Go In…I Dare You…
Just a bit going on in this shot, not only visually but in processing as well.
I started out by processing 3 shots in Photomatix, then I brought it back into Lightroom for some dodging and burning and converting to black and white using a B+W preset. I then exported this shot and the B+W biker shot from this post. I rotated the biker shot 90 degrees to get as much sky as I could into the building shot. I utilized the quick selection tool to make a selection of the blank sky and then finally deleted that selection which allowed the sky fit perfectly……. all in a days work:)
Extended Dynamic Range…
Yes it is extended…..4 seconds exposure for the lights and 30 seconds exposure for the lower wall, and this didn’t even capture enough of the details in the statue on the wall. I think another 5-10 seconds was needed to properly expose for that part of the scene. In the end though I’m pretty satisfied that I captured the essence of the scene. What a beautiful place…. BTW the main alter can be seen here.
Flash Quest….
My quest here was to introduce a faux camera flash that would produce some sort of lens flare in the scene. I used the lens flare filter in Elements 10. Can’t tell if it looks more like sun glare off a window in the background.
How’d I do?
If anyone has a better technique or suggestions let me know….
Nuisances: Me Not Being Properly Focused…
I don’t know about you but my eye is drawn to the wall, I guess because that’s what’s in focus. Damn, I missed it again!
Looking back on this shot I remember being drawn to the converging lines, the texture and colors of the stone and door. What I forgot all about was where I wanted your eye to be drawn to? I guess I should have set this shot up by focusing on the door (sad part is, I don’t remember focusing on anything) with an aperture closer to f/5.6 or so.
I’m curious, how would you have set up this shot? Where would you have set up the camera, what setting would you used? Would you have cropped with this rotation?
Note to self: FOCUS…..on everything.
Sometimes Even The Most Basic Objects Make Great Subjects…
As grandiose as my last post is I think this shot has actually garnishes more of my attention. It did while composing the scene and it does now, even after processing. Don’t know if it’s the simplicity; the lighting; the subject or a combination of all three? What do you think? Am I seeing things?
From a processing standpoint this scene was a pain in the *ss to make presentable. Lighting from the front doors cast such a nasty, yellow color on the wall that I almost trashed the originals. After spending an unsuccessful 40 minutes trying to remove that cast I decided to add a brownish texture layer with the help of Elements 10 and although it doesn’t quite emulate the actual scene, it comes pretty close.
3 shot HDR from shots ranging from 4 to 30 seconds, blended in Photomatix and finished in Elements 10 and Lightroom
365: Are You Pointed in the Right Direction for 2012…
I’m gathering my thoughts as I write in an attempt to set some goals in all facets of my life.
What about you? Do you have any photography goals you’d like to share with us? Maybe we can help you reach those goals!
365: Letters in Architecture…
There’s just so much to see at Princeton University that when I walk around the campus I always feel like I have to turn every corner, peek over every wall(within reason of course) and walk through every doorway so I don’t miss anything. I found this gem towards the end of the day and was immediately attracted to the warm tones of the doors and the directional lighting from the sun. They were the first brackets I looked for after importing them into Lightroom and they didn’t disappoint.
Oh and if your wondering what the letters say…….
Here We Were Taught By Men And Gothic Towers Democracy And Faith And Righteousness And Love Of Unseen Things That Do Not Die HE Mieroy ’14.
PS: Thanks for joining me Chris and Paula!
Is it Photography or is it Art?
Photograph……
Art…
It all depends who you talk to….
Do you ever struggle to find a balance between the two in this day of photo manipulation? I did with this shot so I decided to post both.
Interior…
The University Chapel is located on the campus of Princeton University. It was built in 1926 and is the 3rd largest university chapel in the world. It is just one of the many architectural masterpieces on this beautiful and pristine campus.
I went into the archives for the shot above and processed it slightly different than this shot posted last March….
Perspective aside…which one do you like better?
Complex Surfaces
Complex Surfaces, originally uploaded by boomer3297.
I go back a bit for this shot and kill 2 themes at once…not bad. As I was walking around Princeton I was awed by all of the intricate architectural details of the buildings on this campus. HDR is absolutely the way to go when photographing these beautiful buildings.
This is a 3 shot hdr to even out the exposures mainly in the walkway. My goal was to maintain the authenticity of the scene and accentuate the details across the entire range of the shot.
Light 3a
Light 3a-2, originally uploaded by boomer3297.
Ron asked for a cropped version of my last version of this shot so our minds must SOMETIMES think alike because when I took this scene I wasn’t sure exactly where to take this shot from, so I took some from all different lengths. This one is at a focal length of 17 and the last one was from 29mm.
Is this better? What do you think?
Light 3
Light 2, originally uploaded by boomer3297.
A preview of what part 2 of my tutorial might look like. This shot accentuates the levels of light in this scene.
Angles
Angles, originally uploaded by boomer3297.
These shots are of the oldest building at Princeton University, Nassua Hall. At the time it was built, in 1754, it was the largest building in New Jersey. It was used for classrooms, offices a chapel amongst other things. This building also served as the first meeting place of the NJ legislature in 1776.
This building also suffered much damage during the Battle of Princeton in 1777, when the British took possession of it and George Washington and his troops had to fire upon it to reclaim it and defeat the British.
Buried in the center of the circle is a cannon and the interesting story of the Rutgers/Princeton Cannon War can be found here.
Action
Action, originally uploaded by boomer3297.
These 2 tigers are poised for action in this shot on the campus of Princeton University.
I feel like I’m getting closer to the point where you can’t tell if my shots are HDR or not, what do you think? Do I have a ways to go or is it pretty good?
One
One, originally uploaded by boomer3297.
John asked for one of just the door, this is the best I had. Still shows the blooms and the beauty of the door.
Angle
Angle, originally uploaded by boomer3297.
Well, I finally made it out to Princeton over the weekend and what a great day for shooting. Not only was the weather perfect but there are so many great subjects to shoot it’s easy to lose track of time.
This is Alexander Hall and it was built in 1894. It has hosted many different events over the years but is used primarily by the Music Department today. What an awesome building at any angle!
Click on photo to see all the architectural details!
