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Archive 2015 · A new approach

  
 
ben egbert
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · A new approach


Instead of attempting to do WB by the numbers, I decided to try it by direct comparison.

This looks like the same scene as before but its actually 5 miles further east. I was up here to try a milky way shot Saturday night, too much light pollution for a MW, but I spent the night and got this sunrise. Actually this is about 15 minutes after sunrise, clouds blocked the first 15 so this is far less red than a true sunrise. More pinkish.

I looked at my LCD for each set of 1/3 stop brackets and compared the image to the actual scene. Using the fine picture style, I saw that the WB was as perfect as my eyes could see. The lightest shot was a tad dark in the shadows, the mid shot was about perfect for the sky and the dark shot was the only one without blinkies.

As it turns out, this is the brightest shot, I was able to eliminate the blinkies with a gradient mask. As I processed the image, I attempted to match the scene to the camera LCD. I left the AWB as is, and worked exposure and shadows to get the final result. I used about half my normal sharpness and clarity and bumped up saturation about 8 in the ACR panel.

I think this is a very honest representation of the scene.

Please feel free to offer any comments. About the scene itself, if it could be pushed more, or less, whatever you want.









Aug 17, 2015 at 09:33 AM
beavens
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · A new approach


Nice render!

I think the lit portions could use a bit of vibrance/contrast. They seem a bit more flat than I'd expect.

Personally, the unlit foreground isn't doing much for me (much more visual interest on the range) so I might look to lose a bit off the bottom as long as it doesn't end up detracting from the shot.

Cheers!

Jeff




Aug 17, 2015 at 11:51 AM
lighthound
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · A new approach


To my eyes this looks very natural and I would say you nailed it as far as WB, colors saturation and sharpness.

I love the sky and foreground but my eyes want to see just a tiny bit more tonal range in the sunlit mountain areas. It almost has a slight washed out appearance.

But! .....
When I view things on my crappy work monitor anything in the middle of the screen gets brighter and towards the top or bottom they look darker. When I scroll your image up so the sunlit mountains are in the top edge, the mountains look very nice and have a nice warm and rich color and I think more tonal details.

So I guess what I'm saying is don't trust my above "washed out" comment because I think it's my monitor. I'll take a look tonight on my good monitor and let you know.

Sorry to hear the MW shoot was a bust thanks to light pollution. I can see why you wanted to use this scene for it. It would have been a great one to use.

Looks like that 5DS R plays very well with your 24-70! Yet another nice combo you have!

Dave



Aug 17, 2015 at 11:51 AM
ben egbert
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · A new approach


beavens wrote:
Nice render!

I think the lit portions could use a bit of vibrance/contrast. They seem a bit more flat than I'd expect.

Personally, the unlit foreground isn't doing much for me (much more visual interest on the range) so I might look to lose a bit off the bottom as long as it doesn't end up detracting from the shot.

Cheers!

Jeff




Thanks Jeff, I already cropped off at least half the bottom. I always shoot a leveled camera and I had to use this focal length to get the width of mountain that I wanted. I also crop 16x9. I could crop closer to 20x10, but I generally don't like such narrow shots.

This scene does not lend itself well to what I intend. If I move down the hill, I end up with the trees obscuring stuff. I might have pulled it off with a 45 TSE lens where I could shift up, but I don't have one of those.

But your comments really help, I need to work for another location. That in itself is fun to do. Not easy, this spot is a 4WD place and no other roads I can find.

Edited on Aug 17, 2015 at 12:47 PM · View previous versions



Aug 17, 2015 at 12:37 PM
ben egbert
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · A new approach


lighthound wrote:
To my eyes this looks very natural and I would say you nailed it as far as WB, colors saturation and sharpness.

I love the sky and foreground but my eyes want to see just a tiny bit more tonal range in the sunlit mountain areas. It almost has a slight washed out appearance.

But! .....
When I view things on my crappy work monitor anything in the middle of the screen gets brighter and towards the top or bottom they look darker. When I scroll your image up so the sunlit mountains are in the top edge, the mountains look very
...Show more


What is missing when you shoot a less than world class place is drama. Putting it back in post processing is what I have been doing for the last several years. The real solution is to go to more dramatic places. But when I do, I want to know how to capture and process it, hence all this practice. I have reservations the last week of September in the Grand Tetons and the first week of November for Zion.

I worked several of my MW shots and for me, the noise and artifacts at ISO6400 kill it. I am pretty sure most MW shots we see posted on the web, which hides these problems are just as bad.










Aug 17, 2015 at 12:42 PM
lighthound
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · A new approach


Noise? What noise? I see a chit load of tack sharp stars and some serious light pollution but I don't see any noise.

Considering how badly that damn light pollution was messing with your shot I'd say that's a pretty damn nice MW Ben. Yeah it's not going to win any awards but for a practice run I think you are on the right track for a single frame capture with no tracker. If it wasn't for that light, your MW would be 1,000 times more vivid than what you're seeing here. Ok, maybe not 1,000 times but you know what I'm saying.

Take the LP out of the equation and add a nice foreground and you have a fantastic starting point for processing. Which from what I understand, A solid MW capture and iconic foreground is important but 75% of making a great image involves post processing.

Did I ever mention how much I hate light pollution. Until I attempted my first MW shot I never knew how badly it can destroy a shot or how difficult it is to find a place here in the east that doesn't have any.

At any rate. From the looks of your MW test run here, I'd say you're about to come home with some killer shots from Zion and the Tetons. Can't wait to see them!

Dave



Aug 17, 2015 at 01:20 PM
ben egbert
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · A new approach


lighthound wrote:
Noise? What noise? I see a chit load of tack sharp stars and some serious light pollution but I don't see any noise.

Considering how badly that damn light pollution was messing with your shot I'd say that's a pretty damn nice MW Ben. Yeah it's not going to win any awards but for a practice run I think you are on the right track for a single frame capture with no tracker. If it wasn't for that light, your MW would be 1,000 times more vivid than what you're seeing here. Ok, maybe not 1,000 times but you
...Show more


Utah has some pretty good areas for clean sky's and the Great Basin NP is supposed to be one of the best and also over 6,000 feet in dry desert air. But downsizing kills noise so you are not seeing the raw as I see it.and I would still need at least ISO3200 even in good sky.

I did my milky way, now I can cross that off my bucket list. Sunrise and sunsets for me in the Tetons and Zion.



Aug 17, 2015 at 01:27 PM
lighthound
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · A new approach


No! You have got to make several thermoses full of coffee and go out early (2 am) and shoot some MW's while you are waiting for that bright star to come up over the horizon.

Ya just gotta do it Ben!

Seriously though. That's why I always need a vacation to recover from my vacations. I always push myself too far and I'm constantly on the go...go... go trying to pack everything in I can in as little time as possible. It's a disease I think.

Dave



Aug 17, 2015 at 01:55 PM
WalterF
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · A new approach


Your original photo looks good on my monitor, very natural. The foreground doesn't bother me, it adds a lead in area to the picture.

Look forward to seeing your vacation photos.

Walt



Aug 17, 2015 at 01:55 PM
ben egbert
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · A new approach


WalterF wrote:
Your original photo looks good on my monitor, very natural. The foreground doesn't bother me, it adds a lead in area to the picture.

Look forward to seeing your vacation photos.

Walt


Thanks Walter, this is the confirmation I need. Us color challenged folks need a procedure other than adjust to taste, and we need to have it validated by people with normal color vision. Its easy to jazz em up later. I have already taken this one up in contrast and saturation, and probably would for a print, but I need a good starting point.




Aug 17, 2015 at 02:23 PM
lighthound
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · A new approach


Hey Ben! Be careful out there. I just saw this video on the accuweather website.
Holy crap! I've never seen such a thing.

http://videowall.accuweather.com/detail/videos/trending-now/video/4426668452001/intense

Utah-hikers-take-cover-during-rainstorm-as-flash-flood-destroys-campsite?


Dave



Aug 18, 2015 at 10:08 AM
ben egbert
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · A new approach


lighthound wrote:
Hey Ben! Be careful out there. I just saw this video on the accuweather website.
Holy crap! I've never seen such a thing.

http://videowall.accuweather.com/detail/videos/trending-now/video/4426668452001/intense

Utah-hikers-take-cover-during-rainstorm-as-flash-flood-destroys-campsite?

Dave


Yep, I grew up with desert flash floods, so I am pretty careful about when I go and where I go.



Aug 18, 2015 at 10:43 AM





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