Posts from the ‘Denver’ Category
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……
This is another image from my visit to the local rail yard last year. You can see a previous composition from the same location here. It was one of those days where I knew I was going to pass something interesting on and errand, so I decided I would grab my gear and tack on 30mins to my commute. I wonder how much memory my brain is wasting trying to efficiently plan photo errands? I should formalize a documentation strategy so I can save space for things like remembering to mow the lawn.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Another addition to my on going Spaceship Suburbia project. I thought I would try and capture a “Cloud City Scape” by shooting a busy scene full of the non-traditional. This was a sunrise shoot on the outskirts of Denver. When I pulled the camera to my eye, I was sucked into the depth and variety of the shapes and shadows. I thought it would make a good addition to the project.
Answering The Call! A big Thank You is in order to all those that took the time to help me with my dilemma. I am truly thankful for the amount of time those that answered my Canon/Nikon SOS put into their responses. I am also humbled by the quality of photographers that visit LightAsMagic.com. I made my way to all your websites and photostreams, and I am inspired by your work. It is obvious by your responses that Canon is indeed a great company. But there is also something said about familiarity. There is a lot to digest, and I will take some time tomorrow to revisit all the comments and post a reply to everyone. Thanks again! Heck, even my wife and mother-in-law chimed in. If you go back and read the comments I am sure you will find the wonderful humorous perspective my wife added to the discussion. Let it be know my mother-in-law voted in favor of Nikon. Her vote counts double. I will keep you posted on my final decision and the reasoning behind it.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D300
Nikkor 80-200 AFD
Gitzo Traveler
Processing Notes:
Capture 1 Image
Adobe camera raw
Photoshop Contrast/Sat boost
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com
Tip: When I am trying to create a silhouette in an image, I will switch my camera’s meter to spot meter mode and meter an area that is pretty bright, but not the source of the light. In this scene this happened to be the area of the sky close to the horizon. After I have meter that area I will the lock the exposure, or make a note of it and reset it when I recompose. At that point, I will be shoot a couple of frames and review the images. You can rides you exposure compensation to quickly choke or expand the shadow areas.
Apparently my wife knows me all too well. We were running a couple errands today, when she spotted this old garage. She quickly told me to turn and said, “Those textures would make a great HDR image.” Sure enough, she was right!
With images like this, I like to back up a bit and shoot with a longer focal length. In this image, I positioned myself across the street and zoomed in a bit longer than what your eye would normally see. It is a nice effect if you have the room to operate.
We are still trying to determine if this place is abandoned or not? The porch light was on.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D300
Nikkor 16-85 VRII
Nikon CPLII
Gitzo Traveler
Aperture: f/11.0
Focal Length: 62 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Processing Notes:
Capture (9 images @ 1ev)
Photomatix – HDR/Tonemapping
Photoshop – Curves Adjustment
Sized For Web
LightAsMagic.com
When your good friend calls and asks “Are you getting this?!?!” You don’t ask what? You grab your camera a head out! That is exactly what happened last night. I got the call, grabbed my gear, and headed up the hill, realized I forgot CF cards, cursed like a sailor, headed back down the hill, ran into grab a my cards, startled my wife, headed back up the hill, and made some images!
Stay tuned for iPhone Friday tomorrow. I have a few new coupon codes to offer as well as a couple new features that I have added to the site. You can probably find them now, but I normally try to package all the news and notes into Friday’s post.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D300
Nikkor 16-85 VRII
Gitzo Traveler
Exposure: 18
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 16 mm
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
ISO Speed: 200
Processing Notes:
Capture (1 image)
Adobe Camera Raw – Process .NEF
Photoshop – Cropped a bit of the sky out.
Sized For Web
LigthAsMagic.com
I normally try to leave processing and capture notes, but I honestly have forgotten what I did with this. My neighbor, who is also a photographer, was over for a weekend BBQ and asked some questions about HDR. I answered them by grabbing a beer and running through a couple images. Some guys watch the game, others tone map.
Rough Notes:
I am pretty sure it was 9 images HDRed/Tonemapped in Photomatix, color corrected in photoshop, added a touch of Tonal Contrast, then finished it off with Topaz detail. We broke out all the heavy hitters on the one! I do know I shot it using my D300, Gitzo Traveler, and Nikkor 17-35 AFS….that I’m sure of!
I will make up for the lack of detail in processing with this image by posting a processing video of the chapel in Moab tomorrow. Sorry about that.
After my run this weekend, I decided to swing by a couple locations I have had on the radar for a while. Surprisingly, this facility is fairly accessible at 7am on a Sunday. I approached it from a variety of angles, however because the sky was as clear as it has been in quite some time, I didn’t have the backdrop of interest I was looking for. I did find a couple of interesting foreground elements to incorporate, but nothing was really working. I thought to myself, what can I do with huge white silos and a blue sky? My decision was simple….Orange Filter! I applied an orange filter in my Silver Efex pro conversion, darkened the sky up, and created the contrast I was looking for to surround these structures.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16 ATX Pro
Gitzo Traveler
Exposure: 1/4000 sec
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 14 mm
Exposure Bias: -2 EV
ISO Speed: 200
Processing Notes:
Capture (1 images)
Nik Siler Efex Pro – High contrast orange filter
NIk Viveza 2 – Selective boost to structure/brightness in foreground
Sized for web
Nik Sharpener 2.0 – Adaptive 40%
LightAsMagic.com
After running the opening leg of the Colfax relay, I had some time on my hands to catch the morning light. So after a quick 7 mile run (4 in the race, 1 to the start, and 2 back to the car…yes, it was an odd course) I slipped off the running shoes and grabbed my camera. I had originally planned to make the classic image of the Denver skyline compressed against the mountains with city park in the foreground. Which I did. However, it wasn’t until I packed up and turned around that I found ‘the image’.
Capture Notes
Nikon D300
Nikkor 17-35 AFS
Gitzo Traveler
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 17 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Processing Notes
Capture (9 Images @ 1ev)
NX2 Raw conversion
Photomatix – HDR/Tonemapping
Nik Define 2.0 – Noise reduction
Nik Color Efex Pro – ProContrast (global contrast/color correction)
Nik Color Efex Pro – Glamour Glow (selective to windows)
Nik Color Efex Pro – Glamour Glow (selective/stacked effect to windows)
Topaz Detail 2.0 – Soften Edges
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com
Tip: Look around and pay attention to the details that surround you. The image you set out to make, isn’t always the one. I could have easily shot the common skyline image, packed up, and gone out for a danish. Instead, I took a second to look around, and luckily, this image was right behind me.
This is another image I received some questions about, so I thought I would put together a quick (< 8 mins) processing video to show you some of the steps I took after generating the initial Tonemapped HDR .tiff. Also, I really dig Nik Silver Efex Pro. I dig it so much, I was trying to find ways of using it for color images. In this video, I use Nik's Silver Efex Pro High Structure preset to bring out the texture and character of the building. I liked results, and I hope you do to.
For my other processing videos, click here!
Also, if you are interested in the tools I used in this video, you can use the coupon code LIGHTASMAGIC to receive 15% off of Photmatix or any Nik Tools.
For more information on some of my favorite Nik filters, and how they fit into my work-flow, click here.
