Afterlight II

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Afterlight II

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I took this photo earlier than my last posted last week.
In this photo I wanted instead to take a larger part of the frame by going to directly insert the reflection of the sun also inside the water

I absolutely love the winter scenery on mountain lakes, here conditions change continuously and every shot can give you totally different look

I closed the shutter to catch the spikes of the sun with the help of a series of shots taken later to eliminate the lens flare, some time ago I also wrote an article that I recommend you read on the topic: 5 useful tips to shoot into the sun direction

Putting the hand on the sun on the camera is a great way to have a shot without any lens flare, this allows you to have a clean shot very usefull to mask out all flares

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I digital blended the exposure using TTS Pro, the blend focused mainly on lightening the shadows using the overexposed shot

As I saied on top I used the shot without reflections to eliminate the lens flare on the water and around the rock on the right

I increased the detail by removing the effect on the water, then I added a slight orton effect as I do in practically all my images

Always using my panel, I fixed contrast using luminosity masks applied to curves, I increased the color vibrance and I pushed up sun warmth by applying luminosity masks to a warming filters

As last steps I added a small vignette and pushed up the shadows using luminosity masks

I hope you will find this informations usefull! I like and I’m avaiable to ear feedback 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

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

The Sky in the Lake

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During my last trip in Carinthia I visited many of the famous lakes that distinguish this area in Austria. Mostly these are large swimming lakes, with very interesting views of the mountains, but what you see in the picture was what fascinated me most

I’m talking about the famous Faaker lake, on my arrival I was impressed by the incredible silence that was heard in the clearing, only the noise that I heard was the ducks bathing in the distance, I walked on the shore for a few time until I found this point of view with these moorings for boats

I started taking some test shots until over time the sky brought out the beautiful colors of the golden hour, coloring not only the clouds behind the mountains but the whole body of water of the lake where the sky was perfectly reflected

I tried both compositions both vertical and horizontal but the vertical one was the one that gave greater depth to the photo and greater movement also thanks to the leaf that was at the bottom


WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I blended my exposures using digital blending, after this I edited colors to give more emphasis to yellows and golden hour colours. I increased details and contrast in order to let the image result less flat

I added orton effect to create a dreamy look and make the image more pop, after some adjustments using luminosity masks on the exposure and highlights I used dodge an burn on the poles and on the leaf in order to give more result and make them less dark

I added a soft vignette to darked the lower part of the picture and give more sense of depth on the whole picture

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

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Sigma 14-24 f/2,8 (used at 22 mm)

Three Shots (-1; 0; +1)

ISO: 100 at f/13

Software: Photoshop CC2020

Plugin: TTS Pro

From Red to Green

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Here is my first photo published in 2020, for this image I resume the location of my last photo published, I am talking about the beautiful Dolomites and its incredibles scenery

These are the waterfalls of Fanes, imposing waterfalls that are located inside a gorge and can only be reached through a wide climb on the promontory which must be followed by an equally descent to see them from below

I photographed the waterfalls from the top of the promontory in front of me in order to portray as much as possible the flow of water from the source to the end

The same atmosphere of the low clouds can be seen in the upper part of the photo above the trees giving them a mysterious look

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I blended the shots using digital blending to create the image to work on, the final bled is not so much far from the original shot, I just take some point of the brighter exposure to give more lights around the rock and to increase the softness of the water

I increased the yellow colours applying a warmer filter to the highlights through luminosity masks, after this details was increased using TTS Pro details effects

I fixed contast and lights around the rocks, after this I pushed up some colours like the autumn colours and the end of the waterfall to better look the amazing blue colour of the water

I also created a small vignette to give more darkness of the area around the waterfall and concentrate the viewer’s eye on the waterfall

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

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Sigma 24-70 f/2,8 (used at 30mm)

Three Shots (-1; 0; +1)

ISO: 100 at f/13

Software: Photoshop CC2020

Plugin: TTS Pro

The Hiding II

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Some scenarios of the beautiful autumn colors that I found during my last trip to the Dolomites. On a rainy morning I captured some low-cloud scenarios on trees with autumnal colors near the Fanes Watefalls

At the end of the path that leads to these beautiful waterfalls, a gorge opens up with a great view, in front of that day I couldn’t see much of the mountain behind the clouds but my intent was to portray the trees in their beautiful colors just behind a neutral white cloud

All this clearing was exactly on the other side of the gorge but right in front of me, not was so much far I took this picture with my 24-70 captured at 46mm to get a close-up image of the trees and create a hat-effect with clouds

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

For this shot no digital blending was necessary, I just used a couple of shots and make some ajustments using brush with luminosity masks

The main area affected was the trees: first I increased the luminosity using the brighter exposure and a brush, than I added details and contrast using TTS Pro and launching two effects related to this

Always with the use of luminosity masks I decreased the light in the clouds and I decreased the luminosity in the whole frame. I increased the autumn colours decreasing the opacity to 10% and I increased all the vibrance by +15% in order to give more result to greens and reds of the trees

As final step I added a small vignette to create more visibility to the trees in the center of the frame

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

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Sigma 24-70 f/2,8 (used at 46mm)

Three Shots (-1; 0; +1)

ISO: 100 at f/13

Software: Photoshop CC2020

Plugin: TTS Pro

Where Tomorrow Goes

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A blue hour at the beginning of darkness at Passo Falzarego, a beautiful atmosphere during the day and a night that turns out to be even more interesting an mysterious

I took this photo just before darkness shoting on one of the main peaks and working with a focus stacking between the backround mountain and the foreground shrub

My main intent in this photo was to convey a sense of darkness and mystery, I used focus stacking on a bracketing series which that I blended with luminosity masks in Photoshop

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I blended the shot using TTS Pro to achieve a final shot with both background and foreground in focus, after this I increased the blue colours and decreased the exposure to intensify the dark mood

I increased details and I applied a orton effect, , after this I fixed contrast over the frame. I added a soft blue filter and with dodge and burn tool I made some painting over the shrub and over the mountain

I fixed the lights and darkness using luminosity masks and I increased sharpen over the mountain, as last touch I increased the vignette giving more light to the center of the image

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

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Nikon 70-200 f/2,8 (used at 102mm)

Three Shots (-1; 0; +1)

ISO: 320 at f/7,1

Software: Photoshop CC2020

Plugin: TTS Pro

The Hiding

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Today I post two shots of a details of some peaks during my hike in Passo Falzarego. That day I was surrounded by clouds, I took these two photos while I was uphill and the colors of the sunset that struck these two high peaks struck my attention

The colors in those days were fabulous, accentuated even more by the magic of the low clouds which, as I wrote in previous posts, contributed to creating a magnificent atmosphere throughout the valley


WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

For both exposures I made two handheld shots. For both shots I followed the same workflow in order to obtain 2 similar images. I proceeded for a digital blending than adding details using TTS Pro

I added some warm colours using luminosity masks applied to hightlighs and a warmer filter. After adding a small orton effect, I increased the yellow colours where the sun hit the mountain helping myself with a dodge and burn tool to empatize the lighting

I fixed lights and contrast in the highlights and shadows, I added some lights using a white brush with the glow tool

The last touch was to add a small vignette to increase the darkness around the border

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

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Nikon 70-200 f/2,8 (used at 102mm)

Three Shots (-1; 0; +1)

ISO: 320 at f/7,1

Software: Photoshop CC2020

Plugin: TTS Pro

Losing Sight

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During the days I stay at the Dolomites, the splendid scenery of the mountain in autumn was constantly changing. Very intense days of cloudiness alternated with low clouds to rainy days, unfortunately not always all suitable for taking good photos

That afternoon I was literally surrounded by low clouds on the horizon and I took a lot of photos in this mountain scenery so particular and engaging. In this photo the clouds moving towards the forest below

It was a very beautiful atmosphere, rarely seen in the past at these levels as I said in my previous post. More photos will follow with similar scenarios of those days

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

This image is a result of a digital blending with 2 exposures (of course I captured 3 but used just 2) that I blended using TTS Pro with auto blend darks function inside that instantly blend a darker exposure into a brighter exposure

After this I started edit the shot using luminosity masks correcting lighting in the sky and shadows, I also fixed contrast using midtones masks. I increased details that I partially muted with a orton effect.

I fixed up colours adding more vibrance and giving more yellow tones around the trees and the part of the mountain touched by sunlight

I made a small crop to cut off an empty space below and I made some small intervention with clone stamp tool to remove some rain drops

Last touch was to add a small vignette excluding the sky because it makes the clouds too dark

I hope you will find this usefull. I’m happy to listen it from you!

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Nikon 70-200 f/2,8 (used at 102mm)

Three Shots (-1; 0; +1)

ISO: 320 at f/7,1

Software: Photoshop CC2020

Plugin: TTS Pro

The Wood of the Giant

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I recently spent a few days on the Dolomites to take a different tour than I did last time. To tell the truth, every time I try to do a different tour because the alternatives of beautiful natural places to visit here are really very much

Among my stops there was certainly a decent excursion to Passo Falzarego where I could admire a beautiful autumn scenery, in fact the whole area had a splendid view of red trees with low clouds, the one you see in the picture is a portion of what he surrounded me, in the next posts I will have the opportunity to show you the fullness of the autumnal scenery of the area

I also love the beautiful atmosphere that creates low clouds, on this day the colors and the atmosphere of the sky have really created a show that I have rarely seen. It must be said that I also had to face quite difficult days from a meteorological point of view, some days the clouds were so low that visibility was practically zeroed and rain don’t spared me, so a good mood but with moderation 🙂

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I captured 3 exposure in bracketing to make this shot, I make a blend manually using luminosity masks and my panel TTS Pro. I increased the yellows applying a warm filter to the highlights and shadows and I lighten up the light source using the glow tool

After this I increased details selectively and I applied a orton effect to create a dark dreamy look atmosphere to the mountain than, with the use of dodge and burn I increased the light source and the lights rays through the trees

I set the contrast and highlights and I increased the highlights, after a soft shadow recovery the last touch was to set the vibrance to give more show to the colors of autumn

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

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Nikon 70-200 f/2,8 (used at 105mm)

Three Shots (-1; 0; +1)

ISO: 320 at f/9

Software: Photoshop CC2020

Plugin: TTS Pro

The Awakening

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When I took this photo I was in a special place, a very special place that I found with after a bit of research on google earth in order to find waterfalls along my South Korea itinerary

This is precisely the first of my in trip researches resuls, reaching it was not easy but it was satisfying, together with this waterfall in the next post I will also show you another waterfall that is absolutely unique

However the light coming from the top of the waterfall was lovely, photographing it and capturing that light was my main goal since I reached the location

Behind me there were some tourists who take selfies in every way possibles 🙂 A very strange thing, throughout the entire journey in South Korea I didn’t see half photographer or landscape photographer who had a tripod or a DSRL, never happened before in all of life

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I captured different shots in order to capture the best dynamic range, I blended 3 of them to obtain a final frame with the right light around the water and over the trees

I blended the shots using TTS Pro and luminosity masks to fix the lights around the rocks after the blend. Always with the use of my panel I increased the yellow colours of highlights and shadows using the warm colour filter

With the glow tool I incrased some lights over the main light spot and over the leafs on the trees, I decreased the luminosity in order to generate a more dark look and I applied a soft orton effect to emphatize this

I increased the vibrance of the colours around +10 using hue/saturation given more contrast using curves adjustment layer applied to luminosity masks

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 35mm)

Three Shots (-1; 0; +1)

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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