Making of "Reflecting the Future"

Quick overview by our photo contest winner

By PF Staff in Photo Contests on Jul 28, 2012

Just a few days ago, we announced that James Ables's photo "Reflecting the Future" was the winner of our ofiicial June "Shadows" photo contest.  Today, the author would like to tell us a little bit about how this photo was shot and processed.

Equipment & Settings Used

• Pentax K-r (Hand-Held)
• Sigma 8-16mm F4.5-5.6 DC HSM
• Shutter speed: 1/640s
• Aperture: F8
• ISO: 200
• Shooting mode: Av
• File format: RAW

Post-Processing

• Adobe Lightroom 3

"I always shoot in raw with Adobe 1998 color space. I processed in Lightroom 3. First I adjusted the White Balance then pulled in highlights with recovery and negative exposure. Next I lightened the shadows with Fill-light slider. I balanced color saturation with each individual color and then pushed up vibrance a bit and some brightness. Lastly, I sharpen according to which ISO I'm shooting at then reduce noise and balance them till I'm satisfied. My interest in the shot was the sun rising and shining its light, creating long shadows and bouncing its light off of the glass doors. I love how the light cuts through its own shadows. A very interesting picture."

Here is the original photo:

And now, the final result:

For another shot at B&H gift cards and other prizes, don't forget to enter in our July "Motion" photo contest, which closes at the end of the month!