Mexican Hat in the Rain

[David Eckels]

This image had given me fits in post. Could not darken the sky and bring out some of the texture without creating a very noticeable halo at the very edge of the rock. Looked almost like a very bright outline even with careful masking and could only be addressed unsatisfactorily by tedious cloning and painting. I really like the photograph and it memorializes a photo trip my dad and I took a few years ago. So,I decided to try the new "sky select" in PS along with only using the Dehaze slider and a few techniques from Tony Kuyper and Sean Bagshaw. Finally got it the way I wanted it/knew it could be.

[Bob_B]

Nice shot, David, and well worth your efforts.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

When an image resist our attempts to massage it beyond what it would allow without strong artifacts, it is usually trying to tell you something. Like, don't bother. Or next time better luck with the light.

A happy ending for this massage, though.

[francois]

Very nice interpretation of Mexican Hat… I like that weather, much better than blue sky!

[David Eckels]

Thanks, guys!

Slobodan, ROFLMAO! Massage with happy ending indeed. I agree with what you've so often told me. In this case I was wrestling with technical issues, perhaps mostly due to my understanding of the PP tools at hand. This was shot in early 2015 and represents a single frame; today, I would shoot it completely differently and, obviously, process it differently as well. I learned something from the massage, however: A happy ending can come with persistence

Francois, yes, I had one of those too from a different day, but nowhere near as compelling.

Bob, thanks, and learned much along the way. Bonus!