Archive for August 1st, 2006
I’ve finally finished going through my photos of the gardenwalk and have uploaded the last batch. The shots are all from a home on West Delavan that is absolutely amazing. The following slide-show features that home. A couple of shots I previously uploaded are included. To view all shots from the gardenwalk, click here for a slide-show or here for a gallery.
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Now that I’ve been experimenting with digital photography, I am finding it quite amazing. Software, such as photoshop CS2 and photomatix, enable an unlimited amount of results. Photomatix automates the process of “high dynamic range” (hdr) images while allowing custom tweaking to the process. Photoshop is an endless source of tweaking and manipulation. I still consider myself an advanced novice when using photoshop. Experimenting with the different effects is my main method to learn more about it. Tips from friends, and a book I purchased, are also helpful. The really nice thing is that once you have a decent camera (you don’t need to spend a fortune) and own the software, it doesn’t cost anything to experiment, unlike the days of film photography when the costs would have been extremely high. Also, you don’t have to wait to see the results. Today there are many good photo printers that yield good results at a reasonable price.
I am going to give an example of what can be done with software using a shot of the Richardson Towers. This will include the photo I posted yesterday, which is tweaked quite a bit.
The first shot is not processed at all except for a touch of image sharpening with photoshop. The colors, exposure, etc., are exactly as the picture was captured by my camera.
The second shot is a black & white conversion, using photoshop, I did with the original photograph.
The third shot is an HDR created with photomatix software. The process involves combing 3 or more shots of the same scene, each with a different exposure. Once that is done, a process called tone-mapping is applied that brings out the color from the different exposures. For this picture I used the default settings in photomatix and sharpened the final picture with photoshop.
This final shot is the one I posted yesterday. The result was obtained the same way as the last picture, except I used custom settings in photomatix to achieve a different look.
Once the pictures were uploaded from my camera to my computer it took about 20 -30 minutes to get the 4 different results. The photo version you like best is a matter of personal taste, if you ask 10 different people I’m sure you would get mixed answers. I like the last one with the extra tweaking. When I look at it, the effect of the lighting and the colors seems to make the building appear alive.
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While I was driving on Forest Avenue yesterday evening, the way the sun was illuminating the towers caught my eye. I’ve never photographed the building before and I figured this would be a good first opportunity.
The building complex was the first of many works on which Henry Hobson Richardson and Frederick Law Olmsted joined forces. The style of architecture is referred to as Richardsonian Romanesque. This building is located in Buffalo, New York and once housed an asylum for the “insane”.
