Post-processing Challenge, June 24, 2022

[Glenn McCreery]

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.

 

The photograph is of Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho

[allyn_saroyan]

Photoshop: Sky darkened; Dark ground darkened, Light ground brightened; Trees given a saturation boost.

[tom_r]

Guess I'm in my gloomy phase again.

[mikemorrell]

The photograph is of the Purple Planet National Monument ;)

 

 

[Leslie Reid]

 

I wanted to feature the tree, and this set up 2 challenges: (1) to make the tree stand out; and (2) to give it a clear background.

 

(1) In Lightroom I reduced clarity and texture, which made all the scattered highlights dull out, but also dulled out the tree. In Photoshop, I selected the tree and gave it an adjustment layer to restore its brightness. Back in LR, I used a brush to restore texture and clarity to parts of the foreground vegetation.

 

(2) While I was in PS, I liquified the horizon above and to the left of the tree and nudged it up a bit to get it out of the frame. In retrospect, I should have just done some cloning, since the nudging left some distressed pixels up there—it looks out of focus. In my final crop, it turns out I didn’t need to nudge it as far as I did anyway.

 

Finally, I made some minor adjustments to exposure, contrast, vibrance, white point, and black point in LR, and slightly darkened the ravine wall with an adjustment brush. I also messed around a bit with the base of the tree to make it clear that it had grown on the near ridge.

[mikemorrell]

Excellent work @Leslie Reid! The tree struck me too as something worth highlighting. But as part of the whole photo, I didn't get very far. I really like your focus and PP of this tree!

 

One of the things I love about this forum is that people (like you) continually inspire me to think outside my 'PP box'!

 

Mike

 

QUOTE="Leslie Reid, post: 5959982, member: 9782800"][ATTACH=full]1431566[/ATTACH]

 

I wanted to feature the tree, and this set up 2 challenges: (1) to make the tree stand out; and (2) to give it a clear background.

 

(1) In Lightroom I reduced clarity and texture, which made all the scattered highlights dull out, but also dulled out the tree. In Photoshop, I selected the tree and gave it an adjustment layer to restore its brightness. Back in LR, I used a brush to restore texture and clarity to parts of the foreground vegetation.

 

(2) While I was in PS, I liquified the horizon above and to the left of the tree and nudged it up a bit to get it out of the frame. In retrospect, I should have just done some cloning, since the nudging left some distressed pixels up there—it looks out of focus. In my final crop, it turns out I didn’t need to nudge it as far as I did anyway.

 

Finally, I made some minor adjustments to exposure, contrast, vibrance, white point, and black point in LR, and slightly darkened the ravine wall with an adjustment brush. I also messed around a bit with the base of the tree to make it clear that it had grown on the near ridge.

[Leslie Reid]

continually inspire me to think outside my 'PP box'

Thanks, Mike! And the feeling's mutual. That's what I like about this forum, too, and this forum is actually the reason that I started learning how to post-process (I'm still learning). I had been a recent convert from film photography and had no idea what "post processing" was. Then I started playing with the challenges. I'd get an idea for how I wanted something to look, then I'd sort through the software to figure out if it was possible to make it happen. I take liberties with the photos here that I'd never consider doing with my own photos, and it's great to have such a variety of images to experiment with.

[igord]

Photoshop: calculations, levels, B curve.

 

[michaellinder]

The photograph is of the Purple Planet National Monument ;)

 

 

[ATTACH=full]1431557[/ATTACH]

 

Color inversion?

[mikemorrell]

Color inversion, no (i wouldn't know how to ;)), I originally had the 'vision' of the tree on the left as a 'living creature' and edited the photo accordingly. But it wasn't really convincing. So I added (in Photoshop) a hue & saturation adjustment and shifted the color ''green' to 'purple''. To my surprise (via Google) I later discovered that there was such a -fantasy - 'Purple Planet'!

[michaellinder]

Hey, Mike!!!! Given the colors in the OP image, i.e., cool ones, I still think that the abundance of warm colors in your version could have been accomplished thru color inversion. Give it a try and please let me know whether it worked, please. Ciao, michael