Moon on Top

Hi Lannie,

An absolutely beautiful scene captured.

Nice work.

The pink tones off the clouds are due to the sunset or sunrise, opposite to the moon. The colors are quite good, as that "pink" is a familiar tone and the orange moon is a good indicator of the atmospheric conditions present.

Best Regards,  Mike

Thanks, MIke, but in this case there has been color distortion caused by too much contrast being applied.  The picture was darkened as well.

Due to smog from Charlotte, however, it is possible to see the moon and sky very close to the colors that have resulted from processing.

--Lannie

Hi Lannie,

You certainly know best, as you where there.

I took your original and applied the one button "Auto Tone" in Photoshop CS5.

Then I adjusted the range to increase the contrast on the moon's surface (my goal there)

Best Regards,  Mike

Mike, I can find auto-tone on CS4, but I cannot find "range" to allow me to manipulate contrast there.  I can find "color range" on another drop-down, but that does not give me the same effect.

Well, no, it is very hard for me to remember what it looked like.  All that I can say for sure is what came out of the camera prior to manipulations.

Although I have purchased CS5, I have yet to load it.  I suspect, however, that what you did was available on CS4 as well.  I just do not know where to find it or how to apply it.

--Lannie

Hi Lannie,

In Photoshop CS4 or CS5:

Look under : Image: Adjustments, there will be Brightness/Contrast, Levels, Curves and Exposure in the top section. You can get the effect that you want from using one or the other. I usually work with the levels control first.

Also, you can try " Auto Color "  in CS5 as a starting point , too.

Best Regards,  Mike

I'm sorry to waste your time, Mike.  I cannot seem to get any further than "auto tone" (attached).

I do not know how to select just the moon to adjust the contrast on.

Thanks for your efforts, but I really don't know that much about Photoshop.  I can adjust contrast for the entire photo, but I haven't any idea what to do next.  If I select "Select" and then "Color Range," I get message "no pixels selected."

--Lannie

Hi Lannie,

Here is a screen shot of my Photoshop "Curves setting". Using the mouse and cursor , you can adjust various points along the curve by grabbing a point on the curve and moving it up , down or sideways. this effects the range in various zones across the image. You can grab as many points as you want. I just started the adjustment, as much more change can be done.

Best Regards,  Mike

Thanks, Mike!!!  And here I was looking for a command or setting called "range" before being willing to experiment to try anything else.  I see more or less what you did, although I cannot seem to replicate the first version you posted inline above.  (I rather like that first one you posted above, with its lighter area under the clouds.) 

I still wonder what precise variables are being manipulated along the x and y axes on curves, as well as wondering how what is happening (on the chart on curves) maps to what one sees on the screen.  Perhaps there is a lot of trial and error here? Or perhaps to the contrary you know exactly what the rationale is for every single point you move on curves, and where.  In other words, although I can seem to get an infinitude of effects on curves, nothing seems intuitive--and, if someone shows me a version with curves applied, I keep wanting to know what the precise settings they used to get that.  Perhaps I am looking for a cookbook approach, when perhaps a great deal more creative latitude is involved. 

I do appreciate your very significant expenditures of time and effort to try to teach me.  I appreciate it very much.  It is always good to find a friend who is brighter and more experienced than oneself.

--Lannie

Hi Lannie,

Thank you for your compliments my friend.

I approached your image with th idea to give you a starting point  to work from. I did not want to burden you with all the technical stuff that surrounds what is going on at the pixel level. I do have more sophisticated programs that provide nothing more than a pixel by pixel map of every numerical value for R,G. B and B& W levels that make up the entire scene. That is a lot of data to study, and not really meaningful for the majority of images taken. I use those type of programs in my scientific research work in Optics, Astronomy, and other areas where that level of detail is required.

As for the curve, it is easy to make adjustments and notice the effects that fall out. The iterative method of making real time adjustments can be most rewarding for getting to where you want to be. I also use the "Level" control, which is three sliders that can be moved left to right to adjust the levels from the highlights down to the shadow areas of the scene. Again, like the Curves tool, you can usually get to a satisfactory place with your image.

Best Regards, Mike

--Lannie