Hangin at the Ski photo-Shop
 

Photoshop is amazing. I could easily believe that you could earn an
advanced degree in this program. When I think I have a good bag of tips, I
learn something new and it becomes my new favorite tip. I know and use
stuff now that I had no clue about 2 weeks ago, and so on.

Here are a couple of my recent favorite tips for ski photos.

First, a copy of a shot off the camera after doing basic attempts to
improve the shot with curves, then reducing size and quality significantly
for the web, and sharpening:

(WARING: Pownographic image of skiing Breckenridge)

http://homepage.mac.com/saemisch/Tem...2735Camera.jpg

This shot has a high contrast back-lit subject on overwhelming bright snow
that the camera sensor tints bluish. Now, two of my now-favorite tricks:

1. Apply a "contrast mask" to lift the dark portions and fade the brights
(duplicate layer, desaturate, invert, Gaussian blur, Overlay mode, 50%
opacity)

2. Add a new solid color fill to simulate a photographic 81A warming filter
to get the snow back to white (new solid fill layer, color beige, blending
mode Color, about 15% opacity).

http://homepage.mac.com/saemisch/Temp/DSC_2735Fixed.jpg

Compare the skier, the snow and the trees. You can do much of this with
other programs and/or with much more tinkering with other adjustments but
Photoshop lets you record the actions and assign them F-keys. Bada-bing.
Done.

What books and tip sources have you all liked? i highly recommend "The
Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers" by Scott Kelby.

My quest for Photoshop prowess continues...

Mike...

--
Littleton, Colorado (reply to msaemisch at yahoo dot com)
Visit my ski pages at: http://powderday.us
Carpe powder-diem

"Let Mikey Ski It!" wrote:

Photoshop is amazing. I could easily believe that you could earn an
advanced degree in this program. When I think I have a good bag of tips, I
learn something new and it becomes my new favorite tip. I know and use
stuff now that I had no clue about 2 weeks ago, and so on.

Here are a couple of my recent favorite tips for ski photos.

First, a copy of a shot off the camera after doing basic attempts to
improve the shot with curves, then reducing size and quality significantly
for the web, and sharpening:

(WARING: Pownographic image of skiing Breckenridge)

http://homepage.mac.com/saemisch/Tem...2735Camera.jpg

This shot has a high contrast back-lit subject on overwhelming bright snow
that the camera sensor tints bluish. Now, two of my now-favorite tricks:

1. Apply a "contrast mask" to lift the dark portions and fade the brights
(duplicate layer, desaturate, invert, Gaussian blur, Overlay mode, 50%
opacity)

2. Add a new solid color fill to simulate a photographic 81A warming filter
to get the snow back to white (new solid fill layer, color beige, blending
mode Color, about 15% opacity).

http://homepage.mac.com/saemisch/Temp/DSC_2735Fixed.jpg

Compare the skier, the snow and the trees. You can do much of this with
other programs and/or with much more tinkering with other adjustments but
Photoshop lets you record the actions and assign them F-keys. Bada-bing.
Done.

I'm ashamed to say that I like the original better than the fixed one.
There's more detail and contrast in the snow, giving a more 3-dimensional
effect, and the detail in the skier's clothing is pretty irrelevant.

One bothersome thing is that each of our monitors is different. Is what I
actually see what you intended? No way to know.

I take back what I said (or implied) about being able to figure out
Photoshop. I can't deal with the Gimp either and am limited to changing
only overall brightness and color curves with XV. When I try to think
about layers my head starts to hurt.

--
Cheers,
Bev
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Linux -- the ultimate freebie!

On 10 Aug 2003 21:25:01 GMT, "Let Mikey Ski It!"
wrote:

My quest for Photoshop prowess continues...

Well, maybe if you knew what the hell you were doing in the first
place, there wouldn't be a need for you to jump through all of these
post-processing hoops!

Just kidding !!

Actually, I'm considering moving from Paintshop Pro over to Photoshop
myself...along with upgrading my D100 to a D2h ;)

Don't know if Photoshop will be worth it though...about the most I
ever do is crop and sharpen.

BTW, I just ordered a new Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 AFS/VR-G IF-ED lens:

http://www.digital-images.net/Lenses/AFS_VR/afs_vr.html

Yea, I'm gonna get the powder shots now, baby !!

-Astro
http://www.xmission.com/users/hound/...2-03/index.htm

Walt wrote:
The Real Bev wrote:

I'm ashamed to say that I like the original better than the fixed one.


I'm not. I like the original better - the photoshopped version looks
like one of those Thomas Kincaid "paniter of light" paintings - it looks
fake. Fine if you go in for that sort of thing, but it's not my cup of
tea. (But the original is a great shot.)


There's more detail and contrast in the snow, giving a more 3-dimensional
effect, and the detail in the skier's clothing is pretty irrelevant.

On the other hand, the unprocessed vers is too blue - common for snow
pictures, the tree wood is too dark, and the skier is washed out. I
prefer the second vers; I think the overall brightness could be reduced
(but that's probably my screen.)

I'm sure we all have a dedicated, compensated, true color display -
accurately aligned - they only go for a few grand each ...

lal_truckee wrote:

On the other hand, the unprocessed vers is too blue - common for snow
pictures, the tree wood is too dark, and the skier is washed out. I
prefer the second vers; I think the overall brightness could be reduced
(but that's probably my screen.) ....

The pics I posted are seriously reduced to a 30% quality jpeg and then
doing some sharpening so it is hard to see what I see on my calibrated
screen. The main point was to say how incredible Photoshop is with its
infinite number of ways to improve a picture. I just keep making great
discoveries.

I took a little more care reducing this one, processed as before, backlit
skier, bluish snow. The colors still wash out a bit when I reduce and
squeeze the quality just a bit:

http://homepage.mac.com/saemisch/Temp/DSC_2697.jpg

Mike...

--
Littleton, Colorado (reply to msaemisch at yahoo dot com)
See my ski photography at: http://PowderDay.us
Carpe powder-diem

On 11 Aug 2003 03:25:01 GMT, "Let Mikey Ski It!"
wrote:

http://homepage.mac.com/saemisch/Temp/DSC_2697.jpg

I would have to say that it looks pretty darn good...but next time,
how about if we don't cut off the tippy-top of snow-covered pines.

-Astro

In article ,
"Let Mikey Ski It!" writes:
What books and tip sources have you all liked?

I just picked this one sight unseen because of a recommendation:

httpPhotoshop Restoration & Retouching, Second Edition
by Katrin Eismann, Doug Nelson

://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0735713502/103-2855580-6662232

I'm not regretting one cent. This book rocks. It has the obvious stuff
like color and contrast correction, fixing over/under exposed pic. Basically
fixing pictures just like the one you posted.
But as the subject indicates, it is heavy on fixing pictures. Faded ones,
torn ones...
The book is full of technics. For example, one picture was so badly
damaged that part of the picture had no details left. The author
took a picture of somebody wearing the same dress and merged it back
with the original. You would think it is an original picture...

bruno.

AstroPax wrote:
... how about if we don't cut off the tippy-top of snow-covered pines.

Yup! Shoot and learn. I think you need to send me that new lens. Grumble
grumble.

Hey, did you upgrade your camera to firmware 2.0? If not, I can help.

Mike...

--
Littleton, Colorado (reply to msaemisch at yahoo dot com)
See my ski photography at: http://PowderDay.us
Carpe powder-diem

On 12 Aug 2003 03:25:08 GMT, "Let Mikey Ski It!"
wrote:

Yup! Shoot and learn. I think you need to send me that new lens. Grumble
grumble.

$1600 bucks!

It better be as good as all the reviews say it is.

What the hell. As many pics as I shoot, the savings in film cost
alone has already paid for the cam...and will probably pay for this
new lens by the end of the upcoming season.

But if doesn't snow worth a ****, I'm screwed.

Hey, did you upgrade your camera to firmware 2.0? If not, I can help.

Yea, I got it from a link provided on the Nikon SLR Forum.

I probably didn't really need 2.0...but I figured what the
hell...better keep up with the Jones's.

Now, if I can just get my powder breathing subjects to "STOP LOOKING
AT THE CAMERA" !!!

-Astro

---
x-Vertigo
http://www.xmission.com/~hound/astro/02-03/index.htm
---

In article ,
Chester Bullock writes:
And here I was thinking my next purchase would be something like Eric
Meyer on CSS. Well, maybe I'll buy two books now instead of one...

Add a third one: This one is all about color correction. I haven't
had a chance to really get into it but looking at the before/after pictures
it has everything you'd need to fix color/contrast/saturation/cast issues
with pictures:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321124014/qid=1060728037/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-2855580-6662232

bruno.