Off Grand

Pipe #2

This is a second posting of the large, rusting pipe that juts out of the Missouri River near St. Charles, Missouri.  The first time around, I used Mike Lao's "300" Lightroom develop preset.  I liked the result, but it squeezed out the silver paint's reflection of the sky on the  shadow side, which makes the structure look transparent in spot at first glance. Processing in Nik HDR Efex to bring out texture, Photoshop CS5 to apply lens correction and levels adjustment, Nik Define to reduce noise and Nik Vivenza to brighten.

The monochrome version comes from Nik Silver Efex Pro, using a strong orange filter, followed by a sepia/blue split tone in Lightroom 3.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF NIKKOR 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED ("Leni Lens")
Exposure:	ISO 200, f/4.0 @ 1/2000s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Bright Sunlight
Support:	Handheld
Location:	St. Charles, Missouri
Dates:	Capture - June 28, 2009, Processed - December 20, 2010
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro

3000

Bust of Hygia #3

A bust of Hygia hangs out at our studio, usually on a window ledge.  This is an iPhone 4 Instagram image, processed in Nik Silver Efex Pro for a monochrome conversion using my "Grainy Nude" preset.  The blue/sepia split tone came from Lightroom 3, as well as lens correction.

Technical
Camera:	Apple iPhone 4
Lens:	Apple 3.85
Exposure:	ISO 500, f/2.8 @ 1/500s, Auto WB, JPEG
Lighting:	Window daylight
Support:	Handheld
Location:	Grand Center Artist Studios
Dates:	Capture - December 5, 2010, Processed - December 19, 2010
Processing:	Lightroom 3, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Ice Strom

Fan Plant in the Climatron

It is hard to tell in this shot, but these back lighted leaves in the MOBOT Climatron are enormous.  The treatment here was levels and lens correction in Photoshop CS5, added contrast in Nik Vivenza and 11x14 crop in Lightroom 3.

The monochrome conversion was in Nik Silver Efex Pro, followed by a sepia/blue split tone applied in Lightroom 3.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	Nikkor AF 24-85mm f2.8-4 IF
Exposure:	ISO 200, EV -1, 70mm @ f/8.0 @ 1/400s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Window daylight
Support:	Handheld
Location:	Missouri Botanical Gardens Climatron GPS
Dates:	Capture - April 17, 2010, Processed - December 18, 2010
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Staircase #2, HDR

For those familiar with the venue, yes, I took some liberties with the appearance of this staircase at St. Louis University Museum of Art.  I thought I'd try the Photoshop CS5 content aware brush to remove a statue that sat dead center on the floor.  The tool created some twisted tiles that I rather liked.  The next step was to add some grunge by processing the single image in Nik HDR Efex to exaggerate texture.  Finally, Nik Vivenza brightened the picture about 10%.

The monochrome conversion is from Nik Silver Efex Pro using a custom preset I call "Leica I" that emulates the fine grain 35mm film stock and silver rich paper available circa 1930, with blue/sepia split tone added in Lightroom 3.3.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	Nikkor AF-S 50mm f1.4 G
Exposure:	ISO 400, f/5.6 @ 1/8s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Window daylight
Support:	Handheld
Location:	St. Louis University Museum of Art GPS
Dates:	Capture - October 9, 2010, Processed - December 18, 2010
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Water Glass, Duffs Restaurant

Al fresco dining with family and friends is my favorite way to take a meal.  This picture was taken at the end of one of those experiences with a Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4 wide open.  This lens has a buttery smooth bokeh that I seldom use to advantage.  Nik HDR Efex applied with a light touch to a single image can help pull out detail and boost contrast.

Monochrome conversion and sepria/blue split tone thanks to Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	Nikkor AF-S 50mm f1.4 G
Exposure:	ISO 1600, f/1.4 @ 1/5s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Streetlight
Support:	Handheld
Location:	Duff's Restaurant GPS
Dates:	Capture - October 9, 2010, Processed - December 11, 2010
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro

Tangerine #1, iPhone HDR

I've come to realize that the iPhone 4 camera, with sufficient illumination, is has almost the depth of field of a pinhole device and can be exploited in much the same way.  In this close-up of a small tangerine on a frosted glass table, I worked in the reflection of a corner wall just beyond the table.  Shooting in HDR mode, the iPhone generates two pictures.  I pulled these into Nik HDR Efex and applies a realistic tone mapping, then added a glow, muted colors and introduced an acid wash border using OnOne Photoshop plug-ins.

The monochrome was created in Nik Silver Efex Pro using a green filter approximating the venerable X1 and sepia/blue split tone.

This is the HDR basis for the two pictures above.

Technical
Camera:	Apple iPhone 4
Lens:	Apple 3.85
Exposure:	ISO 500, f/2.8 @ 1/15s, Auto WB, JPEG
Lighting:	Southern skylight
Support:	Handheld
Location:	My house
Dates:	Capture - December 2, 2010, Procesed - December 9, 2010
Processing:	Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro, OnOne Tools, Photoshop CS5

Soiled Napkin at Duff's

This is my napkin at the end of a wonderful, leisurely meal on the sidewalk in front of Duff's Restaurant.  Processing included Nik HDR Efex, Nik Dfine, Photoshop CS5, Lightroom 3.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	Nikkor AF-S 50mm f1.4 G
Exposure:	ISO 1600, f/2.0 @ 1/4s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Streetlight
Support:	Handheld
Location:	Duff's Restaurant GPS
Dates:	Capture - October 9, 2010, Processed - December 11, 2010
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro