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Re: [OM] PAW Phx - Moose

Subject: Re: [OM] PAW Phx - Moose
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:39:29 -0800
philippe.amard wrote:
> First let me thank you for your help with 'Jesus Blood' the book is now out, 
> and the print is so much better than the dark mess I had made with last 
> year's contribution ... thank you thank you thank you (credits are featured 
> as promised)
>   

That should be obscure to the rest of the list. Glad to have been of 
assistance.

> Le 18 janv. 10 à 12:16, olympus-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx a écrit :
> ...
>> The snow scenes see to me unnecessarily dim, with the top third or so of the 
>> histogram empty.
>>
>> I like 228. Is that a canal boat in the background?
>> <http://www.moosemystic.net/Gallery/Others/Amard/Companionship.htm>
>
> It is - barges - I have shot them in colour, I'll try to find the place they 
> hide on the gallery
>   

The US is not a country of canals. "Barge" conjures up an image of a 
large, often very large, unpowered, wide, flat, and highly utilitarian 
vessel of far less felicitous appearance than those that ply the canals 
of Europe.

> Wow, much better indeed You'll have to teach me how to Moose, I must know the 
> tricks - TIA
>   

This one is pretty straightforward.

- Work in 16 bit. I converted the web image.
- Shadow/Highlight tool. Bring up the shadows just a bit (17,20,23). 
Pull down highlights more (20,50,30). This makes the snow dark, but not 
to worry.
- LCE. (UnSharpMask, 20,15,0)
- Levels. Pull the right arrow down to meet the top of the data.
- I probably also did a very light "S" curve in Curves.
- Just a bit of sharpening after downsizing.

To bring a little winter gloom back for Chuck, I added a version with 
the middle of the Curves line pulled down a bit. 
<http://www.moosemystic.net/Gallery/Others/Amard/Companionship.htm>

>> 233 might look good treated like 228, but the posted version has too visible 
>> halos from sharpening or whatever.
>>     
>
> You're right - it was dark, snowing, and I was cold ... then I screwed the 
> edit probably.
>   

Sharpening, Shadow/Highlight and probably some other tools can do that. 
It's often necessary to create a masked layer of the lighter area to sit 
above the darker area(s). It hides any halos from editing of the darker 
area.

> But they reflect the mood of the day, "quand le ciel lourd et bas sur ma tête 
> pèse comme un couvercle" (Beaudelaire? when the sky, heavy and low, weighs 
> upon my head like a lid ...)
>   

Ah, well, I wasn't there and am not familiar with the "gloom of a 
northern European winter" I like the quote.

>> Goose Flesh is pretty nice as composition, but a bit flat and with bokeh too 
>> busy for my taste.
>> <http://www.moosemystic.net/Gallery/Others/Amard/GooseFlesh.htm>
> this is the photo I wanted to take how do you do that you wizzard !
>   

To blur the background:
- Work in 16 bit. I converted the web image.
- Create a duplicate layer
- Select the foreground
- Delete the selection
- Invert the selection, Ctrl-Shift-I
- Add a layer mask, click the little white circle in gray rectangle at 
bottom of the layers palette.
- Blur the layer to taste. Filter=>Blur=>Gaussian or Lens Blur. They 
work about the same on this image.
- Get the selection again, Select=>Load.
- Create a duplicate layer
- Invert the selection, Ctrl-Shift-I
- Add a layer mask
- Drag this layer to the top.

You now have the statue floating untouched on top of a blurred 
background. The procedure is so convoluted seeming because blurring 
without deleting the area not to be blurred blurs the foreground into 
the background on the blur layer, leaving an odd sort of halo peeking 
out from behind the foreground mask.

I then treated the statue to light LCE and Levels to bring out texture 
and pull the brightest snow up to full white. I may also have done some 
small Curves adjustment. Light sharpening after downsizing.

> thanks so much
>   

Avec plaisir

Moose
-- 
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