Uploads from >Cluke

Under Roofs Of Gold

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:24:37 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Hello and thank you for visiting.

I was browsing through some of my files from last year and came across this nice little image so I thought that I would run it up the flagpole and see how it fluttered. Hope that you like it

Cluke

And what about the new Flickr?! Eh? I'm ok with the justified viewing but I think there should be some blank space either side to help with scrolling. I would also prefer to have a choice for my background - black doesn't suit all of my shots. And I'm not too keen on the new pricing and membership structure!

Bring Me Sunshine

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Mon, 20 May 2013 06:03:47 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Hello and thanks for visiting.

Not got a lot to say about this one. Just playing around with some lens and body combinations and testing the focus. Used a Raynox 150 macro attachment for this capture and liked it enough to have a play around with it in processing. It could have been worse, it could have been another Rome shot, because I still have a very deep reservoir of images from that trip that haven't seen the light of day yet - but there is such a thing as overkill.

Thanks once more for your visit and please enjoy the work

Regards

Cluke

Please try the following link if you would like to see more of my work..

flickeflu.com

Have fun!

Seeking Shelter

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:15:31 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Hello and thank you for visiting.

I've always enjoyed the work of other artists that produce photomanipulated images. And I've always wanted to have a go myself but have lacked the skills, knowledge, material and software to have a proper go. This is only about my third attempt to combine images and I know that the novice is showing in the work and I suppose that it doesn't help that I don't have photoshop - but heck, it can only get better.

I hope that you enjoy the work

Regards

Cluke

More cool stuff here...

flickeflu.com

Enjoy! :D

The Sum Of The Parts

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 06:49:57 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

4 Nights in Rome, 1 brand new camera, 5,000 frames (lots of bracketing), 2 weeks of on and off processing, 6 software packages, 4 pictures in Explore, enough material to keep me busy for another couple of weeks - and I've probably got the makings of a calendar as well! :-)

I just wanted to pause, take stock, share this image and give a big thank you to everyone for the many comments, views and faves that have supported me.. thank you.

There are 14 images in the above collection and by my rough estimate in excess of 110 frames have gone into creating these - either through HDR processes or stitching together multiple exposures. So the 5000 frames isn't looking quite as excessive as when you first see it.

Thank you for visiting, I think I'll go for a lie down now :-)

Regards

Cluke

Even more stuff here....

flickeflu.com

Have a nice day!

Castel Sant'Angelo - Sepia Edit

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 05:34:22 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Hello and welcome

Just another night-shot of the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome. I took this photo handheld, yes, handheld, on my late-night sojourn around Rome. It is actually a 3 shot bracketed exposure that I've then put through Photomatix pro where I ended up just doing a merge of two of the frames. A bit of a clean up, toning, some sharpening and then cropping has been done in Photoscape.

What I haven't done is apply any noise reduction. Firstly because I don't think the noise is too bad when I compare it to what I would have got from, say, HP5 film in the same circumstances (a bit mushy in the sky though it's only fair to point out that it was inky black on the night - so nothing for the sensor to sense :-)) but also because I wanted to be able to show the sharpness and detail that is possible with this kit lens and camera. And remember, this is handheld! It really is quite remarkable. And no I don't work for Fuji :D (But I'd be more than happy to test any gear for them - just waiting for the call...... :D)

Thanks for visiting

Cluke

More good stuff here...

flickeflu.com

Do call again, there's a good chap :D

The Trevi By Moonlight

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 11:53:47 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Nahhh, not really.

I did take these 5 stitched together shots after dark (hence the visible lights in the pool) but moon and sky and a bunch of other treatments have all happened in my computer. The rationale for doing such unpleasant things to such a delightful image? Well, when you're at the Trevi (note my casual familiarity with something I've seen for the first time in my life just two weeks ago) you can't help noticing the other 2 or 3 hundred people also taking pictures of the same thing, and this goes on all day and evening every day of the year. So just taking a picture isn't bringing anything new to the party. So I thought what the heck, you don't want to see another picture of the Trevi, you want to see Cluke's picture of the Trevi.

So here it is. Now watch it fall flat on it's proverbial arse. Ah well, on to the next one

Thanks for visiting and take care

Cluke

More delightful delicacies for your delectation.....

flickeflu.com

Have a nice day :D

Down The Plughole

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 06:30:41 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Wahey! Managed to recover my fluffed shots so I get the classic image to add to my collection after all. Took a fair bit of cloning and cleaning but got there in the end. Pity about the peeps but hey, scale.

I Google'd this and not surprisingly found hundreds of near identical images. Hey-ho. Couldn't not do it though, could I?

So.. lots of pictures taken with the X-E1, stitched in Microsoft ICE and then cleaned and tweaked in a bunch of other software. Threw in a shade of cross processing for that edgy, ain't I a cool dude look. Does it suit me?

Thanks for visiting and please come again soon.. no really..

Regards

Cluke

An amazing mystery tour awaits you on this link....

flickeflu.com

Go on, dare you :D

Standing Stones

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:39:19 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Taken in the Vatican Museum, this room was roped off at the door preventing visitors from entering the room but made for a nice photo opportunity. This is a 3 shot hand held exposure with +/- 1 stop bracketing processed in Photomatix Pro and some experimentation with my HDR processing techniques in a couple of other software packages.

I don't suppose anyone comes away from Rome without a lot of statue photos :D

Thanks for visiting

Regards

Cluke

Lots more of my stuff can be seen here.....

flickeflu.com

Hope you enjoy it :-)

Castel Sant'Angelo

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 03:15:45 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Hello and thank you for visiting.

As the title suggests this is the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome. As I was staying in a hotel about a 5 minute walk from this place I went out on a wander one night to see what I could get with the new toy, my X-E1.

I was very lucky to get to this bridge just as most of the street traders had wrapped up for the night and there were very few tourists still about.

This is a 3 shot bracketed exposure (+/- 1 stop) that I merged in Photomatix Pro and then cleaned up in a couple of other software packages.

The significant fact about this image is that it was a handheld shot. This camera is simply awesome, and I've never said that about any of my gear before. I'm one big happy bunny!

Thanks again for calling by

Regards

Cluke :D

More good stuff here....

flickeflu.com

Go on, you know you want to.

Stairway to Heaven

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:29:12 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Oh I know it's an awful, corny title but when else am I going to get to use it?

The exit stairwell at the Vatican Museum. I should really be posting the classic image looking down the stairwell but, err, well, I fluffed it. But, on the other hand, EVERYBODY does that shot! So here's the more unique view looking up. And no that is not The Most Beautiful Girl In The World. No idea who she is but her standing there came in real handy for a bit of scale. :D

Anyway it's well past my bedtime and I'm clearly rambling so thank you for visiting and I hope that you enjoy the work.

See you all tomorrow

Cluke

Oh sorry, techie stuff, this was a whole bunch of overlapping images stitched together in Microsoft ICE

More awesome stuff here...

flickeflu.com

No, really...

The Sword Of Burning Light

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:06:45 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

This is the statue of Archangel Michael atop the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome. Err.. with a few creative liberties taken by me :-)

After I'd worked on this for an hour or two I showed it to my good lady and said proudly "what d'ya think of that then?" and she said..... "Naaaah".

Ah well, win some, lose some.

Thank you for visiting and I hope that you enjoy the work more than my good lady did.

Regards

Cluke

Psst.... The even better stuff is here...

flickeflu.com

Click and enjoy :D

Size Isn't Everything

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:57:52 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Yep - that's the new guy in charge at front and centre (the one in white, but you knew that didn't you :-))

I suppose this is a bit of T-shirt shot - been there, seen him, got the picture. I got a closer one of him when he was doing the rounds on the back of an open top vehicle in St Peter's square but it won't be seeing the light of day because I had a 6 year old on my shoulders, I was near the back of a crowd that was more like the rugby line-up for a throw-in and the autofocus isn't really for sports pictures (which is what it felt like I was trying to get). Result?... blurry, out of focus shot with half his head cut off!

So this one will have to do for showing to grandchildren :D

Thanks for visiting

Regards

Cluke

Loads of luvverly pictures here......

flickeflu.com

.....Promise!

St Peter's Basilica

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 01:23:08 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

I do like to have a play with the filters every now and again and this is one of those occasions :D

I've done a number of different finishes and effects then put them into Photomatix Pro to merge them and this is the result. Just a bit of experimentation but I like the way this has come out - you should see the other ten experiments... yuck!

Thank you for visiting and I hope that you enjoy the work.

Regards

Cluke

See all my stuff here..

flickeflu.com

Chiesa del Gesù

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 06:26:54 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

In this instance I am merely a witness to a magnificent piece of art that left me speechless and with a sore neck when I came across this.

This is just a small part of the ceiling decor of the Chiesa del Gesù in Rome and there is nothing I can really add that makes it any better except maybe just to say that it was almost impossible to clearly identify where 3D art and sculpture merged into 2D paintings and that it is even harder to do so in a photograph.

I have uploaded the largest size that I can and I would strongly suggest that you have a look at this full size - the detail really is amazing and viewing on the photo page doesn't do it justice.

Technical details.. 5 sets of bracketed exposures taken with the Fujifilm X-E1 and processed in Photomatix Pro and then the resulting 5 images stitched in Microsoft ICE, cleaned up and straightened in Picasa, Photoscape and Lightroom 3.6.

Thank you for visiting and I hope that you enjoy the work

Regards

Cluke

Clicking on this link......
flickeflu.com
...will take you into a really nice viewer that I discovered recently where you can see the rest of my work (use Ctrl and your scroll wheel to change the number and size of thumbnails)

I Have The Touch

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 03:05:44 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Hello and thank you for visiting

This is a statue of St Agnes that is in one of the niches in the Pantheon. I was struck by how the light was isolating and to some extent almost animating the hand so I've shot and processed this to try and increase that impression. The title was inspired by a track from a 1982 Peter Gabriel album. Gawd!! 1982! Thirty one years ago!

Anyway thanks once again for visiting and I hope that you enjoy the work.

Regards

Cluke

Clicking on this link......
flickeflu.com
...will take you into a really nice viewer that I discovered recently where you can see the rest of my work (use Ctrl and your scroll wheel to change the number and size of thumbnails)

The Hand Of Man

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 01:23:58 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Another view of the incredible ceiling adornments and decorations of Sant'Andrea della Valle in Rome

This is about 10 or 12 shots taken with the Fujifilm X-E1 and stitched together in Microsoft ICE.

Thank you for visiting and I hope that you enjoy the work.

Regards

Cluke

Clicking on this link......
flickeflu.com
...will take you into a really nice viewer that I discovered recently where you can see the rest of my work (use Ctrl and your scroll wheel to change the number and size of thumbnails)

Of Gods And Men

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:23:56 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Hello and thank you for visiting.

This is my latest take on the Vittorio Monument in Rome.

I hope that you enjoy the work

Regards

Cluke

Clicking on this link......
flickeflu.com
...will take you into a really nice viewer that I discovered recently where you can see the rest of my work (use Ctrl and your scroll wheel to change the number and size of thumbnails)

Upside, Inside, Outside

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 05:51:07 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

The Pantheon

It was going to happen wasn't it? There was no way that Cluke was going to Rome and not doing this picture.

I would just like to thank, in order,

The Most Beautiful Girl In The World for her patience and understanding whilst I took this shot...

The Most Beautiful Girl In The World for her patience and understanding when I did no housework because I was busy trying to stitch and process this shot..

The Fujifilm X-E1 for an almost flawless low light performance.... must get a wider angle lens though..

And finally lets not forget Microsoft ICE for a great stitch up...

And the winner is...

Many thanks for visiting and I hope that you enjoy the work

Regards

Cluke

Clicking on this link......
flickeflu.com
...will take you into a really nice viewer that I discovered recently where you can see the rest of my work (use Ctrl and your scroll wheel to change the number and size of thumbnails)

Whilst Saints Watch Over Us

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 06:39:20 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Hello and thank you for visiting.

This is part of the colonnade in St Peter's Square that is topped off with statues of 140 of the Saints -more info here....

saintpetersbasilica.org/Exterior/Colonnades/Saints-List-C...

This image is derived from a three shot HDR taken with the Fuji X-E1 and processed in Photomatix Pro and then dallied with in a bunch of other software.

I hope that you enjoy the work and thank you once again for your visit

Regards

Cluke

Clicking on this link......
flickeflu.com
...will take you into a really nice viewer that I discovered recently where you can see the rest of my work (use Ctrl and your scroll wheel to change the number and size of thumbnails)

Sunset At Castel Sant' Angelo

nobody@flickr.com (>Cluke) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:01:35 -0700

>Cluke posted a photo:

Wow! I think I overstylised the sky a tad :D I might even have to add a new one!

This started off as a 3 shot HDR taken with the Fujifilm X-E1 and processed in Photomatix Pro but I got a little carried away with the filters and, well, it's gone way beyond that now. Still, I really like this so let's hope everyone else does as well :D

Thanks for visiting and I hope that you enjoy the work

Regards

Cluke

Clicking on this link......
flickeflu.com
...will take you into a really nice viewer that I discovered recently where you can see the rest of my work (use Ctrl and your scroll wheel to change the number and size of thumbnails)