A long time friend and former work colleague of mine called me this week. He had finally treated himself to a new camera - his first DSLR. After leaving professional photography, he had owned point and shoot digi-cams in the past, but this was his first foray into serious digital photography. I was very happy for him.
For years, he and I worked side by side in a commercial photo studio. Eventually, we both moved on, from that studio, but we had become fast friends and continue to get together for a drink, a laugh or a visit to his wonderful cottage.
When he called and told me the news, I suggested we get together and go shooting on the weekend. We ended up at Rouge Park - a location I love which is only 20 minutes from home, and a spot my friend had always wanted to visit. So we spent part of the afternoon today, walking the Orchard Trail, talking about this and that and generally having a good time.
Not only did we have a good time shooting, I gave him a crash course on Lightroom and workflow when we returned. I made myself another Lightroom convert today, based on his enthusiasm.
Despite the overcast weather, there were lots of image opportunities. Sure, there was no way to coax any sparkle out of the thin layer of snow, but the extended tonal range of shooting in overcast light more than made up for a lack of specular highlights.
A black and white rendition of my favorite forest image from the shoot. I used a combination of local adjustments, presets and the Radial Filter to encourage eye movement through the scene.
While contrast was low, it was still there, and Lightroom gave a helping hand as well.
Radial Filter applied again, to tone down the areas surrounding the rocks. Not sure if I like the result though. I admit I'm not a big fan of muddy-looking snow. Maybe the effect is too subtle?
Venturing out onto the marsh ice. We didn't go too far, but we made it much farther than we would in the spring, without hip-waders!
The original image lacked detail in the sky (it was almost completely white) and color in the foliage. Using HSL targeted adjustments in Lightroom really helped bring out the small amount of blue sky, as well as the yellow/green of the pine trees. I was actually quite surprised at how much yellow was in the conifers.
Actually NOT a smart phone photo, I tried to emulate a black and white Instagram or Hipstamatic look and feel, by altering the color trreatment and crop of the colour version above.