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I'm retired, in my sixties, married with two daughters and three grandchildren.

Day 26 Assignment – Fix Dynamic Range 2

Posted on April 25, 2020 by Driving Australia

Jim Hamel commented that he wasn’t sure that my clinging tree example had anything to do with dynamic range but that it did improve the photo, so I submitted another and asked if it was a better example.

Original 1/1000 f7.1 ISO200

Day 26 Assignment – Fix Dynamic Range

Posted on April 24, 2020 by Driving Australia

I call this the Clinging Tree because it has been clinging to the edge of the cliff by its roots for years and has even survived cyclones. This photo was taken with the sun setting to the left.

I watched Jim’s entire video but only used Lightroom to restore this photo. I made adjustments to the highlights, shadows, blacks and exposure and reduced the luminance of light blue, dark blue and yellow, while slightly increasing the orange.

1/80 f/8 ISO 3200 54mm

Day 25 Assignment – Add Contrast

Posted on April 21, 2020 by Driving Australia

For this assignment we were to add texture and punch to one of our pictures by adding contrast.

I wasn’t happy with my first attempt where I started in Photoshop then made adjustments in Lightroom, so I started again from scratch using Lightroom first then only used Photoshop to clean up the jetty and remove the lamp posts.

Nightcliff Jetty – Original 1/1000 f3.5 ISO 80 24mm

First attempt – lamp posts left in

I didn’t like the white patch in the sky when I removed the lamp posts, but I didn’t like the result when I tried to fix it either so I started again:

End results with and without lamp posts.

Day 24 Assignment – Use the Power of Local Adjustment

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Driving Australia

For this assignment we were to make changes to discrete portions of a photo using tools in Lightroom and Photoshop.

I spent a lot of time trying to change the colour of the sky but was unhappy with the results and ended up cropping out most of the sky and using the clone stamp tool to extend the tree line instead.

I removed a lamp post, a few magpie geese in the background and leaf litter in the grass and on the dirt using the healing brush. I played around with the contrast, saturation, highlights sharpness and whites and lightened the horse’s tail to match the mane and make it look cleaner.

My undo/redo functions got a good workout with this. Whenever I looked at the finished product I found something else I wanted to change!

This is the original f3.5 1/2000 410 mm ISO 1600

Befor crop

End result

Re-posting after Jim suggested applying a light vignette instead of cropping.

Re-posting with vignette feathered out so it’s barely noticeable.

Day 23 Assignment – Enhance Tones

Posted on April 5, 2020 by Driving Australia

For this assignment we were to find one of our photos where the lighting or exposure was off and fix it using the tools in Lightroom and Photoshop we’d learnt about in Day 23: Control the Light.

I selected this photo from Day 6 Assignment – Stop the Action because Jim Hamel liked it but said it needed brightening in post processing.

This first photo is the original.

The second photo shows the results of my first attempt at brightening using the basic sliders in Lightroom and slight cropping on the left side to remove a partial palm frond.

I hadn’t made notes of the adjustments I’d made so I went back and the third photo shows the results after I

increased the contrast and highlights

brought down the shadows

increased the whites

brought down the blacks

and I removed the log fence in Photoshop.

Then in photo 4, I went a bit further and

increased the temperature, tint and vibrance

lowered the saturation

increased the clarity

lowered the dehaze.

Day 22 Assignment – Capture the Decisive Moment

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Driving Australia

This assignment is a continuation of Day 21 Work the Scene, but as I am unable to complete that at the moment, I am submitting some photos I took of a martial arts demonstration by the Darwin Chung Wah Society for Chinese New Year last month.

I think they meet the anticipation requirement of the assignment.

Please bear in mind this was my first time using manual mode in an indoor stadium setting, just the second week of the course. The photos are unedited except for a bit of cropping.

1/400 f5.6 ISO 3200

1/400 f5.0 ISO 3200

Day 19 Assignment – Leading Lines

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Driving Australia

Create a photograph with leading lines that guide the viewer’s eye.

The lines can either lead the viewer into the subject of the picture or across the picture to the subject.

Decide whether you want the subject of the picture to be the lines themselves or something else.

I tried to find leading lines in a variety of natural and constructed situations.

I experimented with Lightroom and Photoshop to enhance my photos by using the exposure, whiteness, contrast and highlights controls; I used a vignette for the first time and I removed a person’s head. I tried out the luminance bar/arch but I wasn’t confident and need a lot more practice as I pulled it into some unexpected shapes with undesirable results.

The originals follow the enhanced photos below.

Elizabeth River Bridge from the jetty

Elizabeth River Jetty with the bridge in the background

Train tracks converging with the road approaching the bridge

Finn Road in the rural area before the bridge – accidentally replaced the original

Rapid Creek

Footbridge over Rapid Creek – two views

A grove of gumtrees before the footbridge

Cloud over Nightcliff boat ramp breakwater and Sunset Park

Golden path to the sun Nightcliff

Day 18 Assignment – Clouds

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Driving Australia

For this assignment we were to create one compelling photo of clouds.

Set the horizon on the bottom third line so that at least two thirds of the frame is sky.

Foreground is important so chose your location carefully.

Make sure the picture balances – use formal or informal balance – symmetrical or asymmetrical.

Spend time getting it just right by cropping.

This is almost identical to the original which I seem to have deleted.

Cropped and removed blemishes in Photoshop.

I love the balance of the little fishing boat on one side against the dark menacing storm cloud on the other.

This cloud balanced itself but I took a few other shots to include some foreground.

It was hard to find an example of formal symmetrical balance. I used the jetty lightposts.

Day 17 Assignment – Invite the Viewer In – Back to Front Composition

Posted on March 11, 2020 by Driving Australia

For this assignment we were to

shoot a landscape scene arranging the shots using ‘back to front’ composition.

Concentrate on the foreground.

Create a sense that the viewer can walk into the picture.

Try getting low, getting behind something.

Look for patterns on the ground.

Day 16 Assignment – Landscape – Rule of Thirds

Posted on March 7, 2020 by Driving Australia

For this assignment we were to

shoot a landscape scene and arrange the shots using the Rule of Thirds.

To accentuate the sky put the horizon on the lower third line.

To accentuate the ground put the horizon on the top third line.

If there’s a subject or centre of interest, place it on the left or right line, don’t centre it.

Use the crop tool to refine the composition later.

Darwin City from Charles Darwin National Park

All 1/200 f8.0 ISO 80 4.10 – 42 mm

Darwin City from Larrakeyah

First three shots 1/1000 f5.6 to f8.0 ISO 200 to 400

1/500 f8 ISO 100

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