Chal 56: ginger

ginger_55 · January 12, 2006

Winter (air) turns to Gold

That is a fact and is a winter happening, less moisture in the air, the sunsets are more vivid, as a rule, here in Charleston. I picked this one up tonight, and I didn't think there was this much color there. It was probably all around me.

I checked the gamut, it was terrible. However, the "preview" thing was fine. I just liked the saturation of colors, so I stuck with it. It was mostly done in LAB, some saturation (15) and a couple of selective colors a bit, plus USM.

Part of the reason things would turn out, or not, I totally forgot the ISO, and I left it for a bright sunny afternoon.

: Well, as you can see here, not exactly, but not high either.

ginger

Exif: f 11, 400 ISO, 400 mm, 1/800, EV -0.33

rutt · January 12, 2006

Very nice, Ginger. If you work in LAB and steepen the curves, you shouldn't be needing any RGB saturation afterwards. The A+B curves can saturate beyond all the way to impossible colors.

Sandy · January 12, 2006

Beautiful shot, I like it the way it is.

Thusie · January 13, 2006

That is very, very nice Ginger

ginger_55 · January 13, 2006

Thank you Thusie, Sandy and Rutt. Thanks for the tip Rutt.

I just woke up and it is foggier than I have seen it in the 25 yrs I have lived in this area, so maybe that had something to do with the color last night.

I don't know what to say caused it now, but it is a winter occurance, the only other time I have gotten that color in my photography was in the winter last year.

I will try to find out the exact "air content", well, as much as I can, from last night. Just have to find out where to get that info.

I love fog, wish I were somewhere.............would love to photograph in it!

It is probably hazardous driving, but I have roads I know like the back of my hand that are not main arteries. But my eyes are still half closed. If they weren't I would probably go to the shrimp docks.

Thanks again for stopping and thanks for the knowledge, Rutt!

(I steepened in both A and B in Lab, plus in L, so maybe I should back off on the saturation here. I had remembered Margulis saying that a bit of other things should/could be done after the LAB. One person, a "layperson" did ask me if I used a filter and commented on the "yellow", so maybe backing off would be a good idea.) That was a real surprise when I saw it on my PC, the initial look in RAW. I mean it was nice there, but I had no idea it was that nice...................and that was before I did anything.

Thanks for the comments, all.

ginger

ginger_55 · January 13, 2006

The "new" version. I took yellow out, every which way, and I set the black point on the girl. I also decreased the total saturation on the yellow, and the whole saturation a bit. Plus........

It doesn't look that much different to me, but maybe it will make the difference between real and fake. There must be somewhere I can find the "air/water" content for last night around 5:30 PM. (humidity, smile)

retro · January 13, 2006

i love the colours, great job, (on my monitor, with my eyes, the first version looks better) and i sure can feel the "air" in this shot

:

Poindexter · January 13, 2006

The second "fix" is an improvement IMO, but I'm not liking the newly sharpened water in the bottom third of the picture - maybe masking that off would help.

Love the photo by the way

- reminds me of the Cape Hatterass Point......without all the fishermen.

ginger_55 · January 13, 2006

I didn't newly sharpen it.

ginger

but it is that way............??? what did you say I should do? I have been back and forth, I can't see a difference. In fact, it is getting to the point, I can't see any differences at all. It probably holds together better with a frame, such as this, but most people don't like framing.

Or the first version framed:

My monitor is weak, too, compared to Rutt's and other people's. In fact just about anyone's monitor is stronger than mine, and mine is turned all the way up.

I hate to leave things hanging, what I start drives me nuts until it is finished. I mean, I might die in a traffic accident before I enter the right photo, then I would lose the Challenge all because I didn't finish NOW.

But I have this doctor's appt and have to let it go until tonight at least. You all take another gander, compare photos, and keep letting me know what you think.

ONE TWO THREE, all you people with good monitors, please bring them down to my level, I can't get mine to your level,

. I wish we could all see the same thing.

ginger

Poindexter · January 13, 2006

ginger_55 wrote:

I didn't newly sharpen it.

Sorry - it looked like you did a little. I definitely like the enhancements on the black points - the second version really stands out!

The water in the background (the wavey water) doesn't seem to have changed all that much, but the enhancement on the black points brought the water in the foreground out more. With your new post (having the two versions almost side by side) the difference is even more apparent, but I now think I'm starting to like the darker foreground water. If you did mask that section off and only do a little bit to balance the color the beach and lady would stick out more - this would make a very slight difference though.

retro · January 13, 2006

Poindexter wrote:

If you did mask that section off and only do a little bit to balance the color the beach and lady would stick out more - this would make a very slight difference though.

agreed, if i compare them side by side i prefer the first one if you mask the forground i probably prefer the second version, doesnt really matter though, the differences are very small and the image is great no matter what.

rutt · January 13, 2006

Crushing the blacks (DavidTO taught me that expression) is a big improvement. I played around a little and couldn't do significantly better than you did. I like what it did to the beach as well as what it did to the figure.

Now just say no to framing this one, Ginger. I know you know that I amost never like frames, but in this particular case I really don't like it. Really Really Really This one frames itself very nicely. That great gold just pops against both the dgrin dark gray background and the optional white background. It's a big picture and it looks bigger unframed. The frame puts in in a box and diminishes it.

vandana · January 13, 2006

It's a great picture ! I think the 2nd modified version certainly has more 'pop' - the black in the girl is 'real' black in the modified and adds to the pic. frames - I personally don't like frames especially in challenge pictures - your photo stands well alone. the frames detracts.. that might just me..

Poindexter · January 13, 2006

rutt wrote:

Crushing the blacks (DavidTO taught me that expression) is a big improvement. I played around a little and couldn't do significantly better than you did. I like what it did to the beach as well as what it did to the figure.

I tried playing with it too, but couldn't replicate the job you did on the beach - my attempts kept coming out either too yellow, green, or red.

My attempts: http://poindexter.smugmug.com/photos/52216020-O.jpg

rutt · January 13, 2006

vandana wrote:

the frames detracts.. that might just me..

No, it's a genuine objective provable fact.

Thusie · January 13, 2006

Just saw the framed ones. I absolutly agree no frame! Pretty please.:):

rutt · January 13, 2006

Poindexter wrote:

I tried playing with it too, but couldn't replicate the job you did on the beach - my attempts kept coming out either too yellow, green, or red.

My attempts: http://poindexter.smugmug.com/photos/52216020-O.jpg

I gave Ginger a little offline advice. Use Image->Adjustments->Selective Color in RGB. Choose Blacks as the color. Then lower the yellow and magenta amounts until a color sampler on the girl reads neutral (equal values in RGB, 0,0 in LAB). Finally increase the black slider to compensate (now the L value of a sampled point should be close to 0.)

This tools often is a good final quick fix for almost perfect images.

Poindexter · January 13, 2006

rutt wrote:

I gave Ginger a little offline advice. Use Image->Adjustments->Selective Color in RGB. Choose Blacks as the color. Then lower the yellow and magenta amounts until a color sampler on the girl reads neutral (equal values in RGB, 0,0 in LAB). Finally increase the black slider to compensate (now the L value of a sampled point should be close to 0.)

This tools often is a good final quick fix for almost perfect images.

I was using the Levels layer and Selective Color with masks. Thanks for the advice though

rutt · January 13, 2006

Poindexter wrote:

I was using the Levels layer and Selective Color with masks. Thanks for the advice though

Maybe you were just making too hard on yourself. I took Ginger's first image, used selective color to reduce yellow and magenta about 15% and increase black about 20% and I got something that looked almost exactly like Ginger's final image. I don't remember the exact numbers, but I just followed the recipe I gave above with the color sampler.

winger · January 13, 2006

Wow I just have to say, that is an incredible shot!

Nee7x7 · January 13, 2006

I'll have to 2nd Winger's statement...your photo is astonishingly beautiful, Ginger! Hope you have a place on your wall for it (and send it out to your local galleries, too...your work deserves to be seen by folks outside of Dgrin, too!) ~Nee

davidryan · January 13, 2006

ginger_55 wrote:

Winter (air) turns to Gold

That is a fact and is a winter happening, less moisture in the air, the sunsets are more vivid, as a rule, here in Charleston. I picked this one up tonight, and I didn't think there was this much color there. It was probably all around me.

I checked the gamut, it was terrible. However, the "preview" thing was fine. I just liked the saturation of colors, so I stuck with it. It was mostly done in LAB, some saturation (15) and a couple of selective colors a bit, plus USM.

Part of the reason things would turn out, or not, I totally forgot the ISO, and I left it for a bright sunny afternoon. : Well, as you can see here, not exactly, but not high either.

ginger

Exif: f 11, 400 ISO, 400 mm, 1/800, EV -0.33

Ginger-- this is prolly one of the best photos (inmy opinion) I've seen from you. You have a great collection going but this one really speaks to me. One of the things I think of when I see the rolling waves is the great ocean "air.' Well done!

vandana · January 13, 2006

rutt wrote:

No, it's a genuine objective provable fact.

?? - And I thought all art was subjective. Expert or consensus opinion yes maybe, but still opinion - not proof ?

Andyman · January 13, 2006

Ginger, if you're going to do a border (which isn't a bad thing! I like them if they're done right) I think your image would benefit from a simpler border. Such as:

or

I really like your photo, by the way

.

rutt · January 13, 2006

vandana wrote:

?? - And I thought all art was subjective. Expert or consensus opinion yes maybe, but still opinion - not proof ?

You missed the invisible smiliey here.

rutt · January 13, 2006

Andyman wrote:

Ginger, if you're going to do a border (which isn't a bad thing! I like them if they're done right) I think your image would benefit from a simpler border. Such as:

Those are better, but this picture needs to be unconstrained. Any border diminishes it. That isn't always true, but in this case without a box drawn around it it grows a lot.

ginger_55 · January 14, 2006

For those who worry, I plan to enter it, did, unframed. I agree, Rutt, it expands somehow................can't capture gold!

For e-mails, I like to frame the shots. And I would like to know how to do the thinner frames for them.

For my blog, they all, every one, for some reason, they look better naked. So I don't frame those.

ginger

Andyman · January 14, 2006

I'm not sure if that was directed at anyone, but if you'd like to know how I made the frames (or thinner ones, etc), just PM me and say so, ginger.

Anson · January 23, 2006

beautiful
Ginger,

Beautiful Color..beautiful setting..
..the only thing that it needs, is to be on a wall, as a LARGE print!

Chal 56: ginger

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