This is another, single frame, view of Tropical Depression Hermine as it spread its feeder bands across North Texas on Tuesday evening near dusk. The satellite imagery of this storm was quite impressive. As you can see here the sky was also impressive as the storm’s eastern side sweeped over the Metroplex. Thanks, Hermine, for providing me with the opportunity to capture such beautiful images of you!
Important Note: The panoramic image below is quite large at 1920 pixels wide. In order to fit into the post, the image had to be shrunk to an extremely small size, thereby making it very difficult to appreciate the image as a whole. As a result, please feel free to click on the thumbnail, shown below, to bring up a larger version of the image that will scale according to your specific screen size.
Having missed out on all the excitement of a tornado touchdown near Benbrook earlier in the afternoon, I was determined to make the best of things and capture Tropical Storm Hermine at dusk in all of its turbulent, ringed glory. Thankfully, the tropical storm put on quite a show at just the right time during magic hour to allow me the opportunity to capture a series of images sufficient to create a gorgeous, sweeping panorama of the storm’s feeder bands moving over Grand Prairie.
The above panoramic image is a composite of 7 separate photos. Post-processing was rather minimal for this image, as the magic hour light was quite nice and allowed for an almost perfect exposure for each image. As a result, I only performed minor exposure, masking, and curves adjustments. No color balancing was applied, either, as the existing colors did a perfect job of capturing the mood of the scene. As usual, I finished the image with the customary sharpening in Lab mode via Unsharp Mask.
As has been the case lately, I got an itch to capture some more dynamic Texas sunset photographs this evening. Instead of going to the lake, however, I wanted to try someplace different. Someplace where I’ve never shot a sunset before. So, I decided to head over to a little pull-out I know of along Texas Highway 161, near it’s junction with Interstate 20 in South Grand Prairie. I arrived at the mentioned pull-out with just enough time to set up my camera and tripod, get everything leveled and framed, and fine-tune the exposure. I snapped a couple of frames then took a minute to actually take in the scene and study it.
After looking around and taking everything in I noticed a gorgeous bank of clouds almost due south and it was at that point that I knew I would attempt my first ever panoramic photo. The result can be seen above and, needless to say, it is quite stunning. I am extremely pleased with how it turned out and am happy to report that it has ignited a passion within me to pursue more panoramic photos with a few various different scene ideas that I am nurturing. I won’t discuss the details of post-processing on this image, as it was quite extensive. I will state that I did use the Photomerge tool in Photoshop CS3 to merge four separate photos into the single panoramic photo seen above.
For now, I’ll leave you to soak in this beautiful panoramic scene, but please note that this is just the beginning of a new, ongoing project that I will be working on over the next year or two.
A couple of nights ago, while hanging out with one of my close friends while he was in town for the night, I had the chance to do an extended late night long exposure photography session. Much experimentation was to be had this night, and after experimenting I got an idea to tell a story with a single frame. Below is the photo as it was captured in-camera. The title of the photo/story is “The Accident”. Hopefully, the title and image are pretty self-explanatory.
As it is, straight out of the camera, the image tells the story quite well. Creating the ghost effect in-camera is deceptively simple when shooting at long exposures of roughly 5 seconds or longer. In the case of this photo, I set the ISO to 800, the aperture to f/11, and the shutter speed to 30 seconds. I had my friend get positioned as I wanted him in frame, told him to hold as still as possible, then pressed the shutter release while simultaneously pressing the start button of the timer on my iPhone. After the timer on the iPhone had counted down 25 seconds, I told my friend to drop to the ground immediately so he would be out of frame for the last 5 seconds, thereby creating the ghost effect. The exact timing for the shot took a few tries, which only contributes to the fun-factor.
While I really like the image straight out of the camera, I decided to run it through Photoshop to see if I could come up with something that pushes the ghost idea a little further. So, I opened the photo in Photoshop, created a copy of the background layer, then added a curves adjustment layer for each photo layer. To enhance the ghost effect, I used the Negative (RGB), not Color Negative (RGB) preset in the curves dialog box, as shown. 
Next, I selected the layer mask for the curves adjustment layer and painted out everything around my friend in the image using a big, soft black brush. I was careful to leave a little bit of the curves adjustment effect showing around him. Then, I painted with the same brush, only smaller, inside of my friend, leaving a feathered white halo around him, thereby creating the basis for the ghost effect.
At this point, I set the layer’s blend mode to Screen, then added a Gaussian Blur of roughly 21.1 pixels to the curves adjustment layer to blur it and finalize the halo effect. To finalize the ghost effect, I created a layer mask on the layer being affected by the above described curves adjustment layer and painted in my friend only using a soft white brush in order to preserve the color and contrast of the background as seen through his body. Next I began working on finishing the image by manipulating the curves adjustment layer that would affect the rest of the image outside my friend. For this adjustment layer, I again turned to the curves dialog presets, this time using the Cross Process (RGB) setting, as shown.
To help direct attention to the tracks and my friend in the foreground, I directed my attention to the layer mask for this curves adjustment layer and painted the sky out with a big, soft black brush. The blend mode for this curves adjustment layer was left at Normal, thus completing the coloring effect for the rest of the photo. Next, I added a third and final curves adjustment layer at the top of the layer stack and utilized the Increase Contrast (RGB) preset to increase the contrast just a tad.
To complete the story and bring all the important elements of the image together, I needed to change the coloration on my friend, The Ghost, to match that of the cross-processed background. This was accomplished by adding a Color Balance adjustment layer above the “ghost effect” layer. The layer needed to be color balanced to be more green to match the background, so I moved the middle slider to roughly +45 toward green, as shown, then clipped the layer to the layer below by selecting the color balance adjustment layer and pressing and holding the Option/Alt key on the keyboard and left clicking between the two layers in the layers palette.
Finally, I completed the image with a simple vignette to fully direct the viewer’s attention to the foreground subject by adding a layer at the top of the stack and creating an oval selection around the area of the image I wanted to be clear. I then inverted the selection, feathered it by 50 pixels, then filled the selection with black and lowered the opacity of the layer to about 45%.
As I mentioned before, the image successfully told the story that I wanted it to relate in it’s unaltered form straight from the camera. However, in the final image, seen below, by utilizing the digital darkroom and adding a little bit of Photoshop wizardry, I was able to enhance the ghost effect that is the subject of this photo and direct the viewer’s attention to the “ghost” and the railroad tracks, where it can be assumed that he met his untimely demise.
I promised my precious daughter that I would take her to the lake this afternoon to feed bread crumbs to the ducks and swing at Bowman Springs Park. After surviving the frenzied swarm of hungry ducks, my wife took my daughter over to the playground to swing and slide while I snuck off with my camera and tripod to explore the east side of the park, which overlooks the eastern half of Lake Arlington. My main objective was to try to find at least one suitable location from which to shoot sunrises, since I have found the best sunset shooting location. I did find a couple of good spots, but I also discovered a killer location, seen in the capture above, from which to shoot water skiers and other aquatic activity on the lake. And, of course, I happened to get a few other shot ideas while exploring.
The photo above was a pleasant surprise. The sky was just cloudy enough to add visual interest, and the shooting location was nicely shaded from the late afternoon sun, both huge bonuses when shooting in less than desirable daytime light. Post was somewhat extensive for this photo. I began by compositing two separate exposures, then adding an exposure adjustment layer to the lighter layer (the foreground, in this case) to darken it slightly as well as adjust the gamma to match the darker layer consisting of the properly exposed sky. In effect, this created a photo similar to what I would have achieved had I used a graduated neutral density filter, which is a piece of equipment I badly need to purchase in the near future. After that, I added a gradient adjustment layer to darken the sky just a tad further and really make it pop. I topped it all off with curves and levels adjustment layers and, finally, applied sharpening.
I simply could not resist heading out to Lake Arlington again this evening for another sunset shoot, especially with the knowledge that the evening sky would be hazy. Hazy sunsets can be quite beautiful in Texas, as you can see in the photo. While I was leaving my favorite sunset photo spot near the west end of Lake Arlington last night, I just happened to spy the perfect spot to shoot from. It was down near a very rocky shoreline that I had never noticed before. As soon as I saw it I knew it would be the perfect location to set up for sunset photography. Plus, it has the added benefit of being away from the rather large crowds that normally gather in the busy parking lot above. Needless to say, I have found my new go-to spot for sunset photography at Lake Arlington.
As for the image itself, I shot it using the Canon EF 17-40 f/4L mounted to my Canon EOS 40D body, with an exposure of f/22, ISO 100, 30 second shutter speed. Post production was minimal, with the customary curves adjustment layers and sharpening. One important thing to note about the process of creating this image is the importance of having the right kind of tripod. The tripod I use is the Manfrotto 055 XPROB with an inexpensive, but sturdy Manfrotto ball-head. The reason I chose this tripod is simply because the legs spread out, almost flat, and the tripod column can be moved into a horizontal configuration, allowing for camera placement that is practically at ground level.
Having the ability to get my camera down to ground level on my tripod is essential to foreground composition. It is precisely what makes the composition in the image above so dynamic. Next time you’re out shooting landscapes, keep this in mind and, if you’re tripod does not have this capability, look around for a way to make your shot compositions more dynamic. You might even consider carrying a bean bag along as part of your kit so you can plant it on the ground, and nestle the camera into it. The possibilities are endless!
I got a major itch to do some sunset and nighttime long exposure photography in Arlington again this evening, so of course I packed all the photo gear into the car and headed west. I didn’t know what to expect since the sky had been overcast the entire day due to the passage of a cold front earlier in the morning. Thankfully, right at magic hour, the clouds broke up enough to allow for a gorgeous scene to unfold.
I took advantage of this blessing and managed to capture one of my favorite sunset photos to date. Post was a little more involved with this photo, as I created a fake graduated neutral density effect and utilized a few different curves adjustment layers for tonal contrast, an overall curves adjustment layer for color balancing, and finally, a little bit of dodging on the trees and houses.
I hadn’t gotten out of the house to do any photography in weeks and by this weekend I finally could not take it any longer. Yesterday morning I woke up, got out of bed, and hit the road before sunrise with the intention of shooting along the north shore of Lake Grapevine. Much to my dismay, upon arrival at my destination, I discovered that it costs to gain access to any part of Lake Grapevine. If that weren’t enough, the clutch on my truck decided to give out. Thankfully it held together long enough for me to get back home to Grand Prairie.
So, by Sunday I was chomping at the bit to get out and spend some quality time with my camera. I held it together long enough to wait until evening so I could head over to Lake Arlington and kick the evening with a shoreline sunset shoot. Managed to net a sweet sunset and captured a couple of different exposures to use for the two image composite HDR displayed below. Nothing fancy in post for this one. Blended the two exposures in Photoshop via Layer Mask magic, adjusted levels and curves for optimum color and contrast, then sharpened the final image. I’m extremely pleased with the results.
After wrapping things up at the lake I got the idea to head over toward the new Cowboy stadium to test out a shot composition idea I got a few weeks back near the Arlington Convention Center. Unfortunately, the stadium’s interior lights were all off, thus delaying that idea. Not one to give up, I decided to head over to the old Arlington downtown area east of UTA to shoot the old First Baptist Church on Center St. Once I got the camera setup and tweaked the exposure to just the right setting, I noticed traffic was just slightly frequent enough to allow for some headlight/taillight trails in the frame. I scored a few frames with some nice bright trails, the best of which can be seen below. Post on this image is minimal, with the slightest curves adjustment made in Lightroom and the customary sharpening in Photoshop.
While I do very much like how this image turned out, I’m planning on going back one evening this week to try a slight different angle for maximized compostion and subject placement. I also want to shoot at or just after sunset, when traffic should be even heavier than it was here. Overall, though, I cannot complain about the results that I got on this shoot and I definitely cannot wait to get out again soon so I can continue to sharpen my skills. The next outing will be in the historic downtown area of Cedar Hill, so stay tuned for that!
I decided, at the last minute, to go out to a “somewhat” dark sky spot I know about near Venus, TX, to see if I could capture a Perseid meteor or two with my camera. To my surprise, I could see the constellation Perseus with my naked eye quite clearly. I did see three meteors over a roughly 1.5 hour period, one of which was a very nice, bright fireball, but I was unable to capture any of them with my camera, mainly due to heavy light pollution issues in the northeastern part of the sky, which is exactly where the Perseids could be viewed. At least now I know for sure that I will have to plan to make the drive out to Caprock Canyons for any future meteor showers.
The night was not a total bust, however, as I finally decided to give up on shooting the Perseids and play around with a few starscape frames. To my delight, after processing the images on the MacBook Pro at home, a few of them turned out better than I had hoped. Of course, I now have hatched a few ideas for shooting some starscapes with the horizon and a farm or two in the foreground out near my shooting location last night, but that will be down the road a bit, after summer has passed and the night sky is not so hazy from the extreme heat.
The image above is my favorite starscape capture from last night. I still have a ton to learn about shooting starscapes, and the night sky in general, but I feel this image is quite successful, considering the fact that I had no cable release for my 40D and I was shooting with a lens that was barely too slow for proper astrophotography. Still, I have a lot of ideas now and I’m super excited about trying them out over the next few months. For starters, I’d like to rent a fisheye lens and cable release and see if I can capture some nice, super-wide, 180 degree field-of-view star-trail images. And, of course, there is always the Milky Way!
This is my Weather Video Reel. It is recommended that you load the 1080p version of this video and watch it full screen.