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At the Cliff House, San Francisco, California.
I used a B+W ND 1000x filter for a 20 second daytime exposure.
There were allot of pictogrpahs of rattlesnakes and based on all the rocks here I bet thats a real possibility in the summer.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippolyte_Rocks
Camera: Nikon D3
Lens: Nikon AF-Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8 at 28mm focal length
Aperture: f/11
Shutter Speed: 1/250sec
ISO: 640
White Balance: AUTO 5,628°K
File Size: 25mb NEF (Raw)
Color Space: Nikon Adobe RGB
Picture Control: Neutral
Taken, handheld at- 13:58, 5 July 2014
I took this photo, last year, during Winter months, in Tasmania, on a gloomy day. Typically, I hibernate when the weather is cold and gloomy. My wife was participating in an Irish dancing competition, which gave me sufficient time to fill the hours, rather than sitting in an auditorium, listening to repetitive Irish jigs and reels.
This photo began life as a muted NEF (Nikon Electronic Format) Raw file. It did not impress me. I placed it into my external hard drive into the "blah" bin. I tend to photograph using Neutral Picture Control . . . Not really a factor when photographing in NEF, except for the embedded JPEG for Preview.
I decided to take a second look at the image, as I had thoughts for processing, which might be able to make the viewer seem to be there, sharing the experience, the sound of the waves crashing against the cliff face, the smell of the damp, salty air, feeling the chill, and seeing the Hippolyte Rocks Island and Thumbs in the distance.
I tried three programs to process the NEF. Each, on its own, yielded disappointing results.
One, made the image too Sharp, to the point when I viewed it at 200% or 300%, I could see a brightened Halo. I want my image to be sharp enough to see the structure of the rocks and water drops, without the halo. As I would see it in real life. Correct Sharpness is always a challenge for me. There are a lot of words written on the subject . . . And, I must say that I have seen absolutely stunning images out-of-focus. Sharpness is not everything, always. Depends on the subject and what artistic impression a photographer wants to render.
I did process this image as a monochrome and what I liked about the black&white is that it rendered the clouds in the background and the sea with form and realistic dimension. Hmmm, got me wondering about a color version.
Tried my usual processing methods, but I was not satisfied, which is the reason I initially rejected the image. I persisted. I processed the NEF using three different Nikon Picture Controls, leaving the Sharpness dialed back to maybe 2.
I used a second software to combine the three TIFs, because I just cannot do it using Nikon's Capture NX2. There does seem to be a bug in the Nikon software, because it will have a smaller version embedded and that will not allow it to be post-processed using other software, until the embedded smaller image is removed.
Once the three TIFs were combined, I used a program to reduce the haze, which is common throughout Tasmania.
Then I imported the huge 300+mb image back to Nikon Capture NX2 to view it at 200%, darkened it to show any spots clearly, removed them, and then restored the image back to correct Exposure.
Next, I selectively modified contrast and saved the file, just in case.
Next, I selectively reduced the Exposure Levels & Curves and saved the image.
Next, I began to work on Sharpness, bringing the image up to 300%, looking at tree branches and rock crevasses for Halo or the brightness of the Halo and reduced it to the point where it was barely visible, yet Sharp, then viewed the image at 100%.
Next I decided to Crop the image, asking my wife's opinion with each variation, as women see things and use their brains differently from men. She preferred the image in its entirety.
I must say I attempted processing this image a few times, already. I gave it a big effort, again, last night, until past 11:00, to my wife's displeasure, thinking I was ignoring her. I was on a roll.
I finished it this morning, which is presented here. I am guessing a film image might have taken just as long to process.
Moral of the story. Never discard or Delete a marginal image.
A gentle reminder about copyright and intellectual property-
Ⓒ Cassidy Photography (All images in this Flickr portfolio)
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) juvenile. Marble Hot Springs Rd. Sierra Valley. Plumas Co., Calif.
"But is it not enough that you are a semblance,
To celebrate a heart leaking the truth?
Whatever stupidity or your indifference?
Mask or decor, hello! I love your beauty. "
— Charles Baudelaire, in "The Flowers of Evil"
"Mais ne suffit-il pas que tu sois l'apparence,
Pour réjouir un coeur qui fuit la vérité?
Qu'importe ta bêtise ou ton indifférence?
Masque ou décor, salut! J'adore ta beauté."
— Charles Baudelaire, in Fleurs du Mal
This was taken at Black Sand Basin in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Using a Canon A-1, 24mm f/2.8, Kodak Ektar 100. The negative was “scanned” using a Nikon D7000 and edited in Lightroom/Negative Lab Pro.
Smoke from forest fires caused the sky to be a dull orange/gray color, which made for very strange lighting.