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Thread: Nature - 1, Human - 0

  1. #1
    Raven312's Avatar
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    Miche (pronounced "Mike")

    Nature - 1, Human - 0

    OK, I know I could have taken and processed this shot a lot better, so no excuses will be given. Please C/C so that I can pull all my thoughts together when I take such a pic. I was trying to avoid the hot spots I seem to get when shooting in snow and I used a polarizer, which may have been a mistake, manual focus (which didn't turn out as sharp as I'd hoped), and white balanced for cloudy - when I look at it, all of those choices together seem unfortunate...

    Setting:
    Tv : 1/30
    Av : 22
    Exposure Compensation: 0
    ISO Speed: 100
    Focal Length: 30 mm
    Nature - 1, Human - 0
    Last edited by Dave Humphries; 2nd February 2011 at 11:18 PM.

  2. #2
    Snarkbyte's Avatar
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    Re: Nature - 1, Human - 0

    Have you done any post-processing on this image? I think some adjustments for contrast (!) and sharpening would help a lot. The Recovery slider control in ACR could probably help pull some details in the snow.

  3. #3
    Raven312's Avatar
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    Miche (pronounced "Mike")

    Re: Nature - 1, Human - 0

    The only thing I've done so far is crop. I will work with contrast and try to sharpen. Thank you for that.

  4. #4
    Snarkbyte's Avatar
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    Re: Nature - 1, Human - 0

    I hope you don't mind, but I decided to take a quick shot at it. If you have even the slightest objection, I will remove this immediately. I increased the exposure a bit, and made some rather severe adjustments for contrast with the Curves tool in CS5. Also added some vibrance and sharpening (a bit too much sharpening, I fear). Here's the result:

    Nature - 1, Human - 0
    (©Miche 2011 <Raven312>)

    You can probably do better if you have the RAW file.

    There is a noticable gradation of tint in the snow from ranging from blue to red (left to right). This may well be due to the polarizer (snow does polarize light, though only weakly), and it's certainly aggravated by the extreme tonal curve I used to pull out detail in the snow.

    Edit: Couldn't resist adding a bit more vibrance and saturation. This version has a little more punch.

    Nature - 1, Human - 0
    Last edited by Snarkbyte; 4th February 2011 at 03:31 AM.

  5. #5
    Jim B.'s Avatar
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    Re: Nature - 1, Human - 0

    f/22 will make your images a bit soft.Look up "lens diffraction".You will do better to stay around f/8 or so, for a shot like this.1/30" with a 30mm lens might introduce some camera shake if you aren't rock solid.A faster SS will help with sharpness.All the white snow will underexpose your shot.You need to dial in some + exposure compensation.Polarizer wasn't a good idea.

  6. #6
    Peter Ryan's Avatar
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    Re: Nature - 1, Human - 0

    Hi Miche and welcome to CiC,

    My exact thoughts Jim but Miche it doesn't mean you don't have to do some post processing along the lines of Al's suggestion.

    I like the composition so you are on the right track. Keep clicking.

  7. #7
    Snarkbyte's Avatar
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    Re: Nature - 1, Human - 0

    In addition to Jim and Peter's comments, I would only add a suggestion to consider an ND filter to prevent blowing out the hot spots. The spots will still be there, but you can shoot at a larger aperture and reasonable speeds wihout completely blowing the highlights. Then you can use local adjustment (in ACR) or the Burn tool (in PS), or whatever the equivalent tool is in your favorite PP software to eliminate distractions.

  8. #8

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    Re: Nature - 1, Human - 0

    Well, sorry to disagree, but in this case I would most certainly not use an ND filter:
    conditions as stated were 1/30 @ F22 with polarizer, that would give 1/250@F22 without it (more or less), or 1/60 @ F11, which is much more comfortable to work with. Given the margin we still have towards shorter expositions, no need for an ND.

    Remco

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