So I had a few minutes this afternoon to poke around outside and found these two palm trees with the sun directly behind the tree on the left. I didn’t have a strobe with me so i had an idea in my head to try something in post. A mini 2 image HDR.

Palm

ISO 1000 ƒ/22 T 1/160

Here’s the saved jpg from the original RAW file:

Decently exposed, but nothing special…. I wanted to pop the trunk on the left and mute the palm on the right. So in Aperture(Mac App Link) I did some basic levels adjustments and created two files from the master. One that I kept at the normal exposure which is here:

And one that I boosted the exposure to brighten the whole image:

I then imported both into Perfect Photo Suite 6, which created two layers. I placed the darker version on the top and used the Mask Tool to mask out the tree trunk and allow the trunk from the layer below to pop through:

I then opened the top layer up in Perfect Effects and added an autumn filter and applied that and then I opened up the bottom “trunk” layer and added a Radiance filter to that and here’s the saved version in Perfect Photo Suite 6:

I then saved the file back to Aperture and slightly sharpened the trunk and saved it. I think this turned out to an interesting image.

One of the challenges for me after actually writing something is getting the post up on the site, easily. Over the past year I’ve used MarsEdit as my desktop blogging platform. In fact i’m writing this from MarsEdit3. It allows me to easily save drafts for later, and allows me to switch to a browser to grab a link without accidentally crashing a browser and my new post that may be saved. I know there are other desktop blogging tools out there, but MarsEdit is what I’m using now. It works with most blogging platforms i’m aware of. I use it with WordPress and ExpressionEngine.

Another tool I use daily is Smugmug.com I post quite a few photos form my Daily photo project and Smugmug handles all bandwidth and resizing of my photos for my posts. When I upload a full resolution photo to Smugmug, their servers create 6 versions from thumbnail to XL3large. Also, Smugmug.com offers unlimited storage and bandwidth, having my photos served up through their servers reduces load on my hosting server. The various sizes also allows me to post a large version and in MarsEdit I make the image clickable to very large image in a new window. I’m able to bring the smugmug image links directly into MarsEdit so i can see how the images will look inside my post, which is helpful. Smugmug.com is an annual fee site, starting at $40/year, but well worth it, Ive been a customer for over 6 years now. For $5 off your first year here’s a coupon code/link: https://secure.smugmug.com/signup.mg?Coupon=8v0X3g7f8J58s

Pretty simple and I’m amazed at the difference finding the right tools makes.

Apparently there’s another holiday around the corner…. At least that’s what the bag of chocolates says.

How about a Kiss!

ISO 1000 ƒ/3.2 T 1/100

The original image was poorly lit by the dining room chandelier as you can see in this saved jpg from the RAW file:

Very nice yellow cast that doesn’t look very good. I did notice this in the camera but was too lazy to grab a strobe and light it better, I wanted to see what I could do in post. So heres my initial edits in Aperture(Mac App Link):

Better, but I wanted to mess around in Perfect Photo Suite 6:

I then returned the image back to Aperture and removed the yellow cast some more with a white balance adjustment and used the Sharpening brush on the foil and a final crop to get rid of some extra space.

This is what you do when you don’t have a basketball hoop at home… You shoot at the door frame and pray the ball doesn’t go through the window above the front door!

Shooting Hoops in the House

ISO 1000 ƒ/2.8 T 1/20

Here’s the saved jpg from the RAW file:

Wasn’t thrilled with the colors here, the yellow didn’t do much for me so I began to tweak it in Aperture:

I then opened it up in OnOneSoftware’s Perfect Photo Suite 6 and used an Illford filter at about 70% to provide a heavy de-saturated look and feel, I think saved

it back to Aperture for a few final touches to contrast. Oh and btw Perfect Photo Suite 6 is currently on sale for $100 of here’s an AFF link:

Not a lot of time for today’s picture and i’m too tired to post edit notes.. so here’s today’s photo:

J’s Toys

ISO 1000 ƒ/3.2 T 1/40

Getting dinner ready on Monday’s are always a challenge since it’s a full work and school day…. So by the time we start thinking about dinner it’s close to 7pm. So tonight we steamed some asparagus and made a quick veggie stew in a bit pot that was ready in a few minutes. The Epicurean calls Asparagus the Supreme Vegetable. Wiki also a decent write up about Asparagus that even includes a note about the Asparagus Urine Effect. So here’s today’s photo of Asparagus:

ISO 1000 ƒ/5.6 T 1/40

Here’s the saved jpg from the RAW file:

It’s a little yellow and lifeless, so I decided to play with it in Aperture(Mac App Link):

I then opened it up in Perfect Photo Suite 6 and added a Daily Vitamin filter to the image. I still need to work on my food still life image, and I suppose a better lighting setup other than the light over my kitchen sink as well!

Had a great day with the kids today and tired one of them out.

ISO 1000 ƒ/2.8 T 1/15

Heres the saved jpg from the RAW file:

This is slightly underexposed, but when I did expose it properly in the camera it seemed to still overexpose her face. This is a good example of when auto enhance doesn’t work very well here’s my edits in Aperture(Mac App Link):

I did bump the exposure a bit and add some contrast, which led to this:

Better, but I still wasn’t’ happy so i switched over to Perfect Photos Suite 6 and added a Snappy Warm filter and adjusted the strength to 75% which kept just a touch of red in her lips. I think it’s a fun image.

We spent the day at Springs Preserve(http://www.springspreserve.org). Beautiful weather warranted being outside. Springs Preserve is located in the heart of Las Vegas. It’s water source was the reason that Las Vegas began as a watering hole for weary traveler’s years ago. They also have cactus gardens and gardens of other plants and trees that do well in the desert. So here’s an image from our visit.

ISO 1000 ƒ/5.6 T 1/2000

Here’s the saved jpg from the RAW file:

Here’s a screen capture of my edits in Aperture:

Didn’t do to much, I’m amazed at how well a simple levels adjustment helps the image, if the exposure is in the ballpark. I find that using auto levels when the exposure is off a few stops makes things weird.

Here are a few other snaps from our day:

and there are a few more in the SpringsPreserve12 gallery

I decided to try using sunlight today as my light source and found these leaves in the yard.

ISO 1000 ƒ/13 T 1/1250

I decided to dabble in post as I wasn’t terribly happy with what I came out of the camera, here’s the saved jpg from the RAW file:

I did some minor contrast edits in Aperture(Mac App Link):

I then opened it up in Perfect Photo Suite 6 Effects and had some fun:

And I saved that layer and decided to tweak a bit more:

I’m pleased with the final tones.