Posts from the ‘Cozumel’ Category
Mariners have an interesting 6th sense about them. They rely on a very few seemingly insignificant lights in the great vastness of the dark ocean. Without headlights or brakes, they confidently guide their vessel home. I have had the opportunity to talk with a couple captains while coming back from a night scuba dive, and I quickly learned to quit asking questions when they begin to approach the harbor.
read more…
These boats have been in dry dock for the last 5 years we have visited Cozumel. I’m not sure when they are scheduled to return to sea? They made for a wonderful image with the sun setting behind them. I was really hoping to get a sun star shining through the windows, but I was just a bit too slow to the draw. Good thing we visit Cozumel yearly, I will have another shot at it…..unless of course they decide to re-commission these vessels.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D300
Nikkor 16-85 VR II
Gitzo Traveler
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 58 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Processing Notes:
Capture (8 Images)
NX2 Raw Conversion
Photomatix (HDR/Tonemapping)
NIK Define 2.0 (Noise reduction)
Photoshop (Curves adjustment global contrast)
NIK Color EFX Pro (Tonal Contrast)
Photoshop (Curves adjustment – selectively reduced the green in the foliage)
NIK Define 2.0 (Noise reduction)
Photoshop (Vibrance/Saturation selective to the boats)
Photoshop (Resize for web)
NIK Sharpener (Display adaptive 35%)
LightAsMagic.com
We had front row seats on the roof of our hotel in Cozumel for this one! Most of the time I leave sunsets in color, in all their glory. However, because of the smaller clouds dancing in the foreground I decided the contrasts would make a nice black and white composition.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D300
Nikkor 70-300 VR AFS
Singh-Ray 3stop Reverse GND
Gitzo Traveler
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/11.0
Focal Length: 300 mm
Processing Notes:
Capture (1 image)
NIK Silver EFX Pro (B+W Conversion)
NIK Viveza 2 (enhance the glow of the sun on the sea)
Photoshop (resized for web)
LightAsMagic.com
Tip: It might seem counter intuitive to shoot sunsets with a long focal length, but it is a great way to get up and close and personal with a setting sun. I always carry a 70-300 with me while traveling.
When I am diving, I don’t feel like I am realizing the images of the deep. At best I feel I am doing taxonomic record keeping. I have a long road to go to do justice to the beauty of oceans. However, occasionally I get one right (or at least almost right).
Nikon Coolpix 5100
ikelite Housing
iKelite DS125 Stobe
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/7.3
Focal Length: 26.3 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Auto, Fired
Processing Notes :
Capture
Photoshop (Crop to 5×5)
Photshop (Curves adjustment)
NIK ColorEFX Pro (Tonal Contrast selective to anemone)
Photoshop (Vibrance adjustment)
NIK Sharepen (Selective to shrimp)
Photoshop (size for web)
LightAsMagic.com
Any Tori Amos fans out there? Why is this question relevant to a photography and travel site? Because, whether you are in the darkroom or on an airplane, it is nice to have your music with you. That being said, if you haven’t noticed the new Darkroom page I have added, I listed out some tunes that are in heavy rotation while I am processing images. Feel free to check out the playlist.
Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16 ATX Pro
Gitzo Traveler
Singh- Ray 3Stop RGND
Exposure: 2
Aperture: f/22.0
Focal Length: 16 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Processing Notes
Capture (1image)
Nikon NX2 (Raw conversion)
Photomatix (HDR/Tonemapping)
NIK Silver Efx Pro (BnW conversion)
Photoshop (Size for web)
LightAsMagic.com
A reader and fellow photographer friend asked if I would be willing to make a desktop image from the previous post. No sweat! Just visit the desktop page and choose an image to hang in your office for a while. If you get tired of the photo, check back for a new one or replace it with the picture of your pet dressed like a pirate. Also, all the images on the desktop page are for sale. If you are interested in purchasing a print contact me directly to order. They are very reasonably priced!
To find more desktops click the link:
Now that the bites have healed I decided to post the image from the scene of the crime. While I was on vacation making this image I was attacked by a multi-species strategic insect task force. I am glad that I was able to get a couple of shutter clicks in before I had to flee (pun intended) the scene.
Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16 ATX Pro
Gitzo Traveler
Singh-Ray 3stop RGND
Tip: I was using a 3 stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density (RGND) to hold back the sun. Later I found that I probably needed to stack another 2 stop filter on top of it. Thankfully I was shooting in RAW so I could recover the blown out sun in post production. Make sure you meter the background and foreground independently so you can better determine your filter needs.
Checklist for a great castle:
-Beautiful hand crafted stone walls.
-Private ocean fed lagoon.
-Access to a pirate ship in the nearby harbor.
-15ft Crocodile providing security.
This place has it all! Once upon a time it was someone’s dream. However, now it stands abandoned near the mouth of the Cozumel Marina. My hope with this image was to realize what this person’s vision was and not what it has become.
Capture (7 Images) –> Photomatix (HDR and light tone mapping) –> Nik (Define 2.0) –> Nik (Tontal Contrast) –> Nik (Sharpened For Output) –> LightAsMagic.com
Just a friendly reminder….errr motivator. We are getting close to a week in. I hope that if you made them, you are keeping them! It would be easy to do if I had a gym like this near my house.
Nikon D300
Nikkor 16-85 VRII
Gitzo Traveler
Capture (7 images) –> Aperture (Raw conversion) –> Photomatix 3.2.6 (details enhancer) –> Photoshop (color corrections) –> Nik ColorEFX Pro (Tonal Contrast cut highlight contrast, boosted mid-tone and shadow contrast) –> Photoshop (boosted vibrance) –> Nik Define 2.0 (auto total image) –> PS (re-sized) –> Nik Sharpen (display)–> LightAsMagic.com
I spent some time this holiday season putting together a traveler’s guide to Cozumel. The guide provides both maps to photo locations and additional lodging/dining resources. Ok, maybe there are other guides but this one covers all our favorite spots and activities while we visit the island. You can find it here:
http://www.lightasmagic.com/travel/cozumel-mx/
The picture’s story: This local fishing spot is shared by a crocodile measuring 5 meters in length. Nobody seems to know where it came from or where it lives. Several locals have told me that its name is Poncho. He usually visits the marina when the fishing boats return. He is rumored to spend his days sleeping on the fairways of the neighboring golf course. I see why they fish from the safety of the wall, and never look for their balls in the rough.
Nikon D300
Nikkor 16-85 VR II
Capture –> NIK Viveza 2 (brightened the fisherman) –> Nik Tonal Contrast (slight midtone/shadow contrast boost) –> NIK Define 2.0 (whole image automatic) –> NIK Sharpener (for display) –> LightAsMagic.com
Tip: When you are traveling, make sure to do some forward-recon on the internet. You can research local festivals, map locations of interest, and even print out free margarita coupons for your favorite restaurants.
This site is about sharing inspiration through stories and pictures. I hope this post doesn’t violate any self imposed rules. What the heck, I make the rules so I guess I should break them. With the addition of a Flip MinoHD to my travel kit, this site is now about sharing inspiration and stories through the occasional moving picture. The Flip is a great little device for traveling light. It lives up to the hype as one of the easiest video cameras to operate. Little did I know that the included software turns my Mac into one of the easiest production studios to operate. The Flip, and the included software, has its limitations but just like using a single prime lens you can create inspirational movies. This movie was made from a series of clips that I downloaded, ordered, and then with a click of a button fed to the ‘Magic Movie’ machine. I added some music and viola!
I apologize in advance for some shaky footage. I had never operated a scooter before, let alone drive it single handed while I filmed our ‘Road Less Traveled’ tour of Cozumel. I hope you enjoy the movie. It is a precursor to the new content I will be providing next year (it is only a week away).
Click on the ‘Play Button’ and give it a second to load.
Tip: Having never shot footage before, I quickly learned to let your subject inject motion into the scene. Panning only works if you have a hydraulic boom.
Sorry for the delay. Unpacking took longer than anticipated. Actually, I am working up some new content so there might be a slight lag in posts. I promise it won’t be too long, and it will be will worth the wait!
Having been the victim of a coordinated mosquito attack the night before, I decided to shoot from a secure location on the roof of the hotel the second night. The sunset was great and I was lucky to catch a boat heading back to the marina after dropping off its passengers from a day of diving in Cozumel.
This was a single exposure HDR image which helped balance the exposure for the sun and sea. In the new content I will be offering, I will provide some more details about a similar image from a bracketed capture sequence. Stay tuned!
Nikon D300
Nikkor 16-85 VRII
Gitzo Traveler
Singh-Ray 3 stop RGND
Capture –> Photomatix (Pseudo HDR) –> Nik ProContrast –> Noiseware –> Nik Output Sharpener –> LightAsMagic.com
Being a land-locked mountain man (I actually live on the front range), I don’t have many opportunities to work with the sea. However, knowing we were headed to Cozumel in Dec I began to imagine images months in advance. I took inventory of my equipment and geared up accordingly. I will write about my gear choices in later posts. I want to dedicate this post to the cosmic experience I enjoyed while making this image.
Standing on the shoreline durning my first sunset of the trip I setup an interesting composition, metered, and began turning over the shutter. I immediately realized seascapes are like nothing else I have ever worked with. The scene is incredibly dynamic. The quality of light is changing moment to moment. As the waves swirl about in the foreground the composition is in constant motion. It took several minutes until I came to terms with all that was happening in my view finder. Eventually I focused and my vision became clear. As I settled in I became hyper aware of this cosmic dance and the images became aware of me.
I can’t wait for my next trip to the coast. I have a lot to learn from the sea.
Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16 2.8 ATX
Singh-Ray 3 RGND
Gitzo Traveler
Jim Patterson is a photographer who has spent many sunsets with the sea. Please visit his site to view his works along the coast.
The east side of Cozumel is a barren 15 mile stretch of gorgeous beach and rolling, wind driven waves. There are a couple of small beachfront bars to catch a quick lunch. It is well worth a scooter rental and an easy rider style cruise along this remote coast line.
Nikon D300
Nikkor 16-85 VR II
Nikon CPII
Gitzo Traveler
Honda Scooter
Capture –> Aperture –> .NEF to Photomatix 3.2.6 for Pseudo HDR and ToneMapping –> Photoshop (NIK Define 2.0, ProContrast Filter, White Neutralizer and Sharpened for display) –> Flickr
Tip: It is possible to generate HDR images from a single raw file. This is an example of such an image. You simply open the raw file in Photomatix 3.2+ and then Tone Map it.
If you are interested in Photomatix, you can purchase it here: http://www.hdrsoft.com
Use the coupon code: LightAsMagic and receive a 15% discount on your purchase!
Whenever I see a staircase leading up to the roof I follow it. Even if the sign reads ‘NO TRASPASAR’.
We are back from a week of diving in Cozumel. The island has become a home away from home for us. We were married on this beach almost 3 years ago. The hotel is beautiful and the people who work there make us feel like family. If you are ever headed to Cozumel I would recommend a stay with the fine folks at the Coral Princess.
Tip: To reduce the reflections on the water and expose what lies below the surface, use a circular polarizer. It is a must have filter in your camera bag of tricks!
