skip hansen

Anyone remember him...? This is the monument to James Dean, erected

by a Japanese businessman a few hundred yards from where he died.

A large, older sea lion that hangs out under the Port San Luis pier in

Avila Beach.

I've used Photoshop for a couple years, the same amount of time I have been concentrating on my photo skills (after 40 years as a casual amateur). One of the things I (and everyone else using PS) should learn is how to make these adjustments with mask layers (something I did NOT do with this image). This will reduce the noise and other artifacts. I'm still learning. There are a few super tutorials in recent PHOTOSHOP USER editions that address this issue. One big bit of advice for any newbies...composition is more important than technical in an art show. It is the complete opposite in stock photography. I have seen a ton of poorly composed photographs on stock sites that looked great under a microscope!

Again, I appreciate all the input from everyone. I look forward to viewing all your portfolios here on photo.net.

Skip

Thanks for choosing this image as Photograph Of the Week. I appreciate all the input.

Here is what I did to it. RAW processed to JPEG with some exposure and contrast adjustments. Noise Ninja noise reductions. Then, I did do quite a bit of dodging and burning to bring out the background and the white birds. The, some sharpening. The result...closeup views reveal added noise and some halo effects. For stock photography...it would be rejected for sure, I didn't even attempt submission (I do that as well).

I'm including here another shot taken just seconds later for comparison with no additional processing other than RAW to JPEG.

Thanks again, Skip http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=5431282