Posts in Category: Comparison

The Columbia Yacht Club

On 29 Jan ’11 by Bill W. With 2 Comments - Adobe, Before and After, Chicago, Comparison, Editing, Lightroom, Outdoors, Photography

Hey everyone! I apologize for not posting more images recently, but I hope you enjoy this one. I sure do.  For a little background – this picture was taken during an afternoon that Katie and I spent walking around downtown Chicago last summer. I think it was either the 4th of July or the day before. It was a really hot afternoon, and I really wanted to take one of these boats out on the lake. Anyway, I didn’t bring my Nikon with me, so we ended up taking all the pictures that day with her Canon point and shoot. This picture goes to show you that not all good photographs have to be taken with an expensive camera/lens setup. As long as you can frame a shot and get good lighting, it’s all about using the editing tools at your disposal to obtain an end result.

Below i have posted a two-image slideshow that demonstrates this picture before and after, which I thought might be interesting to everyone. I used Adobe Lightroom 3.0 to create the “after” image seen above and in the slideshow below. I’d love to hear your thoughts, criticisms, and/or questions in the Comments section below.  Remember, almost all of the images you see on my blog are also for sale on RedBubble!

[slideshow]

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Dynamic Theater

On 9 Sep ’10 by Bill W. With 3 Comments - Advice, Black and White, Chicago, Comparison, HDR, Photography
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!