3 blog posts in 1 week! This is some kind of record.
Last weekend was spoiled a bit by having to work late on Friday and then again on Sunday, so I was pleased to finish on time this Friday and contacted Edin to arrange a quick dash up the road to Lake Okareka as the sun was going down. Settled down in the mud and poop at the lake edge with a setting sun behind us was a great way to start the weekend!
We were treated to some Canada Geese flying over and a good sized flock bathing in the lake, but the most co-operative subject was a Black Swan that swam out and then headed into the edge close to us to preen. When the water is still the setting sun on the background hills reflected in the water provides a superb stage. As the sun drops the light retreats across the lake and a you get a brief window with the subject in shade and the background hills still in light which makes lovely pictures. Here are a couple of photos, one with the swan in sun and the next after the shadow had passed the bird. I much prefer the softer light of the second which really shows the plumage detail beautifully. See this previous post for some heron images with this lovely lighting situation. All photos with Nikon D3s and 500mm f4 + 1.4x teleconverter supported on a monopod. RAW files processed in Adobe Lightroom5 and Photoshop CC2014. Nik Color Efex Pro4 used for tonal contrast adjustments.
Finally a SilverEfex Pro2 Black and White conversion inspired by what Edin did with her image of the same bird captured while sitting in the mud next to me. This creates a very different feel to the image. SilverEfex is my preferred B&W conversion method and is great value with the entire Nik collection now only US$149 which is a fraction of what I paid for it some years ago. The ability to quickly visualise some preset options and then make global and local correction with control points is great. Applying colour filters is a one click process compared to the need for a variety of adjustment layers required in the past. OnOne Perfect Photo Suite is the other plugin collection I have used for a few years and includes Perfect B&W which is worth exploring and at times provides a nicer result for certain images.
See Edin’s post to see her image and for some thoughts on Black and White conversion.
Dinner at the Pig and Whistle to celebrate exam success at the end of the first semester rounded off a perfect day.
