Solitary – Take 2
by James Howe on Apr.09, 2011, under Ann Arbor
(Olympus E-3 7-14mm at 10mm (2x crop factor), ISO 400, Exposure 1/15 sec @f/4.0)
After posting yesterday’s image, I took another look at the raw shot and thought that there were some things that I could do with the original orientation that would also make for a more interesting shot. The horizontal shot I posted yesterday is more focused on the person, whereas the taller shot I think does a better job of showing the person in the context of the surrounding architecture. I used Silver Efex Pro2 to convert to black and white and to add a vignette and sepia tone. I think the vignette helps draw the eye to the person, while still being able to see a larger context.
So, which do you prefer? Yesterday’s horizontal crop or today vertical orientation?
Copyright © 2009-2011 James W. Howe – All rights reserved.
Solitary
by James Howe on Apr.08, 2011, under Ann Arbor
(Olympus E-3, 7-14mm at 10mm (2x crop factor), ISO 400, Exposure 1/15 sec @f/4.0)
Sometimes a crop can make all the difference in an image. The image you see above was taken in the new wing of the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA). I was trying to capture the classic ‘musuem’ shot which shows someone contemplating some piece of art. As I walked through the gallery, I noticed this gentleman standing and looking at something and I liked the way he was framed by the walls of the museum. For some reason I decided to shoot this vertically. I think I was captivated by all the angles and lines which were captured by the wide angle lens. However, the vertical nature of the shot was more about architecture than the person. As I looked at the image, I wondered what it might look like if I had shot it horizontal, so I tried a relatively severe crop to convert from vertical to horizontal. I liked what I saw so I did a fairly simple conversion to black and white. I then noticed that there was just a bit of a bench peeking out from the edge of the wall so I cloned it out. I should have been more observant when I took the shot. I still need to get better at scanning the entire frame of the shot for extra ‘stuff’ before shooting. If I had simply moved a few inches I could have avoided the bench and not had to clone it out later. Of course, it’s also possible my subject would have moved in the meantime. Anyway, with that bit of cropping, converting and cloning I ended up with the image you see above.
Love to hear your thoughts on the change made by the crop or any other comments or criticisms. Feel free to leave them below.
Copyright © 2009-2011 James W. Howe – All rights reserved.
Steampunk-ish
by James Howe on Apr.05, 2011, under Greenfield Village
(Nikon D700, 70-300mm at 125mm, ISO 800, Exposure 2 sec @f/16)
I didn’t really know how to title this post because I’m not exactly sure what this thing is. All I know about it is that it is some sort of machine used in the maintenance of railway cars and/or engines. I took this picture at Greenfield Village last fall (to see the machine in context, check out this blog post I made a few months ago.) The Village has an old railroad roundhouse which is both an exhibit and a place for worker to work on the rolling stock owned by the museum. I was originally planning on created an HDR image out of this subject, and I took 9 exposures while I was there to do it, but when I actually processed the images in Photomatix, I didn’t care for what came out. Instead I did something much simpler. I used Topaz Adjust to bring out some more detail in the metal. I think it did a really nice job in this regard.
Love to hear your thoughts, feedback or questions. Leave them below!
Copyright © 2011 James W. Howe – All rights reserved.
Spring Break – North Myrtle Beach, SC
by James Howe on Apr.01, 2011, under Travel
(Olympus E-3, 150-300mm at 300mm (2x crop factor), ISO 100, Exposure 1/640 sec @f/5.6)
It’s spring break time and unfortunately I’ll be stuck in Michigan with our wonderful early spring weather. However, I have my old photographs to warm me up including this one taken on a spring break a couple of years ago in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. Unlike yesterday’s image taken at the same location, today’s image is a bit warmer and doesn’t have that post-apocalyptic look to it.
Processing of this image was fairly simple. I used onOne’s Focal Point software to add a bit more blur to the surrounding edges and used Lightroom to add just a bit of vignette. A slight change of contrast helped bring out the color a bit more as well.
Feel free to leave your comments below. Thanks!
Copyright © 2008-2011 James W. Howe – All rights reserved.
Rising from the fog – North Myrtle Beach, SC
by James Howe on Mar.31, 2011, under Travel
(Olympus E-3 150-300mm at 300mm (2x crop factor), ISO 100, Exposure 1/2500 sec @f/5.6)
Browsing through my Lightroom catalog this morning I came across this shot I took in North Myrtle Beach, SC in 2008. What caught my eye was the fog layer in this shot and I was suddenly inspired to work on this image. The thing I like most about this image is the way the new building is seen rising above the fog. The murky nature of the weather combined with the construction in the background made me think of a more industrial scene rather than a beach scene. As such, I processed the image to increase the murkiness.
Processing consisted of an initial crop and then using Silver Efex Pro 2 to create the final image. I increased the structure to bring out some detail in the upper clouds, and I increased contrast and reduced brightness. I added a bit of blue tone and picked an edge which I thought looked interesting. I don’t think it came out too bad for a few minutes work.
What do you think? Feel free to leave comments below.
Copyright © 2008-2011 James W. Howe – All rights reserved.