Along the Reservoir

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P-E

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Ian
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Another one from the other day and another one am not sure about........

along-ladybower.jpg


2nd attempt.......

walk-along-the-res.jpg
 
Great colours, and I quite like the composition too - the image is almost divided into quarters.

However, the HDR type processing is very distracting, as is the border. I'd try doing that one again with a simple black border and less intense HDR processing so you don't get such obvious halo's :D

Matt
 
Cheers feenstar I will have another play with the original with a little less dodging and burning;)
 
Post up the original too if you like, and then we can have a bash too :)

Matt
 
i would like to see the original too please!
 
Here is my attempt:
p-e-resevoir.jpg


1) 'S' shape curves layer
2) Color balance layer. Increase Cyan and Blue colours. Add gradient layer mask to only affect sky
3) Slight Smart Sharpen - perhaps a little overcooked. Add layer mask to remove sharpen from sky.

Edit:
4) Add Levels layer and mask to brighten up rocks in foreground

Cheers,
Matt
 
Cheers feenster.

Wish I could fully get to grips with how to play around with layers and masks:thinking:

Would you mind explaining how you did no4 for me in detail:)
 
Sure. I don't have Photoshop available where I am writing this, so the following is from memory.

1) Add new "Levels" adjustment layer
2) Alter the histogram using the 3 arrow heads beneath it, until you think the rocks are light enough. I normally drag the left arrow to start of the histogram "hill" and the right arrow to the end of the hill. By moving the middle one, you should see the whole picture get lighter or darker. It is very much a case of just fiddling to see what you prefer here
3) With the Levels layer selected, goto the "Layers" menu and pick "Add Layer Mask", then "Hide All"
4) You should notice a white square has appeared next to the levels layer - this is the layer mask. Click on it to select it
5) Select the Brush tool, and choose black as your foreground colour. Now, wherever you paint on the layer mask, the new brightness from the Levels layer will show through - ie., paint over all the rocks with black.

This should show you the basics. The beauty of layer masks is that you can go back and tweak what is shown and revealed, simply by repainting on the mask. You can also double click on the Levels layer to adjust the brightness of the rocks when you have done the masking.

Hope that helps, and apologies if there any obvious mistakes :)

Matt
 
Cheers Matt:) I will have a play around with that later.(y)
 
Really nice shot!

scene.jpg


HDR processed and tone mapped. Levels tweaked, sharpened, and some quick dodgy retouching to hide halo along the far horizon.
 
I like it CT.;)

I can now see Halo's around the tree and cloud to the right.........is there anyway of preventing this when doing HDR?
 
P-E said:
I like it CT.;)

I can now see Halo's around the tree and cloud to the right.........is there anyway of preventing this when doing HDR?
Click to expand...

Reducing the strength of the HDR filter and contrast will help prevent the halos, but the halos are also a side effect of digital sharpening. Digital sharpening works on areas of adjoining contrast, so the halos tend to show up where the contrast is usually most marked - along the skyline.

There are also jpeg artifacts showing around the tree now too, no doubt due to the fact that I've saved your already compressed and lossy jpeg as a jpeg again and quality suffers each time you save the image. The images are far better worked on full size. :)
 
I have had a play with this image in Photomatix but can see Halo's or something thats not pleasant:thinking:

Going to have another go with the processing but not sure if to go with the HDR look or not:shrug:

One more try before the bin:D
 
Link to the original files here so those that wish to play can play from the original as stated rather than the already compressed JPEG.

If you would rather not, then I fully understand also.

Best Regards

Mikey
 
Double_Agent said:
Link to the original files here so those that wish to play can play from the original as stated rather than the already compressed JPEG.

If you would rather not, then I fully understand also.

Best Regards

Mikey
Click to expand...

I would if I could and knew how:bonk:
 
P-E said:
Going to have another go with the processing but not sure if to go with the HDR look or not:shrug:
Click to expand...
The thing is, if you where going for the HDR look then you should have taken more than one exposure....even if only bracket shot, which would have given a much more pleasing result than trying to achieve the same from just one exposure.
I like the shot itself and the detail on the shore is very nice but the clouds seem blown out and although it's possible to process seperately....the foreground and sky, it's a little beyond my ability. Getting the exposure better at the time of the shot would have helped or a bracket shot as mentioned before. I have had a go myself with the jpg but not that happy with the result so I aint posting it :D but would of liked to have had a go from the raw if you figure how to link it here.
P-E said:
One more try before the bin:D
Click to expand...
I wouldn't bin it, I'm sure once you get to grips with processing you'll regret binning it.
 
Think I cocked up with the filters Ken re the exposure:bonk:
 
I have to agree with Ken - if you're going the HDR route you really need to take the separate exposures to start with to get the best results.

Don't bin the shot - it's far too nice. I think the biggest problem is your original shot looks really drab and lacking in contrast, but Im sure you can get some life back into it without going the HDR route.
 
Wasn't the intention of going the HDR route until it was mentioned I had given it that look in the first edit.

Got to agree the original does look drab, was shot RAW.
 
For me the opening gambit is one of the best images I have seen on the internet. Superb and if I could get landscape half as good as that then I would be a happy larry.

Diego.
 
This is my attempt, PE sent me 3 jpgs, exposure normal and the other two -1 & +1. Firstly remember that this is still only processed from these 3 jpgs at 160k and under. I converted all 3 jpgs to 16 bit in cs2. In Photomatix HDR and generate HDR, then load your 3 tiff files, they should load stating the ev is 1 and the files have 1, 0 and -1, click OK and attempt to calculate response curve and OK. Once loaded..... tonemapping, first of all I change to 48 bit, reduce the strength.....for this I used 25%. Dynamic range increase -5. saturation 35%. White balance 0.25% and Black point 2%. Smoothing + and Micro contrast 0...Then OK and save.
All these settings are dependent on your pic and taste.

I am sure you all have your own processing methods in CS2 but this is a rough Idea of what I do.
Curves, Shadow/highlight, Contrast, check levels.....then sharpen/resize for web.
Once again depends on the pic and taste.

pe5iy.jpg


I know that this could still be better and working from the raw file would also make a big difference but hope it helps.
Ken.
 
Kens is the most natural looking foreground, the others don't quite work for me. I'm still not sure about the effect the HDR gives, can't make up my mind if I like it or not.
 
dod said:
Kens is the most natural looking foreground, the others don't quite work for me. I'm still not sure about the effect the HDR gives, can't make up my mind if I like it or not.
Click to expand...


Can't make my mind up myself mate.

I have been wrestling with this one for days:thinking:
 
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