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11/27/2004 10:56:58 AM · #1 |
Visited Yosemite National Park yesterday and tried some shots of the half dome. It was a beautiful day with clear skies. Please let me know what you think and how can I improve upon these. thanks
 
 
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11/27/2004 11:03:49 AM · #2 |
Greetings,
Just MHO, but they all seems a little dark to me, especially in the foreground, but wow, excellent choice of locations and perspective, I also would like to see the last one in color instead of B&W. Hope this helps...
Mike
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11/27/2004 11:14:08 AM · #3 |
Originally posted by mfairbanks:
Greetings,
Just MHO, but they all seems a little dark to me, especially in the foreground, but wow, excellent choice of locations and perspective, I also would like to see the last one in color instead of B&W. Hope this helps...
Mike |
Thanks Mike. Now I am looking at the snaps again, but not sure if I can lighten up the foreground more. this looks good at my lcd, will try any other CRT to see how dark it looks
For the last one, here is the color version
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11/27/2004 11:24:59 AM · #4 |
i would agree with them a being a tad dark, but i think it's OK. the overall exposure is pretty good. it's hard to get cloud and shadow detail together perfectly.
i like the color version of the last photo better.
EDIT: it's also not always convenient to return later when there is better light, and i would assume get A shot rather than none at all.
I also don't much like where the 'report post' button is
Message edited by author 2004-11-27 11:26:35.
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11/27/2004 11:32:33 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by soup:
I also don't much like where the 'report post' button is |
I hope you didn't report this post ;) |
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11/27/2004 11:34:27 AM · #6 |
Originally posted by soup:
i would agree with them a being a tad dark, but i think it's OK. the overall exposure is pretty good. it's hard to get cloud and shadow detail together perfectly. |
Yes, the problem was with the foreground being too dark as compared to the sky/clouds. May be I should try dodge/burn to get them both or else merge two shots. I think I have them at different exposures |
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11/27/2004 11:45:52 AM · #7 |
Nice shots, but I agree that they are a little dark in places. A little digital blending blending might help, such as...
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11/27/2004 11:48:54 AM · #8 |
| Photoshop CS has an Image adjustment called Shadow/Highlight that might help. |
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11/27/2004 11:53:52 AM · #9 |
I don't know if Yosemite is close to you but if you go back, pick up a neutral density filter for whatever lens you are using and give that a shot. That will cut the light on the sky and bring more light into the foreground during exposure.
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11/27/2004 12:04:41 PM · #10 |
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11/27/2004 12:08:26 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by rscorp:
I don't know if Yosemite is close to you but if you go back, pick up a neutral density filter for whatever lens you are using and give that a shot. That will cut the light on the sky and bring more light into the foreground during exposure. |
I don't have any filters yet. I need to get them. As for Yosemite, its about 4hrs drive one way, so a day trip. I might go there again when there is much water in the merced river... |
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11/27/2004 12:16:55 PM · #12 |
I really like half dome at sunset, a complicated exposre handled really well.
Yosemite Falls is great too, but I would crop out the log at the bottom
Mick, what is digital blending.
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11/27/2004 12:45:04 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by Zeissman:
Mick, what is digital blending. |
Here's an article that should explain it better than I could.
Understanding Digital Blending
What I did was a bit different though.
1. Select highlights (Ctrl + Alt + ~)
2. Copy selection to clipboard (Ctrl + C)
3. Invert selection
4. New layer from selection (Ctrl + J)
5. Change layer blending mode to Screen
6. Paste highlights from clipboard (Ctrl + V)
It's similar to the technique described timj351's article Improving Shadow and Highlight Detail, except I only used a shadows layer.
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11/27/2004 12:46:55 PM · #14 |
Hey there. I think your shots are excellent! I agree with the others that they are a bit dark. They could also probably use a small bump in saturation and sharpness, like...
 
Message edited by author 2004-11-27 12:58:03. |
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11/27/2004 01:18:29 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by snackwells:
Hey there. I think your shots are excellent! I agree with the others that they are a bit dark. They could also probably use a small bump in saturation and sharpness, like...
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I really like these. What are the steps you did ? |
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11/27/2004 03:33:07 PM · #16 |
| nice compositions. that is half the battle: getting something decent to work with. as you've seen from the suggestions you're getting, if you have a good starting point, you can usually wind up where you want to be. looks like a day well spent! |
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11/27/2004 03:36:57 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by gaurawa:
Originally posted by snackwells:
Hey there. I think your shots are excellent! I agree with the others that they are a bit dark. They could also probably use a small bump in saturation and sharpness, like...
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I really like these. What are the steps you did ? |
In photoshop
- highlights/shadow filter (but you can use the steps proposed by Mick) at 40% to increase the shadow brightness.
- levels to further increase the brightness and contrast of the image
- curves to boost the darker portions of the image further
- hue/saturation adjustment to increase saturation
- in the half dome image, I burned the sky and half dome to add a deeper blue look as well as increased contrast.
- in the merced river image, I again burned the sky, as well as the left trees and the reflection in the water.
- in the merced river image, I also applied a Warming Filter (85) at 10%
Finished off both pictures by utilizing Fred Miranda's edge sharpening technique.
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