stevemarcus

Hi Lou Ann--

 

 

This photo looks like it was taken mid-day, resulting in a washed out appearance, especially the blue sky. A polarizer would have helped, but probably only a little. For this kind of picture, my preference would be for a monochrome image. I took the liberty of modifying your image:

 

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=1761052

 

 

Here's my general strategy:

 

For B&W landscapes, one generally uses yellow, orange, or red filters to darken blue skies and give clouds some real punch and contrast. So, to covert a color image to monochrome, I

 

 

(1) use the LEVELS adjustment of PS to set BLUE OUTPUT to zero (0)

 

 

(2) adjust the GREEN OUTPUT to anywhere from 130-180, then either

 

 

(3a) DESATURATE the image (HUE/SATURATION control) or

 

 

(3b) convert the image to grayscale

 

 

(4) use the LEVELS control to adjust the darkness/brightness of the image; AUTOLEVELS sometimes works, but I am usually more satisfied when I do this manually.

 

 

(5) if converted to grayscale in (3b), convert to RGB here

 

 

(6) COLORIZE image using the HUE/SATURATION adjustment

 

 

(7) Adjust the HUE and SATURATION to suit your preference; IMHO, a sepia tone seems to yield the best contrast

 

 

I think that's about it. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Steve

 

Very nice image, Lou Ann. My, how I love that place! I look forward to seeing more picts in your "Road Trip to Alaska" series. I hope you get a chance to return to the Canadian Rockies one day, and when you do, that you have some nice weather. We've been there twice in early-mid July and, by and large, had very good weather on both trips. My mother-in-law insists that this is the best time of the year to go (she's been there at least 6 times!).

Very nice!

Very original and intriguing photo. I can't help but stare at it.

Very nice photo, Kim. The backdrop has a very smooth, sort of indoor-like appearance. What was the setting for this photo?

Image is way too dark on my monitor, even when I lower (lighten) the gamma setting. I suggest you adjust the gamma and repost.

Very nice photo, Jeffrey. Looks like you took the hike that we wanted to take last summer. Our 18 month old kept us from doing it. Maybe next time.