Local diner

[T.pickett]

Link to: larger size

Camera: Nikon D5000
Exposure: 8"
Aperture: f/25.0
Focal Length: 22 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV

I was out goofing off near a local diner recently and grabbed several shots this turned out to be the best of the group. The only post processing I did was to convert to JPEG and crop. I have some concerns about the signs around the building being blown out but I really wanted to be able to see the people inside, any suggestions for improving this? General tips for improvement are also welcome.

-T

[Doctor Atomo]

I really love the composition, I wish I could help with the blow out, but I am a beginner, still haven't attempted any night shooting. There is probably something that could be done in PP.
The only thing that bugs me is the distortion from the wide lens causing the roofline on the diner to tilt.
I am learning Nikon NX2 and there is a real easy straightening tool, not sure how it would work here...
Beautiful shot, keep up the good work and please share more!

[Doctor Atomo]

T.pickett;

May I try a quick edit?

[T.pickett]

Have at any edits you see fit, I'm here to learn so let me know what you do.

[T.pickett]

Edit: Oopsie, double post

-T

[nickywallphotography]

This is a realy good photo.

There is an American Diner here in the UK which is not far from where I live, I also have a star filter so I should try shooting it one night.

[Doctor Atomo]

Thanks!
This is a fun picture!

I just did a quick Straighten and Free Crop in Nikon NX2.




I wish I was better at the software and could tackle the blowout, SriMesh? Could you help us out and work a little layer/ mask magic here and make the lettering on the sign clearer without losing the detail in the diner?

[Raoul Isidro]

Nice environmental shot!
Cheers

[T.pickett]

Originally Posted by nickywallphotography

This is a realy good photo.

There is an American Diner here in the UK which is not far from where I live, I also have a star filter so I should try shooting it one night.

Funny thing is I wasn't using a star filter, the kit lens I was using is just really bad about doing that to sodium and mercury lights on long exposures. With tungsten and neon lights it doesn't seem to happen though.

-T

[SriMesh]

Hello there

This is a wonderful city scape, with the city lights co-operating so nicely. As requested by Dr. Atomo, I will do some photoshop layers for light/dark areas. I had troubles signing in, sorry for the delays.

I took the image which Dr. Atomo had edited, then duplicated the background layer, and added it with a screen transparency 100 % twice. Saved this step. This brought out the details in the bottom half of the diner and made them a bit lighter, and brighter. Save1

Then again took the first background image and duplicated it and added it with a "multiply" transparency" of 100% one time only. Found multiply worked better than overlay or darken for this step. Saved this step. This brought out the details in the lighted signs, and made them darker, and not as washed out. Save2

I opened Save1 and holding the shift key, dragged Save2 onto Save1. (The shift key centers the images upon each other for alignment). Then I used the Layer Add Vector Mask Reveal All to bring out the bottom half of the diner from Save1 and the lights from Save2 using black or white for the brush tool as applicable. Did a tiny bit with layers to bring down the brightness of the foreground road, and brightness/contrast.

This is almost like the theory behind HDR photography, but it uses several photos taken at different exposures, and then plugs them into a photo to find the appropriate tonal details.




click for larger image