Uncompressed Full HD copies

Also if anyone wants the original uncompressed files of these pics, feel free to inbox my facebook. Each file is around 5-6mb each and it 1 million times clearer than what you see on the page. =)

Playing with colours

Another old photo I decided to retouch with a little bit of colour. Shot from docklands next to the ANZ building facing the South Warf area at sunset.

Capture: Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 Wide Angle @ 11mm, f/22, ISO100, 60.0sec

• Sharpened the image to bring out the building outlines
• Removed that ugly red cone thing in the water
• The usual exposure, brightness, contrast, etc adjustments.
• Various coloured graduated filters

Docklands, Melbourne

Melbourne...my home town. This shot taken at Docklands from a pontoon at the boat dock. I remember this particular night being unbelievably cold, I had nothing else better to do so I decided to test out my then new Sigma lens. It's a 30 second exposure mounted on a tripod.

Edited

Unedited

 

Capture: Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 Wide Angle @ 18mm , f/13, ISO100, 30sec, tripod

• Graduated underexposed from the bottom up to the building line (darkens the water)
• Cropped the photo and relocated the moon to its current position
• Brushed on a blue tinge to the sky
• Decreased the temperature a little, making it bluish
• Increased the clarity and contrast by a lot

Erskine Falls

Here's a quick one before I jump in bed. Same location as the previous post but closer to the waterfall.

Capture: Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 Wide Angle @ 10mm



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Erskine Falls, Lorne

This is and old pic which I decided to re-touch using my new laptop. The setting is Erskine Falls in Lorne, situated on the Great Ocean Road about a 1.5 hour drive south west of Melbourne. We got there about 30 minutes before it got completely dark and luckily enough there was nobody else there. It's a major attraction in this region so it's a little difficult to get a long exposure shot without somebody walking through you photo.

To get my angle I had to maneuver my way down some slippery rocks so I could set my tripod on some rock in the middle of the stream. The camera was pretty much perched just centimetres from the water, and all I could think of was no to drop the bloody thing.

Capture: Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 Wide Angle @ 10mm, f/22, ISO100, 10.0sec

• Brightened up the entire image
• Temperature adjusted to be slightly cooler
• Decreased exposure on individual rocks and and increased their contrast
• Brightened up the waterfall area, and darkened its surroundings
• Added a slight turquoise tint to the water.
• Darkened parts of the white water to give it some pattern.
• Increased the green in general. 

Location: Siem Reap, Cambodia
Capture: Canon 24mm-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 24mm, f/6.3, ISO200, 1/125sec

Angkor Wat. Siem Reap, Cambodia

Walking though this ancient temple in Siem Reap is easily the most memorable moment of my trip to Cambodia. It is believed to have started construction in the 12th century (1100s), and it blows my mind that its still stands today. Inside the temple were these intricate wall carvings which adorned every wall from top to bottom, and numerous stone statues lined the hall and passages.

Angkor Wat is a truly magical place. You can feel its rich history and culture as soon as you see it in the distance, and it almost overwhelms you as you step foot on its grounds. It's the pride of the Khmer people and I'm very grateful I got to experience it first hand.

I highly recommend visiting Cambodia now while its still emerging as a top tourist destination, it wont be too long before it gets too commercial like it's neighbour Thailand. It is a country still recovering from a brutal civil war not too long ago, and I'm sure the people will appreciate the support as they rebuild their lives.

Capture: Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 Wide Angle @ 10mm, f/14, ISO100, 1/60sec

• Adjusted the temperature and made it cooler
• The usual exposure, contrast, brightness, vibrance and saturation adjustments.
• Gradient blue filter for the sky
• Gradient exposure and contrast filters from the edges
• Darkened the shadows and stains on the walls
• Brightened the middle section to create a path along the ground

Tongsai Bay Resort, Koh Samui

Here is another shot of the resort we stayed in Koh Samui. Our room was on the left building, ground floor. Behind me when I took this photo is the main pool and the private beach.

Capture: Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 Wide Angle @ 10mm, f/8, ISO100, 1/100sec

• Adjusted overall brightness, temperature, tint, contrast, vibrance, saturation and clarity.
• Graduated exposure filters toward the middle.
• Individually touched up each light post and pavers to bring out the detail and contrast.
• Touched up the trunk, branches and flowers of each tree to accentuate them.

Koh Samui, Thailand.

This is a photo of our private beach around 10am from my breakfast table while holidaying in Koh Samui, Thailand in January 2011. Hotel was called The Tongsai Bay resort, and it was by far the best hotel/resort of the trip.

Located in Bophut it was about 10 minutes from the airport and about 15-20 minutes to Chaweng, which is the main tourist location on the island. It had 3 outdoor pools and a private beach, with a beachside bar and alfresco dining. Each room sported a private beachview patio or balcony, and a semi-outdoor glass bathroom with a large rainshower bathtub. I would definately recommend this place to anyone looking for a quiet retreat with outstanding customer service.

Capture: Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 Wide Angle @ 10mm, f/9, ISO100, 1/160sec

• Temperature slightly warmer to give the “summery” feel to it.
• Increased the brightness, clarity, exposure, vibrance, contrast and saturation.
• Used numerous graduated exposure filters from the outer edges towards the middle to accentuate the rocks and treeline.
• Graduated baby blue coloured filters to accentuate the sky and water.
• Graduated clarity filters to soften the edges of the photo so the focus is toward the middle.
• Various brushed on effects to pronounce the plant on the bottom left corner.

About colourpool...

Hello everyone! This blog was basically created so i can showcase my progress as a self-taught amateur photographer/editor. It all started about 1.5 years ago when I purchased my very first dSLR camera, the Canon EOS 550D. I soon discovered how satisfying and at times frustrating capturing a good image can be, and the lengths photographers go through to achieve that perfect shot.

With this blog I aim to post before & after photographs edited with Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop, along with detailed information on capture information (aperture, speed, exposure, etc) and the editing processes used. Not only is this a gallery of my work, but an aid to help me explore my ability to produce great imagery.

Stay posted!