I will be presenting at this years NECCC Photographic Conference from July 12 to the 14 at the University of Massachusetts. Please consider attending if you are in the area!
I have posted a short video on what the session will be covering that my dog and I made today (she says to watch it to the very end)!
Long Exposure In Charleston, SC, 30 seconds with a 6 stop B+W ND
I was in Charleston, SC last weekend with the a7rii camera system to see how far I could push it! I find the Sony system to be refreshingly powerful and very capable of any style of photography I desire to shoot. The Image above of the boat house (Sunrise) was just another example of the power of this system. I was looking for some long exposure and the water of Charleston Harbor was very smooth to start, with only 6 to 12 inch waves. The sunrise was blocked by a tremendous super cell thunderstorm system so I just concentrated on the boathouse and smoothing out the water. I was using the Sony FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS lens at 150mm with a 6 stop B+W ND filter attached which was giving a 30 second exposure. I was sure that 30 seconds would give me a very smooth water (which it did). I also desired to capture detail in the stormy clouds but keep the white water. I metered the waters surface and placed it in Zone 7.5 (what! You do not know the zone system? Shame…. We will have to fix this!). This at ISO 50 and f/16 gave me a 30 second exposure and allowed the 14 stop dynamic range of the camera to capture both the withe of the water as well as cloud details!
Granted, the Sony has a LARGE menu system but the provide you so many programmable custom buttons AND several system setup memories that you can with the turn of a control knob chance the camera functions over to the specific style of shooting you desire! In my case, I have the M2 memory setup for long exposures, and by simply turning the command dial to M2 the camera is ready for long exposures!
Miss Lulu, Georgetown, SC
Here is another example of the amazing capture ability of the Sony. This is the shrimper Miss Lulu on the dock in Georgetown, SC last Monday morning. The water of the bay was at slack tide, super high and mirror smooth. I decided that for this image I wanted B&W but still captured it in color since a color starting image gives the best B&W conversion. I was using the Sony/Zeiss FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS lens at ISO 100 at f/8 with a shutter speed of 1/320 second. I waited till a Pelican flew into the scene from behind the boat for the capture. The clouds were slight but still stunning but the boat and its reflection really made the image.
As I said, During my pre-visualitlation of this image I decides upon monochrom with a flying bird. I setup the boa further into the image space to allow for a bird to fly into the scene and balancing the overall image with the boat centered with the trees on the right. This is not a simple snap shot, a lot of thought went into its setup!
Shrimp Boats are one of my favorite subjects and each and every time I happen by them they always present something new and different!
Bodie Island Light, M Monochrome
In my continuing love affair with the Leica M Monochrome camera system I have learned more each day towards creating amazing etherial B&W art… Keep in mind that I have been shooting B&W film (35mm, 6×7 and 4×5) for several decades and know and understand the process very well. But using the Monochrome is such an easy progression that it seams as though the camera is leading me down this path on its own. Yes there is some small post processing to be done using Nik Filters Silver EFX and once in a while I will add some Viveza as well, but for the most part it is almost perfect out of the camera as long as you get the exposure correct in the shooting!
Leica Tri-Elmar 16 – 18 – 21 mm Lens
In the image below of the shrimper Stormy Seas, I used the Leica Tri-Elmar set in 16mm. There is no image distortion from such a wide angle and it is sharp with good depth of field. When using this lens on the Monochrome you are forced to use the frankenstein viewfinder that you purchase with the lens but that is a small price to pay for such a useful lens. I also have a Voigtlander Hellar 12mm lens in the camera bag and it works very well on the Monochrome and uses an external 12mm viewfinder, but it does distort the image slightly due it its wideness but you can correct for that in Photoshop. The thing about the Tri-Elmar is that it replaced 3 separate lenses that were stolen with one small lens!
Stormy Seas Shrimper, M Monochrome with Tri-Elmar at 16mm
Using a fast lens like the 50mm Summilux ASPH for the image below of the Roanoke River Lighthouse allows you to hand hold on dark or stormy days and still get crisp images that jump out at you! For this image I also had a yellow filter attached to bring out the structure of the clouds. This is one of the HUGE pluses of the Monochrome in that it reacts to the standard B&W filters the same way as film does!
Roanoke River Lighthouse, M Monochrom
But as always my main use for the camera is long exposures which is where my true love lives! Being able to take ocean shots and smooth out the waves is exciting beyond words and the Monochrome does a great job of it with its 4 min bulb limit. Look at the image below of the (another version) Roanoke Marshes Light House. I was there when the light was on and each time it circled it created another slightly offset star effect. It allows me to create images full of wonder and depth!
Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse with operating Light, 16 second exposure, M Monochrome
The implied stillness of the water with the graduated reflections create an image full of mood and depth. This is one of my favorite images of this Light House and the fact that during the 16 second exposure the light revolved around 3 times to generate 3 slightly offset star patterns just add more mood to it. This particular shot was done with a B+W 103 3 stop ND filter to allow the longer shutter speed at f/8 for sharpness with the 50mm Summilux ASPH lens!
Now let me share a detail shot of a fishing boat just up the island from the Light House. It is simple yet tells a complex story of the boat and job.
Fishing Float, M Monochrome
I love the textures of the image and the sharpness. The texture on the surface of the individual floats are great and perhaps would have been better served by a closer shot. It was taken with the Macro Elmar 90mm lens (a great lens to invest in) and was done on the tripod!
Mushroom, Macro, M Monochrome with Macro Elmar 90mm plus macro adapter
Really Right Stuff TF-01 and Ball Head
Continuing with the 90mm Macro Elmar I give you a closeup image taken just as I left the Outer Banks. This mushroom is only about 2 inches tall and I had to lay down under a log to get it. Yes a tripod was used but it was the Really Right Stuff table pod which is an amazing tool to have in your kit for just this sort of work Look at the textures on the bottom and stalk of the mushroom. This 90mm lens is the only 90 that I will ever buy for my Leica cameras!
Really Right Stuff TF-01
I hope that you enjoyed this last dedicated post on the Leica M Monochrome camera. I will have many more images to share from it in the future but I think that you are likely getting tired of dedicated posts!
Leica M Monochrome
About a month ago, my truck was broken into and a camera bag was stolen with several Leica lenses, cameras and accessories. After the insurance was paid, I purchased the amazing Leica M Monochrome and the Tri-Elmar 16 – 18 – 21 mm lens to replace 3 missing lenses and 1 camera.
The M Monochrome is truly an amazing camera and the images are beyond stunning! I have found that I actually enjoy using it more that the M 240. So far, I have used it for ultra long exposures in the Outer Banks, family pictures of my grand children during Christmas and on a just completed trip to Boone, NC for the New Year. I am NOT going to do a review here rather I will just show the capabilities of this camera system while photographing my favorite subject matter!
Duggars Creek Falls, Linville, NC 32 second exposure, 6 stops of ND
Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f/4
The water fall image above was taken on 1 Jan 2015 at Duggars Creek Falls in the parking lot of the Linville Falls visitor center where I sat on a bridge centered over the stream (I cannot get down to the water level due to a recent operation which limited me to just basic views). Notice the sharpness of the image and the tonality of the rocks drawing the viewer into the scene. There was very little post processing on this image which shows the real power of the Monochrome! For this shot I used the Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f/4 lens which is an amazingly tiny yet sharp lens! This image simply takes my breath away with it sharpness, tonality and the way it draws the viewer into the image. This is one of my planned images for a Platinum/Palladium print in a few weeks!
This camera is going to be the cornerstone of a old (new for me) printing process where I will be making LARGE contact negatives on an Epson 7900 printer to use in the making of chemical based Platinum/Palladium metallic prints exposed with a high intensity UV lamp set and chemically developed. All of the images are B&W so the high resolution images generated with the Monochrome will work perfectly with this printing process.
When used with a high quality ND filter set from B+W the most amazing Long Exposures are possible and this camera simply delivers!
The set of ND filters that I keep in my kit for in sizes for each of my Leica lenses from B+W are:
Outer Banks Fishing Pier, 250 second Exposure
Here is an example taken on the Outer Banks of North Carolina prior to sunrise with 6 stops of ND filter and a 250 second exposure! I used the 50mm Summilux ASPH lens for this image. Look at the tones and graduations of the grays. Simply amazing…
Roanoke Marshes Light, 8 second exposure
Another example is this image of the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse taken about a month ago at sunrise. The detail in the clouds and water prove the ultra wide dynamic range that this camera is capable of!
Jordan, my grandson on his new Christmas drum set taken with the Monochrome and the Leica SF 58
Leica SF 58 Flash
For people, I have been coupling the M Monochrome with the Leica SF 58 flash which is simply a pleasure to use and is fully integrated with the M electronics! The camera and flash are so well functionally balanced that it will blow your mind when you pick them up to shoot! Audio indications from the flash for performance and a dual flash head that allows a straight on light plus a bounced light!
As you can see from the image of Jordan, it is exceptionally well balanced and the tonality is perfect yet there is no overt indication of flash in use!
I have used a Sekonic DR750 spot meter along with special software and target to measure the dynamic range of this camera when shooting in RAW (DNG) and get 11 to 13 stops dependent upon the ISO setting being used. Who says that paying big dollars for a camera system doesn’t guarantee big performance!
The system simply amazes me…..
Outer Banks Fishing Pier, 250 second exposure. Note the moving clouds!
Image 1: Oak Reflections, 830nm
Infrared photography with digital camera systems have been around for several years now and a lot of photographers have embraced this different spectrum of photography. Infrared is wildly popular in photography and fine art galleries now and my workshops are full of lots of talented photographers who desire to learn or expand their infrared skills.
Pawleys Marsh, 830nm X100s
The typical starting point for most infrared shooters is 720nm (standard) or 590nm (Goldie) IR conversions. We have all seen the amazing color images that these two conversions can generate. As previously discussed, we always process not only in Faux Color, but for B&W also. The B&W images are usually more accepted among the arts community though.
Image 3: Pawleys Marsh, 720nm
But did you know that with each increase in the IR Nano Meter band (the frequency goes down as the number goes up) that the contrast levels go up in B&W as well? This increase in the NM band starts to generate the most stunning, contrasty, ethereal images that have to be seen to be believed! The higher you go in the NM range also increases the white “glow” around the leaves and grass and the blue sky takes on a deep black. This effect is named the “Wood Effect” after doctor Robert Wood who discovered it 1910. What happens is that the leaves get a bloom or glow of white around them that generate that wonderful ethereal feel in the image. Take a look at image 1 which was taken at 830nm. Do you see the dark black where the blue sky is? Look at the leaves on the trees and how they take on the pure bright whites! Now compare that to 720nm image above in Image 2. The most striking difference is the gray sky rather than black, plus the leaves are grayer rather than white.
Image 3: Shrimp Boat at 830nm
I would like to suggest that if you shoot in IR or are interested in doing so then you should consider a deep contrast IR conversion beyond 800nm. There are a lot of benefits to be found in that spectrum. This new spectrum sees ONLY in B&W, which will force you to visualize your scene in B&W.
The benefits to a Deep B&W IR conversion are:
Image 4: Mabry Mill, 830nm
There are several ways to have a camera converted to deep B&W above 800nm.
Image 5: Rock Run Mill, 830nm
With either the full or dual conversions you can shoot every of the following light spectrums:
* Requires Live View capable camera
Now, Normal Visible Color simply means that your camera can take normal color images as it did from the factory! This means that you have a multi purpose camera that can take anything.
The only issue is that if you have a Full Spectrum conversion you need to stack a B+W 486 reflective IR/UV blocking filter on your lens with a LDP CC1 absorption filter to get back to good normal color.
For the Dual Spectrum conversion you only need to put the B+W 486 reflective IR/UV filter on your lens and it is back to normal color!
Disadvantages to the Full or Dual Spectrum Camera Conversion:
Image 6: Charlotte Marie, 830nm X100s
I have several cameras converted to above 800nm and several full spectrum and a new dual spectrum converted Fuji X100s. The images that I am getting from the Fuji with a B+W 093 830nm filter are the sharpest and most stunning deep IR images that I have ever produced! But that doesn’t mean that you need to go out and purchase that one. Any camera with live view will work great with the 830nm spectrum. Keep in mind though, that the more modern your camera is the higher the usable ISO will be!
You can contact Mark at his web site at http://www.MarkHilliardAtelier-blog.com for information on his Color & IR workshops, which he teaches with Jamie Davidson, and for his IR Post Processing DVD Tutorials!
Fuga City, 830nm, Georgetown, SC
Final B&W Version!
I am VERY particular in how I process my images, either color or IR it doesn’t make any difference! This comes from years of visualization, photography, a career at Eastman Kodak, endless hours of post processing and just plain being old and cranky! I look for specific compositional elements in each and every image I create then look to create a stepped series of varying contrast levels to draw the viewer into the image. This is important in my color work, but CRITICAL in my B&W images.
This post though, is specifically about B&W IR post processing. But before we actually get to that point I wish to share with you my workflow that I go through up to the point of processing it for B&W.
Assuming that our images have been edited for choice and artistic content and been processed from RAW to 16 bit TIFF…
Step 1 Evaluate the RAW image to see it it stands on its own!
Step 2 Process the RAW image into Faux Color.
Only when these steps are completed do I start my B&W conversion and processing. The reason for this is that the best B&W conversions are generated when we have gotten the best possible color adjustments done! The better the colors the better the B&W! This is true of both color camera or an IR camera.
As you can see from the B&W image above of the bone yard at Cape Romain here in South Carolina, the image is full of alternating contrast areas that draw the viewers eyes into the image from the bottom left corner up to the center. This was a choice made in post processing.
So remember, you will get a much better B&W image if you first post process the color version! This will give the software (Nik’s Silver EFX Pro) a greater latitude of colors and contrasts to work from rather than just converting the RAW version directly into B&W.
In Infrared photography, there are 3 main elements that we need to get an emotionally charged image:
If you can get all 3 you will get a much more powerful image, but as long as you can get at least 1 you will have more to work with to get a good image. If you find yourself in a location where none of the 3 desired elements can be found then look for repeating patterns! Look at the example below. This image is of old Rt. 66 through the west taken at the height of a world class snow storm a few years ago in 720nm IR. There is no water, clouds or plants to work with. But we have a vanishing perspective due to the repeating telephone poles plus great structure in the snow cover scrub! There is also just a hint of the sun behind the top of the first telephone pole which adds interest and change of contrast.
Old Rt. 66. A hint of sun behind the top of the first telephone pole. 720nm IR
Now, as easy as all of this sounds, it really does take some planning and simple photoshop skills. Plus the more you practice it the better and faster you will get!
So lets take a look at our sample B&W converted per post processed B&W image below. To get to this point, you take your color image and open it in Niks Silver EFX software filter. You would then choose the recipe that you like the best from the left hand menu watching the effect on the preview image on the screen. When you find the version you like the best you would then adjust the contrast, structure and highlights/shadows to get your starting image, then accept it and drop it back into Photoshop!
Adams Mill Bridge, IN, B&W Converted NO Post Processing!
This is a very nice image to be sure! But, it can be drastically improved with very little work. By selecting areas of alternating contrasts we can enhance the emotional impact of this image and draw the viewers eyes into the image giving it an almost 3 dimensional feel! Lets take a look at these areas!
Take a close look at the image. Look for ways to give alternating areas of light and dark, low contrast and high contrast. Use these areas to create steps into your image. For the image above of the Adams Mill un processed this is how I approach it:
Visualizing areas of light/dark, low/high contrasts to step your viewer through the image!
Looks like a puzzle doesn’t it! But is is really easy once you decide HOW you want to approach the image. We are going to use the Nik plugin filter called Viveza to accomplish all of these changes. Simply start on one edge of the image and work your way across. Nik gives you a very powerful selection and masking tool call selection points. These points pick out areas of similar color or shading.
Adams Mill Bridge, IN, B&W Converted Post Processed
Go back and forth, look at the differences between the 2 images. In the 2nd image, there is a tonal range of complete black to complete white. The un-edited version has a little contrast but lacks punch and it does NOT have a complete tonal range!
This looks very simple doesn’t it! Well it is!! It just requires that you pre visualize what you desire in your finished image then simply make it so.
I hope that you enjoyed this simple tutorial. If you would like an enhanced version with complete step by step instructions and screen captures please visit my BLOG at:
Shrimper Carolyn Ann, Fuji X-E2
I have to tell you that I am REALLY a Fuji fan. I have the following Fuji bodies:
I also have ALL of the lenses but 2!
I moved to Fuji after a long search for a small light weight camera system after loosing 80% use of both hands and arms. I went through ALL of the micro 4/3 systems (and even kept 2!). I sold $40,000 in Canon bodies and L glass and have NEVER looked back!
In the Fuji, not only have I found perfections but being a range finder styled system it is like going home to mom!
X-E2
I have a X100s that I use for most of my walk around work, it is just so tiny and generates amazing images. So when Fuji announced the X-E2 with the same sensor and with even more upgrades I ordered one from Amazon. Much to my amazement it shipped a week later! I have had it in hand now for about 2 weeks and just yesterday took it out to a local fishing port for a bit of creative work. I love the upgrades and how fast this camera is. It even passes the X100s in ability. I originally purchased the X-E1 in order to take advantage of its electronic remote shutter release. It enables me to hook it up to devices like a lightning trigger and my water drop collision system. The X-E1 did a great job with these devices and I expect no less with the X-E2 but that is for another day.
X-E2 Top Panel
Yesterday I took it out to shoot shrimp boats in North Carolina and have to tell you that the camera just blew me away. It is such a major upgrade over the X-E1 that I cannot believe that they came from the same company! The controls are CRISP, the knobs just snap from position to position with no play and they stay where you put them. The larger LCD is nice but the faster EVF is a sight to behold. I dressed the camera in a RRS L bracket with grip and put on a nice soft release. Physically except for new buttons and placement the camera is identical to the X-E1. One MAJOR improvement is the addition of 3 stops of EV adjustment instead of the normal 2 that Fuji has provided in the past.
All in all I am really happy with this upgrade. I will keep the X-E1 and convert it to 800nm IR in the near future. There is no sense in letting that viable and great camera go to waste!
Little Scrapper, X-E2, RAW converted in ACR
Next I put the camera into the JPG mode and shot color & B&W images in camera. The results speak for them selves!
Shrimper Donkey X-E2
Shrimper Donkey, CAMERA B&W X-E2
Carolyn Ann, Color, X-E2
Carolyn Ann, In Camera B&W X-E2
Working Shrimper Deck, X-E2
Working Shrimper Deck In Camera B&W, X-E2
This posting was never meant to be a review, rather a statement of its impact upon me with sample images!
IR Post Processing in Color and B&W
I have started getting feedback and comments on the new IR/Color Video Tutorial. As they arrive I will share them here in this post with you. I am very excited over these. So far there are about 100 shipped videos out there!
The cost is $29.95 plus shipping which will automatically be added when you order.
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All prices are in USD
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I would like to thank those who have taken the time to send feedback and comments! It means a lot to me and will help improve on the next Video Tutorial that I put together!
DVD OUTSIDE LABEL
The majority of the video is screen capture taking you through the post processing workflow button by button, click by click. All of the major RAW converters have their own separate video and you will learn about all 3 which will enable you to make intelligent decisions on which one is for you then be able to run it!
This is an in-depth tutorial and will give you the knowledge and recipe to take your own images from one end of the process to the other without pulling your hair out in frustration!
The cost of the video for US customers is $29.95 plus $5.95 shipping which will be automatically added when you order.
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All Prices are USD
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Video Course Inside
To those in the West Virginia Workshop… Here is the FIX for the install issues with the Nik Filters and Photoshop CC!
Thank you for contacting Nik by Google. Since it is a brand new host, the Nik Collection may not have detected Photoshop CC on the computer. However, you can put it into Photoshop CC with a manual installation. Please follow the steps below to install the Nik Collection to Adobe Photoshop CC:
On a Windows:
If you own a previous version of Photoshop
If you do not have a previous version of Photoshop installed please skip to “only version of photoshop” below.
- Make sure all versions of Photoshop are closed.
- Navigate to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop xx\Plug-ins\
- Copy the Google folder to your Desktop.
- Navigate to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC\Plug-ins\
- Move the Google folder from the Desktop into the Plug-ins folder.
- Restart Photoshop to confirm the plug-ins are there.
If the Creative Cloud is your only version of Photoshop
- Make sure all versions of Photoshop are closed.
- Run the Nik Collection installer from the file you received via email and downloaded. If you no longer have this file, please email customer support to have the file sent to you again.
- During the installation process when you get to the Compatible Host Application window, you will notice a plus sign (+) to add an install location. Click that button and navigate to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop CC\Plug-Ins\. (*See attached screenshot).
- Complete the installation, then open Photoshop CC to ensure that the plug-ins have successfully been installed.
These steps will install to Photoshop CC 64-bit. You can check the version of Photoshop by opening Help > System info. The first line will either say x32 or x64 respectively. You can open Photoshop 64-bit directly from C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC (64-bit)\Photoshop.exe.
If you own a previous version of Photoshop
If you do not have a previous version of Photoshop installed please skip to “only version of photoshop” below.
- Make sure all versions of Photoshop are closed.
- Navigate to Applications/Adobe Photoshop xx/Plug-ins/
- Copy the Google folder to your Desktop.
- Navigate to Applications/Adobe Photoshop CC/Plug-ins/
- Move the Google folder from the Desktop into the Plug-ins folder.
- Restart Photoshop to confirm the plug-ins are there.
If the Creative Cloud is your only version of Photoshop
- Make sure all versions of Photoshop are closed.
- Run the Nik Collection installer from the file you received via email and downloaded. If you no longer have this file, please email customer support to have the file sent to you again.
- During the installation process when you get to the Compatible Host Application window, you will notice a plus sign (+) to add an install location. Click that button and navigate to Mac HD|Applications|Adobe Photoshop CC|Plug-Ins. (*See attached screenshot).
- Complete the installation, then open Photoshop CC to ensure that the plug-ins have successfully been installed.
If you have any further questions, please reply to this email or visit support.google.com/nikcollection to call our Customer Service Department Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 5:00 pm PST.
Passion Flower
Photoasy Extension Tube Set
I was invited to visit Moore Farms in Lake City South Carolina last week to evaluate them as a workshop location for future workshops. They have developed a great botanical garden destination that has more plant potential than most other places that I have visited!
For the visit I decided to take along my Fuji X Pro 1, Fuji X100s, Fuji 18-55 and the Fuji 55-200mm lens. I also picked up the new Photoasy Extension Tube Set which has a 10mm tube and a 16mm tube with the communications connections so that the camera can still talk to the lens! This was ONLY available on Ebay but recently Amazon Prime has started offering this great set!
Fuji 55-200mm
The ENTIRE time I was shooting the X Pro 1 it had the Fuji 55-200mm lens installed with the 16mm extension tube. I shot on the tripod the entire time with a remote shutter release. A lot of my shooting with in high sunlight (sometime you cannot help this) and I forgot to bring along a translucent panel to modify the light to a more gentle form. All of these things aside the camera/lens/tube combination worked great! I am VERY pleased with the results (please view the Passion Flower above!). I used an aperture of f/5.6 or f/8 (subject dependent) the entire time and usually had the lens set between 180mm to 200mm.
Because the 55-200mm lens is so long and does NOT offer a lens foot to better balance the camera/lens on the tripod you need a really stable tripod/ball head to keep the entire system stable. I am using a large carbon fibre Feisol tripod with the Really Right Stuff BH-55 ball head which is as steady as you can get!
The images generated are very pleasing and sharp all the way out to the edges. The colors are very well saturated and there is no smearing at all!
The extension tubes are made of plastic with metal mounting rings and the connections match up perfectly. I found that the 16mm tube was enough for the style of shooting that I was doing on this day (1:2 to 1:4 image ratio closeups) but I did purchase 2 complete sets of tubes to get closer if necessary.
Here are some of the images generated. All of the EXIF and GPS data are included.
Purple Cotton Flower
Trumpet Pitcher Plant (carnivorous) and Anole
Caterpillar on Purple Cotton
This is a great rig for shooting macro/closeup. The addition of the extension tube set is really a God send!
Pawleys Marsh, Fuji X Pro 1 720nm IR conversion w/ the new 55-200mm lens.
Fuji X 55-200mm
Yes, the new Fuji 55-200mm lens arrived for my fuji camera systems! I am currently shooting with a color X-E1, a color X Pro 1 and a IR converted (720nm) X Pro 1. I know how well the 55-200 works on the color bodies but what I really needed to know how did it work with the IR system! Would it give hot spots as so many of the Fuji lenses do? This post is the report of my findings. The final verdict is that it works very well and as long as you do not go higher than f/16 there are no hot spots to worry about at any zoom range! To me this is a really big deal.
So far only the 14mm and 35mm Fuji lenses are usable in infrared. So the addition of another lens really helps.
I am going to give you some examples of how this lens actually does at both the wide and long ends of the zoom range wide open and closed down so that you can get a feel of the usable Infrared range that you can use. Next week I will do a posting using the lens for color work only.
Pawleys Marsh, Fuji X Pro 1 720nm IR conversion w/ the new 55-200mm lens.
55-200mm @ 55mm, f/23.5 No hot spot
55-200mm @ 55mm, f/11 Small hot spot
55-200mm @ 55mm, f/22 Bad hot spot
As you can see as you get to f/11 we start to develop a small hot spot, but nothing that cannot be fixed. Above f/11 the lens becomes unusable at the wide end.
55-200mm @ 200mm, f/11 Bad hot spot, NO HOT SPOT
55-200mm @ 200mm, f/4.8 Bad hot spot, NO HOT SPOT
55-200mm @ 200mm, f/22 Bad hot spot, SMALL HOT SPOT
The difference at the long end of the zoom is amazing and is usable over the entire range of the aperture! This is great news for us IR shooters.
Pawleys Island Marsh, 200mm B&W Post Processing
There is starting to be a large number of IR photographers out there who are using converted Fuji X Pro 1 camera systems. There are currently 2 conversion companies out there who can do the conversion. I HIGHLY recommend the X Pro 1 as an Infrared platform and with the addition of the 55-200mm lens to our shooting arsenal we are way ahead of the game!
A dark and stormy night, Fuji X Pro 1 w/ 14mm fuji lens at 720nm Infrared.
Images that are dark and moody tend to grab our attention. It is as though there is something hidden and dark that demands our attention. We stare at them and analyze the image for a deeper hidden meaning. This creates emotional impact that allows our viewers to share what we felt as we created the images!
Look for dark, stormy skies, moody clouds, dark trees or water. Work in Infrared and you will find that you have a much better chance to capture these kinds of images more often than when working in color. It is still possible to do so in color but you have to work harder at it!
Paradise Island Light, Nassau
As you can see in the image above, it is moody and draws the viewer into the scene, but it does not have that “dark and stormy” look and feel! As I stated before, it is much easier to capture these types of image when working in Infrared!
A dark and stormy night
Work in both Faux Color and B&W. You never really know what you are going to get unless you take the time to post process both ways. You should even look seriously at the properly white balanced raw image right out of the camera! Sometime you can get a really stunning image there.
Lady Katheran, 720nm Infrared, Fuji X Pro 1 with Fuji 14mm lens.
Here is the same image processed in B&W.
Lady Katheran
Try adding a lens vignette to your images to darken the corners. This will give more mood!
Here are some examples of RAW and B&W post processing!
McClellanville Shrimper, RAW right out of the camera!
McClellanville Shrimper, B&W
As you can see both versions give stunning results. The most important thing for you to remember is that to get the best results from all of your images it is necessary to take the time to post process in all three modes. Do not short change yourself by cutting corners. Take the time to give each image your best try!
Murrells Inlet Marsh, X Pro 1 720nm IR Faux Color
The Fuji X Pro 1 has turned out to be one of the best Infrared camera systems that I have ever used… period! The only good Fuji lenses for Infrared have proved to be the 35mm f/1.4, the 18mm f/2 and the new 14mm. The Viogtlander 75mm f/1.8 has also proved to be a STUNNING lens also! So, the camera has proven its infrared capability, now it is time to discuss in detail the recipe for post processing! It is all quite simple but there are a few requirements that you must understand in order to follow my workflow with understanding.
Needed:
As you move your RAW (shoot only RAW for IR because of the ability to shift the white balance easily) onto your computer you should automatically tell yourself that you are going to process each selected image in Faux color and B&W. Sometimes you will notice that the un processed image looks great also (wonderful bronze tones) and decide to do a version like this as well!
Lets talk about the RAW conversion process a little bit. Photoshops ACR built in RAW converter will NOT apply the white balance correctly and your images will appear deep red. For this reason I use Capture One version 7 from Phase One. It is simply the BEST RAW converter that I have ever used. You can download a trial version and decide for yourself if what I am telling you is true!
My Initial Editing Steps:
Save your image again with a NEW file name that reflects the difference in your master image library tree!
Murrells Inlet Salt Marsh, X Pro 1 720nm IR
Remember: Process ALL IMAGES as both Faux Color and B&W. You really do not know what you are going to get till you do so.
All of this really is VERY SIMPLE and once you have done it a few times it will become second nature to you. Soon you will be a post processing Infrared God or Goddess! Congratulations
No, let’s take a look at the image below. Notice the areas that I have circled as places where I desire to change the colors, contrasts and saturations (both plus and minus). Also consider that this is a 720nm converted camera and as such has a very limited color range (light pinks and warm tones and blues).
Annotated Faux Color, X Pro 1 720nm IR
It is in this area and others like them (similar color values that are the same) that we are going to place control points on and change these values! If you notice that the areas around them also change a little you can place what we call anchor points which are simply control points with no adjustments to bring those areas back to where you wanted them!
You will find this ENTIRE process from the initial loading into photoshop to finish will just take 4 or 5 minutes or less as you become more practiced!
Stormy Seas Faux Color, X Pro 1 720nm IR
Stormy Seas B&W, X Pro 1 720nm IR
Sometimes Faux Color images simply do not work, then you still have the great B&W ones to work with!
SC School Bus Boat, X Pro 1 720nm IR
SC School Bus Boat, X Pro 1 720nm IR
Fuji X Pro 1, Brookgreen Gardens, 720nm B&W processed. Fuji X 35mm lens.
Well, it arrived! After months of consideration after I got my X-E1 I finally decided to send off the X Pro 1 for Infrared conversion. It went to Dan at LDP (maxmax.com) and the cost was $500.00. YIKES! yes I said $500.00! Dan explains that the X Pro 1 is the most difficult conversion that he does! It required him 1.5 days to do the conversion and lots unsoldering/soldering to get to the sensor. Still, better than sitting on the shelf or an attempted sale on Ebay, plus I really like the camera and the hybrid viewfinder is just perfect for IR.
I had to decide between 720nm and 850nm so decided to go for the 720 in order to have a little color ( I really like the bronze tones right out of the camera at 720nm). The total time for shipping – conversion – shipping was 8 days, door to door. Very fast!
Importantly, the Fuji X Pro 1 camera White Balances perfectly. For these tests I white balanced on a green shrub in front of my gallery. The process to do so on the camera is simple and fast!
The scope of THIS post is to talk about the conversion itself and to give you some sample images testing each of my normal Fuji and Voigtlander lens set that I use.
My first image out of the camera was with the Fujifilm XF 35mm F1.4 Lens. It is stunningly sharp with great contrasts and tones without any processing at all! This is simply a perfect IR image right out of the camera.
Fuji X Pro 1, Brookgreen Gardens, 720nm RAW un-processed. Fuji X 35mm lens.
OK, the original hot mirror can tell us a lot about the capability of the Fuji body to take IR with no conversion. The strength of the internal filter from the X Pro 1 is quite strong! It is actually 2 filters sandwiched together. They are very much like the B+W 486 IR blocking filter and the LDP CC1 IR blocking filter back to back. The 486 is a pink/gold filter that extends a little further into the visible light spectrum before falling off and allows a little less IR to pass through. The CC1 filter is wider at the UV end. The two filters together will pass light to the sensor from about 300nm to 700nm. You can see this in the image below. This is the same filter arrangement (hot mirror) that we normally see in the Canon DSLR line and on the Panasonic Micro 4/3 camera line.
X Pro 1 Hot Mirror showing both Wide bandpass side (gold tint) and the Lower UV side (Aqua)
X Pro 1 Hot Mirror showing the Wider bandpass side (gold tint)
X Pro 1 Hot Mirror showing the Lower UV side (Aqua) similar to the CC1 filter from LDP
If you were to look at the 486 and CC1 filters they are the same general colors and pass band to what we actually see here! So , what does this all mean to you? If you decide (and convince Dan) to have a full spectrum conversion done on your X Pro 1, you can convert it back to a normal color camera by stacking both of these filters (B+W486 and the LDP CC1) on the end of your lens. The full spectrum Infrared conversion is one where the hot mirror (IR blocking filter) is removed from in front of the sensor and replaced with a piece of clear glass. Then, the camera is programmed to the specific UV or IR band with the addition of the appropriate filter on the end of the lens.
Normally, the hot mirror can bee seen as the colored layer of glass under the lens as shown here where you can now see the 720nm filter installed.
Inside the X Pro 1 showing the 720nm filter.
Lens Hot Spots
As you may know (or guessed), not all lenses work well in the Infrared spectrum. This is due to many things, but most commonly, the coatings on the lens elements and the coatings on the internal lens barrel and how they reflect IR light energy. The common failure then is in the form of HOT SPOTS in the center of the image captured by the camera. These are always dead center in the middle of the image and present as large round white areas. Sometimes, they can be overcome by using a wider aperture, but not always…
Lets talk about the lenses that I tested that work (or in 1 case mostly work)…
Fuji X 35mm Lens
WOW, what can I say? This lens works perfectly in the 720nm spectrum at all apertures! The camera auto focuses perfectly and fast, the images are sharp and there are no hot spots at any aperture! Lets take a look. This first image is raw out of the camera. I have done not post processing for B&W or Faux Color but there is enough color in the 720nm spectrum to have some interesting Faux Color results. These types of images will be covered in another post next week and we will spend a lot of time and effort teaching and going through each step in the recipe used to create them in Photoshop CS6 and the Nik filter set.
Fuji X Pro 1, Brookgreen Gardens, 720nm RAW un-processed. Fuji X 35mm lens f/8
Next, is the same image post processed using CS6 and Nik’s Silver EFX Pro for B&W…
Fuji X Pro 1, Brookgreen Gardens, 720nm B&W processed. Fuji X 35mm lens f/8
This lens from Voigtlander is one of the sharpest, easy to use lenses that I own. The fit and finish on this lens is something to behold. The lens has an included clamp on lens hood that works very well. The focusing is so smooth that it is scary… It is a PERFECT match for the Fuji X system (X Pro 1 and the X-E1) and works just as well here in Infrared! I was very happy to discover this in my tests at 720nm! There are no hot spots at any aperture. It takes Take a look:
Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 Lens at f/11. Raw (notice the nice bronze coloring)
Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 Lens, f/8 Faux Color Post Processing
Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 Lens, f/8 B&W Post Processing
Fuji X 18mm lens.
This lens works well as long as you do not go beyond f/8. Past that it generates very discinct hot spot in the center of the image. While this can be overcome in post processing with Nik’s Viveza, it is still slightly disappointing… Still, when used at f/8 or wider the lens generates pleasing sharp images that make it worthwhile to carry in your camera bag! Here are the RAW test samples for you to consider.
Fujifilm XF 18mm F2.0 Lens at f/2
Fujifilm XF 18mm F2.0 Lens at f/4
Fujifilm XF 18mm F2.0 Lens at f/5.6
Fujifilm XF 18mm F2.0 Lens at f/8
Fujifilm XF 18mm F2.0 Lens at f/11
Voitlander 12mm
Another great lens from Voigtlander. This one has a built in lens hood and while it will take screw in filters they need to be wide angle versions. It also has that super smooth focusing feel but since it is so ultra wide at 12mm you can focus it pretty much at infinity and it will always be in focus. I love this lens on the X Pro 1 and X-E1. For 720nm Infrared, it works great until you hit f/22 then it gives a faint hot spot. This is just fine with me as I rarely go beyond f/11 or f/16.
Take a look at the samples:
Voigtlander Ultra Wide-Heliar 12mm f/5.6 at f/8 RAW
Voigtlander Ultra Wide-Heliar 12mm f/5.6 at f/22 RAW with hot spot
Fuji 18-55
This lens is such a disappointment to me… It is without a doubt my favorite walk around Fuji lens on the X-E1 camera. I hardly ever take it off. Sharp and clear with great contrast. That being said it is all but USELESS for Infrared! There is a major hot spot problem at ALL focal lengths at ANY aperture past f/4. At f/4 it did take nice images but as you understand, useless for landscapes. Bummer….. I am beyond disappointed over this one.
Fuji 60mm
I am going to initially tell you to simply forget this lens for Infrared. It has a seriously bad hot spot at all apertures. I will also share with you that I might actually have a bad copy of it. It gives a terrible hot spot on my X-E1 when shooting in color as well, especially when using a flash. I think that I am going to send it back to Fuji for repair and see what they think. Depending upon that I might re-evaluate it for Infrared later on!
The next post will focus on post procseeing and what can be acheived artistically with this new Infrared Fuji X Pro 1!
Please let me know what you think!
and we need every advantage we can get as photographers in long exposure!
Long Exposure Twilight Abstract with a 3 stop graduated soft ND filter to darken the sky.
The long exposure game, is one of compromises: fighting too little light, balancing the moon and its reflections, cameras and lenses, camera meter or external meter! Long exposures are one of the more difficult photographic styles and one that takes experience and patience to master. As such, the photographer needs every helpful trick that they can gather into their bag of tricks in order to generate, stunning etherial images!
The Pawleys Island Pier, Fuji X-E1 with the 18-55mm lens, 3 stop Lee Graduated ND for the sky and a 3 stop ND overall.
So let’s put all of this together in a process or recipe (if you will) that will lead us to success in the Long Exposure game (NOT Star Trails which is a slightly different game!
My favorite time to setup and start taking my long exposures is from 1/2 hour before sunset to about 2 hours after (depending upon the moon).
I will usually go to the beach and look for something in the foreground like some rocks, groin, dead trees, pilings or a pier.
680 second exposure, Pawleys Island Pier and Groin. Fuji X-E1, at the end of twilight going into full darkness
The ocean state only make a difference in that if the waves are large then you will need a much longer exposure to flatten them out. So many of the long exposures you see with bands of dark and light in the ocean are caused by your exposure being too short to totally flatten the surface. A single band of white in the foreground is caused by the surf crashing down onto the sand and that can also be overcome by extending your exposure past 10 minutes!
1/2 hour before Sunset, Fuji X-E1 250 seconds with 10 stop ND, extremely cloudy!
Sunrise, Outer Banks Fishing Pier, Fuji X-Pro 156 seconds, 3 stop ND.
The 2-fer, The pier & groin, Pawleys Island Twilight
Full Dark! Fuji X-E1 with a 3 stop Lee graduated ND filter covering the sky to the horizon. 125 seconds at f/11. Light pollution from the hotels and pier behind me.
Metering of all the aspects of long exposures is your most difficult hurdle. The in camera meters when set to spot, are indeed capable, but they are not totally accurate and more importantly, they are large spots, in the 5 degree range rather than the 1 degree of the hand held meters. Yes you can use them but be prepared to have to adjust your exposure for a second shot… And this is WHILE the ambient light is rapidly changing as the sun continues to set!
Time for a talk on exposure..
We have the 3 basic exposure settings to work with, ISO (which should be set on your cameras lowest or native setting), APERTURE, which for a sharp image with proper DOF should be set for f/8 to f/16 and Shutter speed which should be set at least at 30 seconds and around 2 minutes for good smoothing of the ocean surface and clouds. You will lock the ISO and APERTURE while looking for a good shutter value to be generated by the metering system. So as you can see, you can set the camera in Aperture Priority mode to shoot here. I find though that I like full manual mode better.
Here is what you can expect for various shutter speeds:
Keeping the Depth Of Field (DOF) in mind, you can see that the shutter speeds are the key to your images.
As discussed earlier, the internal meter of digital camera systems is not the best meter out there. In the spot mode they provide a very large spot (5 degrees) when what we really need is a 1 degree spot. The smaller spot gives us a more accurate and isolated reading which can be vital in determining the overall exposure. If you use this in conjunction with the ZONE system developed by Ansel Adams then we have a really powerful system. Lets take a look.
Zones
The ZONE system is very simple. It divided your total exposure into 10 equal parts or zones. Each zone is a specific “stop” and the center (zone 5) where where ALL METERS place the exposure of anything it sees!
As you can see from the chart on the left of the zones, they start at black for zone 0 and move to white at zone 10. Zone 5 being the 18% gray is what the meter sees and will adjust the exposure of the spot metered to be there in the 18% gray! This explains why so many photographers snow images come out as gray! Knowing that the meter will automatically place the measured spot into the gray area it is a simple matter for the photographer to mentally move the zone up or down in adjustment in order to place the metered spot into the desired zone!
It is easy to understand and implement!
Looking at Zones
See? Easy to do.
So, hopefully the camera meter has a small enough spot to read these small areas and give you an accurate exposure suggestion. But, what happens when you add a 3, 6 or 10 stop ND filter into the mix? Well 3 stops will not affect the meter, but 6 and 10 will destroy any accuracy and your exposures will be all over the place. We just cannot have that happens so this is where a hand held spot meter comes into play!
There are 3 things that you must keep in mind when you are thinking about hand held meters.
I suggest 2 meters from Sekonic for you to consider, the L508 and L758DR.
Sekonic L758DR Spot Meter
Here is the L758DR which is what I am using and will show in the following examples. The meter has 2 modes of measuring light, the lumasphere and the spot which is simply an eye piece that you look thru and shows a target you place on the area of the scene you wish to measure!
Set SPOT Mode
ISO Set
Filter Compensation
Meter Viewfinder showing the target and measured values. The meter button is just below this.
That is all of the necessary steps to use this meter. It really is very easy! There are several videos on the Sekonic web site as well as on Utube.
The B+W, well most others as well can be tough to understand! Here is a break down of all of the filters and how to read the codes!
B+W ND INFO
Knowing how to read the filters is important but understanding how to use them even more so. Lucky for us in long exposures we are interested in the shutter speed. If we get a shutter speed of 1/15 second with no ND installed we know that it is simply too fast to slow the water down! So we realize that a ND filter is needed.
Standard ND Filters effect on a 1/15 second shutter speed with a fixed ISO and Aperture:
These are the standard ND filters from B+W, other companies offer the same and other values. Lee offers in the Seven 5 system, 1, 2, 3 and 10 stop values as well.
So now, you take your meter reading and look at the suggested shutter speed, install a ND filter and then tell the meter which one chosen and it will give you the corrected shutter speed. Remember, all camera meters will fail at 6 stops on!
Lee Hard Graduated ND
Lee Soft Graduated ND
These are filters from Lee (some round ones from B+W but they divide directly in the center) that come in 1, 2 and 3 stops. They are either a hard transition between dark and clear or a soft transition covering a larger area of the filter. I use these filters to darken part of the image, usually the sky. If you have a firmly visible seperation between the sky and water at the horizon, you can use a hard graduated filter. Otherwise you will use the soft which is the normally used choice. Take a look at the images here of both and you can see their usefulness.
Deciding on which value to choose, 1, 2 or 3 stops is simple. You simply use your meter to spot read the sky and then again the ocean. Look at the difference between the shutter speeds given with a fixed Aperture and ISO. The difference will tell you how much graduated ND you need to use.
These filters are also handy for other landscapes as well. How often are we plagued with waterfalls or landscapes where the sky is just too bright? Apply the same metering difference to those images as well for a vastly improved result.
480 second exposure, Fuji X-E1 Late Twilight! Metering of the cloud base just above the horizon then moved to Zone 7!
The Bigger End, Olympus OMD.
The 2-fer, The pier & groin, Pawleys Island Twilight
The B&W 2-fer, The pier & groin, Pawleys Island Twilight
There is something about Shrimpers… I cannot get enough of them and find myself visiting them again and again. I love the dilapidated nature of them and even though they are in such rough condition they seem to venture out into the deep time after time. Perhaps they are a reflection of the men who sail them, rough hewn, salty men, eking out a living from the sea. Regardless, they are things of photographic beauty and deserve to be documented for history. You see, they are vanishing from sight. Shrimp seems to mainly come for fresh water farm ponds in the lower americas and soon these beautiful boats will be a thing of the past.
The Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi: “connotes a way of living that finds beauty in imperfection and accepts the natural cycle of growth and decay. Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity (roughness or irregularity), simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.
Thus begins my exploration of Sabi…
Here captured in Black and White, is a detail shot of the shrimper Lila Lee. She is resting in the boat grave yard in Georgetown, SC. The older shrimpers seem to be abandoned along the shore here in Georteown till they sink. We have some sitting on the bottom growing trees and weeds from their decks.
This image was captured on the Fuji X-E1 with a MC Soligor 70-300mm C/D manual focus macro lens, another relic of the past…
Lila Lee
The Glade Creek Mill, Fuji X Pro 1 w/ 60mm lens, 10 stop ND and Nik HDR EFX Pro 2 with 3 source files
I just got back from a major workshop that Jamie Davidison and I led to the New River Gorge in West Virginia where to took our students on a hectic 4 day workshop/excursion. We explored waterfalls, grist mills, trains and vistas while studying Infrared and Color post processing back in the classroom each night till about midnight. This was EXHAUSTING to say the least but never the less, a great workshop full of great photographers who gave as much as they took! My days started every morning at 5am and ended about 1am. I am still recovering!
The Glade Creek Mill, Fuji X Pro 1 with the VC 12mm lens
While the main focus was shooting in Infrared and its associated post processing, I needed to provide loaner IR camera systems to those who did not yet own one, so even though I own three IR systems I was forced to shoot color! The sky each day was free of clouds and very bright, so if I wished to photograph in color I was forced most of the time to shoot HDR images in order to overcome the dynamic range of the day! A lot of the time I was able to successfully capture an image with The X Pro 1 in a single shot like the one shown here on the right of the Glade Creek Mill. But the norm was indeed HDR. The X Pro 1 camera has an unfair advantage over most other camera systems, it has a wider dynamic range and can capture more image data!
Notice that the mill did have some running water which forced me to use very long exposures in the range of 10 to 5 seconds in order to slow the water down. While there was not a lot of water flow there was enough to make the images very nice. I used the 60mm lens on the camera along with a 10 stop ND filter in order to slow it down!
OK so let’s get to it! From this point on, we are going to be working with the same three source files. I will take you through the post processing for the following HDR tools:
I also will be using Nik’s Color EFX Pro 4 and Viveza 2 for post processing (fine tuning) after the HDR conversions are finished!
OK, what is HDR? HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. Think of it this way… You are out taking pictures during the brightest part of the day. You can get a good image of the foreground subject, but the sky is totally blown out, you know pure white. The total range of the light from black to white in your image exceeds what your camera is capable of recording, but our eyes can still see and understand the complete range. So, in the world of photography, we have developed the ability to take several photographs, say three to six, each one with a different exposure from way too dark to really blown out. With these pictures in hand you can now run one of several software programs available that will combine the best of each of these differently exposed image into one that can display the entire range of of the image from black to white!
Now this requires a image with more data than you can store in a 8 bit JPG image, and even more than your 16 bit RAW, TIFF or PSD image! Now we move into the world of 32 bit images that can hold and display a far greater range of black to white data. Now, 32 bit images are all but useless to us in the real world so the HDR software will compress it down to 16 bits by removing select bits of brightness data without really negatively affecting the view of the image and making it possible to view and print the image! Pretty neat technology don’t you think?
What I normally do when shooting HDR is to take a test image and evaluate the histogram. I will look to see what areas are out range, or totally black or totally white. Usually, the blacks will be fine but the whites will be blown out. I will then retake the same image with a negative EV dialed in and re evaluate the image again looking to see if the blown out white areas of the image are now in the proper range. This gives me an idea of just how wide the range of the image needs to be. If the blown out areas take two or three stops of adjustment to bring them back into range then I will then decide upon how many HDR images are needed to be taken to get the total range covered in 1/2 stop increments. You will need to set your camera on a tripod and have it locked down to assure that you get the same exact composition in each shot. You can either use the auto bracket mode on your camera to generate your shots or do it manually. Weather or not you change the ISO or shutter speed is dependent upon the scene or your artistic intent. Some cameras will bracket at most three shots, some 5 and some even 7 or more! You can usually choose to bracket with Aperture, Shutter Speed or ISO. It is important to keep the Aperture constant as to not change the depth of field.
For these shots, as long as I kept the shutter speed longer than 3 seconds I would not have any issues with keeping sharply defined slow moving water to generate the HDR. So I chose a 3 stop bracket using the Shutter Speed, leaving the Aperture and ISO steady.
3495, -1.3 ev, f/8 8 seconds, I chose this value to get the correct exposure on the trees
3495 Histogram, -1.3 EV
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3496, -.6 ev, f/8, 13 seconds. I chose this value to get the rocks and mill exposure correct knowing that the water would be blown out
3496, -.6 ev
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3497, -2 ev, f/8, 5 seconds, I chose this exposure for the correct falling water exposure
3497, -2 EV
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These three images are the only ones that I will use to explore the various HDR processing software.
This HDR program comes built into Photoshop CS6. It is quite powerful and gives you a lot of options. I found it very easy to use and it gives very nice results. You will find it under the FILE > Automate menu and it will ask you to locate and open your component images or add images already open!
Once your images have been chosen, it will open them and drop you into a full screen dialog where you can make any image adjustments. Once done the software will drop the finished image into Photoshop where you can then do your final tuning with Nik’s Color EFX Pro 4. I like to use the Tonal Contrast filter due to the ability to adjust color contrast in the Highlights, Midtones and Shadows separately from each other. This one tool will really bring out the full potential of your images.
X-Pro1-3495 3496 3497 -Glade Creek Mill -2012 -M to HDR Pro
OK, onto Nik Softwares HDR EFX Pro. This is the first version that Nik offered earlier this spring (2012) It has a great interface and does a pretty good job, but requires a little more fine tuning after the HDR conversion is finished. The tuning process was again done using Color EFX Pro 4 and Viveza 2. This is a plugin filter for the Photoshop family and requires that you run a 64 bit operating system in Windows or OSX. It will NOT run on Elements and Lightroom.
I found that the images to be a little flat and lifeless until I applied the Color EFX Pro 4 in the after process tuning steps, then the images started looking pretty good.
X-Pro1-3495 3496 3497 -Glade Creek Mill -2012_NIK HDR EFX Pro
OK, now, this is a MAJOR upgrade to Nik’s HDR software. This one revision corrected all of my complaints about flat and lifeless images! There is VERY LITTLE fine tuning needed at all. I think that Nik’s HDR EFX Pro 2 is my favorite conversion tool out there. But I will let the images speak for themselves!
X-Pro1-3495 3496 3497 -Glade Creek Mill-2012 NIK HDR Pro 2
Photomatix is likely the most popular HDR conversion package on the market. It cost around $150 and does NOT require CS5 or CS6 to run. It is a standalone system and when it finishes it will directly save a 16 bit version of your HDR image on your computer that you can then open for further editing. It has many recipes and adjustments and you can do great work with it. I highly recommend it even if you are already running a 64 bit operating system and CS6. You will not be sorry!
X-Pro1-3495 3496 3497 -Glade Creek Mill -2012 -Photomatix Pro HDR
As you can see, the 4 converted HDR images are not at all the same. That would be difficult if not impossible to achieve. Each software package has its own adjustments and none of them are exact. I like Nik’s HDR EFX Pro 2 and Photomatix 4.2.3 the best. They are all easy to use and as long as you properly evaluate the scene that you are trying to photograph and properly choose the exposure values of the component images you will get really nice HDR shots!
Zebra Longwing Butterfly Caterpillar, 1/4 inch long, Fuji X Pro 1 and the 60mm f/2.4
In another creative fervor with the Fuji X Pro 1, I decided to attend a formal CNPA (Carolinas Nature Photography Assn.) outing yesterday at Cyprus Gardens in Moncks Corner, SC. The park is full of flowers, swamp and a nice butterfly house. I had decided to leave all of my other camera equipment at home (it seems that this is becoming the rule now with the X Pro 1!) and concentrate on macro/closeup work with the Fuji system. In truth, I spent all day with the 60mm f/2.4 macro lens. The lens can shoot in the macro mode at .5x which is 1:2. The closest focus range on this lens is a little over 10 inches. With these limitations in mind I setup on a sturdy tripod and got about the business of creating images!
This post is NOT intended as a macro or flash tutorial. I will post images that I consider are the best at macro and closeup that this camera system is capable of creating. Anyone can create this type of macro images with just a little forethought and a full understanding of the physics of exposure and how to use your camera as a tool! I intend to show you what this camera system is capable of creating with thought out setups, exposure and lighting! I am going to share with you my experiences in using the camera system with the following accessories, modes and shooting supports:
Fuji EF-20 Flash
The Zebra Longwing caterpillar above was about 1/4 inch in length and was taken with the Fuji X Pro 1 with the 60mm f/2.4 lens on a tripod. Lighting was the Fuji EF-20 flash unit on camera but tilted down and set at -1ev. As you can see, the overall setup gave a very nice image with reasonable lighting given only 1 flash! The overall image ratio is about 1:3 which puts this squarely in the macro range. I kept the aperture set to f/9 in order to get the entire insect in sharp focus and have a little bit of detail in the background. Now, the real surprise: the focus was auto with the selected focus point being the middle of the curve on the insect! Normally, we expect to manually focus when working in macro, but I intended to test the focus capabilities of the system as well.
Given that the flash uses two AA batteries, the re-charge time should be considered quite slow, but it was actually quite fast. I enjoyed using this flash because the tilting head enabled me to shoot past the end of the the longer 60mm lens and keep the subject in nice light with no lens shading even with the lens hood installed at the 10 inch focus distance! I did find that using the button on the back of the flash to set the EV value to be a bit tedious but since I usually set it to some negative value and leave it there it was not a very large negative!
Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillar, Fuji X Pro 1, 60mm f/2.4, 10 inch focus, 1:2 ratio, Fuji EF-42 at -.5ev
Fuji EF-42 Flash
This next image of the Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar was taken using the Fuji EF-42 flash set at -.5ev and an aperture of f/8 on the tripod. Here I intended to have more of a blurred background (remember in the macro range the DOF is very narrow and even a a mid aperture you will get a very blurry background) yet again keep the insect in sharp focus across its entire focus plain.
The EF-42 flash is a much higher power unit compared to the EF-20 and it uses four AA batteries for a faster recharge time. The controls are easier to use BUT the flash head will NOT angle down beyond the level plain. This can be overcome by pulling out the wide angle lens on the top and using it as s bounce surface to angle some light down. As you can see in the image I created the exact image I envisioned. The main subject (insect) is in perfect focus and the exposure is dead on with no blow out of the whites. The background is nicely indistinct and blurry with only slight detail thus taking nothing away from the subject! Focus was again in auto with the spot set on the top hump of the insect as it was getting ready to move forward up the branch. Again, I added a slight lens vingyette in post processing to darken the top and sides of the image to further accent the main subject. As stated, this was all pre-planned before I ever looked at the camera!
The Red Flower, Fuji X Pro 1, 60mm f/2.4 lens, 1:4 ratio, Ef-42 at -1ev.
OK this image of the small red flower (sorry, I have not yet identified it yet…) was again done with the X Pro 1 with the 60mm lens and the EF-42 flash at -1 ev. The big difference here was that this was hand held. I just could not get the camera into a position on the tripod in order to capture it. Plus I was setting up to switch over to shooting butterflies on the move which you just cannot do on the tripod. The flower was about1 inch in length so the image ratio here is about 1:4 which puts this image in the closeup range. Depth of field is much better in this range so in order to have a un-defined background I set the aperture down to f/4 which gave me a sharp focus on the entire flower in its plain of focus yet blurred the background nicely.
All in all I think that this is a nicely done image considering it was hand held!
Zebra Longwing Butterfly. Fuji X Pro 1, 60mm f/2.4 lens, EF-20 flash at -1ev 1:8 range
Ok, moving up further into the closeup range, I created this image of a Zebra Longwing butterfly. This was again handheld but using the EF-20 flash set level at -1ev. Focus was auto with the focus point set silghtly off center to the top in the portrait mode.
Purple Orchid, X Pro 1, 60mm f/2.4, EF-20 at -1ev, 6PX Pro LED Tactical light.
Fuji EF-X20
OK, almost done! This last image of a purple orchid was shot on the tripod in shadow was one of the more difficult images of the day. I had to use a 40 inch remote shutter release and hunch below the flower and tripod with a 5000 degree kelvin LED flashlight angled up into the flower. I also used the EF-X20 flash set at -1ev to give the purple of the flower even lighting and a sparkle. The EF-X20 is the easiest of all the Fuji flash units to control due to its top mounted mode dial.
Surefire 6PX Pro
The LED flashlight is a 6PX Pro Tactical light with variable output and is perfect for macro work. Its light is bright white and since you can control the power level it makes for very easy control! This light and many others can be found at www.Surefire.com but be advised, they are expensive! I keep several versions of these tactical lights on hand. They are all useful and a positive addition to a macro kit!
OK, that is it for today. But consider this last point, Macro work can be done with any lens, you do not need to have a dedicated macro lens. With the simple addition of a closeup adapter (I recommend the Canon 500D series of adapters) you can convert ANY lens to macro/closeup!
Mark Hilliard Atelier's Blog 