I thought some of you might be curious as to the process taken when editing the images in Nikon Capture NX2. Through the use and grouping of control points the effect can be evenly applied and uniformly controlled.
You can see the points on the image split into linear sections along the rainbow. I wanted to have the ability to have three different control sections due to different varying choices in color saturation. Using the point selected above we can see the individual options for adjustment. From top to bottom (of the four options) we have: the amount of effected area , brightness, contrast, and saturation. Not all have to be used. It all depends on your motive. As you can see here the lowest slider was dragged much further to the right to help increase the lesser shades of violet, blue, and indigo. Once you have the settings you want to carry in a series of points you hold the ‘ctrl’ or command key and hit the letter ‘D’ to duplicate the point. All the similar control points get grouped as you can see on the right and will be more clear in the snapshot below.
A really cool feature of Nikon Capture NX2 is being able to see the exact impact of your actions with a selection option called “Show Selection.” Pretty to the point. What it does as seen above is convert the entire image to a scale of b&w showing only the effected areas by your adjustments. This is a great way to know exactly what is effected without trying to figure out if the saturation has hit a certain area and also it’s intensity. The color image this was done with is seen below. I used a different image for the two screenshots for some odd reason. Another advantage to the grouping can be seen by the menu on the right. You can effect them all at once; rather then individually tweaking each individual point within the group.
Nikon Capture NX2 handles the conversion of their raw files on the premature end better (I feel) then dumping them straight into photoshop. Through use of editing in Capture first and then through a 16-bit .tiff file for photoshop is a better and higher quality way to edit your images.
We began early and headed up toward the Hudson in search of bald eagles. We didn’t know what to expect, just excited the drive had no traffic! As we arrived at our first local things weren’t looking very good. What was supposed to be a partly cloudy day had become engulfed in cloud cover. Typical it seems for being around here. To top it off the warmer days of the previous week have thawed the thick ice on the Hudson and with combination of the waves cleared it all out. Lack of ice flows makes it a bit harder to get closer to the eagles without finding them in the trees. Canvasing the three big areas locations in and around Croton park revealed a quiet and distant presence. Speaking to a local of the area revealed that the Croton Dam is a big spot for the eagles come evening time. Unfortunately the day was being capped for another affair.
Frustrated with the cloud cover and the teasing skies with minor peaks we took one last try. I was curious in our last two visits to the area what the lower park area of the dam looks like from below. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back! Sometimes exploring just a bit more can open up a whole other perspective. As we made the short maybe quarter mile drive to Croton Gorge Park Dina yells out to stop the car. She points out the left window and there is a beautiful red shouldered hawk perched on a branch just watching us…well…like a hawk. The light magically broke through the clouds and lit the hawks striking plumage. Sitting in the car I just ripped as many frames trying to avoid the branches as best as possible. After about 100 frames or so he took off in search of his next meal. Continuing down the old beaten asphalt path and over the bridge displays the ferocious cascading falls of the lower spillway. You are able to walk up to the dam as it towers 300ft above you. To put the topping on the cake the parting clouds brought a rainbow that just made for some incredible image making. Stuffing my pockets with my Sigma 150mm macro, Tamron 17-50mm wide angle and, and 10-20 ultra wide angle I opened up firing as many photos off as I could from as many different angles possible. Afraid the rainbow may disappear at a moments notice. I avoided polarizer’s as that removes the rainbow all together. Just when all hope felt lost persistence and holding on to patience paid off. (if you’d like to see more of the lenses and why I use them feel free to check the Gadgets & Tools tab above.)
A redshouldered hawk taking note of our presence and watching his surroundings.
A wide angle topical view of a portion of the spillway. All too often we try a wide angle photograph. Those are all well and good at times, but there is so much detail in the world. If we isolate all the variables not contributing to your subject and bring in what draws attention to it through simplification; it can increase the potency of an image. This image had a combination of black point and an upping of the contrast to make the elements of the image more distinct.
This is taken with the Sigma 10-20mm to give a bigger picture to the situation. An example of some of the myriad of opportunities a single location can hold.
An extreme close up made with the Sigma 150mm f/2.8. The bright sun provided more then enough light to freeze the action and prevent shake while being handheld.
These images were adjusted using color saturation via control points and use of a black point to help cut the haze. I posted both these images to show the importance of foreground. When approaching a landscape of any sort (short or wide) the use of foreground can really tie an image together. This allows the viewer to scan the image in depth visually leaving a greater impact and a more meaningful photograph.
Last, but not least I really wanted to make the rainbow the main subject here. By including small details giving the viewer a concept of what is going on. Concentrating on the rainbow and enhancing it’s color elevates the impact it brings then an extreme wide shot where the rainbowt then becomes an accent and not the subject of the photograph.
