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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> Challenge 97 - Do-Overs & Second Chances (hosted by Jim Harrison) >> Eligible > Southerly View of Colorado River
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01-JUL-2007 Victor Engel

Southerly View of Colorado River

near 35°32'N 114°47'W

View of the Colorado River from near Las Vegas

Tips appreciated for alternate post-processing steps. You can approximate this view in Google Earth by selecting an altitude near 40000 feet.


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ctfchallenge09-Jul-2007 01:28
for some reason, I like the thumbnail better than the full size. the sky looks a little too red now.
theFly
Canon DSLR Challenge08-Jul-2007 23:50
Much better already, IMO - better balance to the depth. I think I'm a little impressed btw.. 1/10s.. it looks faster.
-k2
Canon DSLR Challenge08-Jul-2007 22:46
Updated as suggested. BTW, I figured out that the camera moved about 70 feet during exposure. You may wonder why I used such a small aperture. It's because the window of the plane was kind of ripply. I experimented with various apertures, and stopping down seemed to help quite a bit. Wide open, the image was way too soft. Stopping down, of course, required goosing the ISO and shutter. I used two passes of Neatimage to eliminate distracting noise. Some of the features that appear to be Neatimage artifacts, in fact, are natural features of the area. -- Victor
Canon DSLR Challenge08-Jul-2007 21:54
What if I vote for Challenge 96: An Unusual Point of View for this one. But it also evokes Challenge 42: Patterns in Nature. What great colors and tones! Jim H.
Canon DSLR Challenge08-Jul-2007 20:01
A gradient on a transparent mask isn't like an ordinary adjustment layer: It isn't a global effect but the exact opposite, really. So it needs a full bitmap approach - as far as I know. Your only comfort in this respect is that greytones don't take all that much RAM.
And after you're done: Copy merged, paste, and delete both the layers underneath. You don't need them anymore. Then "Edit->Purge All", to regain some RAM. (NB: Takes out history as well.)

So to recap: I'd "select all", "copy merged" and go from there. Adjust opacity to taste, once the gradient is applied to the mask on the dup. If you aren't used to working with masks: Do NOT hesitate to ask the dumbest questions imaginable. I can't guarantee sane answers till tomorrow though - stuck here on an 18 hour shift. But perhaps others will come to aid - or even correct me.

And if you want to re-use a previous adjustment layer, you can always drag it to top and - as always - adjust opacity to taste.

Your photo here is a typical "canyon conundrum" picture btw, if you're familiar with that book (Dan Margulis). If you ever buy a single PS book, that's the one to get. But I think the "5 second treatment" I suggested in the first post is most likely as good, and certainly quicker than a round in LAB.

-k2
Canon DSLR Challenge08-Jul-2007 17:11
Thanks. I was doing something along those lines already, but with curves rather than an overlay mask. I'll play around with it some more using an overlay mask.

Suppose, though, that the underlying image already had multiple layers. How would you accomplish what you're suggesting in that scenario? What I sometimes do is to duplicate the image, flatten the duplicate and then paste a copy of this flattened image as the new layer. The problem with this, though, is that if any of the underlying layers changes, this new duplicated layer doesn't change to go with it since it's a copy of a previous version. Is there another way to do this without losing the flexibility of being able to adjust underlying layers?

-- Victor
Canon DSLR Challenge08-Jul-2007 15:50
Great potential here, or so I think. I'm at work, no PS here, but I'd try this:

Duplicate layer, set blend mode to overlay, add a white (transparent) mask (shift+mask-icon (?)), make sure mask is selected (click), select the gradient tool, choose a black-to-transparent linear gradient, click about 1/3 up in the image and drag upwards: release click at 2/3. How's that for starters?

The result should be a deeper hazy-fog-and-sky area - more glow to it. It would match the "firmer" lower part of the image a little better. In theory this should work at least. Whether you like it or not is another matter of course..
-k2
Canon DSLR Challenge08-Jul-2007 15:18
Thanks for commenting. You know, on this trip, I missed the opportunity for a great shot. Pictured here is a view from the leg from Las Vegas to Austin. The previous leg was from Seattle to Las Vegas. On that leg, I took a few pictures of our shadow (complete with contrail). Suddenly, I noticed another plane was overtaking us just below. At one point, it was directly in our shadow! It was so close you could see all the windows clearly, and, being in our shadow, there was a nice rainbow halo surrounding the plane. I did get some pictures of it, but only after it left our shadow. -- Victor
jnconradie08-Jul-2007 14:26
Sorry, Victor. I wish I could help with processing tips... but this one would stump me, too. I hope there are other advisors better able to assist. Thanks for the coordinates... it was fun paying a virtual visit via Google Earth. Regards jnconradie