Posts in Category: Black and White

Holiday ORD, Part 2

This is a follow up post to my Holiday ORD, Part 1 post below.  It is appropriately titled Holiday ORD, Part 2.  Of all the Chicago pictures that I’ve seen over the years, I haven’t seen very many from inside the biggest airport in the Midwest.  I’m proud of these last two sets of images, simply because I wanted to capture some memorable shots while I was waiting at O’Hare, and I feel as though I succeeded.  The last post contained 3 images.  I threw a bonus image into this post for your enjoyment… so enjoy!  If you’d like to share it with friends for their enjoyment, there is a share bar at the bottom of this post (and every post) with a bunch of options such as email, twitter, facebook.

Paul & Anne Scharnett [8.7.10]

I posted a preview of these pictures back in September, but since it was my first wedding as the official photographer, I thought a full post of my favorite shots (Flickr set) was necessary.  As I said in my last post, it was a great blessing to be able to capture these memories for Paul and Anne.  I hope you all enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.  If you do, share this on Twitter or Facebook (there’s a “Share Bar” at the bottom of the post) and let more celebrate with the Scharnetts!  Congratulations, Paul and Anne Scharnett! (With regards to lenses, I used mainly a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 (standard) and a Nikon 12-24mm f/4 (wide angle). I also rented a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 (zoom) from Calumet Photo for the weekend and had a 35mm f/1.8 (prime). Those covered all the bases. Also, i shot with my Nikon D300 and my D50 bodies, in case you were wondering.)

Dynamic Theater

Today’s post demonstrates my ongoing affair with HDR photography.  For those who don’t know, HDR is an acronym for “High Dynamic Range.”  (If you want to know more about HDR photography, my recommendation is visiting this site, The Golden Sieve, as Justin Kern presents a great explanation.)  My interest was piqued about this time last year when I first discovered this “dream-like” genre of imagery.  Since then, I have done some research, experimenting, and exploration into this new level of dynamic range (the high level).  Now, I would not consider myself “obsessed” nor would I suggest that I rely on HDR for the majority of my images, but I do believe that it adds a level of excitement to an image that may or may not have been possible otherwise.  Please see below.
Here is the original image – completely unprocessed.  It’s a nice picture, but I was looking for a little something more, due to my desire to produce some cool HDR imagery.  Two exposures and a lot of processing later, the second image was generated.
I have to admit – this was really only my second ever attempt at HDR, so the image is a little “gaudy” for my current tastes.  I was trying to create a WOW factor instead of refining/improving the photograph.  While I could have revisited the files last night and reprocessed to create a “better” picture, I think it’s only fair that I show you this image as I originally presented it.  Future posts will reveal my current “feel” for HDR so that you, the reader, can see my development as it relates to the purpose of HDR, in my opinion.
Instead of reprocessing last night, I did experiment with “black and whiting” the HDR image.  Just like any photograph, black and white doesn’t always “work.”  Sometimes, you NEED the color.  HDR is provides a greater amount light information resulting in better depth and a more complete image – like your eye actually saw it.  This usually requires color to set the HDR image apart from the “normal” image.  Although I don’t plan on turning many of my HDR pictures into black and white, I was happy with this result.

Let me know your thoughts, opinions, compliments, and critiques by posting a comment below.  I actually have another series lined up from the same night on which I took the above photograph(s).  Keep an eye out for that in the near future.  Next up, though, will either be a basic photography tutorial or possibly an answer to a question posed to me by a friend.  Thanks for reading!