Historic Steel Mill, it's blast furnaces produced the only basic steel in the region that Carnegie actually bought for use in their Pittsburgh furnaces. It also laid claim (during portions of it's long and storied existence) to largest in the world, highest overall production in the United States, and is the birthplace of a few industry standards in the United States. Just some historical tidbits without writing an essay ;)

I shoot with the Sony NEX-5N, and it's ability to capture tones and textures never ceases to amaze me. But I am constantly torn between two basic processing styles. The first is to simply tweak the structure or details (first section of pics) while more or less leaving the image as it was captured by the camera (no big tweaks of saturation, contrast, brightness, etc). The second is lower contrast, and ranging from a grainy film feel to the tones and subtle natures of vintage film (second section of pics). Just curious to hear opinions or thoughts on either of these styles (good or bad). I'm not looking for a critique of my photographic skills per say, just the two different styles of post processing and/or how I personally utilize them.

Section one:

1.

A beautiful Door by Amishdelight, on Flickr

2.

Galvanized Gateway by Amishdelight, on Flickr

3.

Eye candy by Amishdelight, on Flickr

4.

Sunken Rust by Amishdelight, on Flickr

5.

Fallen soldier by Amishdelight, on Flickr

6.

Vintage Tones by Amishdelight, on Flickr

7.

Subdued Tones by Amishdelight, on Flickr



Section two, variations of the lower contrast processing:

8.

Textures and Colors by Amishdelight, on Flickr

9.

Controlled Focus by Amishdelight, on Flickr

10.

Lean on Me by Amishdelight, on Flickr

11.

C.E. Porter by Amishdelight, on Flickr

12.

Hiding in the Shadows by Amishdelight, on Flickr

13.

The way out by Amishdelight, on Flickr

14.

Support by Amishdelight, on Flickr




Sub section, combination of both styles:

15.

Leftovers by Amishdelight, on Flickr

16.

Skylight by Amishdelight, on Flickr

17.

Skinny Hall by Amishdelight, on Flickr

Very good set. Love it

Honestly, I enjoyed the entire set. Although the processing styles differ in every extreme, a great photo is a great photo and they all rock my fuckin' balls off!

Sort of depends on the picture. Style has to suit the subject.
10 and 14, for instance, I think benefited from the processing.

4 and 13 are gorgeous! Honestly, I think you've managed to pull off both styles well. I think it's nice sometimes to switch up editing styles to keep your work fresh and, honestly, to get the best results. The same tweaks don't work for every photo. Just treat each photo individually and edit it the way you think looks best. Personally, I prefer a little bit more subtlety with the low contrast effect, but that's just me. Really awesome set!

Nice shots in a neat location. I definitely think you can pull off the style but if you really want that film look you should go out and shoot some film ;) Love your work!

I think you nailed it.
but #9 could use some contrast/shadows darkened a tad. it seems a bit washed and bland. great shot, just a tad off.

Incredible! The first shot is hands down my fav.

Both are amazing, but I personally prefer section 1, the colors and tones are beautiful...just wow

Posted by sleeperspirit Very good set. Love it

Thank you kindly.

Posted by Radical_Ed Honestly, I enjoyed the entire set. Although the processing styles differ in every extreme, a great photo is a great photo and they all rock my fuckin' balls off!

Thanks for the input, glad you like them all!

Posted by tofutiger Sort of depends on the picture. Style has to suit the subject. 10 and 14, for instance, I think benefited from the processing.

That's very true, all images are not alike. And I agree, 10 and 14 are probably the best examples of when to switch over and play with the contrast and such. Thanks for the input.

Posted by DawnPatrol 4 and 13 are gorgeous! Honestly, I think you've managed to pull off both styles well. I think it's nice sometimes to switch up editing styles to keep your work fresh and, honestly, to get the best results. The same tweaks don't work for every photo. Just treat each photo individually and edit it the way you think looks best. Personally, I prefer a little bit more subtlety with the low contrast effect, but that's just me. Really awesome set!

Thank you very much, glad you like both styles... And Yeah, sometimes I tend to go a bit far with the low contrast edits haha. I just have so many styles of shooting and editing that it's often hard for me to land on a particular outcome and say "this is the one".

Posted by PorkyMcCaw Nice shots in a neat location. I definitely think you can pull off the style but if you really want that film look you should go out and shoot some film ;) Love your work!

Thanks so much, and I would shoot film if it weren't for the fact that I could probably buy a full frame digital camera for the cost of one years purchase and developing costs for shooting film ;) And that's why my 35mm sits in the closet collecting dust and it's lenses sit atop adapters to use on my NEX

Posted by cdevon I think you nailed it. but #9 could use some contrast/shadows darkened a tad. it seems a bit washed and bland. great shot, just a tad off.

Thanks man, and yeah that shot was bright from all the windows. I debated on bring the brightness down to compete with the washed feeling, but ultimately decided I liked the details on the handle and the feel of it's texture the way it is. Given that I don't have photoshop, sometimes I have to make sacrifices haha

Posted by Axle Incredible! The first shot is hands down my fav.

Thanks man, that door is def one sexy beast.

Posted by FreddyDynomite Both are amazing, but I personally prefer section 1, the colors and tones are beautiful...just wow

Thank you, and I agree... The tones and colors of this place completely lend themselves to the first style.

Pretty sweet set.

honestly for web presentation anything goes, if you ever decide to actually have them printed it is a whole different story and may limit some choices