Postprocessing Exercise

[Rick Bortnick]

<p>Lets start off the week with an exercise.</p><div></div>

[Rick Bortnick]

<p>Larger version</p><div></div>

[michaellinder]

<p>My initial goal was to bring out the detail in the darker area on the left and to brighten the sign. Initially, I resized the image in PSE. I then used the darken/lighten filter in Color Efex, followed by using a preset in HDR Efex and then adjusting tonal and sharpness with sliders.</p><div></div>

[Rick Bortnick]

<p>Your welcome Michael. Its one of the gates from Bethlehem Steel. Now closed, but going through some interesting revitalization.</p>

[michaellinder]

<p>Rick, where is this plant located? </p>

[allyn_saroyan]

<p>In Photoshop, I reduced the out-of-focus fence and converted most of the result to black and white. In On1, I added dynamic contrast and the amazing detail finder on all but the sign.<br>

The interesting part for me was attempting to reduce the out-of-focus fence with cloning, color replacement, and darkening.<br>

I thought the signs should be the focus and hence left them in color.</p><div></div>

[michaellinder]

<p>Amazing work, Allyn; very effective use of selective color.</p>

[Leslie Reid]

<p>Really good one, Rick. Like Allyn, I spent most of my time wrestling with the fence. I took out the right side in Lightroom (an adjustment brush to modify color, exposure, contrast, and clarity, using low opacity to build it up) and the left side in PE14--parts cloned and parts pasted over with distorted selections of brick courses. I unfortunately lost the louvered window in the door since I didn't have enough to go on to reconstruct it. Then back into Lr for some general adjustments...</p>

[Leslie Reid]

<p>...and then I read your description of what the image is of, and started thinking that the fence might be an important part of the image. So I tidied it up and put it back in. </p><div></div>

[Leslie Reid]

<p>Just realized that I tried to send off the unminiaturized edit of the first version and it didn't upload; here it is...</p><div></div>

[igord]

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

[Rick Bortnick]

<p>Nicely worked everyone<br>

Michael - Bethlehem Steel is/was located in Bethlehem PA. The have tore down (recycled) most of the buildings from the site. Some have been left. One is being turned into the National Museum of Industrial History, Sands Casino took over a fair piece. Others are undergoing various renovation projects.</p>

<p>One of the cooler things is what they did with the old furnaces. Instead of scrapping them, they left the furnaces standing It is now a backdrop for music & art events and they light it up at night. You may have some of the images we've taken of them. </p>

[michaellinder]

<p>Thanks for the information, Rick. Try this website - http://opacity.us/site234_bethlehem_steel_lackawanna_plant.htm.</p>

[Rick Bortnick]

<p>Interesting, I didn't know they had spread that far</p>