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View Full Version : Gunsight Butte, Lake Powell



susanschermer
09-20-2008, 08:46 AM
View of Lake Powell from Alstrom Point near Page, AZ. 5 segments stitched together in Photoshop CS3. I did Lots of work balancing the exposure due to the extreme difference in lighting conditions between the shaded end of the pano and the sunlit end.

Robert Amoruso
09-20-2008, 07:18 PM
Good job on the pano Susan. I know exactly what you mean on balancing the exposure. In instances like this I will make multiple exposures at each position (bracketing) then pick the ones later to blend/stitch in PS. I find that if the tonal range is less extreme PS does a better job.

I feel the image is a bit cramped in the top and bottom and would have liked to see more room there. Also, contrast is very high. In the repost I used a reverse s-curve (go to http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=20434 for more on that). I also selected the highlights with CTRL>ALT>~ key combination. The ~ symbol is Tilde Hold down CRTL>ALT and just hit the ~ key, no shift required.

WIth the highlights selected, do a CTRL-C to copy and CTRL-V to paste a new layer. Change the blending mode to Multiply to darken the highlights and use opacity to reduce it to your liking.

Maxis Gamez
09-21-2008, 12:27 AM
Awesome re-post Robert and excellent scenery Susan.

susanschermer
09-21-2008, 09:42 AM
Wow! What a difference. Loved your lesson in selecting highlights - didn't know that one.
Thanks, Robert.

David Kennedy
09-21-2008, 02:23 PM
Robert's re-post is a good example of how to dramatically tone down highlights. The only word of caution I'd offer is that you work on layers so that you can mask out some of the effects. (I love the distant mountain range in the original posting much more than the re-post, for instance.)

Robert Amoruso
09-22-2008, 08:06 AM
Robert's re-post is a good example of how to dramatically tone down highlights. The only word of caution I'd offer is that you work on layers so that you can mask out some of the effects. (I love the distant mountain range in the original posting much more than the re-post, for instance.)

Good point David. I was concentrating on the FG and the parts in the bright light. For the Multiply affect, it was on a layer that could have a mask applied and the background painted black.

Vincent Grafhorst
09-22-2008, 11:13 AM
What a view Susan! This was surely begging for a pano image! I like Roberts lesson and the principle is good, but agree with David's point. Also I find the colors in the repost looking odd.

Bob Ettinger
09-27-2008, 12:42 PM
What a view and a good pano but Robert really made it come alive.

Michael Pancier
10-01-2008, 01:06 PM
beautiful shot. I'm mad I did not have time to make it there. Did you have Charlie take you there?