New Software and Process; Old Images

Somesville Bridge
Town Hall, Somesville, ME
Copyright 2009 Andy Richards

Sometime during the early summer of 2012, much to my chagrin, I discovered that all of the images uploaded to my SmugMug™ LightCentric Photography website were not large enough files to give customers the ability to order the largest prints offered by their printing services. I originally uploaded every image at 72 ppi resolution, without thinking about the printing side of things. Perhaps part of this was my (erroneous) thinking that people would view my images, and then contact me directly for prints. While that certainly remains an option, I am actually happy to have purchasers go directly through the shopping cart system and printing partners for both my SmugMug and my FineArt America sites. So, I began the laborious process of re-purposing images for uploading, gallery by gallery. It involves hours and hours of work.

But there is an upside. The need to re-work all of the images presents an opportunity. It is making me re-think some of the images I upload to the site, for one thing. But the opportunity presented is primarily because of my “freshened” workflow for post-processing digital images. I blogged in 2012 about “discovering” NIK™ software’s Viveza 2, and Color Efex programs. This software has completely changed the way I view and go about post-processing. Those who have read my blog over the years, or know me, know that I have been a Dan Margulis “disciple” for several years, using his LAB curves techniques as part of my workflow for the bulk of my images over the years (“Photoshop LAB Color“, by Dan Margulis). While I still think the LAB curves approach is a very effective and simple workflow to achieve dramatic color results, it often required painstaking selection and masking activity on an image. This was a time-consuming, and often trial and error, project for each image. Nik’s “U-Point™” technology takes away 90 plus percent of all that “fiddly” work and saves many hours, allowing you to focus on results rather than process.

“U-point” takes away 90-plus percent of the “fiddly” work, allowing you to focus on results rather than process

But perhaps the best opportunity is my recent education about Adobe’s most current raw processing engines, Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) in Photoshop CS 6, and Lightroom 4′ raw processing engines. I credit—and thank—Jeff Schewe and his newly published book “The Digital Negative” for this new appreciation of the power of Adobe’s raw processing engine. I have been a long-term Photoshop User, and old habits die hard. I still prefer to “work” my images in Photoshop rather than Lightroom, but as Schewe notes, the engines are nearly identical with only small (and perhaps quirky) differences. Photoshop is a huge program (filled with many “bells and whistles” I will never use), and it is expensive. If I were starting out as a digital photographer today I think I would probably have only purchased Lightroom and been pretty darn satisfied with what it can do. But whichever one you use, it is worth doing some “homework” on the power of raw processing.

Whether you use Lightroom or ACR, it is worth doing some “homework” on the power of Adobe’s raw processing engine

In years past, I have been mistrustful of any software other than Photoshop, preferring the “control” I had with Photoshop. But as the digital revolution continues, the technology continues to improve. There is now much more ability to do “non-destructive” editing before you “cook” the image in Photoshop. Adjustments in early versions of ACR were not always kind to images. But the current version (“Process 2012″) is nothing short of amazing. Previous advice was to set white and black points and color temperature in ACR and do essentially everything else in Photoshop, or with a third party program. In ACR process 2012, I have completely changed my workflow. Now, with the sliders (which, since CS6 and LR4, are identical), I set exposure and color temperature, adjust shadows and contrast (something I never did in ACR, but the process Adobe uses with these sliders is so “smart” that is it now nearly impossible to overdue these adjustments), do lens-specific correction, add “clarity” and “vibrance” (essentially specialized contrast adjustments for mid-tone contrast) and set the white and black points. I also make adjustments for noise reduction.

While Schewe says you can take care of your “capture sharpening” needs in Lightroom or ACR, I still use his company’s Photokit Sharpener to do all my sharpening. The images I import into Photoshop for processing already look awfully good. I have used it only sparingly, but both of these image processors also have the ability to do localized adjustments with a brush or gradient tool.

Once in Photoshop, my go-to program is Viveza 2

Once in Photoshop, my “go-to” program has become Viveza 2. I will occasionally use Color Efex’s “graduated neutral density” filter (ACR and Lightroom have a gradient filter you can use for this, but I prefer the detailed control I have with NIK software for this process). I use some of the other Color Efex tools very occasionally. There are different schools of thought on this. My good friend, talented photographer, and Photoshop aficionado, Al Utzig, tells me that Color Efex is his “go-to” software and he uses it nearly exclusively, resorting to Viveza 2 in only specific instances (white milk and chocolate milk  ).

Park Loop Road
Arcadia NP, ME
Copyright 2009 Andy Richards

Back to the “opportunity, I am seeing two things. First, images that I did before, I am able to do better, with better color and better localized adjustments. But the second thing came as a bit of a surprise: I am finding images that I would not have tried to work with that now are coming out with very nice results using my newly-found knowledge of ACR process 2012, and the NIK software. The Acadia National Park Road here appeared to me to have too many exposure issues to yield a nice result. What I have learned, though, is that the exposure was actually much better than I thought, and what was holding me/it back was a fundamental lack of knowledge of how to get the most out of the pixels. My friend and mentor, Kerry Leibowitz, pointed that out to me last year with one of my images. He has developed some pretty sophisticated and impressive post-processing techniques, using blending methods which he uses to get all he can out of the captured pixels. But he also goes into the field with the tools and knowledge to bring home captures that are optimum. While I have known the theory of proper captures (expose to the right—see my blog, “Expose Right to Expose Correctly“), it took some continuing education to see why.

The image of the Somesville, Maine, Bridge, is one that I had originally essentially rejected. There was too much “work necessary” to fix issues. While I am not claiming that it will be an award-winner, the result after running the raw image through my new ACR and NIK adjustments is, in my view, now acceptable. And the total time to process the image was probably less than 20 minutes. The beauty of the Adobe processor engines and NIK is that I can now do a lot of those “sophisticated” things quickly and easily.

Fall Color in the “UP” – 2012 – Part 5 – Lake Superior Shoreline

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

When Pennsylvania pro, workshop leader, and Master Landscape Instructor, James Moore and I first began discussing a fall workshop in the UP, what showed through to him was my enthusiasm for the variety of photographic subjects and composition. After spending a week driving the Hiawatha National Forest and the Lake Superior shoreline, I think Jim is in full agreement. Typical fall photography venues, like New England (in my view the number one spot for Fall Foliage photography), the Smokies, and even the western states offer dramatic landscape, colorful, foliage, and often a variety of wildlife. But other than perhaps Maine’s ocean coasts, none offers the variety we saw in Munising, including forests, waterfalls, sandstone formations, lakes and perhaps most unique of all, the shoreline of Lake Superior.

Au Train Bay, Lake Superior
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

If you have ever planned a foliage-oriented trip, you know it is always a lottery whether you will hit peak foliage and the weather conditions will cooperate. What I was able to assure Jim was that no matter what happened with those variables we would find something worthy of shooting for the serious landscape photographer. As you can see from the images here, the foliage, in some cases, enhances the image, but is not a critical element.

Sable Point Lighthouse from Log Slide
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

It is always a lottery whether you will hit peak foliage and weather conditions

During the short time we were in Munising, it was simply not possible to cover all the potential photographic opportunities. Because colors in the forest were particularly good this year, we concentrated more there than along the shoreline. But the shoreline offers some dramatic photographs, from Marquette all the way east, to Sault Ste. Marie, on the east coast of the UP. From Munising to Grand Marais, The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore holds colorful rock formations, arches, and waterfalls tumbling (and sometimes trickling) into Lake Superior. There are three picturesque lighthouses (one which can only be seen by boat) along the shoreline. Near one of the lights, the Sable Point Lighthouse, there is a sandstone reef extending a mile out into the lake which was the end of many lumbering and mining ships before the advent of modern navigation and shipwreck timbers can be photographed along the shoreline near the lighthouse. Time constraints kept the group from our planned trip up to the lighthouse this time.

Au Train Bay, Lake Superior
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

We did start our several of our days out on the Lake Superior beach and spent one sunset there. While on the beach, we concentrated on the pre-dawn twilight and looked for dramatic skies. We also looked for spots where the dune grasses could act as a foreground element and frame photographs. The image of the beach near Christmas, Michigan (just west of Munising), combined these elements, giving all but the dramatic lighting we so often seek for these images. Mineral deposits and seepage of mineral-laden water through the layers of sandstone give the stone its characteristic streaked colors and the bottom the turquoise blue seen reflected up through much of the waters.

Lake Superior Shoreline; Christmas, MI
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

My week in Munising will be among my more memorable photographic trips. While there, I had the privilege to meet some folks I had either “known” from the internet, or admired from afar over the years. While shooting at Council Lake one morning, I ran into and had a nice chat with well-known pro’s John and Barbara Gerlach. I have several of their books on my photography shelf. We spent about an hour shooting in the same vicinity as their group. I was struck by the fact that neither John nor Barbara were carrying cameras. Instead, they were being attentive to their paying customers, answering questions, giving advice when appropriate and generally being “good hosts.” Seems like a sure formula for a successful outing to me, and I would enthusiastically endorse and recommend their outings based on what I saw.

Sunset on Miner’s Beach; Lake Superior
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

I also met Wisconsin pro and fellow Nature Photographers.net member, Nick Bristol and had a nice chance to chat with him. I know he has since spent some time reading here, so Nick, it was nice to meet you and to chat.

My week in Munising will be among my more memorable photographic trips

We met a pro from Minnesota who leads tours on the North Shore and who we will likely contact the next time we travel there, and a local guide and kayak outfitter who specializes in photo tours right there in Munising. All in all, a very enjoyable and profitable trip.

Au Train Bay, Lake Superior
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

Fall Color in the “UP” – 2012 – Part 4 – Color in Abstracts

Fall Color Abstract; Pete’s Lake
Hiawatha NF
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

Often in our enthusiasm for fall foliage conditions and trips, we single-mindedly seek the “grand landscape” shots, showing a wash of brilliant color set in a dynamic mountain or lakeside landscape. The reality is that this type of photographic image is really, really hard to pull off, except in the best of conditions. There are, of course, places in our incredible land that offer nearly studio-like conditions for the grand landscape, and if we have the good fortune and timing to be at these places when the foliage, wind, sky and light conditions all come together, we will get the opportunity to make such images. But the instances (especially for those of us who shoot in limited time windows) of these proverbial “stars aligning” are few and far between. And if you think it is different for “pros,” think again. There is just plain old perspiration and persistence involved in a great “grand landscape” image. This means dragging yourself out of bed pre-dawn day after day, missing meals in the evening, and often going to the same location time after time to wait, until the ideal conditions come together. What pros have that we often don’t is the fortitude (and sometimes the time) to do that and the skill to be ready for capture when it does come together.

The reality is that the “grand landscape” image is really, really, hard to pull off

So what does a hobbyist who took one of her/his 2 vacation weeks and planned a trip to, say Vermont, in 2012 during the first week of October do, when the conditions just don’t cooperate? (I didn’t make it to New England this year, but I keep in touch with my numerous information sources who are on the ground there every year, whether I am or not. They uniformly reported that it decided to be rainy and cloudy during a week of peak color in parts of the state the likes of which we haven’t seen for several years). Look for abstract images. Try to find the intimate views that exclude the element(s) that aren’t “working” for you. Color is everywhere to be found during the foliage season, even the skies just aren’t right for the grand landscape image you covet.

Birches; Hiawatha NF
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

Even when conditions for the grand landscape are ideal, it is still important to look around for those abstracts and intimate views. This year, the conditions for landscape photography were pretty good during most of my time in the UP. But there will always be times when conditions don’t work for those “big” images. This was a year where the luminance of the colors and the variety of different colors all coming in at the same time was unusually good in my view. So I was able to make some sectional images with colors juxtaposed, some more intimate captures of parts of the forest, and some abstract images, including reflections, working with depth of field, and playing around with the zoom on my lenses.

Look for Abstract, Sectional and Intimate Images in the foliage

The first image above was taken the same morning I made the moon over Pete’s Lake image. Shortly after the sun rose, the quality of light on the bank of trees became “hotter” than I thought was optimum for the “big picture” image–and I had made “my image” for that morning. So I turned my camera to the water, zoomed in on the ripples and made the resulting reflective abstract.

One afternoon, workshop leader, James Moore and I took off, exploring the forest roads. One image Jim had in mind was a birch clump image. After following Jim through more “Deliverance” territory, we eventually split up, as I went to scout the next morning location. Jim later found the clump of birch trees and sent me back to find it for myself. The image he made was very different from this one, which demonstrates how individuals can “see” things differently.

Maple Sapling in Color
Hiawatha NF
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

Another afternoon, while waiting for the group to complete shooting an area they found intriguing, buddy, Rich and I moved ahead to shoot a brilliantly lit red maple he had staked out. It didn’t “send” me photographically for some reason, and I and walked into the forest with my longest lens. I made this image with the aperture wide open, to render the background as out of focus as possible, “suggesting” forest and color in the background, but highlighting the small maple sapling.

I played around with this same sapling for a while, setting my shot up for a relatively slow shutter speed and turning the zoom ring on my lens to “zoom out” during exposure.  This shot may require Dramamine for for safe viewing .

Fall Color Abstract
Hiawatha NF
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

Driving the forest roads those afternoons, we knew the sky was too blue and and the light too bright to make good images of grand scenes, so we looked for “sectional” images, where colors contrasted, were complementary, or otherwise stood out. As I made the image with the variegated red/orange/yellow leaves, the sun alternatively ducked behind and then back out of the cloud cover. I was able to make a number of differently lit exposures of this scene and this brightly lit one was the most pleasing to my eye, once back home and on my monitor.

Forest Color; Hiawatha NF
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

I have looked for an image like the landscape-oriented shot below for many years. The mid-morning lighting on this image is unfortunately, “hot,” but the bank of color variation from green/yellow/orange/red/rust and scarlet makes a very nice study in color. This was representative of a lot of the color we saw this year in the distance as we drove throughout the UP.

Forest Color; Hiawatha NF
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

Fall Color in the “UP” – 2012 – Part 3 – Forest Roads

Logslide Road, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

My good friend, Al Utzig, often remarks on “S” – curving roads being one of his favorite compositional elements. So I will dedicate this blog to Al. In prior years, I have noted nice curving road compositional opportunities, but normally see them when en route to a destination. This trip, I decided to “stop and smell the roses” (or maybe better, stop and shoot the curves), and specifically sought out a number of shots of forest roads, often with a canopy of foliage.

Last week, I blogged about getting of the “beaten track” (i.e., the paved roads), and following some of the dirt roads that are still designated as roads throughout the Hiawatha National Forest, in order to find some great fall foliage photo opportunities. Next week, I’ll illustrate some of the isolated foliage shots I found while driving these “back roads.” The opening shot here of the road to “The Logslide” on Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore,  is clearly not off the beaten track. But its multiple curves intrigued me – enough so that after going to the destination it took me to, and shooting that destination, I back-tracked and walked the shoulder until I found a pleasing composition. While perhaps not many that have this “squiggly” curving thing going on, there are myriad opportunities to find curving road shots in the UP, especially on the National Forest Roads.

National Forest Road; Hiawatha NF
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

Another shot that grabbed my interest was this shot of the National Forest Road that accesses the Pete’s Lake campground I illustrated last week. Jim Moore, the workshop leader, took off exploring one afternoon during the week on his own and drove this road until it ended at a gravel NF road. He found several nice color compositions along the road and encouraged me to drive it to look for some of them and for research for my “in-the-works” “Photographing the UP” eBook. Friday morning, flying solo (the workshop participants had all left either Thursday night or early Friday a.m., leaving me to my own devices), I drove the length of the road in the pre-dawn, turned around and started working my way back. Some time during the morning, the sun struggled through the clouds and I discovered this classic “S” curve shot (my personal favorite of this group of images) of National Forest Road 2173.

Red Jack Lake Road; Hiawatha NF
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

But one of the goals was to try to find a road with a full foliage canopy overhanging. In order to do that, you have to drive some of the back roads that are less “maintained.”  These  images were taken on Red Jack Lake Road. While not technically “S” shaped, the road still has a nice curves off into the horizon.  The leaf drop along the shoulders and the filtered sunlight made for nice, albeit mid-morning, lighting.

Red Jack Lake Road, Hiawatha NF
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards

The last image will give some viewers discomfort. I have occasionally heard the comment that elements that lead a viewer’s eye from the right side of the image to the left are discomfiting because we read, and therefore tend to view images from left to right. Hmmnn. Not all cultures read and write from left to right; do they?  From an artistic viewpoint, I don’t buy the suggestion. I look for balance in composition and I don’t feel any discomfort from this image. I do have a number of friends who will take some discomfort, however, at such a severe left turn. But that’s politics.   My photographic view is “ambidextrous,” seeking only what looks good to me.

Irwin Lake Boat Launch Access; Hiawatha NF
Copyright 2012 Andy Richards