Return to Photography of Jeff T. Alu
Here's my Jeep, after 16 hours of being caught in the mud at a "Dry" Lake. The desert often hides its water, so be careful!
The above image is not a normal part of my process. I am very concerned with treading lightly in the desert areas, but isolated events do crop up. In this case, the surface of a dry lake became muddy underneath even though the surface looked very dry, and I was not aware of the mud until I was driving directly on top of it, and sinking. It took many hours to get me out of there with the help of an 80 year old couple who lived nearby, a tractor, and lots of chain. This is the day I lost my front bumper, which I still have not replaced.
Now, here's a summary of my photographic process, which tends to be relatively safe.
All of my photos are taken digitally using Minolta DImage F300 and Kodak DC280 cameras. Actually, the Kodak is no longer functional and the DImage has a bit of sand inside after a brush with a Dust Devil so that I have to pull the lens out manually. Anyway, I don't use any filters and normally use the default, automatic settings on the cameras. I take all my pics in color and covert to black and white and process in Photoshop. For me, the cameras are merely data gathering devices and all of the real work is done after the fact. Also, I don't use a tripod and very rarely wait for the right lighting, etc. I usually take my photos while hiking around and as soon as I see something, I just point and click.
Here's how I process my images:
1. First, I convert to Black and White in Photoshop via the Channel Mixer. I turn on the Monochrome setting, and generally take the red channel to 0 and the green channel to 100 or so. This tends to cut down on the amount of noise in the image.
2. Next, I dodge and burn the image using the Dodge and Burn Brush. I alternate between the two brushes while working on an image. When using the burn brush, I always have the range set to "shadows", and when using the dodge brush, I always have it set to "highlights". I never dodge or burn the "midtones" of an image. I very rarely set the exposure above 15%, unless I'm trying to completely burn out the sky, in which case I will set it to 100%.
3. I use the Unsharp mask in two passes: one to make the image more intense, and another to sharpen it. The first pass has a high radius and a lower amount. This tends to make the image "pop". The second pass uses a low radius and a higher amount, which sharpens the image on the pixel level (making it less blurry)
The two images below illustrate these steps visually. You will need the Flash plugin to view these files. Just click on an image. Once loaded, move your mouse from left to right over the image, and you will be able to see how the image evolves as I work through the process.
When I dodge and burn, I like to think in terms of a battle between light and dark. I sometimes go back and fourth between the dodge and burn brushes over the same area, alternately brightening and darkening. This can give the image a somewhat harsh look, which I think adds to the drama.
More detail will be added to this page as time permits, so please check back.