Mont Dore (Puy-de-Dome)

Such a vast and rich scene. I imagine this as the same scenic view that inspired painting after painting, now hanging in European galleries.

... actually, we were driving along on curving Auvergne roads and came around the corner to see this in front of us. This is my third try to get the smaller jpg to look ANYTHING like the original RAW file, which is so rich and saturated in oranges, reds, and yellows ... this is actually sort of a pale imitation. But anyway, it still gives an idea of what it was like this year. And imagine a small town perched on one of these hills, with an 11th Century Romanesque church and a 12th Century Vierge Romane. Over and over we saw that. At one place, Peyrousse, we had to call on the Maire of the Commune at a local farm in order to get the giant iron key to open the door to the tiny little church squatting astride the hilltop. At another, in a local hotel, or a nearby farm. And the people were so genuinely glad to talk to us because of our interest in their pride and joy. They talked about the trials and tribulations of maintaining the buildings, owned by the communities, with funding shared with the government. They talked of art theft, and how statues and paintings are being looted from these churches, as one woman said, "Just like in Russia", referring to the icon theft. The loss of a Madonna from one of these communities is like tearing the heart out of the people, I've seen it with my own eyes. Went to one small town, Thoisy-le-Desert, in the backwaters of the Saone-et-Loire, the heart of Cluny country. The church was locked, the mayor was out of town and he was the only one with the key. I asked why it was locked and they said, "Because of the theft." It turned out that their Vierge Romane had been stolen 12 years ago and these people were reacting like it was yesterday. When I showed the proper indignation (knowing also the losses at Saint Gervazy and other places), they said that I was "sympatique et gentile" and tried to find the mayor, but to no avail. So, Thoisy-le-Desert will be another trip, but it was indicative of the kind of days we had each and every day of this long trip. I'll never forget it. I've been living and going to France all my life, but this Romanesque adventure was the best yet. Sorry for the long dissertation, but it's still fermenting inside of me.

What an experience. It's amazing the far-reaching effects of respect or lack thereof for people. My wife and I have dreamed about going to France yearly once the kids are old enough. She is fluent in French and has been there several times. My first experience was a long weekend surprise trip to Paris for my 40th. Standing on the Pont Neuf at night, I told her I thought I was living in the wrong place. Despite my expectation for mistreatment, the Parisians were much nicer and more accommodating than Bostonians.

 

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences. When I have time, I want to peruse the rest of your photos from your trip. The cathedral pictures have been breathtaking. Americans, myself included, have no real sense of age or grandeur. Peace.

Thank you for the long and inspiring story Dennis. This picture is really something else. I can stare at it and be hypnotised. (my only just wish is to see it a lot larger) Your trip to France has a contagious effect, it's like you are on a spell that can easily be felt through your words and pictures. I am getting infected by it. It sounds like you have been flirting with epiphany everyday on this trip and you brought some treasure back with you. Finding beauty, it reminds me of a dream (not the horse structure but the picture gallery). I think you are onto something. You are on the pollen path my friend. It's quite glorious actually.

... my friend, Pascal. It is true, that PJ and I talk about it everyday, remind ourselves of the amazing things we experienced every day. This shot ... we were driving, came around the corner and poof, there it was. Again, like at Brioude, or Le Puy-en-Velay, or Anzy-le-Duc, or Vezelay ... or any other number of places, we were siezed by a kind of greed for the shot. Set up the tripods, put on the tilt-shift, check exposures quickly because the light changed so quickly, and then firing off the shots. So much fun, so fulfilling, so perfect, Pascal, absolutely perfect. The entire trip was a gift. And I love to share it with my friends.

We came around the corner at just the right time ... it was posing for us. This is a two-shot

shift lens panorama. Please look at the larger version ... and even this does pale justice to

the original. Thanks.

Yea, but can he do it outside..............LOL! Absolutely he can, breathtaking scenery, with amazing detail as usual, maybe play with it a bit to enrich the color, but it's a beautiful photograph.

I did a LAB color adjustment, since you mentioned more oranges and reds, is this too much?

... you make me laugh. "Can he do it outside?" Anyway, I love the look of the shot you did, but it didn't really look like that, much more gold and amber. Glad you liked the shot!

..shoot outside!I'm glad you did this.The place is amazing.

Any idea why my jpegs lose their quality when I reduce their size?

... concerning your question about quality loss when you reduce the size; I assume that that you took the images that you put on PN and then reduced the size, correct? You didn't go back to the original and generate an entirely new image from the original. If the case is that you reduced the previously created image, you have recompressed the image, which generates loss. The amount depends on the amount of compression the first time and the second time. But data is thrown away, no question. Here is an image to demonstrate. The demonstration uses photo 1 (generated from RAW file, saved as JPG 8 level). That photo was closed, and re-opened, decompressed and recompressed again at level 6). That image represents photo 2. Then I opened photos 1 and 2 in PS, and Calculated the Difference in the RGB values pixel by pixel (Apply Image, Difference) in order to reveal how the detail was compromised in the shot. Since zero difference in pixel value represents black, any color other than black means that there is a difference in calculated value, pixel for pixel. If there were no difference in the image, it would be completely black. In order to see the changes that resulted from recompression, I made adjustments in contrast and brightness. That difference is shown here, in photo3. As you can see, all the edges and transitions in photo 1 were compromised in photo2.

 

In addition to this, there is the question of what method of resizing you used. If you used a linear interpolation, the image would suffer pretty badly. If you use PS's standard bicubic, it wouldn't be too bad at all, but all of this comes into play. All interpolation will compromise the image to some degree. And then add recompression on top of that ...

 

... and finally, if your image is too large for Photo.Net's standard display size, they will both resize and recompress! At this point, it's a whole new game. Best bet is to have highest quality of the appropriate size when going to PN. Sorry you asked the question?

The above explanation is an example of why PN is such a wonderful site. Thanks for that thorough and enlightening explanation Dennis.

 

This great composition has the quality of a painting and reminds me of the grandeur of the expansive West. There is something about the interplay between light and shadow that is mesmerizing. The softness of the light couple by the calm ambience make this scene inviting beckoning the viewer to step into this idyllic world and explore it.

Thank you for all the technical support.

My interpolation is set to Bicubic,as I consider it to be the best,image size is usually 4800ppi,I check constrain proportions,and image resampling is also done in bicubic.

When I scan at 4800,my input size is 10.000X10.000pixels,size 25%,which results in a jpeg of 2.500X2.500pixels,2-5 mb according to various other settings(backlight,,grain,fading etc.)

When this is reduced in size only,not resolution,to have it posted on PN,the whole image loses its clarity and detail.

Since I'm here for friends only,I'm pleased to get some advice in chasing quality,as I've done when printing at home,via an enlarger in the 80's and 90's,but ending up in searching for HQ only and NOT the image itself!

See you at sea!

What a beautiful landscape..

A lovely image and a very fine and helpful explanation. Thanks for both. Regards...

I love this pano Dennis! A very breath-taking scene indeed.

... your name rang a bell and I took a quick run to your portfolio for a reminder. Great stuff there, and I am proud to have been the first to post on your portfolio page. Your new work is stunning! I'll be back to post later. So welcome here and I'm glad you liked this shot. PJ and I were driving from one tiny Romanesque church in the Auvergne to the another, we came around this corner around 5pm and skid to a stop. This is exactly what we saw. The next 45 minutes we were feverishly shooting the changing light, setting up tripods, trying all kinds of different stuff. I wish you could see the actual shot, because it is one of those where PN does absolutely no justice to. The subtle tones in the shade, everything. A friend of mine just printed this about three feet across and it is mind-boggling.

I know exactly what you mean. I have a few panos that you really must see large to enjoy. And thank you for the compliments, your work is really quite impressive and makes your comments all that much more meaningful.