Another image for you to try out.

[ggroess]

Lee I'd have to say I like the previous version better just for the feeling I think..I might do a side by side just to see...

Greg

[sjordan93436]

I thought I might try it.  I used CR followed by CM. 

[imported_julie]

Greg

I tried for a while here. I ended up not making a great deal of difference. I did not want to make it too light and I wanted to keep it a bit mysterious and majical looking.
We have rainforest in tasmania and I was reminded of it. Let me know what you think

Julie

[ggroess]

I think what I am going to do for this little image is put all of them together in 1 large file and do some side by side comparisons.  I will have lot's more to say at that point...I am really glad everyone is trying this out.  It gives me many different views of this rather interesting image...

There is a story that goes along with this image...BTW...

On a recent vacation with my family to Western Washington State here in the US. My sons were walking ahead of me and the whole time they were knocking each other around and laughing and generally having a teen aged old good time when suddenly they both stopped and the youngest one just sat down...I called ahead on the trail to them and asked if everything was alright...They both had a hard time giving me an answer...They were looking as you see them and I was fortunate enough to be able to grab 2 quick exposures before they moved.  The answer that was given finally was..."um...Dad, you have to see this..." and at that I walked up to them. 

What we saw was a open glade in the deep woods with golden shafts of sunlight streaming down into the forest floor.  It truly was amazing to see such a sight...needless to say it left both boys speechless...As my oldest said at the time.."Well at least I know what God's front door looks like..."

So..I have been waiting and watching...I have tried various approaches to the image and have never been totally satisfied with the results.  I have to say that some of the images posted are quite well done and I need to compare them all side by side.

I wanted you all to know the method behind the madness for this little image...

Thank you all for your efforts and for your continuing efforts...
Greg

[mikemeister_admin]

Well I had thought it was some animal up in the trees - I guess you are going to have a really difficult time capturing the essence of that moment in an image.
Good luck and thanks for tell us the story behind it

[ggroess]

Again to everyone... thanks for trying this out.  I can see from the side by side work that there are a few ways to go about correcting this image.  I can also see that there is much more to be done besides Color and Contrast to help this image out.

Of the 8 images posted here I would have to say my favorite might be a blend of the #2 and the #8 images.  They are not the same size but I might try anyways. I like the lighting of #2 with the colors and sky recovery of #8.  #8 also appears to have more directional light which makes this I realize these might be mutually exclusive choices and maybe that is the problem for this image. 

Number 1 is pretty straight forward and does a good job of correcting the image problems but the "feel" is not quite right.  This is a purely subjective judgment on my part.

I like # 3 for the dreamy quality.  Chris are there any adjustments in the process that would allow you to brighten the dark center of the image say by 20% or so?  I would be interested in the results of that currently it looks like the center was "Burned" about 20% too much.

For image #4 The darker areas are too blocked up and i lose some of the details that make this image the texture of the tree stump and the details in the darker jacket are important and need to be preserved.

Image #5 has a strong loss of the color green..One of the things we cover in Curvemeister is making the color look good.  We are going to have a lot of experience by the end of the class in getting more and more accurate color into the images.

Image #6 to me is a tad dark.  It has good color and texture but it feels too dark...I feel that # 7 is similar to #6 in that regard.  It looks like the effect was applied to the # 6 image.  I do like the ethereal look to the image and may want to incorporate something like that in the final.  If I can figure out a way to use it to help make the lighting directional it would be very interesting.

Greg

[ggroess]

Here is the blend...I was able to get it to fit....

Greg

[mikemeister_admin]

Sven Nykvist, Bergmann's cinematographer was superb at catching that  light streaming from the side and hitting  dust motes in a golden glow.Of course it's easier if you can spend time setting up the shot.GregM

[ggroess]

I hear you there...Set up the shot and wait for the light....
But I think the "magic" of this is the conversation associated with it to me and the mental image I have never can quite be contained in the pixels...It could be one of those "never quite right" images that I'll struggle with for a very long time...Sigh...

I must say though the blended version is getting closer...I have to get the foreground right so I can work on the trees and the light out in the back third of the image.

Greg

[mikemeister_admin]

Greg, if you want a bit of blur, then it is an action I have called "Misty Blur" you can download from my action pages
http://www.broadhurst-family.co.uk/lefteye/MainPages/actionOverview.htm

It basically just adds an 8pixel (or more) guassian blur in 2 layers with blends of multiply and screen.
It adds depth and warmth to an image.
One can then alter the opacity and mask to get the effect one wants.

The action steps are
Name:  “MistBlur Set”
Play action “CurrentImage” of set “CBsActions” - Creates a new layer, then ALTkey + Layer> Merge Visible
Set current layer
To: layer
Name:  “MistBlur base”
Duplicate current layer
Set current layer
To: layer
Name:  “MistBlurDarken”
Set current layer
To: layer
Mode: multiply
Gaussian Blur
Radius: 8 pixels
Play action “CurrentImage” of set “CBsActions”
Set current layer
To: layer
Name:  “MistBlur Lighten”
Set current layer
To: layer
Mode: screen
Select layer “MistBlurDarken”
Set current layer
To: layer
Opacity: 80%
Select layer “MistBlur Lighten”
Make adjustment layer - one can miss this out
Using: adjustment layer
Type: channel mixer
Output Red: is a mixture of
Red: 110%
Green: -5%
Blue: -5%
Output Green: is a mixture of
Red: -5%
Green: 110%
Blue: -5%
Output Blue: is a mixture of
Red: -5%
Green: -5%
Blue: 110%
Play action “CurrentImage” of set “CBsActions”
Set current layer
To: layer
Name:  “MistBlur sharpen”
Duplicate current layer
Set current layer
To: layer
Mode: soft light
High Pass
Radius: 2 pixels
Merge Layers
Select layer “MistBlur base”

Guess you will never get the atmosphere of this image to reflect the magic of the moment - good luck
Chris