Join Now
Join ePHOTOzine, the friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more for free!
- View Large
No large version
No large version available. - Vote
Join to Vote
You must join ePHOTOzine to vote. - Comments
-
A shot of part of the Langdale valley in the Lake District.
| Camera: | Nikon D90  Check out Nikon Nation! |
| Lens: | Nikkor 18-70mm  Check out Nikon Nation! |
| Recording media: | JPEG (digital) |
| Title: | Langdale Valley |
| Username: | 
PaulLiley |
| Uploaded: | 6 Oct 2010 - 10:31 AM |
| Tags: | 'lake district', 'langdale pikes', 'langdale valley', Cumbria, Fells, Landscape / travel, Langdales, Mountains |
| VS Mode Rating |
100 (0% won) These stats show the percentage of wins and the rating score that your photo has achieved. You can go to the VS Mode by clicking on this icon. Signup to e2Signup to e2 to see which photo this has won or lost against in the vs mode |
| Votes: | 24 |
Comments
Nice view but it has a rather over processed look to it. The bush left and tree right don't actually add too much either. Its a great view but it could be a lot more. Could you post the RAW to let us see what you were playing with please.
Best regards
Mark
I want to go walking there now looking at this image
Quote: Nice view but it has a rather over processed look to it. The bush left and tree right don't actually add too much either. Its a great view but it could be a lot more. Could you post the RAW to let us see what you were playing with please.
Best regards
Mark
Thanks for your comments Mark. It wasn't shot in RAW only JPEG. As I can only post one per day it can't be today. Used photoshop to reduce the highlights on the rock which (a bit like limestone-its granite actually- tends to reflect a lot of light). I increased the sat on the sky and the greens. Apart from a small amount of sharpening that's it. I agree the fg tree should have been off centre more and the one half on the right frame shouldn't be there. I appreciate your constructive comments. I have taken more on the same trip which are further back in my PF if you want to look. one was a pano of the valley. Paul
I agree with witchcraft that this looks a little over-processed. It's not a massive thing but it doesn't look quite right. I think the problem is that it looks a bit too contrasty and vivid for what I perceive the lighting conditions to be.
I think that a fairly small white balance problem has led you down the wrong path while editing. There are two clues that the white balance is off: the mountains are rather blue and the darker clouds, which should be grey, are also quite blue. The extra blueness decreases contrast and makes the greens less vividly green but increasing contrast and saturation doesn't address the root cause. (Sharpening works by increasing contrast locally.)
Setting the colour temperature to somewhere around 5,500–5,700K warms the blue out of the clouds and decreases it in the mountains. You can then tweak the saturation of the greens if you need to but, with less blue in them, they're already purer (i.e., more saturated) so you probably won't need to go as far. Sharpening at a smaller radius will give you sharpness without pushing up the contrast.
A quick explanation of sharpening and contrast. Unsharp mask has the effect of increasing contrast locally, i.e., darkening regions of shadow and lightening regions of highlight that are close together. However, the centre of a large shadow is far from any highlights so it's not affected. Across the whole image, the darkness of shadows and brightness of highlights remains roughly the same; it's only small regions close to each other, or the boundaries of larger regions that are altered. When you sharpen with a small radius (one or two pixels), this is perceived mostly as an increase in sharpness because it picks out boundaries and makes them more distinct. But if you sharpen at a larger radius, the effect is to darken shadows of about that size and lighten highlights of about that size, which is seen as an increase in contrast, as it's affecting more than just boundaries. You can use this to your advantage: USM with small radius and fairly high strength sharpens; with larger radius and smaller strength, it increases contrast but in a way that you can control quite precisely.
Quote: I agree with witchcraft that this looks a little over-processed. It's not a massive thing but it doesn't look quite right. I think the problem is that it looks a bit too contrasty and vivid for what I perceive the lighting conditions to be.
I think that a fairly small white balance problem has led you down the wrong path while editing. There are two clues that the white balance is off: the mountains are rather blue and the darker clouds, which should be grey, are also quite blue. The extra blueness decreases contrast and makes the greens less vividly green but increasing contrast and saturation doesn't address the root cause. (Sharpening works by increasing contrast locally.)
Setting the colour temperature to somewhere around 5,500–5,700K warms the blue out of the clouds and decreases it in the mountains. You can then tweak the saturation of the greens if you need to but, with less blue in them, they're already purer (i.e., more saturated) so you probably won't need to go as far. Sharpening at a smaller radius will give you sharpness without pushing up the contrast.
A quick explanation of sharpening and contrast. Unsharp mask has the effect of increasing contrast locally, i.e., darkening regions of shadow and lightening regions of highlight that are close together. However, the centre of a large shadow is far from any highlights so it's not affected. Across the whole image, the darkness of shadows and brightness of highlights remains roughly the same; it's only small regions close to each other, or the boundaries of larger regions that are altered. When you sharpen with a small radius (one or two pixels), this is perceived mostly as an increase in sharpness because it picks out boundaries and makes them more distinct. But if you sharpen at a larger radius, the effect is to darken shadows of about that size and lighten highlights of about that size, which is seen as an increase in contrast, as it's affecting more than just boundaries. You can use this to your advantage: USM with small radius and fairly high strength sharpens; with larger radius and smaller strength, it increases contrast but in a way that you can control quite precisely.
Thanks Richard that helps a great deal. I thought I understood contrast, sharpening and the unsharp mask but you've clarified one or two points. Paul
Add a Comment
ePHOTOzine, the web's friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more.
Related Content
Nikon Nation
Are you a Nikon owner? Check out Nikon Nation to find the latest Nikon news, reviews, discussion and photos on ePHOTOzine.
Awards
Current Competitions
Olympus 'Portraiture' Competition - Win £1000 Worth Of Gear!
30th April 2013 - 31st May 2013
This month, to celebrate the launch of Olympus' new micro site Olympus Image Space, Olympus are giving you the chance to win £1000 worth of Olympus gear!...
Featured e2 Photo
May's Photo Month
Check out ePHOTOzine's inspirational photo month calendar! Each day click on a window to unveil new photography tips, treats and techniques.
