Josh Lohff
January 2025 - You & Me
About the Image(s)
EQUIPMENT & EXIF
Canon EOS R5 / RF 50mm F/1.2 L USM & 1/40 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 100, 50 mm (shot from tripod)
IMAGE DESCRIPTION & INTENDED EFFECT
I recently purchased a 50 mm prime and set myself the task of using it for pretty much all of my shooting for the foreseeable future. It seemed like a good challenge, one that would make me think differently, and force me to approach situations and shoots differently from how I might have previously.
When the opportunity to shoot Idaho's state capitol came up, I'd normally have jumped for my 15-35 mm or a few other options, so being limited to just 50 mm was a fun challenge. This image came from that shoot.
POST PROCESSING STEPS
This is an HDR from 3 different exposures and actually works pretty well in color too, but something about the monochrome really spoke to me.
After creating the HDR rendering, I brought the highlights down just a little and opened the shadows a bit, but that's about it.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
7 comments posted
Thanks for the feedback man, I always appreciate you taking the time. I'm wondering if the version that exported is displaying poorly for some reason. When I look at this image in Lightroom, the bright spots aren't blown out and I can see details in the lights down to the lightbulb themselves. The histogram runs the full gamut from blacks to whites and everything in between (I'll upload a copy) - who knows!
As far as it being flat, are you thinking it needs more blacks, i.e., the histogram should be leaning more to the left overall? Just curious if this is something that could be addressed in post, or if it's a capture issue.
Thanks again Alan! Posted: 01/21/2025 20:40:27
I enjoy photographing the interiors of buildings such as state capitols and churches. There are always interesting lines and angles to capture. You have done exactly that with this image. Posted: 01/22/2025 09:07:22
Common advice seems to be that a B&W image should have a full range of contrast, but that is not always so. For example, a photo of fog should be rather flat lest you lose the feeling of the fog. I think this is the exception to the rule though. Posted: 01/22/2025 09:54:08
I like what you did here with the composition as I can "feel" the height of the rotunda in the pic for the most part, and can imagine the full rotunda if I'm so inclined. I also like the level of detail you were able to get around the lights, even though, as mentioned above, the lights look to be blown out (most likely due to the image quality required for these). Posted: 01/29/2025 17:07:10