I am Learning

Technically I don't think I should blog twice in one day, and I am not because it is 12:32am, so here it goes! 
I think I am finally getting it.
This spring I was so happy to find this great interior of an old house. I came home ready to create my HDR masterpiece. Below is 1 of 5 images I captured of the house interior. Flat boring, right!

This next image is my masterpiece. Great color. Grungy. Just what I was hoping for! So I emailed it onto my friend John to give me his opinion.

He is a very kind critic and encouragingly suggested I add more contrast and make it less flat. I was baffled on how to accomplish that, so John sent step by step instruction on how to and he took the kitchen interior of this house and totally wowed me with the possibilities. Well he wowed me to frustration and I decided I needed many more hours of instruction. So I took a class at PSW earlier this month. I got a few more helpful hints and instructions. Today was the day I decided to attempt my new masterpiece.

This one has much more contrast, great color, and is grungy. Why wasn't I satisfied? because John's processed image sparkled. Mine is muddy. After starring at it, tweaking this Lightroom slider and that Lightroom slider I still wasn't happy with the outcome. Once again I decide to start over.

This masterpiece doesn't quite sparkle like John's and I should have captured one more image for detail in the window but I am learning!

Please visit me at http://www.terilou.com - on Facebook @ Teri Lou Plocher Dantzler - on Twitter at terilou_com

A Walk Through Roslyn

Today I set out to capture some images for HDR, so I headed to one of my favorite local spots,  Roslyn, WA.  I have photographed Roslyn, a historic coal mining town,  for 5 years and plan to create a book called "A Walk Through Roslyn".  This house is typical of many houses that have been neglected for too many years and creates a wonderful HDR image.

My workflow to create this image:

• Captured 7 different exposers of the house at f20 with my camera on the tripod. 
• Imported all my images into Lightroom.
• Exported all 7 images to Photomatix to generate and tone map - and create one image. 
• Used Lightroom to process the image.
• Added Topaz Labs Filters in CS4.
• Completed by vignetting the final image in Lightroom.

Anyone hungry? Amazing what you can find in old houses.

I didn't add Topaz lab Filters with this image.


 Please visit me at http://www.terilou.com - on Facebook @ Teri Lou Plocher Dantzler - on Twitter at terilou_com

Seattle Arboretum

Today I scheduled to go to the Arboretum in Seattle for a "photographers only time". Last time I went and discovered that tripods couldn't be brought in unless you came at this assigned time. Since it rained all day yesterday I was very grateful for the partly cloudy skies this morning. Much of the colorful leaves had fallen from the trees, which is why I was attracted to this waterfall and rocks. I processed this image using Topaz Adjust 3 and Details.


Please visit me at http://www.terilou.com - on Facebook @ Teri Lou Plocher Dantzler - on Twitter at terilou_com

A New Idea

Good Morning~
I woke up this morning after a long night processing in Lightroom with a new idea. Quick Guides. For the last few months I have been trying to absorb as much information about Lightroom's Library and Develop module as I can. I have Post-it notes, scraps of paper, and highlighted books all over my desk and office. I believe that it would be great to have a "Quick Guide for Lightroom". So I am going to spend the next few weeks creating such a guide. I hope to come up with a simple, handy and easy to follow step by step instruction guide for Lightroom Library and Lightroom Develop. 
This idea is perfectly timed since I will be out of town for 6 weeks and unable to process my photographs on my desktop. If there are any suggests you may have for this guide please let me know. 
Have a wonderful day.
Teri Lou

Thanks for reading my blog. Please share this link with your friends. 
I can also be found on http://terilou.com Facebook @ Teri Lou Plocher Dantzler and on Twitter @ terilou_com.