Definitely needs some more noise reduction in the fog. Lots of graininess there. I would probably do some selective editing on that part to smooth it out.
fun and difficult image to process. I tried, but I don't think I really made it any better.
did some noise reduction with NIK,
and tonemapped it slightly.
Highpass sharpening,
then some curves to increase midtone contrast
then some curves to adjust the color (greens and blues)
PS, the raw file is for a different yet similar shot: you can tell by the smoke trails, and the reveal of the foreground trees in the original. (not sure if that matters, or...)
PS, the raw file is for a different yet similar shot: you can tell by the smoke trails, and the reveal of the foreground trees in the original. (not sure if that matters, or...)
You are right!! They are very similar and, as you found out, rather difficult to process. I have uploaded the correct one:
//www.micquality.com/cycling/IMG_4574.CR2
Processing was some selective adjustments using Nik Viveza 2, followed by a contrast colour range layer from Colour Efex Pro, some Topaz de Noise and then I cropped a bit to remove the tree that was in the bottom of the frame (it was disturbing me), healed some dust and saved.
ETA. Does it have a slight green colour cast? I was "messing" with my monitor calibration the other day because it seemed a bit dark. It looks fine in Photoshop, but now looks a bit green to me in Firefox. :(
Personally I don't think the original RAW file needs much editing.
I opened it in Adobe Camera Raw, set the White Balance to Cloudy to add a little more warmth, dropped the clarity to -10 and opened it in Photoshop. Slight noise reduction using Topaz DeNoise 5.
In Photoshop I adjusted the black and white points with a levels adjustment which gave it more punch and detail. An increase of vibrance to about + 20 and saturation up to about + 5, then the resize. Not much at all. Season to taste. LOL.
Personally I don't think the original RAW file needs much editing.
I opened it in Adobe Camera Raw, set the White Balance to Cloudy to add a little more warmth, dropped the clarity to -10 and opened it in Photoshop. Slight noise reduction using Topaz DeNoise 5.
In Photoshop I adjusted the black and white points with a levels adjustment which gave it more punch and detail. An increase of vibrance to about + 20 and saturation up to about + 5, then the resize. Not much at all. Season to taste. LOL.
Personally I don't think the original RAW file needs much editing.
I opened it in Adobe Camera Raw, set the White Balance to Cloudy to add a little more warmth, dropped the clarity to -10 and opened it in Photoshop. Slight noise reduction using Topaz DeNoise 5.
In Photoshop I adjusted the black and white points with a levels adjustment which gave it more punch and detail. An increase of vibrance to about + 20 and saturation up to about + 5, then the resize. Not much at all. Season to taste. LOL.
Dave
Nailed It!!!
Agreed. That's about where I got to when I started last night, and anything more I did to it just lessened the impact of it, IMO. Good job!
Margaret, I think yours is spot on. I like nutter's version too but yours is just fine. What are your tips for fog processing?
I wouldn't use my version as a good example. It just got heavily critiqued at 1x. :) To be honest even if I think DCNUTTER's version is the closest to the natural tones it might still be rejected at 1x (I am talking solely of PP, not the subject/composition). But I will give it a try. Thanks everyone!
