Post Processing for Assignment 2

Having downloaded all the images that I took the other day and discarded those that had not worked out as I hoped (about 40%) I began work on changing them from Camera RAW to the finished product. It so happened that at the same time I received notification about the release of Lightroom 4 beta version so I decided to try it out using the images from the shoot (well copies anyway given that it is a beta version). I found it very good not least the shadow and highlight sliders that now only affect that particular part of the image. It negated the need to create 3 images at different exposure levels to capture the best of the tones available as virtually the same effect could be created in Lightroom 4. I do not know if the grunge effects at the extremes of HDR could be achieved but as that was not my aim, I was looking for a photorealistic result, it does not matter to me at this stage.

One problem I came across was transferring the images across to Photoshop (seems to be that this is becoming less and less necessary for many images. Using the given shortcut or the menu version produced an image that had none of the enhancements from Camera Raw (ACR). Using the Adobe forum I discovered that the current version of ACR in Photoshop (6.x.x.) cannot read the Lightroom 4 code hence the lack of changes. ACR 7, that will resolve this problem, has yet to be released by Adobe. The workaround is to 'export' the image to Photoshop. It is exported as a jpeg but that has not proved too much of a problem.

Overall I am quite pleased with the results both of the shoot and the post enhancement. I have reduced the saturation to see if that produces a better overall effect. Although it is a matter of taste I think that the change is for the better. I also have reduced dramatically the amount of sharpening applied at the finish and I think, with this particular set of pictures, it has given a much better result. I have yet to finalise the images I want to submit and am also considering trying one or two black and whites.

I have also re-examined those images with which I was unhappy (learn from one's 'mistakes').  Some failures were for obvious reasons such as very bad lens flare or shots where the brightness of the sun washed everything out because the camera was pointing almost directly at a sun low in the sky. Others were images that were very similar to another one but where the overall composition was not quite so good. some more difficult to decide was where the image did not match my memory of what I taken.  A common failure was lack of contrast i.e. a flatness that was unappealing. Of course these may have benefited from work in computer but they lacked any real interest point that made them worth working on.

A day out

Spent all of yesterday photographing. Wonderful light with crisp clean air and an almost cloudless sky that meant the light remained constant. Working on the material for assignment 2 - photographing an acre. Went to Wicken Fen that is about an hours drive away as I know the area reasonably well and it offers a range of  opportunities.

Decided I would try two things - (a) every shot using a tripod and remote control shutter release and (b) bracketing exposures with a view to either combining the images using hdr or choosing the best outcome. (a) worked o.k. mainly because it is something I have been trying to do for some time. Too often I have allowed the thought of carrying the tripod and setting it up as an inconvenience or an unnecessary burden whilst knowing that the results when I use a tripod are always better than the hand held shots. At first glance the effort was worthwhile.

(b) Made a right mess of this. Successfully set the camera to take multi-shots, changed the necessary settings for bracketed exposures but then FORGOT to press 'Set'.  How dumb is that! It is not as though this is new to me. Stupidly I did not check after the first couple of shots to check that things were working. I assumed because the camera clicked three times all was well. Hopefully I will remember next time to check and then check again. Am thinking of the possibility of taking the three images amend two of the exposures  in Camera RAW and try photomerge to see what comes out.

Landscape 2 - Project 21 Silhouette and Reflections

I combined this project with Project 20 (see previous blog) although in this case I used a 50mm prime lens for the shot. The aperture was set at f22 and I used a shutter speed of 1/8000.

The sun 'star' is a good one and the silhouette of the pier retains definition as can be seen by the silhouetted figures along the pier. The reflected light on the water leads the eye into the picture and encourages the viewer to follow the line of the pier. 

I gave consideration to selectively lightening the image in Photoshop but took the personal view that there was more drama created by the difference between the 'star' and the sky and the dark of the pier structure. It could also be argued that the reflection is 'chopped off' too soon and the image would benefit from having been taken further back.

Landscape2 - Sun 'Stars' and diffraction

Was fortunate in having a bright clear day when visiting Southwold which is on the Suffolk Coast. This was my first experience of shooting at the sun and had really no idea what to expect and whether the sun 'stars' were a realistic outcome. I set the camera on a tripod to ensure stability but given the high shutter speeds the camera could have been hand-held.

I took some 16 shots and of those 6 produced the best 'stars'. In the others the image was either completely blown out or the 'star' lacked any definition. Not surprisingly these were the ones shot at a lower shutter speed (below 1/2000). The lens used in all the shots was a 24-70mm set at 64mm.

64mm f20 1/4000

As can be seen the 'star' is not well defined although the silhouette of the pier and the reflection makes for a satisfactory image

64mm f25 1/2000

Again the 'star' lacks definition and there is loss of detail in the silhouette of the pier. 

64mm f32 1/1250

The'star' has more definition but the image is not well composed with the upper structure of the pier appearing in the bottom part of the image and giving little if any clue as to its structure or purpose. 

64mm f22 1/3200

The 'star' has no definition and the silhouette of the pier is too low in the image.

64mm f32 1/6400

A very good 'star' but the image is overall too dark and appears to be night time.

64mm f32 1/2500

I think this is the most successful of the series with a satisfactory 'star' and a good silhouette.

It would seem that the use of a small aperture (f32 in the last image) is most successful at creating the 'star' effect and the selection of the shutter speed is the most important element in the acceptability of the overall image. None of the above photographs were enhanced other than to convert from RAW to a JPEG file. Clearly it would be possible to use software such as Photoshop to create a more balanced image but I assume this was not the purpose of the project.

Project 18 Sunrise and Sunset

The things you learn when planning a project. I had always assumed that there was just 'Dawn' although following one of the projects in Art of Photography I knew that the sky lightened gradually before the sun rose over the horizon. Apparently there are three times related to twilight - Astronomical, Nautical and Civil with Dawn having a different time. At the location that I had chosen for the shoot Astronomical Twilight  was 0558hrs; Nautical Twilight was 0639hrs; Dawn was 0723hrs and Civil Twilight 0802hrs. I decided that I would get to my chosen destination in time to set up for the Nautical Twilight.

Having risen at an unusually early hour for me I travelled the 45 miles and walked smack bang into my first mistake. I had explored the area in daylight and when I arrived there were the lights around the docks at Harwich in all their glory and beautifully supported by the lights at Felixstowe on the opposite bank of the estuary. No chance of photographing the sunrise. Next time I will check the area more carefully and as far as possible in the same light conditions.

Fortunately I know the area well so drove a little further down the coast and happily found somewhere that had no lights out to sea in the direction I wished to shoot. There were some street lamps within about 40 yards and they did effect the final outcome as their reflection in the water gave the sea an orange colour that looked most odd at the bottom of the image. I set up my tripod with camera attached and started with it at the top of some steps so that the street lams were slightly behind my position. The water was high and I made my second mistake of assuming it was high tide! Fortunately there was a noticeboard nearby and the local council had provided a table of the times of high tides so I discovered there was still another 2 hours before high tide was reached. Not wishing to drown in the pursuance of my art I retreated to a safer position.

I took the first photograph at 0644hrs. (camera was set for all shots at AV - aperture value). Shots were taken at regular intervals of about 5 minutes. The ones chosen for this blog are representative of the changes.

f11 30.0 seconds

As can be seen the sky had begun to lighten although what I actually saw seemed to me to be much darker.

The second photograph was taken at 0728hrs

f11 0.3 seconds

There had been a gradual transition between the sky colours shown in this photograph and the first one. Again it did not seem as dramatic as this to my eyes and certainly it seemed darker but this was probably due to the lighting adjacent to me from the street lamps.

The third photograph was taken at 0745hrs

f13 1/25

There was a noticeable change in the colour of the sky even to the naked eye particularly in the appearance of the orange banding immediately above the horizon.

The fourth photograph was taken at 0755hrs

f13 1/100

The sun was just beginning to appear above the horizon when this photograph was taken. As can be seen the colouring of the sky had changed giving a softer hue to the colours.

The fifth photograph was taken at 0801hrs

f13 1/125

The sun is almost completely over the horizon. I cropped this image to place the sun away from the centre of the image to offer a better composition of the elements of the sky, sea and sun.

The final picture was taken at 0912hrs

f13 1/160

The sun is now over the horizon providing the reflection in the water and catching the light cloud cover.

In choosing the site for the series of images I chose the sea deliberately as I wanted to catch the change in colours in the sky without concerning myself with the effect say on a landscape. I felt that this way I would have a greater feel for the effects of the sun rising when capturing the dawn light across the range of different landscapes I photograph throughout the Course. 

I was fortunate with the weather and had followed local forecasts for a week prior to choosing the day. One aspect of weather I had not anticipated too well was the wind that was blowing strongly at the time. Inevitably this had an effect on the camera even though it was on a sturdy tripod and was noticeable in the images taken with long exposures.

Landscape Photographer of the Year 2010

Another book given to me as a Christmas present. Have worked my way through it over the past couple of days. Immediate impressions are that there is an advantage living or being able to travel to Scotland given the number of selections from that area and that there is a range of images some of which where it is difficult to see the element of 'landscape' (see the image of the wheelchair competitor). As ever in such selections there are those that you are immediately attracted to and think that really is good and those that you just think 'yeah alright' and occasionally the ones where you wonder what the judges saw that you are not seeing.

I went back over them trying to work out why I reacted as I did and whether there was any discernible pattern in my reactions. Perhaps not surprisingly I reacted positively to those that reflected my own views about what makes a great landscape picture and negatively where I was left wondering why it was in a landscape competition. For example I would not question the competence and vision of the image of an 'English Breakfast' in the foreground with our eye taken through the window towards an urban scene including a train but it left me cold (although feeling hungry!). My conclusion is that we are attracted to those images that confirm our view of the world in the same way that we choose the newspaper we read where we look for confirmation of our opinions and taste.  Few of us like to step outside our comfort zone in most aspects of our lives and photography is no different.

These thoughts led me to thinking about what I gained from looking at the work of other photographers. If I am pre-disposed to choosing a particular style of photography that I enjoy and tend to concentrate on is there any real benefit from looking at different styles? Whilst it easy to suggest that one should approach all styles of photography with an open mind it is very rarely the case that this happens.  As I proposed in an earlier blog photography is fashion led and styles move in and out of popularity. Those for whom photography is a way of making a living or are encouraged by their success in exhibitions and competitions know that they have to adjust to the latest dominant fashion in order to be successful. I once attended a talk by a well known landscape photographer who showed his work accumulated over a number of years. His early work was of landscapes of a quality that one could only aspire to. His later work was more 'creative' and less impressive and he told the audience that he had found it necessary to make the change because his work was no longer being accepted for exhibitions  as landscapes were no longer fashionable. I was left wondering why this was the case. The problem was solved for me within a fortnight when a competition judge made the remark "not another one of the Tuscan landscape". From that and subsequent remarks heard at competitions and exhibition selections it became evident that the eye and mind become jaded and alights on something different even if of a inferior quality with a sigh of relief.

I conclude that whilst looking at the work of different artists and photographers may provide me with inspiration it is most likely to do so in an area with which I feel most comfortable. It may suggest a different venue or an area that I have not visited but in improving my work I am less than sure. If I want to be good or better at photographing mountains or urban landscapes the best way for me to do that is go and photograph them. Each time I should be critical of what has been achieved and work out at what I was less successful aiming to improve each time. A second opinion and some 'tricks of the trade' based on my work is one of the reasons I am following this Course. I will only be able to judge my success at the end when I have learnt sufficient to be awarded a degree.

Velvet Water

Got the book  The Landscape Photography Workshop (Ross Hoddinott & Mark Bauer, Photographers Institute Press 2011) in my stocking at Christmas. Lots of useful information about landscape photography and tips for getting it right. As you would expect from a book based on workshop teaching it is overly prescriptive that offers the methodology and approach of the authors with only passing reference to other methods by other photographers that are as equally effective. However it does have the advantage of being well constructed and I was left feeling that I had gained a great deal from it.

My pet hate is 'velvet water' the effect created by a long exposure when photographing moving water. The authors go as far as to add Neutral Density filters to lengthen the exposure. I realise it is all a matter of taste but personally I think it is gimmicky and gives the image a wholly unrealistic look. Granted it works in some situations where the structure and texture of the water is not a key element but in other shots it simply looks ridiculous (for me the best example of the latter is the image on page 102).

My hope is that, in common with all so called 'creative gimmicks', there will be the natural reaction, when something has been flogged to death, of returning to photographing nature as we perceive it. Fortunately or unfortunately photography is fashion dominated (think about landscape photography and its demise) and it requires a great deal of courage to fly in the face of fashion particularly if you wish to be recognised and exhibited so fashions last longer than what one would see as their natural life. It is interesting to go back and follow these fashions through a period trying to identify the trigger that created them (e.g. colour film, digital cameras and the availability of increasingly sophisticated software) and what brought about their demise.

I sometimes think that it would be a useful exercise to give a box brownie to the 'greart' photographers of our present era and ask them to produce a portfolio of say 10 images (no post processing allowed)and see what they come up with. Too often one gets the impression that success lies in the competence and skill of the post processing staff (frequently not the photographer) rather than the image captured in camera. (I personally will continue to use the best camera I can afford and the latest software available!!)