While visiting the United States Air Force Academy outside of Colorado Springs, I noticed this monument to the B-29 Superfortress. Usually, I don't like to alter pictures significantly in Photoshop. However, before capturing this image, I already knew that the plane would be in flight in the final image.

Here's the original photograph:

B-29 Superfortress In Photoshop, I made a few significant adjustments:

• I removed the pedestal from the frame.
• I altered the color of the sky and applied the new color as a gradient. To accomplish this, I used the Nik Color Efex Pro 4 "Bi-Color" filter and the masked the color from the plane.
• I applied a Radial Blur filter to each propeller to give the illusion of movement.

And, here's the final image. Maybe this isn't the best image in the world, but I think it is much improved from the initial capture.

B-29 Superfortress

Late last year, I posted a blog entry about using the Fotodiox 145mm Circular Polarizing filter with the Nikon 14-24 lens. You may click here to view that entry. At that time, I owned just one Fotodiox filter. I tested the filter on the Nikon 14-24 lens at the widest focal length and noted that vignetting was not an issue.

Subsequently, I received numerous questions about whether vignetting would occur if a second filter was stacked on top of the Circular Polarizing filter. Recently, I purchased the Fotodiox ND32 filter. So, I was finally able to perform some tests regarding the vignetting with two filters stacked on the 14-24 lens. All images were captured using f/8 at ISO 100 with the Nikon D800. Here are the results:

No Filters @ 14mm (baseline)

No filter at 14mm

One Filter (CPL) @ 14mm

Circular polarizer at 14mm Two Filters (CPL & ND32) @ 14mm

2 filters at 14mm Clearly, the vignetting becomes a significant issue with two filters at the widest focal length. My next step was to determine the widest focal length that could be used while keeping the vignetting at an acceptable level.

Two Filters (CLP & ND32) is clean @ 24mm:

2 filters at 24mm Two Filters (CPL & ND32) introduces some vignetting @ 17mm:

2 filters at 17mm

At 16mm, the vignetting is becoming an issue:

2 filters at 16mm But, it's not all that bad @16mm after making a vignetting correction in Lightroom 4:

2 filters at 16mm corrected Vignetting is more pronounced at 15mm, of course:

2 filters at 15mm But, somewhat improved after correcting for vignetting in Lightroom--especially if the image is to be cropped away from the edges at all:

2 filters at 15mm Based upon these results, I will probably try to shoot at the 16mm or higher focal lengths if I ever stack two filters together on the Nikon 14-24. For most of my photography, I will only be using one filter. And, with one filter vignetting is not a concern at all.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil War battles at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Each year, thousands of people gather to participate in or observe reenactments of the battles. I plan to photograph this year's reenactment from July 5th through July 7th. This is a major event. Based upon past reenactments, it is expected that about 40,000 reenactors will be participating with over 50,000 people viewing the reenactments!

The last, and only, time I visited Gettysburg was in 1994.  Back then, I was shooting Kodachrome slide film. Here are a few images from the event that I scanned 15 years later:

Gettysburg battle Gettysburg camp Gettysburg battle Kentucky State Memorial With nearly 20 more years of shooting experience and far superior gear, I hope to capture a number of improved images this time around!

I visited Saint Joseph, Michigan to photograph the historic lighthouses on a cold, Winter afternoon. The outer lighthouse on the North Pier  was most interesting to me because of how the ice accumulated on the structure. Lake Michigan gets very rough at times and looks more like an ocean than a lake! The high waves spray water all over the lighthouse. Then, when the temperatures drop, the water freezes into an amazing ice sculpture.

I learned of this spectacular location by reading the Nikon Cafe photography forum. I was inspired by another Chicago area photographer, Frank Angileri, who shared some photographs from a recent trip that he made to the lighthouse. He also provided me with sound advice on how to approach the photo shoot. Most importantly, Frank cautioned me about staying safe out there on the ice!

I arrived in Saint Joseph at about 3:00 PM. My plan was to start by walking to the end of the North Pier to take some close, wide angle, photographs of the outer ice-covered lighthouse. However, as Frank warned, to reach the second lighthouse, one must first walk around the first lighthouse. But, the narrow path on the side of the first lighthouse was covered with solid ice. Additionally, the wall of the lighthouse was covered with ice. And, there are no railings!

Given the freezing temperature of the water and the distance of the lighthouse from the shore, the chances of surviving a fall into the lake are slim. As Frank mentioned, "it would not end well." So, with a heavy backpack containing my camera, four lenses and a tripod on my back, I decided not to risk the walk around the first lighthouse and turned back.

Here's a picture of the two lighthouses on the North Pier:

Double lighthouses (B&W version)

Fortunately, there is another pier, the South Pier, which provides some excellent views of the lighthouses. So, I drove over to Silver Beach and walked down the South Pier. I enjoyed shooting the lighthouses for a couple of hours in some nice late afternoon light. However, my favorite photographs came after the sun went down!

A few accessories helped make the icy conditions more tolerable. First, I quickly strapped some Kahtoola MICROspikes over my boots to help with my traction. Also, I like to wear mittens that fold down to reveal finger-less gloves to keep my hands warm while giving me the ability to work the camera with my fingers.

I was hoping that the ice-covered lighthouse would light up while I was there. And, I wanted to photograph an illuminated lighthouse before the sky got too dark. The camera's sensor is capable of recording some great colors well after sunset. But, the images lose color and get far more contrasty when the sky goes completely black. I usually like to shoot for about 20 minutes after the sun goes down.

At sunset, the light in the window of the lighthouse went on. It was flashing and quite dim. The light would go on for a second, then off for three seconds, then back on for another second. I wasn't sure what to expect, but decided to try a few exposures. Since I had my tripod, shutter speed wasn't an important consideration. I first set my camera for a sharp, middle of the road, aperture (f/9). Then, I selected the lowest possible ISO (closest to the camera's base ISO of 100) for the highest possible image quality. In this case, ISO 160 was the setting for a shutter speed of 30 seconds. As always, I set my camera for Mirror Lock Up and used a cable release to minimize any vibration. And, I also set my Long Exposure Noise Reduction to ON to minimize any noise associated with heat building up on the sensor from such a long exposure.

I wasn't expecting much at first, but was pleasantly surprised when I saw the image appear on the LCD panel on the rear of the camera. I was expecting the window light to get blown out and appear as a bright overexposed ball. But, because the light was dim and only stayed lit for about 8 seconds during the exposure, the light appears soft and warm in the photograph.

While processing this image, I decided to make it a composite. Earlier, I had photographed a full moon. I blended that image of the moon with this image of the lighthouse to create a composite image that contained both subjects in the same frame.

Frozen lighthouse

Recently, one of my blog readers pointed out that the skin tone in a basketball action picture was too pink. Since Photoshop provides an objective way of measuring the skin tone, I thought this process would make for an interesting post! Here is the photo is question:

OYA girls' basketball To measure (and correct) for any color issues with the skin, I first open the file in Photoshop. I then open the "Info" palette (Window>>Info). Once the Info palette is open, select the "Color Sampler Tool". Then, drop a color sampler control point or two on representative portions of the skin on the face. Note the Color Sampler point #1 on her face:

Next, convert the RGB values inside of the Info palette to CMYK percentages by clicking on the little eyedropper on the left side of the readings. The readings should for the selected sample should now appear as CMYK percentage values. For this control point, the cyan reading is 13, while the magenta reading is 50:

Before proceeding, I refer to a few guidelines for reading an average caucasian's skin tone:

• Take a reading of the cyan value. Magenta should be about double the value of cyan.
• Yellow should be about 1/3rd to 1/5th higher than magenta.
• Yellow and magenta should be about equal for babies and young people.

In the above photograph, the magenta value is too high as compared to the cyan readings. So, my reader is correct--the skin is too pink! My next step is to make some adjustments to the color curves to correct the skin tones. Before getting started with those adjustments, I create a Curves adjustment layer. I then select the Red channel within Curves:

Then, I select the portion of the curve that represents my first control point and drag the curve down (less red, more cyan) until the cyan reading increases to a more reasonable level...in this case I stopped at 23. Why did I stop at 23? For one thing, I noticed that at the 23 level, the magenta reading (47) is about twice that of cyan.

Next, I make an adjustment to the same portion of the curve, but this time I open the Blue channel and drag it down (less blue, more yellow) until the yellow reading is a little higher than the magenta value. Since this is a young girl in the picture, I did not raise the yellow very far above the magenta level.

The skin color, at least for this portion of her face, looks accurate to me. And, the numbers bear that out. If you are not yet satisfied, you can always drop more Color Sampler points on different portions of the skin and use the same method for correcting each area. Also, if you don't like what's happening to the color of the background, feel free to mask it off in the layer.

OYA girls' basketball

I've used this method quite often when skin tones need correcting. Once you get the hang of it, you can accomplish the steps quite quickly.

Last August, I posted an entry about my experience with Prius camping during my trip to the Greater Yellowstone region. This posting has been widely read and has attracted a high number of hits. The article currently appears at the top of the list when you submit "Prius Camping" as a Google search. Click here to view the article.

Since then, I've been looking for ways to make my Prius camping experience even better. I discovered that a company called Habitents created a product specifically designed for the Prius camper! For me, the biggest advantage of this product is that it converts the Prius into a tent--allowing the summer breeze to freely enter the car while the netting keeps the bugs out. Additionally, it opens up the interior space. The following image, courtesy of Habitents, illustrates how the tent opens up the sleeping area:

I ordered my Prius tent on Wednesday and it arrived on Saturday. When it first arrived, I wasn't sure if the package was large enough for the tent. The tent easily packs into a stuff sack which fits in the car's glove compartment!

I then tested the tent by attaching it to my own Prius. I was impressed with the ease of assembling the tent. The tent was securely attached to my Prius in less than five minutes. I'm sure that this process will become even faster after doing it a few more times.

So far, I'm pleased with the purchase and look forward to camping in the Prius during two photography trips this summer.

On March 23rd, Imaging Resource recognized my "Whimsical Staircase" as its Photo of the Day:

Whimsical staircase

This follows winning entries in each of the previous four months:

November 5, 2012: Dog in Flight (First Place)

Dog in flight

December 3, 2012: Orangutan Pose (Runner Up)

Orangutan

January 8, 2013: Labor of Love

Labor of love

February 26, 2013: Lighthouse Ice Sculpture

Frozen lighthouse

Over the past year, I have found myself reaching for the Nikon 14-24 2.8 lens more frequently. When I first started shooting with this lens, I found it challenging to deal with vertical distortion--particularly at the wide end of the zoom.

Sometimes vertical distortion is unavoidable or even desirable. This photograph of the interior of the dome of the Michigan State Capitol was captured at the 14mm focal length. I was forced to tilt the camera up to get all of the elements within the frame. As a result, you'll notice that the outside arches are tilting dramatically toward the center of the frame.

Interior capitol dome While I found the vertical distortion to be tolerable in the above photograph, the vast majority of the time I try my best to eliminate distortion. The most effective method for minimizing vertical distortion is to keep the sensor plane parallel with the subject; that is, do not tilt the camera up or down at all relative to the subject.

This next picture was also captured at the 14mm focal length. I was careful to align the sensor plane so that it was parallel to the back wall of the Senate chamber. Note how the lines are relatively straight throughout the image:

The biggest issue with keeping the sensor plane parallel is that the subject might then fall higher or lower in the frame than you desire. A tilt-shift lens certainly would help resolve that issue. However, I haven't yet been able to justify purchasing a tilt-shift lens. For one thing, they are expensive. Then, they are available only in fixed focal lengths--so I might need three of them! Finally, they would take up room and add to the weight in my already heavy camera bag for a very specialized use. Having said all that, there might come a day when I find that I really need one!

In any event, the way that I deal with the tilt-shift issue is to take advantage of the cropping flexibility offered through the massive Nikon D800 files. I simply crop the top or bottom of the frame to suit the image--and usually end up with a file that is still much larger than the uncropped file generated by my Nikon D700!

Here's another example of the parallel approach using a horizontal orientation of the House of Representatives chamber: