A Dream of Steam

[Pete Askew]

At the old locomotive works in Babelsberg.

Ricoh GR. PP in LR, PS and Nik SilverFX Pro 2.

 

[Brian Moore]

I like this one very much, Pete. That thick cloud is like the chimney exhaust of a steam train.

 

[Pete Askew]

Thanks Brian. It's just such a shame that I couldn't get an angle where it was coming out of the 'funnel'!

 

[Brian Moore]

Good try though, Pete. And good on ye for seeing that potential in the first place!

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Interesting toning on these shots, Pete. Certainly adds to the desolation, if that's what it is.

 

[Pete Askew]

Thanks Rob. That's what I was trying for. Worked better on the other though I thought.

 

[Steve Boykin]

Is that the same place? The clouds are stunning. I wonder if you could go inside? They are both incredible photos but I think I like this one better. It has a neat/cool balance to it with the big steam cloud the opening and the round piece above the opening. Plus it's balanced perfectly between the sky and building. I could never do this.

See you know how to make everything level without a step ladder. I'm very jealous.

- - - Updated - - -

Can I ask a stupid question? Well that's a stupid question because I'm going to ask the stupid question...

You use LR then PS then SFX? What are doing in PS that you can't do in LR. I have this unopened PS6 that I can't sell so....

 

[Paul Lange]

Very nice Pete, the toning and grain are just superb.

 

[Pete Askew]

Thanks Both. You can't get inside unfortunately (unless your name is Dan!). The doors are all shuttered. However, I do have contacts with the historical building society in Potsdam so there might be a chance. I keep forgetting to ask.

I do my primary sorting and editing in LR and apply any Nik effects from there usually. However, if I need to correct verticals etc (which is a must for distant shots with the Ricoh) I do an edit in PS and use edit/transform/distort. For this shot, I did some basic corrections (clarity, sharpening, blacks etc) in PS and then edited it in PS to correct the verticals. When saved back to LR (sometimes I do the Nik stuff in PS, especially if I want to combine colour and B&W etc), I did the mono conversion in SilverFX. I then re-opened the file in PS as for some reason the conversion had left a very fine lighter boundary between the roof and the sky. So I used clone/darken to get rid of that and saved back to PS. The I sharpened for output in Nik Output Sharpener and exported the file as a JPEG (85%, sRGB) for upload and sharing.

 

[Julian de'Courcy]

Another good pic Pete. I bet you looked at a square crop, but would lose the cloud.

 

[Steve Boykin]

Thanks so much for that info Pete!

 

[Dan Cattermole]

The cloud detail is immense!!

 

[Nihat Iyriboz]

An amazing sky and fine detail on the building, Pete.

 

[Hamish Gill]

I prefer this to the other too, the compo is more effective to my eye. I actually don't think it would have worked with the cloud looking as though it was coming out of the chimney, I think it would have looked faked or not real somehow?

 

[Pete Askew]

I think you're right Hamish. The other shot shows the dome better but you can't get much closer without walking over the scrub and then you lose a decent foreground. This was taken on the other side of the building and, as you say, the composition is more pleasing. I must go back some time with another camera and maybe in the winter or when the sun is lower in the sky.

Thanks Nihat and Dan.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

very dramatic skies, and that lovely suggestion of a steam train in the distance with the cumulus cloud stack.

 

[Beth Carter]

that's a crazy sky, loving the grain in the sky. it does look like the building is making it's own steam.

 

[Mike Webb]

Wonderful sky and building. Personally having grown up with Ilford multigrade etc. I like cold B&W prints, they seem to have a more crisp looking result.

You've been very restrained when processing the clouds I know I would have squeezed them so hard with contrast and deepening the blue in the B&W conversion they'd look nothing like that!

Good shot.

Mike