Category > digital
Photo processing in Paintshop Pro
When working on my photos I usually like to combine hands-on and PC methods but as my scanner is out of commission right now, I decided to settle on just PC processing for now.
I use Photoshop CS3 to “develop” RAW files but everything else I do in Paintshop Pro X2 (12). I’ve been using it since Painshop Pro 3 was around so I guess it’s true that old habits die hard.
As my first victim I chose a photo taken in Fredericksburg, Virginia which is a charming small town near George Washington’s childhood home.
This picture is a picture of an actual pharmacy and obviously I was quite impress with it since it looked just like pharmacies used to look like in the 50’s (so I’ve been told).
So pretty much I got my work cut out for me.
First I added a greenish tone by using the Red/Green/Blue filter under Adjust/Color (red=0 green=36 blue=12).
Next I added more Contrast and Brightness; there’s no formula here of course, I just play around with these settings until it looks right. Now, I added some Sharpness to the image. The sharpness helps the objects in the picture stand out and appear almost 3D (which obviously they are!). It also adds grain. I happen to love grain but if you don’t just skip the Sharpen adjustment tool.
Finally I applied a filter which is unique to Paintshop pro: Time Machine. It’s an excellent photo effect which can take an image and transform it to another era, complete with matching photo edges. And as this picture didn’t need much help, I used the Early Color to slightly defuse the original colors.
By the way, I always assume most of you use Photoshop for image processing but maybe like me you are only partially using it, so anyway, I’d love to know.
Last day
Driving south from Winchester we took small country roads in a hope to find the real Virginia.
We stopped by an enormous flea market with so many cool oddities and though I was unsuccessful bargaining down an old viewfinder camera I confess mostly I just enjoyed the southern accent.
Eventually after some driving through little towns, creeks and wineries we arrived to the Rappahannock river and to historic Fredericksburg on its banks.
Near by is Ferry Farm where George Washington spent his boyhood years. (you didn’t think it would be a day without GW, did you?)
And now I’m getting ready to go back.
To go back from home to L.A.
Great slow day
A slow day. We hiked along the Potomac (or the Patowmac as George Washington would say ).
The lovely hike took place along the river at Great Falls which is where the Potomac is shared between Maryland and Virginia.
… and don’t forget to bring your camera.
It is Friday night and we are dressed up and ready to go to dinner in a fancy schmancy restaurant in Malibu by the ocean. By the time we leave home it is getting dark and as I have no fast film at hand, I figure there is no point in taking any camera along with me.
Tonight, I’ll just be nice, sit through dinner, be polite and forget about photography.
But then, when I’m at the door, it hits me: hey, don’t I have a nice digital camera somewhere in the house which is perfectly capable of taking night photos?! And so, on my way out, I grab my Nikon D60 for our night on the town.
The opportunity to take a few wonderful and darn right exceptional pictures happens after dinner when we walk on the beach (yeah, yeah, so romantic! Nikon and me).
So here it is: a long exposure in Malibu.
And this is your lesson today, my dear two readers: Never leave home without a camera.
To flash or not to flash (photography)
I have to admit I’ve never used the flash up until a few days ago. I just don’t like this burst of light that changes the reality of the scene. Besides, for the type of photography I do there’s no real benefit for employing the limited range of a flash unit. I know there are situations when it’s a good idea to use flash, but I guess I don’t put myself in these situations.
Until we went to Blue Heights Drive over Sunset Plaza where we found an amazing view overlooking Los Angeles. The view was incredible but the place where we stood was too dark. Too dark to be able to set my camera in manual mode.
I almost decided not to shoot. Just enjoy the view and go home.
Eventually, after some encouragement, I took a few pictures. Some without and some with flash. I like both. The results were very different obviously, but I like both.
I haven’t changed my mind (yet) about using flash; I still think it’s quite ineffective and unnatural, but I hear there are some neat tricks using flash, so if you know of any and would like to share here, I’ll be glad to learn.
No flash :
Yes flash:
Silly black and white digital
One of the most ridiculous features of a digital camera is the black & white shooting mode.
What does it really mean? Isn’t a digital image, just a bunch of digits stored in a file?
So basically when you set your camera to b&w mode you tell it; oh, I don’t care about the color information, just get rid of it. and you let the camera think for you.
But when you capture your image in color and then convert it to black and white in your favorite photo editor (Ok, Photoshop) there are actually numerous ways of converting photos to black & white and so you have more control over the final image.
I don’t know; call me crazy, it just seems better this way instead of letting the camera wipe out all color information of your image.
The only reason I can imagine someone will want to shoot in black and white digital is when they want to actually see what the scene is going to look like in black and white and essentially it can help them “think” in black and white.
But not to worry, there’s a cure.
If you shoot your images in RAW, you can set your camera to black & white mode and enjoy thinking in b&w, because at the end the RAW file actually contains the color information which can be retrieved later on if so desired.
And the bottom line?
If you want fine black and white photos why not try a roll of Ilford film? 
I was using a digital camera and I’m ashamed of it
Yeah, funny thing but every time I clear off the dust of my digital and take it to the streets I feel awkward. What is it about digital cameras that make them feel like a casual thingamajig, not to be taken seriously? (it’s a rhetorical question) Sometimes I feel that my Holga is a more sincere camera than my DSLR.
Maybe it’s just me. I’m the weirdo.
On Saturday the sky over Los Angeles was amazing. I had to go out and do some magic. So I grabbed my Holga but noticed it has only 4 pictures left. Hmmm.. my Polaroid was nowhere to be found and none of the 35 mm film I have in stock seemed appropriate for the occasion.
OK, then the digital it is.
I just hope I don’t meet anybody I know.
It was a nice day in Venice Beach, and I made sure to look around before revealing my camera every time I was taking pictures. But I have to say it’s not easy to hide a nice size DSLR under my shirt. And while I was taking the last images in Venice a man on a bicycle stopped by, looked at my camera and asked: “so how do you like your Nikon?” “It’s alright” I said, recognizing I was not as invisible as I wanted to be.
To make things worse he said “I have a Nikon too but mine is a film camera, Nikon N70”
“Hey that’s cool, I have the N75” I said, so happy to find a friend in this digitized world.
But he just looked at me and it was quite obvious he did not believe me at all. ‘You’re just another typical digital user’ he probably thought to himself.
Well, at least I got a few good pixels, ah I mean, pictures.
Long exposure with a digital camera
At last I found time to experiment long exposures with my digital camera (Nikon D60).
I took most of my long exposures in average lit streets of Hollywood.
Very quickly I became aware that since I don’t have a tripod I will have to adjust a larger aperture (about F/1.0) and quit breathing for a few seconds.
It worked out quite nicely, in fact, I thought it was pretty easy to do and I didn’t faint even once.
I guess I’ll have to find a new challenge now.
My neglected digital camera
Recently I’ve been feeling guilty neglecting my digital camera (Nikon D-60 which I purchased a few months ago with your generous help)
Its true I got it so I have a camera to use while I travel, but as my summer was quite low on traveling my poor camera is simply sitting quietly on the shelf, collecting dust.
So I grabbed my Nikon on the way out to Santa Monica to try some nightly images.
I was wondering how well this camera will handle the night. Especially since I read something somewhere about the Nikon D300 capable of taking better pictures at night.
But hey, the results were pretty good. Though to be honest, I took most of the night pictures at the 3rd street promenade where there was enough light to shoot f/3.5 at one second, so the challenge was not all that great. Still I love the results.
And again, I’m impressed with the noticeable lack of noise (please be aware of the obvious oxymoron).
Next, I’m going to try long exposures. And I do welcome any advice you might have for me. Well, anything other than suggesting I must use a tripod!
