Congratulations to Matt Anderson for winning Feature Thread of the Week with 7 votes - View Previous Winners
Along the River Etive near Dalness, Scotalnd, UK is this deceased Caledonian Pine ( Scots pine - Pinus sylvestris ) with Glencoe Mountain’s hillside in the distance.
Image Processing Notes:
Black and White conversions can be painlessly simple to infinitely complex. In my experience, to achieve my vision of "the final look", the process is never simple. Throughout the years, I've processed BW images with just about every technique available. For this particular conversion, the detail, similar tones, and file size were all prohibitive to an easy process. I've used techniques which isolate each of the R-G-B channels. I've also explored techniques that involve complicated channel calculations with multiple conversions, image layering, custom masking, 3rd party filters, and blending parameters. For this image in particular, I proceeded with the most basic of masking techniques, which, involved over 8 hours of meticulous pen tool work. If your not familiar, the pen tools is the most primitive of masking. Yet, the most utilized tool for masking in the content production, prepress, and premedia industries. Virtually all product in marketing gets a "clipping path" or path-mask made at some point in the post processing process. From those pen tool selections, custom alpha masks are made using techniques of blurring, brushing, etc, to match the edges necessary to isolate product that may not have a hard edge. ( DOF fall off, hair, etc..) All of this masking use to be done here in the US. But now it's all done off shore for pennies on the dollar. We use to run a 3rd shift of ten employees to do pen tool clipping paths all night long. 10 people, $25 hour. Now it's sent over seas for $1-3 per file.
So I painstakingly isolated the tree with the path tool from a VERY high resolution image. From there I made a selection of the background and a selection of the tree. Using smart objects and curves, I did separate conversions of each element. Precision is key. This file may be printed in excess of 40" x 60" depending on success with fine art clients.
10 36-MegaPixel shots stitched together
Taken at 220mm f/8 1/8 Second ISO 100
Final Image
Close up of the pen tool mask created for the custom BW conversion
1. Your final image is excellent.
2. I'm impressed by your vision to see that coming together from the original image.
3. Thanks for sharing how you did it, that's pretty cool and gives me an even higher appreciation for the final image. I work in print design and know how much effort can go into a good masked image.
Holy crap - now THIS is the kind of stuff you want to see on this forum. Not only a great image - but one with the details, process, thought, concept, etc. that goes into it. Thank you for presenting the image this way - I for one, greatly appreciate it!
Todd
Interesting read. I agree with others when I say it's very nice to see not only the technical details but your thoughts on them too. Topped off nicely with a great image
This is excellent Matt. One is never too told to learn and appreciate something new everyday. Thanks for the added information. It makes the image all that more special.
I do see the tree in this forest! Nice vision, isolation and execution!
A common theme I see among great pics (or maybe better put photographers), be it natural or artistic landscapes, is the attention that is given to detail. You are definitely in that camp!
Nice imaging, Matt. It's all about an accurate mask. I see there are some places where the tree may have been difficult to separate from the background. Good work.
I appreciate the final result. It looks really good.
But, nature does this for us. You find a tree in direct light with, with the background entirely in shadow, there is little masking required. Or the tree can be in shadow silhouetted against a lighter background. Look at images of Deadvlei in Namibia for some good examples.
The reason that this is such a complex edit is because you're taking a flat image and trying to sell separation of elements, when there wasn't really much separation to begin with.
Nice image and thanks for going into detail about your technique.
MajeedB wrote:
I appreciate the final result. It looks really good.
But, nature does this for us. You find a tree in direct light with, with the background entirely in shadow, there is little masking required. Or the tree can be in shadow silhouetted against a lighter background. Look at images of Deadvlei in Namibia for some good examples.
The reason that this is such a complex edit is because you're taking a flat image and trying to sell separation of elements, when there wasn't really much separation to begin with.
Nice image and thanks for going into detail about your technique....Show more →
Very true indeed, but I'd argue that "tree can be in shadow silhouetted against a lighter background" could cause hours, days, and weeks of waiting given the gloomy and stormy month of December in Scotland.
And still, given the similar tones in the surrounding hillside heather and the tree's off white heartwood, the separation would still be a very difficult task to create tonal separation. Besides, who doesn't love hours of finesse pen tool work ?
I saw the thumbnail on the main page and said, hey, looks like matt's work. At least youre predictable Crazy mask for sure and solid result. And yes. 40x60 would be the native size for this at least...you could print it the side of a building haha
