I was sick of complaining about the shitty weather. I may hate winter with the core of my very being, but as my wife said yesterday, "It is what it is." To level up in the Arcanum, I needed ten new images.
So I cleared out my driveway and headed off "somewhere." I planned to visit every place I usually visit in the spring and summer and see what it looked like in the winter. It sucked. I don't often do black and white. I don't think in black and white. I love the colour — lots of it.
I spent two and a half hours walking around my "neighbourhood." These locations are all near my home. It takes about 10 minutes to drive from one place to the other. Tripod, Nikon D5100, and Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens. I had my iPhone streaming Spotify music to my Harmon Kardon Bluetooth headset. Trance music helps my creative process. Check out Armin Van Buren and Paul Oakenfold.
I captured 40 images, of which only 14 were presentable (from my perspective). For the Level 5 assignment, I submitted the ten to the Arcanum Cohort to review. I captured elements of the Kingston Village Historic District, Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park, and the middle section of Princeton University.
The Mill was built in the 1800s. After combining the images in Photomatix, I cropped the result and added a perspective correction. I then pulled the image into Nik's Viveza and adjusted the saturation on the red parts of the house.
The Millstone River between Kingston and Rocky Hill along River Road divides the KKingston Village Historic District in Princeton Township (Mercer County) from the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park and Historic District.Kingston Greenways
With white and grey everywhere, why not leverage it? Three images HDR (Photomatix). I pulled the HDR into Nik's Silver EFX Pro and applied one of the presets for the final result.
I drove from Plainsboro back through Kingston and down to Faculty Road near Princeton University. I had not walked this trail before, and I thought perhaps I would find something interesting. I was disappointed. I'm sure it's a beautiful spring, summer, and fall trail. Single image pulled into Nik's Color EFX Pro.
I drove from Faculty Road and parked on William St. on the northwestern end of the Princeton University campus. Why not get some architectural images? I have lived in the area for fourteen years. Nothing changes. Even the new buildings are built to match the architecture and feel of the old buildings. Unless you see it being made, it's hard to tell what is new and what is old. This is a three-image HDR (Photomatix). I pulled the result into Nik's Silver EFX Pro and adjusted the perspective in Adobe Lightroom.
The image HDR, treated in Nik's Silver EFX Pro, then cropped to focus on the door itself. Many of the older Princeton University campus buildings have these doors, seemingly placed randomly on the perimeter. I have no idea where they lead.
I walked up Streicker Walk to McCosh Walk toward McCosh Hall. Three images HDR, Silver EFX Pro, cropping.? There was a metal post near the doorway just as you entered the arch. I spent some time with Photoshop's content aware-fill and clone stamp tool to remove the post. I think I did a decent job there.
Three images HDR (Photomatix) pulled into Nik's Silver EFX Pro. Lot of cropping and straightening. This is an image taken from inside the courtyard of East Pyne Hall facing toward the church.
It took me over two hours to complete my "walk" about. I returned to Washington Road and stopped for a "quick" photo. I photographed this door in the summer. The stone is usually covered with ivy.
