Post Processing Challenge September 7, 2019

There are no rules as to how you apply your post processing to this image; but, please let us know what you have done so we can all learn.

If you would like to post a candidate image next week, please ensure it is of sufficiently high resolution for manipulation by the participants (3000px on the long side, 300dpi for example).

 

Most of all, let's have fun while we are learning or demonstrating how we use our post-processing software, imaginations and interpretations.

 

Percé Rock, Gaspé, Québec

A misty, mysterious image, Punta; a great choice!

 

Version One - All in PSE15. Started with levels for tonal adjustments, then used sponge to increase saturation in the water, on the bluff, and on the house. Finished with sharpening tool.

 

Version Two:

 

A conversion to b&w using Silver Efex. In PSE, used levels for gross tonal adjustments, then refined areas using dodging and burning tools. Again, used PSE's sharpening tool.

 

Version III: A bit of Color Efex's gradual neutral filter to brighten the sky, the top of the bluff, and the top of the other rock face. Then used several filters from PSE's paintbrush tool to modify colors. Used dodging tool to increase bright areas in the water. Finally, used ink outlines in brush stroke filter.

 

some exposure adjustments a little dodging and burning

Great image!

 

Processed with DxO Photolab 2

4:3 crop

ClearView Plus at +24

Graduated Neutral Density filter to darken sky a bit

No color change

PN-ProcessingChalleng09-07-2019_DxO by David Stephens, on Flickr

PN-ProcessingChalleng09-07-2019_DxO by David Stephens, on Flickr

Punta very nice image thank you for sharing. All work in ON1. Tone enhancer to add some contrast. Then I used a black and white filter to keep the muted tone of the image. Then I used a local adjustment to lighten the rocks below the house. Last I used a week sunshine filter to add a little brightness.

Landscape photography is one of my favorite genres, and I often process my shots pretty simply, so wanted to do the same on this one and see the result. First step is to produce a dup layer and do an 'auto smart fix.' Then I create a new adjustment layer for levels, and move the end sliders around as it suits. Then I create a new adjustment layer for saturation, and move the slider for overall saturation as it suits. After I do these three steps, I adjust opacity as I see fit, or sometimes remove some of the adjustments. In this case, I left all the adjustments at 100% opacity. All processing done in PSE 13.

I didn't want to change this much, but I wanted to give it a bit more pop without losing the moodiness of the fog. So, I did the following, all in photoshop:

 

1. With a levels adjustment, I lightened the image by pulling down the white point and the midpoint, using a luminosity blend mode in order not to increase saturation.

 

2. I increased global contrast with a curve, again with luminosity blending.

 

3. I increased the saturation of the water, but only very slightly.

 

4. I increased contrast on the top of the rocks only, this time using a normal blend mode, so saturation was increased.

 

[ATTACH=full]1309799[/ATTACH]

 

Tom, what software did you use?

I focused on the man and the fog by cropping. Used LR texture and mild dehazing to accentuate the rock wall but keep the fog. Increased R,O,Y saturation to bring out wall colors in the wall

I like the photo a lot!

I had three goals here: 1) move the figure to add interest to the right side of the frame; 2) enhance the feeling of fogginess; and 3) reduce distracting elements on the left margin of the frame.

 

In Lightroom:

1. increased the exposure, reduced clarity and texture, and un-dehazed it

2. used an adjustment brush to restore clarity and texture and un-un-dehaze the top of the island, the house, and the figure

3. sharpened with a very heavy mask to restrict the sharpening to just the foreground, figure, house, and island-top

 

In Photoshop:

1. enlarged the canvas

2. used content aware move to move the figure. Not only was that not entirely successful, it was entirely not successful. I had to do a lot of cloning and healing to clean up after the move. I also enlarged the figure when I realized that I'd implicitly created a monster seagull.

3. cloned in more foreground and a strip along the right side of the frame in order to better position the figure

4. cloned out the flag—sorry to see it go, but it was too much of an eye-magnet over there on the edge of the frame

 

Back in Lightroom:

1. added a gradient in the new foreground to increase clarity, contrast, whites, and sharpness there

Tom, what software did you use?

 

Hi, Michael. For the sketch part I used Dynamic Auto Painter from Mediachance (Pencil template*), followed by hue/saturation adjustments in PS. I use Windows, but I recently discovered that DAP has a version that runs on Mac as a “self-contained WINE build of Windows DAP HOME or PRO.” They offer free trials if interested.

*Not sure if this was a user-contributed one I downloaded or not.

Hi, Michael. For the sketch part I used Dynamic Auto Painter from Mediachance (Pencil template*), followed by hue/saturation adjustments in PS. I use Windows, but I recently discovered that DAP has a version that runs on Mac as a “self-contained WINE build of Windows DAP HOME or PRO.” They offer free trials if interested.

*Not sure if this was a user-contributed one I downloaded or not.

 

Thanks, Tom.

A slight crop in LR. Converted to b/w in Silver Efex Pro 2 and added a yellow filter.

I interpreted this photo as a tranquil early morning scene, and used Darktable to increase the contrast and saturation, the highlights & shadows tool to darken the fog, a gradient to darken the foreground, and applied a global tone map. I think the figure is distracting, being mostly a silhouette, but left it.

I need to borrow a melting clock from Salvador Dalí for this version.

Edited September 9, 2019 by tom_r

I copied the top right side of the photo above the water line and pasted it over the left side, then blended the transition, cropped, converted to black and white, and added a border.

Hi, Michael. For the sketch part I used Dynamic Auto Painter from Mediachance (Pencil template*), followed by hue/saturation adjustments in PS. I use Windows, but I recently discovered that DAP has a version that runs on Mac as a “self-contained WINE build of Windows DAP HOME or PRO.” They offer free trials if interested.

*Not sure if this was a user-contributed one I downloaded or not.

 

Tom, thanks for the tips.