First Post

ebwest

Just trying to see if I have this linking down pat. I had already copied the url for this shot before I saw John Mueller's, kinda pales in comparison.

Shot with the Digital Rebel and a Tokina 12-24mm.

ShannonW

Nice composition I just would like to see better light hitting those rocks.

ebwest

Thanks, the rocks were a problem, very cloudy day though and I couldn't get back again for the sun a few days later.

lynnma

ebwest wrote:

Thanks, the rocks were a problem, very cloudy day though and I couldn't get back again for the sun a few days later.

Hi ebwest welcome to dgrin. If you have post processing software.. photoshop or such you could boost the saturation or try curveing it a tad. Even boosting the contrast a little may give you the look you want.
Nice tones and composition tho.

GREAPER

I think the shot has some potential, but it looks a little flat to me.

I opened it up ad made a levels adjustment, moving the white slider to the left , as is the original there are no white pixels.

I added +6 contrast and added saturation +25.

I hope you dont mind, but I thought I would post what it looked like after.

If you prefer I remove it, let me know and I will.

ebwest

I don't mind at all, that's what I wanted. I'll have to go back a review several others now, I thought I had boosted things as much as I could but, after seeing the improvement, it's back to the drawing board.

Thanks

Dixie

Hi E.B., I took liberties with your photo as well. Will remove if you prefer.

Workflow:

1. Saturation +25
2. nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 Filter - Brilliance/Warmth applied
3. nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 Filter - Lighten/Darken Center applied
4. Slight sharpening

Dixie

Additional, processing notes. I stayed away from adjusting the contrast because the highlights in the flowing water are on the edge. Much more contrast would have blown the detail in the water. If I was processing this particular image for show (the one I attached) I would have probably reduced the yellow saturation slightly.

You shot this under the conditions I prefer without the sunlight in overcast conditions. I do most of my deep woods photography in the early morning before the sun comes up but after there is enough light to shoot on a tripod even if I have to go several seconds or longer. The same for late evening after the sun has set, but there's still a little light left. Since I shoot on a tripod, I also normally go for long exposures of 1 second or longer with f/16 or higher for DOF. Those are the pros. The con is that with an f-stop of f/16 or higher you really have to keep your sensor clean (if shooting with a DSLR) or you can really bring out the dust bunnies. Luckily in forested areas the dust bunnies tend to hide well.

When shooting the long exposures remember to enable mirror lockup if that is an option on the Digital Rebel along with a remote. If you don't have a remote the self-timer will function just about as well with mirror lockup enabled. The mirror will lock up when you press the shutter release and then the shutter will open when the timer has ran down.

Hope this helps.

ebwest

Lots of good advice, thanks everyone.

Especially Dixie, I used your example as a reason to get the nik package, being an amatuer, I think I'll stick to the standard pack, I can't imagine needing all the others that are available.

Once again, thanks for the input.

The Rebel dosen't have a mirror lockup, but I do have the able release for it.

Awais Yaqub

weldone and welcome i love your picture motion of water is cool