Lightroom Presets
Direct Positive Preset in Lightroom
Lightroom presets are interesting. Most of the time I prefer to edit my own images. If I do decide to choose a preset, I end up making additional adjustments, so I figure I should start from scratch anyway.
I saw the frosty fog rising off of the river on Sunday morning and noticed how the trees became frost covered. I know the time frame to capture this is short and it was already 10:00 a.m. I knew I had to get moving!
I used a 0.6 ND filter, because the sun was so bright and it really separated the blue sky while maintaining the white snow. I photographed these images with my Tamron 24 – 75mm f/2.8 on my Nikon D800E at ISO 50. Shutter speeds and aperture varied depending on the light. Most of the time it was at f/8 – 11 and 1/100 – 1/200.
In post I decided to try the IR preset. Some of the images were very impressive using this preset. I do like a little more contrast, so I adjusted the blacks and contrast slightly to give me the look I wanted.
I hovered over some of the other presets and the Direct Positive really made the images pop with color! The contrast between the blues and whites was beautiful! Direct positive is a process dating back to the 1800’s. Typically, the image was captured directly onto the paper and it was a black and white image. In Lightroom, the direct positive setting increases the saturation, blacks, and highlights and produces a very high color image. The image can be easily converted to black and white after using the Direct Positive preset.
The images below demonstrate the use of 2 different presets in light room; Direct Positive on the left and infrared (IR) on the right.
While I do like my images to have a little more contrast (more pleasing to my eye), there is something about the subtleness of the image below that I like. Left is the original and right is IR. I did remove the boat from the image.
The vignette in the corners is from my ND filter on the camera. I do attempt to remove that with cropping or adding a reverse vignette.
I suggest you try some of the presets in Lightroom; what is nice, Lightroom gives you a preview of what it will look like. I use this as a starting point then make my own adjustments. I have also set up my own presets in the past if I’m editing a batch and making the same changes throughout.
Have fun experimenting in Lightroom!
Memories of dad
“Time heals” they say. It has been a year since my dad passed away. There is not a day that goes by that I think about him. I have moments when I have questions that I know only he could answer. I run into people that I know that he knew, but I can’t remember who they are.
I put together this little photograph to show how I remember my dad.
First is his graduation photo; he graduated from Wheelersburg High School in 1953—I followed 25 years later. His dad laid the cornerstone of the high school I graduated from and he laid the cornerstone my daughter will graduate from in 2014.
Most people remember him wearing this hat to the football games. I still look into the end zone to see if I can see him standing there.
Dad shot many feet of home movies with this camera when I was growing up. It was a constant accessory when we traveled.
There is an NS key ring he passed on to me along with other NS memorabilia in my possession. NS stands for Norfolk Southern for those who are not aware. He worked for Norfolk Western and they merged with Southern.
The gold dollar is among my prized possessions. He had this one made into a necklace for me. Every time I wear it I think of him.
Dad served in the Army and was buried on Veteran’s Day. The shells here are from his 21 gun salute.
The 3 baseballs represent his love for sports. The first toward the back and moving forward is a signed baseball from his Little League team that he coached. The middle one is signed by Ted Kluszewski and was a Father’s Day present from me when I worked for the Reds. He always told a story about seeing him at Union Terminal when he rode the train to Cincinnati. The third one is from 1968, the last season the Reds played at Crosley Field. We rode the train to see the game and dad “caught” a foul ball!
I do not have any Cleveland Browns items…so sorry about that.
O-H-I-O…I would be remiss if I forgot about his favorite team!
Memories of dad surround me on a daily basis. I remember his sense of humor and his love of family. Keep your loved ones in your heart and fill your life with joy!
I miss you dad, but you will always be with me.
Rainbow
I was at the bank today and the sun was out and there were nice white fluffy clouds in the sky. I was talking with the customer service assistant and looked out the window and saw this beautiful rainbow. It extended from the river over to roughly Sciotoville. The best I could do at the time was photograph it with my iPhone through the tinted window of the bank. I started to get up and go out to shoot it outside, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. It was colorful and sharp. What a wonderful scene to see today.
Pam DeCamp Photography 