Sights

Cornucopia of images taken with the Leica D-Lux 4. Everything from lovely skies, trees and landscapes to a interesting building and friends.
First on a quiet lane colorful trees highlighted by the blue sky and clouds. Rendered with Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Labs Adjust 4.

Fallen leaves lead up to the estate gates. I got a little damp while taking this photo as I had to get the camera very close to the ground to get the perspective I was looking for. Rendered with Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Labs Adjust 4.

One of my dogs special friends just waiting for another treat. Rendered with Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Labs Adjust 4.

While wandering down a private road I saw this house under going renovation and just had to have a closer look. What I found was that the exterior had been decorated with artwork etched into the exterior coating. Rendered with Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Labs Adjust 4.

Who ever the artist was they certainly were talented.

Last of the wall etchings, you just never know what you will find when you are out exploring.

A special friend Daisy who just can't wait for her carrots. Rendered with Adobe Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro.

Using Light

Today's pictures were taken with the Leica D-Lux 4 and concentrates on light and how it impacts your pictures.

This flower picture was taken in program mode at minus 2 exposure. The result is that the flower itself that was strongly over exposed compared to the background is now properly exposed and the background is under exposed and the results are what I was visualizing when I took it.

I this picture the available light was bright sunlight that was filtered through the trees and nicely highlighted these leaves. The details in the leaves were brought out with Topaz Labs Detail 2.

This picture was taken in extreme lighting conditions and then processed with Nik Software Color Effects Pro. I used the glamor glow filter to accentuated the warm colors and darken the background for further contrast in the image. The way the light fell on this fern again called for under exposing the photo by -2 1/3 so that I didn't blowout the highlights.

This last picture of a boy and his dog works well in black and white as well as color. The strong contrast of light coming through the trees and reflecting off of the leaves help make this picture work. Photo was processed in Nik Software Silver Efex Pro.

Happy Hollow

Thought I would share some pictures from our day trip to visit Happy Hollow Park and Zoo in San Jose, California. The park has just reopened after a major renovation and the results are very pleasing to adults and the children who visit. The weather was beautiful and our grandson had a wonderful time.
All the photographs were taken with my Leica M-9 with a 35mm Summarit 2.5 lens and later post processed in Adobe Lightroom 3.0 and Topaz filter Adjust 4.  The challenge for me was in using just a 35mm lens and to see if it is possible to get some interesting shots without the use of a telephoto lens. For me the answer was yes there where times I would have like to have a longer lens but having to move and plan my shots more was a small price to pay for a lighter load.

All the children seemed to love the chance to intermingle with the animals.

A black and white close up that was converted using Nik Software Silver Efex Pro.

Roller coaster madness the small roller coaster provided plenty of thrill for all ages.

Checkout those facial expressions as usual click on any of the photos to see a larger version.

There are lots of interactive educational exhibits that allow for the capture of some candid pictures.

Santana Row

Santana Row in San Jose, California a modern outdoor shopping center with a European theme. I took several pictures with a Leica M-9 with a Leica Summarit 35mm lens. The photos run the gamut from flowers to people enjoying the warm sunny day.
I thought that I would work a little on my street photography and found with this first picture that I was some what out of focus as I didn't gauge the distance as well as I might have. I'm sure I'm not the first person to have done it so in post processing I decided to tweak the photo in Topaz Labs filter Simplify 3. The result is a image that looks like a colorful painting and rescued this shot. 

Artistic view of outdoor cafe seating.

Father and son playing chess in a courtyard

Entering a wine shop

Sunday Brunch

Hotel Entrance

All of the above photographs were processed in Adobe Lightroom 2.7, Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Topaz Filters.

Gymnastics

Over the weekend I attended a friends daughters gymnastics meet where I used both my Leica M-9 with a 35 f.2.5 and Nikon D300 with a 70 to 300 zoom. Today I'm sharing two pictures taken with the Leica, both in low light conditions. I set the ISO at 400 for picture number one and ISO 1250 for picture number two as the lighting conditions varied greatly in this arena.

 

In this first picture little girls scurry to find the scrunchy that best matches their outfits under the watchful eyes of the vendors. Lighting conditions were good in this area of the gym and it shows in the results.

In this picture the lighting is problematic the area behind the girls is well lit and the girls are standing in a darkened area. I metered for the well lit area behind them to eliminate any blown out areas and in Adobe Photoshop CS5 I brought the girls out from the shadows. I used Topaz DeNoise 4.1 to reduce the noise that shooting in ISO 1250 in combo with the subjects of the picture having to be brought out of the shadows had caused.
The rest of the event was shot with the Nikon D300 and I will share some of those pictures with you later on as I have not processed them as of yet.

Into the Valley

Thought I would share a few shots taken with the Leica M-9 on a recent walk into the valley. Spring is waning here Northern California and even thou we have gotten the occasional day of light to moderate rain fall the colors are changing. In this post you see one of my favorite areas to shoot landscape photos. There are interesting backgrounds and unusual objects available all within easy walking distance from the house.

Photo was processed in Adobe Lightroom 2.7 and Topaz filter detail 2. There are two old sheds in this grassy field that make for interesting subjects along with the high grasses and changing colors.
Not far from the above photo sits a house with several old tractors that have seen better days. As they age and the paint drops away a rust appears everywhere that makes for a great photographic subject.

Photo was processed in Adobe CS5 and Topaz filter Detail 2 to enhance the natural patination that has occurred through many years of weathering .
In this last photo I wanted to show the color and texture of this spring time flower with a soft bokeh background.

Photo was processed in Adobe Lightroom 2.7. Simple subjects like this flower abound in the valley and there always seems to be something new to photograph.

Comparisons

Comparison photographs processed with different filters allow you to detail a picture to better tell your story. Today's pictures were processed with Topaz Labs Filters Detail 2, Adjust 4 and its newest release Clean 3. All photos were taken with a Leica M-9 with a 35 mm lens on Saturday April 17th.

This first image is cropped from the original with no editing applied.

Image two has been adjusted with Topaz Detail 2.

Image three is image number two which has been adjusted further with Topaz Adjust 4 to give a even more dramatic effect.

Image taken at the local Apple store they are always busy. Image was adjusted with Topaz Detail 2 using the Lithograph filter.

The same image adjusted with Topaz Adjust 4 applying the Psychedelic filter.

A crop of the above image with Topaz Clean 3 filter Curly Smooth applied. I hope these examples all show a slightly different story and encourage you to try them for yourself.

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.

Fading Light

Photographs taken with the Leica M-9 with fading light accenting these shots. Even though these photographs were taken in the late morning with the use of Topaz Adjust 4 filter I was able to give them the appearance of being taken much later in the day.
Photo number one is of a horse waiting for his carrots to be delivered. Heavy shadows along with brighter sun light accent this picture.

In picture number two this unusual rock faced building has the look of a old world castle. Remaining light is reflected off the rocks for a unusual look.

Picture number three is of a now still dormant vineyard accented by the green grass growing between the rows of vines.

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.

Downtown

I just concluded a trip downtown for a little shopping and took a few more practice shots with the M-9. The first shot is inside a coffee store looking out towards the street through a large back lit window. This type of lighting gives the picture some color and vibrancy contrast due to the soft light in the foreground and the strong bright light in the background. [as usual you can click on the pics to enlarge]

I took this next shot outside of the coffee store and the sharpness of photo is readily apparent and the colors are faithfully reproduced.

 In post processing I used the Topaz Simplify Filter to get this painting effect which works really well as my desk wallpaper.

I have just downloaded the newly released (3/23/2010) Adobe Lightroom 3.0 Beta 2 and will comment on this version as soon as I have the opportunity to process some more pictures.

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.