I've got some more shots that I'm going to post from my trip to Dubai, but I thought I'd put this one up first: taken this morning on Fleetwood beach. If you've seen my beachcombing gallery you'll know that I have quite a few shots of lost and abandoned items that I've found on that beach, but I think that this one has to be one of my all time favourites (though I'd be hard pressed to tell you why).

In terms of the post-production ...

This one was relatively straightforward, other than that I merged two exposures: the metered exposure, and a second shot that was over-exposed by 1 2/3 EV (I used this to bring out the detail in the darker areas of the umbrella).

I also used Topaz Detail, a Photoshop plugin from Topaz Labs, to bring out the fine scale detail in both the umbrella and the sand. If you haven't tried this plugin, I'd highly recommend it, as it does an absolutely superb job of bringing out the detail in an image without introducing any obvious processing artefacts.

If you're interested, I've posted some before and after shots of a crop from the high res' image here:

http://www.chromasia.com/iblog/archives/Untitled_0095.php

I don't often recommend plugins, not least because I much prefer working out how to achieve a particular within Photoshop, but none of the Photoshop techniques that I know (USM with a large radius, High Pass Sharpening, and so on) come close to those you can achieve with Topaz Detail. If you're interested, this is a topic I covered in my latest tutorial. Anyway, download the demo version and try it for yourself.

This is the last of the images I'll be posting from my recent trip to the UK: another shot of this rig/structure, currently sitting in the middle of the beach at Thornton Cleveleys (a couple of the miles up the coast from Blackpool). I'm not sure what purpose it serves, but it's positioned where the Riverdance was stranded in February 2008. From what I can remember there was a sewerage outlet somewhere nearby, so it may be that the rig is being used to make repairs to that structure. Anyway, whatever it is, I don't imagine it will be there forever, so I'm glad I had the chance to photograph it when I was back.

In terms of the shot itself: the thing I like about this one is the very large depth of field, which probably wouldn't have been possible with my DSLR, at least not without upping the ISO to allow me to use a much smaller aperture. As with my previous shot though, I think a square crop would probably have produced a better composition, but I quite like the more open feel at 3x2.

[update: I've posted a square crop version here]

If you're interested, the original 4x3 version is here:

    .../archives/untitled_0090.php

As you can see, I concentrated on bringing out the details in the clouds, and increasing the brightness and contrast in the foreground pebbles - both of which were achieved by using a variety of masked Curves. If you're interested in learning more about the techniques I used with this image, the most relevant tutorials are linked below:

    Landscapes: creating dramatic skies
    Toning colour images

When I was back in the UK last week I didn't have a great deal of time to photograph anything other than the wedding in London, but did manage to get to the beach for half an hour before dashing off to catch my flight home. And while I wasn't specifically looking for another shot to add to my beachcoming category, I was pleased to come across this abandoned child's trainer.

I should also add that this is the first shot taken with my latest new camera, a Ricoh GR Digital III. I've been happy with my Canon G9, but Libby has largely commandeered it so I've been pondering getting a new compact for a while. Initially, I thought about getting the Canon G10, or maybe the Olympus EP-1, and then Canon released the G11. And for a while, I was almost convinced that the G11 would be the way to go, but decided to go with the Ricoh instead.

There are a variety of things I like about it (in no particular order):

First: it shoots RAW (as do most high-end compacts) but they're DNG's rather than a proprietary format. This means I can edit the files in any of my RAW editors without needing to wait for the next update to include this camera.

Second: although it has a fixed 6mm lens (28mm equivalent) it has an aperture of f/1.9. This is over a whole stop faster than most of the competition.

Third: it's very customisable, insofar as there are a variety of controls and buttons that can have different functions assigned to them.

Fourth: it's quite a bit smaller than the G10, which makes it much more pocketable.

Fifth: it has what Ricoh call 'snap focus'. One of the most annoying things about most digital compacts, even the best and most expensive ones, is that the shutter lag is much higher than with a DSLR. With 'snap focus' you can pre-set a focal distance (1m, 2.5m, 5m and infinity) and when you fully depress the shutter it will take the shot. Admittedly, you have to set the distance first, but given the large DoF you get with small sensor cameras this should prove to be quite useful.

Sixth: like most digital compacts the GRD III has an auto-ISO setting, but it also allows you to limit its range. For example, you can instruct it to only use ISO values up to 200, 400, or 800. In other words, you can set it to a value that will still produce a reasonably noise-free image while also giving you a bit more leeway in low light.

I haven't had a great deal of time to play around with it yet, but have been impressed so far and have to say that I much prefer it to my old G9. Given that it has a fixed 28mm (equiv.) lens it's not going to be as flexible as the G9, but on first impressions it does seem a lot more user-friendly and probably quite a bit more capable. I'll keep you posted.

Oh, and if you'd like to take a look at the original, it's here:

.../archives/size_doesnt_matter.php

And finally, the post-processing for this one was relatively straightforward, i.e. I used a variety of masked Curves to adjust the contrast in different areas of the image, then another to tone it (as described in this tutorial).

While many of my recent favourites have been shots of the kids (this one, for example) this is probably my favourite non-human shot that I've posted in ages. And in case you're wondering, it's an old fire extinguisher that Theis and I came across at the weekend.

In this instance, the post-processing is quite extreme – insofar as the original looks a bit different – but I think it suits this object quite well. As always though, do let me know what you think.

The original is here:

.../archives/putting_out_the_light.php

And finally, while I used a variety of techniques to post-process this shot, the tutorial that is probably the most relevant is my Toning colour images one.

This is the first of five shots that I took while out and about with Theis Dahl on Saturday. Theis was down in Blackpool for some photography and Photoshop training, and while we spent most of the time on post-production, we did spend a few hours up at Fleetwood – photographing the beach, washed up stuff, the Wyre wrecks, and so on. It was a good weekend.

Of the five shots that I'll be posting there are three others that I prefer to this one, but Theis also has a shot of this plastic bottle so I thought it would be a good one to post first. If you're interested, his shot is here:

http://www.theisdahl.com/photo/56

Hopefully he'll be posting some more shots from our shoot over the next few days.

In case you're wondering about the colour, my version was processed in LAB Color mode (as described in this tutorial), i.e. I manipulated the 'a' and 'b' channels to alter the colour balance and saturation.

As always, let me know what you think.

I was going to post an altogether gentler image this evening – a shot of Harmony hiding in some long grass – but as I've just posted our latest HDR tutorial I thought it was probably more appropriate to put this one up. I did want to post a pseudo-HDR image (I.e. one constructed from a single original), as that's the topic of the tutorial, but if you take a look at the metered exposure for this one you will see that there's no way it would have worked for this image; i.e. even though the sky is blown out the shoe is still very dark.

.../archives/my_son_john.php

So, as with my previous entry, this was constructed from a three shot sequence taken with my G9 and then processed with Photomatix Pro.

As always, let me know what you think.

On an unrelated matter: one of the things I really enjoyed about Zack Arias video I linked in my previous entry was the music. The track that accompanies the video is Window, by Meghan Coffee, and is now available as a download via Zack's latest entry. Meghan also has a couple of albums on iTunes, and if you enjoyed Window you will probably also like Songs to Sail By, released in 2008. My favourite track from the album is Song Without a Name, and while it's not quite as haunting as Window it is just as good.

Earlier this evening I wrote quite a long entry to accompany this image, but just as I was about to publish the entry my computer crashed, taking the entry with it. On reflection though, I suspect I was probably waffling a bit, so I guess it's not too much of a disaster.

Anyway, I've now got a fractious small child sat in my lap, trying desperately to reach the power button on my laptop while typing with her feet, so here's the abridged version of my earlier post ...

1. I haven't had any time for photography this week as I've been writing my HDR book and my latest HDR tutorial (which will be published later this week, as a follow on to part one and part two).
2. I don't have too much to say about this one other than that it was shot this afternoon, on the beach at Blackpool's south shore, and is an HDR image constructed from three originals shot with my G9.
3. I got one other shot (possibly two) that I'll post at some point later this week.

What I also mentioned was a video I watched the other day, produced by Zack Arias. To be honest, it left me at something of a loss for words, so I'm not going to say anything about it here, other than to say that if you've ever lost your mojo, or inspiration, or struggled to appreciate your own work, you should definitely take a look:

    http://www.zarias.com/?p=284

I'm assuming that there wasn't a body inside of these clothes, well, not a dead one at least - but it did look as though the previous occupier had simply dissolved :)

And I guess that's pretty much all I have to say about this one other than to add that it's a combination of two shots - one exposed for the sky, the other for the foreground - which were then aligned and merged in Photoshop. This is a technique I described in my first Creative Workflow tutorial, but it's pretty straightforward:

1. Copy one of the layers into the other document.
2. Select both layers.
3. Edit → Auto Align Layers (if the originals aren't aligned).
4. Add a mask to blend the two layers (I used a gradient for this one).

As always, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

For some reason, nearly all the stuff I find on Fleetwood beach is man-made - old bottles, buckets, bits of old signs - so it was refreshing to come across something a bit more natural for a change. And I was tempted to produce a much more dramatic image than this one but, somehow, this one seemed better suited to a more subtle treatment.

On a totally unrelated matter: if any of you have been pondering signing up for our Photoshop tutorials, now would be a good time, as we're giving away 75 copies of our 2009 Calendar to the next 75 people who sign up for an annual subscription or lifetime membership. If you're interested, you can find out more about the tutorials and the calendar here:

http://www.chromasia.com/tutorials/online/

If you're already a subscriber, then you can also win a copy of the calendar by entering our new competition, full details of which have been posted in the members' forum.

First of all, thanks for all the kind words on my last image – it's a style I think I'll try again, so it was good to see that it was well received.

Today's though, as I'm sure you'll agree, is more my usual style: shot this afternoon on Fleetwood beach.

Update: on a totally unrelated matter ...

I've just got up and listened to Barack Obama's victory speech on the BBC News site. Very impressive :-)

Like my previous two entries, this is a partial HDR; i.e. the foreground was created with FDRTools while the sky was dropped in from the original exposure. Unlike the previous two though, this one was constructed from a single RAW file rather than a bracketed sequence. The net result is that there's more noise in this one (though it's not especially obvious at this resolution) so a bracketed sequence would have produced a technically better image. In this case though it just wasn't possible as the plastic basket was vibrating in the wind; i.e. there would have been too much movement between the different frames to produce an HDR from multiple exposures.

Having rediscovered my previous image in a folder from early 2007 I thought I'd track back a bit further through the archives in search of something else to rescue ... and came across this one. Like the previous one it's a partial HDR; i.e. the helmet and foreground were produced with FDRTools, while the sky was dropped in from the original shot.

Personally, I prefer the previous one I posted, but I'm reasonably happy with this one too.

If you're interested, the original is here:

.../archives/untitled_0073.php

I was browsing through a folder of old RAW files earlier today and came across this one. I did try to process it at the time, but couldn't come up with anything I liked. Anyway, motivated by the fact that I don't have anything else to put up, I thought I'd give it another try.

This time around I decided to try an HDR version so used Photomatix Pro to generate and tone map a pseudo-HDR image. If you take a look at the original, you'll see that this version has a lot more detail and texture, especially on the surface of the object:

.../archives/the_entrance.php

The rest of the changes were fairly straightforward (Curves, Hue/Saturation, and so on) other than that I used the sky from the original image, not the tone mapped version. If you've tried single shot HDR's you'll know that one of the major problems is that they can be quite noisy. This doesn't much matter for textured areas of an image - such as the sand and scratched object in this image - but can be very noticeable in smoother areas such as the sky.

As always, let me know what you think.

I took Rhowan and Harmony up to see what's left of the Riverdance ferry this morning. Since it got stranded at the end of January there have been several attempts to re-float it, all of which failed, so they're now dismantling it instead. I imagine that it's going to take quite some time.

As for this shot: it was taken from a similar position to this one, and it's an HDR image, constructed from a bracketed sequence of seven shots using Photomatix Pro.

I didn't get any other decent shots of the boat, but did get several of Rhowan and Harmony - well, two of Harmony and one of Rhowan - that I'll post over the next few days.

As always, let me know what you think.

Oh, and I haven't posted the EXIF data but the sequence was shot at f/8.0 at 200mm.

This is another of my 'testing my new Canon G9' images – a three shot HDR of a tyre on Blackpool beach, processed with Photomatix Pro. On the whole, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

I took part in the annual Fleetwood Wreck Trek today, a six mile walk over the sands of Morecambe Bay with guided visits to the Wyre Light (an abandoned lighthouse) and the site of Stella Marie wreckage on North Wharf Sands. When I got back I discovered that most of my shots of the lighthouse were terrible, which didn't surprise me as it was raining when we got there and the sky was dull and flat, but what did surprise me though is how much my legs ached - I obviously need to get off my bum a bit more often :-)

Anyway, my shots of what's left of the Stella Marie wreck were also pretty hopeless, but I did shoot a series of shots of this structure. As with most of my recent HDRs, this one was constructed from a seven shot sequence using Photomatix Pro.

I'll take another look of the shots I took of the Wyre Light, and the wreck, and will post something tomorrow if I can salvage any of them.

I thought it was about time for a change from all the HDR stuff so here's another one to add to the the beachcombing gallery.

When I posted Riverdance #7 I said that I wouldn't post any more shots unless something eventful happened ;– as you can see, it has – in fact two things have changed. First, it's now laying almost entirely on its side, and second, if you compare this shot to one of the first I put up, you will see that it's acquired a couple of large tanks on its hull. Apparently these will be filled with water – to act as ballast – when they try to re-float the ferry at some point over the next few days. In fact, since this was taken a few days ago, two more tanks have been added just to the left of these. If and when they do attempt to re-float it I'll try and be there to photograph it.

Oh, and I haven't posted the EXIF data as this is an HDR, constructed from three bracketed exposures.

As I mentioned yesterday, unless something especially exciting happens, or I come up with a new way to photograph this scene, this will be the last of the shots of the stranded ferry Riverdance.

As for this one: it's another attempt to capture the scale of the scene, but this time I wanted to focus on the salvage going on in and around the boat, rather than just the boat itself.

In terms of post-production, this one was relatively straightforward other than the fact that I altered the colour temperature when I processed the RAW file (as described in my first digital workflow tutorial); i.e. it's considerably warmer than the actual scene.

First of all, thanks for all the great comments on yesterday's shot. I really liked it, so it was good to hear that you did too. The downside is that it's all downhill from here, at least as far as the Riverdance is concerned, as I don't think I'm going to get a better shot than that one.

As today's: unless I can think of a new angle, or something dramatic happens, then this will probably be my penultimate shot of the Riverdance. As with yesterday's one of the things I was trying to do is capture/illustrate the scale of this boat – and I think it comes across reasonably well in this one.

Oh, and if you're wondering about the line of people in the distance, they are standing at the other side of the exclusion zone; i.e. around 800m away from where I'm standing.

I've also posted the original image, not because there's anything special about the post-production, but because I thought you might like to see the original scene:

.../archives/riverdance_6.php

When I post a shot in my beachcombing category it's normally quite a safe bet that nobody else has photographed the bucket, or piece of driftwood, or whatever else it is I happen to stumble across as I wander along the beach; i.e. there's no competition, and the shot stands or falls on its own merits (or lack of them).

In this case though, there are hundreds of photographers taking photographs of this stranded ferry, so I wanted to make sure that I got at least one decent shot today – and I'm pleased with this one. Because of the angle it was taken from, it doesn't do a great job of conveying the scale of this boat, but I'm pretty pleased with the end result nonetheless.

I haven't posted the EXIF data, as this was an HDR constructed from three bracketed exposures, but all were taken at around 180mm with my 70-200mm zoom.

As always, let me know what you think.

This is probably the last of the shots I'll be putting up from my trip the other day but I may try to shoot a couple from a different vantage point tomorrow. I did go out this morning, at around 7am, as I had two shots in mind that I wanted to try. The first was a long exposure of the waves around the boat (the tide was in this morning) but all of these ended up being blurred. I've got a pretty steady tripod, and did my best to shield it from the wind, but obviously didn't do a good enough job and they're all far too soft to post. The second shot I tried, which I may well try again tomorrow afternoon, is one from further up the coast – looking back towards the ferry and Blackpool Tower. Again, I tried this shot this morning, but by the time I got there the sky was far too bright in comparison to the water (which was still partially shaded by the coast), so none of these worked out either.

As for this shot: it's my favourite of the four I've posted so far, but do feel free to disagree.

One of the things I enjoy the most about post-production is that it allows you to create interpretative photographs rather than literal ones; i.e. it provides an opportunity to explore different ways of looking at or representing the same 'facts'. For example, I've already posted two shots of this boat: the first one was an attempt to capture the drama of the scene, while yesterday's was more literal. Today's and tomorrow's however, take a slightly different approach; i.e. they are both attempts to offer a slightly more surreal view of the same scene. This one does so using colour, while tomorrow's (my favourite of this short series) is more to do with contrast.

For me though, the important thing is that I see all of them as real images, that all express some fragment of the 'truth' about the 'reality' of this stranded ferry.

Here's a second shot of the stranded ferry Riverdance, taken about a minute after the coastguard had told us to "move at least another 300m away, please."

This is the first of a number of shots of the ferry Riverdance, which was blown ashore a couple of miles north of Blackpool last night. If you're interested, there's a BBC news report here.

So far, I've processed five shots that I like, but probably won't bore you with all of them ;-)

Oh, and this looks best with the black theme.

I'm not sure why I didn't post this one at the time it was taken, but having worked on it again I did think it was worth putting up. As with a lot of my recent work, this was processed in LAB Color mode rather than RGB, though in this instance I think I could just have easily have used RGB.

If you're interested, the original is here:

.../archives/in_the_seas_grip.php

I can't decide whether I prefer this one to the original dear liza, or dear liza #2, but I am pleased with it, mainly because I managed to bring out the detail in the bucket without the processing being too obvious. As you can see, there's quite a large difference between this version and the original:

.../iblog/archives/dear_liza_3.php

As for the processing: five masked Curves for contrast, one unmasked one to tone the image, and a Selective Color layer to add a bit of yellow to the highlights.

As always, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

I'm not an expert on fireworks, but I suspect that there are few that are more bizarrely named than this one ;-)

I didn't think I was going to get out today, but I managed to grab an hour on Fleetwood beach where I got this shot and one other that I'm happy with. And the title refers to the post-production, not the bottle: it was pretty much this lurid shade of pink when I found it.

I do have two more shots of Ryan and Fiona, and several of Fiona on her own, but in the meanwhile I thought I'd share this one; and while I've found quite a few old tyres washed up on my local beaches I didn't really expect to find one in Nassau :-)