Category Archives: VARIOUS

Before and After, Again

INSIDE FLORIDA, Ponce Inlet, Technique, , , ,

This is another entry in my occasional series on reprocessing photos. You can see the other posts here, here, and here. You can also read the original blog post about this image here.

Post-processing skills as well as taste develop over time. New tools come out or get updated.  Reviewing your image library for things you may want to change is a good idea.  Just don’t spend too much time on post processing – leave enough to go out and make new images too!

This is one of my favorite photographs and one that I’ve even sold, but re-looking at it I saw several things I thought I could make a little better.  Here’s the updated version after all my re-edits (which are described below):

Ponce Inlet light, sunset, bird (re-do)

After: Ponce Inlet lighthouse, sunset, bird, Final Edit

I started over from the RAW file (you do save your RAW files, don’t you?) and re-did the basic adjustments in Lightroom (color balance, initial exposure adjustments).  Then I moved into Photoshop and cleaned up distracting elements (tire tracks, poles, the tip of the cloud just right of the lighthouse, …).  I then added a duplicate layer and ran that through Topaz Adjust using the “Spicify” preset to bring up structure, detail, and color saturation.  I don’t usually like applying this filter all over an image at 100%, so once back in Photoshop I added a hide all layer mask and partially painted in the  effect, using a higher opacity brush for the sky to let more of the filter show and a lower one for the rocks and ocean to mute the filter effect.  I then took the result  back to Lightroom for final tweaks to color balance, sharpening and a crop to remove part of the sky.  I thought that the colors of the sky and rocks were still a little off, so as one last tweak I added graduated filters to help adjust their tints.

For reference purposes, here’s the old edit of this photo:

Ponce Inlet lighthouse, sunset, bird

Before: Ponce Inlet lighthouse, sunset, bird, Initial Edit

Note:  you can click the two versions above to go to my Flickr account, where you can view larger versions.

And also for reference, I uploaded the original RAW file (with default development settings in Lightroom) below.

Ponce Inlet lighthouse, sunset, bird, RAW Capture

Would I go to this much effort for every image?  No.  But sometimes a photo really appeals to me and I want to get the absolute best I can from it.  It helps that I enjoy working in Photoshop and learning about new techniques.

So what do you think?  Quite a few changes, some more subtle than others – but overall I like the new version better.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Mount Evans Redux

Colorado, Must do list, , , , , , , , , ,

I’ve been to Mount Evans before and written about it here.  I got a chance to go back this week and my second visit was as good as the first.  Maybe even better, since I showed this wonderful place off to Sara, Mike, and Julie.

The highest paved road in North America starts in Idaho Springs, Colorado and winds for 28 miles around tight switchbacks to an altitude of just over 14,100 feet.  There’s a small parking lot near the summit, and a short (but vertical) hike to the very top at 14,270 feet.  The road is quite narrow in spots, and is exciting or scary depending on your attitude and its altitude / slope.  There are many places to pull over that offer outstanding views of the surrounding landscapes and wildlife.

Bristlecone pine
Bristlecone pine:  This species of tree is the longest lived single organism on earth

Take I-70 west from Denver and exit at County Road 103.  The first half of the drive from there is pretty but not too out of the ordinary.  The fee station is around the halfway point, and this is where most of the excitement begins. Pick up a brochure so you’ll have a map and information about the park.

Both times I’ve gone have been in early July so I can’t say much about the rest of the year.  Try to visit on a weekday to avoid crowds, and if you can’t go on a weekday – leave early.  The only day we could drive up was the 4th, so we left around 7am.  When we asked the ranger at the fee station, he said it wasn’t crowded yet but would be, and recommended we go up to the top and stop at places on the way down.  If you don’t, you might not get a parking spot – they get very limited at the top as the day goes on.  We saw lots of cars headed up as we were leaving.

Wildflowers are abundant in July.  Even above 14,000 feet where the terrain seems barren – you can see flowers in between the rocks.  July is also a great time to view wildlife.  On this trip we saw a Deer, Chipmunks, Elk, Mountain Goats,  Marmots, and a Pika.

Baby mountain goat
Baby mountain goat –  There were several families of mountain goats near the summit.  This little one posed for me so I could frame him against the out of focus mountains in the background.  It’s amazing to watch them scramble from rock to rock and never slip.

Pair of Marmots
Pair of Marmots

At the summit, the average summer temperature is ~44 degrees (F) and the average wind is ~30 mph, so we were particularly blessed with a low temp of 55 and very calm winds.  The winds were so calm that on the way down we decided to stop and hike to a couple of pools of water, hoping for a photo of the clouds reflecting in the ice melt.  It seemed like a really short hike downhill from the road to this pool.  When we turned around to go back uphill, the car looked really, really tiny and far, far away.

Catch pool reflection
Catch pool reflection and Mike admiring the view

If you’re ever in the Denver area, you just have to visit Mount Evans.  It’s spectacular and very accessible.  Flatlanders like me shouldn’t do the trip on their first day at altitude.  I’m not in the best of shape and at 14,000 feet I found I was out of breath even after short walks.  A few days to acclimate at around 5000 feet may have helped.

Click on any of the photos above to go to Flickr where you can see a larger version.  You can see the rest of my Mount Evans photos from this trip here, and you can see photos from my earlier trip here.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Comparing landscape and wildlife photography

Cameras and Photography, Lake Jesup, Technique, ,

I enjoy both nature/landscape photography and wildlife photography. I was thinking about this recently and it occurred to me that these can be quite different from an equipment, skills, and approach perspective.

Lake Jesup flood waters after Tropical Storm Fay
Landscape: Lake Jesup flood waters after Tropical Storm Fay

Great Blue Heron profileBirding: Great Blue Heron profile

Here are some of the things I think are different about the two:

Landscapes Birding / Wildlife
The quality of light is important (e.g. “Golden hour”). The amount of light isn’t too important: You can make long exposures from your tripod. The amount of light is important. You need lots of light to get your shutter speed up.
You need to know the location, and figure out sun timing and position.  May still be hit or miss depending on the weather. You need to know about the animal and its habits, and where you might find them.  May still be hit or miss depending on the animals (and maybe the weather).
1. Composition, 2. Exposure, 3. Focus 1. Focus, 2. Exposure, 3. Composition
Probably better by yourself:   Your location, your vision. Can be better in groups.  Many eyes can help spot things one person will miss.
Good tripod with good ball head.  Wide angle lens, small aperture for greater depth of field, long exposure.  Frame rate not too important. Very long lens, large aperture for a fast shutter speed. High frame rate body.  Maybe a tripod with a gimbal head.
Not as expensive Can be very expensive
HDR no HDR

Have I missed anything?  What else is different about these two types of photography?

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

 

Grandfather's Pocket Watch

Technique, VARIOUS, ,

Not all of your photo ops need to be outdoors and wildlife or nature related.  In fact, there’s some wildlife that probably shouldn’t  be photographed.  And what if you can’t get out because the weather’s bad, or you stubbed or broke a toe?  Well, you can look for a photo-op closer to or even inside your home.  Here’s a set of photos I made to document a watch passed down to me from my Uncle.

This is my Granddad’s Elgin pocket watch.  The model number (marked inside the front cover) is “Wadsworth Referee 20 year 5069868”.  Based on the movement serial number, it was made in 1921. We don’t really know the history on this watch, but we do have some documents from my Grandparents’ wedding and think that my Grandmother gave this to him on their 10th wedding anniversary.

1921 Elgin ” Wadsworth Referee 20 year” 5069868, Serial number 25010969

We’re also not completely sure about the spelling used to engrave his name.  It could be that this was an accepted alternate before Rosack was standardized with the “ck” ending.  It’s more likely a mistake, in which case I bet my Grandmother wasn’t too happy about it.

Inside back case, with engraving

Here’s what the movement looks like.  When thinking about how to show this, I wanted to do something more than a straight on standard macro photo.  So I positioned the watch movement at an angle to catch its reflection in the back case and made the final image using Helicon Focus software and the techniques I described here.

My Grandfather's Pocket WatchMovement macro-photograph (click on this image to get to a larger version on Flickr)

We wanted a nice case to display the watch and found this one.  One issue with making this photograph was dealing with reflections in the glass.  I was able to reduce them by using a polarizing filter, making multiple exposures and moving the lighting between some of them.  Then I combined the results in Photoshop to get this final image.  I like the way the lighting places the emphasis on the watch, but lets you see what the case is like.

You can buy pocket watch glass display cases

We did take the watch into a local watch repair place (not this one, the place we took it didn’t have such a nice sign).  They cleaned and repaired it and it now works fine.  The only problem seems to be a weak spring – it keeps great time, but not for a whole day.  The repair cost was about equal to the watch’s resale value, but to us of course the watch is worth much more.

Elgin watch jeweler sign – it’s fun to watch for related photos while you’re out and about

It was fun learning about this watch, getting it working and making these images.  Do you have something similar you could document?

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Be ready to make the photo

INSIDE FLORIDA, Technique

I was at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm yesterday morning. There’s still a lot of activity going on with everything from eggs in nests to young birds flying around.  It’s definitely worth a visit if you haven’t been this year.

Tri-colored Heron with raised crest
Tri-colored Heron with raised crest

When you’re out photographing, you have look for conditions that will enhance your images.  You also need to think ahead and have your camera set-up and ready to go.  Otherwise, you’ll miss shots like the one above.

I saw this Tri-colored Heron and the first thing that struck me was the background.  A great deal of the time (especially at the Alligator Farm), birds are in among the bushes and there are usually  distracting twigs, trees, and other birds behind your subject.  A busy background will detract from your image quality.  I like to look for situations where there’s  space behind the bird and this one  had some.  I also thought that having my Sigma 150 – 500 OS lens set wide open would be enough to blur out the background.  I was a bit worried about the low light level, but I had a flash mounted to help so I made sure I had the right compensation dialed in.  I got into place, pre-zoomed, pre-framed,  and waited for the bird to strike a good pose.  When it raised its crest, I was able to make  two quick photos before it moved again.  I like the way this one turned out.  In the other, the beak is down and it’s not nearly as good a pose.

If I hadn’t seen the opportunity and been ready, I would have missed this photo.  Keep your eyes open and be ready!

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

I just don’t get these. Can someone help me?

Cameras and Photography, INSIDE FLORIDA, Lake Eola, VARIOUS, ,

OK first, here’s a photo.

Lake Eola at Dusk
Lake Eola at Dusk: Downtown Orlando, Florida

The photo has nothing to do with the subject of the post,  but I like it and I thought we should have at least one photo today.  I made this one a while ago and went back yesterday to re-process it with some new SW.  I was able to bring out more highlight detail as well as adjust the brightness / curves and saturation.

Now for the main section of the post.  I promise that this isn’t a rant, although it might sound like it.  Also, it isn’t a normal Central Florida Photo Ops post – but there are a few photo related things I need help with.  I admit, I just don’t get them.  Do you get them?  Can you help me?

  1. I don’t know if you’re a Flickr member or not.  If you take a look at Flickr Explore, you’ll notice that there’s a surprising (at least to me) number of doll or toy photos there each day.  To each his or her own, but I just don’t get this.  I don’t really see why these are interesting to everyone.  What is artistic or appealing about photos of toy dolls?  How do these get on Flickr Explore?  What am I missing? (Note:  Flickr revised their Explore algorithm in 2020 and it’s much better now!)
  2. The Lensbaby:  OK, I’ve never used one, but why would I?  It’s an inexpensive, imprecise tilt lens, with not so good optics.  You can sort of cause an area within the frame to be in focus while blurring the rest. Is it just fun to play around with?  Why would you put this on an expensive DSLR?  Can you really do something artistic and controlled with it?  Can anyone point me to an outstanding photo made with a Lensbaby?  If so, was the Lensbaby critical to the photo or could you make it another way (Gaussian filters anyone)?
  3. Micro 4/3 cameras:  Yes, they have interchangeable lenses and larger sensors (=better image quality) than point and shoot cameras.   And a 4/3 kit is smaller and lighter than a DSLR kit.  But …  Is it your only camera or a secondary / backup / travel camera?  If it’s a secondary camera, you have to buy a whole new kit (body, lenses, flash?).  That’s pretty expensive.  If you want small and light, why not go for smallest and lightest (e.g. a point and shoot) for a lot less money.  If you want quality why not go for quality (e.g. your DSLR).  Will you be happy with a compromise? —– 9/2/11 Update:  I think I do get this now.  These cameras are much smaller and lighter.  The lenses are less expensive than corresponding DSLR lenses.  And they can be used (with reasonably long lenses) in places that don’t allow DSLR photography – like most theaters, some sports arenas, etc.  Since they are less conspicuous, many people prefer to use them instead of DSLRs for street photography.  And finally, although micro 4/3 sensor quality lags a generation or more behind the best APS C size sensors, it is enormously better than compact point and shoot sensors and good enough for most applications.
  4. Not posting EXIF data with images:  Some people go to great lengths to make sure the EXIF data captured by their camera gets filtered out before they post the photo.  Why?  How does it hurt to have someone on-line look at this data and try to understand how the photo was made?
  5. Paying all those $ for a DSLR kit and not using it:  You’ve got to have it with you, know how to use it, and use it.  If you don’t know how to use it, use it anyway, make mistakes, and learn from them.
  6. Paying all those $ for a DSLR kit and using it like a phone camera:   Don’t leave it on “A”.  Learn what all those other modes are and use them. Take charge – don’t let the camera think for you.
  7. Not post processing: Some of my friends have expensive DSLR cameras and they live with the .jpg output of their cameras. I’ve tried to explain the benefits of RAW capture and post processing, but they don’t want to listen. I just don’t get this.
  8. All right, no one gets this:  Flash in the stands at sporting events and concerts:  But why do you still see this?  How can anyone do this without dying of embarrassment?
  9. Film:  Film is fun, but for most serious photographers, digital is so much better.  OK, maybe I do get the 8×10 view camera people, but still It’s a lot of extra work and many compromises for an improvement in a few small areas.
  10. Comment Spam on photo blogs (OK, any blog):  I think the intent of comment spam is to get links back to their oh so relevant pages.  Really? How are children’s shoes related to Central Florida Photo Ops?  And that’s a G-rated one.  There are many that are R-rated or worse.  Why would I allow these comments through on my site?  Does anyone?  I really don’t get this.

If you “get” any of these things, or would just like to leave a comment to tell me how crazy I am, feel free (although I do moderate comments because of #10).

In the mean time, thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

My favorite Florida links

Cameras and Photography, INSIDE FLORIDA, VARIOUS, , ,

Note (3/17/19):  Sadly, after almost 12 years of blog posts, I’ve had to go through and prune out dead or dying links.  I plan to follow-up with a new post on my favorite Florida links soon.

I follow many blogs and websites.  It occurred to me that if you’re interested in Florida Photo Ops, you might be interested in some of the same sites I look at.  Here’s a list of some of my Florida related favorites:

  • Friends of the Viera Wetlands (sorry, no longer available)— A blog with frequent updates about the happenings at Viera
  • Michael Libbe Photography (sorry, no longer available)— An Orlando based photographer interested in bird and wildlife photography
  • Florida Nature Photography …notes from the field (sorry, no longer available)— An extensive blog / website with a lot of information on natural Florida
  • Native Swamp & Rookery (sorry, no longer available)— The St. Augustine Alligator Farm Rookery Blog
  • Scott Helfrich Photography(sorry, no longer available)— Scott Helfrich is a Florida based photographer and posts some wonderful bird and wildlife photos
  • Finding Tampa (sorry, no longer available)— A blog about the Tampa Bay area

I’ve also updated my links page to point to these, so you can always get back to this list by clicking on the “Links” button at the top on the right side of the header.  Enjoy, and tell them I sent you. (sorry, no longer available)

Ed

Before and after – another photo reprocessing example

Cameras and Photography, INSIDE FLORIDA, Technique, Viera Wetlands, , ,

Ansel Adams said that the “negative is the score, and the print is the performance”.  In modern terms, the RAW file is the negative and the processed jpg / print is the performance.  Ansel was famous for re-printing his photos to try to get the best possible image from his negatives.  Some of his later prints are thought to be better than earlier ones as he experimented and gained knowledge about how to “perform” the print.

All photographers should take this to heart and not be satisfied with previous processed versions of their photos.  I like to look through my Lightroom catalog sometimes for images that may merit some re-work.

This morning I reprocessed a photo that I made last October at Viera Wetlands.  Below is a series of images that show you a progression from the original images to the final result.  Look in the captions for details on what I did, and scroll to the bottom of the post to see the most recent version.  You can also click on these to see larger versions.

This is the first image I made (RAW, unprocessed).  It’s focused on the tree and the two birds are also in sharp focus.  Because of depth of field, the moon is out of focus.  The color balance could be better.

 

 

 

This is the second image I made to solve the problem with the moon focus.

Great Egret, Ibis, and MoonStep 3: And this was the processed version I  posted to Flickr last October.  I masked in the in-focus moon, did some sharpening and noise reduction, but didn’t spend too much time on it.  It’s since gotten a lot of views, but re-looking at it now, I’m not happy with several things in the photo (e.g. color balance, noise reduction, masking) and this morning I decided to go back and reprocess it from the original RAW files.

Great Egret, Ibis, and Moon

And this is the new version that I posted to Flickr this morning.  In Photoshop, I was much more careful masking in the in-focus moon.  I then created a meticulous selection of the blue sky so I could use it in the follow on steps.  Then I applied noise reduction just to the blue sky and sharpening just to the  birds, moon, and tree.  I also used the Topaz Adjust filter just on the birds, moon and tree.  Finally, back in Lightroom I adjusted the white balance off of a sample on the Ibis.  I like the vertical crop better as well as the color balance, sharpness, etc.

What do you think?

Thanks for visiting – now go make some photos!

©2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Rochester 8×10 View Camera

Cameras and Photography, ,

I was out with Lynn last weekend and she saw an antique store that she wanted to browse through.  I went in with her, and we noticed this wooden 8×10 view camera from around 1910.  Well … I’ve always wanted one and couldn’t resist.

Having some fun with my new toy – a Rochester View Camera, circa 1910.

Although it doesn’t have a name plate, because of markings on the film holders I think this one was made by the Rochester Camera Company.  I’m not entirely sure what model it is although it strongly resembles this one.  It did come with a tripod, case, and several backs including the ground glass and film holders.  The Goerz Dacor f/6.8 Series III No. 4 lens appears in Rochester catalogs from the time and so is probably original with this camera.  The lens is clear and the shutter seems to work fine too, although the rubber pneumatic shutter release has hardened over the years.  All in all, the whole kit looks to be in very good shape given its age, and I might experiment a bit more with it.

Looking it over, it’s hard to imagine carting something like this all over and even climbing mountains to make photographs with it.  It’s huge, heavy and very primitive compared to what we’re used to today.  And once you exposed the image you still had to deal with developing and printing it.  Given all this, it’s amazing how good the results are from back then.  Or is it maybe that only the best photographs survived all this time?

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog – now go make some photos!

© 2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Domain move complete

VARIOUS

Hello everyone.

The move from ed.rosack.com to edrosack.com is in effect and I’ve installed a “301 re-direct” from the old domain to the new.  This will automatically forward you to the new domain if you accidentally use the old one.  There is a potential problem with the re-direct due to the continued poor performance of my old hosting provider, so it is much better to go ahead and use the new domain name.

Please update your bookmarks and RSS feeds to use:  https://edrosack.com.  By the way, I plan to manage the whole site now using WordPress, so you might notice differences depending on which pages you’re used to visiting.

Thanks for your patience and understanding during this move and update.

Ed