Page 156 - NyghtVision Magazine Volume 5 #2

September 2012 marked the tenth anniversary of my departure from the corporate
world. When my corporate career came to an abrupt end, there was no doubt that I
needed a new direction for my life. JD Milazzo had reached a similar point in his life,
and, for three months, we did nothing more than drink coffee, watch old movies, and
create images. The first place we went together after my corporate career ended was
the Virginia Creeper Trail near Damascus, VA. So, in anticipation of the tenth anni-
versary of the founding of the company, we returned to Damascus and to the Virginia
Creeper. This is one of the images from that trip.

Working at dawn, especially when facing the rising sun, can be difficult. Exposing for
the highlights can render the image overly dark in other areas. Exposing for the shad-
ows renders most of the highlights blown out. I chose to strike a balance since I knew
that with DxO OpticsPro, I could easily get detail out of the shadows.

Before we look at how I created this image, I would like to begin by saying that we use
presets extensively. We have found that they make it easy to recreate a specific “look
and feel” across more than one image. The preset I created when I customized this im-
age is called “NF-Damascus-Kodachrome.” We use a simple format to name our pre-
sets. “NF” means we created it for internal use. “Damascus” was the place where the
image was created and “Kodachrome” refers to the film emulation I used. As the name
implies, that preset is based upon Kodachrome film. In this case, I used Kodachrome
200. This film was known for its sharp images and natural colors especially outdoors.
I selected this film because I wanted the rich colors and the detail in the grass without
the heavy contrast of other films. I especially wanted as much detail in the tractor as I
could possibly get.

One more comment before we begin: I was shooting into the sun as it rose. If i didn’t
underexpose, most of the image would have been “blown out.” While this enabled me
to capture areas that would otherwise have been lost, it also meant I would have to
work hard in post processing to get detail out of the dark shadows.

1. Whenever I create a new preset, or work on a new image, my first decision is what
film emulation I will use. As I noted above, the Kodachrome 200 color positive trans-
parency film was perfect.

a) The intensity of the film was set to 100.

b) Preserve Saturated Colors was set to 54.

2. I always work from general settings to more specific ones. Usually, that means I
begin with the film, work on lighting and exposure and then move to fine contrast and
other tools that will bring out the details that will enhance the emotional experience.
Here, I decided to adjust the color temperature first. The sky that morning wasn’t as
flat and colorless as it appeared in the raw image. In fact, there was a lot of purple,
orange, and other colors that made the sunrise very dramatic.

"...a photograph as a visual invitat

156 | September Dawn