Conjunctions II

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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

The Bless II

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In one of my latest posts I talked about the valley of Ferriere, an enchanting place surrounded by nature that saw its period of greatest activity during the production of paper, where many paper mills in this valley were active and functioning

Today those paper mills are no longer there but all the remains of their buildings are still here, now the valley of Ferriere is aa very green wood full of waterways. During my journey I also found this waterfall which is located in a basin further downstream

The light was a bit strong and filtered through the branches, this meant that numerous contrasts were created between the areas struck by the sun and the darker ones. I captured this with a single shot and a 6-stop nd filter

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I edited the single shot with luminosity masks, used to adjust contrast lights and darkness

I increased the glow effect using TTS PRO applying an orton effect  and increasing the warm colors on the highlights

I also increased the lights coming from the highlights to give more enery to the warm between the trees.

I darkened some rocks with too much lights on them, I adjusted contrast using it applied to luminosity masks

I adjusted the yellow colors and the vibrance of the frame, the final step was to add a very soft vignette to give more impact to the waterfall

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 – Long Exposure

ISO: 100 at f/11

Software: Photoshop CC2019

Plugin: TTS Pro

The Upper Sight

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I have been going to Amalfi for several years, now I know many photo spots here and I made some of them several times during the years. This time thanks to a conversation with some local people I managed to find a location never done before and it one of the most beautiful spot to have a great view from top

I’m talking about the highest point of the city of Amalfi where you can enjoy the best view of the city and the coast. Below me there was a balcony full of lemons that only if they had been covered by some sheets would have been an incredible part of the composition of the photo

Here late in the evening and with a slight haze I was able to capture a postcard of Amalfi in the evening from above, I realized it from a single shot and with a single exposure of 30 seconds

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I start editing regulating exposure, darks, lights and conrast using luminosity masks .

I intensified the glow of the haze using a orton effect and I incresed details in the whole frame using TTS Pro panel

I lightened the highlights and I darkened the shadows, used a soft dodge and burn in some critical points such as lamps and light trails

Th final adjustment was to regulate the yellow colours brighing it to a soft warm yellow rather than a orange as it was originally

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


TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Sigma 24-70 f/2,8 (used at 38mm)

Three Shots – Long Exposure

ISO: 100 at f/16

Software: Photoshop CC2019

Plugin: TTS Pro

The Underbelly

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One of the most significative spot of Rome is the view of Castel Sant’Angelo with his bridge, this is one of my favourite spots in my city

The beauty of the castle and the reflections on the river during dusk are make this place one of the most famous locations in Rome

I usually take my shots the other side of the bridge but this time cause to a dry river this time I preferred the view from the west side

That day I stayed in the place from the sunset to the end of the blue hour, just before dark the sky take a tone of a beautiful purple

Although I was satisfied with my previous shots taken, the latest photos with this shade of purple became my main choices 🙂

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I take 5 exposure brackets for this frame, I blended the shots using
TTS PRO with the function auto blend darks, I started from the darker shots to the brighter

With the use of luminosity masks I ligthened some parts under the bridge, to decrease the darks than with dodge and burn I pushed up the lights in the areas of main view of the frame

I increased details and contrast, with a curve tool I also increased the luminosity of the sky and applied a soft warm filter to the higlights to mitigate the blue/purple effect and better mix it with golden hour colours

I added a vignette to increase the sense of darkness of this image and with the glow tool I increased the luminosity of reflections and water

Last passage is to use color efex pro filter to use “glamour glow” filter to add a smooth look to the image, I love the glow generated by this filter

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

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/13

Software: Photoshop CC2019

Plugin: TTS Pro, Color Efex Pro

The Secret Path

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A series of shots collected under the torii of the Fushimi Inari Shrine. This one is one of the most important spots in the province of Kyoto, its guided path to the top of the temple in the midst of a characteristic Japanese forest makes the whole journey lovely and charming. The route towards the main temple includes several other minor temples during the way

The route this Fushimi inari Shrine is famous for the countless torii gates that are found along the way, so they are one of the biggest photographic spots in Japan

As I explained in my previous post, I went there early in the morning and I managed to find the time to take alternative pictures:

The first pictures was a snap taken during the passage of a guy, the white color of his shirt in the middle of all that red caught my attention

In the second picture I captured the ghosts of the people that were passing under the torii gates

The third image is a  is a manual shot of the detail of one of the torii

 

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

Even all the images have a similar treatment, they are all single shots so here I did not do any digital blending between different exposures. For every images I increased the details using the High Details filter included in my panels TTS Fast Panel and TTS PRO than I applied a soft orton effect to generate some glow and soft effect to the frame, a small vignette to the end was applied to all

In the first photo (the guy) I used a dodge and burn along the torii gates to reduce the brighs on the highlights, I lightened the shadows and worked on the colors, in particular I intensified the warm tones, subsequently reducing the saturation level of the reds

In the second image (the ghosts) I merged other ghost images from other exposures I take to have a more ghost coverage in the final frame, I fixed the brights and darks using curves adjustment layers and luminosity masks. 

In the third image (focus) I worked above all on details and lighting, even here I slightly lowered the red level of the torii

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

 

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Lens: Nikon 14-24mm f/2,8

Various Exposures

N.1: ISO: 640 at f/4,5

N.2: ISO: 100 at f/16 for 5 seconds

N.3: ISO: 200 at f/2,8

Software: Photoshop CC2019

Plugin: TTS Pro

 

How to Dodge and Burn using Luminosity Masks

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Dodge and Burn is a very used technique in photoshop, it allows you to emphasize some of the main elements a image focusing on some points of it. Dodge and burn is mainly use to guide the viewer’s eye to the leading lines. Some time ago I wrote an article about this technique called Dodge and Burn 2 non destructive techniques compared where I talked about how to create the effect without any risk to make any damage to your image

Among the methods illustrated to create dodge and burn there  is the use of a 50% gray  layer and to use separate layers, both are efficient methods but they apply globally to the image. The risk is to apply the effect where is not needed, for this reason the application of luminosity masks into the dodge and burn layer is the key

In the video below I explain how to dodge and burn using luminosity masks. If you do not know how to create luminosity masks I invite you to download my free panel where you can create luminosity masks and launch some very useful effects including dodge and burn

I hope you find all this useful. I always love to ear this from you!

 

Tokyo Nights

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I take this from Tokyo Skytree,  from here you can admire (and photograph) the highest view of the city of Tokyo. The Skytree is a telecommunications and panoramic tower located in Sumida, Tokyo’s special district

With a height of 634 meters it is the tallest tower in the world and the second highest artificial structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai, the Tokyo Skytree is a strong tourist attraction and one of the main symbols of the city

The view from here is excessively high and everywhere you turn you can find some ideas to photograph from the top of the Japanese capital. Here I managed to make some shots including this where I preferred to emphasize a detail with one of Tokyo‘s main traffic arteries… everywhere I turned around it turned out to be all small 🙂

Also here as in Tokyo Tower to take shots through the windows of the tower I had to pay the maximum attention to the backlights that could reflect the lights on the window and definitively ruining the photo, at this regard also here I came to the rescue my sweatshirt with which I covered most of the reflections that entered the frame

I captured 3 exposures in bracketing mode for this frame, to have the ability to fix the lights and shadows with digital blending, the longer shot was of 25 seconds at ISO 100

 

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I started this picture with digital blending using  TTS PRO, I blended the images using fast blend lights funcion and auto blend darks funcion. With the resulting frame ready I worked on luminosity masks going to fix the darks and lights as I like, to lighten some shadows and decrease some lights too strongs

I added details and using dodge and burn I lighten some darks area of the city and I used some color lookup filters to add to this picture, in particular: crisp winter at 20% filmstock 10% and futuristick bleak 30%

The latest touch was to increase the shadows and adding some extra sharpen to the frame

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

 

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Lens: Sigma 24-70mm f/2,8 (Shot at 48mm)

Three Exposures

ISO: 100 at f/11

Software: Photoshop CC2018

Plugin: TTS Pro

 

 

Stars Zoom

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Hello guys! Here I am again with a night picture from the beautiful Rocca Calascio. What you see is the castle, with the path that leads to the slopes of the fortress. The way was glimpsed in the darkness and the atmosphere created by this photo was something that catch me imediately I like very much that mood and I also like the light pollution behind the castle that seems a daylight lighting

Speaking of the sky and the stars this time I tried to do something different, I enjoyed playing with the zooming and  Photoshop levels to create something original and slightly different from the usual, one created is a startrail zoom made by copying the same level multiple times and changing the blending mode into lighten, the sky full of point-like stars seemed to me too reductive for this beautiful castle 🙂

 

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

After created the images stack I changed the blending mode into lighten to create a zooming effect, than i merged the result into a final frame. Using TTS PRO I launched luminosity masks with I increased the lights of the darks and decreased the highlights curves. I created contrast zones to fix the light and the contrast over the main part of the picture

The next step was to fix colors using auto correct, that give me a very good color tone, than I slighlty changed it by reducing blues and increasing yellow using a warming filter.

I used dodge and burn to lighten the path that lead to the castle, I also launched orton effect decreasing the opacity to 8% to create a soft and dark dreamy atmosphere in the image. The last step was to darken the image e and to launch a noise reduction with very low opacity just to give the last touch

All the effects I mentioned above are inside my brand new panel TTS PRO, that I recommend to download to  fasten your workflow and to have all the effect in one click application!

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

 

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Lens: Nikon 14-24mm f/2,8 (Shot at 14mm)

Single Exposure

ISO: 3200 at f/2,8

Software: Photoshop CC2018

Plugin: TTS Pro

 

Milky Way Door

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I took this photo at the dawn of the moon, the light source that starts from the left is just the light of the moon that began to peek out of the mountains. I made this frame by two shots, I moved to photograph the rock first at the top to take all the milky way and then gradually down to include more foreground

Initially I did some tests shooting here with a subject in the picture and then other tests with a light source inside that little door that is in the ruins, I discarded all these shots because the image as a whole with all these elements was not look good, especially even if the light coming from the door would have made the most striking photo at the same time made it so much artifacts, so I avoided

 

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I followed the same editing line of the previous picture, I started opening the images on camera raw to make the first edits and save the images before apply the Photoshop photomerge in one, once obtained one single frame by this two exposures I applied the free trasform tool to adjust the empty areas and adapt to the frame

So I started edit the image by using camera raw to raise up the milky way than back in photoshop I applied the result only to the sky. Using TTS PRO  I made the main adjustments regarding, color, lights and contrast. I applied the luminosity mask contrast to better control the contrast over the point of lights darks and midtones of the picture

I increased the lights of the foreground applying a curves tool to the darks luminosity masks and I launched dodge and burn with I adjusted with a brush the colors over the milky way and the lights over the darkest areas of the foreground

I also made some adjustment to the colors, I don’t like so much the coolest tone of the night sky coming from this picture, in particular the sky was too much blue saturated, so in this case I stepped up the yellow tones of the light pollution and I decreased the saturation of the blue colors

In TTS PRO in the third page of finishing there are many functions to save and finishing your work, here I applied a small vignette reducing the opacity to 30% and I saved the images by height to simply create a web format image without loosing quality

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

 

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Lens: Nikon 14-24mm f/2,8 (Shot at 14mm)

Two Exposures

ISO: 3200 at f/2,8

Software: Photoshop CC2018

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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