Fixing a washed out sky

[rutt]

Before:

http://rutt.smugmug.com/photos/1335545-M.jpg


After:


http://rutt.smugmug.com/photos/1335546-M.jpg

I wish I'd taken this with my 10D instead of my S500, but that's reason for pocket cameras, you can take them jogging.

[fish]

sorry rutt, but i don't see much difference.

[cmr164]

sorry rutt, but i don't see much difference.
For some reason the difference shows up better when I pull down the images and display outside the browser. The difference is not huge but there is cloud/texture in the sky of the second image.

[wxwax]

I see the difference in the bridge, the trees and the water... but not so much the sky. I like what you've done so far.

Considering that you have a reflection of the sky in the water, changing the sky to something more dramatic might be tough.... 'cause you might be hard put to get the water to match it.

[fish]

ah...now I see it. :thumb

[rutt]

I see the difference in the bridge, the trees and the water... but not so much the sky. I like what you've done so far.

Considering that you have a reflection of the sky in the water, changing the sky to something more dramatic might be tough.... 'cause you might be hard put to get the water to match it.
Actually, the same move that added sky to the sky also added sky to the overexposed parts of the water on the right near the bridge and behind the bridge. I blended in a pure sky shot. to the whole picture using darken only and some ranges.

This isn't my favorite picture, but it is my favorite photoshop progject from last year. The late afternoon sky around here (Boston) is so beautiful in the spring and fall, but I've never succeeded in capturing both it and any earthbound subject in one shot. Perhaps this is really a job for film, or for some filter I don't know about, or for a digial beast not yet invented.

Here are a couple of unretouched sky shots from last fall:

http://rutt.smugmug.com/photos/1741167-M.jpg

http://rutt.smugmug.com/photos/1741231-M.jpg

[soup]

use a tripod - take two shots - one exposing the sky properly ( subjects will be dark ), and the other properly exposing the earthbound element your are after ( and blowing out the sky most likely).

stack them in an image editor

doesnt work with all subjects/ skies, but might be of help