Feedback/Advice on photo please - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

03/12/2005 05:00:07 PM · #1

I took this shot middle of last year. I really like it, except I couldn't figure out how to capture detail on the hull of the ship, given the brightness of the Sun. I also wanted to capture the action in the pool of water, so I couldn't back off on the zoom or distance.

I'd really appreciate any advice on how I could have shot this better:

Thanks!
Ron

TLL061

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

03/12/2005 05:22:28 PM · #2

very nice ,

Mr Tee

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

03/12/2005 06:44:47 PM · #3

1/ Use a gradient filter cutting the sunset down by a couple of stops, not easy to blend.

2/ Use a flash to illuminate the hull and balance with the sunset.

3/ Take two shots, one exposed for the sunset, the other for the hull. Use PhotoShop to overlay one with the other and then erase part of one to balance with the other. (no good for a challenge entry though, because it would be two shots)

03/12/2005 08:53:26 PM · #4

There's more potential in that image than you might think. If I were working from the original I could do better yet...

Robt.

03/12/2005 09:34:16 PM · #5

Originally posted by bear_music:

There's more potential in that image than you might think. If I were working from the original I could do better yet...

Robt.

I'd be happy to link you the original -- but I'd really appreciate it if you'd give me some tips on what you're doing to enhance it so much. I like, more or less, what you did with the one above -- the hull is a little grainy, but overall very cool.

Thanks Much,
Ron

4score

Nikon D80

03/12/2005 09:35:59 PM · #6

Nice job Rob....you really brought out some hidden pixels!

03/12/2005 09:46:09 PM · #7

I made a selection of the hull, basically, and adjusted levels separately on that than on the lighter side, where I made no adjustment. It was a quick-and-dirty job, neatimage could take care of the pixelation, there's also some fringing which is a function of the low resolution. I also did a cntrl-alt-tilde on the entire image after setting the hulllevels, and inverted that selection and screened it to balance the darks on the two sides.

Feel free to send the original; bear_music@yahoo.com.

Robt.

4score

Nikon D80

03/12/2005 09:53:15 PM · #8

I've seen you write about that cntrl-alt-tilde before, and I have tried it.....very helpful!

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

03/12/2005 11:47:25 PM · #9

Originally posted by 4score:

I've seen you write about that cntrl-alt-tilde before, and I have tried it.....very helpful!

For those of us not using Photoshop, can you give a quick synopsis of what ctrl-alt-tilde is?

Thanks,
Ron

puma

Canon EOS-10D

03/13/2005 12:11:34 AM · #10

Right now I think I like the original better.

parrothead

Canon EOS-40D

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX Aspherical DF for Canon

03/13/2005 12:26:17 AM · #11

Me too! I like the original! Its a nice contrast, and a nice use of color!

03/13/2005 12:43:57 AM · #12

Originally posted by parrothead:

Me too! I like the original! Its a nice contrast, and a nice use of color!

Thanks! Here is another I just did using some of the tips bear_music gave me. It's a little more subtle, I think. Notice I had some trouble with the nub sticking off the front of the hull -- a lot of red reflection from the Sun there.

Basically, I carefully selected the hull area and applied some level adjustments, mostly on the value channel, but also on the red channel. I increased contrast in the selected area slightly. I then used the blur tool to blur try and reduce the starkness of the nub on the hull. Unsharpen mask, then resize.

03/13/2005 01:15:41 AM · #13

Please bear in mind that I did what I did because the maker of the photo commented upon the unfortunate (in his eyes) lack of detail, and I wanted to show him it was in fact recoverable. You can almost always get detail out of dark areas, but it's REALLY hard to get it out of burned-out bright spots, sometimes impossible. I am NOT saying that "my" version is a "better" image, because I definitely don't think it is.

For thise asking about cntrl-alt-tilde, it's a PS shortcut that selects the brightest parts of an image. When you have a very contrasty image, you can use this selection to make a layer mask for the bright areas, then invert the selction and make a layer mask for the dark areas. You can screen the dark areas and multiply the bright areas, and it's like a very precise contrast mask dropped on the image in two parts. Then you can fade the opacity of each of these layers separately to get a realistic rendering. You can also experiment with different belnding modes than multiply and screen.

Incidentally, this works well also for images with too LITTLE contrast, where you and screen the highlights and multiply the shadows.

In my workflow it's an early step on many images; when I have the image looking pretty reasonable I flatten it back to one layer, and use that as my new base layer upon which I work with curves, levels, saturation, whatever. I don't do this in basic editing of course, because it's not legal for that.

Robt.

Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED

03/13/2005 01:21:56 AM · #14

Originally posted by bear_music:

Robt, no worries. I really appreciate the tips. In the end, I do think the original is about the best it can be given the shooting conditions.

I am fairly new to image processing, and your tips regarding processing have done much to help familiarize me with my editing app, etc.

I really appreciate it.
Thanks!
Ron

Gringo

Nikon D2X

03/13/2005 01:30:31 AM · #15

Ron,
I like the picture. It is well taken and has a great deal of detail in the shadow. I think as mentioned a nutral grad density filter would be the best aid in getting this all in one shot. But it actually looks pretty good as it is. I like it dark.