Steve'sDigicams

mofo13 · Dec 12, 2008, 1:55 AM

Random shots while walking downtown at night. They were all hand held using a Canon XTi and either the XSi kit lens or a Sigma 24-70mm f2.8. Hope you enjoy them (the 1st and last two pix are my favorites out of these). Comments and critique welcome.

Randolph near Columbus:

First United Methodist Church from the Christkindlmarkt:

Just East of Columbus near Randolph:

Construction on the river near the Wrigley Building off Michigan Ave:

Overlooking Navy Pier from the 94th floor of the John Hancock building (HDR):

Walter C · Dec 12, 2008, 10:41 AM

Both of your posts bring back fond memories of Chicago, when I was a grad student at the U of C in the early 1960s. The pictures remind me of how much the city has changed since then, and also how little. Nice shots. Thanks for sharing.

hercules · Dec 14, 2008, 4:34 AM

Great night shots, i really like the 1st one

MVASteve · Dec 29, 2008, 10:40 PM

Shots 4&5 are my choice. Good shots for hand held too. Have you tried tweaking the levels with some of your shots? sometimes this can improve the blacks and or contrast. Thanks for sharing mofo13.

mofo13 · Dec 30, 2008, 8:28 AM

Wow am I behind! Thanks for the feedback everyone. It's much appreciated. It was a cold, cold day that I took these. I really like the shot on the Chicago River, too. Especially considering how windy it was and how frozen my hands were when I took it!

Walter, glad these pix brought back fond memories for you! It always interesting to see how the city changes. One of these days, I need to take a day to just walk around all the different parts of it with my XTi.

MVASteve, I ran theseapplied some exposure, curves, and/or saturation to each of the pictures. I also probably used the shadows/highlights function of PS (wow, is that an addiciting tool in PS!). I'm by far not a pro at post-processing. Which pix do you think might be better with more contrast? I can rerun it/them to see if I can improve it/them.

MVASteve · Dec 30, 2008, 4:11 PM

Gday mofo13, I'm sure everyones monitor can present the colour of photos differently. One little tip I received from a friend to adjust photos is to use the levels tool in photoshop. I dont think it matters which version you have. I had a little go with one of your photos to show how, (see screen shot.)If you already are doing this I apologize, I am definately not an expert and not wanting to step on anyones toes:!:

mofo13 · Jan 1, 2009, 9:07 PM

No worries, sir! I'm open to constructive criticism on my general photography and post-processing skills (or lack of). I'll give a shot at adjusting the sliders in the levels window. What I sometimes do is check RGB saturation (hold down the 'Alt' key for Windows) while adjusting the sliders until I just start to see color of whatever I'm working in (red, green, or blue). I started trying a tip I read using the curves adjustments bytaking black, neutral gray, and white samples of whatever picture I'm working on and then adjust the curves a little bit for some contrast.

Wingman · Jan 4, 2009, 5:10 PM

Was just in Chicago on Dec 26th to see Jersey Boys! One of my favorite cities. The architecture and sights are a photographer's dream.

Great pix...especially live nos. 1 ...time of day made for perfect lighting.

Dec 30, 2008, 4:11 PM	#6
MVASteve Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Adelaide South Australia Posts: 793	Gday mofo13, I'm sure everyones monitor can present the colour of photos differently. One little tip I received from a friend to adjust photos is to use the levels tool in photoshop. I dont think it matters which version you have. I had a little go with one of your photos to show how, (see screen shot.)If you already are doing this I apologize, I am definately not an expert and not wanting to step on anyones toes:!: Attached Images

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Dec 12, 2008, 1:55 AM	#1
mofo13 Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 66	Random shots while walking downtown at night. They were all hand held using a Canon XTi and either the XSi kit lens or a Sigma 24-70mm f2.8. Hope you enjoy them (the 1st and last two pix are my favorites out of these). Comments and critique welcome. Randolph near Columbus: First United Methodist Church from the Christkindlmarkt: Just East of Columbus near Randolph: Construction on the river near the Wrigley Building off Michigan Ave: Overlooking Navy Pier from the 94th floor of the John Hancock building (HDR):

Dec 12, 2008, 10:41 AM	#2
Walter C Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Huntington Beach, CA USA Posts: 8,116	Both of your posts bring back fond memories of Chicago, when I was a grad student at the U of C in the early 1960s. The pictures remind me of how much the city has changed since then, and also how little. Nice shots. Thanks for sharing.

Dec 14, 2008, 4:34 AM	#3
hercules Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Sparta, Greece Posts: 2,649	Great night shots, i really like the 1st one

Dec 29, 2008, 10:40 PM	#4
MVASteve Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Adelaide South Australia Posts: 793	Shots 4&5 are my choice. Good shots for hand held too. Have you tried tweaking the levels with some of your shots? sometimes this can improve the blacks and or contrast. Thanks for sharing mofo13.

Dec 30, 2008, 8:28 AM	#5
mofo13 Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 66	Wow am I behind! Thanks for the feedback everyone. It's much appreciated. It was a cold, cold day that I took these. I really like the shot on the Chicago River, too. Especially considering how windy it was and how frozen my hands were when I took it! Walter, glad these pix brought back fond memories for you! It always interesting to see how the city changes. One of these days, I need to take a day to just walk around all the different parts of it with my XTi. MVASteve, I ran theseapplied some exposure, curves, and/or saturation to each of the pictures. I also probably used the shadows/highlights function of PS (wow, is that an addiciting tool in PS!). I'm by far not a pro at post-processing. Which pix do you think might be better with more contrast? I can rerun it/them to see if I can improve it/them.

Jan 1, 2009, 9:07 PM	#7
mofo13 Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 66	No worries, sir! I'm open to constructive criticism on my general photography and post-processing skills (or lack of). I'll give a shot at adjusting the sliders in the levels window. What I sometimes do is check RGB saturation (hold down the 'Alt' key for Windows) while adjusting the sliders until I just start to see color of whatever I'm working in (red, green, or blue). I started trying a tip I read using the curves adjustments bytaking black, neutral gray, and white samples of whatever picture I'm working on and then adjust the curves a little bit for some contrast.

Jan 4, 2009, 5:10 PM	#8
Wingman Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hebron, Kentucky (northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati):KCVG Posts: 4,355	Was just in Chicago on Dec 26th to see Jersey Boys! One of my favorite cities. The architecture and sights are a photographer's dream. Great pix...especially live nos. 1 ...time of day made for perfect lighting.