Dipping my toes into the world of digital photography (C-5050z)

[wb416]

I see the effects of the changes, but what was the goal when you did so.

Ed... the grayscale works wonders on the wreck, but did little for the fish. Was the goal of your edit a better wreck silhouette?

Grajan... obviously that enhances the richness of certain colors, but now some areas that were once brighter and detailed, become dark shapes. Is that a trade-off?

Hopefully I'm conveying that I'm trying to understand the "why" behind the change you applied so I have a better idea of where and when to use it.

tx, Bob

Doppler, the raw image is on the site now. (850k)
deepdock

 

[Grajan]

You mean like this?

(bit of a rough job)

Bob,
got to go out now - will respond later.

 

[Dee]

Looks like you've been diving with us in Twin Lakes...'cept our boats are fiberglass! I think your photos look fine as they are because that's what it looks like and I like lakes!

But you can see what a little tweaking can do. And you don't need to spend alot more money. Photoshop Elements run $99 retail but you can find it in several places with rebates. I ended up paying about $39 for mine after rebates. While the full blown $700 Photoshop program has some cool stuff in it, you don't need all that for digital photos. Some simple adjusting of Auto levels or brightness/contrast, cropping, cloning out some backscatter, sharpening....can all make vast improvements without changing the integrity of the original.

 

[blacknet]

Hello,

OK you can do some of the dodge/burn action on the fish with layers and get this.

 

[wb416]

blacknet once bubbled...
Hello,

OK you can do some of the dodge/burn action on the fish with layers and get this.
[snip]

Can you go into quasi-detail of how you did that without ruining the grayscale effect on the rest of the wreck?

I like the effect grayscale seems to have when color is just a distraction.

 

[blacknet]

Hello,

Well for starters I changed the mode to b/w. I manually adjusted the levels and set the black point and white point, noticed that on the black end it was cut off and the white end faded.

For the fish I created a copy layer then used the erase tool and erased everything but the fish. I then adjusted the levels on the fish and merged both layers. I also used the unsharpen mask to make the image have that crisp look to it.

I do not recomend use of any 'auto' features with any image software, they tend to loose critical image data for starters.

Keep in mind that when your in water you have one HUGE filter in front of the camera, in your case it's green. In limited visibility you will find that black/white photography is better suited than color.

Ed

 

[wb416]

Grajan once bubbled...
You mean like this?

(bit of a rough job)

Bob,
got to go out now - will respond later.

Duuuuude... you sawed off the branch! You're not allowed to do that! I'm tellin'

 

[Grajan]

........

 

[Big O]

Didn't know you were getting a new camera. I dont know if I had told you but I bought a 5050 a few months ago, and just got it underwater for the first time on my Keys Trip!

My pics are under wreckmania photos in the underwater photography section here.

Kind of curious Bob as to why you purchased a wal before a strobe?

I have Thursday off, care to break water? Weather looks nice.

D

 

[wb416]

Big O once bubbled...
Didn't know you were getting a new camera. I dont know if I had told you but I bought a 5050 a few months ago, and just got it underwater for the first time on my Keys Trip!

My pics are under wreckmania photos in the underwater photography section here.

Kind of curious Bob as to why you purchased a wal before a strobe?

I have Thursday off, care to break water? Weather looks nice.

D

I've seen the UWL used advantageously during "skill" reviews and critiques (both pool & open water).... without one, getting the right shot and position gets difficult with people moving around... you can be right on top of someone and still get a good shot of what you're looking for... these kinds of shots are my primary reason for the component selection.... my secondary reason for the camera is to develop my skills as a photographer and start capturing some of the wrecks and reefs I'm seeing, hence the higher quality digital camera.

my wife get's back from Mexico Thursday, so I should probably stick around the house, otherwise I'd love to...