Post processing story board - from bland to better in 6 steps

We all aim to get it right 'in camera' - to take pictures that will perform well on screen and in print. But sometimes, we don't quite get it right.  Take this dry grass shot at Wisley... it is flat, and frankly bland.  I was shooting Aperture priority and did not think through the impact of the light coloured foliage - I needed to dial in about a stop of exposure compensation.




I use Aperture3 for my post processing work and usually shoot Raw+JPEG.  I was glad of the RAW file on this one - boosting the exposure and contrast brought an immediate improvement.  The image is brighter and with much better definition.  Now it rather defies the dull day on which it was shot.



But when I framed the shot at the end of an early Spring afternoon at RHS Wisley, I was imagining it in black and white.  Aperture 3 has some B&W tools, so I did a quick, standard conversion with medium contrast to see if it might work - but again I was underwhelmed with the result.  Time to roll out the secret weapon - the Nik Software suite.



First I ran the image through Viveza, a delightfully easy plug-in, tweaking brightness, a tad more contrast and pulling in some selective structure on the seed heads.  From there to Silver Efex, a stunning little black and white plug-in with a massive choice of preset options.  Its rare for me not to find one of these providing a great starting point.  In this case, the "Wet Rocks" preset was most pleasing:



A little light tweaking to structure, and adding a very slight 'coffee' tonal change almost completed the job.  I thought there was one final change needed - the crop. But after listing the picture & publishing an early version of this post and discussing it on www.facebook.com/sonningcreatives, I decided it would benefit from a flip.  So... the (current?) final version is below!  Do let me know what you think - and I'd love to hear what you think of the changes - what works, what doesn't for you?

The finished image is available here: 
www.etsy.com/uk/listing/183645730/dried-seedheads-at-wisley-fine-art?

You can find more of my finished work at www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SonningCreatives with opportunities to discuss work in progress a www.facebook.com/sonningcreatives

Thank you
Colin Kemp
Sonning Creatives Ltd

To B (& W) or not to B...

I can't really argue that my dilemma is quite on a par with Hamlet's moment of indecision, but I want to risk the slings and arrows of outrageous opinion on this pair of images: not sure it its particularly noble, or even that I find myself in a sea of troubles.  In fact I hope you agree the sea in the harbour looks particularly untroublesome!

Taken last June in Boston MA, (a discovered country from whose bourn this traveller returned), and taken  later than the normal witching hour when there is still that good light in the sky that can make a great twilight image,  I pressed the shutter, expecting to be converting to black and white.  But then I looked at the original and found more of a wow factor than I anticipated.  So much so, that I published the original on Redbubble where it has had 165 views (at time of writing). ( original redbubble post here)

But I kept returning to my original intention: the picture in my head when I composed the shot: the black and white.  To convert or not to convert, that is the question.  So as a little experiment in digital dynamics and crowd sourcing of insight, I thought I would ask you to share your view: should I be offering this image in colour or black and white?  Which - if either - has the 'wow' factor for you?  Would either find their way to your wall? 

So, with apologies to the Bard for the liberties I have taken with his most famous soliloquy, help me end the heartache.  Tell me what you think: tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.

Its easy to add a comment to the blog: please do!

For those who like the techie stuff, this was taken on a Nikon D90, showing off its great low light, low noise capabilities with 16-85 lens at 22mm (33mm fx equivalent), 20 seconds at f14, with a dab of over exposure to allow the capture of the foreground detail. ISO 200.

Kennebunkport

It was late afternoon at the end of May 2012.  We were on our first visit to New England and had just one night in Kennebunkport.  And you know how it is: just when you want pristine, puffy-cloud scattered skies for the perfect sunset over the marina - that's when you get overcast skies, drizzle and lousy visibility.  But as we wandered across the bridge at the head of the harbour, I knew I had to capture the view.  And I wanted it in black and white.

Looking out over the lagoon from the bridge you can't miss a fabulous large residence or hotel.  The woods behind were shrouded in mist, and the lagoon was still enough for pleasing reflections.

It was so damp I did not want to risk changing the lens - Nikon's excellent 16-85 DX was on the camera.  The first shot was nice and wide - but there was too much grey sky, too much grey lagoon.  Zooming in to bring the building to prominence at an effective 75mm produced this shot. It's OK in colour, but it's in black and white that I see what I had hoped to capture.  It's a timeless image - nothing to suggest 2012, or indeed, the time of day. Perhaps, like me, you can rest your eyes here - and contemplate life overlooking the lagoon… Nice glass of bourbon on the porch, anyone?

 PS: Do you know Kennebunkport?  Please let me know what this building is on my feedback page.