tone effect.
 

Waterfall, Tree and Contrail at MOBOT

I seem to get more contrails in my landscapes than most other photographers, maybe because I like them.  This is from the Japanese Garden at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-f4, ISO 200, 75mm @ f/8.0 @ 1/800s, hand held.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6 and Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Fallen Tree #3

A fallen tree is mostly reclaimed by the landscape.  Only a section of trunk remains.  The warm print tone is very close to Afga Portriga Rapid.
Technical: Nikon D700, AF Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-f4, ISO 200, 56mm @ f/8.0 @ 1/160s.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.5, then edited in Nik Silver Efex Pro using the "Warm Tone" style and Ilford Pan F 50 film setting.

Tree Canopy Study #2

With a DSLR we get amazing advantages and control over single frames.  This is an example of a lighting situation I might have tackled with a view camera because each sheet of film can be processed individually, but would have given it a miss with roll film.  I'm trying to nail the warm tone of the legendary Agfa Portriga Rapid gelatin silver paper.  This is getting very close!  I'm also very impressed by how the Nikkor 24-85mm zoom handled the the inclusion of the sun without flare or reduced contrast.  This is a very under rated lens.

Technical: Nikon D700, AF Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-f4, ISO 200, 24mm @ f/8.0 @ 1/250s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.5 to crop, adjust color, add fill light and boost blacks.  Monochrome conversion in Nik Silver Efex Pro using the Warm Tone custom style.  An 8x10 print on Epson Exhibition Rag looks very like 4x5 Tri-X developed in D-23 printed on Agfa Portriga developed in Neutol WA.    

Tree in Fall 2009 Meramec River Flood

Fall colors are being swallowed by a freak flood of the Meramec River.  About ten feet of this tree is under water.  The vantage point is from about half way up the Valley Park levee.

Technial: Nikon D700, Nikkor 180mm f2.8 "Leni Lens", ISO 200, f/4.0 @ 1/800s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.4 64-bit.

Bald Landscape 1979

A while back I scanned some negatives of landscapes I shot in the late '70s and just got around to looking at them in Lightroom. This is a straight scan, no manipulation. I took this between setups on a fashion shoot, using the exterior of a building 180 degrees behind the shooting position. If memory serves, this from a Leica M2, 50mm w/B+W black net filter, f/8 @ 1/25s on Agfa 25 developed in Rodinal. A Starbucks beverage of your choice goes to the first person correctly name the location :)

My Fence

Kodak EasyShare LS743, 4.0MP, White Balance: Daylight, Flash Mode: Off, Hand held

Lafayette Park Pond - Infrared

Another angle on the Lafayette Park pond. I think I finally found the same colour tint I enjoyed with Agfa Portriga Rapid paper. Nikon D100, ISO 200, 24mm, f/11, 1/2s, Cokin A007 Infrared filter. Processed in Photoshop CS2. Some missing? Yes, I removed the bridge.