GeoffLawrence.com Photo Gallery - Canalside greenery

Photo Details
Sares Registered: February 2009 Posts: 56	Canal near Cannock Chase, England.
	· Date: Fri February 20, 2009 · Views: 2377 · Filesize: 145.7kb, 204.4kb · Dimensions: 1024 x 768 ·
	Additional Info
	Rating: 7.00
	Keywords: Canal

Author

Thread

honez

Registered: August 2008
Posts: 705

Sat February 21, 2009 11:56pm

Rating: 7.00

LOvely scene and great composition. I feel that some more post-processing is required though. The colours look a washed out, so some contrast and levels work in photoshop would definitely improve the overall vibrancy of the image. The river and pathway work well to draw the eye into the picture.

geofflaw
Site Admin

Registered: December 2007
Posts: 1,445

Sun February 22, 2009 8:11am

Rating: 7.00

I agree, great composition but too light. It just needs darkening down a bit.

Sares

Registered: February 2009
Posts: 56

Sun February 22, 2009 10:29am

Thanks for your comments. Is this better, or too dark?

Sares

Registered: February 2009
Posts: 56

Sun February 22, 2009 10:32am

Or, more darkening still?

geofflaw
Site Admin

Registered: December 2007
Posts: 1,445

Sun February 22, 2009 10:43am

I can't see any difference.

First of all check the step wedge at the bottom of the page and make sure you can see all 16 steps and no two squares are merged together. That will confirm that you are seeing the same as the rest of us. Then take the photo into Photoshop, if that's what you are using, and use a curve adjustment to make the mid tones much darker, just place your cursor over the middle of the curve and pull it down.

What we're looking for is to get rid of the 'washed out' look in the background.

Sares

Registered: February 2009
Posts: 56

Sun February 22, 2009 11:55am

Ok, here I adjusted it with the levels. I'm using Gimp (don't have PS) but I don't really know how to use it yet. I will play with it a bit more and see if I can darken the background without making the whole photo look too dark.

geofflaw
Site Admin

Registered: December 2007
Posts: 1,445

Sun February 22, 2009 9:27pm

That definitely looks better, but it could go a little more.

Kev

Registered: February 2008
Posts: 2,722

Mon February 23, 2009 6:30am

Rating: 7.00

The background is definitely blown - but that's always going to be a problem with a scene shot like this, taken in strong sunlight. A polarizing filter will help, and also a gradient ND filter too. One must balance out the stark contrast between the highlights and shadows across the frame. I think early morning would be the best time to take this picture.

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If your monitor is calibrated properly you should see sixteen distinct tones from white to black.