Trying to think positively when its snowing outside.
This is an image from a backpacking trip I took into the Pioneer Mountains of Idaho. No great sky, but plenty to look at I hope. It was real windy that morning as you can see.
Scanned this 4x5 trannie on my old Epson scanner which doesn't do real well with the shadows or highlights. Anybody try making two scans, one for the darks and one for the highlights, then combing them in Photoshop? Professional scans are pretty expensive but maybe worth it.
Would like some opinions. Appreciate any other comments.
A lovely scene and a great composition.
I really like how the lake is divided nicely between the windblown wake and just enough still water to allow a reflection (the best part, too). That's just plain cool!
The darker lower areas don't bother me as they serve as a sort of natural vignette that helps lead the eye to the reflection. Perhaps a bit more lightening of the lower big tree on the left would help, as would achieving the rich colors of the sky and mountain that are present in the reflection, but slightly lacking in the actual scene.
These are minor points, though.
A lot of words there, but this was worth the effort. Well done, Dean!
I can be brutally honest so I hope you don't mind! This image is ......Way Nice! I love the peacefulness of the area and even though it's windy, I like the way the water moves and yet you still get a partial reflection. I love the lead in here over the dead tree and into the scene. Part of me wants to say tone down the mountains just a tad but another part says leave em alone!
I agree with you guys totally. I wasn't carrying any GND filters with me on this trip and their also hard to use on a 4x5, can't see the transition line. This is where digital beats film. I may have to get a professional scan to pull out all the detail. Great comments guys.
This is fantastic, Dean! Composition is perfect and I'm not at all bothered by the dark shadows at the bottom. A little more detail in the shaded tree on the right may slightly improve this. My biggest nit is that the mountains seem a bit bright. Minor nit of an otherwise spectacular image.
This is beautiful dean, I bet a hug print of this would look fantastic. I see what others are saying about the brightness but it really doesn't bother me at all.
Just got back from bp trip in the crazies, its definitely still winter out there, snowed the whole time.
Purdy!
I'd like the mountains toned downed too but real nice as is.
This clinging winter is making our garden late. Maybe it'll be a relatively cool summer here in the desert.
I think its fine like it is but since I also shoot 4x5 chromes, I expose for the highlights and let the shadows drop. Now a 2 stop soft edge would help this one. Yep, the hard edge ones are easier to work but here's a little trick that can help for a soft edge. Get a cheap Cokin red filter (like you would use for B+W) and then use that to determine the edge. Its easy to see where the edge is. Mark it and swap out for a grad.
Dean, overall, this is wonderful. I really like the comp, and the way the water shows both reflections and movement. My only nits, the overly bright mountains and the shadowy left side, might simply be addressed by a better scan. This is certainly a keeper.
This is a beautiful scene, definitely a keeper!. The few nits have already been pointed out, and I think with a better scan those issues wouldn't be a problem. Very nice!.
The image is very very nice but I would definitely darken the top. I use ND grads with LF all the time. I put a post it on the grad line, position the filter and remove the post it. It works great.
I got a Microtek M1 scanner and I'm really pleased with it. I don't think they're available in the US any more. For prints up to 16x20 it's really great. The newer Epsons are supposed to be pretty decent too.
First off, I like the shot and think it would be worth the effort.
I scan on an Epson 4990 and have experimented trying to get the best from it. In EpsonScan you can adjust the exposure indirectly through the histogram selection. More to the left gives a longer exposure, while more to the right offers a shorter exposure. Its not direct like the gain controls on a Nikon or some others, but it can be done. The shadows are always a problem for CCD based scanners and a drum scanner's PMT system may help alot more with that detail.
The other thing that would likely help is fluid mounting for the scan with a betterscanning holder. In my experience it helps resolve fine differences in color better than dry scans. I can provide some examples and info through email if you'd like more detail. Fluid scanning is much easier than I thought.
Thanks for the info guys and the comments. I don't think my faltbed scanner is capable of recording the detail in both the highlights and the shadows in this image so I'll probably have this drum scanned. There is a lot of variance in this image so I think it would be worth it. Great ideas for using a gnd on the 4x5. Much appreciated.
Discussion
20 repliesThis is an image from a backpacking trip I took into the Pioneer Mountains of Idaho. No great sky, but plenty to look at I hope. It was real windy that morning as you can see.
Scanned this 4x5 trannie on my old Epson scanner which doesn't do real well with the shadows or highlights. Anybody try making two scans, one for the darks and one for the highlights, then combing them in Photoshop? Professional scans are pretty expensive but maybe worth it.
Would like some opinions. Appreciate any other comments.
I really like how the lake is divided nicely between the windblown wake and just enough still water to allow a reflection (the best part, too). That's just plain cool!
The darker lower areas don't bother me as they serve as a sort of natural vignette that helps lead the eye to the reflection. Perhaps a bit more lightening of the lower big tree on the left would help, as would achieving the rich colors of the sky and mountain that are present in the reflection, but slightly lacking in the actual scene.
These are minor points, though.
A lot of words there, but this was worth the effort. Well done, Dean!
Very Nice indeed!
Just got back from bp trip in the crazies, its definitely still winter out there, snowed the whole time.
I'd like the mountains toned downed too but real nice as is.
This clinging winter is making our garden late.
Nice job!
I got a Microtek M1 scanner and I'm really pleased with it. I don't think they're available in the US any more. For prints up to 16x20 it's really great. The newer Epsons are supposed to be pretty decent too.
- Dan
First off, I like the shot and think it would be worth the effort.
I scan on an Epson 4990 and have experimented trying to get the best from it. In EpsonScan you can adjust the exposure indirectly through the histogram selection. More to the left gives a longer exposure, while more to the right offers a shorter exposure. Its not direct like the gain controls on a Nikon or some others, but it can be done. The shadows are always a problem for CCD based scanners and a drum scanner's PMT system may help alot more with that detail.
The other thing that would likely help is fluid mounting for the scan with a betterscanning holder. In my experience it helps resolve fine differences in color better than dry scans. I can provide some examples and info through email if you'd like more detail. Fluid scanning is much easier than I thought.