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Author Topic: Request for suggestions  (Read 12910 times)

jdemott

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Request for suggestions
« Reply #20 on: September 28, 2005, 10:43:30 pm »

Alain,

Thanks for the suggestions.  When I first looked at your edits, I was troubled by the color and by the lightness.  I brought down the brightness of the grasses a little bit and things fell into place very nicely.  It now has much more depth and dimension.  As for the sharpening, I never know how much is appropriate for web versions since I am looking mainly at a higher resolution version--as a result I think I tend to undersharpen the low resolution version.

I spent quite a lot of time studying your edits.  I converted both your edited version and my original version into Lab mode and studied the luminosity channel so I could isolate the contrast changes from the color changes.  I've also spent some time trying to duplicate what you did, but  with only limited success.  If you would be willing to share some of the specifics of your methods and thinking in making the edits (both color and contrast) it would be quite useful for me.  Thanks again.

John
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alainbriot

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Request for suggestions
« Reply #21 on: September 28, 2005, 11:17:48 pm »

John,

If you don't mind posting your revised version I'd like to see what you have now.

Alain
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Alain Briot
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jdemott

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Request for suggestions
« Reply #22 on: September 28, 2005, 11:56:01 pm »

Alain, as requested:

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John DeMott

alainbriot

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« Reply #23 on: September 29, 2005, 12:16:47 am »

Yes, I thought you may want the midtones a bit lower,  5 points, or even  10.  I actually tried it myself. My original post now features the new version.  

I did about 10-15 adjustments layers to the image, curves and levels, plus used custom color profiles.  I worked in RGB and did not convert to LAB.

How do you like the image now?  

Alain
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jdemott

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Request for suggestions
« Reply #24 on: September 29, 2005, 12:45:32 pm »

Quote
I did about 10-15 adjustments layers to the image, curves and levels, plus used custom color profiles.
I'm very grateful that you put so much time and effort into this.  It is very helpful for me to see how you approach the scene.  Any more specifics that you care to share about your techniques would of course be welcome.  Did you start with an overall strategy for the adjustments or did you work locally and let the overall effect develop?
Quote
I worked in RGB and did not convert to LAB.
Yes, I generally work only in RGB also, but I made the conversion to LAB just so I could see what you had done to the contrast.  Sometimes I find it easier to think in black and white, and then look at the color seperately.
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How do you like the image now?  
I think it is much improved.  It is livelier, the space feels more open, and the eye moves a little more freely.  (The addition of the border was helpful--I wouldn't display a print without a mat, and perhaps I should follow a similar practice even for jpeg files.) I especially like the two trees, the greater depth of the small pond, and the treatment of the landslide in the far background.  There are quite a few subtle changes that enhance the overall depth and dimension that I will continue to study.  I am still analyzing my own reaction to your use of color--I can see that it works well artistically when I look at it as just a photo, but I feel a little torn by the knowledge that the colors aren't "realistic."  (That isn't a real hangup for me, as I have shot enough different color films to know that realism is a somewhat illusory goal. Perhaps in this case, I just got overly attached to a particular sense of the colors.)  Thanks again for the input.  

John
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Request for suggestions
« Reply #25 on: September 29, 2005, 01:50:05 pm »

John,

I think your final version is gorgeous. And seeing the details of the process you and others (and Alain) went through to get it there was most educational.

Eric
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alainbriot

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Request for suggestions
« Reply #26 on: September 29, 2005, 02:51:09 pm »

"I  feel a little torn by the knowledge that the colors aren't "realistic."

How do you know what colors were the "real" colors?
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DonWeston

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Request for suggestions
« Reply #27 on: September 29, 2005, 03:32:08 pm »

very nice image, color and tones, beautiful, but too much clumped of interest in the mid center mid ground for my taste, each to their own. don't know if the water really helps as much as it should in foreground. one can always argue rule of thirds...YMMV.
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jdemott

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Request for suggestions
« Reply #28 on: September 29, 2005, 04:33:39 pm »

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How do you know what colors were the "real" colors?

Alain, I recognize that is a question with meaning on many levels, which is why I said that I understand that realism is an illusory goal.  If one's object is to somehow re-create the experience of seeing a vast wilderness scene in Central Oregon by applying a few colors to a small sheet of paper, it is apparent that "reality" is not a large part of the process.  So, my comment was directed more toward my own feelings and trying to explain to you how I feel about the latest version of the photo--I have a little discomfort because the colors aren't fitting with some preconceived notions in my head based on how I remember the scene and how I first approached the post-processing.  When I look at the photo as just a photo, or perhaps as someone else's photo, then I don't have that discomfort.

I could reply that I know what the "real" colors are based on knowing how accurately my camera records colors and how I had the white balance set (which is true) but I don't think that is what you had in mind.

John
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