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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> Challenge 36: Into The Light (Hosted by Cindy Diaz) >> Challenge 36 : Eligible Gallery > 7th Place
Mysterious Ways
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27-FEB-2005 Tracy Ferrero

7th Place
Mysterious Ways

Harrison Hot Springs, Canada

This ugly old building was erected many years ago around the natural hotsprings, to help prevent people falling in and boiling themselves. The naturally boiling mineral water is pumped to various locations around the village, and people come from all over the world to bath in it's healing properties. Many thanks to Gerald for his most informative 'recipe' to help fix the blown highlights caused by the backlit steam.

Canon EOS 10D ,Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
1/1000s f/29.0 at 75.0mm iso400 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Canon DSLR Challenge08-Mar-2005 14:58
I really like your final choice. I learned something from the helpful comments, also. Good work. CameraShy09
Guest 03-Mar-2005 15:15
Thanks everyone for your input - this was my favorite as well, as I really wanted to capture the mood of the rising steam. Gerald - thank you sooooo much for your 'recipe' - I can't wait to get to work on this, and hopefully I'll have a better image for final submission.
Cheers - Tracy!
Guest 03-Mar-2005 13:06
Very nice!... I think this one is great the way it is. They symetry of the other sun doesn't have near the character of this one in this situation!
alexeig03-Mar-2005 11:37
Yes, this one is better for me
Canon DSLR Challenge03-Mar-2005 04:11
I prefer this one of the two. I really like the sunlit mist--beautiful, and I don't think the sun is too blobby at all. --Melanie (mlynn)
Canon DSLR Challenge02-Mar-2005 19:56
Tracy, I agree with Cindy, I prefer this one but I also like the sunburst in the other one.

If you like to combine both versions, there is a technique called DRI (Dynamic Range Increase). My step-by-step description makes it appear rather complicated but it is actually almost as easy as the easy solution you are looking for; it takes only a few minutes.

1 - Open both images in PSCS
2 - Select the darker one (in this case, the one without steam) and copy it to the clipboard (press ctrl-a then ctrl-c)
3 - Select the lighter image, then press ctrl-v; this will insert the darker one as a new layer called layer 1 on top of the lighter background
4 - As the two of your images are not absolutely congruent, you must move layer 1 (make sure layer 1 is selected in the layer palette and press v for the move tool) until its pixels are positioned as close as possible above the corresponding pixels of the background layer. It will help to set the blending mode for layer 1 to "exclusion" so you can see both layers; don't forget to reset it to "normal" when you are done
5 - In the layer palette, hide layer 1 (click on the eye symbol)
6 - Select the background layer by clicking on its name in the layer palette
7 - Menu "select" -> "color range..." -> selection: "highlights" -> "ok"
8 - Menu "select" -> "feather..." -> input values between 30 and 100 are good; needs some experimenting
9 - In the layer palette, select layer 1
10 - Add a layer mask (= simply click on the "add layer mask" icon in the layers palette; you find the icon on the lower edge of the layers palette, it is the second symbol from the left, looks like [O] )
11 - You may adjust level opacity for level 1. When you are done, flatten image (ctrl-shift-e), play with levels and curves, crop and save.

There are also free PS actions available that combine steps 5 to 9.

The result is an image that shows all the steam clouds but has more detail in the area where originally there were blown highlights.

-Gerald
cindyd02-Mar-2005 05:12
I like this one better Tracy. The sunburst IS excellent on the other - but can't beat the steam in this one! the more blobby sun doesn't bother me - you still have a starburst pattern, and the eyes expect a big bright spot when they recognize the sun. I have no idea how to get both other than two exposures layered - and even then - it would be very difficult PP. Cool shot. Cindy