It was chilly that morning.
Nikon D90 with Tokina 12-24 at 12mm. 1/30s at f/11
In Lightroom, cropped and straightened, added contrast and clarity, desaturated and used split toning to to bring in the coldness of blue/green. Added grain which sharpened the image slightly without too much deterioration.
60th floor sky lobby at Chase Tower in Houston. Photo taken during last Friday’s snowstorm.
Nikon D90 with Tokina 12-24 at 12mm. 1/30s at f/8.
I wanted a little depth in the photo, it is a long gallery so I went to f/8. Going up more would have meant shooting at slower speeds and risking shake even if I bumped my ISO from 400 to 800 or higher. I am not afraid to do that but I prefer cleaner images, which is one of my problems with grain (and why I don’t use it much). This photo was about light and shapes. It was meant for black and white because color distracted. The front page of the Houston Chronicle had a similar photo last Sunday.
In Lightroom, I cropped, increased contrast and clarity, balanced the lighting, desaturated, used split toning to introduce blue to the highlights and sharpened the image.
I suppose from here on out, it will be Christmas/winter related posts. Friday, Houston was hit with (for us) a major snowstorm. Oh, I know, it really didn’t stick but it was a good 1 to 3 inches, which was enough to shut down the city. The fact that it was Friday didn’t hurt, either. A shot of the Pennzoil building on my way home.
Nikon D90 with Tokina 12-24 at 15mm. 1/15s at f/11.
ISO was 400. In Lightroom, I cropped to enhance the vertical. I adjusted light levels making the lights a little lighter. Added contrast and clarity. Desaturated (it was already almost black and white) and used split toning to add greens into the darker part of the image. I learned later that to get good snowflake photos, you should overexpose slightly. I don’t guess I will get much of a chance to try this out as we are unlikely to get more than one snowfall per year.
Not much time for sightseeing. Its a shame because Minneapolis is a beautiful city. Oh, and I did get to see that Mary Tyler Moore statue. This photo shows how close I got to St. Paul. This is a bridge across the Mississippi that leads to St. Paul (at least I think it does). It was taken from the roof of a garage on a cold (for me), breezy, cloudy morning. My next visit to Minneapolis should be a little longer with perhaps just a smidge of free time. I want to see more.
Glimpsing St. Paul, October, 2009.
Nikon D90 with Tokina 12-24 at 24mm. 1/160s at f/8, ISO400. In Lightroom, I had to do some work to bring out the color and detail. The day was very drab, so I adjusted the light levels, increased contrast and added a little clarity. I increased vibrance and then went to work on the colors themselves. The trees in the center of the photo were washed out in the image, so I boosted red to make them pop. I realized that they were the central piece of color, so I cropped the photo to feature them more. I played with Lightroom’s new grain feature but I am uncomfortable with it and so removed grain. I adjusted white balance and the camera profile (used Landscape mode with adjustments). I added a vignette using the color priority option and I am enjoying the feature.
Tree at sunset. Elizabeth Kaiser Meyer Park, Spring, Texas. For L, in exchange for her sunrise photo.
Tree at Sunset, Spring, Texas
Nikon D90 with Tokina 12-24 at 24mm. 1/80s at f/16, ISO160. I did a lot of work on this as I learn Lightroom 3. Mostly, I adjusted saturations and light levels. I used white balance and custom camera modes to get the saturated look of late afternoon.
So, what else can I do to make the view interesting? In my efforts to control the distortion of the wide-angle, I took this shot. It was ok in color but I liked it better in black and white. Again, I like the dizzying feel. I still have quite a few of these photos to go through and I am sure I will experiment a little more.
For those of you that are Lightroom fans like me, the version 3 beta has just been released…I can’t wait.
Bird's Eye View
Nikon D90 with Tokina 12-24. 1/80s at f/16, ISO125. In Lightroom, adjusted white balance, desaturated, increased clarity and contrast, used split toning to introduce blue in the dark and browns and red into the highlights. Darkened the sky a bit. Converted to Landscape mode.
A shot to the west. I rotated orientation and went portrait mode on this because I wanted to catch the reflection in the glass in this part of the roofline. The orientation allowed me force more into the image as I was starting to understand the dizzying feel of where I was. The more I took photos the more I began asking, how can I get an image that is different and the more I realized the challenge of shooting on the roof.
I arranged the rooftop for a friend that I met on the DPReview photo forms. He uses gigapan software to stitch hundreds of images together and make lovely, long, detailed panoramas. I will post a link when it is complete.
Looking West
Nikon D90 with Tokina 12-24 at 12mm. 1/250s at f/11, ISO160. In Lightroom, adjusted white balance, added clarity and vibrance, adjusted light levels, increased the darkness of the blue sky and increased contrast to bring out the window reflections.
From the roof of the Chase Tower in Houston, Texas. I could not have picked a more beautiful day on which to go up.
Houston Skyline
Nikon D90 with Tokina 12-24 at 12mm. 1/320s at f/11, ISO160. In Lightroom, adjusted white balance, straightened photo, increased clarity and vibrance, increased blue saturation in the sky, changed mode to Nikon DX2 mode 2. Sharpened.
Budget presentation today. Time for a quick post. I was fascinated by all the lines and textures in this image.
Nikon D90 with Tokina 12-24 at 12mm. 1/10s at f/4, ISO200. Handheld!!
Another Tranquility Park fountain shot. This time, with the sunrise at my back. It gave the water a little different look and I used a faster shutter speed.
Nikon D90 with Tokina 12-24 at 15mm. 1/60s at f/11, ISO100, Landscape Mode.
