Since it has been far too smoky to get out shooting, I decided I needed a theme for my Luminar editing this week, and I decided on elephants (surprise!). I’ve not watched any more Luminar tutorials this week, but I have decided for the balance of the month I am going to search out resources on Luminar for Windows, as the program is a bit less advanced than the Mac version.
I actually tried to edit an image on my Windows computer using Luminar, but got frustrated with a clone and stamp issue and gave up. Currently, I’m letting that computer download the latest update while I write this, so perhaps the issue will be resolved with the latest version.
Editing elephant images has given me a chance to work with a variety of tools to bring out texture and contrast. An elephant’s wrinkly skin is such a wonderful feature, and raw files really need to be worked with to bring that back to life. I’ve found that Luminar does an excellent job with this, but you definitely need a gentle hand with the adjustments as they can go up to 11 very quickly. The other feature I am enjoying on Luminar is the Accent AI slider. It analyzes an image and tries to adjust automatically for exposure, contrast, clarity, saturation… but like the filters that affect details, I find it it needs to be used with a gentle touch, otherwise the image starts to look overdone.
I hope you enjoy my selections for the week. Wishing everyone a great week ahead.
One of the desert adapted elephants in the Hoanib River bed. Namibia, April 2017.A pair of elephants checking us out before heading down to drink. Phinda Game Reserve, May 2017.Seeing double – a pair of juvenile elephants along the edge of a dam on Phinda Game Reserve.This bull was not particularly pleased with our presence, and shot out a blast of air from his trunk, sending sand up all around him, like confetti. We were driving on the airstrip to give him lots of space on the road, but we certainly didn’t stick around any longer, as he was in musth and we didn’t want to chance annoying him any further.This young lady couldn’t have been more different to the bull elephant above. We were parked on the roadway and she approached us and then just chilled out along the side of the road, waiting while the rest of her family had a drink from a broken water pipe.
As you all know, I am just a bit partial to elephants, so I wouldn’t mind if every day were elephant day. But today is officially World Elephant Day, so it’s a great opportunity to share some images of my favourite animal.
I won’t get into a discussion on elephant population numbers, conservation challenges and the like. There are many people and groups far more informed than I that are providing that type of information. I’ll simply say that my opinion is that no one needs ivory except an elephant, and the poaching of these magnificent animals is an absolute tragedy that needs to be stopped.
I’m sure I have said this many times before, but if there was only one animal I could spend time with on an African safari, it would be the elephant.
I’ve kept with my theme for the month of August, and have continued to learn and explore the Luminar editing program and all of these images have been processed using the software. Two things I have noticed over the past week:
1) I find the spot removal tool does not work very well for larger dust spots on blue sky; it leaves behind visible traces of the spot removal that are almost more noticeable than the initial spot. I have found though that the clone stamp tool does an effective job on the larger sensor spot removal. The majority of these images were shot on my old Nikon D610, which had enormous issues with sensor spots, so this is a feature I rely on quite heavily for working on older images.
2) The luminosity mask function is quite limited on the current software version, offering no opportunity for adjusting the luminance values to dial in the mask. I use the luminosity masking function a lot when editing with On1 Photo Raw, especially as an effective way to isolate the sky to perform specific adjustments. The standard masking options also feel a bit more basic than the ones that I use with Photo Raw. For images that need that type of adjustment, I don’t think Luminar would be my first choice as a raw editor.
I’m finding that most of the editing is start to feel natural using this program, now that I have gotten a feel for what the various filters do. But coming from Lightroom and On1 Photo Raw, I’m really used to the automatic lens profile corrections, and having to manually enable and adjust that is something I haven’t yet gotten used to doing as part of my workflow. Generally speaking though, I am finding it an enjoyable program to use.
On to the images 🙂
Desert adapted elephants in the Hoanib River bed in Namibia. April 2017.A pair of bull elephants play fighting in the shallows of the Boteti River. Leroo La Tau Camp, Botswana, May 2017.A bull elephant giving himself a mud bath in Nxai Pans National Park. Botswana, May 2017.An elephant climbing out of the dry Timbavatio Riverbed in front of the Ngala Tented camp. South Africa, May 2017.A curious elephant calf that kept approaching the vehicle, checking me out. One of my all time favourite elephant moments. Londolzi, May 2017.
My Mom was looking for some elephant images to hang up, and originally thought she would like a sepia tinted photo, so I worked on this edit for her in Luminar.
In the end we decided a colour image would look better in the frame that she had, but at least I had another opportunity to do some editing of my very favourite animal.
Wishing everyone a fantastic week ahead!
A bull elephant at a watering hole in Nxai Pans Park in Botswana. April 2017.
Starting a Monday off right with an elephant image 🙂 This group of bulls was part of a larger bachelor herd that had moved down to the Boteti River from the Nxai Pan area. They were enjoying being in an area with a lot of water; spending lots of time washing off the white mud from the pans and splashing in the river. Here, a pair of bulls face off while a third heads in to join the fun.
Anyone that has read this blog more than once or twice is familiar with my love of elephants. So it should come as no surprise that I have created a painterly effects project using elephant images.
I’ve really enjoyed working with elephant images this week, as the large, recognizable shape has allowed me to work with some very abstract settings, without compromising the ability to know what it is you are looking at.
I hope you enjoy my images for the week, and wishing you the best for a positive and happy week ahead.
A pair of young elephants greet each other with affection.A pair of bull elephants test each others strength in the shallows of the river.Follow me.A herd of elephants gathered at a dam. This is an 8 shot stitched panorama.Mother and daughter stealing a drink from a broken pipe.
I was inspired this week to explore images from Namibia with my painterly effects project for the month. In the brief time I have spent there, I have found it to be a magical place. The light is beautiful and the landscapes are at times surreal. From the air, the vast open spaces seem lifeless, but on the ground, it is a completely different story.
I hope you enjoy my selections for the week.
A group of oryx walking in front of one of the impressive dunes in Sossusvlei.A lone elephant moves through the desert, looking to catch up to her herd that had already reached the river.Sunset over the desert in Hoanib.A group of flamingos in flight over the Skeleton Coast.The land of vast deserts sometimes surprises with lush greenery. This lion was lounging in the cool grass with the rest of his pride nearby.Large groups of seals awaited us when we visited the Skeleton Coast from Hoanib Camp. Inland it was a clear, blue sky day, but on the coast, fog and mist obscured the view.A group of lions, newly evicted from their pride, roaming through Etosha National Park.In Damaraland, you can easily feel like you are the only people for miles around.
