Benz World Blog » Split Toning

The Lumineers

Jason Benz — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 13:58:00 +0000

These are the Lumineers playing the Crossroads stage at Bluesfest 2017. Their music has a folky edge with stomping rhythms and acoustic riffs. Although they are not strictly blues, We were told by festival director Peter Noble that it has been about more than blues for at least 20 years. He said his guiding principle when booking bands is to find artists who make music with people rather than computers, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

UPDATE: The Lumineers will return to Australia in November 2022. 13th in Brisbane, 15th in Sydney, and 18th in Melbourne. Tickets from Bluesfest Touring.

Petra Monastery

Jason Benz — Mon, 22 Aug 2016 14:01:52 +0000

This is the Petra Monastery in Jordan. It is know as the rose city due to the colour of the rock. In 2008 it needed to be processed using HDR to get accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography. It is available for download here. This time I used standard tone adjustments in Camera RAW and a little split-toning to match the texture to this jungle temple. The RAW file developer in Photoshop has improved so much since this shot was taken it has made using HDR to extract detail redundant.

Cooks Endeavour

Jason Benz — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 11:06:32 +0000

This is a replica of James Cooks Endeavour. The ship was moored at the Central Pier of Melbournes Docklands in Victoria, Australia.

To process this image split toning was applied in Camera RAW.

The Bamboos

Jason Benz — Mon, 30 May 2016 14:29:07 +0000

This is Kylie Auldist singing with Melbourne based Soul Funk band The Bamboos at the 2016 Blues on Broadbeach music festival. If you want to get your groove on, I highly recommend you check them out.

Stage lights often produce challenges for cameras. To process this image a little split toning was added in Camera RAW to recover the skin tone. A mask was then created in Photoshop to put some red back into the dress.

UPDATE: The Bamboos will perform at Bluesfest in April 2022. Get your tickets from the Bluesfest website.

Silverton Hotel

Jason Benz — Mon, 09 May 2016 08:36:30 +0000

This is the Silverton Hotel in outback New South Wales, Australia. There cannot be many pubs which have been in so many films they can build an awning out of its own alternate name signs. Mad Max II, Razorback, A Town Like Alice, Dirty Deeds, The Craic and more beer ads than a cane toads grandkids.

Mick Fleetwood

Jason Benz — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 13:05:39 +0000

This is The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band playing the Crossroads stage at 2016 Bluesfest. Karen took me to see Fleetwood Mac in Brisbane in 2015 but Photography was not allowed. Thanks to the festival I got this shot of Mick behind his drums using a 100-400mm from the foot of the stage.

This image is available for download here.

Cuban Music

Jason Benz — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 11:25:44 +0000

The music of Cuba is exceptional. History has made it unique. We found it in every city in the cafes, bars and on the streets. Being a musician in Cuba is considered a profession worthy of a wage from the government. I grew up in the UK where being a musician was considered a lack of profession. In 2013 Sony looked to the Caribbean for music. In 2014 a delegation from Sony visited the Cuban state owned record label with an offer of world distribution for the island’s national music archive. This week’s announcement confirmed global licensing of 30,000 songs dating back to 1964.

Split Toning was used to process this image in Camera RAW. I used the settings from this shot as it has become the most popular one from Bluesfest 2015.

Gallipoli Centenary

Jason Benz — Sat, 25 Apr 2015 02:31:30 +0000

Today is the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in the first World War. April 25th is now known as ANZAC Day. In 2014 we attended a local service in Southport. This year we drove our van down the Gold Coast highway to the state border between Queensland and New South Wales, to see a re-enactment of the beach invasion. To capture the action I borrowed a camera rig from work (Panedia). This rig has 7 GoPro’s in a ball which can produce amazing 360 degree video.

Ska Orchestra

Jason Benz — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 03:10:29 +0000

The Melbourne Ska Orchestra put on an awesome performance on the Crossroads stage last night at the 2015 Byron Bay Bluesfest. We never miss a chance to see them. Their energy is infectious, not only will they get your toes tapping you will find yourself dancing like a lunatic and having a thoroughly good time before you can say Madness. (image download here)

The Melbourne Ska Orchestra will return one last time for the final Byron Bay Bluesfest in Easter 2025, tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

UPDATE: In 2026 Bluesfest will be the last in a line of major festivals closed from increasing headwinds. This began before covid, with the previous state government’s legislative “war on festivals“. The new government risks letting this trend continue through inaction. However, you can change this. If 20,000 signatures are received, the NSW Parliament must debate Bluesfest’s future. #savebluesfest if you live in the state Sign up here. For everyone else, there is an international petition on change.org Sign up here.

UPDATE: Due to the success of Bluesfest 2025, its future has been confirmed. Discounted early bird tickets for the 2026 festival are available here.

Brisbane G20

Jason Benz — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 00:48:31 +0000

It is heating up in Brisbane this weekend. Politicians and protesters have been gathering for the G20 and a heat wave arrives. Hotels in the surrounding area have been fully booked with people escaping the city. The Gold Coast has been popular as its sea breeze keeps it consistently cooler than Brisbane. We did our bit to participate in the global economy by buying Chinese bikes from a German supermarket to explore Australia.

This shot of Victoria Bridge was processed with Split-Toning to add some Colour.