WPPC (Weekly Post-Processing Challenge) - Sep. 28, 2014

[jordan2240]

<p>Welcome to the first and hopefully not last week of the ‘Post-Processing Challenge.’ If you’ve been following the threads, you’ll know what this is about, but in a nutshell, a photonetter will post an image that has had no or limited processing performed outside the camera, and other photonetters will offer their take on how to process that image. <strong>By default, the challenge will be for the participants to process the image as if it was their own, so anything goes, but the challenge poster each week can offer a different challenge if desired.</strong><br>

<br>

The challenge shot should be uploaded with a high enough resolution to be easily worked. Using Lex’s suggestion in another thread, I uploaded my image to one of my photo.net folders at full res, then dragged and dropped it into this thread. It will display in-line, but when downloaded, it sizes at about 1500 on the long end. That seems to be a sufficient size to work with. If you are concerned about theft, feel free to put your watermark on the image, use a lower resolution, or post something you wouldn’t care to sell. If you post a challenge photo and use a different method from that I’ve noted, please include a version that will post in-line for ease of comparison. The test forum here is a great place to experiment with such things.<br>

<br>

Participants should edit the downloaded photo then post it back to the thread so it also posts in-line. If you want to link to a larger version to show additional detail, please do (unless the photo.net bosses tell us not to). It’s up to each individual as to whether or not they want to view other edits prior to posting their own (thus risking being influence by them), but edit only the challenge shot!<br>

<br>

Participants should divulge the level of detail of their processing they are comfortable with, but at a minimum, it would be nice to know what software was used. No one is expecting you to give up any trade secrets! Discussion about the edits is encouraged, but try to view everyone as a close personal friend and not an anonymous stranger. And no flaming the challenge image.<br>

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Anyone wishing to post a challenge image should sign up in the thread in this forum asking for such, or just email me through my photo.net profile. <br>

<br>

And now for the image. It is one I took last week during the evening in pretty flat light. On Friday or Saturday, I’ll indicate which processing I like the best, if I’m able to pick one. All should keep in mind this is a purely subjective selection influenced by the challenge poster’s own sense of aesthetics and the hardware used to view the image, and a different day might have brought a different decision. Happy processing!</p>

<img alt="" /><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/17868694-lg.jpg" alt="Untitled" width="1499" height="993" border="0" />

<p> </p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>I liked the subdued color and contrast of the original and decided to just tweak that a bit without going overboard. Pretty much the type of difference you might have seen 10 or so years ago by taking the same negative to a few different minilabs.<br>

I tried a couple of one-click fixes in DxO FilmPack 3 but didn't care much for 'em and went with a few tweaks in Lightroom 4.4.</p><div></div>

[AJHingel]

<p>Fine work, Lex, with the grad filter. Am I right to believe, that the graduated filter can only be found in Camera RAW (6). Is there an equivalent tool in Photoshop (for TIFF, Jpeg etc files). Or, is that a stupid question ?</p>

[michaellinder]

<p>Bill: We're off to a good start. The steps I took are as follows:</p>

<p>In Photoshop Elements 11-<br>

(1) Slightly lightened shadows and darkened highlights (to show more detail in barn and sky);<br>

(2) Increased sharpening.</p>

<p>In NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 -<br>

(1) Used "Balanced" preset;<br>

(2) Lightened highlights;<br>

(3) Decreased structure.</p>

<p>In PSE 11 -<br>

Applied deep blue filter at 25%.</p><div></div>

[JDMvW]

<p>Wonderful idea, and I hope I will be forgiven for having a little fun with it. ;)</p>

<p>As my daughter said of my own work, "Nice but a little postcardy, Dad"<br /> Ah, but even St. Ansel was accused of the same sin.</p>

<p>"When you got it, flaunt it", as Max Bialystok says.<br /> Done in Nik Efex HD with everything turned up to "11" (Spinal Tap reference), and then saturation and texture applied to make it more like a postcard, my goal.</p>

<p>I confess I seem to see a lot of this sort of thing, but it's just too much fun to be serious about.</p><div></div>

[AlanKlein]

<p>The sky's a problem. Tried some darkening highlights but these kind of skies are always a problem. I decided on the crop because there's a lot of empty space and my eye was more drawn to the building. Then leveled lighting a little, adjusted contrast, brightness and sharpened a little. That's it. Thanks for posting. Good thread.</p><div></div>

[AlanKlein]

<p>JDM: Your daughter's smart and her daddy is a good editor.</p>

[AlanKlein]

<p>JDM: You got me interested is postal cards so I tried one myself. Sorry to steal your idea but couldn't resist.</p>

<p>Used texturizer in Photoshop Elements 12.</p><div></div>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>I'm not sure which other software has a similar graduated filter, but it's probably pretty common. Even Picasa has graduated filters, although they lack the subtlety and fine control of Lightroom 4 and 5.</p>

<p>I tried to copy the LR4.4 adjustments I made to a text file but couldn't figure out a way to do it. I'll transcribe it:</p>

<ul>

<li>Auto white balance, which shifted temp +6 and tint +12. The effect was reminiscent of a warming filter so I kept it to offset the natural cool of an overcast/hazy sky.</li>

<li>Highlights -60 (this pulled in some subtle cloud details but left the overall photo a bit murky)</li>

<li>Shadows +26 (which restored brightness where desirable, without losing subtle snap in the shadows)</li>

<li>Whites +22 (also a bit of added snap without re-brightening the sky)</li>

<li>Blacks = 0. I tried -6 but it lost some detail under the eaves and doorway.</li>

<li>Presence +10, to add a bit of micro-contrast without sharpening.</li>

<li>Vibrance +10, which mainly boosts blues.</li>

<li>Sharpening - just a tiny bit to withstand JPEG recompression and downsizing to 700 pixels:<br />Amount 20<br />Radius 0.5<br />Detail 25 (I meant to use only 10 or 15 but forgot)<br />Masking 51 (to avoid sharpening artifacts in sky - could have gone to 60-80 for this)</li>

<li>Noise reduction - to minimize artifacts in sky:<br />Luminance = none. I tried as little as 5 but lost some foliage detail. NR works best on raw, TIFF, etc.<br />Color = 20. Actually had very little effect. I could have skipped NR completely and gotten the same results.</li>

<li>Camera calibration:<br />Blue primary saturation +22. This is an offbeat adjustment. Tweaking the camera calibration hue and saturation can produce effects ranging from subtle to wild. Takes some experimenting, and sometimes the results are a mess. Here it just subtly boosted blues, greens and yellows while leaving the red alone. The effect is a bit different than LR's saturation slider, or individual color channel sliders.</li>

<li>Grad filter - set to cover sky only, middle point set at horizon:<br />Contrast +14<br />Highlights -12<br />Clarity +10 (to very slightly define clouds)<br />Noise +16 (to minimize grit from sharpening and clarity tools).</li>

</ul>

<p>No brushes or selective retouching. If I'd thought about it I'd have retouched out the JPEG artifacts around the tree branches, but they don't really show anyway. My old copy of Jasc Paint Shop Pro has a very handy filter for removing JPEG compression artifacts. Lightroom lacks that, and the brushes are spotting tools only in version 4. LR5 has much more refined brush tools and could be used to selectively retouch stuff like that. But it's not really necessary for most small online JPEGs. Downsizing tends to smooth out lots of flaws.</p>

<p>I liked the simplicity of this photo and resisted my usual urge toward heavy manipulation for melodramatic effects. It works on some of my prairie and urban landscapes, but wouldn't do justice to this very serene landscape. It's a classic scene.</p>

<p>I was hoping for better results from DxO FilmPack 3, but it works best with raw or unedited TIFFs. With JPEGs the DxO FP3 settings tend to be a bit too heavy. With raw the Astia, Provia, Kodachrome, Reala and Portra color settings often look very good, although I prefer to dial back the film grain effect. The b&w film effects can be interesting but usually require a lot of slider adjustments.</p>

[jordan2240]

<p>As Lupo said, great start all. Really enjoy seeing the variations. I can see it will be nearly impossible to pick a favorite. Don't want to comment on any specifics yet so as not to influence other entries, but suffice to say it would be nice to see the enthusiasm remain for other entries already scheduled in the weeks to come, and for whatever lifespan this has.</p>

[david_l3]

<p>Here is mine, and I failed to notice Lupo's panorama before I started. In Photoshop, cropped, the sky was darkened with a strong curves layer and everything else was masked out. Then added contrast, vibrance, and sharpened. </p><div></div>

[jordan2240]

<p>By the way Michael, I emailed you to ask you to post the challenge photo the week of Oct. 19, but the email failed to go, so mentioning it here.<br>

David L., fully expected that some versions will be coincidentally similar. Interesting to see where some of the thinking is the same and some completely different.</p>

 

[michaellinder]

<p>Bill, it's my honor. I'll mark my calendar, accordingly.</p>

[AJHingel]

<p>Well I had a try by playing around with Photoshop 6 filters and tools.<br /> Started by cloning out the two dead branches on top of the trees. Most of the work I did was done in curves and a slight twist in the Shadow/Highlight tool and gamma correction - ending with an unsharp mask (Amount 195, Radius 0,4, Threshold 0).<br /> The sky ended up somewhat tortured, but I like the slightly menacing tone of the result in order to get away from the flatness of the original.<br /> <br /> Maybe the result shows more my limited skills than what could be done. </p><div></div>

[Dave410]

<p>Remember that location because that would be a great photo on a blue-sky day at the golden hour.</p>

<p>Here's my attempt.</p><div></div>

[pete_s.]

<blockquote>

<p>Am I right to believe, that the graduated filter can only be found in Camera RAW (6). Is there an equivalent tool in Photoshop (for TIFF, Jpeg etc files). Or, is that a stupid question</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Anders, it's very easy to do a graduated filter in photoshop. You just make an adjustment layer with a curve. Then you paint a black & white gradient (with the gradient tool) on the adjustments layer mask.</p>

[randy_cooprider1]

<p>Couldn't resist playing with the picture so I didn't look at the other folks pictures until I had finished. The steps used were;<br>

1. Cropped out some of the foreground.<br>

2. Adjusted contrast and sharpened slightly.<br>

3. Slightly increased vibrance.<br>

4. Adjusted shadows and highlights.<br>

It looks similar to several other peoples work but I did not copy!</p><div></div>

[AJHingel]

<p>Thanks Pete. I normally do it Camara Raw together with other post processing. You are right it can be done in an adjustment layer too.</p>

[LenMarriott]

<p>Bill & all, Anyone think this might be fine as a B&W? The subdued or muted colours and low contrast prompted a try in that area for me. I tried to keep any manipulations low so that they wouldn't be obvious to the viewer. Using photoshop cs, I tweaked the contrast and brightness levels and, using Channel Mixer, tried to emulate a yellow filter (R-60, G-28, B-12) in order to lighten & separate the yellow tones from the green ones. I also burned in the sky a bit. (perhaps too heavy a hand there) Anyway it was a good exercise & I welcome any critique of my efforts. All the above attempts are great but I really like Alan Klein's texturized version. Best, LM.</p><div></div>

[JTG1]

<p align="center">I submit these for the contest...other edits are for your viewing pleasure.</p>

<p align="center"><br /> Changed the background, numerous Photoshop steps, cropped, resized but offer HQ versions....Photoshop CC</p>

<p align="center">De-saturated color, added more browns to the grass. <a href="http://www.pn.jacksjunk.com/2014/2014-09-29/JB0001HQ.jpg">CLICK HERE</a> for HQ version. <a href="http://www.pn.jacksjunk.com/2014/2014-09-29/JB0001UC.jpg">CLICK HERE</a> for un-cropped version.</p>

<p align="center"><img src="http://www.pn.jacksjunk.com/2014/2014-09-29/JB_0001.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p align="center">B&W version. <a href="http://www.pn.jacksjunk.com/2014/2014-09-29/JB0002HQ.jpg">CLICK HERE</a> for HQ version. <a href="http://www.pn.jacksjunk.com/2014/2014-09-29/JB0002UC.jpg">CLICK HERE</a> for un-cropped version.</p>

<p align="center"><img src="http://www.pn.jacksjunk.com/2014/2014-09-29/JB_0002.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[Spearhead]

<p>LR - Painted in the sky, adjusted tonality, filled in some areas. Moved the white and black points. Increased red saturation and orange/red/green luminance. Opened up the shadows under the barn. Put a nude in the field and removed her.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[jordan2240]

<p>Len, was hoping someone would try a b&w version.</p>

<p>Jack, that's crazy man! Can only wish that was the sky I saw when I took the shot. Not sure what you submitted for the 'contest' though, as I only see the radically altered shots (how'd you do that sky?). But it's not technically a contest anyway since there are no prizes, and it's getting to the point where I'm just going to close my eyes and pick one. All great edits! I can see I need to mess with filters some more in my processing. Don't think there'd be much argument no matter which edit I chose as my 'favorite.'</p>

<p>Lex, could you please offer a bit more detail on what you did! (ha)</p>

<p>Pete S., I'm anxious to try the graduated filter technique. Keeping some detail in the sky was one of my first concerns when reviewing the shot.</p>

[john_thurston5]

<p>Bill,<br />I think I am doing this right and pardon my naiveté in advance. I just copied it from PS and pasted it in here?<br /><br /><br>

I have captured similar scenery in the Midwest so I had a little insight into these types of lighting and scenery. I believe in making images as naturalistic and believable as possible while enhancing the tonal ranges and in a scene I have shot and did the same here.<br /><br />My steps:<br />In LR5.5 I did an Auto White Balance since it was not a RAW file, applied a somewhat film like curve in the Tone curve, bumping up top highlights and deepening dark shadows with limits.<br />Added a touch of Clarity and Vibrance and used an Exposure Adjustment brush on the sky to give a little definition to the sky and clouds.<br /><br />In PS CC2014 I created a series of Luminosity Masks for 4 levels of Darks, Lights and 3 levels of Midtones.<br />Using the Midtones Mask and a Curves layer I applied an S Curve, which boosts contrast and saturation a bit. Read Tony Kuyper's Tutorials for how these work.<br />Using the same series of masks I Dodge and Burned in Shadows and Highlights to give more depth to the Barn and Fields.<br />Lastly I applied a Gentle touch of Multiply Layer mode "Landscape Magic" to the sky for depth of tones.<br>

<br />I try not to use the various canned plugins as I believe a more straightforward approach in PS gives me much more control over exactly what is going on and the ability to edit those changes directly.<br />Thanks for the challenge.<br>

<img src="webkit-fake-url://6163a37d-5055-4d39-bba8-85c346662d6f/image.tiff" alt="" /></p>

[AlanKlein]

<p>Jack: Where's Dorothy and the witch?</p>

[john_thurston5]

<p>Bill,<br />I have captured similar scenery in the Midwest so I had a little insight into these types of lighting and scenery. I believe in making images as naturalistic and believable as possible while enhancing the tonal ranges in a scene I have shot and have done the same here.<br /><br />My steps:<br />In LR5.5 I did an Auto White Balance since it was not a RAW file, applied a somewhat film like curve in the Tone curve, bumping up top highlights and deepening dark shadows with limits.<br />Added a touch of Clarity and Vibrance and used an Exposure Adjustment brush on the sky to give a little definition to the sky and clouds.<br /><br />In PS CC2014 I created a series of Luminosity Masks for 4 levels of Darks, Lights and 3 levels of Midtones.<br />Using the Midtones Mask and a Curves layer I applied an S Curve, which boosts contrast and saturation a bit. Read Tony Kuyper's Tutorials for how these work.<br />Using the same series of masks I Dodge and Burned in Shadows and Highlights to give more depth to the Barn and Fields.<br />Lastly I applied a Gentle touch of Multiply Layer mode "Landscape Magic" to the sky for depth of tones.<br /><br />I try not to use the various canned plugins as I believe a more straightforward approach in PS gives me much more control over exactly what is going on and the ability to edit those changes directly.<br />Thanks for the challenge.</p>