Category: Nik Color Efex

Only in California

Posted by Chris Klug – June 29, 2010

In California for a conference, drove around before the thingy began, came across this park. This just struck me as something that would happen only in California. First, that a park would be designated ‘baseball only,’ and second, that the baseball playing would be deemed so important that cars parked on the street would be told, essentially, ‘don’t complain to us if you get hit by a batted ball,’ and, third, that Cal would have local players routinely good enough to hit the ball far enough to clear the fence.

Summertime

Posted by Chris Klug – May 29, 2010

Bessa, Biogon, Fuji color film

Back from my trip to NYC. I didn’t do much posting (in fact, none at all) but did a lot of shooting. Took an Amtrak train from Pittsburgh to NYC (took some images on that leg, all film), then walked around NYC on the day after (took both film and digital), then more walk-around images during the week (all film). On Thursday I visited the Cartier-Bresson exhibit at the MoMA (more on that later).

Also while I was away I received back in the mail some color film images that I sent away for scanning. Above is an image from the Rio trip (the only roll of color film I shot on that trip). Sort of thought it would be appropriate for this first semi-official weekend of summer.

Experiments

Posted by Chris Klug – May 14, 2010

5D with some Color Efex

On a trip to Seattle for some meetings at Microsoft. Tonight I had dinner at the home of my host for the meetings. The house is on the shores of Lake Washington, so I took along my 5D. This image was captured in his back yard. titled this post ‘Experiments’ because I had a comment on my last post talking about my images and how they were experiments. And, you know, they are.

Another fellow blogger and friend, Dave Beckerman, had a long discussion with me over the past week about digital and film. He shoots 100% digital now, but has nothing against film. But he also makes his living selling beautiful b&w prints to customers. That’s his only income, and, you know, when the situation is like that, I don’t know how much experimentation you can do. I, who don’t have anyone asking me for prints, can experiment all day long. Another reader, Anita Jesse (who made the comment) also sells beautiful color prints to clients.

The image above was dodged and burned a bit, and then put through Color Efex for two different passes. Below is the original image, just for comparison’s sake, so you can see what I did.

Homage to Mr. Eggleston

Posted by Chris Klug – April 25, 2010

It's a poor comparison, but I just couldn't help myself

When Peg and I were out driving around last weekend, and I grabbed that image of the pain of glass, across the street where we parked the car I saw this little scene. And, in my brain a voice whispered “this is the kind of thing Eggleston might find interesting.” So I raised the camera, captured the image and got back in the car.

When I saw it loaded in Lightroom, I thought that same thing, but then after my post about Eggleston didn;’t generate much discussion, I just moved on.

This past week, The Online Photographer ran a couple entries about the same show I saw in Chicago, and mentioned in their posts (here and here) how people don’t ‘get’ Eggleston. I figured as much when I saw the show, ’cause I suspect he’s an acquired taste. But the posts did talk about his singular vision, and I considered posting the image I had captured anyway.

I went into Lightroom today, processed the image in an effort to capture Eggleston’s color palette. I don’t think I got it quite right, but I just had to try. Made me smile.

April Golden Light

Posted by Chris Klug – April 11, 2010

Fuji 160 preset in Color Efex

What I meant in the last post about using a DSLR in this shoot was: Exposures of images such as this were always problematic for me because the highlights in the yellow could easily blow out. The other issue with this image was the wind was blowing the bloom all over the place. So, using my 5D’s histogram, I did a couple of test shots where I could establish an EV adjustment that kept the yellow under control. Then, using the auto focus, I exposed about three dozen images as the wind blew, and only about three images had the right parts in focus. There’s no way I could’ve gotten it on film, both the exposure and the focus.

The use of Color Efex gave me a little grain and a very pleasing saturation.

Rio Dawn

Posted by Chris Klug – March 23, 2010

Looking East from my hotel

This image has a bit of ‘impressionism’ about it. The lens sharpness (the cheapest Canon 50mm f/1.8) isn’t the best wide open (which this was). It also vignettes, which adds a bit in this case. The teeny tiny point of light on the horizon is, I believe, a tanker in Rio Harbor. This image uses the Nik Color Efex Fuji 160 preset.

From Rio

Posted by Chris Klug – March 20, 2010

Beach at dusk, 20th floor

Arrived in Rio yesterday morning having flown all night (I don’t sleep very well on airplanes). This was captured at dusk from my hotel room. One of the things about the beach in Rio is it runs east-west instead of north-south as have all the beaches I have ever been on.

I’ll post more images as I get them; also the internet access in the hotel is very spotty.

Visit to SFMOMA

Posted by Chris Klug – March 10, 2010

5D on the street

Since the convention I’m attending is housed at the Moscone Center and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is across the street, yesterday I took out some time and went for a visit to see what photography they had on display. They had an exhibit displaying California photography from Carlton Watkins and his large glass plate negatives up until the modern day work of many digital craftspersons. Museums are really a lousy place to view photographs, IMHO. Many prints are on the small side for large museum walls (8x10s and 11x14s don’t really compare well to framed painting that can go three or four feet on a side) so you’re often up close to the images to see anything, you’re standing, you’re aware that the person next to you really wants to see the print, too, and when you add all that up it’s not very comfortable.

On the plus side, these ARE the prints and so you can really examine them without worrying about how good the reproduction is in the book you might be holding.

That being said, the one thing I had to say about almost all the prints I saw was how un-contrasty they were. There were prints from Adams (some of his famous work in Yosemite), Edmund Weston’s (the Charis images from the beach, the peppers), some Brett Westons as well, some work by Minor White, a couple Friedlanders, and almost universally I felt like, if I had those images on my screen, I’d be trying to work on getting the contrast bumped up a bit.

That really surprised me. There is a phrase in DeWolfe’s book about working on the print to get the light to seem ‘as if it is coming out of the print,’ and I really expected more prints in this exhibit to display that kind of effect. Some most certainly did (Brett Weston’s especially) but very few of the others. I was surprised.

I also came to the conclusion that there is a type of photography that really doesn’t appeal to me much, and it is exemplified by a series which was on display in this exhibit, so obviously some like it. The series is entitled “100 Boots” by Eleanor Antin. If you do a Google Image search with that title her work comes right up, and you can see what I mean. In the series she takes, um, 100 boots, sets them up in various situations, and photographs them. I’m guessing it works in part because of the absurd nature of 100 boots, all identical, being placed in environments where they would not normally exist. I suppose there is some humor there. I suppose it is the juxtaposition that works. I also suppose that it wouldn’t work as a painting, that it is exactly the juxtaposition of 100 REAL boots in a REAL place that evokes the reaction.

To me, it might indeed be art but it just isn’t photography per se. By that I mean that images of the ‘constructivist’ kind may belong in a museum of modern art, certainly, but they just don’t belong in a photography exhibit even though photographic process is used to capture them.

I just don’t think they have much to do with the art of photography per se. But that’s just me, I guess.

Color a tool?

Posted by Chris Klug – March 4, 2010

Porta 160 VC preset from Color Efex plus a twist

One of my goals for 2010, photographically-speaking, was to stretch. I mean, just simply the process of shooting and processing and working with new equipment and such-like results in growth. But I am all too well aware of my foibles, and now that I’m home and my life is more stable than it was in 2009 I wanted to really stretch my abilities. Go into areas, photographically, that were outside my comfort zone. One these areas was color.

In the old days I was a Kodachrome guy. Bright, saturated, in your face. That’s how I was in the b&w world as well, contrast ruled. Subtle gradations just didn’t appeal to me. I recently read a post on APUG that alluded to a phenomena a teacher of photography had observed in young students, that they tended to be attracted to the bold statement, and dramatic contrast was attractive to them. Only later did more subtle gradations enter their toolkit.

When I read that post, I kinda looked in the mirror wondered whether that described me to a degree. Regardless, I knew that I needed to work in that arena a bit. So I ordered some Portra 160, a Kodak color film with a more pastel palette. Many modern wedding photographers work in this kind of palette (examples are here and here); lower contrast, stylized color. using color as a tool to evoke a feeling. Many of these photographers use film to get this look.

I was out today (the first day in a very long time for the sun here in Pittsburgh) and took this image and played a bit with it, looking to use color in the way I might use brightness in a b&w image.

The first in many experiments, I’m sure.

Different Icicle

Posted by Chris Klug – February 9, 2010

5D yet again

Same shoot as the other day, different frame, trying for an effect in color. Color Efex was used for a film effect in this case. I don’t think this is as effective as the last image, but the blues and the golds were a theme of the light that afternoon.

We’re supposed to get another 5″ – 8″ later today, and the city has been hit pretty hard by this storm. We live in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, and we’re really pretty ok. The roads are clear, we can get to the stores, etc. These neighborhoods are newer (our house was built in the 1970s). All the power lines here are buried underground, and I guess the roads are easier to clear. South of Pittsburgh, in the South Hills (which are older), many neighborhoods have been without power since Saturday and many roads are still not cleared. The University has been closed for two days, and as I said above, we’re supposed to get another dumping tonight, which will probably make things worse.

This image is actually an interesting study in DOF. It was shot using Peg’s Macro lens at f/5.0. I was looking up at the icicle more than I was in the previous image, so the plane of focus is not parallel to the ice. Only the lower part of the high-lit icicle is in focus, and the drip is not. At 100% you can almost see the plane of focus slice through the ice; it’s quite fascinating.