Plugin’s
Google Nik software
I’m sure you have heard about the Google Nik software suite offer by now. …no? well then, get this… It turns out that Google has reduced the price on the entire Nik software suite to an affordable $149. The Suite includes all the famous and popular plugins: Define 2, Sharpner Pro 3, HDR Efex 2, Silver Efex Pro 2,Viveza 2 and Color Efex Pro 4. Works with Adobe Photoshop CS, Adobe Lightroom and Aperture.
The price is $149, but if you are a NAPP member you can get it for $127. If you are not a member, a quick google search for Nik software coupons you get a link like this that will save you 15%.
Even better, if you already own a earlier version of the suite or just one of the 6 plug-ins, you can get the entire suite for free. If you have registered your product, you should have a mail from google by now in you inbox with a download link. If you don’t, check your spam folder, that’s where i found my email from Google.
I really look forward to take some time and play with the different plugs in from Nik.
OnOne Perfect Photo Suite 7
Most of my images takes a trip through this suite in one way or another. I use Perfect Effects for the final tweaks and stylization. I particularly like Tonal Contrast, the Big Softy and HDR look Natural. I have used Perfect Resize with greats success a few times. And Perfect Black & White is quite amazing if you ask me. This version works of course with Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture. But even better, this suite also is a stand-alone collection of software, meaning you can use this with out Photoshop etc. Just launch Perfect Layers and you are good to go. It’s a great plugin to have and I recommend you at least give it a trial – free of course. Prices starts at $79. Actually, now you can download Perfect Effects 4 for free!! And a bunch of cool presets as well. No charge. Gotta love that!
Oh.. I almost forgot the OnOne training centre where guys like Brian Matiash give you tips, tricks and inspiration on how to get the most out of your investment. An absolutely outstanding resource.
Merge to 32-bit HDR Plug-in for Lightroom
The last plugin I use is one I found recently. Its made by the good folks at HDRsoft who makes the well-known and highly recommended Photomatix HDR software. This little plug-in is made for Lightroom 4, and what it does is combining your selected brackets to a 32 bit tif file, that you can edit in Lightroom, making your Lighroom 4 software a great tool for HDR shots. It does that without going into the main Photomatix program or Photoshop for that matter. Lightroom 4 has the ability to work with 32 bit files. The advantage of a 32 bit file is that it gives you a +10/-10 f-stop range, that you can control in great detail by using the brush adjustment tool in Lightroom. It’s quick to use, and gives a result that looks better than what Photoshop CS6 can do in my opinon.
The plugin costs $29 but if you already own Photomatix, you get it for free.
Click the headings for a link to the download site.
Bridal Veil Falls – Summer
Summer…ah.. can’t wait. It is my absolute favorite time of year. After 4-5 months of winter it feels great to lose the big coat and the long-johns.
- It’s time for the 3rd season from the falls in Kagawong, Manitoulin Island, also known as Bridal Veil Falls. If you missed the other two, click here and here. The opening shot is taken in early June – well both are actually. Again this time, its has a snapshot look to it, but thought it was worth putting up here on the blog.
As I mentioned in my last post, I usually stop here for lunch when I go by on my way to Gore Bay. (A well-informed source has told me that the chip stand across the road from the falls should be pretty good. I’m gonna have to try that this year). Anyway, this shot is taken basically at noon. Not much sunlight down at the bottom, huh? But plenty at the top, on the bushes and the crest. It can be a bit tricky to get a good shot here when the sun is out, with out using bracketed exposures. The shot above is combined with 5 frames , and I was lucky that the couple under falls didn’t move much during my exposure. I left them in there to get a sense of scale. The shot is taken from the same vantage point as the two previous posts.
As you can see in the shot, the water that is going over the edge has slowed down a bit compared to the spring shots. At the end of the fall it gets even worse, as you will see in my last segment from this location on my next post.
The falls goes over the edge in two places. The main one of course, and then a smaller to the right of it. If you remember the winter shot from a couple of weeks ago, that’s why the crack in the ice fall occur But at this time of year, it’s just dripping from small one, and in the shade from the big trees there are some very saturated green colored moss which I couldn’t resist to shoot as well.
Enjoy.
Bridal Veil Falls – Spring
We had a “short” heat wave up here last week. Temperatures around the 5°C /40°F. That got things melting, but sure enough, it didn’t last long, so now we are left with some extremely dirty looking snow piles, black and brown from the salt, sand and exhaust. It’s not very pretty to look at. But of course being in Northern Ontario, we probably still have a snowstorm or two to deal with before it’s all said and done. Currently we are back below freezing but its going the right way. It is so nice to feel the heat from the sun as it gets higher in the sky.
Last week I posted a winter shot from Bridal Veil Falls. I thought I would keep going and post some pictures I took in the spring of 2011. They are not exactly fine art shots, but I thought they would tell a story of the spring thaw anyway. They are shot in May, and I’m sure by then the spring thaw has peaked, but it was still a cool to see the amount of water that’s going over that edge, especially when you compare that to a shot taken in late…which I’ll be posting next weekend ehm.. time.
The opening shot is taken from one of two viewing platforms that over looks the falls. I think this particular one is the lower one. This time of year, I would not go any closer to the falls, because my equipment and I would get absolutely soaked. As you walk down the metal stairs towards the trail, that by the way goes from the falls to downtown Kagawong, you will feel the cold mist coming from the falls on your face. Standing at the bottom of the stairs on the trail looking back, right around that corner are the falls and a spring shower if you get to close… The mist is clearly visible, and even standing here, you can feel it. The trail is borderline muddy, the stairs are wet and slippery, so hang on to the rail and wear practical shoes if you go for a peak your self. And you should… 
The Kagawong River or creek runs out in the big Lake Huron, and I found 4 shots in my library that was taken from the same spot right in sequence I put them together in PS and saved it as an animated gif. You may have to click on the image to view the animation. It kind of gives you an idea how this little river or creek really comes to life when spring arrives.
Thanks for stopping by.
Enjoy.
Bridal Veil Falls – Winter
Just about once a month, I have the pleasure to go to Manitoulin Island which by the way is the worlds biggest island in a freshwater body. My last stop there is Gore Bay, and to get there I drive right by the beautiful Bridal Veil Falls in Kagawong. It’s a very popular place and guaranteed visited by every single tourist and local that has ever been on this island.
The fall is about 2 hours from my office, and depending on the time, I usually pull over here for a quick lunch, and of course a peak at the falls. So by going there between 12-15 times a year, I get to observe the changes that happens there. The spring thaw, where it’s almost impossible to be at the foot of the falls because of the spray. During the summer where there almost no water is going over the edge. In the fall the salmon comes up-stream to spawn and die right in the pool at the bottom of the falls. That is the end of the road river for them as there are no way of getting further up. And then of course winter where the 35′ tall fall freezes solid. It looks amazing, so i thought i would share a shot from that location. You are actually able to walk behind the falls through the opening on the right, and you will come out on the other side of the pool. Getting wet is a possibility because water is still running behind the ice build up.
On this trip, i did not bring my boots, so I did not venture down the stairs to the bottom of the falls. But the viewing platform was accessible, so this is what you’ll get this time.
Getting a decent lighting in this location is tough because the river runs north out into Lake Huron, so it’s not a sunrise or sunset location. On both sides are steep hills with tall trees, and to get any light down by the pool, you will have to wait until noon, which is not really a good time to shoot landscape. As always with fast flowing water, I prefer a cloudy day at this location to get a sense of moving water using slow shutter speeds.
To give a sense of size, I included the picture on the right, shot in mid March 2012. At this point the spring thaw was well under way, and the whole scene was not as pristine as you can see on the brownish colors of the snow and ice. Where I’m standing is right at the entrance to walk behind the falls as mentioned above.
Enjoy.
The Bush Road
Shortly after returning home from my holidays, I was going on a trip that would take me deep into the bush. Well, deep is probably an exaggeration to some, but about 20 clicks up an unknown gravel road is far enough for me at this time of year. I have to say that this road was an extremely well maintained one of the kind. In fact that particular day, this gravel road, – this snow-covered gravel road, was the best road I drove on that day.
Highway 11 which is a main 4 lane high way had a lot icy sections mainly in the right hand lane. Which made it a bit of a dicey drive especially when other cars and trucks were passing. A couple of cars had indeed ended up in the ditch due to the road conditions. The reason for the icy roads was due to a bit of a warm spell a couple of days before – thaw, freezing rain, and then some flash freezing and just to make it really interesting – a nice dump of snow to cover it all up. This day, the temperature was well below -25°C / -13°F, so road salt wouldn’t have made any difference what so ever.
After finishing my call at my customer, I headed back down the gravel road. The sun was higher in the sky, and some ice fog or mist was forming between the trees. I was so happy i had brought my camera that day, because it was absolutely gorgeous in there. Extremely cold, fresh snow on the trees, well-groomed road, no wind, blue sky and sunshine – perfect conditions for a winter shot. I made a few different shots on my way back to civilization, and this is one of them.
Now, I can’t really decide which one I like the best. Black & White or color. Scroll down to see the colored version. I like both, but I chose to feature the black and white – in my opinion it has a slight edge over the other one. The reason for trying the black and white conversion was the almost given due to the almost colorless scene, even with the blue sky, and I think it turned out pretty good. B/W conversion was done in the Perfect B & W module of the OnOne Perfect Suite 7. Final tweaks done in LR4.
Feel free to click on the images for a large view.
Oh, one more thing before I forget. As you probably have noticed, my blogging is not exactly regular, (some would say very irregular, but I’m trying…).
Please know that I really do value your visit, your comments, input and critiques, so please consider subscribing to my blog and you will get a reminder in your inbox when a new post is up. The subscription box is on the bottom of this post.
Enjoy.
Fall shots – IV
Please click the image for a larger view.
I wanted to show you this 4 image panorama I made from this location. Kind of gives you a nice view from the vantage point under the highway bridge. Gorgeous place. I hope to find time to go there again one morning and to find more mist on the water. Of course, this time of year, it’s a totally different image. Colors and leaves are gone, so it’s a bit sad to look at right now to be honest, but i think with the right light and a bit fog, it can be quite interesting. A reminder for next time, a slightly longer lens (this is shot with a 35mm), and perhaps shooting the panorama with the camera vertical. It is a wee bit narrow…
Enjoy.
Fall at the falls – III
Please click on the image for a larger view.
Time to get close to the water. This is what I really like to shot. To take in the details in the rocks, the flow of the water, and the incredible colors you get this time of year. Often, you will see the colors of the trees reflect in the small rapids.
Enjoy. :)
Fall at the falls – II
Please click on the image for a larger view.
Where im standing while taking this shot and the shot in the next post, is actually under water during the spring thaw. It’s the very top part of the Onaping falls, or High Falls as some call it. You can see where the water level usually runs when the river is at its peak. As you probably have noticed if you have seen my pictures on this blog, I LOVE to get close in on the falls. I like this shot, but when i got home I realized that the top right corner is blown out. I could crop it out, but it makes the shot boring, so I left it in. I guess I need to get a split grad filter for next time.
Oh by the way. In case you missed the first shot in the mini-series, just click here. For more fall colors, or just to check out my site, click here.
My posting of new shots is not exactly regular, so if you like, you can subscribe to my blog and get a notification that way. You can find the subscribe box just below the comment box.
Fall shots – III
Please click on the image for a larger view.
One more from the Hwy 17 over pass. Same location as this shot, but this vantage point is from under one of the bridges looking south, as you can see on the google map. It’s definitively an area ill will revisit again.
Fall shots – II
Click on the image for a larger view.
I got a few more fall shots I would like to share. (My first Fall shots post is here). Still on Hwy 17 west of Sudbury in Northern Ontario. It’s always a treat when the water is calm, and the reflections is like mirrored perfectly.
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It is written on stone
Nikon D300, Nikkor 16-35mm f4 @ 24mm, f5.6, 1/180 sec, ISO200
I surprised my self, and got up early this morning in search for a picture at High Falls in Onaping. I think I got a few keepers that I will share in a later post. After the sun was getting higher in the sky, I decided to explore a bit above the falls. I found what looks to be a good sunset location so ill try to get back there later. On the way, I came across the image you see above, and i thought it was too good to pass up. High Falls is unfortunately littered with graffiti on the rocks because it’s so accessible, especially in the summer where the water levels are low. There are several marriage proposals, X loves Y, and Z was here. To be frank, I wish people would respect the falls beauty and stop painting on the rocks. That said, the graffiti on the rocks in the shot above stood out, so I had to shoot it.
This guy went all out and poured his feelings for his sweetheart out on the rocks, just above the falls. I’m not sure if its readable when it’s scaled down so here is the text letter for letter.
“So here it goes
I’ll try my Best
to explain to you
whats on my chest
I know I can LOVE
when I see the world in you
And your eyes everywhere in the world
Your important to ME in every way
I would tell you that Everyday
To me your the one
your my modivation
our potential to be together
feels as though it would last 4 ever
I want to be ur man
And plan
everything
I can to assure u’ll
be a happy
girl”
It looks like he was running out of space at the end. That would make sense if he wrote this in the spring, where the water level would be just off the bottom of the frame.
Of course it’s not the most inspiring poem ever written, but he definitively put an effort into it. Who knows if his sweetheart read it and what happened after.
Glen Haven, MI
Nikon D300, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4, 16mm, f/16, 1/125sec, ISO200
I’ll kick this week of with a shot from the Scott Kelby’s 2011 World Wide Photo Walk. I sure hope you got to do a walk near your location, if not, try to make time for next year. I had to pleasure to do two walks that October weekend, the unofficial one in Glen Haven, MI and the official one in Traverse City, MI. I have already posted one shot from the Glen Haven walk on this blog (click here), and here is another one. It’s the path from the old Coast Guard Station, (now a museum) down to the beach.
It’s definitively a place I would like to go back to sometime next year. Beautiful place.
More falls colors
Nikon D300, Nikkor 15-35mm f/4, 35mm, f/6.7, 1/750sec, ISO20
It’s time for some more fall-fireworks from High Falls in Onaping, Ontario. Please feel free to click on the images for a larger 1200px view.
Above is from the trail that takes you along the falls and into the bush. If you walk far enough you will eventually end up on a look out that is over grown by now. Its called Sudbury Basin Lookout. Beautiful spot, but the sun was in the wrong place to get a usable shot from there.
Nikon D300, Nikkor 15-35mm f/4, 35mm, f/9.5, 1/125sec, ISO200
One more from the trail. This shot was also posted on Google+
Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-300mm f/4, 70mm, f/27, 1/2sec, ISO200
After walking in the bush for a couple of hours with a heavy backpack, I’m back at the falls dead tired and sweating like a ..well you know what I mean. I got there just in time for the late afternoon sun hitting the trees across the falls, which reflects these amazing green and golden colors along with the sky in the water. I could not pass this opportunity to grab a few shots of that. Absolutely gorgeous place.
Before I sign off, I want to say a huge Thank you for all your nice comments and tweets. Please know that they are all very much appreciated.
Fall colors at High Falls
Nikon D300, Nikkor 18-200, 29mm, f/27, 1.0 sec, ISO100, B+W circular polarizer
As mentioned in an earlier post, the weather has been outstanding up here lately. So there is no excuse, just get out there and shoot. I have explored the High Falls in Onaping, Ontario af few times now, and it changes every time I’m up there. The shots in this post are from the end of September, at the peak of the color show. I decided to put more than one shot up today, because I have a lot of shots from this place, and my blogging has been a bit on the slow side lately. It is nice to have some new ammo, so here we go.
Oh btw, if you are on a big monitor, feel free to click the images for a larger view.
The top shot is from the basin at the top of the falls. The incredible colors of the late afternoon sun on the trees and the sky paints the water. Amazing place to shot when it looks like this.
Nikon D300, Nikkor 18-200, 27mm, f/8, 1/3 sec, ISO200, B+W circular polarizer
This shot is roughly half way down the falls. At this time of year the water flow in the falls are really low, so there are plenty of opportunity to get very close to the rocks and the falls. It’s a very different story in the spring…
Nikon D300, Nikkor 16-35 f/4, 35mm, f/11, 0.7 sec, ISO200
The last big drop before the water slows down and continue its run down the Onaping River.
Photowalk 2011 – Glen Haven, MI
Nikon D300, Nikkor 16-35mm f4, f/8.0, 1/350 sec, ISO200, 23 mm, 8 frame pano
It has been a tradition of mine to go outside the country to take part in the World Wide Photo Walk events. I have done that in 2009 and 2010, (both Denmark) so why should 2011 be any different. This year I went to Traverse City, MI. Traverse City and area is an absolutely gorgeous place this time of year. The fall colors are just about peaking, and the landscape is very inviting with lots of hills, beaches, dunes, wineries and orchards. Traverse City claims to be Cherry capital of the world – and that’s probably very true. I urge anyone within driving distance to check it out. Beautiful place.
I had the opportunity to attend two walks. Yes, I know you can only register for one, but that does not prohibit any one for tacking along another group, as long as you notify and get the OK from the leader of the walk. You can of course not submit photos for the competition. Well, I had no problem getting the OK from Ken Snyder, who was the leader of the walk in Glen Haven, MI – Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
This place is just gorgeous. Incredible beach and the dunes are just spectacular. I wish we had more time to explore the area and check out the Coast Guard museum, but that will have to be next time.
Above is a 8 frame pano from the Dunes overlooking the lake. Very strong winds that day, but thankfully no rain.
Busy week
Wheew, what a crazy week. Went camping with the kids on the Canada Day long weekend, where I had a chance to shoot some fireworks. This was my first time trying this. Example above and below. Here is what I found tough that night about this type of photography.
- Focus – where do you focus? Its pitch black and for a quick second you get a short burst of light. That’s all there was to aim at. Of course auto focus is out of the question. So it was a bit of a guessing game on my part. I picked a small aperture, so I tried to imagine how far out the fireworks would go and focus about a third into the scene on manual focusing. The depth of field should hopefully take care of the rest. I did get some sharp images, but also a fair bit of blurred images, so perhaps the lens I was using has a problem with focus creep (if that is even possible) when the camera is tilted up wards. I have to look into that a bit more.
- The bugs – The camp ground was on a lake, so of course they would shoot the fireworks out over the lake. So I picked a spot just by the shore about 100 ft away from where they were launching. I got bitten by mosquitoes so bad on my left hand that I had a hard time bending my fingers the next day. My neck and face was in the all-you-can-eat/drink zone too, so that was not fun at all. Next time, I’ll bring a bug-jacket. I just didn’t want to take the chance and spray bug spray on me and then by accident get some on my gear. I hear that stuff is pretty aggressive.
Back at work for Monday and Tuesday, then of to Toronto for Scott Kelby’s Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It seminar, which by the way was absolutely outstanding. If he brings this seminar close to a city near you, sign up – you wont be disappointed. I also had the pleasure of meeting Terry White at this seminar. Great guy and extremely helpful.
A couple of busy days back at work before the weekend, this time fighting of a cold I probably got at camp. I’m still a bit under the weather but its going the right way.
Being off-line for a week means that I still haven’t caught up on all the blogs I usually visit, I’m working on it though. But boy did I miss some good ones this week. Like Mike Olbinski’s Phoenix Haboob time-lapse movie. Scott Wood also made a movie of the event. The time-lapse movies these guys made was just spectacular, and congrats on all the attention they got out of it. Simply amazing.
Then there was Zack Arias review of the Fuji x100 camera. Best review I have read in ages! Check it out. A guy next to me at the seminar had just purchased this camera at a store in Toronto the day before and I had the pleasure of checking it out. Very nice camera, with some great features.
I hope within the next couple of days I get around to all of your posts. In the mean time, take care.
More skies…
Nikon D300, Nikkor 16-35mm f4, 16mm, f/8, 1/2000sec, ISO200
I was out doing a bit of Geocaching just outside of town, around mid May this year, there where still no leaves on the trees. One cache took me to the top of one of the peaks – about 985 ft ~ 300 meters above sea level. Great look from there over one of the lakes. While I was logging the cache, the skies just got really dark to the right on the image, which is roughly over the down town area and you could see the rain coming down – probably pretty hard. At the same time, the sun was shining through a thin layer of clouds to the left of the image. I had to shoot it because it started to look really cool and dramatic. I was kind of hoping that the B/W conversion would convey that.
Watch your step…
Nikon D300, Nikkor 16-35mm f4, 29mm @f8, ISO200, 9 frames
I think this will be the last one in this mini series from the old farm-house on Hwy 17. The other two posts are here and here. I have had a ton of fun processing these, trying different techniques and methods.
This image was inspired by Rob Hanson’s newest, amazing and in-depth hour-long HDR Processing Technique tutorial. Link to it here. I can’t wait to try it on some landscape brackets.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or a critique.
Come on in…
Nikon D300, Nikkor 16-35mm f4, 16mm, f/8, ISO200, 9 frames
Quick post today with the second shot from the abandoned farm-house of Hwy 17, just outside Blind River, Ontario. Here is a quick link the earlier post from this place.
Every time I look at this image, I’m amazed how trashed it is. Can you tell I haven’t done a lot of UrbanEx? I do know when I go by there again, I’m going to spend a bit more time shooting. There are so many details in this house that I missed last time.
Time to step it up…
- Nikon D300, 30mm, f6.7, ISO200 9 brackets
Its time for some HDR on this site. It was one of the reasons I started this blog. – to get better at tonemapping. I have watched guys like Mike Olbinski, Brian Matiash, Bob Lussier, and Jacques Gude for a while now. Since I started this “blog” my list of sites to visit has grown quite large and new ones are added all the time. There are some really amazing photography on all those sites. I will have an updated my blog roll list to show that very soon.
On to todays RuralEx image. Ghost towns or abandoned factories are hard to come by in and around my town. But on Highway 17, just outside Blind River, Ontario, is a couple of candidates. 2 abandoned farm houses, just about 100 feet from the Hwy, a couple of miles apart. The image above is the stairs to the second floor just inside the front door of one of them. I have wanted to shot that place for a long time, so a few weeks ago, I finally had a chance to do something about it. The next couple of posts will be brackets from this house.
I would appreciate any comments or hints about how I can improve. My tool box is Photomatix Pro, OnOne suite 5.5, LR 3 and PS CS 4.
