Posts from the ‘California’ Category
One from the archive. I made this image of a surfer hiking up from Black’s Beach in 2002 with my trusty D1X. Digital photography was in its infancy then, and the D1X was a big investment at the time. It has however proved to be an invaluable learning tool. The instant feedback digital photography provides you is critical to accelerating your learning curve. Nowadays, you can get some fantastic gear at a very reasonable price. I got my D1X back then from a great camera store in Indiana. I have never visited it, but every time I call to place an order I ask for Ed! If you are looking to establish a long term relationship with a camera store, let me recommend Roberts Imaging. When you call, ask for Ed and tell him Justin from Colorado sent you!
I was scared to setup my tripod at this overlook along Hwy 1. Actually, I was scared to get out of the car. The wind was howlin! My flapping clothes left me bruised. Whatever was over that hill was coming our way fast.
Processing Notes:
Capture
Nik SilverFX Pro (B&W Conversion)
Nik Sharpen (Display 30% adaptive w/ structure boost)
LightAsMagic.com
Nikon D300
Nikkor 60mm Micro
Tip: If you ever find yourself stuck in a dense fog bank along Hwy 1, thinking to yourself that this is hopeless. Don’t give up! Drive around the next bend. You might find a beautiful beach bathed in sunlight.
Sam’s, originally uploaded by LightAsMagic.
What is a trip to Monterey without a visit to the warf? As we prepare for a winter trip, I thought I would go back through the images from this summer’s adventures. I had visited this image before, but never found what I was looking for. This evening, after it has set for a month or so, I decided to approach it with a fresh set of eyes. I am pleased with the results.
The upcoming adventures include a photo workshop with the National Geographic Traveler Photographer Bob Krist and a trip to Cozumel. I am anxious to take my newly acquired knowledge from the workshop and immediately apply it to a city we have visited many times and have come to love. Stay tuned!
Tip: Being an HDR image shot at night, noise was a serious issue. Even the strongest of NoiseWare filters left the sky speckled with artifacts. To resolve this I ended up using NoiseWare to reduce the noise present anywhere other than the night’s sky. To polish up the sky I blended in one of the underexposed captures.
Mission accomplished!
Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Tokina 11-16
The stage stopped, but time didn’t. The San Gregorio Stage Stop was just across the street from an interesting cultural crossroads. In the middle of this desolate region south of San Fransisco and inland from Hwy 1 was the town?, village?, two buildings of San Gregorio. The only other building was a book store / cafe / bar that catered to both the motorcyclists and bicyclists enjoying rides through the countryside. I have forgotten the name of the establishment, but it won’t be hard to find. It is well worth a quick trip inland for their signature spring water or some high-noon live music.
Did you notice the use of high efficiency light bulbs? The stagecoach was one of the early green vehicles.
For the photographers: I must say I am becoming an HDR addict. Not because of the dynamic range, but because of the micro texturing (possible new word for Webster 2010). It is impressionistic. Images become more how they felt and less how they looked.
Once HDRd and tone mapped, I made some minor adjustments in Photoshop and added the old school vignette to enhance the mood.
Also, I posted the full size image so you can see the detail in the textures. Just click on the image which will take you to flickr, then you can click on the link at the top that reads ‘all sizes’. There you can view the original size.
This summer we traveled to San Mateo, CA to cheer my father (‘pops’) on in the National Senior Games Time Trial. He is a long time bike racer who not only generates 220 watts at his lactate threshold, but still does swing handstands on the parallel bars he built in his backyard. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention he is 66. Those that know him aspire to be like him when they reach that age. Hell, those that know him aspire to be like him at any age. He truly is the man, the myth, the legend.
As for this photo, we were doing some forward recon on the TT course so we could review the race strategy. The sun was almost gone when we turned the corner and spotted this single cloud cradled in the hills. This particular image is an HDR produced from 5 bracketed images. It was a tricky piece of work. Initially I wished I had shot 9 images so I could have worked with a greater dynamic range to lighten the foreground, but after review I really came to love the look of this one, broad mono-toned layers leading the eye up to the lone misty mountain (where the spirits go now…..)
Candy Factory – NoiseWare Filtered, originally uploaded by LightAsMagic.
A trip to Monterey, or any sea side town, isn’t complete without a walk on the pier. We didn’t end up bringing home the taffy that was being made in the picture. We did end up getting a fresh bag of caramel corn. Which was accompanied by rigorous flossing.
There is so much detail in this image that I decided to upload the complete capture. So feel free to click on the image which will take you to my Flickr photostream. Once their, click on the all sizes button at the top of the image. You will be presented with several various sizes of the image for viewing. Click on the one that is labeled original. You can do this same process with almost every image on this site.
Also, if you have a flickr account you can leave comments or add it to you favorite collections.
The 1, originally uploaded by LightAsMagic.
Again, trying to hone my HDR processing skills. This image was processed via Photomatix 3.2 using 3 images at 2,0-2. I originally bracketed 7 images 3 -> -3 but I’m not convinced more is better when it comes to HDR generation. Someday I should get around to posting the output of various bracket segments to see what others think. For now, I will continue to develop my techniques.
Travel Tip: If you are a photographer, either travel alone or with a supportive patient companion. You will be pulling over a bunch. Also, when driving the 1, it is far easier to drive north to south than it is south to north. Turn-offs are much easier to access this way.
