From Florence - part 4 - The Haze

[MilT0s]

Here the problems begins. I really wanted to get this frames but the haze was a difficult situation to deal with.

#10 Santa Croce

Canon EOS 60D, 24-105 @ 98mm, f/8 for 1/2000s ISO 200, Exposure bias 0 EV, Metering mode:Center-weighted average

#11 Lightpool

Canon EOS 60D, 24-105 @ 100mm, f/9 for 1/320s ISO 200, Exposure bias +1/3 EV, Metering mode:Center-weighted average

#12 Panoramic View

Canon EOS 60D, 24-105 @ 85m, f/5.6 for 1/640, ISO 100, Exposure bias 0 EV, Metering mode:Center-weighted average


#10 was shot from the very top of the Duomo. I was there pretty early in the morning as soon as the entrance to the dome opened to the public and few tourists were there. Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze is a very important place for me as a physicist since Galileo Galilei is burried there. Niccolò Machiavelli and the opera composer Gioachino Rossini are also burried there so the place is like a city pantheon.
The sun was low and very very bright while the building was hidden behide the haze. The angle of the sun compared to the church was also against me. I knew I could not get a sharp picture so I let the haze be part of game. That's the reason I didn't try to eliminate it in PP but rather make a dull blured view of Santa Croce. I am not sure if this photo has a nice mood and feeling or it is just boring. I would like to hear your thoughs on that and get some advice on what I could have done different (if any) during the shot or now in PP.

#11 was also shot from the top of the Duomo but this time the sun was on my side. Suddently a cloud covered the sun for few moments leaving a small opening for a nice lightpool on the hill. The haze was of course there but some severe sharpening revealed some details. If you look close you can the distortion and artifacts due to sharpening so please don't! The image is to be seen from a distance. Let me know if you think I went too far with the PP in this one.

In #12 the haze was also intense so I had to strive hard in PP to get something more. The bluish color cast was there being part of the moment so I left it there. Few hours later the same scene under the bright autumn sun was much warmer.
What I want to show with this picture is something that really impressed me with Florence, the fact you can admire the spectacular scenery of nature of Tuscan even from within the city. Just by walking 20 minutes you reach the endless olive groves hills Tuscan is fame of.


Once again thank you all for viewing my photos. Hope to hear some precious advice from you!


The whole set can be found in my site

Part 1 - The River
Part 2 - The Duomo
Part 3 - Love Padlocks
Part 5 - Pigeons
Part 6 - Shadows
Part 7 - Abstracts
Part 8 - Black&Whites

.

[Mike Buckley]

The first one may end up being more of a great reminder of a very nice memory, especially considering your personal interest with the people buried there, than a wonderful photo. You might want to try applying an unusually intense S-curve and then converting to black-and-white.

In the last one, you might want to try the unusual approach of cropping to remove the top and bottom, leaving only the middle ground. I like the softness that the haze adds to that part of the image, but I would try removing just a bit more of it.

[Sergio M.]

Nice set of images, Miltos. I like them all. Even #11 with the haze. It has an endearing quality for me. I was wondering if some kind of colored filter would actually enhance the effect. Just a thought.

Thanks for sharing these.

[MilT0s]

Mike, Sergio thank you very much for your comments.

For #10 I tried to remove the haze by increasing the contrast but didn't like the results. I will work Sergio's idea.

[gaijin]

I think it should be Santa Croce and not Santa Croche... (ch in Italian is pronounced k).

[MilT0s]

I think it should be Santa Croce and not Santa Croche... (ch in Italian is pronounced k).

You are absolutely right Allen. Thanks for that. Just corrected it.

[pnodrog]

I find with difficult situations I need to resort to localised burning with shadow set and dodging with highlights set so I can adjust the contrast in parts of the scene and leave the rest alone. With this photo I first adjusted the levels on each channel, increased the saturation a bit and then did some burning and dodging on the church. Usually I do this all to a copied layer and then reduce its opacity until I get the tone changes down until I am happy with the result. I missed the final step out just to make the changes obvious.

I trust you don't mind and I do think it is a great set of photographs.



I see as I did not do any selections or masking I have inadvertently added a faint halo to the church spire - not hard to avoid I was just not wanting to spend to much time on it.

[MilT0s]

Very interesting Paul, thanks for the tips.

The level adjustements on each channel seperately seems like a good idea for special cases like this.

[pnodrog]

The times I tend to try levels adjustments on each channel is for photographs taken through an aircraft window, objects in sea water taken from above and when there is mist or a coloured haze that I am trying to reduce.

Good luck with it.