Atlas – Rockefeller Center
by James Howe on Feb.14, 2013, under New York
(Nikon D800, Sigma 15mm, Exposure 1/30 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800)
I recently received a request from a potential client for an image of Atlas that they might want to use in their lobby. The customer was looking for something that would ‘pop’. I had a few shots of the Atlas statue located in Rockefeller Center and I looked them over for one or more that might meet the client’s requirements. The main problem I was having is that most of the shots I took were taken at night which limited the color palette available. When looking over my catalog, I came across this image taken earlier in 2012 that I thought might have possibilities.
The shot was taken with my 15mm fisheye and I liked the way the walls of the building curved in and seemed to wrap around the globe that was being held by Atlas. I also like the general symmetry of the shot, including the American flags on the top of the building. However the raw image had several problems. The first problem I wanted to address was the horizon. The two sides of the building did not line up, so I used the cropping tool in Lightroom to rotate the image so that they would line up. I did some further tweaking in Lightroom, including punching the clarity, playing with the overall exposure and adjusting the highlights, etc. My goal was to add a bit more punch to the image.
I was able to get pretty far in Lightroom, but I wanted to take it further. I proceeded to open the image in Photoshop and use a combination of several filters from onOne’s Perfect Effects to punch up the reds and add some more detail to the stone work and statue. I also corrected a greenish color cast which I didn’t like. I cloned out a security camera in the upper right and made a minor crop to improve the symmetry of the image.
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them below.
All images available for sale or license. Please visit my Imagekind Galleries, Fine Art America Galleries or contact me for more information.
Copyright ©2012-2013 James W. Howe – All rights reserved
Woman’s Board Grand Staircase
by James Howe on Feb.13, 2013, under Architecture
(Nikon D800, 28-300mm at 28mm, Exposure 1/250 @ f/4.0, ISO 1000)
The Art Institute of Chicago is a great place to visit, not only for the exhibits themselves, but for the architecture of the building itself. This is the “Woman’s Board Grand Staircase” and is located just off the main entrance to the museum. My main goal in processing was to bring out as much detail as I could in the stairs and the stone work.
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them below.
All images available for sale or license. Please visit my Imagekind Galleries, Fine Art America Galleries or contact me for more information.
Copyright ©2013 James W. Howe – All rights reserved
Trumped
by James Howe on Feb.11, 2013, under Architecture
(Nikon D800, 28-300mm at 68mm, Exposure 1/400 sec @ f/4.8, ISO 100)
This shot of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, Illinois was taken on a late sunny winter’s day. The sky was still a deep blue which created a nice background for the building. I took several shots, most in a ‘normal’ orientation, but then I decided to capture just a section of the building on an angle. I debated about whether to just work with the color version of the image, but after I experimented with black and white I decided that was the direction to go. Processing was mostly accomplished in Photoshop via Silver Efex Pro 2. The first thing I did was darken the sky by reducing the blue sensitivity. The building had a lot of blue in it as well, so I added several control points to bring back some exposure to some of the darker areas. The only thing I’m a little unhappy with is the loss of the distinctive ‘bands’ of windows that you can clearly see in the color version. I think the only way I could highlight the bands in a black and white version would be to make the building much brighter overall and keep the bands dark. I might experiment with that, but I also like the dark look of the building so I might just sacrifice the bands.
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them below.
All images available for sale or license. Please visit my Imagekind Galleries, Fine Art America Galleries or contact me for more information.
Copyright ©2013 James W. Howe – All rights reserved
Jay Pritzker Pavilion – Chicago, Illinois
by James Howe on Feb.08, 2013, under Architecture
(Nikon D-800, 28-300mm at 52mm, Exposure 1/320 @ f8.0, ISO 200)
This image shows the Jay Pritzker Pavilion located in Chicago’s Millenium Park. The structure was designed by noted architect Frank Gehry. One interesting fact about this ‘building’ is that due to various building code regulations in the city of Chicago, this structure cannot be called a ‘building’, but must be referred to as a ‘work of art’. I find this structure fascinating. It is ever changing based on the lighting it is receiving. I also enjoy looking for various abstract patterns that I can photograph.
The image above is the result of a second attempt to process the image. I had originally created a different black and white conversion which was much darker and much less detailed. The image was very contrasty with the bright sky and dark shadows. I decided to take a second crack and processing in an attempt to bring out more of the details in both the structure and the sky. The picture was taken with a D800 which can capture an incredible dynamic range. In Lightroom, I was able to play with the highlight slider to bring out more detail in the sky. I also used the clarity slider to bring out details in the metal panels. Much of the conversion was done in Silver Efex Pro 2, including adding a slight selenium tint to the final image.
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them below.
This image available for sale at Imagekind or my site at Fine Art America.
All images available for purchase or license. Please click the purchase links on the images themselves, visit my Imagekind or Fine Art America galleries or contact me directly for more information.
Copyright ©2012 James W. Howe – All rights reserved
Bench
by James Howe on Feb.06, 2013, under black and white
(Nikon D800, 28-300mm at 28mm, Exposure 1/1000 @ f/4.0, ISO 5000)
Visiting a museum as large as the Art Institute of Chicago can be a tiring experience. Sometimes you just need to sit. My wife was finishing up in an adjacent gallery and I decided to take a brief rest. While seated, I noticed this bench across from me. I liked the way the light was falling on it, and I liked how the staircase wrapped around it. I envisioned a black and white image with an almost spotlight effect on the bench and this though guided my processing.
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them below.
All images available for sale or license. Please visit my Imagekind Galleries, Fine Art America Galleries or contact me for more information.
Copyright ©2013 James W. Howe – All rights reserved