Posts from the ‘Travel’ Category
Over the last month or so I have been testing out the Nikon D5000. For me, it is a great back-up camera as well as a light travel companion. If you are looking to upgrade to a digital SLR, or wanting to get started in photography, this camera is a great option. In order to complete the review I thought it would be interesting to hand it off to my wife for a trip up to Alaska. She has the eye of a photographer, but lacks the patience to deal with all the various dials and settings. So I put the camera in program mode, set the auto ISO, and put her in front of grizzlies, glaciers, whales, moose, and mountains. You will see other images from her portfolio in the final review. For now I thought I would share this one. No question about it, she didn’t let this one get away!
That Anchorage Museum exceeded all my expectations. We visited it while wait for our Motor Coach (bus) to take us south to pick up our ship. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but one thing I wasn’t expecting was full gallery dedicated to HDR photography. Pretty darn progressive! I wonder if we will ever see an HDR image in Nat Geo? If you are ever in the Anchorage area, make sure you stop by the museum. The architecture alone was worth the visit.
No kidding, this was the neighborhood grocery store where we were staying at in Bordeaux. If this was my local grocery store, I don’t think I would ever keep anything in the pantry at home. I would visit it everyday, shoot some photos, and grab a piece of fruit and coffee on my way to work. In the evening, this hub of commerce flashed back to the days of the Salon when the local youth would come out to enjoy the surrounding cafes and discuss the day’s topics. It was the heart of the neighborhood, and just the down the street from our hotel.
Travel Guides: When I get back from visiting a town, I try to put together a quick travel guide that usually includes a map of photo locations and a quick list of things to do, places to eat, and where to stay. You can find all my travel guides, including the Unofficial Definitive Guide to Cozumel, over here:
http://www.lightasmagic.com/travel/
I hope to be publishing my guide to France very soon. Stay tuned!
We made our way from the Toulouse airport to our final destination in La Mongie, the clouds thickened as we gained elevation driving up the slopes of the Tourmalet. We were filled with anticipation knowing the summit of one of the most famous mountains in the Pyrenees was only a couple kilometers ahead. That anticipation would continue to grow throughout the night since the fog bank refused to provide us the greeting we were hoping for! Do you know how hard it is to find your hotel when you don’t speak French and the visibility is limited to 15ft?
We barely had any time in Paris. We arrived on the train in from Bordeaux around noon, leaving us just enough time to watch the final laps of the Tour de France along the Champs Elysees. If I didn’t get out and shoot, I wasn’t going to be able to live with myself. I knew I had to get out, even if it was only for an hour or so. We had a bit of time the next morning before our flight left, so I decided to set my alarm for 6:00am and schedule up a taxi to pick me up at 6:30. My plan was to have the taxi drop me off at the Eiffel Tower, make the tourist images that are required by all photographers visiting Paris, then follow my pre-planned walking route back to the Hotel. That was going to give me 3 hours of nothing but uninterrupted image making while Paris slowly awoke from its slumber. Images and their respective stories will follow in subsequent posts. This image was the final one of my walk. I had arrived back at the hotel, where I had met up with ‘pops’ who had just finished breakfast. I was starving after walking around for 3 hours with camera gear. I followed him down a winding staircase into what seemed to be the dungeon of the small hotel we were staying at. The walls were lined with century old bricks and a small archway led me into the dining area. What a place to have a breakfast! Beats the heck out of the Best Westerns here in the states. It felt as if I had just pulled up a chair to share a croissant with history itself. Too bad I didn’t have much time to talk, I had to catch our Taxi to the airport in 10 minutes!!!
I’m not totally sure that a permit was required to use a tripod in France, but I’m pretty sure that was what was being requested as I was asked to leave the subway. I understood ‘no good’ and ‘Gendamerie‘ well enough to know I should probably leave before I was the defendant in an international incident. Tripod restrictions weren’t limited to the subway either. I was also escorted away from Jean-Paul Sartre’s grave. I really felt like a Stranger.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D700
Nikkor 17-35 2.8 AFS
Gitzo Traveler
Lexar UDMA Film
Aperture f/9.0
Focal Length 35 mm
ISO Speed 200
Processing Notes:
Capture – 9 images @ 1ev
Photomatix – HDR/Tonemapping
Nik Color Efex Pro – Pro Contrast
Nik Color Efex Pro – Glamour Glow
Nik Color Efex Pro – Tonal Contrast
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com
I was excited when Topaz Labs announced (official release date is Monday Aug. 2nd) an update to their DeNoise tool. I use several Topaz Lab tools, including Adjust and Detail, quite a bit in my workflow, but I rarely used previous versions of DeNoise. However, when they announced DeNoise 5, I thought I would give it a run. Normally, if my image requires any noise reduction, I usually preform it right after generating the HDR/Tonemapped image and prior to any Photoshop work. In this image, after generating the HDR/Tonemapped .tiff, I brought it into photoshop, duplicated the base layer, and ran DeNoise 5 against it. Here is a quick list of things I found.
- Presets – I like software that offers its users a good starting point. Topaz DeNoise offers a couple of .jpg and RAW presets. In this image (a 16bit .tiff) I started off with the ‘RAW – Moderate’ preset. From there I experimented with a couple sliders and quickly found a level of noise reduction I was happy with.
- Ease of Use – The new DeNoise 5 interface follows the most recent release of of the product suite. It seems pretty straight forward, and ease to dial in.
- Preview Click – Like many tools, DeNoise allows you to click the image while you are making adjustments to quickly toggle between the original and processed images. This makes dialing in the settings you want a breeze.
- Speed – I’m not a numbers guy, but it seemed pretty quick.
Here is the before image:
Before
Here is the after image: (the volume control is not a feature. I was adjusting the background tunes)
After
This image had quite a bit of Noise in the sky. DeNoise 5 handled it pretty nicely, without much processing fuss. I have always liked Topaz products because of their power and price point. DeNoise 5 seems to be a welcome upgrade to their suite of products.
You can find out more about Topaz Labs and their entire suite of products here:
http://www.topazlabs.com/denoise/
Give the 30 day trial a run and see what you think. If you decide to buy it, you can use the coupon code LIGHTASMAGIC to receive a 15 percent discount on any purchase form Topaz Labs.
About the image: I made this image in the Spring along the scenic-byway between Cisco and Moab, UT. I have mentioned it before, but if you are ever driving west to Moab, don’t let people talk you out of taking the slightly longer drive. It is well worth the extra couple of minutes.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D300
Nikkor 80-200 AFD
Gitzo Traveler
Lexar UDMA Film
Processing Notes:
Capture – 7 images @ 1ev
Photomatix – HDR/Tonemapping
Topaz Labs DeNoise 5 – Noise reduction
Photoshop – Curves adjustment (2x)
Sized For Web
LightAsMagic.com
I’m pretty sure I committed an international crime by not sampling any wine while driving through the vineyards of France on our way to Bordeaux. I guess I am more of a Leffe Brune type of guy. Boy, that is a good Belgium beer!
Google suggest that our drive from La Mongie to Bordeaux was around 3hours. We decided to stay off the interstate and take the back roads, which added about 4 hours and an untold number of stories to the drive. Well worth the extra time. One of the the vineyards we passed had an old monastery on its property. As you drive through the French countryside, you get used to seeing quaint villages surrounding a cathedral rich in character. If you stopped at everyone one, it would would take you a week to drive 300km. But this one, I couldn’t pass up. I will post the abandoned monastery sometime in the future. For now, I really liked the gate that led me to it.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D700
Nikkor 45mm PC-E
Gitzo Traveler
Lexar UDMA film
Aperture f/4.2
Focal Length 45 mm
ISO Speed 200
Processing Notes:
Capture – 7 images @ 1EV
Photomatix – HDR Tonemapping
Photoshop – Global Curves Adjustment
Nik Color Efex Pro – Glamour Glow (2x)
Nik Color Efext Pro – Tonal Contrast (selective)
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com
Tip: If you schedule a day to explore the countryside into your trip, use it. Don’t rush to your destination. You will get there, but take time to fill your life with what is uniquely everyday.
I wasn’t sure if I should break up my iPhone images from France into two Friday editions. Originally, I felt that 17 photos might be a bit much, however, I decided I didn’t want to break my self imposed rule of allowing only photos from the previous week. I hope you don’t mind a slight download delay, France had a lot to offer me.
You can find a listing of iPhone Resources, including some apps I recommend, over here:
http://www.lightasmagic.com/myphone/
Songs For Post Processing: Shoot, it is almost August and I realized I hadn’t posted my July playlist. I had it ready a couple of weeks back, however the stress of preparing for France got the best of me. It is a bit delayed, but it is a good one. I hope you enjoy it!
Now that I have fully recovered from my jet lag induced haze, I can get back to sharing some images from my recent trip to France. The trip began with a 5 day stay in the little town of La Mongie nestled in the Pyrenees. We rode our bikes over some of the most famous mountains in the Tour De France (Col de Tourmalet, Aspin, Soulor, Aubisque as well as Luz Ardiden). It was both humbling and inspiring to measure yourself against the times of your heroes. They are much faster than I am, but the throngs of fans who were camped out along the mountain roads cheered us on as if we were in the Yellow Jersey. It was an experience I will never forget.
As for this image, once we left La Mongie we traveled to Bordeaux to watch the individual time trial. We arrived a day early which left us plenty of time to explore the town. In the center of the town is the massive Cathedral Saint-Andre. I walked around it several times, both day and night, trying to decide how I wanted to make an image of it. It wasn’t until my 3rd lap that I noticed this small diorama of the cathedral itself. I then realized that this is the image I had been looking for.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D700
Nikkor 17-35 AFS
Gitzo Traveler
Lexar UDMA
Aperture f/4.0
Focal Length 35 mm
ISO Speed 800 (oops)
Processing Notes:
Capture – 9 images @ 1ev
Photomatix – HDR/ToneMapping
Photoshop – Curves Adjustment
Photoshop – Vibrancy/Sat Adjustment
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com
The Tour is coming to a close, but not before World Time Trial Champion Fabian Cancellara puts his stamp on the final time trail.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D700
Nikkor 80-200 AFD
Exposure1/5000 sec
Aperturef/2.8
Focal Length200 mm
ISO Speed200
Exposure Bias0 EV
FlashNo Flash
Processing Notes:
Capture
Adobe Camera Raw
Nik Viveza 2
Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 – Tonal Contrast filter (sliders at 5%)
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com
Tip: Make sure you remember that the final riders in the Tour de France time trial, leave at 3:00min intervals, as opposed to 1:00min intervals. It will surely help with your planning.
I’m sure the mural on the side of this service station in Cisco, UT was once the the jewel of the desert. Now the store stands empty, but the artist’s pride carries on.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D300
Nikkor 17-35 AFS
Gitzo Traveler
Aperturef/4.0
Focal Length30 mm
ISO Speed200
Processing Notes:
Capture – 9 images @ 1 EV
Photomatix – HDR/Tonemapping
Photoshop – Curves adjustment
Nik Color Efex Pro – Tonal contrast
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com
As promised, LightAsMagic.com has gone big! Well, at least the images are bigger. What better way to celebrate than a big sky image of an alien watering hole as seen from Dead Horse Point outside of Moab Ut!
Let me know what you think of the new format. My stats indicate that less than 5% of you might have to scroll a bit to see the entire side bar. The other 95% of you get to enjoy much larger images! I know what John Stuart Mill would have to say.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D300
Nikkor 17-35 AFS
Nikon CPLII
Gitzo Traveler
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 17 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Processing Notes:
Capture (9 images @ 1 EV, only used one)
Photomatix – HDR/Tonemapping
Nik Define 2.0 – Noise reduction automatic profile
Nik Color Efex Pro – ProContrast
Nik Color Efex Pro – Glamour glow selective to the sky w/ a touch of desat
Nik Color Efex Pro – Tonal contrast selective to the canyon
Sized for web
Nik Sharpener 2.0 – Display 30%
LightAsMagic.com
My good friend Fred once asked me while we were out on a photo adventure, “Justin, have you ever thought about the impact of the Transcontinental Railroad on U.S. history?” I’m pretty sure I did in high school history class, but I haven’t given it much thought since. It was a bit of a departure from our usual discussions concerning lens selection and metering modes. However, Fred offered some interesting insight into the railroad as we drove on to our next subject of interest where the conversation quickly went back to image making. Why this story of railroading you ask? The town of Cisco, UT, whose gas station pictured here, is proof of this impact. This town’s rise and fall was dictated by rail. All that is left now are a couple of abandoned buildings, free range animals, and the occasional photographer who happens to pass by.
Note: As promised, this in an image I have been working on as part of my work with David Nightingale from Chromasia.com. David and I have been doing some back-n-forth on images as he shares his eyes and insights. So far, in round 1 alone, I have learned several valuable lessons. I am looking forward to round 2. Remember, if you are interested in getting a lifetime membership to Chromasia.com, and access to all of David’s tutorials, use the coupon code C7164B8543 to receive a 15% discount.
Capture Notes:
Nikon D300
Nikkor 17-35 AFS
Gitzo Traveler
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 19 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Processing Notes:
Capture (9 images @ 1EV)
Photomatix – RAW conversion and HDR/Tonemapping
Photoshop – Smart Sharpen Layer
Photoshop – Curves adjustment global contrast and color correction
Photoshop – Curves adjustment to sky based on Luminosity mask
Photoshop – Curves adjustment to lounge chair selective by brush
Photoshop – Curves adjustment to left and bottom left side of image from Luminosity Mask
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com
Tip: It is always better to invest in yourself rather than your gear. Never stop learning.
A day that started at 5:30am by making images of the Denver Skyline ended with a windy retreat from our primary objective. Oh yeah, somewhere in the middle, we found ourselves at an unsanctioned horse race.
My good friend Fred and I had been planning our assault on the Eastern Colorado prairie for over a month. Our plan consisted of two objectives. 1) If we are going to be up that early, don’t waste the sunrise. 2) Be at the Pawnee Buttes by sunset. What happens in the middle will be dictated by adventure. The day was filled with images of the forgotten west. It was the way you should spend more of your days. Simply leave your house with nothing more than good conversation and map (and lots of water if you are headed to the Pawnee Grasslands).
Capture Notes:
Nikon D300
Nikkor 17-35 AFS
Nikon 77mm CPL II
Gitzo Traveler
Processing Notes:
Capture (9 images @ 1ev)
NX2 Raw conversion
Photomatix HDR/Tonemapping
NIK Define 2.0 – Noise Reduction
Nik Color Efex Pro – ProContrast
Nik Color Efex Pro – Tonal Contrast selective to wood
Photoshop – Vibrancy/Saturation adjustment selective to grass and sky
Photoshop – straighten (attempted to level the horizon a bit)
Sized For Wed
LightAsMagic.com
