I paid a comfort penalty making this image. Airports offer some unique possibilities. Where else can you find vast reflective surfaces and scattered light sources without going to Vegas? It is easy to lose track of time while you are out wondering around exploring all that Denver International Airport has to offer. I ended up over exploring and when I headed back to the terminal, boarding was well under way. Needless to say, when you get on late with a bag full of camera gear, you pay the price in leg room……

Side Note: If you are a conspiracist, DIA is at the center of some pretty amusing theories. You can find more information here.

Capture Notes:

Nikon D700
Sigma 15mm Fisheye
Gitzo Traveler
Lexar UDMA

Processing Notes:

Capture – 9 images @ 1ev (used the .jpgs)
Photomatix 4 (beta 1ish ?) – HDR/Tonemapping
Nik Color Efex Pro – ProContrast
Photoshop – Remixed the sign from the anchor .jpg
Nik Define 2.0 – Noise Reduction (auto profile)
Sized for web
Nik Sharpener 2.0 – Display 20%
LightAsMagic.com

Sorry for the quick post, but I am spending a bit more time behind the camera this week than the computer. I hope the new images next week will be worth it. The lesson I learned from this image…be courteous and honest with security guards when photographing private property and they might let you photograph a fertilizer plant.

I had big plans for this image. I love making images that contain captivating light and massive reflective surfaces. If you have ever visited Denver, you know the Denver Performing Arts Center (DCPA) fits the bill quite nicely. One thing I didn’t account for was it being closed. I’m not sure why I thought it was open to the public at night? It must be the Utopian in me……

Capture Notes:

Nikon D700
Sigma 15mm Fisheye
Gitzo Traveler

Processing Notes:
Capture (7 Images @ 1EV)
Photomatix – HDR/Tonemapping
Noiseware – noise reduction (landscape profile)
Nik Color Efex Pro – ProContrast
Photoshop – Global Vibrancy Boost
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com

When I first starting using the Nikon 45mm PC-E, the doors of creativity were first shrunk, then busted wide open! I really couldn’t get enough of the creative possibilities that this lens had to offer. Not only are you able to control the depth of field, you can actually control where the plane of focus is within your composition. I hope you are enjoying this lens as much as I am, if not, please bear with me as I wean myself off of it….hang in there, it shouldn’t be too long.

It seems like summer is just getting started. The calendar tells me it is over halfway gone. We are trying our best to take advantage of what summer has left to offer. No better way than an evening hike in the hills near our house. As you know, I have been putting the Nikon D5000 through its paces, and I am pretty darn surprised by it. If you can get over the fact that it has only one command dial and get used to doing your adjustments in the menu system, you have yourself a very capable camera. One thing that I have been wanting to test is the exposure bracketing feature. The D5000 will only allow 3 brackets, but the nice thing is you can bracket by 2 full stops. 2 stops is usually enough for most of my HDR work. For very high contrast scenes (think super bright light out the window of a room) you need more than 2 stops on either side of the anchor. However, for most of my bracket sequences, the D5000 is proving to be a great companion.

For the non-photographers out there, that interested in knowing more about this ‘photographer speak’, feel free to drop me a line. I would be happy to help you get started making images!

Capture Notes:

Nikon D5000
Nikkor 16-85 VR II
Gitzo Traveler
Lexar UDMA

Processing Notes:

Capture – 3 images @ 2ev
Photomatix – HDR/Tonemapping
Photoshop – Global curves adjustment
Nik Color Efex Pro – Soft Focus (experimenting a bit with it for that dreamy look)
Photoshop – Selective saturation boost
Photoshop – Selective saturation cut
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com

A couple weeks back I decided to schedule up solo photo-walk. I hadn’t been out on one lately, and I was itching to get out and explore. If you remember from a previous post, photo-walks are a big component of my ‘Creative Scheduling’. These are great ways not only to create, but to relax as well. Something goes on the in the creative brain the tends to silence all other stresses that are begging for your attention. So I checked the weather, charged the batteries, put together a route, and quieted my mind.

Capture Notes:

Nikon D700
Nikkor 45mm PC-E (a big help here with converging lines)
Gitzo Traveler
Lexar UDMA

Aperture f/6.7
Focal Length 45 mm
ISO Speed 200

Processing Notes:

Capture – 6 images @ 1ev
Photomatix 4 (public beta) – HDR/Tonemapping
Photoshop – Curves adjustment
Sized for web
Nik Sharpener 2.0 – Display 30% global
LightAsMagic.com

Another addition to my Spaceship Suburbia project. After reading Christian Cantrell’s Containment (a great sci-fi read I might add), I started looking around for an image that resembled a polymeth structure from a remote planetary colony. I found it; a fragile atmosphere contained within the conventions of humanity.

Capture Notes:

Nikon D700
Nikkor 45mm PC-E
Gitzo Traveler
Lexar UDMA

Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 45 mm
ISO Speed 200

Processing Notes:

Capture – 9 images @ 1ev
Photomatix – HDR/Tonemapping
Topaz DeNoise 5 – Noise Reduction
Photoshop – A Good Tip Form Trey Ratcliff’s eBook I will let Trey tell you.
Photoshop – Global curves adjustment
Nik Color Efex Pro – Glamour Glow selective to the sky.
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com

I hadn’t been down to Denver lately so I decided to glance at the weather and schedule a solo photo-walk up. It turned out to a nice evening and quite an adventure. Right before I made this image, I grabbed a quick photo of a newly engaged couple out taking some engagement photos. I passed the photo of their photo shoot along to them, and I think they were quite happy. Remember a previous tip (rule) of mine? If you promise someone a photo, make sure you get it to them. Don’t give us photographers a bad rap!

Tip: It is subtle, but I wanted to keep the focus on the structure and blur the right side of the image. I did so by using a Nikkor 45mm PC-E lens and adjusting it so that the tilt was left to right, then I tilted the lens slightly away from the subject.

Capture Notes:

Nikon D700
Nikkor 45mm PC-E
Gitzo Traveler
Lexar UDMA

Processing Notes:

Capture – 9 images @ 1ev
Photomatix – HDR/ToneMapping
Photoshop – Global curves adjustment
Nik Color Efex Pro – Glamour Glow (25% mix)
Nik Sharpener 2.0 – Selective to structures
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com

Probably not what you were expecting based on the title. The Pepsi Center, here in Denver, is affectionately known as the ‘The Can’ by locals. It hosts the Avalanche, Mammoth, and Nuggets. It has also provided the stage from many a concert. Red Rocks is still the better venue for concerts. However, if you are a stadium rock band, the ‘The Can’ is where it’s at. Well, unless you are U2, then you have to look at 80,000 person arenas….not too many bands like that left.

As you have noticed lately, I am pretty big on using a Nikon 45mm PC-E lens. I don’t really use it for its indented purpose, which is to increase depth of field, and help reduce converging lines in pictures of tall things. I will be going into more detail when my review of the lens hits the blog next Sunday. As for this image, I wanted to test the Perspective Correction feature of the lens. With any other lens, because you would have had to point the camera up at the building, you would have seen the straight lines getting closer towards the top of the photo. Not with the Nikon 45mm PC-E lens! You simply keep the camera (film/sensor plane) parallel with the building and raise (shift) the lens up. It is hard to visualize, but the difference is incredible to witness. That is only one of its tricks. It is a finely tuned, razor sharp, optical engineering wonder!

Capture Notes:

Nikon D700
Nikkor 45mm PC-E
Gitzo Traveler
Lexar UDMA

Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 45 mm
ISO Speed 200

Processing Notes:

Capture – 7 images @ 1ev
Photomatix – HDR/Tonemapping
Photoshop – Curves adjustment
Nik Color Efex Pro – Brilliance warmth (selective to glass)
Nik Sharpener 2.0 – Selective to door and marquee
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com

The attendant at the Denver Convention Center was nice enough to let me seek shelter from a very large and curious blue bear. After several, apparently quick, compositions I thanked her for letting me make a couple images. As I left, she noted I was a very efficient photographer. You have to be when photographing 40ft tall bears.

Capture Notes:

Nikon D700
Sigma 15mm
Gitzo Traveler
Lexar UDMA

Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 15 mm
ISO Speed 200

Processing Notes:

Capture – 9 images @ 1ev (used every one of them)
Photomatix – HDR/Tonemapping
Photoshop – Curves adjustment global
Photoshop – De-sat selective
Nik Color Efex Pro – Glamour Glow
Nik Define 2.0
Photoshop – De-sat selective
Sized for web
Nik Sharpener – Selective
LightAsMagic.com