The Crystal Veins

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The Crystal Veins

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I know, there are many photos that I am posting every week of this place and its surroundings but the situations I found with light, ice, colours and great points of view was very very interesting

Compared to last week’s shot I shot a few tens of meters but as you can see for yourself the main subject remains the same. Here too I benefited from large and interesting colors in the sky not quite the classical golden hour time, a sign that in the mountains there are many hours during the day where you can shoot with great colours during the day

Also here as for the previous shot I used the focus stacking technique with multi exposure, so I captured a bracketing series with a focus on the foreground and a bracketing series with the focus on the mountain subject in order to blend the “two series of shots” togheder

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

To use the focus stacking technique I digital blended the shots with foreground using TTS Pro than I repeated the same process for the shots with mountain focused, after this I merged the two series togheder using focus stacking function on Photoshop

I fixed the highlights using luminosity masks, than I regulated contrast and colours. With dodge and burn I regulated all the lighting around the mountain, the forest below it but also in the reflections of the lake and on the rock

With my glow tool and the use of a brush with warm colors I emphasized the colors on the rocks of the sun and on the ice around them

After this I increased details and sharpness removing the effect in the unwanted areas using a simple layer mask and a black brush

Also for this shot I applied two different kinds of orton effect: the first is the classic orton effect decreased to the opacity to 15% and the second is the orton effect dark, that emphatize the dark tones of the image this time reduced in the opacity by 10%

I also decreased a bit the whole exposure of the shot, to create more atmosphere in this view

I really hope you will find this usefull! I like to ear this from you!

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Nikon 14-24 f/2,8 (used at 14 mm)

Single Shot

ISO: 100 at f/14

Software: Photoshop CC2020

Plugin: TTS Pro

Afterlight

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I have a beautiful remember of this afternoon when I went to this lake, the light was fantastic and the sun peeked through the clouds and the mountains

I have long been looking for a spot where I could take the beautiful reflections of the lake and I waited for the moment that the light filtered through the clouds, the colors of the lake that changed in the sunlight were beautiful and made the atmosphere warm and magical

The light intervals were really fast and I happened to lose some of them but I managed to capture this moment, the light coming from the left was much stronger than what is shown in the photo, I eliminated the lens flare using layer mask with the other expousure taken before

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

Although I captured the scene in different moments of light the result of this photo is not a digital blending, I used the other shots to remove lens flare and light imperfections of the main shot but basically I worked on a single shot

I started with a variation of colors increasing the warm tones, then I raised the details by removing the effect on the reflections of the water

With orton effect I increase the sense of softness of the scene to mitigate the strongness of details throught the trees and on the mountains, I raised up the light using dodge an burn and fixed the contrast using curves applied to luminosity masks

I darkened the scene increasing the purple tones, as last step I increased sharpness on the mountain peaks and on the branches of the trees

I hope you will find this usefull. I like to ear this from you!

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Sigma 24-70 f/2,8 (used at 31 mm)

Single Shot

ISO: 100 at f/13

Software: Photoshop CC2020

Plugin: TTS Pro

Conjunctions II

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From the beautiful beaches of Cilento, I come back with a photo from a different perspective of my favorite beach of this area. To take this picture I used the distortion of my wide angle to create a more impactful effect in the foreground

To take advantage of the distortion it is always good to consider the corners of the image to avoid falling lines on the horizon. I love vertical photos but the management of distortions when you want to highlight a subject in the foreground may not always be easy

In my tutorial 7 composition guidelines for better landscape photography I insered Mind the Corners, to remember the presence of spots or other distracting elements in the picture that could focus away the viewer’s attention, the falling lines are one of them so always check it when you use lens distortion for you shots

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I captured 5 exposure bracketing series that I blended using TTS PRO.I used an additional shot to capture the sea with a long exposure that I used to make the water more soft

With the complete blend, I straighten up the horizon and removed some water spots on the lens. With the use of luminosity masks, I decreased the highlights and I increased the shadows in order to make better visibles the stones around the beach

I increased contrast and I added some blue colors to the image using a cold filter. I added a very soft orton effect and I used dodge and burn to increase the lights over the rocks and decrease the luminosity of the sea

Always using my panel I used the glow tool to make other adjustments and creating a manual vignette over the image

I hope you will find this usefull. I’m always happy to ear this from you!

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Nikon 14-24 f/2,8 (used at 14mm)

Five Exposures (-2; -1; 0; +1; +2)

ISO: 100 at f/11

Software: Photoshop CC2019

Plugin: TTS Pro

The Rockside

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Another shot I made in Cilento,  this is the the same beach of my latest post. At sunset the light behind that house on the lake was slowly falling, I made this shot through a 3-stop ND filter to capture as much as possible of the movement of the sea

The light coming from behind the house was a stark contrast to the rocks on the beach, in particular the one I placed first on of the frame

I shot for a long exposure series using bracketing, in order to blend all the images together, shooting in bracketing mode is what I always prefer to do when there is a strong contrast like this between direct light and rocks

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

For this shot 5 shots bracketing was necessary, I blended the best 3 shots using luminosity masks and TTS PRO

I removed some water spot on the lens using clone stamp tool, I fixed horizon line and perspective than I started add more details and contrast to the image

I slightly increased the yellow tone of the sky using a yellow filter applied to luminosity masks

After a dodge and burn job around the rocks and on the house I lauched my effect orton effect dark that you can find in my panel

I darkened the scene reducing by 0,15 the general exposure, I increased a little bit the highlights, than as final step, I created a vignette to increase contrast and give more attention to the main subjects

I always hope you will find this usefull. I love to ear that from you!

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Nikon 14-24 f/2,8 (used at 16mm)

Five Exposures (-2; -1; 0; +1; +2)

ISO: 100 at f/11

Software: Photoshop CC2019

Plugin: TTS Pro

Hands Lifted

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Waiting for my next trip I spend a day last week in the Tuscia region. It was a name given to the old region of Etruria now named conventionally has the name of the region around Viterbo

Here there is a beautiful beech forest, located on Monte Cimino. The beech forest and is a pleasant walk (especially the summer) to go through these beautiful centenary trees, very suggestive the lights that filter through the branches during the morning

I found these two trees that they had a shape almost representing hands towards the sky, where a strong morning light filtered creates beautiful plays of light

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I edited the single shot with luminosity masks, used to adjust contrast lights and darkness, no blend here was possible because I was freehand and the wind moved the leaves

I increased details using TTS PRO ,created two warm filters (highlights and shadows) applied to luminosity masks to give more yellows tones to trees and leaves

I launched an orton effect to give more sens of glow in the frame, plus to intensity the light I used the glow tool with a brush around the main lights area

With the use of dodge and burn I reduced some strong lights around the trees and as final step I added a vignette to give more prominence to the light coming to the sky I darkened some rocks with too much lights on them, I adjusted contrast using it applied to luminosity masks

I hope you will find this usefull. I’m always happy to ear this from you!

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Nikon 14-24 f/2,8 (used at 14mm)

Single Shot

ISO: 250 at f/8

Software: Photoshop CC2019

Plugin: TTS Pro

Ray of Light

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We are in the beautiful island of Capri in the Gulf of Naples. It is considered one of the most beautiful Italian islands and is also the most famous italian island for its beauty

Particularly famous are its faraglioni and the blue grotto for which it is famous all over the world, the island is made up of continuous caves and steep cliffs that make it a very interesting spot for taking great seasapes

What personally I love of Capri is to look the sea from the cliffs and benefit from the beautiful colors and the silence of the sea, from here you can see the merging of the sky to the sea

I took this photo in one of the numerous panoramic points of the island, I love the way in which on the island of Capri sun and clouds often alternate and the continuous creation of different illuminations in the sky


WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I edited this shot using luminosity masks and my panel TTS Pro with whom I increased details and contrast in the image

With the help of color efex pro I launched skylight filter to create a soft warming effect into the sky. I added a orton effectto increase the softness of the horizon and the mountains from the viewer’s eye

I decreased the highlights and I created a vignette to emphatize the light coming through the clouds

I hope you will find this usefull. I love to ear this from you!


TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Nikon 14-24 f/2,8 (used at 14mm)

Single Shot

ISO: 100 at f/9

Software: Photoshop CC2019

Plugin: TTS Pro, Color Efex Pro

A Evening by the Sea

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Also this year I decided to take a tour of the Amalfi coast, it is one of my favorite places to spend a few days capturing great landscapes, visiting important UNESCO sites and eating very very well 🙂

This photo represents a spot that I really like and that every time I come to these places I take it Every time I find something different and it’s never the same, from the sky to the vegetation, to the colors of the sea… I love it!

This time I took the shot with a long exposure, since the area is always very windy I took a few minutes before the precaution of saving the leaves from the wind

The moment of the shot is the one that anticipates the nautical twilight so the moment immediately before when the sky begins to pull out the blue


WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

This time no digital blending was necessary, so I used the exposure I captured for the leaf to manually mask them with the main shot

I fixed lights, contrasts and details using TTS Pro effects, than I fixed color cast and created a soft warm atmosphere using a warming filter

I increased the vibrance to have more vibrant colours and with dodge and burn I fixed some darker areas inside the caves of the coast. As usual I also used a soft orton effect orton effect to create a more soft and dreamy effect

I reduced the highlights and I created a strong vignette to increase the dark mood of the scene and give more prominence to the central scene

Last step was to increase the sharpness on the edges and in particular on the mountain to increase the viewer sense of detail

I hope you will find this usefull. I love to ear this from you!


TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Nikon 14-24 f/2,8 (used at 14mm)

Long Exposure

ISO: 100 at f/9

Software: Photoshop CC2019

Plugin: TTS Pro

Vessels

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Always from the same location of Belluno Alps National Park I took this photo of the waterfall that feeds the “pools” of my previous post. They are charaterized by a small stream, but with a strong flow that is powerful enough to feed the whole system of which the valley is characterized

The turquoise color of which the water of the pools below is made up can already be seen in the part below the waterfall where it already begins to take on a very bright color

For this shot I used a Nd3 filter stops with a series of 3-shot bracketing to have the chance to perform digital blending


WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I started using a digital blending using my panel with the 3 shots bracketing taken

I regulated brights and contrasts using luminosity masks,than I used dodge and burn to adjust the lights around the rocks near the waterfall. Since the image was very flat I wanted to create a darker and at the same time soft effect with an orton effect filter and in particular the orton effect dark that you can find inside TTS Pro I used a 30% opacity to have a strong effect

I used curves to adjus the luminosity of the whole frame and after generating a strong vignette I fixed the final contrast and color correction to the final image you see

As final step I decreased the luminosity to create a dark mood in the whole picture

I hope you will find this informations usefull. I’m always happy to ear this from you!


TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Nikon 14-24 f/2,8 (used at 14mm)

Three Exposures (-1; 0; +1)

ISO: 100 at f/11

Software: Photoshop CC2019

Plugin: TTS Pro

Pool With a View

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This magical place is near the regional park of Alps in Belluno, skirting the lake of Mis you arrive in this series of natural pools feed by a waterfall with the alps in the background

The crystalline water and the white rock at certain times of the day it reaches its most complete amazing yellow colours when sun goes behind the mountains and all take a great looking yellow like golden hour

To take this photo I decided to create a vertical photomerge of two shots so as to include as much as possible of the scenery

The waterfall that feeds the pools is on the back, so I could not include it in the same shot but I promise you that it will be the subject of my next posts 😀


WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I captured two series of shots to photomerge, for each series I take 3 bracketed shots that I blended using auto blend darks function of TTS PRO 

After a lights fix using curves applied to luminosity masks, I increased details and controlled contrast. With a warm filter, I generate more yellows tones and I decreased the luminosity of the mountain with dodge and burn

I applied a soft orton effect details using my panel, a orton effect that create the typical effect but avoiding to loose sharpness. I create a light painting in the picture using the brush on the main viewer’s eye points

I decrease the luminosity a bit and I generate a soft vignette as final steps

I hope you will find this informations usefull. I’m always happy to ear this from you!


TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Nikon 14-24 f/2,8 (used at 14mm)

Three Exposures (-1; 0; +1)

ISO: 100 at f/7,1

Software: Photoshop CC2019

Plugin: TTS Pro

Romantic Rome

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I love photographing Rome from the bridges of the river. This is a shot that I cyclically go to take because it’s a beautiful spot and every time it changes in something

No doubt, this spot is one of the most classic in Rome and if you have seen my recent instagram / facebook stories you realized how many people had crowded it in a street corner just to take this picture

Unfortunately some locations in Rome are recently becoming impractical for the crowds around these photo spots and this is becoming one of them

However the view from here is magnificent, Castel Sant’Angelo on the right (remains covered by the trees but it is still visible between), at the bottom the San Pietro basilica and all the beauty reflections and water games that this postcard offers

The only disturbing element is unfortunately that horrendous billboard that has been there for a long time now, besides being huge it is also illuminated and impacts a lot in the picture. I could not remove it in post because I would have compromised the photo, but I had a strong temptation to do it

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I wait until the complete dusk to make this shot, this is from the late blue hour. I captured 5 bracketed shots and I blended all the exposures using TTS PRO 

With the blended image I fixed the light and darkness using curves tool and luminosity masks, than I straightened the horizon using ruler tool on the bridge and I launched high details filters of my panel

I applied a cold filter to the image, first applying it on the highlights and then on the shadows, to give a greater nocturnal and a “elegance” touch to the frame

I fixed some colors that appears too bright, for this I used hue / saturation filter applied selectively thank I increased the vividness of the sky

In closing I applied a slight orton effect and increased the sharpen reducing the opacity to 20%

I hope you will find this informations usefull. I’m always happy to ear this from you!

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Nikon 14-24 f/2,8 (used at 14mm)

Five Exposures (-2;-1; 0; +1; +2)

ISO: 100 at f/16

Software: Photoshop CC2019

Plugin: TTS Pro

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Hi, my name is Giuseppe Sapori, a professional photographer and author of this website, created by yours truly to show my work and share with you the techniques I use. My expertise is in the field of Landscape Photography... (Read More)

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