Canyonlands needing some processing help

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Camperjim
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p.1 #1 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

The views at Canyonlands are always impressive but more so watching waves of thunderstorms roll across the area. In some cases I was standing above the storms looking down. That was really impressive but those images totally failed. This is a panorama with more distant thunderstorms but it too fails to capture the mood of the day. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Jim

2013 © Camperjim

Canyonlands - Summer Thunderstorm

Dec 16, 2012 at 02:30 PM

ben egbert
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p.1 #2 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

Canyonlands is indeed and impressive place. You have a neat location here, with a nice view of the white rim. Good exposure, but nothing to light up those cliffs. I think it takes some side light to make those babies glow. The sky is neat, and dramatic.

You could try adding some saturation, but I am not sure it would look real. I see you have some sunlight, but it is not red enough.

Dec 16, 2012 at 03:17 PM

Camperjim
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p.1 #3 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

ben egbert wrote:
Canyonlands is indeed and impressive place. You have a neat location here, with a nice view of the white rim. Good exposure, but nothing to light up those cliffs. I think it takes some side light to make those babies glow. The sky is neat, and dramatic.

You could try adding some saturation, but I am not sure it would look real. I see you have some sunlight, but it is not red enough.
Ben, it seems you really want to see the traditional sunset or late afternoon image where the sky turns red, the white rim glows and the canyons darken. The image I posted is a daytime thunderstorm. It is not going to approach what you want to see for the more traditional iconic presentation. I probably have a few of those but my archives are in disorder and being reorganized. This one might be closer to what you want to see, but it also needs some processing work.

2013 © Camperjim

Dec 16, 2012 at 04:42 PM

ben egbert
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p.1 #4 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

It is Jim and I really like it and a shot like this is on my bucket list.

I took a stab at your first one and just upped the red on the face of the cliffs and desaturated the red in the flat areas. I also used Topaz bold sky.

I should add, I started in ACR and got a much brighter starting point using the sliders then got back some contrast when done.

2013 © ben egbert

Dec 16, 2012 at 04:46 PM

Camperjim
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p.1 #5 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

Thanks for the revision. I really can't tell if your version works. To me the colors looks too orange in the foreground and the background grays and blacks have turned to dark blue.

You have the calibrated monitor and I am using a cheap laptop. Also my vision might be more than a bit off. Tomorrow I have cataract surgery on the worst eye. It will be interesting to see the difference. The past two weeks I have been doing a quick first pass trying to process a good representative sampling of my images for the past year. I have run through several hundred potential "keepers". I know some of the processing is not really up to a decent standard but I hope I have not totally wasted my time

Dec 16, 2012 at 05:34 PM

Camperjim
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p.1 #6 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

Ben, I forgot to ask about Topaz sky. I have Topaz simplify and Topaz adjust. Neither has a sky preset filter. What settings are you using?

Dec 16, 2012 at 05:37 PM

ben egbert
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p.1 #7 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

Topaz bold sky settings. I paint it on with a brush, you don't want any of this on land, and I often run NR on the sky before applying it.

My version is too bright, I should not have lightened it so much in ACR. I tried to tone down the foreground reds but it needs more. Making my version darker just makes the foreground redder.

Good luck with the surgery. Vision is one of my most valuable senses and I wish it were better.

The action is in Topaz Detail which I guess you don't have.

http://ben-egbert-photo.com/?page_id=347

Dec 16, 2012 at 05:42 PM

Eyeball
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p.1 #8 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

Here is my attempt, Jim. Obviously, there are many ways to post-process and interpret the image, including trying to reproduce what your mind's eye saw that day (something I can't do). What I tried to do was inject some depth into the image, add some contrast, and vary the colors a bit. I also tried to increase the separation between the canyons and the surrounding plateau. Many of these ideas I picked up from John Paul Caponigro's video tutorials. I heartily recommend his tutorials for anyone interested in post-processing - landscapes, in particular.

I am sure you could do a better job working from the original. Your posted Jpeg has the highlights and shadows close to clipping. I bet there is some good detail there in the original you could pull out.

Love the second image you posted, too.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Dec 16, 2012 at 06:36 PM

Camperjim
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p.1 #9 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

Eyeball, I like the foreground/midground on your version. Now I need to see if I can capture some of the drama in the thunderstorms. The lightning, thunder, wind, and rapid movement of the storm will never be in the image but I still would like to retreive some of the mood. Looks like this capture just may not be good enough for that. I have the same issue with violent thunderstorms in Death Valley. I shot for 3 hours and cannot seem to retrieve anything but a hint of what occurred.

Dec 16, 2012 at 08:29 PM

RustyBug

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p.1 #10 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

Took a stab at it ... always hard to know how to "interpret" a mood someone else might feel. +1 @ working from unprocessed image preference.

I wanted to get to Canyonlands, but couldn't get it worked into my logistics with others last May.

Dec 16, 2012 at 10:39 PM

Camperjim
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p.1 #11 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

Kent, thank you, thank you.

I think you really captured the mood I was trying to communicate. Now that I look at this is seems so right I cannot understand why I had so much difficulty with this one.

Dec 17, 2012 at 04:37 AM

RustyBug

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p.1 #12 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

Jim, you are most very welcome.

I tried to "read your words" (written message) and get a sense of "the (visual) message" that you wanted to send. My take away of the point/ message that you wanted to convey to your viewers was "waves of ... more distant thunderstorms"
This served as my guidance at what direction to take that portion of the scene, differently from the foreground. Thus message first, then S&P to taste.

I'm trying to imagine (as if possible to do so) what it would have been like to be standing there amid all those massive arid carvings ... realizing that they are in part the byproduct of the torrential downpour process that you were seeing in the distance. I'm sure that was "way cool" to experience ... and you captured it quite well, imo ... just a matter of processing it accordingly. Classic "it never comes out of the camera that way".

When it comes to "trophy shots" this is a grand one indeed ... but do you have a wall in your camper that's big enough to hang it on?

As always, S&P to taste ... YUM !!!

Dec 17, 2012 at 02:15 PM

ben egbert
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p.1 #13 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

I thought about this image all night. I even thought that perhaps a large scape like this just cannot be rendered at web size. Texture and detail at full size end up being converted 40-50 pixles to 1.

But I do see attractive scapes on the web and decided that they might need different processing to translate through downsizing. But this example probably works at any size.

Kent has mastered color, light and contrast here. I suppose the real thing is post processing.

By the way, where is this?

Dec 17, 2012 at 03:38 PM

ben egbert
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p.1 #14 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

My attempt to emulate kent's version.

2013 © ben egbert

Dec 17, 2012 at 03:56 PM

Camperjim
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p.1 #15 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

RustyBug wrote:
Jim, you are most very welcome.

... but do you have a wall in your camper that's big enough to hang it on?

As always, S&P to taste ... YUM !!!

No walls in the truck camper. Now that I am apartment bound for a few months, I am trying to process a representative slice of my work from last year. Since I shot almost everyday, all day, the file are pretty massive. I have almost completed a first pass. I handful are picked for a calendar to sent to the relatives. This year I also want to do a blog book. That should be fun but will take some work to get a decent book. I also have lots and lots of pano stitches that I will probably never find a suitable way to display. The ones that are wider than 1:3 aspect are especially difficult. They would need a huge print size and huge wall. Some are pretty spectular. My biggest is brush and forest fires spead out over miles. Unfortunately it covers about 180 degrees with an aspect ratio of about 1:8.

Dec 17, 2012 at 06:22 PM

Camperjim
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p.1 #16 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

Ben, your second version really looks good. I don't remember the exact location. I need to check my files...but I don't have that hard drive running today.

Dec 17, 2012 at 06:24 PM

ben egbert
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p.1 #17 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

I think Dead Horse Point is way to the left and maybe even the overlook at the end of Island in the sky although that is a possibility. It does not seem like Green River Overlook which I have not yet visited. It also looks too far south to be from Shafer Trail area.

Obviously you are above white rim so someplace up on Island in the Sky. I need to spend more time around here. I always rush to a specific place for sunrise than have to get back to Moab to pick up my wife for breakfast. I would like to camp at DH or someplace in IIS

Dec 17, 2012 at 06:35 PM

Camperjim
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p.1 #18 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

I am pretty sure this is from the Green River Overlook. There is a trail that runs across the ridge west of the overlook. I think I shot the pano from that trail which explains why the view does not look identical to the usual overlook scene.

Dec 17, 2012 at 10:46 PM

Greg Campbell
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p.1 #19 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

This is one of those frustrating images. The ones that make you wonder if you're pursuing the right hobby.

I started to Gimp this up with some mild large-radius USM and a touch of blue channel sat boost, but soon realized that, IMO, the image's fundamental 'problem' lies in the composition. To my eye, it lacks a strong subject or theme. A zoom or crop would be a bit more eye catching. I do think that this view would work with better light on the foreground and canyon.

Time to start planning a return vacation to the area!

Dec 27, 2012 at 04:55 PM

Travis Rhoads 4-time assignment winner

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p.1 #20 · Canyonlands needing some processing help

Not to pile on, but I am in the same camp as Greg, and I know the feeling, you get a shot all done in the field then get home and it just isn't working...this one doesn't really convey the mood of the storms, since they are such a small part of the scene, and it doesn't convey the depth or impact of the canyon, since it is from an elevated vantage point. The best storm over canyon images I have seen, are from right on the canyon edge, and are usually single frames, capturing the details of the storm.

Dec 27, 2012 at 05:35 PM

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