December 24, 2010

Dickens on the Strand #6

Merry Christmas to all!
I did not get this young man’s name but he was Mad Hatter’s running mate.  I was very lucky when I took this photo that my subject tilted his head just before I took the shot.  This slight tilt added so much to the image.  
In this photo, I wanted to bring out the bright colors and his unusual eye and mouth wear so in post processing I tried to really emphasize the contrast between his attire and the softness of the background to make sure that I had good separation between the two.  
I tried without any success to change the color of the background from a warm color to a cooler one.  Nothing that I tried seemed to look good to me, so the background is as shot.  When I try something like this, I am not sure whether I did not do a good job with my Photoshop magic or that I know that it has been changed and thus no matter what I do or how good I do it, the change just does not look right.  Welcome anyone’s comments on this one.
Again, Merry Christmas to all!
Enjoy.
Camera settings:  Nikon D3, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 shot at 70mm, ISO 200, f/2.8 and 1/350th of a second.
Post Processing:  
Lightroom 3—Adjusted white balance, added mid tone contrast.
Photoshop CS5—used nik Color Efex Pro tonal contrast to add contrast to his clothing and facial mask.

December 21, 2010

Dickens on the Strand #5


Today’s posting is a composite of three of the photos that I have previously posted and a photo of a poster that I took.
I do not know why I started this composite.  After looking at all my shots of Steampunk, I do know that I thought that they would make an interesting movie-type poster. 
There was not much technique to the combination.  I masked-off all of the people and sized them on the background.  I used soft light blending mode on all the people so that some of the background showed through their image.  I adjusted the opacity of each layer until I got the look that I wanted.
After I got all the people looking the way that I wanted, I decided that the poster needed something else.  I believe most people are like me and therefore, they would not know much about Steampunk. So, I decided that I should include a title.  I selected a typeface that I thought worked well with the overall poster.  Finally, I then put a black boarder around the outside of the composite.  I think  that the boarder gives the image that final touch that it needed.
Enjoy.

December 17, 2010

Dickens on the Strand #4

I must admit, I have never photographed anyone like the Mad Hatter.  He was completely “in character” every second that he was in front of my camera.  I was completely convinced:  he was truly mad and I think he trying to infect me.
The problems with photographing him were: keeping him further than the minimum focusing distance of my lens; trying to keep him in focus as he moved here, there and everywhere; and, just trying to keep from laughing as he said the most ridiculous stuff. 
This is one of the few photos that I took of the Mad Hatter that I think he was in one position for more than two seconds.
Enjoy.
Camera settings:  Nikon D3, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 shot at 200mm, ISO 200, f/2.8 and 1/500th of a second.
Post Processing:  
Lightroom 3—Adjusted white balance, added mid tone contrast.
Photoshop—used spot healing to clean-up various spots and used nik Color Efex Pro tonal contrast to add contrast to his clothing.

December 14, 2010

Dickens on the Strand #3

In today’s photo, I wanted to capture the intensity of the subject.  I watched this young man for a while and noticed that no matter what he was doing, he had the same intensity.  It was just part of him.  It is probably the most important aspect of him—just a guess.
Enjoy.
Camera settings:  Nikon D3, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 shot at 200mm, ISO 200, f/2.8 and 1/500th of a second.
Post Processing:  
Lightroom 3—Adjusted white balance, added mid tone contrast.
Photoshop CS5—used spot healing to clean-up various spots and then did some dodging and burning.

December 10, 2010

Dickens on the Strand #2


Today’s photo is a little different look at the same young lady that I presented earlier this week.  I noticed how beautiful the light was falling on her.  I wanted the photo to be simple, so I framed it with an uncluttered background.  I took several shots but this one with her eyes closed was the one that seemed to go best with her pose and the soft light.
Enjoy.
Camera settings:  Nikon D3, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 shot at 200mm,  ISO 200, f/2.8 and 1/500th of a second.
Post Processing:  
Lightroom 3—Adjusted white balance, added mid tone contrast and saturation of various colors.
Photoshop—used spot healing to clean-up various spots and then did some dodging and burning.

December 7, 2010

Dickens on the Strand #1

Steve Schuenke and I have photographed Dickens on the Strand for the past three years and I think both of us seemed to be a little tired of the regular Victorian-era photos that we had made in the past.  Before going, we talked about doing something different, but neither one of us could come-up with that “something different.”  I had so much fun photographing Sarah a few weeks ago using natural light and shallow depth-of-field that I decided that was going to try something similar at Dickens.  
Steve and I walked around for a long time without taking many photos.  Finally, we arrived at a booth that sold various wears for a subculture known as “steampunk.”  I knew nothing about them however I immediately began firing away at everything that was wearing goggles and was moving.  Over 90% of my shots for the day were taken with an aperture of f/2.8 or f/3.3 and were done without directing the person being photographed--more like street photography, 
This young lady was very striking and I knew that her photo would be likewise.  Still I wanted to do that “something different” that Steve and I discussed.  I felt that photographing only half of her face might put the twist that I wanted. I was pleased with the results. 
Enjoy
Camera settings:  Nikon D3, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 shot at 200mm, ISO 200, f/2.8 and 1/350th of a second. 
Post Processing:   
Lightroom 3—Set black and white points, added clarity and increased contrast.
Photoshop CS5—used spot healing to clean-up various ugly spots and used nik Silver Efex Pro to make a black & white layer which I then overlaid it at 35% opacity to reduce the saturation of the colors.

December 3, 2010

Fall Colors


This photo is about the bright colors of the main subject and the subtle colors of the background.  I just liked the contrast and wanted to present like I saw it.
Enjoy.
Camera settings:  Nikon D3, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 shot at 70mm,  ISO 200, f/8 and 1/125th.
Post Processing:  
Lightroom 3—Adjusted white balance, mid tone contrast and saturation of various colors.