Golden Stones

[J A Y M O R R]

I had a great time this past week photographing beautiful trout, water, and some Golden Stones.  I thought you may enjoy a few of the images:

[Zach Matthews]

Awesome!

Do you shoot those in RAW and then tweak and convert?

[J A Y M O R R]

Yes.

[wraysinclair]

what type of lens? i assume macro?

[Zach Matthews]

Yes.   I always shoot RAW, unless it is the kids games 😉

My imports are done in LR3 and most of my color adjustment workflow is done in CS5.

I have CS5. Curious… why LR3 instead of importing directly to CS5?

[J A Y M O R R]

Wray,

This was shot on a Nikon D700, 105mm 2.8 Nikkor Micro.

John, Great question.

[Matt M]

Beautiful images.

[Tim Schulz]

Hi Jay,

Great work, as usual.

Can you expand on your last post?  What about the processing of those images required you to need CS5 instead of LR3?  What did you need that LR3 doesn’t provide?  

Thanks in advance for anything you can share with us on this.

Cheers,
Tim

[Zach Matthews]

Awesome photos again. Yup that helps.

Jay, do you find LR3 better (and/or faster) at batching then CS5?

I end up export batching a lot of huge client TIF images using PS CS5 (or even Fireworks CS5) depending on my specific needs.

Thanks again!

[willmilne]

Jay

Tremendous images especially the mating behaviour ones . Nice to see images that get beyond the simple saw this bug took pic stuff.

I cant help but think that the attractive lady in the last post is responding to the Garter snake image with some emotional response – I’m a sucker for connecting images with narratives:)))

Will

[Zach Matthews]

Jay, playing around tonight with my equipment and software leads me to another question. Is LR3 collections easier to use than Adobe Bridge and collections for viewing all the RAW images?

Three novice shots this evening taken with Canon Rebel XTi and Canon 70/300mm IS lens. Any feedback and insights would be appreciated.

cat by Wiflyfisher, on Flickr (f/5.6 1/100 ISO 400 @300mm)

horse by Wiflyfisher, on Flickr (f/11 1/100 ISO 400 @85mm)

flower by Wiflyfisher, on Flickr (f/6.3 1/200 ISO 400 @160mm)

[J A Y M O R R]

All great questions.  Also, thank you for the kind feedback.  Will….I have always enjoyed your macro work.  It is top shelf and something I have always aspired to. 😉  

In regards to LR3 vs. CS5 – I will do my best to explain some basic differences and let you know why I use both.

LR does not use layering.  I have a much better experience with layering, text, and selections with CS5.  All of these combined with blend modes and the ability to record my workflow within CS5 help me save various tasks and apply them as actions later on.  I use a lot of brushes, I even create my own, something of which LR will not handle.  Actions in CS5 are the same as what you would call a preset in LR.  I create a lot of actions in CS5 and it helps speed up my workflow and give my imagery the style that you see.

LR has some distinct advantages over CS5.  Non-destructive editing is arguably the best thing that LR has to offer.  Creating virtual files or a “duplicate of a RAW image does not take up additional space on your HD.  Unlike CS5 where saving multiple TIFS can result in more HD space being chewed up.  The virtual files are easy to work with in LR and I use it all the time when making additional copies of my work and when I need to do minor touch ups.  LR has an awesome export and import feature.  Way better than CS5.  The preview windows are large, you can see your imports, you can “quick collect” favorites and also export with some very nice print options.  If any of you upload to other sites on the web, LR is a great way to do it.  LR was made for “togs” by “togs”.  I cannot live without it.  With that said, it does not replace CS5. Going between LR and CS5 is super easy.  It is a simple right click within LR “Edit In CS5”.  It is almost seamless.

The lack of layering, selection & blend modes in LR3 has been a concern for many of us for years now.  Some of the heavy users of LR here may already understand what I am getting at.  This has since been resolved this past month with a new plugin put out by OnOne.  You should definitely check out OnOne “Perfect Layers” and watch the vid:
http://www.ononesoftware.com/products/suite/perfect-layers/?ind
I have been somewhat impressed with the intuitive layout and ease of use.  However, it still targets users that do not have the needs of power CS5 features.  

In a nutshell, CS5 is irreplaceable in certain areas.  For many it is a rough learning curve.  I am constantly learning new aspects of CS5 and understanding better ways of doing certain things.  All of which speed up my workflow and give me the flexability I need.  They both have their places and I love and use both together.  It is a perfect fit for me.

John, nice work bud!  Those are some fun images.  I really like your second one.  The golden light on the side of the horse is nice.  Your Flower shot is tack!  

In regards to feedback, Will pretty much nailed it in his statement
“Nice to see images that get beyond the simple saw this bug took pic stuff.”

Always strive to compose something that is interesting.  A good friend of mine this past weekend guides on the Fork in ID.  His comment is always “Jay, anyone can make that cast!  Hit that little riffle up under that tree near the bank”.  The same thing applies with photography.  

Anyone can take a picture.  How will you make yours different? That comes with time, practice, a shit load of patience, and putting in more work.  I am continually humbled by how much there is to learn.  We have some incredible togs on this site.  I don’t say it enough and I sure enjoy the imagery.

HAVE FUN!!! Doug Barnes would constantly remind me of this early on when I first started shooting.  It continually sticks with me.  

PS.  This one is for you Will :}

[Zach Matthews]

Thanks again, Jay. I hope to post some shots from the Fork this summer.

[willmilne]

Great last image Jay- thanks :)))

Will

[Neal Osborn]

Killer shots Jay!

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