EstudioChispa (2182) 2015-03-11 07:40:31

The worlds revealed through macro photography fascinate me!

Best regards,

Russ Ham
Estudio Chispa
Austin, Texas
La Paz, BCS, México

EstudioChispa (2182) 2015-03-05 10:01:00

I wanted to bring out the detail in the vendor's face. I dodged the shadows under his colorful umbrella, then increased the contrast in his face only, which then made me need to desaturate some of the red in his skin tone. All quick and easy (and free!) with GIMP software.


Best regards,
Russ Ham
Estudio Chispa
Austin, Texas
La Paz, BCS, México

EstudioChispa (2182) 2015-03-04 08:27:13

It was my great pleasure and honor to be accompanied by Noel Byrne, visiting from Dublin! He was a fine gentleman, a serious student of our art, and great company for our outing!

EstudioChispa (2182) 2015-03-03 13:36:42

It is a challenge to shoot in such varying light!
I have attempted a WS, dodging and burning, using GIMP. While there was much more detail available in the shadows, I could not recover any detail in the customer window!
Best regards,
Russ Ham
Estudio Chispa
Austin, Texas
La Paz, BCS, México

EstudioChispa (2182) 2015-02-26 11:28:38

I have tried to bring out the ring around the sun by increasing the contrast throughout the image.

With all respect to Muhammed and his original HDR shot!

Best regards!
Russ Ham
Estudio Chispa
Austin, Texas
La Paz, BCS, México

EstudioChispa (2182) 2015-02-25 07:38:00

With all respect to the original shot and your fine eye, Brenda, I thought the Angel deserved to stand out a bit more. I dodged the trees, then changed the gamma (wish I could explain that beyond "adjusting the mid-point"), and cropped slightly to eliminate the shadows from the foreground.
Best regards,
Russ Ham
Estudio Chispa
Austin, Texas
La Paz, BCS, México

EstudioChispa (2182) 2015-02-23 07:37:21

With all respect to the original image, the colors appeared flat to me. In GIMP (a free post-processing software), I...

-- cropped slightly;
-- dialed up saturation a small bit;
-- adjusted color balance:
— more yellow in highlights;
— more red in midtones;
— more green in shadows;
-- added some brightness and some contrast
-- highlighted the bridge in background;
-- lightly dodged the highlights in the trees that were showing fall colors; and
-- slightly burned-in the shadows in the green trees and mountainous horizon.

Best regards,

Russ Ham
Estudio Chispa
Austin, Texas
La Paz, BCS, México

EstudioChispa (2182) 2015-02-23 07:00:41

Here is the original frame with minimal post-processing, compressed for TrekEarth, but intended to show the cropping decisions I made -- and for which you all have been so kind as to share your opinions!

EstudioChispa (2182) 2015-02-11 22:14:46

With all respect to the original image, which was a fine foto of a woman and her machine, I have tried to de-emphasize the background.
My heavy-handed approach exaggerates the changes I might suggest, but to me this foto is about this woman and her machine; the background is a distraction -- perhaps unavoidable in the original, but something we can address in post-processing.
Best regards,
Russ Ham
Austin, Texas
La Paz, BCS, Mexico

EstudioChispa (2182) 2014-12-02 12:35:46

This was a great scene. IMHO, though, the water was muddy and the hillside could show more detail. I created a second version of the shot (brighter and with more contrast), then used a layer mask to replace the hills and sea in the original with the brightened version. The spectacular sky needed no help, but I dialed up the saturation a bit, "just because." All done in GIMP, and all with due respect to the original shot.