Technique and Editing – The Rusty Ruin Journal

Burnt highlights and textured bricks ~ in colour and black and white

March 21, 2026March 22, 2026Posted in Photography, Technique and EditingTagged digital camera, photo editing, Photography2 Comments

There’s a common view that blowing out or burning highlights is a bad practice. There are times when a lack of detail in areas of a photo due to burnt highlights is problematic if the details in those areas are integral to the feel and story the photo communicates. There are also times when it doesn’t matter at all. For example, is it important to see the filament in a light bulb? And forget about any detail in a bright light source like the sun – that’s not going to happen without special expensive filters.

*Sunset glow on wood chairs and bricks – Finepix S200 EXR*

Consider the above photo. To reveal some of the wood grain detail on the leftmost chair, I bumped up the exposure a touch and allowed more light to hit the sensor. Doing this also burnt the highlights on the edges of some bricks. The tradeoff was worth it because it was more important to reveal detail on the chair than to preserve the texture on those small sections of the bricks. The other benefit is that the slightly overexposed highlights also communicate the glow of the sun at the time.

But I think the image works better in black and white:

I messed with the tone curve sliders some more and altered levels: shadows, darks, and lights. This produced a final image where the tonal and textural contrast is emphasised – three levels of tonal range from left to right, and several different textures. This is where a black and white conversion pares down a photo to light and shadow, texture and detail. In the world of black and white, the problem of blocked shadows and burnt highlights matters far less, as this type of extreme contrast performs the visual communication often required when colour is absent.

The setting sun through trees – light, shape, colour and photographic intent

March 17, 2026March 17, 2026Posted in Photography, Technique and EditingTagged editing, photo editing, sunsetLeave a comment

Driving around to find a good vantage point for the sunset, I spotted a group of trees arranged attractively. It was a quick photo, as we’d collectively decided to challenge the remaining minutes of sunlight by driving elsewhere for a different view.

Thinking before pressing the shutter button and visualising the final photo: the shape and position of trees for my composition – the detail in the tree trunks and branches was not important – communicating feeling through light, colour, and shadow.

I underexposed to throw the foreground of trees into strong shadow. The detail and texture of bark didn’t matter so much as the shape and silhouette of each tree.

During editing, I decreased the Shadows and Darks further, increased White Point, and increased Saturation slightly to amplify the golden glow.

Glass and reflections ~ thoughts on editing and photographic approach, with two examples

March 16, 2026March 17, 2026Posted in Philosophy and Photography, Photography, Technique and EditingTagged Contemplative Photography, philosophy, photo editing, PhotographyLeave a comment

When I look at photos from over two decades ago, I see how my photographic knowledge has changed. Starting at the base of a mountain, one focusses on the first faltering few steps – they feel like everything and exclude all else. As one climbs further, the beautiful details of the landscape become a focus, and the feet simply move automatically, without thought. There’s always something to learn. One never reaches the ragged peak but remains intrigued by the mists shrouding it.

I like that the photo is reminiscent of a multiple exposure, The reflections of the glass add really interesting detail and texture to the red body of the old fire truck. When setting up for this photo, I was mindful of the placement of reflected background elements, and needed to position myself so the tree trunk didn’t cover either the door handle or the rather attractive insignia – two elements I really wanted to highlight.

Similarly, though it can’t be seen, there was an angled pole of misshapen proportions in the background I found distracting as I composed in the viewfinder. I stepped to the side to hide it behind the larger pole that runs through the NSW Fire Brigade symbol. These seemingly small decisions determine the final image and whether it remains a keeper or a delete.

What I really enjoy about this photo is the quality of the light – the softness of it and the way it enhances the mistiness of the glass. It would be all too easy to add extra contrast to give it punch. It would also be easy to darken the equipment during editing to decrease the soft filter effect of the thick glass. But I think it works well without this additional contrast punch.

Even before making a photo, I strive to visualise what I want the photo to look like after editing, if possible. Multiple small decisions are made even before the shutter button is pushed – it may begin when I am drawn emotionally and imaginatively to a scene, but the process continues through technical cosiderations of aperture and so on, and then into my photo editor of choice.

A Sunset Series ~ Darlington Point, NSW

March 13, 2026March 13, 2026Posted in Photography, Technique and EditingTagged Contemplative Photography, finepix, photo editing, Photography, sunset3 Comments

How often do we think that no photograph can ever record the majesty of a sunset? Rather than record an accurate scene, the best we can do is render an approximation that allows us to, perhaps, amplify certain attractive qualities during the editing process.

During this endeavour, liberal use of the tone curve – Highlights, Lights, Darks, and Shadows – may provide the tonal characteristics that produce a pleasant enough photo that one might imagine themselves, just for a moment, watching the sun in real-time as it illuminates the sky.

As charcoal clouds largely obscured the sun, underexposing this photo at the moment of recording deepened the colours, revealed the delicate sun rays, and rendered a sky full of contrast and dynamic light. Though possible to adjust exposure settings during editing, having a final vision for the image in my mind – moody and dark – necessitated a faster shutter speed and, therefore, slight underexposure.

Visualising the final look of a photo and adjusting exposure accordingly is like scribbling in a notebook of ideas that informs the editing process many months later – oh, the clouds are moody and dark, I’ll go with that look! In this way, ideas for editing begin before pressing the shutter button.

Retaining the moody clouds through a careful decrease in Darks and Shadows, and increasing White Point and Light to amplify the sun’s aura produces an approximation of the golden illumination I witnessed at the time.

Here, I wanted to focus on the orange yellow, and pinkish hues that defined this section of sky. Less contrast produces a more harmonious rendering – my feeling at the time of recording.

As the sun moved below the horizon, the clouds absorbed night’s early shadow and languid bands of amber, magenta, and vermillion brushed the edges.

A bench and shadows ~ one in colour and one in black and white

February 26, 2026Posted in Photography, Technique and EditingTagged Contemplative Photography, Miksang, Nikon, Nikon Z58 Comments

After my last post, it seems I’m in the mood for monochrome. The interplay of light and shadow – the patterns on the rough wall – the cold metal bench. This collection of quiet and ordinary things caught my eye, emotion, and imagination:

*Metal bench and shadows #1 – Nikon Z5 and Nikkor Z 40mm*

The leisurely glow of sunlight on walls ~ a short series in black and white

February 25, 2026Posted in Photography, Technique and EditingTagged Contemplative Photography, Nikon, photo editing, Photography, street photography1 Comment

A set of photos in colour. Now in black and white. I almost always use colour in my photos, but there’s also something intriguing about the removal of colour. Black and white reduces the picture to the most minimal of tonal qualities – light and shadow – the eye drawn to delicate gradations. I sometimes think that black and white photography can be overly contrived, entangled as it is with classic street photography and delusions of stepping into the shoes of Henri Cartier-Bresson and others.

I admit that I probably don’t explore black and white in an editing context as much as I should. Or at least, as much as would contribute to a photograph that pleases me.

*The sharp corner intruding rather rudely – Nikon Z5 and Nikkor Z 40mm*

*From the outside: a whirl of bordered shadow*s

The leisurely glow of sunlight on walls ~ a short series in colour

February 24, 2026February 25, 2026Posted in Photography, Technique and EditingTagged Contemplative Photography, Miksang, Photography, sunset1 Comment

Entering the cabin, patches of slow late sunlight catch my eye – lambent and leisurely.

Gentle at the edges, brushing over the lightly textured wall.

The hard angles of a cheap painting cast in soft shadow before the sun sets in deep yellow.

One sunset and two photos for the opacarophile ~ looking for something different

February 17, 2026February 18, 2026Posted in Photography, Technique and EditingTagged finepix, Photography, sunset11 Comments

There’s nothing better than slow moving light that turns everything gold and warm, especially in small coastal towns where the rough sea meets rocky beaches. The regular opacarophile might love every sunset, but I fear that not every sunset is so easily framed as to be visually interesting. Maybe I’ve just seen too many sunsets? Maybe too much time spent looking through the viewfinder pondering settings turns the mind to a need to make every photo a winner? I suspect the latter is closer to the truth and is another story worth exploring.

*Sunset glow below – Fujifilm Finepix S200 EXR*

Another sunset and another horizon. How to make this one something different? How to avoid the same bright sun and carefully placed horizon line composition?

I filled the frame with the orange glow of the sun just as that bright sphere dipped out of sight. The Finepix S200 EXR is an old camera and is quite soft at the long end, but who needs sharpness for the photo above? It’s all about the colour field and the deep orange glow. Underexposing by two-thirds of a stop deepened the colours. Everything is smeared to a sunset abstraction to fill the frame.

Minutes later, I caught a line of rough dark clouds marking the transition from golden hour to blue hour:

*Suspended between orange and blue – Finepix S200EXR*

A restaurant no more ~ two images

February 11, 2026Posted in Photography, Technique and EditingTagged finepix, Lightroom, photo editing, PhotographyLeave a comment

Sometimes, even on the sunniest day in a busy tourist town, you find an abandoned corner filled with dust and old newspapers yellowing at the edges. Once a licensed restaurant, the empty windows were of immediate interest and led to a hastening of my pace. I switched on the old Finepix camera and thought about initial settings and composition.

*The old restaurant #1 ~ Fujifilm Finepix S200EXR*

I like the way the sunlight illuminates key parts of the image and creates borders and frames: the white textured walls, the plank of timber, the blue wall, the papers stacked on a table, and a ceiling joist. Curious how this photo would look in a black and white conversion, I adjusted settings in Lightroom:

Light and shadow tell much of the black and white photo story. I always start with those foundations. The contrast here is bumped a little more, the sunlight spilling gently over timbers and walls is pushed, and the shadows are pulled down to create depth and mystery. The plank of wood resting on the crate becomes more of a focal point and draws the eye further into the dust and darkness of the rooms beyond.

Fuzzying up the edges ~ more edits of Camp Snap photos

January 19, 2026January 19, 2026Posted in Photography, Technique and Editing, Toy CamerasTagged Camp Snap, photo editing, Photography, toy cameraLeave a comment

In my last post, I wrote about experimenting with the Focus module in Exposure X7 to add slight blur and bloom. This goes some way towards reviving the look of old soft lenses that lack modern anti-glare coatings. It’s potentially a great fit for the low resolution results from toy cameras like the Camp Snap and others because it reduces the ugly haloes around edges that have been aggressively sharpened.

*Tree of Knowledge, Barcaldine QLD – Camp Snap*

You can see in the photo of the Tree of Knowledge above that the Soften and Diffuse preset in the Focus module adds glow around the highlights, giving it an ethereal quality that contrasts well against the sharply angled boughs of the tree and the descending wooden timbers.

Here again, the highlights take on a nice soft glow. Everything seems ever so slightly blurred and the sharpened edges are softened considerably.

I think the glow effect in some of these photos is more pronounced because I’d used the Camp Snap with two filters attached: a Photape Warming filter, and a cheap diffusion filter that adds glow and softens highlights. I’ve since removed the filters and will experiment further.

You can see how the Camp Snap struggles to handle the strong red colour of the lantern. The result is a blown out mess where the details are lost.

The Camp Snap is great for scenes like this, where there are more mid-tones than bright highlights – sky, sea, and cloud in distinct layers. It’s the kind of seascape that I might have snapped with my old Kodak 110 format film camera as a teenager.