Niland – heath ofee dot com

Sit Tight

Heath OFee — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:10:45 +0000

Last week I had the pleasure of providing the brackets for the most recent game of HDR Tennis on Facebook. The game wrapped up last night, so I thought I’d post my version on the blog today.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 13mm, F 11, ISO 100

Goodyear

Heath OFee — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:10:07 +0000

As I become more familiar with the post-processing tools at my disposal, I find myself leaning towards a group of the same effects on a regular basis. I’ve come to know what these tools will do for my images, I enjoy the results, and I feel using similar post-processing techniques on most of my images helps me to develop a unique ‘style’. That being said, I don’t want to get into a rut where I just stick to what I know and don’t explore all of the other great options that are out there.

While the myriad of processing options may seem daunting sometimes, it is important to continue to experiment in order to further our growth as photographers/post-processors. Even if it means trying something new and NOT liking it, at least you can say you gave it a shot. What is there to lose? Storage is cheap, so experiment as much as possible!

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 10mm, F 11, ISO 100

Dialed In

Heath OFee — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 14:07:15 +0000

This is a detail shot from the large abandoned warehouse I found in Niland, California. I really would have liked to get a shot looking straight at the dial, but it was too high on the wall for it to be feasible. Sometimes you just have to work with what you’re given

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 20mm, F 11, ISO 100

We’re Watching

Heath OFee — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:37:23 +0000

Back to the abandoned warehouse in Niland, California for today’s image. When I walked into this urbex heaven, as soon as I turned and looked to my right, these are the creepy graffiti eyes I was greeted with. I felt safer for the rest of my time there knowing I had a pair of watchful eyes looking out for me

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 20mm, F 11, ISO 100

Repeat After Me…

Heath OFee — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 15:08:18 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve posted something with an obscene amount of colour. This has been a conscious decision, as I know that when I first started with HDR processing, I went a little overboard with my saturation slider. However, I feel that this image is one that benefits from a large dose of colour, and I really tried to amplify the awesome pink graffiti on this old brick wall. I wanted the splash of colour to be the first thing people noticed and then let their eyes drift upwards to the spraypainted quote.

This abandoned warehouse in Niland, California was a great find. I’ve already shared a few images from this location, and I can’t wait to keep leading you all on a tour of the place Oh…and I apologize for the unavoidable F-bombs present in this frame. Hard to avoid them sometimes in places like this.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 20mm, F 11, ISO 100

Centred?

Heath OFee — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:08:38 +0000

I was really excited about this shot as soon as I snapped the brackets, and I had planned on waiting a while before processing it. Well, I couldn’t resist, so I gave it a go last night. Turns out this beam wasn’t quite as centred in the warehouse as I thought, so despite the fact it’s right in the centre of the frame, it doesn’t cut the wall behind it exactly in half. I’m still a fan of the shot, and that’s what’s important

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 13mm, F 11, ISO 100

In Your Face

Heath OFee — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:57:39 +0000

Interesting foreground elements and leading lines can turn a ho-hum scene into something more compelling. Although there were a number of great individual elements in this abandoned warehouse to shoot, creating an interesting composition that included a large chunk of them required a bit of thinking. Nobody wants to look at a pile of discarded junk without any sort of focal point or direction, so finding that key element that leads the viewer through the frame is key.

When I saw this overturned table and rusted piping, I knew how I wanted to frame this shot. Getting close to the end of the pipe with my wide angle lens allowed me to make the opening of the pipe the focal point, and the distortion provided by this same lens really leads the eye through the frame.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 12mm, F 11, ISO 100

This is Why We Use UV Filters

Heath OFee — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:26:07 +0000

I’m back from my trip to Palm Springs, and unfortunately, while I was there I had my first major camera gear accident. Until five days ago I have never dropped a camera, lens, flash…heck, I hadn’t even dropped a CF card, but my luck changed on Tuesday. I was shooting an awesome abandoned warehouse just outside Niland, CA with my brand new Promote Control. I had just set up for a wide shot of this van seat when I spotted a few shotgun shells lying around and thought they’d be a nice addition to the frame. So, I picked up the nearest shell and started walking over to the seat not thinking that my Promote was in my pocket and still attached to my camera. Before I could do anything, my camera was toppling over lens first and the Promote was pulled from my pocket…not a fun moment. Thankfully, my beloved 10-20mm lens was saved by the UV filter you see in the frame below, but the Promote didn’t do so well. I got two more sets of brackets out of it before it froze and then died. First day shooting with my new toy and I break it…brutal. So, what’s the lesson here? ALWAYS stick a UV filter on your lenses! You never know when they’ll save your ass.

I’ll probably take my Promote to the local camera shop to see if they can do anything to fix it…but I’m doubtful.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 20mm, F 11, ISO 100