Tag Archives: iron

Iron curves and cobwebs

When I’m at home taking photos, I try to find revealing elements in things I see every day. This close-up of our iron fire pit is a perfect example. The thing is obviously not being used, yet it has a prominent spot on our patio. The particulars of the shot are revealing something to me about my space. The composition is for everyone else.

Iron fire pot abstract

Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM at 165mm. 1/50 second at f/11, ISO 200.

Canon T2i looking closely at the surroundings.

Iron and driftwood

Here’s a little rainy day photo play. For phun (photography + fun), I set the G11 on macro and snapped some close-ups of the iron and driftwood piece on our patio. I converted the image to black and white because the idea was about contrast and texture. This shot was the fave.

Iron and driftwood

G11 settings: 15.7mm, f/3.5 for 1/15 second, ISO 100.
Black and white conversion: Nik Silver Efex Pro (version 1).

Canon G11 playing with contrast.

Iron and rust

Day off play with the G11 and Photoshop. The image is of the bottom of our unused patio fire pit. I’m also posting the original to show the difference from capture to post. I used a variety of Photoshop layering “tricks” for dramatic effect. First, I converted the image to black and white using the Nik Silver Efex plugin. In Niks I boosted both the contrast and structure to pump up the details. I then added some vignetting (a current addiction) to push the visual focus toward the center of the image. Once I had the Nik layer, I duplicated the original layer, move it above the Nik layer and set it to “overlayed” at 100%. This move radically pumps up the color and contrast. I merged the overlayed layer into the Nik layer and then used the Photoshop “Shadow/Highlight” image adjustment filter to pump up the shadow detail. I did a little extra stuff on each of the moves, but figure those are “to taste.”

Iron fire pit enhanced

Below is the straight from the camera shot. All I did to it was resize to fit the blog format.

Iron fire pit from camera

BTW, It took a lot longer to make this blog post than it did to create the image.

Canon G11 playing in the yard.