Spring Colors and Textures

Springtime in the valley has arrived the flowers are starting to bloom showing off their magnificent colors. The grass and trees are all turning a rich shade of green as new growth emerges everywhere.
It is a good time to grab your camera and head out the door for a little walk to grab some shots. All of the following pictures were taken with the Leica D-Lux 4 and post processed using Adobe Lightroom 3. A number of the pictures were further enhanced using Adobe CS5 and plug-ins from Nik Software and Topaz Software.

Falling away not much time left for this fence.

Clouds, blue skies and open space highlight the little cottage.

Half way up the Windy Hill Trail looking back towards the south bay.

This garden is just overloaded with colors and textures.

Growing wild in Windy Hill.

Looking down the trail into a clearing what a idyllic setting complete with swing.

Oaks

This week I concentrated shooting Oak Trees as they start showing their new spring growth and color. All photos were taken with the Leica D-Lux 4 and was post processed in Adobe Lightroom 3.0.

A cluster of oaks showing off all of their new green. 

 Windy Hill Preserve Oak.

 Climbing out of the shadows.

 Fresh look for a old tree.

Solarized view.

Lonely Oak.

Hanging On

Yes winter is still hanging on here in Northern California.We have had rain every day this week and not just a little. So I'm sharing some pictures I took this week with my Leica D-Lux 4, I'm one of those folks that won't drag out my Leica M-9 in the rain. All pictures were post processed with Adobe Lightroom 3.0

In between rain storms this little gem was sitting out ready to be serviced and put back on the street for spring and summer fun.

The clouds are moving out leaving a smattering of rain and a lovely blue sky in its wake.

Horses out in their pasture grazing away waiting for more rain to return. Silver Efex Pro 2 was used to convert to a antique plate look with a tattered frame to accent the old and aged look.

Interesting building and lovely light filtering through the trees highlighting the building and green foliage.

On the top of the hill this lovely villa sits behind stone walls and wooden gates. Processed in Silver Efex Pro 2 I turned the image into a black and white image and then using the add a control point I brought back some of the color to help direct the eye to the stone wall and villa itself. Note I also added just a touch of color to some of the plants in the front of the picture to give the illusion of natural light.

More storm clouds moving in over the foothills. Viveza 2 filter was used to bring out and contrast this photo.

Late Winter Green

In between the rain I had the opportunity to get a some fun and interesting photos. The flowers are starting to pop showing off all their colors for Saint Patrick's Day and to welcome in Spring. All photos taken with the Leica D-Lux 4 and post processed in Adobe Lightroom 3.0. Color Efex Pro was the filter used in this photo to bring out the contrast between the green and the yellow.

The photo of these artists taking advantage of a break in the weather had the Topaz Labs Adjust 4 filter (Simplify) applied to soften the image.

The same photo as above rendered in black and white with in Silver Efex Pro 2 using the new sliders to bring out the highlights and structure.

Miniature horse waiting for his carrots post processed in Silver Efex Pro 2 and then finished in Color Efex Pro 2 using the glamor glow filter.

First of the fun photos processed using Topaz Labs Adjust 4 to add dramatic depth and structure to the photo.

Topaz Labs Adjust 4 using the vibrancy filter to bring out the colors and add a little definition to the photo.

More Silver Efex Pro 2

I said that I would be taking some pictures with the Leica M-9 and also converting and commenting on Silver Efex Pro 2. All of the pictures in this post were taken with the M-9 fitted with the Elmarit 2.8 90mm lens and post processed in Adobe Lightroom 3.0. Black and white conversion was done using Nik Software Silver Efex Pro 2.
The photo to the right is of my 14 month old German Shepherd Monty. Using the new expanded slider controls in Silver Efex Pro 2 I was able to bring out the strong markings on his face.

Color photo that was just re sized for use on the web shows the color rendition and sharpness of the Elmarit 90mm 2.8 lens.

The same picture converted using Silver Efex Pro 2 in the default mode.

Crop of the eyes showing the lovely color rendition and sharpness at the focus point.

Crop of Kong love again clarity of this camera lens combo is highlighted.

Crop that started as a close up of my senior female German Shepherd shows the lovely pattern of her coat.

Color photo of a blooming Camilla and then converted with Silver Efex Pro 2 to show the new ability of being able to colorize specific objects in the photo. Framing is also a new feature and was added to photo.

I used control points to specify the areas of the photo that I wanted to bring out and modify the color of the flower. I could have made the color the same as the original photo but I wanted to show that you can control the saturation and depth of color brought out in your pictures.
I will be exploring more features and commenting on them in future posts. If you are interested in Silver Efex Pro 2 I would suggest that you go to Nik Software and watch their videos on whats new and how to use the software.

Silver Efex Pro 2 Examples

I just upgraded from Silver Efex Pro to Silver Efex pro 2 and I thought I would share a few early and quick examples.

Close up of the entrance to this unusual bird house. Added structure and contrast only in Silver Efex Pro 2 in Lightroom 3.0.

Visit to the vets office with some nice and very life like photos of their pets. Processed with Silver Efex Pro 2 in Adobe Photoshop CS5.

Alpacas checking out visitors, note their jackets to protect their valuable wool. Processed with Silver Efex Pro 2 in Adobe Photoshop CS5.

Old unoccupied mansion rendered using a antique plate filter in Silver Efex Pro.

Another photo rendered using Silver Efex Pro 2 in Adobe Lightroom 3.0 to add more structure to the clouds.
Early observation of this upgrade include a much faster rendering and saving of images. More preassigned filters including some frames. Updated interface and a history view and much more that I haven't yet explored. I will let you know how I like this new version in a later post.

Rainy Days

It has been rainy all week after having a winters break the previous three weeks. In those three weeks we lost our male German Shepherd Ricki to liver cancer. Then a week ago a opportunity came our way to add a 14 month old male German Shepherd Monty to our family.
Monty flew into our lives from Ohio on Valentines Day at 11:00 PM and of course so did the rain and it has stayed all week long. I do have a few pictures to share from this hectic week all taken with the Leica D-Lux 4. I'm afraid I can't bring myself to drag my M-9 out into the rain. I will hopefully have some M-9 pictures shortly depending on the weather.
The picture above is of Monty enjoying playing with his new toy. He has made the transition to his new home seamlessly.

Here is a fence with interesting yellow growth on it and framed nicely by the green plants and wet roadway. Post processed in Viveza 2 and Color Efex Pro 3.0

Monty and Nika are checking out the horses running in the pasture.

The same picture post processed in Silver Efex Pro and then using Color Efex Pro 3.0 to adjust the color tones to get this interesting effect.

Interesting fence post and contrasted by new green growth and bare fallen tree limbs. Post processed in Adobe Lightroom 3.0.