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ctfchallenge | all galleries >> Challenge 127 - Macro mania >> Challenge 127 - Eligible > New beginnings*
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16 February 2007 Christina Conroy

New beginnings*

Southern California

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi ,Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
1/50 sec, f/3.5, iso 100 hide exif
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other sizes: small medium original auto
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Brent 21-Feb-2007 05:31
Hey, looking much better Christina. This looks pretty darn good and you are only getting started with the new setup. I bet you are going to love that lens. I walkabout with a similar ranging lens (17-40), but mine is an f4- you can probably blur the background quite well with the 2.8. And with IS on a relatively short lens you should be able to use scary slow shutter speeds- nice!
ctfchallenge21-Feb-2007 01:22
I retouched this in PS, adding some contrast, brightening the curl up a bit and adjusting the levels some. I'm much happier with it. Hope you are too! -Christina
Squared C20-Feb-2007 19:19
Thanks Brent! I will try retouching these in PS. I only have a very old PS and so I don't have "smart sharpen" I use USM pretty liberally. I'm sure I used it here. I'll try auto levels and contrast and see what it does for me! Didn't know there was a retouching forum. I'll head over there once I find some time!
Brent 20-Feb-2007 19:11
Wow, what a great birthday present!
Actually DPP does a pretty good job converting RAW images Christina. I had always been using Adobe RAW since getting my camera, and then on a whim tried DPP about a month ago and was surprised at the amount of extra fine detail I was able to get. I still use ACR a bit because especially with the CS3 beta it has great control over shadows, but I'm using DPP more. I expect I could coax the same amount of detail out of ACR, but I just haven't mastered the right settings yet. DPP makes it pretty easy to just select different picture styles to see if they give you the look you want and if you go into the RGB settings you can nail your brightness and contrast pretty well. I think if you go over to the photo retouching forums you'll get a lot of good tips- I should go there more myself. I think you will still need to clean things up in PS once you convert your images. I often do well with a simple auto color and auto curves right off the bat and then do some fine tuning from there. Try using smartsharpen there if you haven't already, I like what it does a lot.
Squared C20-Feb-2007 17:37
Yup, I got a new toy for my birthday! Right now I'm trying to process the RAW images. This comes from a RAW. I processed it in Digital Photo Professional. Do you think it needs to go into PS as well? I'm not sure how to sharpen it enough without over sharpening. Heck, I'm not sure how to get what I want out of this camera at all! But I know it will come. I'll see if I can't get this to snap a bit more! Thanks for the suggestions!
Brent 20-Feb-2007 17:09
Huh??? Did someone get a new DSLR or just borrow one? I think we are all very much in trouble now ;-) I'll be really curious to see how that lens works out for you- looks to be a great walkaround lens. I think maybe I'm seeing this the same way as Rod in wanting just a little more contast and sharpness. It may take a while to get dialed in with the new rig- but I'm sure you will. I don't know how much you have shot with a DSLR Christina, but you will probably find your usual workflow will require more adjustments to the image straight out of the camera than you are used to, but the potential for something finer will definitely be there. Have fun!
Rod 20-Feb-2007 11:04
I'm having a bit of trouble locking onto a focal point here, maybe if the curled up bit was sharper wiv a touch more contrast it would all snap into place.
Wot PP program are you using Christina?