Straight to the Sun – Cilento Sunset

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Straight to the Sun – Cilento Sunset

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While I was hiking near a promontory in the Cilento area I came across this splendid view of the sea, with a practically perfect sunset with the sun going falling down between two mountains in front of me. Despite the beauty of the place, however, shooting here was very challenging

There was to consider that I was shooting in the direction of the sun, so in a situation of great contrast, also I had to capture all my shots with focus stacking to contrast the wind that came from the sea made all the leaves that I had inserted in composition

For this reason I captured a series of bracketed shots to save the sky and be able to retrieve the information I needed in processing and in addition to this I captured another series of focus stacking shots to save some elements of focus

I am satisfied with the final result even if the processing that I report below as usual was quite long and complicated 😅

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I started working on my image with TTS Pro with I digitally blended all my shots to obtain a balanced image with all the informations recovered in the sky. After this I go through focus stacking technique to save focus in the foreground around the leafs, to make this I used a couple of shots more

Once I obtained the image I started working on it with luminosity masks to recover the highlights in the sky, contrasts, blacks and shadows. I correct color cast in the image, than I fixed again the luminosity of the sky, after this I applied a orton effect to increase the sense of glow warm coming from the sun, I added details, sharpness and increased vibrance

I removed some unwanted spots in the water and reduced the photo noise, created by the shots I used for focus stacking that were captured with high ISO to avoid long exposure

As last touch I fixed lights and I created a manual vignette to emphatize the light source from the sun

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D850

Nikon 14-24f/2,8 (used @24mm)

Focus Stacking Serie

ISO: 80 f/22

Software: Photoshop CC2021

Plugin: TTS Pro 2.0

Returning to Sand

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A new photo from the Cilento coasts which represent one of my favorite places to take seascapes in Italy. In this place beyond the mountain in the evening it often clouds up, giving very suggestive points of views. Here many beaches have interesting rocks to approach and take pictures with interestng foreground elements with which to make compositions

I took this photo using the focus stacking technique, for this I captured a series of exposures to capture as much diversity of focus between the various areas of the image. To this series of photos I then added another series of long exposures to capture the water with greater movement

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

After completing the blending of the images with focus stacking I make anther blend for the sky and for the long exposure of the water. All the blend for the sky and for the water was done with the help of luminosity masks and paintbrush

With a final blend image I used TTS Pro to lauch more details on the picture, I also increased vibrance, added some cold filters to highlights and shadows. I fixed contrast and I used dodge and burn around the rocks on the foreground

As final step I sharpened the image and I created a vignette to make the scene more dark and with a mysterious style

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D850

Nikon 14-24 f/2,8 (used @16mm)

Focus Stacking Serie

ISO: 80 f/11

Software: Photoshop CC2021

Plugin: TTS Pro 2.0

The Path of Defense

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I have been to this location several times in the past, there is a post from 2017 that you can find at this link

The suggestive truglia tower is a bastion of roman origin used mostly used for military sightings. Destroyed several times over the years it has been rebuilt and today it is a pleasant panoramic point of the city of Sperlonga

Before being able to take this photo I waited a few days for an interesting sky and passed in search of a different composition from the ones I had already done in the past

I decided to compose the photo in this way in order to have in the same composition a good foreground element but at the same time of the leading lines that lead towards the main subject of the tower

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I captured 3 bracketed shot for this image that I digital blended using TTS Pro using the auto blend function. I increased details and the warm tones of the sun applying a warm filter to luminosity masks

I used the glow tool to lighten some part of the image and to create a glow effect, after increasing a bit the contrast I increased the color vibrance of the entire image decreasing the effect on the cactus

Lastly I applied the skylight filter of color efex pro limitedly to the sky to incrase the sunset color and as final step a soft vignette to better expose the central tower

As always I 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 19mm)

Three Shots (-1; 0; +1)

ISO: 100 at f/11

Software: Photoshop CC2020

Plugin: TTS Pro, Color Efex Pro

Capri

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This is a picture from 2019, I take this shot in the beautiful island of Capri this is the view o classical Faraglioni from the stairs leading to the beach in front of them

During the walk through the beach the dense vegetation does not always make it possible to see the two Faraglioni rocks in the sea but I found this opening by chance which also created an interesting compositional framing

I post this photo after a year because even this like the previous post I initially discarted it, in fact in this photo the largest rock of the two Faraglioni is covered by vegetation but it is in any case a very interesting composition

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I digital blended the shots using TTS Pro, I fixed highlights and shadow using luminosity masks. I added a warm filter to the sky using luminosity masks and color efex pro filter, than I added orton effect to create a soft dreamy effect

To lighten the dark of the foliage I used dodge and burn to lighten the shadows and light bleeding to increase the warm of the sky

After adding details on the whole image, I removed the effect on the sea and as final step, increased the contrast on the rocks

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

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

Sigma 14-24 f/2,8 (used at 21mm)

Single Shot

ISO: 100 at f/9

Software: Photoshop CC2020

Plugin: TTS Pro

My 2019

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Here we are my final post of the year, my annual photo composition. Also this year I created a personal photo manipulation obtained with all top elements of this year. In this photo composition every thing, object and person you see has its own meaning, its importance, its memory for me, a moment that I want to remember and keep with special affection in this 2019

This is a personal representation of my 2019, here we have places visited, travels, personal goals and all that was dear to me.  This image has meaning for myself but I like to think that this image is beautiful even for you who look at it

I really hope you will appreciate the work, I always love to ear this from you! I want take the opportunity to thank you all for the support on my page and socials during this year, I want to wish you happy 2020 to all!

Lines of the Night

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In the previous post I show you one of Busan spots that really impressed me and it is the main center activity of the city, but it is not the only one. Busan has also another very interesting city heart near the harbour

This is a view from the Busan Tower a a 120-metre-high tower at Yongdusan Park. I like very much the view from this tower because it benefit from a great view over the sea and from the proximity of other buildings

When I take this shot I come before the dusk and go upstairs still with sunlight, I cecked my favourite view and waited the right mix between golden and blue hour (i really love this kind of lights mix), usually during this time the citylights starts and at the same time the sky offers beautiful colours

I took this photo through the glass of the Busan Tower windows, using a suction cup to attach to the glass to avoid internal reflections, I captured some bracketed shots that I used to blend the final frame especially for what concerns the highlights

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I blended two shots for this image, I worked mainly on a shot and I used a underexposed exposure to decrease the highlights using digital blending with TTS Pro, after this I straighten the horizon and fixed color cast

I still decreased the highlights using color range funcion and applying the selection to luminosity masks. I removed some dust spots over the window using clone stamp tool, after I increased details and colours vividness

Using hue/saturation I decreased the blues on the left part of the sky that was originally too much strong. I set contrast and shadows as fnal touch

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

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

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

Three Shots (-1; 0; +1)

ISO: 100 at f/16

Software: Photoshop CC2019

Plugin: TTS Pro

The Bay

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Busan is a very cool city, its alternating Korean traditions, beautiful temples, beaches with the modernity of the buildings. Thanks to the advice of a friend, I managed to find this fabulous spot of the Busan towers right in front of a bay that is a dock for boats

I reached the location in the late afternoon, I arrived much earlier than the blue hour and started taking some pictures on the pier with some fishermen and a beer I had taken at a nearby bar

It was nice to stop and shoot from this location while waiting for the best lights in the city while I watched the boats go by the pier and the sky changes faster and faster

I took many interesting photos during the sunset, including this one below which is a blending of a couple of photos to get the Gwangalli bridge on the left into the frame

I captured shots from the golden hour until the blue hour and I created the photo above from an interesting blending between the two moments but what struck me most was the impact of the reflections and the lights as soon as the twilight began, beautiful reflections that could be seen even in the puddles around me on the dock of the port

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

To make the night shot I made a blend of 3 exposures with different timing essentially to cover all the dinamic range of building lights. The main goal was to create a final frame to fixed lights

I blended the shots using TTS Pro and with the help of luminosity masks I made the final adjustments to the lights using color range

I increased details removing the effect on the water, I applied more blue colours to the shadows using a cold filter. With the glow tool I pushed up some lights in the water and in the sky, with the help of dodge and burn I decreased some spot in the frame

As final step I increased the sharpness of the photo removing the effect on the water

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

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

Three Shots (30s-15s-8s)

ISO: 100 at f/16

Software: Photoshop CC2019

Plugin: TTS Pro

Korean Nights – Haedong Temple

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During my trip to Korea I visited many temples but few of them really impressed me like this place. What you see in the picture is the famous Haedong Yonggung sea temple located near the city of Busan.

Also this temple was sadly destroyed during the Japanese invasion and subsequently rebuilt only in 1974. The temple is a large one in the middle of the sea and a small wood behind its, the surrounding area is inside a park relaxing and peaceful

When I arrive there I was really impressed of the strongest visual impact of the temple complex built on the rocks of the sea, here there are many panoramic points where you can have a beautiful view of the cliff and the temple in the background.

After visiting the temple I started taking some photos from a bridge overlooking the cliff and from where there is a beautiful view of the temple. However at the end of the day when they were gone all of them I moved down to capture some more shots and found this interesting spot by placing the camera between the bars of a fence on the cliff

Between the two shots I preferred to post this because it captures all the essence of the temple in the evening or anyway when the day comes to an end and the beautiful silence of this location remains, broken only by the waves of the sea

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

Being now at the last light of the day I realized this shot through a series of bracketing of 3 shots, with the darkest exposure of 30 seconds

I blended the exposure using TTS Pro, than I fixed lights and contrasts using luminosity masks. After a spot removal with clone stamp tool I used dodge and burn to lighten some rocks too dark and lighten the surrounding area of the temple

With a yellow brush I also increased the yellow colour aroud the lights near the main temple building

I corrected color cast adding a more blue/purple tone and I decreased the whole exposure of the image to increase the sense of dark mood of this scenery maintaining the exposure im the sky

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

TECNHNICAL STUFF

Camera: Nikon D-800

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

Three Shots ( -1; 0; +1)

ISO: 100 at f/16

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

Conjunctions

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I took this photo in a beach located in the Gulf of Cilento, I love this area of Italy and very often I spend a few days here in the summer. The Cilento area is located in the southern part of Campania and is a UNESCO heritage area that offers not only beautiful beaches but also small mountains, archaeologic areas and natural parks

Although we are along the coast, the proximity of the hills to the sea, makes that in the evening, the sky around the mountains, is often clouded; creating interesting photographic spots not so common on the coasts

I make this shot in the final hours of sunset, to capture the movement of the water I used a 3-stop ND filter to avoid exposures that were too long for each series of shots

WORKFLOW EXPLANATION

I captured 5 exposure bracketing for this that I blended using my panel TTS PRO, to the blended image I added contrast and details

I fixed lights over the rocks and over the horizon using luminosity masks, than I enhanced colours using a cold filter applied to highlights and a bit less to the shadows

I boosted the colours of the sunset creating a mask for yellow, red and magenta to give more warm to the sky after this I applied a soft orton effect and a soft dodge and burn to the rocks and to the water

As final step I created a soft vignette to give more energy to the central scene

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

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