Norcross Pond Photo

[ghassert]

This photo of Norcross Pond was one of the first that I took after purchasing my Canon Digital XT. I had no idea of what I was doing at the time and I think it was pretty good for a first photo. Any comments on how I could have improved upon it, I basically just did the old point and shoot and think I got a little lucky. It was shot with a kit lens (Tamron 28-80 F3.5 - 5.6) at 1/400s f/5.6 at 28.0mm iso100 with a polarizer filter at mid-day.


Thanks,

Glenn

 

[Mark Schaefer]

I like this photo. The sky is interesting, so it is OK that it occupies so much of the picture. Being such a bright day the sky and its reflection are well balanced, without the need of a graduated ND filter - though that is not always true. The bit of shore in the foreground also adds depth to the photo.

There are some areas of foliage, especially on the right that went black. That is common on a sunny day. You kept that small in the photo which was good.

The shorelines lead the eye to the mountains on the horizon. The mountains are relatively small in the photo. Perhaps the photo could use a more interesting subject that could better hold our attention. For example something on the pond. Some ducks or other water fowl, a canoe or kayak, or perhaps a beaver lodge. They would need to be nearby so that they would be large in the picture.

It is still a very pleasant and pleasing photo that is a record of a beautiful day.

 

[Rob S]

There are some areas of foliage, especially on the right that went black. That is common on a sunny day. You kept that small in the photo which was good.

My photos often have that problem too. Using the manual controls, what is the best way to avoid that?

Very nice shot, Glenn.

 

[DougPaul]

There are some areas of foliage, especially on the right that went black. That is common on a sunny day. You kept that small in the photo which was good.

My photos often have that problem too. Using the manual controls, what is the best way to avoid that?

You can play with the greyscale (or gamma), either in a region or for the entire picture in postprocessing.

If this were my pic, I probably would have done so to brighten it up a bit.

Doug

 

[Rob S]

You can play with the greyscale (or gamma), either in a region or for the entire picture in postprocessing.

Doug, I have actually done that quite a bit, but I was hoping for a solution while shooting. The problem I find with adjusting the gamma (or other options) is that it is difficult to fix only a small area without making other objects too bright (for example). You are right, tho, it does work well if you go easy with the adjustment AND if you only need to tweak the levels a bit.

I was wondering if leaving the shutter open for perhaps 0.5 second would improve the lighting??? Or forcing the ISO lower?

 

[DougPaul]

Doug, I have actually done that quite a bit, but I was hoping for a solution while shooting. The problem I find with adjusting the gamma (or other options) is that it is difficult to fix only a small area without making other objects too bright (for example). You are right, tho, it does work well if you go easy with the adjustment AND if you only need to tweak the levels a bit.

Some software allows you to define regions and alter the greyscale independently in each region.

I was wondering if leaving the shutter open for perhaps 0.5 second would improve the lighting??? Or forcing the ISO lower?

Shouldn't make any difference if the sensor is linear.

In film there is an effect called reciprocity failure--at very low light levels, the film is effectively slower. (IIRC, it has something to do with a reduced probability of two or more photons striking a film emulsion grain simultaneously.) I don't think this is an issue for digital sensors. (Besides, you are asking for the film speed to increase at lower light levels.)

So other than playing with custom (ie made to match the scene) GND filters or ND masks, I don't know of anything that you could do while shooting.

Doug

 

[Rob S]

Doug, thanks for the info. Very helpful.

 

[Tim Seaver]

Great "landscape clouds" for this type of scene. The one "rule" that is broken is the horizon being centered, but the shrubbery in the lower right helps reduce that effect somewhat.

I hope you don't mind me tweaking your shot a bit: This is your image after adjusting the Levels and using the Highlight/Shadows image adjustment in Photoshop CS:

The downside is - you need Photoshop CS ( not for levels, but the Shadow/Highlight tool is new to CS.) These types of image adjustment software features will hopefully becoming cheaper or free in the near future - even Google's Picasa Freeware has a rudimentary highlight/shadow adjustment now. If anyone knows of other inexpensive software with these features, please pipe in!

 

[DougPaul]

I hope you don't mind me tweaking your shot a bit: This is your image after adjusting the Levels and using the Highlight/Shadows image adjustment in Photoshop CS:

That fits what I was imagining when I suggested brightening it up a bit. The orginal has a dark brooding feel to me, this feels more like a sunny day.

Doug

 

[Brambor]

Nice picture. Works for me.

 

[skiguy]

I hope you don't mind me tweaking your shot a bit: This is your image after adjusting the Levels and using the Highlight/Shadows image adjustment in Photoshop CS:

Nice job Tim tweaking this Photo. I was hoping for everyones benifit that you might be able to give an explanation of adjusting Levels. I do know that Saturation becomes an issue also once you have adjusted Levels.
The new Highlight/Shadows image adjustment in CS is an incredible tool. After adjusting Levels, I have usually gone to the Magic Wand Tool to individually select the areas to make adjustments(Highlights,Shadows,Brightness...etc.) to the areas that needed it before this tool was available.
IMO understanding LEVELS is the key here with this Photo.

 

[ghassert]

Elements 4.0 has Shadow/Highlight option?

I hope you don't mind me tweaking your shot a bit: This is your image after adjusting the Levels and using the Highlight/Shadows image adjustment in Photoshop CS:


The downside is - you need Photoshop CS ( not for levels, but the Shadow/Highlight tool is new to CS.) These types of image adjustment software features will hopefully becoming cheaper or free in the near future - even Google's Picasa Freeware has a rudimentary highlight/shadow adjustment now. If anyone knows of other inexpensive software with these features, please pipe in!

Thanks Tim,

I love what you did with the photo and appreciate the hint about the Highlight/Shadow option.

It looks like Elements 4.0 has a Shadow/Highlight option. It is under the Enhance...Adjust Lighting menu. I just selected it with the defaults, so it looks a little bright, but it looks like a great tool.

Glenn

 

[nartreb]

The latest ones look a little over-brightened to me (could be my monitor, it usually shows things brighter than my prints). You could be a lot more selective by using a contrast mask:

 

[ghassert]

The latest ones look a little over-brightened to me (could be my monitor, it usually shows things brighter than my prints). You could be a lot more selective by using a contrast mask:

Thanks Nartreb, I know it is over-brightened. I was just testing the Highlight/Shadow feature of Photoshop Elements 4.0 using the defaults.

Great tip on the contrast mask though, I'll have to experiment.

What an awesome forum, I'm learning something every day. A big thanks to everyone who has contributed so far...keep it coming.

Glenn

 

[forestgnome]

Nice image and a great thread. The PS effects are awesome, time to take a class on PS!

Glenn, when did you take this shot? It might be nice to take a similar picture when the bog laurel in the foreground is in bloom, in May IIRC.

Nice work!

 

[ghassert]

Nice image and a great thread. The PS effects are awesome, time to take a class on PS!

Glenn, when did you take this shot? It might be nice to take a similar picture when the bog laurel in the foreground is in bloom, in May IIRC.

Nice work!

I took this shot during the big heat wave in July, it was about 90 degrees with about 100% humidity that day. This is such an awesome spot. I would love to be able to get there in either the spring or fall.

Thanks for the compliment.

Glenn

 

[ghassert]

Testing...

I've been testing different photos while using the Shadows/Highlights option of PS Elements and it is an amazing tool.

Wow, thanks to Tim for the tip.

 

[skiguy]

I've been testing different photos while using the Shadows/Highlights option of PS Elements and it is an amazing tool.

Wow, thanks to Tim for the tip.

Thanks again Tim for your good points. A good understanding of LEVELS is critical with Digital Shots and usually performed before any other adjustments are made. Levels also can cause some desaturate to Digital Shots so learn how to use that too. Here are a couple of Links.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/levels.htm

http://www.twistedtreephoto.com/Photoshop tutorial/Photoshop tutorial1.html