Daily Nature Fix: My First Time Using Lightroom! (Original Photos)
Hi gang. Before anything else, I just wanted to repeat that the Abandoned Shit Weekly Contest has returned and the new theme was announced today! Check it out here: https://steemit.com/aswcontest/@customnature/it-s-back-abandoned-shit-weekly-contest-21-show-and-tell-aswcontest
Now then, tonight's Daily Nature Fix is one I'm pretty excited about. I've been away from SteemIt for a bit over two months because my computer died. Some of you may recall that I recently got a new one, BUT something happened to my photoshop app once I updated the new computer to the MacOS Mojave. It kept crashing and I was never able to fix it. I ended up upgrading to a newer version of the software and this time, I also got Lightroom. I love it!
While I have SO much to learn with Lightroom, I feel like this may be the beginning of being able to have my photographs look like those of real photographers. One of the first photos I tried to edit with this new tool was one that I always liked, but always felt a bit bland. After a few minutes of messing around with different settings, it ended up looking like a whole new photo! Here it is:
This photo was taken in Death Valley National Park as a friend and I drove along the 25-mile rickety road that lead to/from the Race Track Playa. I didn't want to be a pain in the ass, so it was a really quick point-and-shoot kind of shot and I only took one of them. I liked the wrinkly mountains in the distance, but with this new editing stuff, it actually looks like a decent/real photograph! I'm so excited to mess around with other shots from our travels! For comparison, here is the original photo, right off of the camera:
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Now, that first photo is my favorite that I've done so far, but it's only been less that 24 hours. I'll share a few others that I started messing around with. I hope you enjoy!
^^^This one is from our first trip to Iceland while driving around the southeast part of the country. I saw this pair of swans hanging out in a small pond not too far off the highway, but they were in some super bright sun and the original photo was all washed out. After moving a bunch of sliders around, I was able to darken it up and have some of the colors return. Much better than it was!
^^^Here's a shot of the Mendenhall Glacier from just last month in Alaska. Again, the scenery was amazing, but many of the photos came out a bit flat and hazy... including this one. Messing around with the exposure settings as well as the shadow/highlight sliders, it made the whole look much more crisp and give it a bit more punch!
Anyway, I'm just excited about this new (to me) tool and I wanted to share these images with you as it feels like they've been reborn. I'm off to study up on some tutorials and search SteemIt here to see if anyone may have posted one. Thanks for checking them out!
Thanks for reading! I try to post a nature-themed Daily Nature Fix blog every day. Please upvote if you enjoyed it and resteem if you found it especially interesting! Be sure to follow me @customnature so you'll never miss out on your nature fix! See you tomorrow. - Adam
*** These daily blogs showcase the natural world. It is all original content using photos, stories, and experiences from my own travels. ***
I really love the first edit! It's awesome!
Lightroom is very powerful, it's usually the only software I use to edit photos. While you can do the same things in Photoshop it takes a lot longer!
That's definitely where I was in my Photoshop skill level. Actually, not even. I could get close to the look I wanted, but never quite there. I love how you can see all of the changes in Lightroom in real time. I think that's what helps me the most.
My best advice would be to play with the editing sliders and tools, too see what they are capable of! Yeah, I've brought some pictures back from the dull grey blah to vibrant life by doing a few things that I found on a whim.
Yo what insane pictures! I’ve been to Death Valley and absolutely loved it :) would love to go back one day, it was incredible. Iceland in January I’m hoping! That Alaskan glacier looks stunning, I saw some great ones in New Zealand :) great pics!
Oh shit! Iceland in January means a lotta Northern Lights AND you can do glacier ice cave tours, which I’d highly recommend. New Zealand is high up on our travel list.
Wow I will have to check them all out! Iceland looks so beautiful and I can wait to see the lights! 😀 you will love NZ it really is amazing
Lightroom is a lifesaver! We started using it for weddings several years ago for editing hundreds to thousands of pictures and we’ve never looked back. I haven’t been on here much for the past couple weeks, so I’m glad to you back and see the return of the #abandonedshit contest! Woohoo!!! :)
Thanks @melodyrussell! Yeah, our wedding was actually the first time I ever heard of Lightroom. Out wedding photographer @joleenwillis said she uses it and her stuff is incredible!
looking for a contest
What?
Hello @customnature, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!