Nik Software - HDR Efex Pro

The other week I saw a video on a lightroom plug-in called HDR Efex Pro ii by Nik Software. But I had some trouble finding this program I was able to get hold of a copy of the older version.

Now I have only use this program once but the finished image did look very nice. It was not an HDR image made up for 3 different exposed but of 2 different images I took at last weeks beach burn.

In other words I just added 2 images with one thing different in them, kinda like just cutting it out and pasting it in. This was the final images I ended up with.

Using the tools inside of HDR Efex Pro I think I did a great job and the efex came out very nice!

You can export right from Light-room into HDR Efex Pro

As a plug in it works from LightRoom4,  HDR Efex Pro can export from LR to HDR Efex Pro, Saving you time and letting you just fix your images and not making you waste your time.

Presets and different viewing options

It has over 32 different presets that you can add to your image, but then you can make your own presets if you wish. Plus you can  tweak  and change any of the settings you wish using the tools inside the program

Adjustment point let you edit just one area

With-in the editing tools there is also a Adjustment tool, that lets you pump or reduce some parts of the images to give you even more tools to tweak the pic to just what you wish to end up with

Save and done

Once you have done all your edits and got the look you want, Click save and its done! It will import it back into LR for any final edits and then your done.

Back inside LightRoom

Now this is not the best image in the world but you get the idea, If your into HDR then this plug-in is a good way adding some great touches to your work. Plus it lets you work alot faster and you dont need to use Photoshop (But you still can if you wish)

The Final Image

 

Boat Parties

After a bit of a crazy start to my weekend with the beach burn, Next on the list of things to do was the party on the Thames (Looks to be a theme this weekend).

The boat party was to bring in four different 30th birthdays from a group of my friends, Now you know I don't bring out names on here (and you know who you are). The night started early on Saturday and went on till the early hours - before hitting another club and all in all I was out of the house for nearly 24 hours!

It was fun making a tiny little boat look like a massive club night, but I think I did a good job of bring in the fun to the images!

The Boat! 

The Dancers

Battle of the Lashes 

The Chair Everyone Wanted

Smooth!

Full set of images on the site (LINK)

Burn and Shoot

Beach burning can be fun but without having the fuel it can kinda suck. 

Good thing I was going mostly for shooting and less for spinning, I did have a little spin using a friends fuel and the snakes got to burn this time around.

I was trying some new ways of shooting on the beach burn, My normal way of shooting the burns is to use a long shutter speed to get the tails of the flame but this time I wanted to shoot fast so I got the detail in the flame.

This was also the first time I got to use my wireless triggers. I shoot over 600 images and not one miss fire so I can tell you that they work very well. Only trouble I had was when I was not shooting the fire I had some focus issues but that was more to the fact that I did not have any light to focus on.

Most of the shots were shot at 1/200 at aound f/5.6,  Also using an orange gel on an off camera flash. The last 2 images on this blog are using a longer shutter speed to give you an idea of the different styles of shooting Fire.

The full set of images are on my site (LINK) Hope you enjoy them!

Midsummer!

Midsummer!

For the people that dont know

   

 The celebration of Midsummer's Eve was from ancient times a festival of the summer solstice. Some people believed that golden-flowered mid-summer plants, especially Calendula, and St. John's Wort, had miraculous healing powers and they therefore picked them on this night. Bonfires were lit to protect against evil spirits which were believed to roam freely when the sun was turning southwards again.

In Sweden, Mid-summer celebration originates from the time before Christianity; it was celebrated as a sacrifice time in the sign of the fertility

Thanks wikipedia.

Anyways... Every year a load of Swedes all meet up in Hyde park and have a little picnic and a bit to drink. So I went off to join my Swedish friends and get to have some fun.  

the day was alot of fun and for once I was up very early, 10 in the morning! I know - what a shock for this trainee vampire. I spent the next 8 hours sitting in the park with alot to drink, amazing food and a game of Kubb (a lawn game where you knock over wooden blocks by throwing wooden sticks at them.)

Before long I had to leave but it was a really nice day with great friends and a great start to one crazy weekend!

Full set of images will be on my site or on this LINK.

Brighton Day Trip

We made it!

The other week me and Fluff where sitting on the sofa and we started to chat about going on a trip, We had talked about Brighton a few days before and it was the first place I checked. With the bus only costing £4.50 (pre person per trip) it looked like a no brianer.  

first things first ...Tea!

So we booked the trip for the next Sunday and spent the rest of the week doing all the work and borning things you must do and before we knew it... IT WAS SUNDAY!!!

Sea Birds

With midsummer the day before (I did have a few drink :s ) I was not in the best space to sit on a bus for 2hours, with food packed and fluff taking care of me we got to the sunny shores of Brighton.

We had just under 8 hours on the beach and we did not waste any of it, We hit a cafe for tea and then walked along the pebble beach took in the sights and enjoyed the sun along the pier.

The Beach

The images are on the site (LINK) but here are a few for you to check out here.

After alot of walking, some fish and chips and a beer while watching the first half of the England game (Before we lost). We made our way home and died almost as soon as our head hit the pillow.

Sun Set Down South

Looking back I do wish I had some more gear with me, A tripod would have been night but we did plan to travel light and with all the walking about it would have been a pain in the arss! But I'm sure for £4.50 I can do it again!

Video of ME!

Funny the things that come up when your looking around on facebook these days.

As you might had read in an earlier post this month, I went to a beach burn in London. The usual people where there but we had a few more togs then normal, I chatted as I always do with everyone but one of the guys was not shooting stills but video. 

This is what I found on FB tonight:

It is some good work and for once I got some footy of me spinning. This is his YouTube Channel feel free to check it out.

My Baby is Getting An UPDATE!

Today I was just scrolling over canonrumors.com and after drooling over the Canon EOS 1D-X (Really sexy camera thats way outa my league)

I came across something that made me soooo happy I almost needed to change my pants. My dear old 7D is going to be getting a Firmware update!

You can check out the full details on this LINK but ill give you my high lights.

• IMPROVED RAW MAXIMUM BURST : from 15 to 26 RAW
• IMAGE RATING CAPABILITIES = Adding rating to images to help with workflow later
• MANUAL ADJUSTMENT FOR AUDIO RECORDING LEVELS = A big deal for videographers 
• FASTER SCROLLING OF MAGNIFIED IMAGES = Great for checking focus

These are the onces that made me smile and happy, there are more but you can read the full review at canonrumors.com on this LINK.

Getting an update on my iPhone a while back completely changed my phone. It was like having a whole new toy with some many more tricks up its sleeve that I did not even think of getting the iPhone 4s. Now this does not look to be as big of a change then with the Apple OS but with all these little twecks I really am looking forward to updating my baby as soon as it comes out!

Bus Driver Strike (20120622)

For some silly reason to do with a bonus for the Olympic the bus drivers of London went on strike today.

Did we know about this before we went out, Of course we did not! Thanks to the news channel we where watching for the better part of 2 hours before we left the house told us nothing on any strike. 

Alot on the Queen meeting with former members of the IRA, sorry Sinn Fein.  

So Fluff went off to dance and I just went home, but I did grab some images of the drivers on the picket line.

There was 3 different picket lines (about as organized as normal bus drivers) at one depo in Camberwell. Some had horns and some with whistles - Took me back to my raving days!

 More Money - Less Work

There was also a group across the road outside a shop, once again like any normal bus drivers. I get they want more money for working over the Olympic but lets give them a bonus IF they do a good job!

After last years riots, The police took no chance's

 One thing that did catch my eye (other then the filth that made my eyes water when I was walking down the street) was that there was alot of police and i mean alot, i counted 4 Vans 2 cars and 4 of these half piglet half WTF bike things (above). I feel rude calling them bikes but its hard to describe 

I wonder who is going to be next?

The full set is on this LINK!

Hope you enjoy! 

Forget kissing, 3D films make you Pregnant!

This is just hard to believe! 

A husband coming home after a year of service in Iraq to find his wife with a child. The reason is just so unbelievable that it could only happen in the America. Now I can say alot about 3D films (most of it being that there crap and not worth the money) but this just takes the biscuit! 

If you did not read the image above - The woman told her man that she was made pregnant via a 3D porn film she went to see with the girls! any normal man that had not taken to many shots to the head could tell you that this woman has been getting her jiggy on with some other dude but no, this man said and I qoute 

"I see no reason not to believe her as these 3D films are very lifelike. With the technology of today everything is possible" - really!

the woman then went on to tell the paper that she was thinking of suing the cinema and the producers if her husband did not take the child as his own

I am The Law?

Just saw this posted and it look like it cold be good

Now two things come to mind. 

1. This looks alot like The Raid.
2. Dredd does not take off his helmit.

Now you might think im mad if you did not read the 2000AD comics but Judge Dredd never EVER took off his helmet unlike in the movie with Sylvester Stallone. And unlike that flop this does look good, A little bit to much like batman for my liking but you cant win them all.

This new version is staring Karl Urban in the lead roll, Some of you might know him for The Lord of the Rings or even the very badly done Doom. I always remember him from The Bourne Supremacy as I always liked that roll.

Someone that court my eye was that Lena Headey looks to be the heel(bad guy) in the movie, I am looking forward to seeing her grow out of the part most people know her from as the evil Cersei Lannister from the TV version of Game of Thrones

Anyways look out for it around September 2012