yOOrek’s Rants’n Raves

Lately I have a tendency to post-process my images to get, what I call, an altered reality look. Vivid, over-saturated colors and vignetting are the tell-tale signs of it. Three Lightroom presets are the ones I use the most to get there - Indian Summer, Strong Velvia and Velvia & Lomo.

Lake Constance (Bodensee) Originally uploaded by yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

Some women I know, and probably a lot that I don’t, would kill for eyelashes like this. Apparently it is a big thing with them. Horse lovers have something about that as well. At least that’s what my daughter tells me.
Taken with Nikkor AF-S VR Micro 105mm f/2.8 G IF-ED, f3.3 @ 1/125, ISO200, hand held. I would love to get closer, but how do you make sure that the equine model does not move its head. I guess I’ll use horse whisperer next time.

Eye of a horse Originally uploaded by yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

and are responsible for waking me up in the middle of the night. Believe me, in Switzerland every cow has a bell, and they know how to use it too. The sound carries for miles.

Taken with my new Sigma 10-20mm lens.

Things that go ‘moo’ in the hills Originally uploaded by yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

Another shot using my newly acquired Sigma 10-20mm lens. This time going low and wide. Post-processed in Lightroom.

Going low and wide Originally uploaded by yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

Yes, I finally got it. The Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 DC EX HSM lens. So far I had a chance to shoot a handful of photos but that was enough to get me hooked on super wide angle lenses. I guess that makes me one of the fat folk (See my post on photographic taxonomy for explanation). This lens opens up so many opportunities to a photographer - go low and wide, high and wide or just wide. The perspective is amazing. Would you believe that for this shot I was no farther than sixty centimeters from the trunk of the first tree. Amazing stuff.

Hugging the trees with Sigma 10-20mm lens Originally uploaded by yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

Here is another beautiful photo from ART-Ko. Just check the exposure of this one. Silhouette of the cow against totally blown sky and yet, the foreground details are visible. A masterpiece if you ask me.

mars Originally uploaded by ART-Ko

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

WOW - I got explored! This is my first photo that made it to Flickr Explore. I have to admit I do not know how this ‘Explore’ business works. I got no notification, no email - nothing. I discovered this quite by accident when checking my Flickr DNA. Couldn’t believe my eyes. There it was, staring me right in the face.

Maya & Herold (Explored) Originally uploaded by yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

Lake Constance, also known as Bodensee, as seen from Wallhausen. I managed to squeeze in few shots before another one of my ‘Equestrian Sessions’ has started. The light was pure magic this evening. The passing horse just adds to the rustic atmosphere of this place.
Taken with Nikon D50 and Nikkor 50mm f1.4D lens, f3.5 @ 1/1000, ISO400. Post-processing courtesy of Lightroom.

Lake Constance, Germany Originally uploaded by yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

Another one from today. Taken with Nikon D50 and Nikkor AF-S VR Micro 105mm f/2.8 G IF-ED, 1/3200s @ f3.3, ISO200, Aperture priority, post processing in Lightroom. I had some problems obtaining sufficient depth of field in this shot. Still, all things considered, I like the end result. It reminds me of those terraforming photos (amazing circles).

Dandelion Originally uploaded by yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)

I know I haven’t been very active recently. I’ve been snowed under post processing the ‘Herold Sessions’. That’s what I call my photo sessions with my daughter and her horse where I take in excess of 200 photos inside 1.5 hours. It is funny how we tend to look differently at the photos. I talk about colors, depth of field, sharpness and she talks about the way horse’s head is positioned, which way his ears are pointing etc. etc. etc. It’s like we are from different planets.

Anyway I thought I’ll post a single photo from today’s session when I managed to photograph something other then equine/human subjects. Taken with Nikon D50 and Nikkor AF-S DX 18-70mm f/3.5~4.5 G IF ED lens at 18mm, 1/250s @ f8, ISO200, manual exposure. Postprocessing done in Lightroom.

Spring is in the air Originally uploaded by yOOrek

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Without wax,
yOOrek (posting from Flickr™)