All Kinds of Things Going On

So join in the fun!

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you might have noticed that I was gone for a while. I’ve moved from Cambridge UK to St. Louis Missouri. Also, this blog is moving. My new location is Photography Journal Blog Volume 2. I’d love to have you follow me over there. My first blog’s media library is almost full so now and since moving seems to be my theme this year, I decided to make the leap.

The new blog has a very similar title because it will have similar content. I’ll still be blogging about photography, various projects I am working on and a lot about my editing process. I’ve rejoined the St Louis Camera Club and was pleased to have received an Honourable Mention in a recent competition:

ISO 1250 22mm f/9 1/40sec

I’ve written about this photo before and if you would like a refresh on how I created it, you can find that here.

Wordless Wednesday: Wildflowers

ISO 160 f/6.3 1/400sec 50mm

Added to Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Cheers!

Made With Luminar: Dolbadarn Castle

This shot of Dolbadarn Castle was taken on August 18, 2016.

ISO 500 f/11 1/100sec 50mm

Usually, with photos included in this series, I show the original file. I opted not to with this post because one of my children was in the original file. Other first adjustments included white balance and an increase in the luminance of the greens and yellows in the image. I did also crop this image. The Luminar Look, Past Days, was added at 100% with adjustments to the split toning and texture amount filters.

Added to Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge, Decayed or Rusty.

 

The Made with Luminar Series

This image is part of a project I am calling Made with Luminar. What the images in this series have in common is the software used to edit them, Luminar 3. As with my usual blog posts particulars of the camera settings can be found in the caption below the image. I’ll then explain what other filters and edits have been applied, often mentioning what layer and therefore order that they were applied. The text of these posts includes any Luminar “Looks” that have been applied to the photo. Each look is a series of presets that are applied to the photo. Where applicable I will mention what changes I have made to any of the looks. A full explanation of looks is available here on their website, https://skylum.com/luminar/user-guides/chapter-14-working-with-luminar-looks

You can assume basic edits have been applied. My most common edits are cropping, detail enhancement, and vignette. Specific questions or thoughts on the image are welcome in the comment section below.

Cheers!

Wordless Wednesday: The View Near Beddgelert, Wales

ISO 200 f/11 1/250sec 50mm

August 16, 2016.

Cheers!

What I Am Working On: Subtle Edits

This photo was taken on July 24, 2016. A lovely summer day at the White Cliffs of Dover:

ISO 160 f/6.3 1/600sec 50mm

I pulled it out to edit it this morning. I love this landscape, I find it timeless and calming. I wanted to hang on to those feelings when it came to the edit. What I find interesting is that sometimes subtle edits can be pretty complex behind the scenes. My final edit below has six layers. Separating out edits onto different layers is something that I do frequently particularly with photos like this. The logic behind that being that if there is a particular piece of editing, say the clarity, that was working but now isn’t in combination with other edits applied, it is easier to go back and make that single adjustment if it’s on its own layer. I’ve added the Luminar Look, Touch of Gold Faded, onto this file.  I liked the idea of that particular look, but it was too strong for this particular image so I altered the sliders within that look to something more subtle. That is the beauty of presets, they can be a really helpful starting point.

The edited version:

ISO 160 f/6.3 1/600sec 50mm

Your thoughts or questions are welcome below.

Added to Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, All Wet.

Cheers!

Serengeti Morning

I was working on some of my Tanzania photos this past week as part of a project I’m putting together with my oldest child. One of our safari drives in the Serengeti was an early morning one that allowed me to take a few sunrise photos. I’ve never really taken a lot of sunrise photos and I think that shows when you compare them with other types of photos that I have taken. This file below though is one that I just revisited and reprocessed that I was pretty happy with:

ISO 2500 f/14 1/60sec 22mm

To me, one of the biggest challenges of sunrise photos is that the real thing is pretty spectacular and that can be hard to capture in camera. I’ll keep working at it though! This particular file was taken in December 2017 with a Canon 50D and a wide-angle lens. Another photo that I processed this week with the same set-up and for this same process I posted here.

Added to Lens Artist Photo Challenge, Morning. This made for a great challenge topic for me this week.

Cheers!

Wordless Wednesday: Ngorongoro Landscape

ISO 800 f/18 1/640sec 10mm

Added to A Photo A Week Challenge, Peaceful Place.

Cheers!

April Squares: Top Shots, Malta

ISO 3200 f/9 a/30sec 18mm

Day 18, find other responses here.

Date and Location of Photo: July 23, 2018. St. Paul’s Cathedral, Mdina, Malta. The wonder of Malta in my opinion is its history. Seemly everyone has traipsed over the island. The apostle Paul was shipwrecked on the island, others arrived in a more deliberate fashion.  We came for both the history and the sunshine and were not disappointed.

Thoughts on the Edit: The ISO was set high as a way to compensate for the dark interior of the cathedral. The resulting noise was left in. I tend to leave noise in my photos, this is just a matter of personal taste. The photo has the Luminar Look, Too Cool for School, added. On another layers I added the golden hour filter and the Orton effect.

April Squares, an Explanation:

When Becky announced that the April Squares theme was going to be “top”, I thought it over and then sent her a message, then pitched my idea. She was open to my theme within the theme and the result is my response to the April Squares challenge.

I move a lot and I have a move pending. I’ve lived here in England for about four years and will be heading to the United States. Exact dates to be determined, given the current world situation, details have yet to be worked out. My April Squares is a “top shots” reflection on the last four years. Each square represents some moment or place that was meaningful to me. They are in chronological order moving forward in time. I’m attempting to post every day. All photos will be edited in Luminar 3. I hope you enjoy following along, I’ve enjoyed the process of creating. Your comments and thoughts are welcome below.

Cheers!

April Squares: Top Shots, Alhambra

ISO 1600 f/13 1/500sec 15mm

Day 15, find other responses here.

Date and Location of Photo: April 7, 2018. The Alhambra in Granada, Spain. A beautiful cultural site. The Alhambra is sprawling and there are a few different ways you could approach your visit. We chose the audio guide, which was probably best considering how many photos I wanted to take. I have many lovely landscape images but for this challenge I chose a detail shot instead.

Thoughts on the Edit: After applying the square crop, I bumped up the details slider. I have added the Luminar Look, Authentic Randy, and a vignette.

April Squares, an Explanation:

When Becky announced that the April Squares theme was going to be “top”, I thought it over and then sent her a message, then pitched my idea. She was open to my theme within the theme and the result is my response to the April Squares challenge.

I move a lot and I have a move pending. I’ve lived here in England for about four years and will be heading to the United States. Exact dates to be determined, given the current world situation, details have yet to be worked out. My April Squares is a “top shots” reflection on the last four years. Each square represents some moment or place that was meaningful to me. They are in chronological order moving forward in time. I’m attempting to post every day. All photos will be edited in Luminar 3. I hope you enjoy following along, I’ve enjoyed the process of creating. Your comments and thoughts are welcome below.

Cheers!

April Squares: Top Shots, Hadrian’s Wall

ISO 800 f/13 1/1000sec 16mm

Day 7, find other responses here.

Date and Location of Photo: August 16, 2017. Hadrian’s Wall, several spots along the Wall are maintained by English Heritage

Thoughts on the Edit: Although now a square, the original file was captured with a wide-angle lens. The edit has the Luminar Look, Camden Desat, applied. I also experimented with the Orton effect filter, using it on two layers, the initial edits layer and the final edits layer. I’ve not ever tried that before and what I was specifically working on was the look of the sky.

April Squares, an Explanation:

When Becky announced that the April Squares theme was going to be “top”, I thought it over and then sent her a message, then pitched my idea. She was open to my theme within the theme and the result is my response to the April Squares challenge.

I move a lot and I have a move pending. I’ve lived here in England for about four years and will be heading to the United States. Exact dates to be determined, given the current world situation, details have yet to be worked out. My April Squares is a “top shots” reflection on the last four years. Each square represents some moment or place that was meaningful to me. They are in chronological order moving forward in time. I’m attempting to post every day. All photos will be edited in Luminar 3. I hope you enjoy following along, I’ve enjoyed the process of creating. Your comments and thoughts are welcome below.

Cheers!