Walk in the Park

[Milehighguy]

After yesterday's snow fall we took a walk in a nearby state park in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains just south of Denver, Colorado, USA.

[DavidM]

Spectacular country!
I particularly like 1 and 4.

[Milehighguy]

David, thanks. I just concluded putting some things on. I appreciate your kind words. I have eight of the photos in my album of the same name. Look forward to viewing your work. Best regards ... happy clicking.

[Hasselbox]

I like number 4. Fine lines in the snow.
There is some blur in the trees. Where is that of? The wind?

[Milehighguy]

Peter, thanks for the look and response. To your question ... after an examination of the blowup of the online picture, my read is that the camera focused on the rock wall several yards behind the brush which was much nearer to the camera. Therefore the blur may be caused by the focal distance. The camera used was an Olympus Stylus 720SW; a water proof, shock proof little P&S tank ... but with little focal control or depth of field.

[Andreaau]

Is that the Garden of the Gods?

[Milehighguy]

Hi Andrea. No, that's Roxborough State Park which is about 6 miles straight south of I-470 in the Denver metro area at its farthest Southwest bend as it comes to the foothills. Take CO 121 south from I-470. Its right between Chatfield State Park and Pike National Forest. Looks a lot similar. I took the shot in late afternoon, when the sun was going over the mountains. The best pictures I've seen of the place are taken in the very early morning just as the sun starts to break onto the crests of the red rocks.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Roger,

Welcome to the CiC forums from me, this is a good series.

To your question ... after an examination of the blowup of the online picture, my read is that the camera focused on the rock wall several yards behind the brush which was much nearer to the camera. Therefore the blur may be caused by the focal distance. The camera used was an Olympus Stylus 720SW; a water proof, shock proof little P&S tank ... but with little focal control or depth of field.

Personally, I doubt it was DoF - to be honest, I think there might have been a smudge on the lens when this and #3 were taken.

I base this on the fact that areas either side, at same distance, containing branch detail plus that such a 'small sensor' camera at a wide angle will have an enormous DoF.

I think these would look a lot better if presented;
a) at a height of no more than 1000px (so it fits most screens without the browser downsizing it)
b) downsized to achieve a) and/or get the width below 1600px (because that means TinyPic won't downsize it
c) if you are in control of downsizing, you can then (and should) sharpen them before posting
d) a little Local Contrast Enhancement (LCE) usuallly helps, even in the exceptionally clear atmosphere at these altitudes

Original:


Reworked:


Downsized to 1000px height
Sharpened with USM at 120%, 0.3px 0 threshold
LCE with USM at 15%, 150px 0 threshold

F11 to full frame the browser, then switch between them in the Lytebox to see the full benefit.

If done from RAW, this technique is even better, but I don't think the Oly can shoot RAW.

Hope that helps,

[Milehighguy]

Dave ... Thanks for all the time, work and thought you provided with your advice. I'm going to spend some time with these ideas and work through your suggestions to reallly understand it all in practice. Additionally I've a new camera since then, which does shoot RAW. I opted for a compact camera for active travel and hiking. It's a Fujifilm X10 which gives me a lot of capability and flexibilty. Here's one of my first shots with it.

[Dave Humphries]

Dave ... Thanks for all the time, work and thought you provided with your advice. I'm going to spend some time with these ideas and work through your suggestions to reallly understand it all in practice. Additionally I've a new camera since then, which does shoot RAW. I opted for a compact camera for active travel and hiking. It's a Fujifilm X10 which gives me a lot of capability and flexibilty. Here's one of my first shots with it.

Hi Roger,

No worries and glad to hear of the new camera.

Yes, I (fairly recently) bought a compact - the Canon S100 for travel/everyday shooting and I'm struggling to learn it and get used to much less lens range.

Look forward to more pictures, I'd love to be 'up there' photographing views like yours but unfitness, age and dislike of cold mitigate against. (you may call me lazy)

I love that kind of dog, we had a Shih Tzu, not sure if yours is same breed, but I just love the compact, sturdy body and fur.

Cheers,