Boats in fog

[rukva]

Hi All,
I took this photo in fog, I like the composition but It looks a bit dull to me. Is there anyway I can improve it in CS3?
http://lh5.ggpht.com/kurva.one/SHr8wLh29DI/AAAAAAAAApw/TsVALoJVl7Q/s800/IMG_2900.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/kurva.one/SomeOfMyStuffYouMayLike/photo#5222764622548235314)

[BinaryFx]

I am not sure if this is what you are looking for...On a paying job I would take more care not to blow out the background boat so much (no layer masks or selections were used in this global edit).

Stephen Marsh
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/

[glennchan]

Here's some ideas...

Step A- Add Shadow/Highlight around 25%. Also add color curves with a s-shaped curve... I made the bottom part a lot steeper.
The point of doing this is to bring out shadow detail and increase contrast. Increasing contrast normally hurts shadow detail, so that's why I use shadow/highlight.

Step B- Use the brightness/contrast filter to increase shadow where the fog is. This tends to counteract the effect of fog. You could also use levels or curves here.

Step C- Lower the gamma (via Levels adjustment, the mid slider) on the bottom part of the image to add a quasi-vignette.

Step A attached.

[glennchan]

Step B.

[glennchan]

Step C. (Aargh... don't mind the JPEG artifacts.)

[rukva]

I like that, I will give it a go as soon as I can... I have been a bit busy at work so haven't had a chance to play.....

[shatch]

This is a fun photo. Thanks for sharing it. I like the boats in fog...in fact, I would enhance that thought even more. (But it's not my photo). Here is what I would do if it were mine. Please let me know if you want me to delete this. Congrats on a great photo!

http://tesseract.smugmug.com/photos/334270142_ZBQXV-L.jpg

[rukva]

Yeah I like that and would like to know how you did it.....

Finally got a chance to muck around with it a bit, looks a bit sharper, not sure about the color of the boats now.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/kurva.one/SIQzqlCZPiI/AAAAAAAAAqY/XwGzVAD_nQA/s800/IMG_2900_2.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/kurva.one/SomeOfMyStuffYouMayLike/photo#5225358274246295074)

[BinaryFx]

Yeah I like that and would like to know how you did it.....

Finally got a chance to muck around with it a bit, looks a bit sharper, not sure about the color of the boats now.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/kurva.one/SIQzqlCZPiI/AAAAAAAAAqY/XwGzVAD_nQA/s800/IMG_2900_2.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/kurva.one/SomeOfMyStuffYouMayLike/photo#5225358274246295074)

Rukva, if you like the tone but not the colour, simply layer your edited image over the original in Luminosity blend mode, as below.


Hope this helps,

Stephen Marsh
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/
http://prepression.blogspot.com/

[geospatial_junkie]

I've posted 3 of my attempts here. Personally, I really like the original and think its a terrific shot!

http://Cartographica.smugmug.com/photos/335602285_urMR7-X3.jpg

Boats are a little brighter here than they should be, just for web viewing purposes:
http://Cartographica.smugmug.com/photos/335602321_t5bRn-X3.jpg

http://Cartographica.smugmug.com/photos/335602358_v6tta-X3.jpg

[rukva]

I mucked about a bit more, there must be a point where you just have to stop playing with CS3.....:dunno:dunno

Wot do you think?

http://lh3.ggpht.com/kurva.one/SIV_x_v6G1I/AAAAAAAAAqg/bPni7aikmyQ/s800/IMG_2900_4%20copy.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/kurva.one/SomeOfMyStuffYouMayLike/photo#5225723439536020306)

[glennchan]

Ruvka: I'm curious, what method are you using to remove the purple? I see a lot of yellow.

[rukva]

Ruvka: I'm curious, what method are you using to remove the purple? I see a lot of yellow.
Hi glennchan,
This is what I meant about spending too much time mucking around with CS3, I made so many changes I can't remember them all. I will try to go back and do it again and record all the changes I have made.

[BinaryFx]

Hi glennchan,
This is what I meant about spending too much time mucking around with CS3, I made so many changes I can't remember them all. I will try to go back and do it again and record all the changes I have made.

Photoshop can save your editing history to a text file and/or as metadata embedded in the image - look in your Photoshop preferences.

Some people may record an action, or write down the steps by hand.

Great stuff comes from mucking around, if you can remember the key moves!


Stephen Marsh
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/
http://prepression.blogspot.com/

[GJMPhoto]

...there must be a point where you just have to stop playing with CS3.....:dunno:dunno

No...I don't think there is ever such a point!