Moonset over Newport

Another view of the bridge after sunset with the moon. The moon has been tweaked slightly for clarity and, of course, this is an HDR image processed in Photoshop CS5. The original images shown below, shot with Pentax K-7 and 18-135 lens. (First shots with this lens and I love it! Great range.)

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Cousins

This image was shot of Riley and William as a light setup test. I really liked it, but because it was a test shot and I was still setting up the colors are buggered up. So, I took the easy way out: Monochrome conversion. It works well as a B&W. Mouse over to see the original out of the camera version.



See the tutorial on the mouse-over trick on the right.

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Flowerside

Another little flower from the school gardens. I really like this shot......

Mouse over for the before (& after). Tutorial at right.




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Another Barn

I shot this barn recently, loved the dark background sky and the contrasting barns. Trouble is, not I have a couple edits and I am not sure which I like better. Opinions?

Before image:

After #1:

After #2:

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Biker Revisited

I needed a "people" image for my camera club competition this week and thought this would be good. I also needed a monochrome version, so converted it. The front of the bike was dark, so I duplicated the layer and changed its mode to lighten and masked off the background and the rider. I didn't want to lighten them. Then I thought, something special would be cool, so I added the background texture. It really made the image "pop", almost 3D like when I compared different versions in Photoshop. A little more dodging & burning and I have an image that I really like.

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UPDATE: I took a first place with the image at the camera club tonight! Now it goes to the regional competition!
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Shot with Pentax K-7, kit lens at 21mm in manual mode. Overhead light via Yongnuo YN460 II Flash with RF-602 trigger inside a Westcott Apollo softbox.

Mouse over to see the original version of this image. (Mouse over tutorial at right.)



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Strolling on the Beach

The marching birds from a few days ago set the stage for me to photograph this couple walking on the beach a little way off. I took a few images of them standing and liked this best. I may post a similar but monochrome version some time in the future.

Edited in Photoshop CS5, cropped, levels adjusted, saturation boosted and added a warming color layer with the lower center that is masked out to prevent color change on the beach where they stand. I did this intentionally to give the appearance of a glow reflection behind them. Shot with Pentax K-7 using a Sigma 70-200/2.8, shot at f4 & 1/1000.

Mouse over for before image. (Tutorial link at right.)



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Happy Holidays!

I tricked Angela to get in front of the camera tonight. Awesome session with a lot of great shots. We did some serious images, like this, for grandma, and then played around with lights and a fisheye lens. It was fun. She "hates" every shot, including this one. I believe this image was the one when I was asking her about her "boy friend". (She is toooo young!) Beauty dish near camera & slightly up on left and GOBO'ed flash on right for hair light/fill. Shot with K-7 & 50/1.4 at f2 for bocha.




Mouse over for before image.... tutorial at right.

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Pink Morning

An awesome sunrise the other morning. I wanted to get this barn nearby in the image too but by the time I got to the barn the morning glow was gone. Lucky to get what I did.

Mouse over to see before version. (Tutorial at right.)



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Miniature City

No, not a miniature but just a little playing with an old Portland, Oregon skyline shot I have.

Mouse over for the before shot (tutorial at right).

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The Abbey

Last weekend the Mt. Angel Abbey was opened up to camera club members. It is an amazing place. More photos soon! Mouse over to see before image. (mouse over tutorial at right.)



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The Field

Just a very cool little field with a great sky behind. I shot 5 images (didn't use one) and created the high dynamic range (HDR) image you see here. It is missing a center of focus for the subject......I need a nice big elk or something near the small yellow tree in the field. But, I like the colors and such.

Mouse over for the before image. (Mouse over tutorial at right.)



Shot with Pentax K-7 & 18-55 WR lens. Processed in Photoshop CS3: 4 image HDR & adjustments.

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Evening Sky

Another sunset from the other night. Fall is trying to push summer out of the way so we are getting some great sunsets.

Please mouse over to see before image. (Mouse over tutorial at right.)



Shot with Pentax K-7, minor edits in Photoshop.

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Dawn

At the hot air balloon liftoff site this past weekend there was a wonderful sky. I only wished at the time that they were already up and flying.

Mouse over to see the out of camera original. (Tutorial at right.)



Shot with Pentax K-7 at 18mm, edited in Photoshop.

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5 types of William

We were at a playground recently and I was restless. While taking pictures of William playing I got the idea to make a montage. I had him move to different locations and do his best at waving. Only had to re-shoot 2 waves. It was great! I printed it out for him and he thought it was magic. He now wants me to put his friends in the picture with him. :-)

To see the 8 images it took to make this, just mouse over the image. Used the Photoshop Photomerge tool for this. It works on more than just panorama shots. (I have a mouse over tutorial at the right for more info.)



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Flowers on the Cliff

I thought these were pretty overlooking the valley. Mouse over to see the before & straight out of the camera version. (Mouse over tutorial link at right.)



Shot with my Pentax K-7 & 18-55. Edited in Photoshop: Levels & saturation set. Added a little blur dodged & burnt clouds and mountains in background, cropped, added drop shadow & border to top layer.

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Portland Cityscape

From our recent trip to Portland and a ride on the tram to the top of Pill Hill. Great view but I was disapointed that it was solid clouds. Nothing like a little photoshop though. :-) Mouse over the image to see the before or SOOC image. (Mouse over tutorial at right.)



Shot with K-7 at 21mm. Edited in Photoshop: HDR filter I created, levels, saturation up, dodged & burnt the clouds to give them defination.

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Exit Beach

Another shot of William walking off the beach last month. I wanted to use this but never got around to it. Quickly processed for the look, could be better, could be worse. I like the drama but it is way not real. :-) Please mouse over to see the straight out of the camera before image. (Mouse-over tutorial to the right.)

Shot with Pentax K-7, 18mm, f7.1, 1/100sec. Processed in PS3 using an HDR script, masked a little in the sand to tone it down, way saturated, tweaked levels, added vignette.

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At the heart of it all.....

Can you guess what type of flower this is? Mouse over for the answer and let me know if you knew. :-) Surprising and amazing that there can be such contrast in one flower.



Cropped, blurred, sharpened, saturated and levels set in PS3.


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Rose Reaching

Another rose reaching for the sky, but a little different than earlier this week. Actually, just thought I would see if I could edit the image to get anything. It is ok I think..... Mouse over for before image.



Captured with Pentax K-7 with 90mm macro lens. Edited in PS3: Straightened, cropped and a lot of clone tool to make a bud go away.

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Vietnam Veterans Memorial Gazebo

Taken in Newport, Oregon this past week. I waited for the sunset in general and this was a bonus shot for me. Worked out much better than expected.

Mouse over for before image.



Shot with K-7 & 18-55 sand-proof lens, edited in PS3: Adjusted levels, increased saturation, darkened fringe.

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