Category: Photoshop CC

Humans and Food Trucks

While wandering downtown San Francisco on Friday with Doug Kaye, we rounded a corner and came across three or four food trucks lined up front to back in this tiny alley – with not a lot of room on either side.

I captured this shot from the end of the line with my Fujifilm X-E2. When I first reviewed it, I marked as a reject. But tonight I came back across it and studied it a bit more. I noticed this guy on the right edge and the look in his eyes. In the original image, he was way to dark so a few strokes of Lightroom magic brought him back to life.

I then opted to do the black and white conversion using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 – it does such a great job and provides such great control.

Finally, I added an oil paint layer in Photoshop CC. The oil paint helped smooth things out a bit in some places and added texture in others – particularly the highlights. A final touch of feathered platinum toning brought the image to this point – worth sharing.

My images are really never done. I enjoy the process of re-processing them, applying new techniques that I’ve recently learned and experimenting for new looks. This is an image I suspect I’ll be coming back to – it’s rich in composition and so human in sensibility.

Fujifilm X-E2 Lighthouse Photography Photography - Fujifilm X-E2 Photoshop CC Street Photography VSCO Film

A Look Down San Francisco’s Market Street

Post author By Scott Loftesness
Post date March 16, 2014
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Doug Kaye and I were photowalking in downtown San Francisco on Friday – exploring some old familiar areas as well as a few new ones. At one point we crossed Market Street and I snapped this view heading to the Ferry Building. I was shooting on this particular day with my Fujifilm X-E2 with the 55-200mm Fujinon zoom lens.

This image was processed in Lightroom and VSCO Film before being touched a bit in Photoshop CC with the oil paint filter. I like how the oil paint filter (as well as Topaz Simplify) help remove some detail – decluttering the image just a bit.

Tags ferry building, market street

Filoli Fujifilm X-E2 Gardens Lightroom Photography Photography - Fujifilm X-E2 Photoshop CC VSCO Film

The Garden Path at Filoli

Post author By Scott Loftesness
Post date March 14, 2014
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A couple weeks back I headed to Filoli for my first visit this year – with my trusty Fujifilm X-E2 in hand. I’d decided to shoot the whole time with just the 14mm Fujinon prime lens – a beautiful wide angle lens.

Here are two versions of the same image from the X-E2. The top version has been processed in Lightroom with VSCO Film 05 which adds a film like quality to the overall image.

The version below is that same processed image but after a pass through Photoshop CC and a touch of the Oil Paint filter applied. I like both versions a lot – but find the visual interest added by the oil paint filter keeps my eye more engaged looking at the painterly version!

Black and White Filoli Fujifilm X-E2 Monochrome Photography Photography Photography - Black & White Photography - Fujifilm X-E2 Photoshop CC

The Olive Grove at Filoli

Post author By Scott Loftesness
Post date March 2, 2014
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Filoli has a wonderful grove of olive trees outside the Visitor Center. I shot this image with my Fujifilm X-E2 – and post-processed it using Photoshop CC, Nik’s Silver Efex Pro, and more. A bit of platinum toning tweaked the color just a bit.

iPhone 5s Photography Photoshop CC San Francisco/California Topaz

Down We Go – Spiral Staircases at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Center

Post author By Scott Loftesness
Post date February 16, 2014
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One of our favorite places for photography in San Francisco is Embarcadero Center. The Center’s architecture is very special and unique – with lots of lovely nooks and crannies along with beautiful vistas of the four tall buildings that make up the core of the center.

There are several spiral staircases within Embarcadero Center that make wonderful subjects for photographers. A couple outside and another couple inside the buildings. As the light shifts, the outdoor ones take on a variety of moods – sometimes they’re in bright light/shadow. Other times, when it’s foggy and overcast, there’s a soft light aspect that can be special.

Yesterday, we were on our way to see the movie Tim’s Vermeer at the Embarcadero Center Cinema when I walked by this particular staircase and captured it with my iPhone 5s. I brought it into Photoshop CC and tweaked it a bit using both Topaz Simplify 4 and the Oil Paint filter to add a bit of interesting texture. The image deserves more time to make it even better – but this quick, first cut version captured my eye!

Tags embarcadero center, spiral staircase

Black and White Cuba Lightroom Nikon Photography Photography - Black & White Photography - Nikon D600 Photoshop CC

Viva! – Life on the street in Havana

Post author By Scott Loftesness
Post date February 9, 2014
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Looking back through my shots from our visit to Havana a year ago, I came across this image. I had skipped over it previously – probably because it’s not super sharp and that blurred motion of the woman in the foreground. But, giving it a second look, it pulled me in – there’s the element of layers in this image.

Shot with my Nikon D600, I post processed it using Lightroom and Photoshop to emphasize the textures and tonality of the image.

Fujifilm X-E2 Photography Photography - Fujifilm X-E2 Photoshop CC San Francisco/California

Those Spiral Staircases in San Francisco’s Embarcadero Center

Post author By Scott Loftesness
Post date January 28, 2014
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Spiral Stairs - Embarcadero Center - 2014

San Francisco’s Embarcadero Center is one of our favorite spots – the architecture is amazing. There are several of these beautiful spiral staircases in the various buildings – here’s one that’s on the inside. I shot the image with my Fujifilm X-E2.

For this image, I chose to focus on the structure and the lighting – emphasizing the color and the texture. I processed it first in Lightroom 5 and then pulled it into Photoshop CC for further adjustments of the shadows/highlights and a bit of simplification using Topaz Simplify 4. A final touch of the oil paint filter kicked up the texture on the tiles.

Back in Lightroom, I used the split toning panel to change the highlight and shadow colors to a more cinematic (orange-ish highlights/blue-ish shadows) to further bring out the colors.

Tags cinematic, spiral staircases

Fujifilm X-E2 Lightroom Photography Photography - Fujifilm X-E2 Photoshop CC San Francisco/California Street Photography

Riding the Powell and Hyde Street Cable Car: Street Photography in San Francisco

Post author By Scott Loftesness
Post date January 27, 2014
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Here’s another image from our recent street photography photo walk in San Francisco. After meeting at the Ferry Building, we caught a quick Uber ride up to San Francisco’s Union Square. Lots of people and activity.

As we started out, the Powell and Hyde Street cable cars began moving quite frequently up and down Powell St. We had some interesting mid-morning January light and tried to find a spot that might work out sort of as a stage.

This is one of my shots – taken with my Fujifilm X-E2 and post-processed in Lightroom 5 and Photoshop CC.

Fujifilm X100S Half Moon Bay Lightroom Photography Photography - Fujifilm X100S Photoshop CC

Sunshine at Princeton Harbor in Half Moon Bay

Post author By Scott Loftesness
Post date January 15, 2014
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This is one of those images that just pops for me. Doug Kaye and I were out exploring Half Moon Bay and environs. Along the way we walked out on the pier at Princeton Harbor – as the sun was beaming down on these fishing boats.

This was shot with my Fujifilm X100S – a superb camera – and tweaked in Lightroom 5, VSCO Film, and Photoshop CC.