(Click on pictures for a large size view.)
Lots of colour in the village. The overcast sky provides a beautiful soft light for everything.
My typical tools for photography (for almost a couple of years now) are a pair of Sony NEX 7 bodies that I use with Sony and Voigtländer lenses. For most of these shots, I used the Sony 16mm f2.8 on one body, and my Voigtländer 90mm f3.5 lens on the other. On the night shots, I was using the Sigma 30mm f2.8 and the Sony 50mm f1.8 lenses.
My post processing routine for these pictures is as follows:
- Where possible, all images start as RAW files.
- All files go into Adobe Camera RAW to adjust for basic exposure, lens distortion and any cropping.
- Files are opened in Photoshop CS5.
- If any noise is evident, it is run through Nik Define.
- The image is then run through the Nik Sharpener's RAW Presharpener.
- Next we're into Nik Color Efex Pro where I use a number of custom presets which consist of various combinations of the following:
- Graduated Neutral Density
- Detail Enhancer
- Darken/Lighten Center
- Brilliance/Warmth
- Glamour Glow
- Vignette Lens
- At this stage, if I am envisioning a final black & white product, I will have used Color Efex Pro to enhance the file for further processing by Nik's Silver Efex Pro. If the final image is to be colour, then this step is skipped.
- Finally, (if necessary) I would use Nik's Sharpener Pro for output sharpening.
I also like using my iPhone 4 for capturing images, and recently, I've been really excited by some of the results I'm getting from the Hipstamatic app. The tintype looks that are possible with the Tinto 1884 lens and D-Type Plate B&W film especially appeal to me.
Here's a few more pictures, from an evening stroll down through the village:
Finally, here's a quick portrait, snapped of our breakfast waitress.
A splendid time was had by all, with great company, excellent food and drink, a fairly spectacular night thunderstorm, and best of all, the chance to catch up with old and dear friends.
Ciao!
