LightningPaul

17 Feb 2009 • 723 views
 
supporter of
atom rss 1.0 rss 2.0
web browser google del.icio.us digg technorati
| lost password
birth date
cancel
photoblog image Olympic Statue and Pillars

Olympic Statue and Pillars


The Olympic stadium in Barcelona. A great place to see. Especially this odd looking tall statue with the yellow-ish pillars are funny. I took a bunch of images of this place so you may see more of them in the future.


TECH-INFO: At the time of taking, I had two problems: I had no tripod with me and my sensor was full of dust. The latter was totally my fault. In the morning I noticed a big fat piece of dust on my sensor which was like growing after each picture I took. I had no blower or sensor swap to clean it, so I decided to use a paper tissue. It helped to remove the big spot but in return I got hundred baby dust spots :-(

To clean my sensor I use the sensor swabs of Photographic Solutions. It works very well but they are not handy to carry because they consists of separate swabs and a (little) bottle with cleaning fluid. Luckily I discovered something new: pre-moistened sensor swabs in a small ready to use package! From now on I always have at least two of them in my camera bag.

For this image I shot 7 JPGs hand held, so my camera moved slightly between every shot. Normally not very advisable. Fortunately Photoshop did a wonderful job of merging them into a HDR file. It takes minutes to calculate the proper alignment but the result is super. I started removing the spots using the clone stamp. The spot removal tool does not work in 32-bit mode. Bummer.
Then I tone mapped it in Photomatrix Pro and reloaded it in Photoshop to remove more spots. Tone mapping tends to reveal every single spot. Using the curves tool and layers I boosted the contrast.

The image is taken at 15h00, mostly a bad time because of the high position of the sun. Luckily using HDR techniques can overcome this problem.

Olympic Statue and Pillars


The Olympic stadium in Barcelona. A great place to see. Especially this odd looking tall statue with the yellow-ish pillars are funny. I took a bunch of images of this place so you may see more of them in the future.


TECH-INFO: At the time of taking, I had two problems: I had no tripod with me and my sensor was full of dust. The latter was totally my fault. In the morning I noticed a big fat piece of dust on my sensor which was like growing after each picture I took. I had no blower or sensor swap to clean it, so I decided to use a paper tissue. It helped to remove the big spot but in return I got hundred baby dust spots :-(

To clean my sensor I use the sensor swabs of Photographic Solutions. It works very well but they are not handy to carry because they consists of separate swabs and a (little) bottle with cleaning fluid. Luckily I discovered something new: pre-moistened sensor swabs in a small ready to use package! From now on I always have at least two of them in my camera bag.

For this image I shot 7 JPGs hand held, so my camera moved slightly between every shot. Normally not very advisable. Fortunately Photoshop did a wonderful job of merging them into a HDR file. It takes minutes to calculate the proper alignment but the result is super. I started removing the spots using the clone stamp. The spot removal tool does not work in 32-bit mode. Bummer.
Then I tone mapped it in Photomatrix Pro and reloaded it in Photoshop to remove more spots. Tone mapping tends to reveal every single spot. Using the curves tool and layers I boosted the contrast.

The image is taken at 15h00, mostly a bad time because of the high position of the sun. Luckily using HDR techniques can overcome this problem.

comments (16)

Amazing futurist architecture view. Just WOW!!
LightningPaul: I agree, a bit strange but I love the futurist view too. Thanks for visiting!
  • zed
  • Australia
  • 17 Feb 2009, 02:49
You have to wonder what was going through their minds when they designed this place and what it is supposed to represent
LightningPaul: LOL smile
I was thinking the same.
Super shot Paul. Thanks to for the info about sensor cleaners. I need some!
LightningPaul: Your welcome Bill smile
Just make sure you pick the correct type of swab and fluid, see here for an overview: http://www.photosol.com/cameras_bymfg.html
As far as I know your camera is listed too. If your sensor is very dirty you might need to use two swabs, so use twice a swab (I had too the first time).
thats some structure there Paul and a superb shot of it and of course the post work smile
LightningPaul: Thank you Tim! This place was pretty incredible to see.
god, are you nuts??
a paper towel on a sensor is like cleaning your backside with a steel brush!!

eek . . .

I avoid any solutions on mu sensors. I use brushes that are charged which just get rid of everything. Also Canons new Sensor Cleaning tech is about 80% good.

Back to the image . . .

You know, I really like this one. The perspective is really interesting and it's drawing me in. It feels a tad over exposed, perhaps a shade less exposure or some more contrast?

paper towel... (I am still shuddering in horror!!)

he he

Cheers

Rob
LightningPaul: Well at that moment I was pretty nuts but at the same time getting crazy of the big dirty spot on my sensor. I just had to remove it. I don't advise it at all using paper tissues. Fortunately the ones I like are very very soft; I love to use it for my nose smile
Camara sensors have a protecting layer. They are fragile but still stronger then we assume. About the brushes: I heard (so no own experience) they are great for dry dust, not for wet and sticky spots (which I already had). Also these brushes collect dirt every time you use them. About sensor swabs, I heard the Nikon tech is using them, though they don't admit it.
Many thanks for your comment.
Me again..
I did say "Avoid" .. hehe
I can totally related to your frustration
Had a similar issue on a Phase One P45 back. Only way was a good scrub with a sensor swab
Canon uses them too in the tech background.
Ever messed with a focus screen? Even worse... so darn sensitive...
paper towels..
eek...
I couldn't bring myself to do that...
great subject tho !!!!
Rob
LightningPaul: Most Nikons have a plastic cap for protecting the screen which has now several scratches. But I can imagine that they are very sensitive indeed. Thanks for your opinion.
  • Alex
  • Spain
  • 17 Feb 2009, 12:27
Muy buen HDR, me encantan lo practico mucho y seguire en ello.
Buen trabajo con la composicion y la simetria de las columnas.
Saludos.
LightningPaul: Thank you Alex. I'm very glad you like my HDR tone mapping. The architects made a great place which made it easy for me to find a good composition.
  • Hervé
  • France
  • 17 Feb 2009, 14:04
Une très belle lumière et un traitement qui donne un bel effet 3D
Beau travail!!
Amicalement
LightningPaul: Merci beaucoup smile
I love using (ultra) wide angle which makes it easier to get this 3D effect.
Incredible job! You did a great post-processing and the result is really cool.

I's glad you visited Barcelona wink
LightningPaul: Many many thanks!
I really loved my visit to Barcelona. It's a fantastic city, very beautiful, great people and very well organized.
Has conseguido un efecto espectacular, parece de ensueño.
LightningPaul: Thanks for your comment. I think the enhanced clouds make it more dramatic.
  • Ilan
  • Israel
  • 20 Feb 2009, 17:19
What a place! I'm don't know if you are a "Star Trek" fan, but every time they showed Earth in that show, it looked like that. Very futuristic smile
LightningPaul: You're right! We would start thinking that they recorded the on Earth Star Trek scenes over there smile
I'm pretty sure that the structure is by an engineer called Calatrava and I seem to remember that it had some function - communications perhaps. When I saw this place it was empty as it is in your shot. It seems a pity that they don't make more use of it. The Olympics were a long time ago!
LightningPaul: Indeed it was very empty. The pictures were shot on Monday the 10th of November at 15h23 but except for a few tourists, there was nobody. Many thanks for the explanation in your comment.
This is great, I really like the effect of the HDR as it is realistic.
LightningPaul: Thanks. I have the feeling that this tone mapped HDR image is balancing between realistic and slightly getting surrealistic. All elements look very natural but because of the high contrasts and bringing them all together it yields something with an artistic touch.
  • Tero
  • Finland
  • 24 Feb 2009, 06:08
This is great. Composition works very well. I found this kind of surreal.
LightningPaul: It's indeed balancing between realistic and slightly getting surrealistic, though I'm very happy with the result.
Cool shot, it looks like a place in the star trek universe!
LightningPaul: More people think that. Ilan Bresler mentions that it looks like Earth shown in certain Star Trek scenes. I have to agree with that.
  • Marco
  • Netherlands
  • 8 Mar 2009, 17:22
Wow, what a surreal landscape. It looks like it's from a science fiction movie.

Leave a comment

must fill in
[stop comment form]
show
for this photo I'm in a any and all comments icon ShMood©
camera NIKON D200
exposure mode full manual
shutterspeed 1/500s
aperture f/9.0
sensitivity ISO100
focal length 12.0mm
International Fireworks Festival Duinbergen 2011 #1International Fi...
Lantarn in Central WarsawLantarn in Centr...
Garage Gate: I Love YouGarage Gate: I L...