Desert Brush

[GB1]

Right after sunrise. I like the colors but am not sure whether it's just another desert brush shot?

Fuji Velvia, Mayima 645.

[jbaldocchi]

I think this photograph is beautiful. Who say's the desert has no color?

Jim B.

[GB1]

Thanks Jim. I'm thinking about really working on this one and then printing out a wide version and seeing how it comes out. There's something about the colors and the way the octotillo are jutting out and high there...

GB

[Ronnoco]

Hope you don't mind me trying some adjustments to your photo. What do you think? Better? or Worse? By the way, no PhotoShop this time and no saturation adjustment.

Ronnoco

[starriderrick]

Ronnoco has taken a beauty, made it even better.Sweet capture.
Very captivating.Where was this taken? The Mayima 645. Is a fantastic camera.I think this is what Gary Shaw has been,still is using.
Great "team" effort.
Rick

[GB1]

Hope you don't mind me trying some adjustments to your photo. What do you think? Better? or Worse? By the way, no PhotoShop this time and no saturation adjustment.

Ronnoco

Ronnoco - Better! I esp like the saturation in the sky. The vegitation is also better but wow the colors almost overwhelme. But I think it's superior. If you didn't use PS what app did you use?

GB

[GB1]

Ronnoco has taken a beauty, made it even better.Sweet capture.
Very captivating.Where was this taken? The Mayima 645. Is a fantastic camera.I think this is what Gary Shaw has been,still is using.
Great "team" effort.
Rick

Rick - This was taken out in Anza-Borrego state park in S. Cali, in the southern tip near the railroad tracks. I took it in July but the weather was bearable. I do like that Mamiya 645e, it's simple but effective. I think the lenses are the bigger thing about Mamiyas .. They are all very sharp and have very little distortion. I think that I'll continue to use it till it falls apart.
GB

[Ronnoco]

Ronnoco - Better! I esp like the saturation in the sky. The vegitation is also better but wow the colors almost overwhelme. But I think it's superior. If you didn't use PS what app did you use?

GB

I used filters from Nik FX as plug-ins to Corel Paint Shop Pro X. The sky effect is with a graduated blue filter. I controlled the transparency, so that it would not affect the vegetation. I like the speed that is possible with Paint Shop Pro X in terms of the procedures to get what you want, which in turn speeds up post-processing. A smart enhancement feature gives you some controls as well as allowing you to make multiple adjustments with fewer pull-down menus and fewer clicks.

As one who reads a lot too, I have also been making use of the Pro suggestions in "Colour Correction For Digital Photographers Only" Quite detailed, informative, and extensive, the emphasis is on getting rich, perfect colour out of your images. What you don't realize until you read the book is that almost all photos need colour correction to reduce the difference between what colours and details you see with your eyes and what colours end up in the photo.

Ronnoco

[Ronnoco]

Oops! Sabotaged by the duplication bug!

[photophorous]

Hi GB,

This is a great shot, and I like what Ronnoco did to it. The only thing I can think to critique, and this is a stretch, is that the horizon is in the middle of the shot. It looks great as is, but I would like to see the same scene from a slightly different perspective...a little more foreground with the horizon placed slightly higher. I'm not really sure it would be better though.

I'm planning a trip to Big Bend NP in December, and I'll probably try some Velvia in my Yashica TLR. I hope I can come away with something half this nice.

Paul

[Anbesol]

i think i would like something between the original and ronnocos...

[livin4lax09]

i'd like a brightened up version of ronnocos. the sky is fine, but the foreground is too dark.

my take:

new levels adjustment layer, slid levels a bit left, gradient straight halfway down the photo with black at top, fading to white, then flattened the image and boosted contrast a bit (+5 or so)

[GB1]

Thanks Ronnoco, Paul, Anbesol, and livin4lax09. I think the adjustments are better than the original, but I'm not sure about all the color in the forground.. they just seems a bit 'enhanced' to me, more so than is normal with what you see out there, even at sunrise or sunset (but that does depend on that day's light). I'll play with it some more, though I need to get a little better w/ PS (I mostly use Corel software). Ronocco, I heard Corel bought PSP and might replace the guts of their PhotoPaint program with it. I guess we'll see.

GB

[Ronnoco]

Ronocco, I heard Corel bought PSP and might replace the guts of their PhotoPaint program with it. I guess we'll see.

GB

Corel bought PSP a while ago, but Corel Paint Shop Pro X is very "PhotoShop-like" but with some differences in style and location for certain features. I would say that it is better than PhotoShop Elements, but I still use PhotoShop too.

The more "tools" you have camera, equipment, and software-wise, the more flexibility you have to get the photo job done, quickly and efficiently.

Ronnoco

[McMadCow]

I like the two adjustments as well. The first thing I thought when I saw this image was, "great shot, but I wish GB would have waited a few more minutes for the sun to get a smidge higher." The new versions clear that right up. Nice shot!