New Software With Older Images

Since I've gotten the NIK Collection of plug-ins, I have been re-working some of my older images including this one taken in 2007 on St. Simons Island of the lighthouse at daybreak.

I first started off with CS6 doing some cropping and general cleanup of the dust bunnies. then went into NIK's Define to help with the noise a little. Next stop was in Color Efex Pro 4 for some filter love and and tonal contrast adjustments. The into Sharpener Output to get a nice and sharp image.

Since I decided I wanted to print this on my ancient R1800 wide format printer I set the output resolution to 2840 x 1400 and saved it back into CS6 so I could size it and add the text at the bottom.

The image itself is only 10 1/4" high by 16 1/4" wide and was printed on Red River Paper's Polar Peal Metallic 13x19.

Using newer software on older images has been fun and has brought new life to images that have not really been on the list of "Printers".

The NIK Collection is now available for $149.00.

Nostalgia

St. Simons Island Pier circa 2006

Since getting the Nik Collection of plug-ins, thanks to Nik/Google by the way, I've been having some fun going back and reworking some of my older images. Images that looked ok but lacked a certain "look" or "feel" to them. A great way to get creative is via plug-ins and Nik Software's are some of the best and can really bring out the artist within you.

This image of the pier was captured about mid day and looked it, but with the help of Nik's Silver Efex plug-in I was able to give it a look that took away the flat, blah, snap shot feeling that emanated from a lot of my early images, before I learned to really "see the light" so to speak.

I started off in CS6 by cropping the image down to get it with in the "rule of thirds", I was and still am, although not as bad, about placing the horizon slap dead center in the frame, a serious no-no. After cropping I opened up the Silver Efex plug-in and started playing around with the different presets to get a feel for them. I, like so many other folks learn by just playing around and experimenting, go ahead try it, you might be surprised at what you create.

I settled on one of the sepia tones presets and then began adjusting the sliders to get the look I wanted which in this case was an image with a sense of nostalgia. I wondered if this is how the pier would have looked had my grandfather photographed it with his Argus (which I still have).

After tweaking the sliders for a few minutes, remember I like to experiment, I settled on the sepia tone and then added a little vignette and a border and then "burned" the edges just a little to take away the hard border/frame and giving me the "this was taken before I was born" look.

Plug-ins can not only help enhance an image but let you get creative as well. Whether it's the Nik Collection of plug-ins, OnOne's Perfect Effects, or any of the other myriad of creative tools out there, plug-ins can be fun and help you get the image you want.

John

SE Railway Museum

USPS Mail car at the SE Railway Museum

The SE Railway Museum in Duluth, GA. is a photographers dream, especially if you're into HDR imaging. You can spend an entire day shooting this great place and letting your imagination run wild with all the possibilities for getting creative.

Galley or "Kitchen" Car 

From the USPS Mail car above to the several Galley or "Kitchen Cars", the possibilities for HDR are everywhere you look, inside and out.

What makes shooting these historic trains so much fun for me is letting my imagination run, wondering what it would have been like to actually ride on these trains, and not just for a day but for a week or more. Watching the scenery pass by and stopping at the towns and cities that these trains served. 

As I was shooting in the mail car (opening image) I was talking to a couple of other photographers and one of them said, "it's a shame that the children of tomorrow will only know email.", and unfortunately I believe he is right, and that's just sad.

One of the galley cars (pictured right) was a real treat to shoot in thanks to the outside light coming in and reflecting off the combination of the stainless steel and the wood floor. But what really caught my eye in this particular car was the combination of stainless steel and cast iron.
This combination of pitch black and super shiny can make getting your exposure just right a little bit of a challenge, and this is where HDR really shines! By taking multiple shots at different exposures I was able to get the black of the cast iron stove and the shiny of the stainless without losing the detail at either end of the spectrum.

Checker Cab

There's more than just trains to see and photograph the the museum, there's old Checker Cabs that look as though they are ready to pick up a fare and roll through town to old buses that are in remarkable shape, thanks no doubt to the staff at the museum who have done a great job not only on curating these pieces of history but also restoring and preserving them.

If you're in Atlanta or spending a weekend visiting make sure to get by the S.E. Railway museum and take a walk through history.....

Southeastern Railway Museum

Park the car

Hyatt Lane in Cades Cove

Too many times I have found myself in Cades Cove driving through the park intent on finding the next great shot, or in many cases in search of the great shot that I envisioned, only to be disappointed when I didn't get the shot.

I do it to myself every time, I ride around the loop road only stopping when I see something that looks interesting, never venturing far from the car or pull out. Well last time I was there I decided to change that, I actually parked the car, hoisted my backpack onto my shoulders and started walking.

A whole new experience awaited me, free of the metal and glass blocking my view, no engine noise or radio drowning out nature's call, actually getting to see the entire scene, WOW!!

I first stopped at the John Oliver Cabin and just walked around the cabin and field, taking a shot here and there but mostly just enjoying the cold air, the threat of snow, and the fact that the Cove was dang near empty! Next stop was at Hyatt Lane, I wanted to create my own version of the often photographed    lane and since it was closed to traffic I took the opportunity to wander around without fear of being run over. 

I walked the entire length of the Lane, hoisting the camera every now and then to see if a certain composition worked or not. Sometimes I liked what I had and sometimes the composition just didn't work, since I was in no big hurry it was no big deal. I was actually enjoying being out of the car and just wandering around without the "I have to get THIS shot" mentality, it was as exhilarating as it was relaxing.

On the walk back I realized that I was missing some good shots because I was in a hurry to get to the good shots that I had envisioned. So take it from me, park the car, you'll see a lot more.

John

Keywording and the Old Grist Mill

Old Grist Mill

I shot this image back in '08 somewhere in the Smokies, I can't remember for the life of me where but I  was in the Smokies. Some friends have suggested it's Mingus Mill, which it very well could be but I just don't know.

The point of this post is to remind folks that keywording your images is just as important as the image itself. If I had taken the time to keyword this I'd know for sure that it was Mingus Mill and not one of the other historical mills that abound in and around the Great Smoky Mountains. 

So while you're out and about shooting remember to take notes or pictures of signage so you can remember where you were and what you were shooting, then when you get home and ingest your images into whichever software you choose to use you can properly keyword and tag your images, and not try to remember where you were on a certain day 5 years ago.

So I've learned my lesson and the only way for me to correct this is to go back to the Smokies and wander around until I find this particular grist mill......... ohhh darn the luck.

John

Into The Hills

Into The Hills

Ever wonder what it was like to live in a time with out smartphones, the internet, email, text messages, constant connectivity to world? Visit Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains and you'll know!

You see, in "The Cove" there is no cell service, you get to literally go back in time when you actually talked to people, you sat and visited, talked about the crops, animals, wondered what the weather would be like for the next season. A trip to the store took pretty much all day and you planned that a week out. Most people I know couldn't handle it and to be perfectly honest I don't think I could take it for more than a couple of days before I went crazy. But for a few hours I can handle it, helps me to relax and enjoy mother nature. Sometimes it's nice to just disconnect.

This is another image captured in "The Cove" in front of the Oliver Place cabin. Looking at the path before me I wondered who might have walked it back in the 1800's, how many people came to visit and where they came from. All questions that I could never answer but am intrigued by just the same. 

So the next time you need to "disconnect" from the email alerts, text messages, the daily rat race, plan a trip to the Smokies and be sure to visit Cades Cove. 

Get Out And Shoot 

John

Morning in Cades Cove

Morning in Cades Cove

How would you like to wake up to this view? I personally think it'd be great but hey, that's just me.

I captured this from the front yard of the John Oliver Cabin in Cades Cove yesterday morning. 

While a convoy of photographers were ahead of me shooting the bucks fighting and generally clogging the loop road up, I decided to take a short walk through the field to the actual cabin. I shot several frames of the cabin and it wasn't until I turned around and started the walk back that I noticed this view. 

I can only imagine waking up to this on a daily basis.

Canon EOS 7D 28-135mm 1/160sec at f11 ISO 1600 processed in LR4, NIK HDR Efex Pro 2, and CS6

As always... Get Out And Shoot

ps And make sure to look all around to

John