Images and Notes » Ann Arbor

Blue (Michigan Theater)

James Howe — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:46:30 +0000

(Olympus E3, 14-54mm at 54mm (2x crop factor), ISO 100, 1/320 second @ f/9.0)

This image shows some of the details of the Michigan Theater located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The theater was constructed and furnished by the Butterfield Company and opened to the public in 1928. Like many theaters built in the same time period, the architecture is ‘exotic’ with Moorish details. It was these details, especially the tiles, that I was trying to capture in this shot. I liked the way the blue tile and white domes looked in the bright light against the blue sky.

When I processed the image I wanted to bring out both the detail in the building as well as the blue colors. The raw image has a rather flat look (as RAW images typically do). I used some Topaz Detail to bring out some of the detail and I continued with some work with Photo Tools. I used a bit of Color Efex Pro 4 to deepen the blue and give a bit of vignette to the edges.

Love to know what you think about this image, please feel free to leave comments or questions below.

St. Nicholas Church, Ann Arbor (a second look)

James Howe — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:47:00 +0000

(Nikon D700, 70-300mm at 100mm, ISO 200, Exposure 1/250 sec @f/11)

I was going through some images this morning looking for something to post on my Google+ account for the SacredSunday theme when I came across a picture I had taken of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I had previously done a black & white conversion that I previously posted to my blog. I recently added Nik Software’s Color Efex Pro 4 to my toolkit and I was just curious as to what I might be able to do using that plugin. The shot you see above was the result of using the ‘Soft Landscape’ recipe which comes with the product. I thought it did a nice job with the vignette as well as the detail in the clouds and brickwork of the church. The original image (shown below) was definitely flat and relatively lifeless and I was happy with how the final shot came out. I’d certainly be happy to hear what others think.

Feel free to leave your comments and questions below.

UMMA – Gallery – Old Wing (take 2)

James Howe — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:58:33 +0000

(Olympus E3, 7-14mm at 7mm (2x crop factor), ISO 100, 1/4 sec @ f/7.1)

This shot was taken in the old wing of the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA). I’ve always liked this gallery and I’ve been here a few times to take pictures of it. Each time is a little different, different people, different light, etc. I had a blog post back in 2010 with an image similar to the one you see here, but with a completely different method and style of processing. For that image I went with a grittier, almost HDR look. I liked the way the processing brought out the detail in the floor, but I’ve always felt that this shot was meant for black & white. I also wasn’t too thrilled with the number of people in the shot, so I went back at a later date and took the shot you see above. In this shot, there is only the one woman on the bench, which I like better. I also chose to convert the image to black & white. Initially I created an image to which I added a bit of film grain, however I ultimately decided that I wanted a smoother look. I edited the shot to hide the grain layer and used Lightroom noise reduction to help smooth the shot out even more.

I would love to hear your feedback.

University of Michigan IM Building – Ann Arbor

James Howe — Mon, 16 May 2011 16:45:07 +0000

(Nikon D700, 16-35mm at 27mm, ISO 200, 5 bracketed exposures @f/8.0)

We had some nice weather last week and all around I saw trees flowering and leafing out. I decided to take a quick drive around the campus of the University of Michigan to see where there might be a good combination of architecture and flowering landscape. The shot above shows the Intramural Building with a nice line of flowering trees. Not sure what kind of trees they are, but they looked nice.

The building is hard to get in good light since it faces pretty much North. In winter the sun is typically behind it, and in summer trees obscure the sun until it is high in the sky which tends to leave the front of the building dark. I shot this image into the morning sun and took 5 exposures to produce and HDR image. I wasn’t paying enough attention and managed to get a large lens flare right in the main subject area of the image which I don’t particularly care for. After processing the 5 shots in Photomatix, I did some work on the color version in Photoshop, but I found the flare to be too annoying. I took the image into Silver Efex Pro 2 and came up with a nice vintage looking image which I think suits the age of the building. The sepia treatment also reduced the visibility of the flare to a point where it no longer bothers me.

Interested in hearing your feedback on this one. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions below.

St. Nicholas Church – Ann Arbor

James Howe — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:39:24 +0000

(Nikon D700, 70-300mm at 100mm, ISO 200, Exposure 1/250 sec @f/11)

This is a shot of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I drive by this church frequently, and I’ve always liked the way it looks when the sun is shining on it in the afternoon. I’m a big fan of contrast and the sharp angles of the building combined with the angle of the sun creates an interesting look.

My goal in processing was to bring out the strong contrast that attracts me to this building. I deliberately darkened the dark side and brightened the brighter side to increase the contrast. I used Silver Efex Pro 2 for the black and white conversion which also helped bring out some of the elements in the sky.

Thoughts? Leave them below!

The Old Windmill

James Howe — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:01:05 +0000

(Nikon D700, 70-300mm @250mm, ISO 200, Exposure 1/250 sec @f/11)

On my way to visit my parents a few days ago I noticed this old windmill at a nearby farm. I don’t know what it is, but I really like old machinery, especially if it is rusty or crusty, so I had to stop and take a few pictures. None of the shots were particularly outstanding, but I liked this one the best of the lot. I initially thought about leaving this as a color image since I like the color combination of the rusty orange and the blue sky, but in the end I went with an antique sepia toned look courtesy of Silver Efex Pro.

As always, your comments and feedback are appreciated. Simply leave them below.

Solitary – Take 2

James Howe — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 15:34:26 +0000

(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?

Solitary

James Howe — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:37:07 +0000

(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.

Rackham and North Quad

James Howe — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:38:17 +0000

(Nikon D700, 16-35mm at 26mm, ISO 200, Exposure 1/250 sec @ f/11)

I haven’t had a lot of spare time recently to go out and do a lot of shooting, so I’ve been spending some time going over my Lightroom catalog and looking at images that I may have overlooked before, or for ones that I might want to try some different processing on. This image is one of the former. The shot shows the Rackham Building and the newly constructed North Quad dormitory on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. I took this picture last May on a bright, sunny Sunday morning. I had wanted to get some shots of the new dorm as well as see what other interesting things I could find.

This picture was taken right after I got out of my car. The sun was behind me and creating some nice hard light on the Rackham Building. I also liked the bit of North Quad which was in the frame. Since North Quad was still under construction, there was a fence around the building and the angle on this shot pretty much hides all of the construction related things surrounding the building at that time. I have a fondness for hard light and the sharp shadows it can create. I have several shots of the Rackham Building in hard light because it just seems to look great in that light. I like the lines created by the steps and the shadows created in the building details. Another thing I liked about this angle was the contrast in the materials used for the Rackham Building and North Quad. Rackham uses a light limestone and North Quad uses a darker red brick. I think this does a nice job of separating the two structures visually.

My goal in processing this shot was to create a nice clean black and white architectural image. To that end, the first thing I did was adjust the perspective to give the building less of a tilt. I think used my new Silver Efex Pro 2 software to do the black and white conversion. I adjusted the blue sensitivity to create a darker sky and I used the structure capability to bring out the detail in the limestone of the Rackham Building. Back in Photoshop I applied a simple curve to add a touch of blue to the shot. I could have toned the image in Silve Efex Pro but for some reason I chose to use a curves layer instead.

Would love to hear your thoughts and feedback.

Snow on the Law Quad

James Howe — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:49:04 +0000

(Nikon D700, 16-35mm at 22mm, ISO 250, Exposure 1/60 sec @ f/11)

This image is another one from my personal snowstorm photowalk that I took a couple of weeks ago. The picture was taken in the University of Michigan Law Quadrangle during a brief, but intense snowstorm which lasted a few hours. The building in the background is one of the buildings which comprise the buildings known as the Lawyers Club. The Law Quad has an interesting history. The buildings were all funded from a law school alumuns, William Cook, who requested that the school be built in a design reminiscent of Cambridge University. Construction of the Law Quad took place between 1924 and 1933. Mr Cook never saw the completed school.

Like some of the other images taken on my snow walk, this one started out over exposed as a result of an accident. As I previously mentioned, I had inadvertently left my camera in auto bracket mode. As it happens, however, I really like the slightly overexposed look of this shot. I think it helps to bring out the snowy nature of the day. Processing was quite simple. I did some minor perspective correction in Photoshop and I used Silver Efex Pro to convert to black and white (almost unnecessary) and add some ‘structure’ to the final image.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts. Remember to click on the image to see it in lightbox mode. I think this image looks better when displayed against a darker background.