March 4, 2012

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beauty, f164, Fine Art, infrared, journal, line, National Park, Nature, signature, silver, technique, travel

The Skinny Kid – Joshua Tree NP

The Skinny Kid by Gavin Seim. Joshua Tree NP, Feb 2012

The family and I camped down on the flatland’s and took a nice drive into Joshua Tree that day. It was warm, but got cooler in the highlands and the choice to wear shorts turned out less than ideal. So the family was back in the car warming up after hiking and I ventured out near Skull Rock, finding this skinny little Joshua Tree standing alone, everyone ignoring it’s simplicity.

The Skinny Kid grew on me and soon I was experimenting with angles and ideas for how to best showcase what he had to offer. In the end this simple black and white scene struck me. A starkness of line. A cast shadow showing that his reach extends beyond his size. This tree has a perfect vantage. He gets to watch over this rocky landscape without distraction and reign as King of it’s trees.

Release details: Prints available. Contact the gallery. Learn more about prices. Available prints…

 

For Photographers. How it was made…

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March 2, 2012

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lightroom, news, presets, ProPhotoShow, special effects

Silver Shadows 2.2 is Here – The Ultimate B&W Toolkit for LR.

Mouse over for before/after effect of Lumen Modified.

Silver Shadows 2 is a complete black-and-white system for Lightroom users. We released it a few months ago it’s has received a resounding thumbs up in reviews and feedback across the web. That’s cool, but it gets better.

Today I’m proud to announce Silver Shadows 2.2. It’s a FREE update for existing v2 presets users. In fact, you should already have received an email with your download.

What’s inside. Silver Shadows 2.2?

2.2 features FULL compatibility with Lightroom 4. A separate set, revised for use with the LR4 2012 process and the new adjustment features. With that however, Silver Shadows 2 remains compatible with older versions, and includes a set for LR1-3 users. Both sets have all the Silver Shadows 2 presets effects.

New Effects & Refinements:

Silver Shadows 2.2 also includes three NEW presets including, Lumen Modified #1 and Light Modified #2 (Cp). Both are versatile creative effects to go with the more than 100 existing black and white presets in Silver Shadows 2. They give you rich tones and bold notes while maintaining dynamic range. Another new effect is Dynamic Dark Boost, a conversion meant for images that are a bit too dark. With this effect you can quickly bring up tone without altering exposure. It can also be used on lighter images for an ultra high key effect.

There’s lots of little refinements and updates throughout Silver Shadows 2. You can find a full list in the release notes of the info page that comes with the download. If you don’t yet own Silver Shadows 2, head over and check out the demo to see why it’s the only black-and-white toolkit you need. If you already have Silver Shadows 2, get your download now. This version completely replaces the previous. V1 users of Silver Shadows can also get a discounted upgrade to V2. If you did not receive your download or have press/support related questions, contact us, effects@seimstufios.com.

Gavin Seim

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February 23, 2012

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color, f164, hogarths, journal, musings, private, signature, silver, technique, travel, water

Morena Sunset – Morena Reservoir CA.

DRAFT: We found this amazing camp up in the Coral Canyon area. A surprisingly little used OHV area in CA that is stunning on nearly every side. It had rained recently bringing out the winter green, but our days here were beautiful and warm and when we weren’t exploring the landscape we we’re drinking good coffee or lying out on a blanket  with the kids, looking up at the blue sky.

I spotted this on our first drive the night before but sat on it for a day. Going back, I let the kids play in the road (it was more of a trail and mom was watching them), while I climbed up the hull onto a mountain of boulder for a stunning view of the valley and the unique shape of the Morena Reservoir. I waited as the sun sank and the light begin to sing.

Morena Sunset. Gavin Seim, 2012.

For Photographers. How it was made…

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January 22, 2012

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beauty, f164, Fine Art, hogarths, journal, line, Nature, silver, technique

Churning Beauty – The Oregon Coast

Churning Beauty, Jan 2012 by Gavin Seim. HWY 101, Oregon Coast.

One thing I love about the sea is the way it displays natural art with such simplicity. We traveled the 101 for a few hundred miles early on in our winter tour. With that came some bad weather and some moments of sweeping coastal beauty.

The line of beauty is something most experienced artists are familiar with. If not in name, then in practice. It’s that sort of sweeping S curve that comes from nature itself and is nearly always pleasing to the eye. That’s what really stuck me here. The entire coast with it’s waves rolling, is a series of sweeping curving lines. One has to wounder if Hogarth, the man recognized with making the line of beauty a known artistic element, looked out over these very shores.

The result of this days work is a square that showcases details of the ocean. Leaving much to imagination, but leading me thru the scene, reminding me how beautiful and powerful the water is. The passage of man means nothing to the sea. It simply moves on, rolling over the footprints and awaiting another day.

Release details: Prints available. Contact the studio. Learn more about prices. Available prints…

For Photographers. How it was made…

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December 14, 2011

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f164, science, silver, technique

Dynamic & Tonal Range in the RAW File.

Right cut. Original RAW file desaturated in LR. Left cut, same file with the Dynamic Silver III preset from Silver Shadows 2 applied in LR.

Just a few quick observations today. One reason I stay in a RAW as long as possible is that quality and dynamic tonal control is at it’s highest on an original RAW file. Once we leave that environment, we can certainly still work with tonal values, but we throw away some of that precious information.

On the right is a sharpened and desaturated original file from Sunset’s Hidden Falls. On the left, the same file with nothing more than applying Dynamic Silver III from my new Silver Shadows 2 toolkit. This effect pulls out dynamic range without flattening the shadow and contrast too much. It could also be done manually of course.

Once I have the dynamic range under control, then I’ll move on to external edits as needed. I don’t hesitate to go into Photoshop (though I try to stay in 16bit mode) for detail work. I did plenty of that on the final version of this). But getting my basic tonal range managed before I leave the RAW file behind gives me better results and helps me maintain that quality as high as possible for my wall prints. It’s a better wokflow and a better image.

Gav

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