I have been writing about bagels for the past couple of days – recent experiences and my bagel recipe. Before I move onto other topics, I want to write about one more related thing – how I took my bagel picture.

The image shown with today’s posting is straight off the camera. I used the lens I recently bought off eBay, a Nikon E-Series 50mm f/1.8, which has a reputation for sharpness. This was one of the first pictures I took without another recent eBay purchase, the Raynox DCR-250 (see Friday’s entry) attached. I was pleased with how clearly the details, like the individual poppy seeds, came out in the photo.

However, if you compare it to the version of the picture I posted yesterday, it pales in comparison as dull and grey. The secret is a little work in my digital darkroom. Using The Gimp, a fabulous image manipulation program that is free in all senses of the word, I applied a few alterations – auto levels adjustment, a blurred translucent layer in overlay mode to increase the contrast and a touch of adjustment with the curves tool.

The original picture looked okay but the adjusted one would not look out of place in a cookery book. Mmmnnn… good enough to eat!

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