lime – photoblog of a fruit

Brisbane Riverside Panorama

17 May 2012 | 1 Comment »

Location:

Riverside, Brisbane

The setup:

This is my first experiment with Hugin to generate a panorama. The image is made up of 12 source images. I originally shot this as a 9-bracketed exposure HDR as well but that didn’t work out so well. Definitely will try the HDR panorama on something else next time.

The camera & lens:

Camera: Canon EOS 400D
Lens: EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM @ 15mm
Exposure: 1/800″ @ f/8.0, ISO 400 x 12 images (Manual mode, to ensure same exposure throughout the whole panorama)

Post processing:

Hugin -

Load all images, press combine. This took about 30-45 minutes to process.

Lightroom 4 -

Spot Adjustment – over the whole image excluding the blues of the sky: exposure +0.5 stops, clarity +75.

What I don’t like and/or would have done differently:

I would have included another six images pointing downward, to include more of the fence in front.

I also made the rookie mistake of leaving image stabiliser on. It is useless for tripod, and can make things worse.

I originally wanted to do an HDR panorama, but that is not as easy! Hugin took >24 hours and still had not completed. I gave up. There are a few other options for an HDR panorama which I’ll try later on.

What do you think?

All constructive criticism is welcome! Please let me know what you think, and what you don’t like about the picture. Everything is on the table, including the setup, equipment used, and the post processing. Nothing is off-limits and I’m always eager to learn!

No raws available for this image.

2012-05-04 12:20pm

Category(s): Licence: CC-BY-NC-SA

Penguin Dive

15 May 2012 | No Comments »

Location:

Seaworld, Southport

The setup:

At the penguin tank, I took many photos trying to get an engaging pose. I had a limited number of places that I could stand where there were not any reflections on the glass from lights and other spectators.

The camera & lens:

Camera: Canon EOS 400D
Lens: Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX-DC
Exposure: 1/200″ @ f/2.0, ISO 1600

Post processing:

Lightroom 4 -

Presence: Exposure +0.4 stops, highlights +25, shadows -25, whites +50, blacks -75
Noise reduction: Luminance +50

What I don’t like and/or would have done differently:

…

What do you think?

If you’d like to try your hand at editing this image, you can download the original sized image:

Please post the result as a comment and say how you did it!
(Click here for some tips for how to post an image as a comment.)

2012-02-04 12:15pm

Category(s): Licence: CC-BY-NC-SA

Transmission Line Star Trails

11 May 2012 | 2 Comments »

Location:

Blackstone, near the junction of Redbank Plains Rd and the M15 (Cunningham Hwy)

The setup:

This picture is a total exposure of 1 hr 44 mins. The location has the transmission towers for foreground interest, but also has a lot of interfering lights. I set up the camera and intervelometer, then hid away in the car, checking periodically. I was actually out there for half an hour more than this, but the battery seems to have died shortly after the 1h44m mark.

I spent several hours over two days editing and pondering about the final effect. This is plainly overprocessed, and is not a realistic picture by any measure. I think there’s perhaps a bit too much going on here, however it does fit in with the recent theme of light painting.

Since my lens hood has not yet arrived from HK, I blutacked some black cardboard to the side of the lens, though that only helped with the side flare.

The camera & lens:

Camera: Canon EOS 400D
Lens: EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM @ 15mm
Exposure: 13 x 480″ exposures @ f/8.0, ISO 100 = 1h44m total exposure.

Post processing:

Before and After:

Source Images:

StarStax: (Version 1) –

Load and combine all 13 exposures.

Here it gets slightly non-linear. I ended up with two different treatments of the image (version 2 and version 3) that both had good and bad points, which I’ll lay out below.

Lightroom 4: Version 2 -

Import version 1
Presence: highlights +75, shadows -100, whites +75, clarity +80
Curves: lights +70, darks -85, shadows -100
Noise reduction: luminance +50

Lightroom 4: Version 3 -

Import version 2 as a basis
Presence: exposure -0.75 stops
Luminance colour shift: red -40, orange +25, yellow -100

I wanted some aspects of version 2 (the orange transmission lines), and some aspects of version 3 (more stars, more colour splashes). I couldn’t figure out a way to achieve this in Lightroom, so exported both as TIFs and moved to Photoshop.

Photoshop Elements 7: Version 4

Loaded version 2 as one layer, and loaded version 3 as another layer with 50% opacity.

Lightroom 4: Version 5 -

Import version 4. All edits below are in addition to all of the edits above.
Presence: Clarity +100, exposure +0.85 stops, shadows +75, white clipping +100, black clipping -70.
Noise reduction: Luminance +50 (this last step of adjustments brought out a lot of noise).

What I don’t like and/or would have done differently:

Having my lens hood would have helped. Having a battery in better shape would help as well. As below, my (now) 5.5 year old battery has trouble keeping up with this high usage.

What do you think?

Category(s): Licence: CC-BY-NC-SA

Tag(s): startrails

Rub-a-dub-dub

11 May 2012 | No Comments »

Location:

Loganlea, Logan City

The setup:

Deanna gave the three kids a bath – thanks Deanna! The kids enjoyed themselves.

Trivia: Conor said that Nicholas would have been named Evelyn, had he been born a girl.

The camera & lens:

Camera: Canon EOS 400D
Lens: Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX-DC
Exposure: 1/100″ @ f/2.0, ISO 1600

Post processing:

Lightroom 4 -

Presence: Highlights +45, Shadows -25, Whites +50, Blacks +30, Clarity +45
Noise reduction: Luminance +50
Spot adjustment on Amelia, the shadow area from Deanna, exposure +1.4 stops

What I don’t like and/or would have done differently:

The shallow depth of field meant that

What do you think?

No raw images available.

Apr 22, 2012 @ 18:45

Category(s): Licence: No Re-Use

Queens Park Orb #2

06 May 2012 | No Comments »

Location:

Queens Park, Ipswich

The setup:

After an evening of unsuccessful drain exploring (and really wet shoes), Al and I headed for Queens Park and he did some light painting. I am taking notes.

This is a greenhouse at Queens Park. Alan lightpainted with blue and green strobes, orange torch and the red orb. The moon was quite bright tonight, so moonlight overpowered most of the added light.

The camera & lens:

Camera: Canon EOS 400D
Lens: EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM @ 15mm
Exposure: 300″ @ f/6.3, ISO 100 (M, intervalometer)

Post processing:

Lightroom 4 -

(Set white balance to tungsten in-camera – Al’s idea)
Presence: Exposure +0.5 stops, highlights +20, shadows -25, whites +25
Curves: lights +30
Noise reduction: luminance +30
ACR lens profile correction for EF-S 15-85mm
Spot adjustment to the sky: clarity +100 (to bring out more stars)

What I don’t like and/or would have done differently:

I would have allowed in more light. I was able to lighten it in post. This would work better with a new moon rather than full moon.

What do you think?

Category(s): Licence: CC-BY-NC-SA

Tag(s): light painting

Queens Park Orb #1

06 May 2012 | No Comments »

Location:

Queens Park, Ipswich

The setup:

After an evening of unsuccessful drain exploring (and really wet shoes), Al and I headed for Queens Park and he did some light painting. I am taking notes.

The camera & lens:

Camera: Canon EOS 400D
Lens: EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM @ 15mm
Exposure: 120″ @ f/10, ISO 100 (M, intervalometer)

Post processing:

Lightroom 4 -

(Set white balance to tungsten in-camera – Al’s idea)
Presence: Exposure +1.7 stops, shadows +30, whites +55, blacks -25, clarity +25
Noise reduction: Luminance +50
ACR lens profile for EF-S 15-85mm, with distortion +200

What I don’t like and/or would have done differently:

I would have allowed in more light. I was able to lighten it in post.

What do you think?

Category(s): Licence: CC-BY-NC-SA

Tag(s): light painting

Seven Hills Tafe #3 Orb

28 Apr 2012 | 1 Comment »

Location:

Seven Hills Tafe, Brisbane

The setup:

If ever you’ve wanted or needed a reason to shoot raw, here is one. I arrived late to the location and didn’t check my settings before starting to shoot. I thought the shot was a write-off, but with nothing to lose, I fiddled with sliders in Lightroom and ended up with this result.

The camera & lens:

Camera: Canon EOS 400D
Lens: Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX-DC
Exposure: 302″ @ f/2.8, ISO 1600 (Intervalometer – the ISO setting was a BIG mistake)

Post processing:

Lightroom 4 -

Presence: Exposure -4.7 stops, contrast +100, highlights -100, shadows +100, whites +50, blacks +100, clarity +100 (yes, most sliders to their maximums or minimums)
Curves: Highlights +75, lights +100, darks +100
Noise reduction: Luminance +50
ACR lens correction for Sigma 30mm

What I don’t like and/or would have done differently:

Obviously I would have chosen ISO 100, and probably f/8 as well.
This would have been much better with my wide angle lens (I broke my 18-55 on Friday).

What do you think?

Category(s): Licence: CC-BY-NC-SA

Tag(s): light painting, urbex

Seven Hills Tafe #2

28 Apr 2012 | 1 Comment »

Location:

Seven Hills TAFE, Brisbane

The setup:

Alan Warren, AKA The Best Photographic Buddy A Guy Could Have, obtained permission to be on the property and access these abandoned buildings. I arrived (very) late, and then hung around after everyone else had gone home.

This picture is a composite of two shots. I tried a few different ideas, but my attempts to do this in one shot weren’t working out. I was starting to get a bit creeped out being along in this place and I didn’t have the patience to do a full five minute exposure.

The first shot of this composite was me shining the torch directly at the lens for about half a second during a 30 second exposure. When this did not capture any of the ambient scene, I took the second shot with me behind the camera, lighting the scene with the screen of my phone for a 25 second exposure. I then combined them in Photoshop (details below).

The camera & lens:

Camera: Canon EOS 400D
Lens: Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX-DC + polariser

Torch photo: Exposure: 25″ @ f/8.0, ISO 800 (Intervalometer, 30 second delay so I could get in to position in front of the camera)
Ambient photo: Exposure: 30″ @ f/3.5, ISO 1600 (Intervalometer, no delay)

Post processing:

Photoshop Elements 7 -

New image, with the two source images each in their own layer.
Adjustment layer set to Lighten Colour, with opacity 100%

Lightroom 4 -

Presence: exposure -1.1 stops, shadows -100, whites -100, blacks +27, clarity +100
Curves: darks +70, shadows -25
Noise reduction: luminance +50
Graduated filter to bring some detail back into the picture on the left: exposure +0.7, clarity +100 (again!), contrast -100

What I don’t like and/or would have done differently:

Doing the exposure for five minutes would probably have worked out in one exposure. I’m happy with the result of combining the two shots though.

What do you think?

If you’d like to try your hand at editing this image, you can download the original sized image:
Source 1 (Torch):

Source 2 (Ambient):

Please post the result as a comment and say how you did it!
(Click here for some tips for how to post an image as a comment.)

Category(s): Licence: CC-BY-NC-SA

Tag(s): light painting, urbex

Seven Hills Tafe #1

28 Apr 2012 | 1 Comment »

Location:

Seven Hills Tafe, Brisbane

The setup:

Alan Warren, AKA The Best Photographic Buddy A Guy Could Have, obtained permission to be on the property and access these abandoned buildings. A few things worked against me this time: I have broken my 18-55 lens, so no wide angle; plus Evelyn wouldn’t sleep, so by the time I got there, everyone was packing up. Alan, Ollie and Sam very kindly came back in with me and Ollie did some more light painting, though without wide angle lens, I wasn’t able to capture them effectively.

When the boys set off home, I stayed behind to set up some shots. This shot was of me walking down the hall, pointing the floor as I ambled along for about 45 seconds. The dark line on the left is a shadow created because I was carrying the torch in my right hand. For the last 15 seconds, I lit up the room at the end of the hall from the doorway, which also resulted in my silhouette.

The camera & lens:

Camera: Canon EOS 400D
Lens: Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX-DC
Exposure: 60″ @ f/8.0, ISO 100 (Intervalometer)

Post processing:

Lightroom 4 -

Presence: Exposure +1.7 stops, highlights +25, shadows -15, whites +35, blacks -40
Graduated filter on the left side wall, so that the light drop-off matched the right side wall
Spot adjustment filter on the right side roof to match the left side roof
Colour temperature to minimum (2000)
Noise reduction: Luminance +50

What I don’t like and/or would have done differently:

I had a few ideas going in, but had not practiced them. There are a lot of things that I could have done differently. The first idea that didn’t work out was to paint the walls with light, but I was doing this from behind the camera and my torch’s beam is strong, but a too broad.

Things to try next time I find a long hall:

Actually walk up the hall and paint with the light from up close
Setting myself up in the middle of the frame and lighting my face with the torch, to create a floating spectre

I guess I can trial these in my back yard and shed to see the effect before I go on site next.

What do you think?

Category(s): Licence: CC-BY-NC-SA

Tag(s): light painting, urbex

Drain Graffiti

19 Apr 2012 | No Comments »

Location:

Underwood, Brisbane

The setup:

Alan and Mick invited me to a drain in Brisbane’s south… for light painting. Final shot for the night: Alan set up his four LED lights pointing at the grafitti. Mick set his camera for long exposure, and I sat to the right copying his steps and settings, but with a different angle and lens.

The camera & lens:

Camera: Canon EOS 400D
Lens: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II @ 18mm + 0.42x macro filter (7.6mm equiv)
Exposure: 120″ @ f/7.1, ISO 800 (M – bulb – intervalometer)

Post processing:

Lightroom 4 -

Presence: exposure +0.7 stops, highlights +20, shadows -100, clarity +50
Noise reduction: luminance +50
ACR lens correction for Sigma 8mm fisheye – this profile leads to completely straight lines, which is what I had in mind when taking the shot.
Crop out the really distorted bits created by the last step.

What I don’t like and/or would have done differently:

This is exactly what I was going for.

What do you think?

Category(s): Licence: CC-BY-NC-SA

Tag(s): graffiti, light painting, urbex

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