by successfulbob | landscape photography, LumixGH5, photography, photography software
Desert Cactus – Working Files to Completion
As I wasn’t having a ton of luck getting images from the driveway due to mobility issues I decided to go back into my archives and see if there were any images which I hadn’t processed. I found this desert cactus on a side road in Phoenix. A saguaro cactus is an iconic object screaming “DESERT!” in my mind. Last January as I was heading out of town for a speaking engagement I was watching this scene develop and pulled to the side of the road to explore possibilities.
Here is the original five stop bracket. It was a bit overcast, so I probably could have made three exposures and been OK, but I like to err on the side of caution to have more information rather than coming up short.
These five images were fed into Aurora HDR 2018 **. I’ve found Aurora to be a solid performer in creating natural looking HDR images without much ghosting or obvious ‘HDR LOOK’ for images that become overcooked.
Without too much fiddling in the Aurora program the image has a full range of tones with just the slightest halo around the main cactus in the foreground in the sky.
With a small amount of dodging and burning and a Curves ayer cleaned the image up nicely. I often use a Photoshop Layer in Soft Light Mode to Dodge and Burn. Painting with black will darken and painting with white will lighten. I use my brushes at a very low opacity and build up or knock down density to avoid seeing the brush strokes.
Here’s the final image after a stop in Luminar 2018** for some finishing touches and enhancements.
I hope some of these steps will give you some ideas for processing your images. If you have any questions or would like me to address a particular type of image processing, let me know.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
** Use Coupon Code – COATES – to receive $10 off on the software programs
by successfulbob | photography software
Aurora 2018 HDR Software Deal
I’ve found the Aurora HDR software to be the cleanest in creating images with a full range of tones and not having to fight the halos that often come with processing HDR files. Not a fan of the what used to be the ‘HDR Look’ but love having a full range of tones avaialble when the situation calls for it.
Skylum is having a sale on the software and upgades. The deal you see below can be sweetened by adding my code COATES for an additional ten bucks off.
Aurora 2018 HDR Deal
AURORA HDR 2018 72 HOUR FLASH SALE OFFER INFORMATION:
Aurora HDR 2018 + 10 sets of proffesional brackets for the lowest price ever!
Current users of Aurora HDR 2017 may upgrade for $39 ($29 with my coupon code);
New users can purchase Aurora HDR 2018 for $79 ($69 with my coupon code);
OFFER AVAILABILITY: Now through Sunday, May 20th.
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Aurora HDR 2018 – The most advanced photo editor for Mac & Windows.
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10 sets of proffesional brackets.
Don’t forget to use my coupon code of COATES to get the additional ten bucks off.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | bird photography, landscape photography, LumixGH5, photography, photography gear, photography software, wildlife photography
Salt River Wildlife – Part Two
As I mentioned in the previous post using the new gear from Panasonic with five-axis image stabilization such as in the Lumix GH5 and the long reach of the Leica 100-400mm lens makes photographing wildlife a new joy. Here are a few more examples from a photo shoot in the Salt River Wildlife basin near Fort McDowell, AZ.
The avian population on the Salt River is diverse. This is a Yellowlegs Sandpiper.
The 800mm equivalent reach of the Leica lens makes acquiring action photos such as this possible. The stabilization allows for handholding even though the lens is extended to its fullest range. I enjoy making images that include behavior such as birds in flight. Got just the right shutter speed in this case as the body of the bird is tack sharp while the wing tips are slightly blurred showing motion.
Isolated tree along the banks of the Salt River.
I like how the tree is highlighted against the darker background of the hillside behind. Processed with Adobe Camera RAW, Photoshop and finished with Luminar as a plug-in.
Capturing the image is only the beginning of photography in my opinion. Images are massaged, and the vision is completed in post-production. The tools are quite varied, but I try to settle on specific software so I can use it to its fullest. Below are my current most used software options.
Adobe Bridge, Adobe Camera RAW, and Photoshop – Learn more here
Skylum software including Luminar, Aurora HDR 2018 and the Creative Kit – Learn more here Use the code COATES to receive $10 off your purchase. You can try the software for free for 30 days.
NIK filters – Formerly free from Google DXO has purchased NIK and still makes the plug-ins available for free. They are working on a new release scheduled around the middle of 2018. In the meantime, with a few workarounds, the software still works (mostly) with the current MAC OS system. Learn more here and download for free.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography creativity, photography software
MacPhun is Skylum
In a nod to no longer being a Mac only product, MacPhun has officially changed its name to Skylum. This software for processing photographic images is being produced by some of the engineers who initially put together the popular NIK filters. I’ll detail some deals below. As an affiliate, I can offer you an extra $10 off any of the deals you see below by adding the name COATES to your order as a coupon code.
The programs can be used as stand alone applications or, as I often do, use them as a plug-in for additional processing power in Adobe Photoshop.
LUMINAR 2018
Luminar 2018 Trial page – Try it out
Luminar 2018 Facts and Features information can be downloaded here.
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Already have Luminar? Upgrade for $49 ($39 with my coupon code)
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New users can purchase Luminar 2018 for $69 ($59 with my coupon code)
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A collection of bonuses will also be included with every purchase.
Bonuses:
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2 E-books from Andrew Gibson: “The Creative Photographer” and “Mastering Exposure”
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Ultra Violet LUTs by Richard Harrington
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Ultra Violet Preset Pack by Richard Harrington
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“Accelerate Your Photography” Ebook by Anne McKinnell
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In-depth Video Tutorial from Trey Ratcliff
• Warm & Beautiful Preset Pack (15 presets)
• Futuristic Preset Pack
AURORA HDR 2018
Aurora HDR 2018 Trial Page – Give it a whirl
Available through February 26
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Current users of Aurora HDR may upgrade for $59 ($49 with my coupon code)
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New users can purchase Aurora HDR 2018 for $99 ($89 with my coupon code)
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A collection of bonuses will also be included with every purchase.
Bonuses:
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“Accelerate Your Photography” Ebook by Anne McKinnell
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Deep dive Video Tutorial from Trey Ratcliff
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Warm & Beautiful Preset Pack (15 presets)
- PS – Remember to add COATES to your coupon code to get an additional $10 off
by successfulbob | cloud photography, landscape photography, photography creativity, photography software
Software from Skylum (formerly MacPhun)
Until December 31st some deals are going on with the number one software program for photographers. I’ll hit you with the details below. I will often use Luminar as a plug-in to Photoshop for finishing work. Here’s an image I processed in the Luminar standalone version.
The things that impress me include the ability to pull detail out of a file that is very close to a silhouette. Color rendering. And the ability to make some artistic choices along the way. I would never have thought when I grabbed the silhouette that I could create an image as you see below.
Here’s a processed file from Luminar. Palm trees in Phoenix.
Straight out of camera file. (SOOC)
About Luminar: Luminar 2018 offers everything a modern photographer needs for photo editing, including new filters powered by artificial intelligence, major speed improvements, a dedicated RAW develop module and a forthcoming in 2018; digital asset management platform.
Users will also benefit from the new intelligent Sun Rays filter, LUT support, and real-time noise removal. With workspaces that match different styles of editing, Luminar adapts to deliver a complete experience that avoids clutter and complexity.
Luminar 2018 has been re-built from the ground up for dramatic performance boosts. Existing filters deliver more vibrant colors and depth in less time. A brand new streamlined user interface speeds up working with presets, filters, and masks. With the full support of pro options like layers, masks, and blending modes, complex repairs and photo composites can be easily accomplished.
Offer Availability: The Luminar 2018 Holiday offer is now live and available until December 31
Pricing: Current users of Luminar may upgrade at a Black Friday price of $49 ($39 with coupon COATES)
New users can purchase Luminar 2018 for $69 ($59 with coupon code COATES)
A collection of bonuses will also be included with every purchase.
Bonuses:
The Shootkit ebook
Preset pack: 20 Festive Texture Presets
500+ Sky overlays for Sky replacement
Video tutorial “How to replace Sky in Luminar.”
EXTRA Bonus
“Capture: Adventures in Photography” ebook by Simon & Lisa Thomas, the world’s foremost adventure motorcyclists
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | HDR photography, landscape photography, photography software
Software from MacPhun (now Skylum)
The holidays are fabulous as software companies roll out deals for Christmas and the holiday season. I have been playing the software from MacPhun for a while. It was only MAC-based, and they have now made the software available for Windows PCs as well. This is excellent news for those who were using NIK filters as the people who designed initially that software formed to create some new software that can help creatives get their vision out of their heads and into their imagery.
The first software I want to share with you is Aurora HDR 2018. This is the first HDR software that I found to be able to give me reliable results in density over the image without that ‘HDR!!’ look. Very clean and easy to use with a WYSIWYG system. Here’s an example.
RAW files capture sequence
Processed in Aurora HDR 2018 software from images above.
I like how I can add life and dynamic range to the photo without dialing in HDR noise and artifacts that seemed to be prevalent in other HDR software processing programs. And, no hoops to jump through.
AURORA HDR
AURORA HDR 2018 Special Offer
Aurora HDR is not just a tool for merging bracketed images; it also provides numerous tools and countless options to create perfect HDR photos for every taste – from one-click presets and advanced tone-mapping, to layers, noise reduction, and robust luminosity masking controls. It was named as the Best Mac App of 2017 by Apple.
Offer Availability: The Aurora HDR Special offer is already live and continues until December 31.
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Current users of Aurora HDR may upgrade at a Special price of $39 ($29 using my coupon code COATES)
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New users can purchase Aurora HDR 2018 for $79 ($69 with my coupon code COATES)
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A collection of bonuses will also be included with every purchase.
Bonuses:
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Deep Dive video tutorial from Trey Ratcliff
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“How to create realistic HDR images” Ebook
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2 Preset Packs – 40 presets! Preset Pack 1 – Winter Vibes. Preset Pack 2 – Wonderland.
Yours In Creative Photography, Bob
PS – There’s a deal on Luminar I’ll outline tomorrow!
