View allAll Photos Tagged HighContrast
Finally, the 100th day mark! Still a lot more to go, but I also know that I have already done a lot as well.
This is definitely the most tiring shoot I've done so far. I probably climbed that picnic bench and jumped off it at least 35 times to get a frame I liked. But it was well worth it.
strobist info: 3-flash set-up. One bare vivitar flash at full power behind me as rim light. One bare vivitar flash at camera left at full power, directed to illuminate pants and shoes. One nikon sb800 at camera right at full power with a white plastic diffuser, directed to illuminate the face and the balloons. All triggered by PW.
Camera setting: ISO200, 1/160 at f11. Post processing using Nikon Capture NX2 and Lightroom.
I'm new to the group and am not sure on your etiquette. I've been silently watching for a while and would like to joint in more. I'd appreciate any critique on this image. I'm hoping to learn from the dialogue, don't worry about stepping on my toes. I'm open to any feed back that would help me grow.
Mattatuck Trail, Warren, Connecticut.
I usually shoot both RAW and JPEG with my Ricoh GR II and the JPEGs are this high contrast black and white with grain. For the most part I use the JPEGs in Lightroom as a guide for my RAW processing.
This day I somehow had my camera set to make a single file, the high contrast JPEG file. So, these are straight out of the camera and a bit more contrasty and grainy than my usual. I like the images and decided to post them anyway. I have a few hundreds more I did a week later but have yet to process them all yet.
These were shot in a small streamlet that we crossed over with snowshoes. It was a fun day and this is a great new trail for us, very close to our house.
Descanso Gardens, Flintridge, California. There's something about this garden that's very nice: lots in bloom, well maintained but not too formal, and plenty of trees to keep it cool and shaded which makes for better photography.
I took pictures with the Fuji X100S and the Ricoh GR and this first set is high contrast JPEGs from the GR. I'm slowly getting used to the X100S but at this point the GR is like an extension of my brain as I've used it more and its simpler ergonomically.
Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut.
Two weeks later, I found myself on the same field as my last post with the same hiking partner. This time there had been a light snow and some tire tracks made a nice tracking line toward the odd looking trees at the south end of the field.
The Appalachian Trail runs along the left edge this frame and the Housatonic River is a bit further left.
Zooming down into deep dark space by cropping and scaling up, adjusting contrast and brightness, and repeating several times.
These two trees in Lugano / Switzerland have a special orientation - the branches of both trees reach only in one direction. In raising the contrast and reducing the saturation I wanted to depict/extract this property. The horizon is tilted but follows the branches' direction
Linda - scanned from a 35mm print circa 1996. This image looks "bleached out". this was quite intentional as I wanted a more high contrast but saturated look.
Mattatuck Trail, Warren, Connecticut.
This ice is on a small stream feeding into the Shepaug River. The stream doesn't have a steep grade and this is part of what makes interesting ice formations (slow moving water).
I took too many images during the hour I spent here and many weren't in focus although with ice it's tough to sort that out. This collection is a cross section of the different types of crystallization I found that day.
Pershing Square Cafe, across the street from Grand Central Station.
We took a quick trip into New York to see the Degas Monoprint show at MoMA which is ending this weekend. If you're within striking distance, this show is highly recommended.
Degas was one of the first artists to really let out all the stops on multiple types of manipulation(s) to a print after it comes off the press. A single etching comes off, then he draws on it and it's a one of a kind. That's what a mono print is all about.
The show is incredible, well worth seeing.
I had planned to see this show earlier in the summer but as many of you know, my mother passed away and we got busy with all that that kind of event brings (burial, dealing with her house, belongings, and "estate").
We came back from Los Angeles just in time to catch this show and both Anne and I loved it.
So, this high contrast Ricoh GR shot of a glass of water at dinner last night is my reference marker for Degas' amazing mono prints.
The show catalog is up on Amazon ($5 cheaper than it was at MoMA) and while I don't think it's anywhere near what the show was, it might be worth checking out if you're into this kind of printmaking.
Anyone who shoots high contrast images with the Ricoh GR needs to see this work for sure. It pre-dates the current crop of high contrast work by 150 years and Degas was a master of moving composition (he's famous for his ballet dancers but he drew all kinds of people doing all kinds of things).