Playing With Sunset Colors

In this tutorial, we are about to discuss a topic some would call it as "Manipulating a Photo". I prefer to call it "Playing with Colors". Because I view photography as an art, and an absolute freedom of expression, so there is nothing wrong with beautifying a photo through playing with its colors.

I'll be using one of my recent photos as an example: Sunset @ Kota Kinabalu!

Here is the final photo for your reference:

And here is the original photo, straight out of Photomatix using the same techniques described in "The Basics of HDR":

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Sunset @ Kota Kinabalu!

It's been a few month's since I've updated my blog, mainly because I've started working full time, and still finding the balance between work and hobby.

Like every December, I will travel overseas and capture those beautiful moments back to Singapore. This year it's Kota Kinabalu, in Sabah, Malaysia. I usually like scenic places like China because spectacular landscapes like high mountains and huge rivers are what Singapore and Malaysia is lacking most of.

Nevertheless, I still managed to capture one beautiful sunset during this trip, so at least it's not a wasted trip.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dallasgoh/8298868803/

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Gardens By The Bay

The latest mega attraction in town is none other than Gardens by the Bay. Although it is still pretty inaccessible by public transport, it attracts lots of people everyday. I went on a weekday afternoon, so it wasn't crowded, but people started to pour in towards the evening. The place is really quite huge, and almost impossible to finish walking in an afternoon, but most of the attractions is located in the bay south, which houses the super trees and flower dome.

For people who don't want to pay a cent like me, there are still many places which you can visit and take awesome pictures of. Although I prefer to shoot HDR in the day, but it is during the night where the park comes alive with all the light show and music. In the afternoon, it's just a little less exciting.

So here are 2 pictures shot on my first visit. The first picture is of this supertree. It is the biggest of all the supertrees and sits in the center of all other trees. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dallasgoh/7557203598/

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HDR Post-Processing Tutorial

This tutorial will cover how to edit those HDR photos that you have taken as explained in the first tutorial "The Basics of HDR"

Every has their own different ways to process their HDR photos. For me, I edit my photos using Photomatix and then subsequently by Photoshop. I like my HDR effect to have less saturation and more details.

Today we are going to work on this sunset photo. This is a regular un-edited sunset photo taken using regular settings. Sunset? Not too visible.

 Our final product. A HDR sunset photo.

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Enter The Merlion Night

Many Singaporeans never realize, but actually our iconic Marina Bay is a very beautiful sight. Let's put it straight, if it ain't beautiful, why would almost every tourist take the effort to drop by for sightseeing? However, I spoke to many local Singaporeans and not many people appreciate the beauty of our Singapore landscape. They normally say "Aiya, Merlion never see before meh? Only tourist will go one lor!".

I'm a frequent visitor of Marina Bay, walked round the reservoir many times over, but every time I'm there, I experience something new. It could be a new building, new angle to photograph an old scene, or an event. Local photographers might think the scenes in Marina Bay are already "Over Shot" or put it other words, photographed too many times. True enough, there are some iconic scenes that a landscape photographer should have been to and shot before.

Photographing scenes like this can be particularly stressing for the photographer. Although you clearly know the best angle for the shot, but the resulting photo may still be a far fetch from the real professionals. Even if your photo doesn't match up, but at least you know where you stand, and the difference gives you a good indication of the room for improvement.

Here is my take on one of the scenes that are "Over Shot". The Merlion with the Raffles Place backdrop. I'm happy with how the colors turn out and thus I sent this photo to participate in Samsung's
"Breathe Light Into The Night" Photo Contest.
https://www.facebook.com/SamsungCamerasSingapore?sk=app_165517023564572

My entry

And I won the FIRST PRIZE! I'm really glad that I won because the judges picked my entry and not winning by the number of likes/votes. It means a lot for a photo to be recognized, something that money can't buy.

Well, in conclusion, don't be afraid to shoot a scene that is shot by many before, and try to be creative and do in your style to be uniquely yours!

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An Untold Story in Guilin Village

During my time in Guilin, China, I visited one of the many villages hidden in the mountains. Although the village is designed as a tourist attraction, it was still rather rundown. Toilet facilities are still as bad, the roads not paved, and the buildings made out of wood.

The view was fantastic, I must say, and I like the rural feeling of the whole area. What had not changed was the food. The food is still very much original taste, which isn't suited to my more-meat-and-modern-foods lifestyle. I believe that is true for the rest of the people traveling with me. So I left the dining table early, and started to walk around the village, when I saw this rather interesting view.

See this photo on flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dallasgoh/6801299533/sizes/l/in/photostream/

HDR information:
ISO 100, 10mm, f/11
1st shot: EV + 0, 1/20sec
2nd shot: EV - 3.0, 1/160sec
3rd shot: EV + 3.0 , 0.4sec

Post processing information:
Combined to HDR using photomatix
shadowmapping in photoshop
Chromatic aberration correction
Sharpening
Enchanced details, and added tonal contrast, and other various color & luminosity adjustments
Noise reduction

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A ride along 漓江 (LiJiang) in Guilin, China

Last month, somewhere around the end of December, I went on a trip to Guilin, China, with my family. I've long heard about the awesome, one of it's kind, hills and rivers in Guilin, and being a landscape enthusiast, I'm excited to be there.

Have you been to little Guilin (小桂林) in Singapore? I never knew Singapore would have little rock hills that shaped like the ones in Guilin. Fascinated, I expected more and better from the actual place in China.

On my second day of my trip, I arrived at a dock somewhere along 漓江 (LiJiang). It is said that the China's Ren Min Bi $10 back portrait has it's traits along this part of the river. If you haven't know yet, the portraits on each on the Chinese Ren Min Bi is an iconic landmark in China. If you've not yet decided where to go in China, take a look at the Chinese currency and you might get your next destination.

I reached the location at a time of the day which is not very photo friendly, and I experienced some significant flare on my lens, but I haven't come this far to be beaten by flares. Took up my camera, and took a HDR of the scene.

See this photo on flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dallasgoh/6801191095/sizes/l/in/photostream/

HDR information:
ISO 100, 10mm, f/11
1st shot: EV + 0, 1/80sec
2nd shot: EV - 3.0, 1/640sec
3rd shot: EV + 3.0 , 1/10sec

Post processing information:
Combined to HDR using photomatix
shadowmapping in photoshop
LAHR sharpening
Chromatic aberration correction
Enchanced details, and added tonal contrast, and other various color & luminosity adjustments
Noise reduction

More photos taken in Guilin will be coming soon!

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Walk In Rural Singapore: Alkaff Mansion

A little known place in Telok Blangah lies a place known as Alkaff Mansion. A little history on this place. It used to be owned by the Alkaff family whose ancestors come from Indonesia. They were wealthy traders, and they had built this retreat for themselves and their guest on the slopes of Telok Blangah Hill.

After the world war II, the place was abandoned until recently, it was renovated into a Italian restaurant, while keeping the original feel of the mansion.

I had known this place from young, but being in it's run down state (and it's closed to public), it wasn't a top location for photography. But one day, I happened to be jogging around the hill in the night and the bright and colorful lights caught my attention. And there lies Alkaff Mansion, renovated, like how it should look like.

I approached the staff if I could have a picture, and after some deliberation, they allowed me to photograph the place from the outside. I managed to take a couple of bracketing shots on the mansion before being asked to leave the place. Well, I guess that's the difference between a paying guest and a non-paying one. Nevertheless, I still thank the staff for allowing me to photograph the place, when they could have turned me down straightaway.

So, here is the picture. I used my 10-22mm lens on this one.

See this photo on flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dallasgoh/6431459155/

HDR information:
ISO 100, 14mm, f/9
1st shot: EV - 3.0, 1.3sec
2nd shot: EV + 3.0, 30sec
3rd shot: EV + 0, 8sec

Post processing information:
Combined to HDR using photomatix
shadowmapping in photoshop
LAHR sharpening
Cleaned image using content aware
Enchanced details, and added tonal contrast, and other various color adjustments
Noise reduction


Enjoy the photo and don't forget to leave a comment for me!

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Marina Bay HDR

I've taken this photo for over a year, but when I first attempted to Photoshop the pictures, it was an epic fail. So the photo was just in my computer waiting for magic to happen.

A year later, while I was bored at home, I decided to search for HDR photos in my computer, so I could practice some HDR processing techniques that I picked up over the last year. And this was my first choice.

The techniques I used to process this photo is mainly shadow mapping, and lots of color adjustments with layer masking. The main problem with this photo is that the sky has a huge amount of noise when being processed and excessive noise is never good for a photo.

Enjoy the photo and leave me a comment!

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Out of Bounds (OOB) Railway shot

In another attempt to waste time, waste money and improve my editing skills, I've borrowed 3 photography and photoshop books from the library. Then I picked up this Wacom Intous 4 tablet for $370 (more information and reviews about that tablet in the next post). All for creating the best picture.


Now for the picture! Took me 3 days to finish as this is my first time creating a OOB photo and I'm seriously noob in this area of editing.

I won't be sharing screenshots or making a tutorial / walkthrough on how to make an OOB photo. Trust me, I still don't really know what I'm doing.

So this is what I did with the photo:
- Crop
- Added lens correction filter to make the frame tilt at an angle
- Re-added the part of the railway track to make it pop!
- Content Aware to extend the railway further
- Added sunset background and blend it in
- Added frame
- Added shadows
- Final processing using Lightroom

Original photo for comparison:
While I was editing, my dad commented: "I'll never believe any photos that I see anymore. Everything is FAKE!".

I somewhat agree with that statement.

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Hong Kong Disneyland HDR

Sorry! I know I've been lazy and not posting much these days, but Contest Junkie blog is keeping me awake at night, and I don't have much time with other stuff.

Back from a enjoyable trip to Hong Kong and Macau a few weeks ago. Everything was nice, especially food, but overall, things are more expensive in Hong Kong & Macau then in Singapore.

While in my stay in Hong Kong, I noticed the sky is always blue throughout the day, and I was thinking:

"Oh great, I can do a HDR!"

Then..

"Oh this angle looks good for a HDR! Wait, where's my tripod?!"

"Sh*t! I need to hurry up and move on to the next location!"

A combination of a tight schedule plus No tripod means I won't get to shoot my HDR photos! But when as I arrived at Disneyland, I was like "WAH! seriously blue sky, good for shooting!". I was so excited about the blue sky that I even told my mom (who knew nothing about photograpy) that I could do a damn good HDR with this blue sky. Then the usual problem: never bring tripod.

Then I noticed a curved seat near the water fountain and I rekon I could do a HDR if I keep really still....

And the result?

Not the best, but up to standard for posting.

Picture processed like a HDR, but layered back (about 8 layers?) some of the original photos to make it less "fake". I not too sure what exactly hit me, but I no longer enjoy making fake HDRs. In my case, it will be: NO glowing edges, NO inaccurate brightness of subject with reference to background. (chim? I not sure what I'm saying either)

For my next post... how about pictures from a cosplay event taken recently? Leave me a comment, cheers!

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HDR at National Orchid Garden

It's been a real busy month in May! But that doesn't mean I'm slacking on snapping around Singapore.

A couple of weeks before, I finally managed to get my hands on my 580EX II flashlight. It's then I realised flash photography isn't as easy as it seems. I'll need lots of practice. LOTS.

Whenever I'm not working, I'll be playing with my flashlight, learning a little more everyday. I ended up with lots of weird pictures, of under and over exposed photos, and "test" shots. Well, it's part of the learning curve right?

Next step, my first L lens! I tried 17-40mm F/4L before in the past and I'm not impressed by the image quality and almost all aspects of the lens, even though it is an L lens. Or maybe my expectation is just too high.



HDR at National Orchid Garden

I've arranged an outing to National Orchid Garden with my buddy Myo last sunday. Luckily, there's good weather then, and the photos turned out well.

Even better, there is a promotional offer now (I believe it last between the school holidays) and it is FREE ENTRY for students!

Super worth the time and effort to get there. Flowers are pretty and you'll have no short of pictures to take.

Note that this place is in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and it is a 10-15 mins walk from the main entrance.

Photo taken near the entrance of National Orchid Garden.


Camera settings:
Focal length: 18mm
F-stop: f/5
Exposure time: 1/250 second
ISO speed: 100
Exposure Bias: (HDR image)

Tripod mounted

Editing:
-Merge to HDR

- Edited sky and land seperately in Lightroom

- Combined in Photoshop with layers

- Other minor editings

Enjoy!

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6 hours to Photoshop a picture?

It's been some time since my last post. My day job plus blogging on Contest Junkie can sometimes be really tiring. Since my priority is on Contest Junkie, I will only blog on Dallas Eye when I have the time.

I've dissapeared for more than a week! So what have I been up to?


As some of your might know, Adobe recently released Photoshop CS5. As a big fan of photoshop, of course I would love to get my hands on it and try some of the new technologies.

To try out the features of Photoshop CS5, I've started working on a picture and see what CS5 can do, and how quickly. Over the week, I've spent about 6 hours to edit the following picture. It's all part of the plan of learning how to do layer masking. It's a very powerful tool where the user can alter parts of the picture without affecting the rest.

What has been done?
1) Used Content Aware to remove all distractions in the picture
2) Selected all the sky (including those caught in the tree brunches)
3) Created 2 layer mask (One for the sky, and another for the rest)
4) Created 3rd layer mask for the tent
5) Edited 3 photos seperately in Lightroom for each layer mask
6) Recombine and did various touch ups like colour balance, high pass, noise reduction, contrast/brightness, Hue/saturation.
7) Flatten image and sent to back to Lightroom for final processing.

And there! How I wasted 6 hours...

Camera settings:
Focal length: 17mm
F-stop: f/4
Exposure time: 1/1250
ISO:100
Exposure bias: -0.7 step
Handheld

Original photo:

Yeah... wasted 6 hours on what can be done in 30 mins...

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Panorama Sunset at Kent Ridge Park!

Another type of photography I recently picked up is Panorama effect. It's basically just a super wide angle shot that is really long.

It's actually really easy to make with photoshop, and some controlled shots using a tripod. To date, I only have 4 edited panorama photos and I'll be posting one today.

This shot was taken at Kent Ridge park, one of my favorite places, cause after shooting, can head downhill and enjoy some famous duck rice! The sunset on that particular day was the best of the 4 times I've been there, and so I decided to take a panorama shot to better show the beautiful clouds.



Camera settings:
Focal length: 18mm
F-stop: f/6.3
Exposure time: 1/4 second . 1/2 second
ISO: 100
Exposure bias: 0 step
Mounted on tripod
Panorama stitched together using 2 photos

Lots of editing has been done, so much I also can't remember what I did...
Editing this is tough as the exposure time for the 2 photos are different, so it's hard to match the photos (but i tried my best).

EDIT: I re-edited the files again to see if I can do it better with my current Photoshop tools and skills, and turns out to be less contrasty and more pleasing maybe?

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Photography lessons, anyone?

It is quite important to attend photography lessons. I remember the time, when I'm in poly where I taken an extra module called: Revealing eye in digital photography.

I didn't have any camera that time. My only Canon IXUS was lost, and I only had my phone. Nevertheless, I still took that module, and it kinda spark my interest in photography. Oh, did I mention I only got a C grade in that module? haha! I still remember the basic techniques the lecturer taught.
This includes: Rule of thirds, Frame within a frame, and leading lines, etc etc...

Of course, there are other ways to learn, such as looking at other's pictures!

And presenting a picture with the one of the basic techniques: Frame within a frame



The orignal picture will scare you, so better not see, ok?

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How Photoshop can save your life!

Today, it's a slightly different post. Instead of posting the end product of a picture, I'll be posting the original, so you see how Photoshop changes a picture.

Before:


After:


Camera Settings:
Focal length: 42mm
F-stop: f/5
Exposure time: 1/320 second
ISO: 100
Exposure bias: 0 step
Handheld

5 mins to photoshop this picture. I have done: Straighten picture, high-pass filter, white balance, dodge and burns, colour correction.

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Flying in the air!

Sharing this picture taken from a plane from an unknown location in the sky.



Camera settings:
focal length: 18mm
F-stop: f/3.5
Exposure time: 1/2500 second
ISO: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 step
Handheld shot

White balance to bring out colours and high pass filter for sharpening. Actually, the original photo looked pretty much like this already.

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HDR at Lorong Buangkok

Welcome to my new readers from Contest Junkie! I hope you can bear with me while I slowly upload more of my pictures. And thanks to the other readers for revisiting!

Today, I finally travelled to Lorong Buangkok, the last kampong in Singapore. The experience was pretty good, although I'm a little disappointed. The good part was the nice vegetation, old houses and big pretty flowers that is rare in Singapore. The bad part was the heat, mosquitoes and "modern" houses between old houses.

So here is one of the pictures of the kampong. I used high-pass filter and HDR (high dynamic range), which I rarely use, for this picture.

Camera settings:
Focal length: 10mm
f-stop: f/3.5
Exposure time: 1/2000 second
ISO: 100
Exposure Bias: -3 step, -1 step, +1 step
Mounted on un-extended tripod

Photomatix to generate HDR image, then photoshop for high-pass filter, finally lightroom to tweet almost everything.

Enjoy!

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Emo Kid at Botanic Gardens?

Photo taken at Botanic gardens. In my opinion, the photo is not nice enough. Also don't know why, just a feeling...



Camera settings:

Focal Length: 30mm
f-stop: f/4
Exposure time: 1/800 second
ISO: 100
Exposure bias: -0.3 step

Photoshop to straighten and crop, and un-sharp mask. Lightroom mainly to tweet temperature and up contrast for yellow and green.

I'm dying to try high-pass filter, but it does nothing for me except more noise. I really need more practice with photoshop....

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