At the Water’s Edge

The images for this post were taken while I was out on my morning run. Run is a term I use loosely as I am not very fast and am known to stop if I see something that catches my eye. The image I stopped for at this point was one of the swans. I did take several photos of the swans, but standing there I felt the more interesting story was this man who had stopped to spend some time with them:

ISO 25 f/2.2 1/392sec 4.2mm

I took the photo and then moved on. Obviously, social distancing meant I wasn’t going to get too close to him but the real reason is that he seemed deep in his own moment and I didn’t want to disturb that.

This second image is a heron who was so still that I almost ran right up to him:

ISO 25 f/2.2 1/100sec 4.2mm

I couldn’t believe how close I got. I took several photos, slunk past him, then took several more including this one above.

Because I took these photos on the same morning run, just a few minutes apart, I decided to edit them in a similar way. Both have been cropped, and then had minor adjustments for clarity and exposure. The first image I also straightened a bit. I’ve then applied a custom Luminar Look that I had made as a preset. It fit as is perfectly on the first image, but required a bit of tweaking on the second one.

A version of the second photo I also posted to Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

The real reason I go on an early morning #run #heron #cambridge

A post shared by Amy Maranto (@marantophotography) on Jun 12, 2020 at 1:10am PDT

It’s fair to say that my run stats for this morning weren’t stellar. That happens sometimes. Your thoughts and comments on the images are welcome below. This post has been added to A Photo A Week Challenge, Water.

Cheers!

Made with Luminar: Starting Point

I think it is very helpful to think of photo editing presets as a starting point. This image is a case in point:

ISO 25 f/2.2 1/962sec 4.2mm

After a few basic edits for the original file, I applied the Luminar Look, Intersection. I liked it but it wasn’t interpreting the scene the way I had intended. I thought it was a good starting point though. By changing some of the settings within the preset I arrived here, a photo that is fairly dark with streaks of light. That was my vision for this image. I’m using the little bit of light to represent hope in what is a pretty dark time. This photo was shot on a Saturday night at a time where it is usually loud and bustling. The virus has changed the vibe a lot.

Your thoughts are welcome below and this post has been added to A Photo a Week Challenge, Light and Dark.

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: Ngorongoro Landscape

ISO 800 f/18 1/640sec 10mm

Added to A Photo A Week Challenge, Peaceful Place.

Cheers!

What I Am Working On: Applying Multiple Looks

Flexibility is a feature of photo editing software that I really enjoy. In this case, it is the ability to adjust the amount of a look that you have added to a photo. The original file I was working with was this one:

ISO 800 f/8 0.1sec 34mm

I did some basic edits first, a crop, luminance boosting, and sharpening. From there, on a second layer, I applied the Luminar look Daydream. Then on a third layer, I applied a custom vintage film look that I have created. The second look I applied at 16%. Here is the result:

ISO 800 f/8 0.1sec 34mm

I think the final result is subtle and a bit dreamy looking. Feel free to leave a comment below about the edit or questions about my method.

Cheers!

Added to A Photo a Week Challenge, Light the Night.

 

What I Am Working On: Minor Edits

I took a tour last week of the Hungarian State Opera House. I had heard the interior of the building was beautiful and well worth seeing. That is correct:

ISO 1000 f/8 0.1 sec 18mm

My edits to the photo are a work in progress. At this point they include a crop, the removal or toning down of a few light reflections, and the use of a vignette placed on the column in the foreground:

ISO 1000 f/8 0.1 sec 18mm

The edit is a bit dark, and I haven’t fully decided if I am going to change that. The Opera House at that moment was very still on its upper levels, there were only people milling around where I was standing. I wanted the edit to reflect that quiet. Feel free to leave your thoughts on the edit in the comment section below.

The Opera House had its Opening Night on September 27, 1884. It is currently undergoing renovations but is still open for tours. I’ve added this post to A Photo a Week, Over 100 Years Old.

Cheers!

Made With Luminar: South West Coast Path

This photo was taken on the South West Coast Path:

ISO 400 f/11 18mm 1/800 sec

For the edit I’ve applied the Luminar look, Retro Film, but then brushed that look out of the sky:

ISO 400 f/11 18mm 1/800 sec

So, the edits in the sky are a boost to the whites and shadows, sliding the blacks down. I’ve increased the small details slider and also used the sky filter. I don’t find the difference between the film filter being used in the bottom half of the photo but not in the sky to be too jarring, but you can tell me your opinion in the comment section below.

Added to A Photo a Week Challenge, Landscape.

Cheers!

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.

What I Am Working On: Little Used Sliders

Over this summer I had the opportunity to hike up to Kehlsteinhaus, or Eagle’s Nest, a Nazi-era building associated with Adolf Hitler, although apparently he was afraid of heights and hated the place.  Today it is a building you can tour and a restaurant. There are a couple different ways you can visit. We went early in the day and walked up. It’s tough if you decide to do it that way, wear hiking boots, monitor the weather, dress in layers, and bring food and water. I didn’t go into the building itself, I was there for the views:

ISO 250 f/11 18mm 1/320sec

I’ve edited this in Luminar.  The edits I will discuss below are a few that I don’t often do as part of my workflow:

ISO 250 f/11 18mm 1/320sec

The first was a custom white balance. I used the little eyedropper to find a neutral grey and clicked. I struggle with white balance sometimes, mostly because I don’t work with it a lot. I think that my camera does a pretty decent job most of the time. The other two filters that I used here were the dehaze and the polarizing filters. A lot of times, if a scene is hazy, I let it stay that way. I think that is just a matter of personal preference, haze either bothers you or it doesn’t and generally speaking, I fall into that second category.

Even though I am posting this, I don’t really feel like I am finished with this photo. I’m not completely satisfied with the edit and think I may prefer the original to the edit.  I’m going to let this sit, probably for months, then I’ll take another look and re-evaluate. That’s the beauty of digital, another version is always possible.

Feel free to leave a comment or question below.

Cheers!

Added to A Photo A Week Challenge, Opposite Weather, because man, is this photo the exact opposite of today’s very grey day!

Wordless Wednesday: Copenhagen

ISO 200 f/2.7 1/500sec 4.3mm

Added to A Photo a Week Challenge, Sun & Water.

Cheers!

Change of Seasons

When I was out on a walk this past Sunday, I thought I would look for photos that spoke to the change of season. Autumn is asserting itself in a beautiful way my part of the world right now:

ISO 800 f/2.7 1/20sec 4.3mm

Even just looking on the ground you can see it. But sometimes it helps to look up as well:

View this post on Instagram

Fall, it’s here. #nofilter #autumn #leaves #thingsiseeonmywalks #mondaymotivation

A post shared by Amy Maranto (@marantophotography) on Sep 29, 2019 at 11:42pm PDT

Added to A Photo a Week Challenge, Changing Seasons.

Cheers!

It’s the View, Sort-Of

I enjoy touring churches. I find their history to be interesting and often a reflection of the people that interact with it. And then there is the view that they offer:

ISO 1600 10mm f/11 1/640sec

This photo was taken from Lincoln Cathedral in December. They offer several types of tours including the opportunity to go up and see the inner workings of the building. I have a fear of heights, but I love these types of tours. This tour and resulting photos are where I am this week in terms of editing my files. We had a lovely weekend in Lincoln, but it was December, so it was a bit grey and a bit cold. Not too bad by English standards though. The sky that day was kind of a fascinating grey. For my edit, I decided to step out of my usual “as shot” edit and try something a bit different. Here is the result:

ISO 1600 10mm f/11 1/640sec

What I’ve done here is to warm the color by using the luminance sliders. I then created another layer and converted it to black and white. Then using a brush and a mask, I erased the black and white out of the Cathedral building. Then I dropped the opacity level of the black and white layer just a bit, that’s what is causing the hint of color in the surrounding buildings.

This photo is more interpretation than fact, what do you think of it? Feel free to leave a comment below.

Added to A Photo A Week, View and One Word Sunday, Climb.