Bassist Emerges From Shadows

Friday night I decided to challenge myself with a different genre - concert photography. They say it's good to step out of your comfort zone. For me it was a pleasant distraction, from my usual landscape photography. Below is an image to demonstrate how post-processing can really change the look, feel and mood of a photograph. I envisioned this look and feel as soon as I saw the photo, then it was just moving the sliders in Lightroom to create my vision.

 

Gordon Fellis, The Crown Vics, The Grand Auditorium, Ellsworth, Maine

 

Version 1

Here's the shot straight from the camera. A typical shot, well lit with nice composition - but honestly nothing very special/dramatic.  

 

Version 2

All edits were done in Lightroom. I wouldn't really know how to improve the image with the Nik software - it would take just too long for me to figure it out. First I removed the microphone with the Spot Removal Tool. 

 

Version 3

Now turn everything dark, dark dark.  In Lighroom:

 - Increased Contrast (+50)
  - Dereased Blacks (-84)
  - Decreased Highlights (-12)
  - Decreased Shadows (-17)
  - Decreased Whites (-100)
  - Decreased Exposure (-0.85)

 

Version 4

Onto the skin tones for a more natural look. In Lightroom: 

 - Decreased Saturation (-47)
  - Increased Vibrance (+20)
  - Increased Clarity (+12)

 

Gordon Fellis, The Crown Vics, The Grand, Ellsworth, Maine

The finishing touches, in Lightroom:

 - Warmed up the bass with Brush Tool
  - Cloned out white dot near the elbow
  - Added a heavy Vignette

 

EXIF data: Nikon D800, 300mm, f/4, 1/200 sec, ISO 1600, 11/8/13, 8:48 PM

Jordan Pond Lawn

We were on the verge of rescheduling the safari due to the on and off afternoon rain. The rain held out for the safari and Katelyn, the youngest participant, was a great model and all around good sport about the afternoon. As we walked out onto the Jordan Pond lawn in Acadia National Park, we were greeted with red blazing bushes everywhere. I had the group jump right into the middle of them and start shooting. Here's one of the shots I snapped as an example with my Fuji 'point and shoot'.

Jordan Pond Lawn, Acadia National Park, Maine

Jordan Pond Lawn, Acadia National Park, Maine

Here's the raw image. 

Jordan Pond Lawn, Acadia National Park, Maine

I wanted to see what the difference between convert the image with VSCO and using the X100s in-camera jpeg Velvia processing engine. I like the in-camera processor better. Here's what it produced (don't tell anyone I'm shooting jpeg). 

Jordan Pond Lawn, Acadia National Park, Maine

For the final image I brought it into Nik Color Efex Pro and applied the Tonal Contrast, Detail Extractor and Sunlight Filter. 

EXIF data: Fujifilm X100S, 23mm, f/8 (&B there), 1/25 sec, ISO 200, 10/26/13, 3:10 PM

 

Autumn Palette Panorama

During the park closure I would drive the roads of Mount Desert Island looking for foliage images. I knew about this place so I parked my car on the side of the road and spent about ten minutes snapping away. By the time I left there were three groups of people taking pictures at this 15 foot section of road. I think I started something that foggy day on Route 3 between Bar Harbor and Otter Creek.

Town Line, Bar Harbor & Otter Creek, Maine

EXIF data: Fujifilm X100S, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec, ISO 200, 10/16/13, 9:43 AM

Tarn In The Rain

Every day I drive by the Tarn on my way to work. I couldn't pass up the rain, fog, wind, and foliage that intersected at the Tarn in Acadia National Park on Friday; I just had to stop. The image is a bit blurry, I was holding the Fuji X100S over my head with my arms extended trying to find the correct angle and protect the lens from water drops. Blurry or not, I still like the shot. 

The Tarn, Acadia National Park, Maine

The Tarn, Acadia National Park, Maine

The raw image from the Fujiflim X100S. 

The Tarn, Acadia National Park, Maine

Applied the VSCO preset FujiFilm Velvia 50- and increased the exposure in Lightroom. 

The Tarn, Acadia National Park, Maine

Then Nik Color Efex Pro using: Tonal Contrast, Sunlight Filter and Detail Extractor.

The Tarn, Acadia National Park, Maine

The foreground grass seems over saturated. In Lightroom toned down the saturation on the foreground grass creating a more natural look.

EXIF data: Fujifilm X100S, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/13 sec, ISO 200, 10/18/13, 8:30 AM

Indian Point Autumn

Brenda and I were driving around the other afternoon, looking for autumn trees reflected in water. This was the last day of the Acadia National Park closure, so we were scouting locations outside of the park. We stopped on Indian Point Road, when I spotted this scene to photograph as the light drizzle turned to rain. I'm trying out some new VSCO presets, it sure speeds up my post-processing time.

Indian Point Autumn, Mount Desert, Maine

Indian Point Autumn - Raw

Here's the raw file from the D800. 

Indian Point Autumn after VSCO: Provia 00+

All I did was apply the VSCO preset Provia 100+, boy that was easy!

Indian Point Autumn, Mount Desert, Maine

And finally, the Nik Color Efex Pro (Howie Trio): Tonal Contrast, Skylight Filter, and Detail Extractor. This is a painless workflow. I'm lovin' it!

EXIF data: Nikon D800, 24-20mm @ 56mm, f/10, 1/6 sec, ISO 100, 10/16/13, 1:26 PM