{"id":4207,"date":"2013-10-22T05:31:26","date_gmt":"2013-10-22T09:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/?p=4207"},"modified":"2013-10-23T07:29:14","modified_gmt":"2013-10-23T11:29:14","slug":"sunrise-at-east-deerfield-yard-october-20-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/sunrise-at-east-deerfield-yard-october-20-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunrise at East Deerfield Yard, October 18, 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nApplying an Old Technique with Today\u2019s Technology.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The other day I arrived at Pan Am Southern<\/a>\u2019s Boston & Maine<\/a> East Deerfield Yard shortly after sunrise. Although not a wheel was turning, there was some nice light and I made a selection of images.<\/p>\n

My challenge was in the great contrast between the ground and sky. With my Lumix LX3, I found that if I exposed for the track area, the dramatic sky was washed out (too light), and if I exposed for the sky the tracks area was nearly opaque.<\/p>\n

\"Railway<\/a>
East Deerfield Yard, Massachusetts at Sunrise. Unmodified ‘in camera Jpg’. Lumix LX3 photo exposed using the ‘V’ (for Vivid) setting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With black & white film, I would have compensated my exposure and film development to maximize the information on the negative, then dodged and burned critical areas on the easel in the dark room to produce a nicely balanced print. I\u2019d done this thousands of times and had my system down to fine art.<\/p>\n

I applied this same basic philosophy the other morning at East Deerfield. I made several exposures from different angles. In one of these I slightly overexposed the sky to retain some detail in the track area.<\/p>\n

The in-camera Jpg from this still appears both too dark and too contrasty (from my perspective having witnessed the scene). Rather than be content with this inadequate photograph, I took a copy of RAW file that I exposed simultaneously (one the benefits of the LX3 is it allows both a Jpg and a RAW to be exposed at the same time) and imported it into Photoshop. (I always work from a copy and I NEVER manipulate or alter the original file).<\/p>\n

Under the \u2018Image\u2019 menu, I selected \u2018Adjustments\u2019 and then \u2018Curves\u2019; I then adjusted the curve to produce a more balanced over all exposure. This is possible because the RAW file has more information (detail) in it than is visually apparent.<\/p>\n

While this improved the image, I still wasn\u2019t satisfied. So I selected the \u2018Dodge and Burn tool\u2019 (which appears in the tool bar as a angled gray lollipop). Using the \u2018Dodge\u2019 function, I very slightly and selectively lightened track areas and foliage that I felt appeared too dark.<\/p>\n

Then I used the \u2018Burn\u2019 function to selectively adjust the sky areas. If I\u2019ve done this successfully, the scene should appear very close to the way I saw it. Similar techniques can be used to make for surreal and unnatural spectacular landscapes. While I may do that later, that\u2019s not my intent today.<\/p>\n

\"East<\/a>
The same image as above, but from a modified RAW file using Photoshop to adjust contrast (both across the entire image and locally). Lumix LX3 photograph.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While modern tools, like those of the traditional darkroom, allow for improvement over in-camera images, the effort does take time. I estimate I spent 10-15 minutes adjusting this photograph.<\/p>\n

Because this adds time to the work on the photograph, I don\u2019t want to have to do this any more often than necessary. Most of my photographs are ready to go \u2018in-camera\u2019 (as it were).<\/p>\n

Tracking the Light<\/a>\u00a0posts new material daily.<\/strong><\/p>\n

See my\u00a0Dublin Page<\/a>\u00a0for images of Dublin’s Open House Event in October 2013.<\/p>\n

Please spread the word and share\u00a0Tracking the Light<\/a>\u00a0with anyone who may enjoy seeing it!<\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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