Depth of Field

I took this photo with my Tamron 90 macro lens.  The lens is a good portrait lens but not for older people.  Every wrinkle and nuance of your skin will be exposed.  In this photo, I decided to use the lens on the dog and my baby girl decided to help.  So, I used f/3.2 and focused sharply on Walter’s eyes.  Using f/3.2 at a relatively short distance pushed my daughter out of the focus field but there was enough depth to get the dog’s eyes and muzzle sharp.

Oh, I am working hard on portraits.  Monday, I have a commission to shoot a set of family portraits.

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90. 1/24s at f/3.2.

In Lightroom, the image was cropped slightly, light levels adjusted, clarity and contrast increased and a little vibrance added to compensate for the blueness of the light.  No flash but a reflector was used to balance the window light.

Morning Love

Before we went to see Santa the other day, I had an impromptu portrait session with a girl and her dog.

Nikon D90 with Sigma 24-70 at 62mm. 1/60s at f/4.

It was a bit of a wiggly, squiggly moment.  In Lightroom, I cropped a little, adjusted light levels, reduced clarity on the face but increased it in the rest of the photo.  Applied a slight vignette and added a little contrast.  My daughter makes my heart light.  I can’t be down around her.

Football

I took my son to the Houston Texans football game on Sunday.  He had a blast.  It was one of those moments when everything comes together to make a lasting memory.  We ate hotdogs and had good seats near the field and near the goal line.  It was a good place to be because the Texans scored often in their big win over Seattle.  We shared a lot of high-5’s and he came away from the game determined to become a football player.  Told his mom when we got home.  He wants to be a wide receiver, like his favorite: Andre Johnson.  His mom grimaced and said nothing.

They would not let me bring in a big lens, so I used my 50…it worked reasonably well!

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8. 1/400s at f/3.5.

In Lightroom, in contrast to the flower photos, I cropped into a panorama, adjusted the white balance and toned down the whites.  I shot at ISO640-1200 with very little noise.

Dawn

Sometimes you are rewarded by getting up early.  I think this shows the coloring and the velvety texture of the black pearl.

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90. 2s at f/16, ISO160.

Natural light is incredible, doing unexpected things, making unexpected colors appear and just as suddenly, hiding them.  I think the black pearl is a mysterious flower, hiding itself and its nature.  It gives up bits and pieces to me slowly and only over time.  I have photographed this flower for a month and this is the first shot with which I was satisfied.

In Lightroom, I made the background darker, increased clarity and vibrance, increased highlight, light and dark tones while decreasing the shadow tones.  I increased contrast and overall brightness and added a touch of fill light.  I reset the camera mode to Landscape because I knew it would give me richer colors.  I used a color-priority vignette to further set the flower off.  Then, a bit of cropping, sharpening and some tinting in the shadows and I was finished.

Looking into the Black Pearl

A shot looking into the bloom.  The bloom has a deep velvety texture.  It is dark and brooding.

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90. 2s at f/11.

It has been rainy, misty and foggy here and the blooms are covered in water drops.  Early morning is the best time to photograph them.  There is a certain darkness to this flower that is almost impossible to photograph.  They also seem to get darker outdoors than indoors.

The shots were not particularly easy to process.  I began by cropping the image into a square.  I adjusted the exposure to brighten a bit, increased brightness then added in blackness to make the background dark.  I increased the contrast, adjusted tint, added clarity and vibrance.  Then I went to work on the light tones, adjusted light and dark until they were balanced.  The colors were next; I adjusted the magenta and purple hues and increased their saturation and luminance.  Finally, I added a color-priority vignette and sharpened.  Whew…

I will post another tomorrow.

Cold Walk

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.

Sky Lobby

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.

Christmas Party with Kolaches!

Nothing fancy; a snapshot of three little girls enjoying kolaches while visiting with the Santa man.  It makes me smile.

Nikon D90 with Sigma 24-70 at 31mm. 1/60s at f/5.6; SB600 flash with Gary Fong Diffuser

Used flash on the shot.  I’ve been getting away from flash but this was a perfect setting.  There was a lot of natural light from some large windows so the flash provided fill light, keeping those pesky raccoon eyes away.  In Lightroom, I reduced  clarity on the faces (although the faces are already pretty soft on these pretty, young ladies) and increased contrast, vibrance and saturation.  Added a vignette to set the girls off and reduce the distraction of the boys in the background.

Snow storm

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.

Dance, Santa

This weekend, my company had a Christmas party in Jones Hall, home of the Houston Symphony.  It was a wonderful performance but my children loved when Santa appeared.  It began with an off-stage  ”Ho-ho-ho…” and immediately their eyes lit up; I could see surprise, shock, and that wonderful question: “Was that the real Santa?”

Santa sang and danced and he made the children and adults laugh.  He traded barbs with the conductor and asked to audition for the orchestra.   He looked so real…it must have been him.

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8. 1/160s at f/2.5

Shot at ISO400, processed in Lightroom.  Some cropping and light adjustment.