Pic's of the week

In the future I will be trying to put up some of my pic's of the week. This week I have chosen to feature some pictures taken with the Leica M-9. Next weeks pictures will be from the Leica D-Lux 4.
I just ordered and received a SteadePod a device to use in lieu of a tripod. I hope to have some demo shots and my experience in using this tool posted in the near future.

 Just had to add this picture taken right at the shoreline. 

Leica M-9, Adobe Lightroom 2.6

A wind swept tree on the Northern California Coast taken this week. 

Leica M-9, Adobe Lightroom 2.6 and Adobe CS4.

 Easter Tulips. 

Leica M-9 and Topaz Detail 2 filter.

Saturday ride through the valley a illusion of speed. 

Leica M-9 Topaz Adjust 4 filter.

 Just for fun ! 

Leica M-9 Topaz Adjust 4 filter.

Visualization

Visualization what we see and what we capture in a picture may be many different things. Today I saw a bunch of flowers laying on a log and they had obviously seen better days. In my my minds eye I thought that they told a story that I wanted to capture. Here are the steps I took to transform a image into what my minds eye saw.

This is the image as it came straight from the Leica D-Lux 4 camera and was downloaded into Adobe Lightroom 3.0 beta 2.

Here the image is after cropping and tonal adjustment in Adobe CS4 to brighten and to add contrast to the image.

This version of the image is the result of adding a glamor glow effect in Nik Software Color Efex Pro. Softening and adding highlights to the picture.

This version of the image is after adding another effect in Nik Software Color Efex Pro called Lighten - Darken Center. It allows you to adjust the light on your image where you want it. In this photo I have used it to darken the area around the flowers and stems.

For another different look I processed the photo to show it as a black and white image once again in Nik Software using Silver Efex Pro.
My minds eye had seen something not so readily apparent to the casual observer. That even thou these once vibrant flowers had out lived their use to someone and had been discarded as trash. They still have a natural beauty that is worth recognizing and collecting as a prized photograph.
If you like this type of post where I show how I arrived at a final image or images, please let me know by posting a comment. Thanks for taking a look at my blog.

Macro Mode

Today I thought I would share a few shots I took this morning using the macro focus mode with the Leica D-Lux 4. The photos were all processed in Adobe Lightroom 3 beta 2 and Adobe CS4.
As you may know I recently started shooting with a Leica M-9 and have added my impressions of it along with the Leica D-Lux 4 to this blog. For your use in the future I have begun labeling my posts to reflect the camera and software I'm using for any particular post. You will be able to find any individual posting featuring either camera by clicking on the appropriate Label in the label field to your right. Now back to today's blog.

Photo one is Raw straight from the camera and post processed in Lightroom 3 beta 2

Photo two is a 100 percent crop showing the detail captured with a small amount of sharpening.

Photo three is processed the same as photo one.

Photo four is processed the same as photo number two with addition of Topaz Filter Detail 2 to enhance the contrast.

I have been very happy with the results I have obtained with the Macro Focus mode while shooting using the RAW setting. The Leica D Lux-4 has proved to be a versatile performer and just a good all around camera. I continue to carry it with me every day, even when I have my Leica M-9 with me, you never know when you might need it for a specialty shot.

Cars

I was out taking some sunset shots when I came upon these interesting vehicles. They were all processed in Lightroom 2, Adobe CS4 and Topaz Adjust 4 and taken with the Leica M-9.

 Old Alfa Romero that has seen better days, what a shames.

Well used but apparently still running Chevy Van.

This accident scene highlighted in filtered light.

Spring Just Around the Corner

Spring is in the air, the days are getting longer, the days are warmer and the sun feels good on ones skin. All of these things tend to put one in a good mood. It is a time for some long walks in the open space around the house and I'm sharing a few pictures from those walks today.
Here are some pictures I took with my Leica D-Lux 4 a great camera to carry on my walks especially while controlling two large dogs and shooting pictures.
The first shot is of a trail leading to the Windy Hill Open Space and was processed in Adobe Photoshop cs4 and Topaz Adjust 4.

This shot was taken on a trail with lots of over hanging trees and through filtered light and was processed in Adobe Lightroom and Color Efex Pro.

This shot is of Ricki my male German Shepherd on a now dry trail but with evidence of recent damp conditions exhibited by the moss on the rocks. Processed in Adobe Lightroom and Viveza 2 to bring out the texture and vibrancy of the moss.

Shot in macro focus mode of the bee and the newly blooming flowers. Processed in Adobe Lightroom.
Yes I did get a chance to take some pictures with my Leica M-9 when we had visitors the other day. I decided to try the vintage black and white mode and here is what I came up with.

This picture has had no processing and was only cropped for use on the web. To say the least I'm extremely pleased with results. The picture has the warmth which I find very pleasing. I will be trying more black and white in the future.

Mirroring

Thought I might say something about mirror images. I just upgraded from Adobe Photoshop Elements to Adobe Photoshop CS4 and was playing around with some of the manipulations of photographs that are possible in the program. I saw a video by Tony Sweet a Nikon pro photographer on easily applying mirroring in CS4.
I decided to follow along with the video to see how difficult it would be. As it turns out it is fairly simple and if you are interested in trying it for yourself just click on the link above. Here is what I came up with from a picture I took with my Leica D-Lux 4.

"G" enjoying a cupcake and water. 

I'm also posting these street photos that I took at the shopping center with my Leica M-9 fitted with a 35mm f/2.5 Summarit lens.

This lady looks a little bored while shopping for produce.

Young man eating a sandwich and texting at the same time.

Looking down the breezeway.