San Francisco Cityscape… with a Fisheye view…

I love San Francisco! There is much to explore from the Golden Gate Bridge, the beautiful waterfront, the fabulous food, down to one of my favorite areas near the financial district – Chinatown. Dim sum and mooncakes, how wonderful is that? Chinatown is the largest outside of Asia and the opportunities for photography (and food) are endless. It’s completely crowded which adds to the charm. Open markets, interesting storefronts, and activity everywhere.  I photographed this HDR photograph image early on a Sunday morning before the crowds filled the sidewalks. An 8mm circular fisheye lens creates an alternative just-for-fun point of view. The great thing about this lens is that by pointing it toward the sky, you capture the cityscape that completely surrounds you! I recommend using a tripod and right angle viewfinder so you don’t have to “limbo” under the tripod to check the camera display. This is such a different point of view, rounding out your photography so to speak!

Nik HDR Efex Pro was used for creating the HDR image. It’s helpful to start with the presets as a springboard, and follow up by fine tuning the image. All plug-in coupon codes are in the sidebar, please feel free to use them if they will help you. I am using a very small and politely “vintage” monitor until my real one is fixed, hopefully I’ll be up and running soon!  Thanks.. and make great pictures! ~ Deb

4 Comments

  1. John Barclay on November 12, 2010 at 9:11 am

    These are SOOO much fun. Have you shared the technique for how you prepare this in Photoshop? I realize you are shooting with a Fisheye but how are you doing the presentation…? Thanks!

  2. Deborah Sandidge on November 12, 2010 at 1:26 pm

    Hi John, sooo glad you like this! About the presentation? I used a drop shadow to make the fisheye stand out and look more dimensional. In a nutshell – copy the circular fisheye image and paste it into a new document filled with white (just a little larger than the fisheye). Double click on the fisheye layer to bring up layer style, and select drop shadow. The sliders (opacity, spread, distance) can be used to suit the image. I hope that is what you are asking about. I should create a post with a few more steps! Thank you for asking, John!

  3. Jemma Castle on November 24, 2010 at 8:58 am

    Awesome pic

  4. Deborah Sandidge on November 24, 2010 at 9:15 am

    Thank you very much for your comment, Jemma!

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