This morning I went up to Bear Lake for sunrise as my wife needed the car by 8. There were a few wispy clouds that caught a bit of light and it was a very calm morning. I kind of like this shot which is rare for me, but I'd like your opinions on what I need to do to improve the post-processing. It is not quite there but I'm not sure what I'm missing. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Rebel XT, 18-55, 3x GND P.S. I've got a 5D on its way.
I like it, however the only thing that bothers my is the Hrisonal line is too centered in the frame. Whle the boulder at the bottom left breaks the image up and anchors it firmly, I think the horzion should be more off center. I love the light and color and the clouds that make a great little treasure at the top.
Beautiful ! I'd be happy with it as is but if you want to play with it, maybe increasing the contrast a bit (with a contrast mask) will bring out the clouds more, especially in the reflection.
A 5D - whoa!!! Did not have time to stop by Sunday, too much postholing at Ypsilon Lake.
Do you have Lightroom? If not, get it (esp since you can afford a 5D ). I'd increase the vibrance slightly, maybe target the red/orange in the HSL panel and tweak the saturation/luminance, and for sure I'd use Fill Light (with corresponding slight contrast enhancement) to bring out some of the details in the shadows.
Thanks for the input. Paul, I have Lightroom and have been trying to get those clouds to pop a bit more but they haven't responded to the orange, red or magenta adjustments. I'll work on bringing out a bit more from the shadows as well. Thanks!
You might have to target the sky and lake specifically if you want to bring out the clouds; they're a bit faint and might not respond to general adjustments without messing up other details.
That's an astounding mirror-calm lake. It never does that when I'm up there - I'm jealous!
Posted by Brett Deacon on June 11, 2007 at 6:19 PM
Wow, sweet shot Eric! I can't believe the conditions were that calm. That happens here in Wyoming about once a year.
This image looks great as is, but if I had to suggest some post-processing I'd lighten the shadows, play around with curves to bring out the sky and clouds, and crop a bit off the top. Here is a quick go-round in Photoshop.
An idea. In Lightroom, go to the HSL panel, in that panel (upper left) click on the TAT (Targeted Adjustment Tool). Now.. move your mouse cursor over to your sky, click (hold) and drag the mouse either up or down. Cool.
Beautiful shot; I don't think I've ever seen the lake that calm. I like Brett's modifications with regards to tonality and color balance; might be tempted to back of the saturation on the green channel just a scoche.
I like it with a little cropped off the top, but I like the shadows better in the original. I don't see any reason why every image must have it's shadows raised unnaturally. The bright foreground rocks in the bottom version draw my eye to them too much.
Posted by Mike Barton on June 12, 2007 at 10:43 AM
Erik,
I think what Brett did is hard to beat. I was surprised he could do so much with a low res jpg.
BTW, where did you buy you 5D?
Posted by Craig Schultz on June 12, 2007 at 12:02 PM
Eric, nice reflection and since it is a reflection the dead center horizon doesn't bother me a bit. I do think it's a bit dark, flat and perhaps a green/cyan cast. Brett did a very good job on bringing it to life and I like that version quite a bit. I'm sure you can take if from there and make it even better.
Craig
Posted by Les Barstow on June 12, 2007 at 12:38 PM
I think Tony has a bit of a point; the foreground rocks are just a tad too light in Brett's version, though I like what he did with the tree shadows and the morning sunlight on the knoll.
Mike - it's amazing what PhotoShop can pull out of its you-know, even with a JPEG.
Discussion
15 repliesRebel XT, 18-55, 3x GND
P.S. I've got a 5D on its way.
Do you have Lightroom? If not, get it (esp since you can afford a 5D
Oh yea, btw, NICE shot!!
That's an astounding mirror-calm lake. It never does that when I'm up there - I'm jealous!
This image looks great as is, but if I had to suggest some post-processing I'd lighten the shadows, play around with curves to bring out the sky and clouds, and crop a bit off the top. Here is a quick go-round in Photoshop.
Congrats on the 5D Erik. Well deserved. You'll love it.
An idea. In Lightroom, go to the HSL panel, in that panel (upper left) click on the TAT (Targeted Adjustment Tool). Now.. move your mouse cursor over to your sky, click (hold) and drag the mouse either up or down. Cool.
This also works in the Tone Curve panel.
Beautiful shot; I don't think I've ever seen the lake that calm. I like Brett's modifications with regards to tonality and color balance; might be tempted to back of the saturation on the green channel just a scoche.
I think what Brett did is hard to beat. I was surprised he could do so much with a low res jpg.
BTW, where did you buy you 5D?
Craig
Mike - it's amazing what PhotoShop can pull out of its you-know, even with a JPEG.
BTW, Eric - congrats on the 5D purchase!