From the Archive ...earlier this year

Coming back to Phoenix from Globe.

View Large On Black

I was struggling a lot with photographing this tree at the river Ruhr the last times I visited it. It was always hard to separate it from the line of trees in the background. On this evening the light was perfect. The tree was shadowed by a cloud and the forest in the background were still lit.

Old Railway Bridge

Here is the second part of a little test that I'm running with everyone. These are the tone-mapped versions of the "straight" photos I just posted a little while ago.

I will post these new images to the same groups that I posted the first batch. Then I will watch to see the number of views. This may give me feedback as to how people respond to images.

Thanks for participating in my little experiment.

Qtpfsgui 1.8.12 tonemapping parameters:

Operator: Fattal

Parameters:

Alpha: 1.2

Beta: 0.76

Color Saturation: 1

Noise Reduction: 0.008

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PreGamma: 1

While visiting my brother and his family in Napa, we took a quick spin over to an abandoned railway. There was a building on the site, so it could have been a small station back in the day when the line was operational. I have been "eyeing" this particular locomotive for as many years as I've been traveling to Napa. I was happy to finally get a chance to work with this engine.

Of course, after I'd taken enough time to make the images of this GP9 that I wanted, I looked down the tracks to the other side of the road. Bad move on my part. I spied, about a half mile away, a rather long line of GP9's all hooked up and sitting.

I have worked these with Qtpfsgui and the GIMP. Still, I wanted to include the Qtpfsgui parameters. They are only a vague starting point for where this image ended up.

Qtpfsgui 1.8.12 tonemapping parameters:

Operator: Mantiuk

Parameters:

Contrast Mapping factor: 0.001

Saturation Factor: 0.8

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PreGamma: 1

Saturday Delight

Bondgate, Ripon

Collared lizard shot on a petrified log at the petrified forest outside of Holbrook Arizona.

Avoid the crowds and be here at sunset.

Its the best light to get definition and most of the people are there when the light is bleaching the color out of the place.

View Large On Black

The Bridge at High Falls Park, Alabama

I have gone over the edge. I can't believe it. This technique took weeks to perfect using traditional film technologies. Now I can visualize, modify, and create exactly what my "eye" saw and just the way it saw it at the time of image capture. Yikes! These are powerful tools.

I tone mapped this from a three layer HDR +/-2EV. Then I Gimp sample colorized using a sepia that I created.

I think some of these will need to be printed and hung... I'm _that_ thrilled!...