{"id":7550,"date":"2014-08-17T09:52:25","date_gmt":"2014-08-16T23:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/?p=7550"},"modified":"2014-09-10T20:22:41","modified_gmt":"2014-09-10T10:22:41","slug":"before-and-after-mortimer-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/2014\/08\/17\/before-and-after-mortimer-bay\/","title":{"rendered":"Before and After – Mortimer Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the coming months I’d like to share with you some before and after images of shots I’ve taken over the years. I’m a firm believer that there needs to be transparency in photography and the days of photographers\u00a0hiding away secrets is\u00a0done. Sorry to the old guard and old rules (oh yeah\u00a0I just quoted Jay-Z in a post). \u00a0Sure, there’s some aspects of photography that can’t be taught but I for one enjoy a behind the scenes look of how other photographers work. It’s both beneficial to people starting out and people who have been shooting for sometime. I shoot quite a bit with various people and find even though we’re shooting the same thing and processing quite similarly, there’s always subtle differences and it’s that what I hope to capture in my posts.<\/p>\n

Through these before and after images,\u00a0you will sometimes find that there is a dramatic change between the straight out of camera image and the final image you see on my website. \u00a0While in others there may be minimal difference. For me, this is highlighting that we aren’t always fortunate to get great light while\u00a0in other\u00a0cases we are fortunate for the\u00a0get great light and walk away with great photos in camera.<\/p>\n

I’d like to use this as an opportunity to demonstrate how the image looked prior to my processing and briefly explain the processing techniques I used to achieve the final image. In some cases, the final image won’t be to everyone’s tastes and I fully accept and welcome that so feel free to chime in if you have any criticism of how you may have gone about things differently.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Capturing and Processing Mortimer Bay<\/h2>\n

Now that’s out of the way. Let’s kick things off with an image taken in 2009 at Mortimer Bay, Tasmania. It’s slowly becoming quite the overshot destination about Hobart, largely because it leads to a beautiful composition with its leading lines towards Mt. Wellington.\u00a0One of my favourite locations not far from Hobart.<\/p>\n

[twentytwenty]
\n<\/a> \"Mortimer\"Mortimer<\/a>[\/twentytwenty]<\/p>\n

\u00a0Photograph Details<\/h2>\n
\"Mortimer<\/a>
Mortimer Bay before neutral density filters were applied<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is a 5 minute long exposure captured just at the start of sunset on a windy afternoon. Normally shooting around this\u00a0time, your camera will be lucky to get an exposure time longer than a second if shooting at F22 and ISO 50. To get around this I use a [ilink url=”http:\/\/www.adorama.com\/BW77ND1XC.html?KBID=65353″]B+W 110 10 stop neutral density filter[\/ilink] \u00a0which allows me to get long exposure times regardless of the time of the day.There’s some real fun in capturing day time long exposures like I’ve\u00a0[ilink url=”https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/2010\/02\/16\/guide-to-daytime-long-exposures\/” style=”note”]discussed in an article in the past[\/ilink] .<\/p>\n

As the scene was windy with clouds coming over fast and the waves crashing against the shoreline, this would great a great effect over the course of a long exposure and I setup my camera using the fence as a composition. \u00a0The intention was to capture the movement of the clouds passing above and smooth the repetition of the crashing waves.<\/p>\n

Post Processing Details<\/h2>\n

Straight out of camera the image\u00a0was slightly under exposed but I find that shooting with such a strong neutral density filter like the\u00a0[ilink url=”http:\/\/www.adorama.com\/BW77ND1XC.html?KBID=65353″]B+W 110 10 stop neutral density filter[\/ilink]\u00a0\u00a0on sunset\/sunrise you do introduce a level of risk in trying to get a perfect exposure. It’s possible but can be difficult at times. Fortunately\u00a0modern camera bodies are excellent at pulling back and saving detail where needed.<\/p>\n

Before I go any further I’ll mention that this photo was edited exclusively in Adobe Lightroom. I find myself slowly using Photoshop less and less as Lightroom has become increasingly capable over the years. When editing images like this where I’m recovering from an under or over exposed image, I’ll enable the [ilink url=”http:\/\/cdn1.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/shadow-and-highlight-clipping.png” style=”note”]highlight and shadow clipping modes[\/ilink] \u00a0to have a better understanding of when parts of the image are about to clip.\u00a0This allows you to identify when you start to lose either the highlights or shadows of the image\u00a0(quite self explanatory).<\/p>\n

The editing process for this image was as follows:<\/p>\n

Bottom part of the frame (land):\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • The image has a heavy vignette especially around the left of the frame. I use an adjustment brush to begin painting over areas where there is a heavy vignette in an attempt to even it out with the rest of the scene<\/li>\n
  • Once the scene was vignette was removed and exposure even across the scene, I bumped the exposure and curves of the image to bring it to a more neutral exposure<\/li>\n
  • Adjustment brush was created and was used to paint on the bottom part of the image. The intention here was to boost the brightness of the water to give it more of an oomph. I was careful not to brighten it too much and over expose the highlights<\/li>\n
  • Small adjustment brush was used to paint over the fence with a small brightness and sharpness increase to give it a little bit of a pop<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Editing the sky:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Using a graduated neutral density filter on the top half of the frame,\u00a0adding\u00a0a low opacity pink to the sky while giving the brightness a boost without over exposing the sky<\/li>\n
    • Using an adjustment brush I\u00a0completely painted over the top part of the image and gradually increased the saturation and brightness to a level that I was happy with<\/li>\n
    • Small adjustment brush with a slight brightness bump was used to paint along Mt Wellington and the surrounding hills that you see on the foreground<\/li>\n
    • Additional adjustment brush was run along the horizon with a boost in saturation. The reason for this was the sun was setting behind the hills and created a nice bit of orange colour which I wanted to bring out a little<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      As you can see, my editing process for this image was heavily dependent on the use of adjustment brushes.\u00a0Traditionally I would use layers and layer masks in Adobe Photoshop but the introduction of adjustment brushes in Lightroom has brought the product a long way and allows me to do the bulk of my editing in Photoshop without sometimes needing to open Photoshop and use layer masks.<\/p>\n

      If you have any questions feel free to comment or drop an email using the\u00a0[ilink url=”https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/contact\/”]contact form[\/ilink].<\/p>\n

      Thanks for reading,<\/p>\n

      – Alex<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Over the coming months I’d like to share with you some before and after images of shots I’ve taken over the years. I’m a firm believer that there needs to be transparency in photography and the days of photographers\u00a0hiding away secrets is\u00a0done. Sorry to the old guard and old rules (oh yeah\u00a0I just quoted Jay-Z […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":8124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[992],"tags":[1114,943,359,746,190],"class_list":["post-7550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-before-and-after-technique","tag-alex-wise","tag-before-and-after","tag-mortimer-bay","tag-post-processing","tag-tutorial"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Mortimer-Bay-Before-and-After1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p93MA-1XM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1050,"url":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/2009\/02\/16\/tasmanian-photography-locations\/","url_meta":{"origin":7550,"position":0},"title":"Tasmanian Photography Locations","author":"Alex Wise","date":"February 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Travels"","block_context":{"text":"Travels","link":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/category\/travels\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/a_new_day_2_by_alexwise.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5630,"url":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/2012\/11\/17\/photography-tips-composition\/","url_meta":{"origin":7550,"position":1},"title":"Photography Tips – Composition","author":"Alex Wise","date":"November 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi all, A little while ago I was asked by Digital Photography Magazine to write up a small article on how photographers can improve their photography with some photography composition tips. It was a little challenging sitting down coming up with the tips as most of these composition tips are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technique"","block_context":{"text":"Technique","link":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/category\/technique\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/IMG_0041.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/IMG_0041.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/IMG_0041.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5891,"url":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/2013\/01\/23\/2012-retrospective\/","url_meta":{"origin":7550,"position":2},"title":"2012 Retrospective","author":"Alex Wise","date":"January 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s hard to believe another year has already rolled around. It\u00a0doesn't\u00a0feel that long ago that I was writing a post this time last year with photos from 2011. This year my photography increased quite a bit over the previous year partly due to a little side project called the Art\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travels"","block_context":{"text":"Travels","link":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/category\/travels\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_6587.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_6587.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_6587.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_6587.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1755,"url":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/23\/neutral-density-reference-chart\/","url_meta":{"origin":7550,"position":3},"title":"Neutral Density Reference Chart","author":"Alex Wise","date":"July 23, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"A common question I receive from people is about how long they should set the shutter speed when using strong neutral density filters such as the 10 stop B+W 110 filter\u00a0or NiSi Long Exposure Kit. \u00a0It's a hard question to answer and I often point them to a chart (see\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technique"","block_context":{"text":"Technique","link":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/category\/technique\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"neutral density reference chart","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/neutral-density-reference-chart.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/neutral-density-reference-chart.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/neutral-density-reference-chart.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/neutral-density-reference-chart.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6430,"url":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/2013\/10\/13\/steel-wool-beneath-the-stars-post-processing-tutorial\/","url_meta":{"origin":7550,"position":4},"title":"Steel Wool Beneath the Stars – Post Processing Tutorial","author":"Alex Wise","date":"October 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Transparency in photography is something I'm big on. Some photographers like to keep their techniques and tricks to themselves while others are a little more open and happy to discuss. \u00a0I fall into the later group and am big on sharing with others. 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