23 replies to this topic

[Tony]

Here is a photo taken from Ecola State Park in Cannon Beach, Oregon.

I am particularly pleased with this photo as there is very little magenta considering I used a long telephoto lens.  This was an extremely bright day with gobs of harsh sunlight so I decided to use my Hoya HMC CPL, which I believe did a splendid job.  Okay, I am wide open for any comments and suggestions.  Thanks.

 

Tony

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[ScottinPollock]

This scene is a prime candidate for hdr or bracketed exposures.

[Nikonite]

Beautiful! I like my pictures a bit sharper, but I understand you were at or near max focal length. Out of curiosity where were you with focal length and what lens?

[Tony]

Beautiful! I like my pictures a bit sharper, but I understand you were at or near max focal length. Out of curiosity where were you with focal length and what lens?

Hi, thanks for the positive feedback.  Here are the particulars.  Shutter Speed 1/800, f/7.1, ISO 200, focal length 135mm, Nikon AFNikkor 70~210mm non D  Lens, Tiffen 62mm Haze 1 filter.  Nikon 70D camera.

 

Regards,

Tony

 

Okay, here is the way the Properties box lays it out.  1/800s, f7.1, focal length 70mm,  35mm focal length 105mm.

 

My mistrake.  )

[TBonz]

I don't think a 28-105 can be considered a long telephoto - especially at 70mm even on a DX body...I like the image but I think I'd drop the highlights a bit and maybe increase the shadows...

[bani12]

I agree with TBonz. I would like to see more details in the shadows and maybe add a bit of vibrance to it.

[Tony]

I don't think a 28-105 can be considered a long telephoto - especially at 70mm even on a DX body...I like the image but I think I'd drop the highlights a bit and maybe increase the shadows...

Okay, corrections made.  Thanks.  Tony

I agree with TBonz. I would like to see more details in the shadows and maybe add a bit of vibrance to it.

Thanks.  I was able to add more detail to the shadows, how does one add a bit of vibrance to a pic.?

Reducing the shadows did brighten the photo up quite a bit.  Any brighter and I would be concerned about too harsh sunlight.  Will I be able to post the new and improved version here?

 

Tony

[Jerry_]

Thanks. I was able to add more detail to the shadows, how does one add a bit of vibrance to a pic.?
Reducing the shadows did brighten the photo up quite a bit. Any brighter and I would be concerned about too harsh sunlight. Will I be able to post the new and improved version here?

Tony

Tony, for adding vibrance you have most likely one of the sliders in your post processing software available. Where it is depends on the software you are using - most often next to saturation.

And, yes, you can post the new version of your photo here. Just add it to the new posting.

Interested to see how you processed your capture.

[ScottinPollock]

If you're using software that supports layers, make a copy on another layer, then adjust that one for the foreground. Then erase or mask the sky from it so the original layer shows through.

Reducing the shadows did brighten the photo up quite a bit. Any brighter and I would be concerned about too harsh sunlight.

[Ron]

OK, for me... well, it's a nit picky thing but your horizon line seems to be skewed just a bit. That might just be my perception though... without looking at the photo and lining up the horizon line in Lightroom, I can't really be sure.

 

I'd like to see more drama in the clouds. Not a great deal, but more than you have there. Also, as others have mentioned, the foreground needs to be adjusted to bring out slightly more shadow detail. This might be a good candidate for Lightroom's graduated filter. In fact, you could use two of them... one for the sky and clouds and another for the foreground. You could also do this in Photoshop with layers. In fact, I would probably take this to Photoshop anyway to try and bring out a bit of detail in the rock formation. I might also play around with the water... maybe dial it down a bit.

 

Lightroom, and Adobe Camera RAW both have sliders for vibrancy. I'm sure other image editing software applications have similar controls. What software are you using?

 

This would be an interesting image to work with. There's a lot of potential here.

 

--Ron 

[Tony]

Alrighty then.  Here is the new and hopefully improved version.  I did straighten out the horizon, reduced shadows in order to reveal more detail, and reduced glare in ocean background.  I do have FastStonesImageViewer, however, at this point I am more comfortable with Windows Live Photo Gallery.  Thanks for looking.

 

Tony

[Tony]

Alrighty then.  Here is the new and hopefully improved version.  I did straighten out the horizon, reduced shadows in order to reveal more detail, and reduced glare in ocean background.  I do have FastStonesImageViewer, however, at this point I am more comfortable with Windows Live Photo Gallery.  Thanks for looking.

 

Tony

 

Alrighty then.  Here is the new and hopefully improved version.  I did straighten out the horizon, reduced shadows in order to reveal more detail, and reduced glare in ocean background.  I do have FastStonesImageViewer, however, at this point I am more comfortable with Windows Live Photo Gallery.  Thanks for looking.

 

Tony

[Tony]

Well, as usual I am experiencing difficulties in uploading.  Here is my third photo after adjustments.  Wish me luck.

 

Tony

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[Nikonite]

IMO much better than your original.

[Tony]

IMO much better than your original.

Hopefully you are looking at the third photo down from the top.  It seems a little too sharp, but I guess it is part of a learning curve.  Please let me know.  Thanks.  Tony

[Tony]

OK, for me... well, it's a nit picky thing but your horizon line seems to be skewed just a bit. That might just be my perception though... without looking at the photo and lining up the horizon line in Lightroom, I can't really be sure.

 

I'd like to see more drama in the clouds. Not a great deal, but more than you have there. Also, as others have mentioned, the foreground needs to be adjusted to bring out slightly more shadow detail. This might be a good candidate for Lightroom's graduated filter. In fact, you could use two of them... one for the sky and clouds and another for the foreground. You could also do this in Photoshop with layers. In fact, I would probably take this to Photoshop anyway to try and bring out a bit of detail in the rock formation. I might also play around with the water... maybe dial it down a bit.

 

Lightroom, and Adobe Camera RAW both have sliders for vibrancy. I'm sure other image editing software applications have similar controls. What software are you using?

 

This would be an interesting image to work with. There's a lot of potential here.

 

--Ron 

Hi Ron,

 

Would you mind taking a look at my third photo after adjustments?  A lot of changes were made.  Thanks, Tony

[Jerry_]

Tony, IMO the third is much better than the initial photo.

[Ron]

Hi Ron,

 

Would you mind taking a look at my third photo after adjustments?  A lot of changes were made.  Thanks, Tony

 

I saw your revised photos last night but did not have the time to comment. I apologize.

 

Anyway, your processing has apparently brought to light one thing that I didn't originally see. In fact, I had to go back and look closely at the original image to find them.  There was apparently dust on your sensor and as such, your additional processing has accentuated a couple of those dust spots... the most prominent of which is right above the rock formation about half way through the sky area of your photo.

 

Also, your sharpening has, unfortunately, raised the noise level in your photo (something you never want to do). It's also added a slight halo to rock formation. In short, you've over sharpened the photo a bit. If you compare your original photo and the last version side by side (something I do constantly during post) you'll see that the original image is much smoother and has much less noise. Personally, I prefer a slightly soft photo to one that's been over sharpened.

 

I don't know if it'll help but...

 

I use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for 95% of the adjustments I make. If you have only one image editor, for my money it should be Lightroom (either the boxed version or as part of the Adobe Photography Subscription). I rarely bring a photo into Photoshop for additional work. However, I would not give either of those two up for anything. 

 

My own personal workflow goes like this. I bring an image into Lightroom's Develop module. Do any cropping that's necessary and eliminate any dust spots I find first. Then I go to the basic panel, check and adjust white balance, tone and apply any graduated filter effects I deem necessary. Next, I apply any post crop vignetting that may be necessary using that panel. I next, hit the check box to remove chromatic aberration (and sometimes zoom in tight on areas prone to this milady to make sure CA is actually being removed by the auto adjustment. if not, I manually remove it) . Lastly, I go to the Detail module where I apply noise reduction. I look for color noise first. Once that's eliminated, I adjust luminance noise. The last thing I do is sharpen. I try to be very conservative with both noise reduction and sharpening because overusing either of these can result in cartoonish looking photos. And, yes, I've been guilty of that.

 

You did bring up the shadow detail in the foreground so that looks better. Also, the shadow detail in the rock formation looks a bit better.

 

I know this sounds like a very negative review and I apologize in advance for that. I am not trying to be over critical. However, I think I owe you the honor of honesty. Post processing is not an easy thing to master. I'm seldom completely satisfied with the results I obtain but practice is the only way to learn.... for all of us.

 

--Ron

[TBonz]

I agree...I spent a few years working with Windows Photo Gallery and it works, but that's about it.  It definitely doesn't come close to the things you can do in LR.  It doesn't even come close to the fixes you can do with Photos on an iPhone...my images improved significantly once I made the switch...I've since switched to a Mac from a PC and from just LR to the subscription which includes both it and Photoshop, but the key to improving was getting LR...and lots of practice and input from folks here !

[Tony]

I saw your revised photos last night but did not have the time to comment. I apologize.

 

Anyway, your processing has apparently brought to light one thing that I didn't originally see. In fact, I had to go back and look closely at the original image to find them.  There was apparently dust on your sensor and as such, your additional processing has accentuated a couple of those dust spots... the most prominent of which is right above the rock formation about half way through the sky area of your photo.

 

Also, your sharpening has, unfortunately, raised the noise level in your photo (something you never want to do). It's also added a slight halo to rock formation. In short, you've over sharpened the photo a bit. If you compare your original photo and the last version side by side (something I do constantly during post) you'll see that the original image is much smoother and has much less noise. Personally, I prefer a slightly soft photo to one that's been over sharpened.

 

I don't know if it'll help but...

 

I use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for 95% of the adjustments I make. If you have only one image editor, for my money it should be Lightroom (either the boxed version or as part of the Adobe Photography Subscription). I rarely bring a photo into Photoshop for additional work. However, I would not give either of those two up for anything. 

 

My own personal workflow goes like this. I bring an image into Lightroom's Develop module. Do any cropping that's necessary and eliminate any dust spots I find first. Then I go to the basic panel, check and adjust white balance, tone and apply any graduated filter effects I deem necessary. Next, I apply any post crop vignetting that may be necessary using that panel. I next, hit the check box to remove chromatic aberration (and sometimes zoom in tight on areas prone to this milady to make sure CA is actually being removed by the auto adjustment. if not, I manually remove it) . Lastly, I go to the Detail module where I apply noise reduction. I look for color noise first. Once that's eliminated, I adjust luminance noise. The last thing I do is sharpen. I try to be very conservative with both noise reduction and sharpening because overusing either of these can result in cartoonish looking photos. And, yes, I've been guilty of that.

 

You did bring up the shadow detail in the foreground so that looks better. Also, the shadow detail in the rock formation looks a bit better.

 

I know this sounds like a very negative review and I apologize in advance for that. I am not trying to be over critical. However, I think I owe you the honor of honesty. Post processing is not an easy thing to master. I'm seldom completely satisfied with the results I obtain but practice is the only way to learn.... for all of us.

 

--Ron

Hi Ron,

First and foremost, I do not feel as though you are being overly critical.  In fact, I am very impressed with your and others' willingness to be helpful and making this a very educational and enjoyable experience. Getting back to the original photo, I recall my thinking that after so many attempts to produce a favorable photo, I decided to use my Hoya HMC CPL and create a sort of silhouette affect.  This was an extremely bright day with very harsh sunlight which is never ideal.  I liked the scene a lot and hated the idea of walking away from it empty handed.  Well, it appears as though I have some work to do with pic.  Again, many thanks for your informative review.  Will get back to you soon.

 

Tony