2013-09-27 - Projection Competition
"Wind Swept"
Category: Color
Contest Score: ??/27 - Second place
Print medium: Digital Upload
Judges Comments: I recall the judge liking the fact that the bent stick in the foreground almost makes a complete circle along the grass in the sand, and the other greenery.
Location: Roosevelt Beach Road, Copalis Crossing, WA (I was somewhere near coordinates 47.176033,-124.195655 Plop that into Google maps)
Story behind the photo: Was aimlessly driving around Washington state and ran across a beach access... decided to walk around to enjoy the beautiful June day on the West coast!
Camera gear:
- Canon Digital Rebel XTi
- Canon 11-18mm Ultra wide-angle
- Remote shutter release
- Handheld
Photo Specs:
Raw Image > 3-image HDR saved as Tif > Saved as Jpeg for upload
Focal Length: 11mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speeds: 1/320
ISO: 200
Circular Polarizer (filter)
Software used:
- Photoshop
- NIK Color Efex Pro 4
-NIK HDR Efex 2 (Singe Image Tone Mapping)
Lessons learned:
- The West coast has a lot to offer!
- How to beter edit photos using some simple aftermarket filters in Photoshop! (NIK software)
"Old Czech"
Category: Black & White
Contest Score: ??/27 - Did not place
Print medium: Digital Upload
Location: A former co-worker's basement with all their old musical instruments.
Story behind the photo: Both the harmonica and sheet music are from old world Czech Republic.
Camera gear:
- Canon Digital Rebel XTi
- Lensbaby Composer with Double Glass Optic
- Handheld
Photo Specs:
Raw Image > Converted to JPEG for upload
Focal Length: 50mm
Aperture: f/??
Shutter Speed: 1/50
ISO: 400
Software used:
- Photoshop
- NIK Silver Efex Pro 2
- HRD Efex Pro 2 (Single Image Tone Mapping)
Lessons learned:
- Using a Lensbaby gave the look of motion when none was present!
- Silver Efex pro can give some really cool effects to photos!!!
Final Thoughts:
I highly recommend shooting photos in RAW format, and converting your image to a smart object before doing any edits. Both those things will give the option to go back and fine tune any changes you've already made (minus clone brush work). If you intend on using the Clone brush or Dodge/Burn tools, do so before converting to a smart object.
Saving the image as a PSD file will allow you to retain any layers and edits for later retouching. Once you're happy with the photo, flatten the image, and save a copy in a different format (preferably JPEG).
