Any PP suggestions on this one?

jfriend

I took this on Saturday while hiking through the California oak trees. I like it because of the unique composition and it does a decent job of capturing how it felt at the time. There are probably lots of ways one could go with it in post processing. Any ideas from you all? Feel free to play if you want or just tell me it doesn't grab your fancy.

Original is here: http://jfriend.smugmug.com/photos/243009813-O.jpg.

BinaryFx

If there is a raw camera file, I would go about things rather differently than direct in Photoshop (contact me offlist if you would like to see raw versions, that is if you shot raw!).

Or is it only Photoshop edits that you are interested in?

This shot would appear to be about mood, as the human observer most likely would have seen this scene rather differently than the camera recorded it...I would probably process it balancing both more mood and realism!

Stephen Marsh.
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/

pyrtek

It seems that you are happy with the shot as is, but since you are asking
about other people's views, here's what I'd do with it:

jfriend

BinaryFx wrote:

If there is a raw camera file, I would go about things rather differently than direct in Photoshop (contact me offlist if you would like to see raw versions, that is if you shot raw!).

Or is it only Photoshop edits that you are interested in?

This shot would appear to be about mood, as the human observer most likely would have seen this scene rather differently than the camera recorded it...I would probably process it balancing both more mood and realism!

Stephen Marsh.
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/

It was shot RAW. The one I posted is a blend of two RAW exposures to save some highlight details where the people are and the bright sky/leaves of the tree. I don't have an easy way to post the RAW file. What would you do with it if you had the RAW file?

ChrisKraftPhoto

Beautiful shot just as it is. Don't know what you had in mind; here's something really quick, kinda out of a dream:



Dup layer, omni lighting effect, gaussian blur and opacity change.

jjbong

jfriend wrote:

I took this on Saturday while hiking through the California oak trees. I like it because of the unique composition and it does a decent job of capturing how it felt at the time. There are probably lots of ways one could go with it in post processing. Any ideas from you all? Feel free to play if you want or just tell me it doesn't grab your fancy.

There seems to be a blue cast in the shadows. However, when I remove it, the picture isn't as dramatic as your original, and the overall mood changes completely. I guess less is more here.

BinaryFx

jfriend wrote:

It was shot RAW. The one I posted is a blend of two RAW exposures to save some highlight details where the people are and the bright sky/leaves of the tree. I don't have an easy way to post the RAW file. What would you do with it if you had the RAW file?

What can't one do with a raw camera file jfriend? Seriously though, even if currently hyped to the extreme, one does have a lot more creative freedom with the raw file, when it comes to exposure and some other things (then there is HDR...). Not all converters render equally and various ones have different controls and a different final 'feel'.

As to what I would do...that is yet to be decided...I think detail is important and converters vary. Anyway, it is a nice shot, by the way!

It is no big deal if you can't post a raw camera file, although there are various options such as free ftp sites such as yousendit.com

PSDude wrote:

Beautiful shot just as it is. Don't know what you had in mind; here's something really quick, kinda out of a dream:



Dup layer, omni lighting effect, gaussian blur and opacity change.

PSDude, I like your interpretation...I added various anisotropic diffuse filtering blends for a painterly effect. As well as smoothing and softening, Diffuse/Anisotropic filtering often produces "swirly" results in some image content areas, often in photos of natural content (as opposed to man made objects with straight lines). Sometimes it can really help when enlarging some images.


Sincerely,

Stephen Marsh.
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/

ChrisKraftPhoto

I like that Stephen! Looks like it belongs in a Harry Potter book.