photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
ctfchallenge | all galleries >> Challenge 146 - Leading Lines >> Challenge 146 - Exhibition > End of Summer, Mt Moran
previous | next
07-SEP-2007 John Prichard

End of Summer, Mt Moran

Mt Moran, Grand Tetons, Jackson, Wyoming

Summer is coming to an end and the cool air of Fall is rolling in.

Canon PowerShot SD800 IS
1/800s f/4.5 at 10.8mm full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
comment | share
Daniel Bollag20-Nov-2007 08:29
Phantastic image, John: I like it! -- db.
Canon DSLR Challenge17-Nov-2007 19:02
What a wonderful scene! Nicely done John. - Kelly
ctfchallenge14-Nov-2007 22:32
OK. This is the enhanced mountain. I used the magnetic lasso in CS2 to intricately select along the tree line ... very nice tool ... it uses local contrast as its guide ... contrast guide was set to 10 and feathering to 5 pixels. Of course I went all along the top which was hard with this tool because there is no contrast at the top to help it differentiate. Fortunately I didn't care how straight my line was because I was going to enhance contrast a very unique way ... by using the unsharp mask. It turns out that if you use the unsharp mask with the radius set to something very large like 30 to 50 pixels, the strength set to about 20%, and the threshold set to zero, the unsharp mask won't be sharpening (exaggerating edges) but will instead be exaggerating contrast. Try it for yourself on an image, you will find it invaluable. You will see that besides a great contrast filter it will cut through haze. My settings to bring the mountain into sharper contrast was 20%, 30 pixels, 0 threshold. John
ctfchallenge13-Nov-2007 23:05
You got it, John. No layers. Magic wand to select the bg then adjust with levels, brightness & contrast etc. I feather the edge a few pixels then use blur & smudge tools to blend the edges where needed. I'll post in pending when I get home tonight. -tv
ctfchallenge13-Nov-2007 00:38
Although I am reasonably proficient with CS2, I am not that good with layers. And you would need to use a layer and mask to just do the contrast of just the mountains. Unless you mean the magic wand to select it. I would be glad for you to show/tell me. Thanks Tom. John
ctfchallenge11-Nov-2007 18:51
John, when I was struggling with learning how to optimize my images, several people on this site were kind enough to offer suggestions and show some sample results of their work on my shots. I will be happy to pass on that favor to you, if you would like to see what only 15 minutes of Photoshop can to to bring out the background in this shot. -tv
Rod 09-Nov-2007 21:52
Nicely done John.
ctfchallenge09-Nov-2007 21:33
I think you can make even more of this with some post processing to bring out the mountains and clouds. Very nice angle and reflection of some of the most picturesque peaks in the world. I tried to find a view like this but missed it although we were probably traveling the same road north from Jackson Hole. -tv
mcbit09-Nov-2007 19:30
Quite right John, sell the soft top and buy one :) -mcbit
ctfchallenge09-Nov-2007 15:27
I'd be quite happy with that capture, John... even with $1000 worth of stuff on top of a tripod. :) ~Lydia
ctfchallenge09-Nov-2007 15:04
There is only one photographer standing next to me. He has about $1000 of gear mounted on a tripod. He looks askance at me when I walk up and pull out the SD800 from my shirt pocket, fiddle with the exposure lock and snap a single picture ... my wife impatient in the car. I say, "Beautiful morning isn't it. It's going to be a wonderful day." He says, "Indeed." He smiles back ... that all knowing smile of no way that little instamatic captured the nuances of this light. I'm sure he got a better shot, sharper shot, especially the contrast on the mountain but I didn't do too bad and I am on to the next spot where they have spotted some elk. But I still wish I had a G9. John