9-11 Tribute at the Old Stone Church

[SquarePeg]

Last night I went to a 9-11 tribute. This historic church is in West Boylston. It was built in 1891 and is a very popular spot for photographers because of the sunset orientation, good reflections and easy access. The flag is always there and always lit which is nice at blue hour but can be challenging once it gets dark enough to require a longer exposure. This first photo is a single shot taken underexposed by 2 stops. In post I brought the exposure up 2.2 and the highlights and shadows up +50 then used the brush tool to bring the church and flag (and their reflection) back down to original exposure (the lazy no mask way of editing I guess). Noise reduction in Topaz. I like how you can see the stars and tried to emphasize the size of the light beams. It could probably use a bit of a crop at the bottom. If I end up printing this one I'll have to lop some of the reflection off.

Old Stone Church 9-11 Tribute by SharonCat..., on Flickr

At sunset. They eventually straightened the light on the right (well...almost). A cheer went up from the crowd of photographers and families when they did.
Old Stone Church 9-11 Tribute by SharonCat..., on Flickr


I removed the truck and lights in this one as the light on the right being crooked was really obvious and with the sky still being so bright, the lights didn't really add anything to this shot.
Old Stone Church by SharonCat..., on Flickr

 

[Jeff15]

Good shots.....

 

[jcdeboever]

They're all good but the first one is exceptional. It has everything that a photog could want.

On a side note, I would challenge you to try and do it in camera. You kind of told us us what you did in post, now try and duplicate in camera. I In other words,, edit raw in camera and produce a jpeg. This may prove beneficial for you in the future or maybe not.

 

[SquarePeg]

They're all good but the first one is exceptional. It has everything that a photog could want.

On a side note, I would challenge you to try and do it in camera. You kind of told us us what you did in post, now try and duplicate in camera. I In other words,, edit raw in camera and produce a jpeg. This may prove beneficial for you in the future or maybe not.

I did try to edit it in Camera just to see how it would work in this instance but… The church flag gets completely blown out. That light is really bright. Is there a way to selectively mask when you’re editing in camera? That would be great!

 

[SquarePeg]

Good shots.....

Thank you…

 

[enezdez]

They're all good but the first one is exceptional. It has everything that a photog could want.

On a side note, I would challenge you to try and do it in camera. You kind of told us us what you did in post, now try and duplicate in camera. I In other words,, edit raw in camera and produce a jpeg. This may prove beneficial for you in the future or maybe not.

Totally agree with your comments...

@SquarePeg Very Nice Set!

Never Forget!

 

[SquarePeg]

Totally agree with your comments...

@SquarePeg Very Nice Set!

Never Forget!

Thank you, appreciate your feedback.

 

[PJM]

Very nice set. I like them all.

 

[smoke665]

Is there a way to selectively mask when you’re editing in camera? That would be great!

If your camera supports additive exposure. You could meter each required shot then set the camera to those exposure settings for each addition added. Then tweak your settings and redo it about a half dozen times. finally finish editing in PS, burning an hour or so in the process. Or, you can do it like you did it. It's not how you get the result...it's getting it.

That first one is great, nuff said.

 

[SquarePeg]

Very nice set. I like them all.

Thanks!

If your camera supports additive exposure. You could meter each required shot then set the camera to those exposure settings for each addition added. Then tweak your settings and redo it about a half dozen times. finally finish editing in PS, burning an hour or so in the process. Or, you can do it like you did it. It's not how you get the result...it's getting it.

That first one is great, nuff said.

Thank you.

 

[Photo Lady]

beautiful and so great that you were there for the tribute...

 

[CherylL]

All 3 are beautiful. Thanks for sharing how you underexposed the shot.

 

[Winona]

Beautiful!

 

[SquarePeg]

beautiful and so great that you were there for the tribute...

Thanks! There were a lot of families there and of course a ton of photographers. Two of the local teams were running workshops which added 20+ people to the crowd.

All 3 are beautiful. Thanks for sharing how you underexposed the shot.

Thanks Cheryl. I actually took two different exposures with the intention of doing a blend but I have to admit that I am a lazy editor.

Beautiful!

Thanks!

 

[jeffashman]

Beautiful set! Very tranquil.