Jerome – The Blacksmi

I seem to have finally resolved all my technical issues with my monitor and software so that I can consistently get good results from my processing. And I’m starting to get my mojo back, thanks to joining a photography club and also setting up a weekly challenge for myself.

So I’ve started going back through some of my old raw images, looking for new material to play around with while I teach myself some of the features and hidden (to me) tricks of PaintShop Pro X7, Topaz plug-ins, and Lightroom. I’ve been watching quite a few YouTube video tutorials, as well as sitting in on live webcasts from Topaz for their products.

Today I pulled out some brackets from our 2011 weekend trip to Jerome, Arizona, where we toured the old Gold King Mine. It’s a veritable treasure trove of photo ops, and I highly recommend that you put it on your photography bucket list.

I processed this image first in Photomatix Pro 4.2 to merge the three brackets into an HDR image. I then did some further editing in Paintshop Pro X7, using some of the tips I’d seen on some YouTube videos today. For instance, I learned that the new X7 version of PPS has the “Magic Eraser” tool, which is a content-aware tool for removing things like dust and flare spots quickly and easily. It’s much easier than the “Object Remover” tool that I had been using. It really made a difference in cleaning up this image!

I really like this image, although I still might go back and try to remove that power line–it just seems to mock me!!

Oh, yeah, I also spent a little money online this week to pick up some other things that I’ve been putting off purchasing for my photography habit. I finally bought the cleaning solution and swabs to clean the sensor on my Nikon D700–so tired of seeing the spots in the sky on all my landscape shots. And this week I used my last bonus from work to order a Wacom tablet to make some of the editing tasks easier–things like fine selections for masks, for instance. I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on that tablet and learning how to use it.

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Assay Office

I haven’t done an HDR image in a little while, so I pulled out some brackets from our last trip to Jerome. This is the old Assay Office from the Gold King Mine ghost town in Jerome. When I took the shot, it was almost high noon, and the lighting situation was getting pretty harsh. I took a series of five brackets, and needed all five of them to get all the detail in this shot. The items on the desk in the foreground were sitting in a patch of bright sunlight, while the back of the little office was almost completely shaded. For situations like this, HDR rocks!

HDR created from five bracketed photos (-2.0 thru +2.0) processed in Photomatix v4. Post-processing in Topaz Adjust / DeNoise with Paintshop Photo Pro X3.

I really intended to get out and do some shooting this weekend, but somehow time has slipped away (again). The weather is starting to warm up now here in the Valley of the Sun, and it’s so much easier to just sleep late in the air-conditioned house than to get up early enough to get some quality camera time. However, we’re looking forward to our trip to Vancouver the first week in July for our 20th anniversary, and I’m planning to fill up every memory card I have with images from the Pacific Northwest. Can’t wait!

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Parking Lot at Gold King Mine

For tonight’s post, I’m pulled out some more unprocessed raw files from our last trip to Jerome.

There are a lot of abandoned vehicles on display at the Gold King Mine ghost town. Some look like they probably still run, others are obviously junkers. They all probably have some great stories hidden beneath the rust and buried in the upholstery. This shot is a small sample of the collection of old trucks, cars, buses, vans, motorcycles and heavy machinery they have scattered around the property.

HDR created from five bracketed photos processed in Photomatix v4. Post-processing in Paintshop Photo Pro X3, using Topaz Adjust / DeNoise.

Evidence of Cat

For tonight’s post, I’m pulled out some unprocessed raw files from our last trip to Jerome.

Here’s a shot of one of the old abandoned cars that they have on display at the Gold King Mine ghost town. I wish I could tell you what model year this Studebaker is, but I’ve never really been that good at identifying automobile models. I was more interested in the paw prints in the dust on the windshield.

HDR created from five bracketed photos processed in Photomatix v4. Post-processing in Paintshop Photo Pro X3, using Topaz Adjust / DeNoise.

The Toolshed – Gold King Mine

Continuing my series of images from our recent visit to Jerome, Arizona:

Yeah, I know I said my next post would include images of the exterior of the Grand Hotel in Jerome, but I just had to sneak this one in first. I just processed it last night, and I really like how it came out.

This is one of the many “collections” (i.e. “piles”) of old equipment from the Gold King Mine ghost town in Jerome. All the various textures, colors, rust, and light angles just cry out for an HDR treatment. I love all the little details, even the incongruous ones like the empty plastic water bottle…I don’t think that came from the miners.

HDR created from five bracketed photos processed in Photomatix v4. Post-processing in Paintshop Photo Pro X3, using Topaz Adjust / DeNoise.

Have a great day, everyone!

No Mechanic on Duty

Continuing my series of images from our recent trip to Jerome, Arizona:

Just a quick post this morning since I had to spend three hours last night fighting with my firewall to get my printer to work (but that’s another story)…

Here’s another shot from the Gold King Mine ghost town in Jerome, Arizona. You might remember the image of the old Ford truck that I posted yesterday. If you look at today’s image, you can see that truck parked just outside the door of this old general store / gas station. I loved the interior of this place with all its dusty countertops, oil filters, and assorted tools and parts that were used to keep the mining town running.

HDR created from five bracketed photos processed in Photomatix v4. Post-processing in Paintshop Photo Pro X3, using Topaz DeNoise.

387th Avenue

Continuing my series of images from last weekend’s trip to Jerome, Arizona:

We’ve been visiting Jerome off and on for about twenty years now, and we always enjoyed the shops and galleries, museums and quaint restaurants. But we had always stayed on the main streets that switchback through the main part of town. For some reason we had never really explored the little side roads.

This time we decided on a whim to venture north of Jerome to look for some good photo ops. We wound up on the road that leads to Gold King Mine Ghost Town. And if you’re into HDR photography, it’s a mother lode of high dynamic range rust, machinery, wood grain, dust, and just generally old stuff. I could have spent the day there, but I was limited to just a couple of hours since we had to get back to the hotel in time for check out. We WILL be going back!

My photo for tonight is an example of what’s to be found at Gold King Mine Ghost Town:

HDR created from five bracketed photos processed in Photomatix v4. Post-processing in Topaz Adjust / DeNoise with Paintshop Photo Pro X3.

The owner/operator of the site was very gracious and told us that we could go check out of the hotel and come back if we wanted to. She even said we could come back in a few days and continue our visit without having to pay another entry fee. They welcome photographers AND their tripods (imagine that!), so you don’t have to feel anxious about shooting anything in there.

I’ll be posting more photos from our visit to Gold King Mine here on this blog and also on my Flickr page in the set titled “Jerome Arizona – 2011.03.12“.

the Zen of Zann

…exploring my world with my Nikon and iPhone

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