Bodie State Historic Park is a genuine California gold-mining ghost town. Bodie is one of the largest and best preserved ghost towns in the West with over 170 buildings still remaining and accessible to visitors. Bodie is a photographer’s paradise, if you are looking to capturing an image with that “antique – worn” look .

At the time of I was not familiar with HDR photography. Consequently, I did not capture multiple exposures which could be used for true HDR processing. Then to make processing more difficult, I had also captured the images as jpgs and not RAW.

My initial thoughts on trying to process these as pseudo HDR images using a single image appeared to be a fools errand. However with the processing abilities of Lightroom and the HDR rending of Photomatix Pro the resulting images were much better than I every expected.

Each image was processed in Lightroom for white balance, noise and adjusted to “0″ EV. Virtual copies were created for +1 EV and -1 EV “exposures”. Pushing exposure adjustment to +2 EV and -2 EV resulted in more  noise and grain than desired. The original image along with the virtual copies were then exported to Photomatix Pro for HDR rendering and then re-imported back into Lightroom for some clarity, color and sharpening adjustments.

I had originally captured this late Fall image as multiple bracketed exposures.

However, after further review on a large screen, it was clear that the pony had moved it’s head several times and the larger horse also made slight movements which would result in more ghosting than desired.

Capturing all images in Camera RAW format, I was able to create two virtual copies from the original to make exposure adjustments needed to create an HDR image and thus eliminating any problems with movement of the subject or the camera. The exposures of the virtual copies were made in Lightroom resulting in three bracketed images that were exported into Photomatix Pro for HDR processing. Work continued in Photoshop to remove unwanted items( rope), curves, levels adjustments ,high pass sharpening and then final cropping in Lightroom resulted in this HDR rendering.

 Though somewhat satisfied with this result, I decided to see how an HDR image might render with further “pixel manipulation” using the Photoshop Pixel bender plugin.

Here is the result of that effort.

Adobe Lightroom will allow the application of an Identity Plate or Watermark consisting of typed text and then apply it directly onto an image, but it’s just not the same as a handwritten signature. Additionally the watermark option limits the positioning of the text. Another possible option would be to use Photoshop and apply a signature to the image via a layer and then re-import the image into Lightroom.

Here’s a way that can be applied anywhere on the image and as need.

(click on images for a larger view)

1. On a piece of white plain paper and using a black felt tip pen, write out the desired signature.
2. Open Photoshop
3. Import the signature via the Import with scanner option under the file menu.
   OPTION: you may also use a mouse or Wacom Pen and write your signature directly within Photoshop
4. Crop around signature as shown above
5. Duplicate that layer
6. Select the background layer and delete or erase the content so that you have a transparent background
7. Deselect the background layer
8. Select the layer with the signature
9. From the menu – Select… Color Range ….
10. Using the eyedropper tool click on the signature, making sure to avoid the edges
11. Verify that the Invert box is not checked
12. If desired and for clarity, set Action Preview to Quick Mask so as to see the selection better
13. Adjust the fuzziness tool until only the signature is shown (depending on how clean the scan is, adjusting fuzzy slider will remove any extraneous specs that may have been scanned then Press OK
14. Ctrl – J to create a new layer
15. You may now choose to change the color by using the fill command or as I have done here, apply a Layer Style.
16. Turn off all layers except the top signature layer. This will leave you with the signature on a transparent background
17. Final step in Photoshop is to export via Save for web – From the file menu select Save for the Web and devices option
18. Select PNG-24 and check the transparency box
19. Save to a folder of your choice
20. The final step in Photoshop is to decide if you want to save the PSD for later use ( ie; to change stlye or color)
21. Open Lightroom… Print Module ….Select an image and the desired orientation
22. Open the Identity Plate editor dialog and select use graphical identity plate
23. Locate and select the signature PNG file created with Photoshop. Then save this new identity plate with a new name using the Save As option
24. The Signature ID plate can now be applied to the image. It maybe larger than desired. Use the scale option to adjust and then position on image as desired.
25. That should be it, let me know how it works out.

The template is formatted for Avery template 8871 – Clean Edge with no perforated edges.

The template is easy to implement and use by utilizing the identity plate feature of the Lightroom print module to simulate framing.

To use, download the frame selector template zip file, unzip and install. Once installed simply invoke the template and select and image form the image bar in the print module. If you need to adjust the position of the image within the frame, press the Ctrl key and click on any image shown on the screen and reposition with the mouse while continuing to holding the Crtl key. Once satisfied with the position, let go of the Crtl key and click outside of the template and image area. (Hint: if you should move the template by mistake, simply re-select from template browsers area.

Download link - frame selector template

Read Installation instructions and terms of use before proceeding with the installation.

After 5 years of usage, I decided that it was time for a face lift and a little house cleaning.

Over the next couple of weeks, you may see several iterations of themes as I work my way into something more to my liking.

In the meantime, please visit my portfoilio on 500px.