Cold walkabout Cleveland
It’s supposed to snow on the 31st, and if there’s one thing I dislike, it’s snow. So I decided to go out today, while it' was clear but cold, to take some photos before the year ends.
It was very very cold, but I managed. Big ups to Fjallraven because my parka kept my upper body warm. My legs not so much. Maybe I should invest in thermal leggings to wear under my pants.
I started with a visit to the Arcade down on Euclid avenue. I haven’t been in there since 2019. It’s just as cool as I remember. The Arcade was built in 1890 and is one of the earliest indoor malls in the states. There was a wedding reception happening at 4pm, so I didn’t get to stick around for long. But I got a few photos while walking around the second floor.
Before I left, I noticed the bride surveying the catering staff and the reception scene, and she looked very proud and very gorgeous. I wish the new couple well!
After that, I went over to North Coast Harbor and some pictures of the seagulls and the harbor. I didn’t stick around for too long due to the cold.
About the photos
The biggest struggle I had today (and actually yesterday at the Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens) was lack of light and choosing the wrong recipe to use for my photos. I’m trying out the Kodak Ultramax 400 recipe, and although it’s nice, all my JPEGs came out very dark. The RAW images are just as dark because there wasn’t a bit of sun outside.
(Sidenote: Sun, wherever you are, pull up for a minute. It’s been gray, cold, and rainy for almost a week now).
I recently purchased Faizal Westcott’s Analog 2.0 pack, and one of the presets in the bundle is called Amber. When I applied it to the RAW files, the picture became significantly brighter. When I looked at the preset settings, I noticed that the exposure was high, the whites were increased, and the shadows, highlights, and blacks were decreased.
So it seems this might be a good way to handle dark photos in post: kick up the exposure and increase the whites in the image. I followed the same formula for some of the other photos, and they looked much better. All but the photo of the restaurant table use the Amber preset.
While it was great to learn this new Lightroom skill, I want to be better at photographing areas with low light!
