Before and After, Fishing Boats - DPChallenge Forums

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

05/28/2005 04:48:56 AM · #1

Here's a shot I found interesting and oddly difficult to edit. The first thumb is the original, the second is the edited one. The contrast range was awkward to work with; curves or levels seemed to sacrifice one area or the other. Selection of highlights was not satisfactory because of the criss-crossing, fine lines of rigging. The solution turned out to be an inverted contrast mask, a technique I had not used before. Further attentionw as needed to neutralize the sky color while not sacrificing the clues and cyans in the boats themselves. A gradient was also laid down on the sky and faded to produce a bit of containment at the top.

The shot was made just after dawn on an overcast day with rain threatening, not an auspicous lighting situation.

Robt.

SDW

Canon EOS-60D

05/28/2005 04:55:53 AM · #2

Nice work Robert. You did a good job bringing out the details. What are you going to name it? "Blue Skies in P-Town" after the boat?

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

05/29/2005 12:22:48 AM · #3

That's kinda sad, one whole response...

sigh.

R.

rjpat

Canon EOS-20D

05/29/2005 12:41:48 AM · #4

Loved your pictures, the original was pretty good, but it's great how you brought out the details on the boats. Also, the sky looks much better.

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

05/29/2005 12:46:01 AM · #5

Hey Robt. I think the processing worked well for this. I especially like the gradient treatment to the sky. However, something you did (perhaps the last sharpening step) picked up quite a bit of noise in the sky, very apparent at the top.

cbeller

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 16-85 f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

05/29/2005 12:46:34 AM · #6

I don't feel so bad now, if you only got one response too. :)

Very nice edit.

nico_blue

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

05/29/2005 12:46:46 AM · #7

good job bear, i like how you were able to bring out the brown rust in parts of the boat and the colors and sharpness are really well done. I might suggest burning the sky a little to balance the dark in the water and add a little more drama but it really depends what type of photo (artisitic vs representational) you want it to be.

4score

Nikon D80

05/29/2005 02:37:39 AM · #8

The changes are subtle to me. As others have said, you've exposed more details in the 2nd shot. I understand the complexities of post-processing this one!

Good job Rob,
Mark

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

05/29/2005 02:47:41 AM · #9

Originally posted by nshapiro:

Out of curiosity, what kind of mojnitor are you using? On my Electron Blue 22 inch the noice is not noticeable, and on an 11x13 print there is no vvisible noise either. I wonder sometimes if the people who remark on noise are using hyper-sharp LCD displays?

Robt.

jpochard

Canon EOS-40D

05/29/2005 02:48:58 AM · #10

Left you a comment. You do nice work!

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

05/29/2005 02:52:09 AM · #11

Originally posted by jpochard:

Left you a comment. You do nice work!

Thanks, Judy. I've already pulled a LOT more detail out of the foreground, anything more than that was looking unnatural. This just isn't contrasty lighting, it's overcast sky, and I was happy just to get the diagonal mooring line more prominent...

R.

Art Roflmao

Canon EOS-6D Mark II

05/29/2005 02:52:36 AM · #12

Excellent editing, Robert. I would have cropped out the cutoff boat on the right, but I am sure you had some higher purpose for not doing that and you won't hesitate to tell me. ;-)

Seriously good work though.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

05/29/2005 03:02:48 AM · #13

Originally posted by kpriest:

Yes, evry high purpose, LOL. A vertical line that crops out all the boat on the right is very nearly tangent on the stern of the central boat. It's a terrible crop. However, be aware that I have several other exposures without the passing launch, or with it in different locations, and believe me, it looks WORSE to have the right hand boat without the launch where it is, so that's the good news. Moving more to the right wasn't an option because it lost the slightly angled perspective on the central boat AND brought more pier into the picture as a distracting element.

C-4 below the waterline of the BG boat would have worked, but karma refused to dive and do the demo work; it was a very cold morning...

Robt.

Message edited by author 2005-05-29 03:03:35.

Art Roflmao

Canon EOS-6D Mark II

05/29/2005 03:20:04 AM · #14

Originally posted by bear_music:

C-4 below the waterline of the BG boat would have worked, but karma refused to dive and do the demo work; it was a very cold morning...

Sounds like Karma's just getting lazy. ;-)

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

05/29/2005 10:31:19 AM · #15

Hey Row-Bear...
I do see the noise that one poster referred to. It's mild, and I would not call it a problem, it may have been brought out by running USM at zero threshold (guessing)?
I found the lighting interesting, and couldn't resist taking a shot at processing, hope you don't mind...

I'm curious as to what you think of the end result compared with yours?