About the Image(s)
This slowly collapsing grain elevator is a regular stop for Palouse photographers. It sits on the main highway just south of Pullman, Washington. My temptation every time we drive by it is to remember the dozens of photos I've taken of it over the years and just keep going, but every once in a while I decide that there's enough going on to give it one more look. In this case, we had interesting clouds, no other photographers, and minimal amounts of heavy equipment parked around it. I processed this is Lightroom Classic, using the adaptive B&W profile and different exposure adjustments. I then took it into Photoshop and used Nik Color Efex with detail extractor and pro contrast, masking the new layer out to preserve that wonderful sky. Finally, I removed a tractor behind the structure as well as reflectors and power poles by the highway.
Sony A7R IV full spectrum conversion with 720 filter, Sony 24-70 f/2.8 GM2 lens. ISO 100, 24mm, f/14, 1/50 second. Shot handheld.
Emil Davidzuk
Henry
When you combine the Palouse with an old dilapidated structure you create art, in this case Infrared based.
Wonderful scene, great texture of the wood, nice soft clouds in the sky for offset.
I like it
Emil Posted: 07/01/2026 14:38:35
Henry Heerschap
Thanks, Emil! Posted: 07/02/2026 17:04:08
Charles Walker
Henry, the native photo is great, but what you did in post processing is even greater. . . and makes me want to learn from you. You used Nik Color Efex with detail extractor and pro contrast. Can you tell me more about the why and the how. Posted: 07/01/2026 14:41:32
Henry Heerschap
Charles,
I have to credit this group and particularly former member Gary for pointing me toward Detail Extractor. It doesn't always work but when it does, it can be quite amazing. I'm still figuring things out, but here's what I did.
For this picture, in Detail Extractor, I set the strength to 25% and the contrast slider to 25%. I left all the other controls alone. In Pro Contrast, I set the Dynamic Contrast to 50%. Detail Extractor can flatten an image quite a bit, so I use Dynamic Contrast to counteract that. Tonal Contrast also works for this.
Finally, I masked out the sky completely as I don't love what Detail Extractor does to clouds. I also masked out the shadowed parts of the structure about 50% to restore some of the darks.
I hope that helps.
Posted: 07/02/2026 17:42:39
Charles Walker
Thanks Henry. I literally now have the picture. The art of this is knowing what to mask and not, and knowing what consequence you have in mind, i.e., being thorough and deliberate in every step. Posted: 07/06/2026 20:19:15
Arik Gorban
Hi Henry. I like this classic scene for an IR photo. The grass and clouds add so much. Of course, the barn is interesting. Nicely composed and handled picture. I hope to be in this area in September or October. Posted: 07/01/2026 16:37:18
Henry Heerschap
Thanks, Arik. September-October is a terrific time to be there. The fields are mostly harvested and the stubble makes for wonderful patterns that work beautifully in IR. Posted: 07/02/2026 17:05:46
Steve Long
I may have seen this grain elevator while I was in the Palouse years ago. You have captured this scene beautifully. I too find adaptive B&W really helps for IR images. Posted: 07/01/2026 18:54:58
Henry Heerschap
Thanks, Steve. It's hard to miss if you take the main highway south of Pullman. I've been shooting it for years and it sags a bit more each time.
I'm just now starting to figure out adaptive B&W (and color), especially when best to use it. It's a powerful tool. Posted: 07/02/2026 17:07:45
Jack Florence Jr
Lovely image, Henry; not sure I've seen this barn. I think the little bit of road on the right contributes, as does the small tree. Your rendition and detail on the barn is great. I would have waited a few minutes; if possible having those clouds to the right of the barn instead of partially behind it would have been amazing. But they might not have been moving in that direction of course. Posted: 07/03/2026 15:12:23
Henry Heerschap
Thanks, Jack. You are probably right about the clouds. Unfortunately, we were in a hurry to get someplace so I wasn't able to manage the timing as much as I would have liked. I moved around it quite a bit, but some of the angles resulted in more clutter. The locals store heavy equipment behind it. Posted: 07/03/2026 15:41:22
Jeff Fleisher
A very beautiful image. The clouds are wonderful and I am also a fan of old, falling down structures! I've started to take pictures of old barns here in the Shenandoah Valley.
I will have to give Detail Extractor and Pro Contrast a try on some of my images as well.
Posted: 07/08/2026 02:16:15
Henry Heerschap
Thanks, Jeff. Posted: 07/08/2026 03:28:10
