Foggy Sailing

[FrankMi]

It is interesting how much one can forget so quickly. I've been on a project away from home for two months now and photography shooting and post processing that came almost second nature I am now trying to recall.

Oh well, I should be back by the end of the month and it won't take too long to get back in the groove.

At any rate, I had a few minutes before I head out to play with an image I captured in the Portsmouth, NH harbor a week ago.

Correction - Although I did take images in the fog at Portsmouth, NH, this image was actually taken in the Portland, Maine Harbor about where the harbor meets Casco Bay. Sorry for those that might have recognized the difference and wondered if I had lost my sense of direction!

Here is the SOOC version...



And here it is after cleaning it up a bit in PP...



Although the second image is clearer, it looses some of the wistful mood the fog brings to the image.

Your thoughts?

[deetheturk]

Hi Frank, nice to see you back posting again! I prefer your edited version even though you do lose a bit of fog, well captured.

David

[John 2]

Second one for me as well Frank. Bringing out those subtle pastels has made for a lovely image of a beautiful schooner.

[Shadowman]

2nd one for me as well.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Frank, it is really nice to see you posting again Second one for me too .

[Geoff F]

For me, Frank, foggy scenes need some sort of reference point otherwise they just look out of focus not foggy. And you have managed that with the second edit.

Possibly, with a layer mask you might be able to keep the foreground as it is now but slightly 'mist' the sails etc. But I'm not complaining about the current image.

[Brownbear]

Hi Frank,

A lovely image. I prefer the water and the mist in the original because I especially adore misty scenes. I do like how you brought out the sail boat in the 2nd image. My personal preference would be to keep the misty water/hint of greenery and sky in the 1st image, the deeper colours in the boat and passengers keeping just a bit more of the mist on the sails. A challenge I'm sure!

Nevertheless a lovely dreamy image with a story!

[Kodiak]

•
Your first shot is mystical and I prefer it!
Good take, Frank.

[ShaneS]

I also prefer the first as I think you lost a lot of the mood in your edit Frank. I wonder if you put a vignette like mask on the boat and selectively raised the black point if that would give the boat a bit more pop without losing the lovely atmosphere?

[IzzieK]

I like #1 as well...Christina's and Shane's suggestions are most valid. I also like that the mist (mystery) is included...tells the story of magical sail coming out of a cloud.

[FootLoose]

While I appreciate your processing skills, Frank, I also prefer the first version. Perhaps you could apply a gradient mask to the edited version to bring back some of the mist and mystique of the first shot?

[FrankMi]

Thank you all so very much for you comments and viewpoints! I didn't have much time to work on this one as I was only home for a day before I had to head back to New Hampshire. I should be able to finish up here in a couple of weeks so I can get back to playing more seriously without being rushed.

I love your comments and constructive suggestions and will try to play with this one a bit more in a few weeks.

For those that like the second image (David, John, John, and Binnur), I really liked how the detail is pulled out that I wasn't sure was there to recover.

For those that like the original (Kodiak and Izzie), it was that scene that made me stop and grab the shot so I can certainly relate to "mist-ery" involved. I have shot a number of fog-misty images and find it so very hard to strike the perfect balance between shrouding the subject in mystery and revealing just enough to make the moment memorable.

For those that prefer a blending of the two (Geoff, Christina, Shane, and Greg) I must admit that although I didn't add a subtle vignette, I did very roughly (owing to very little time to play) blend some of the original back in to the surrounding water, sky, and background.

My feeling is that this one needs a bit more finessefull blending to achieve a more delicate balance between what is reveled and what should be left shrouded.

Thanks again for all the suggestions!

[Stagecoach]

Hi Frank,

I'm going to be really awkward

What I see is a possibility of going up a level and making it more interesting by working it so that the boat is going into the mist, the stern clearer than the fore. I'm wondering if this can be achieved by blending the two using a diagonal gradient.

I'm also wondering if more space to the left is required.

Obviously I have too much time to spare today with an over-active imagination

Grahame

[FrankMi]

Hi Frank,

I'm going to be really awkward

What I see is a possibility of going up a level and making it more interesting by working it so that the boat is going into the mist, the stern clearer than the fore. I'm wondering if this can be achieved by blending the two using a diagonal gradient.

I'm also wondering if more space to the left is required.

Obviously I have too much time to spare today with an over-active imagination

Grahame

Those that are continually asking 'what if' questions are the ones that find the answers. Others simply say 'now why didn't I think of that'!

Your idea is certainly worth exploring Grahame. I am still kicking myself for not leaving more space in front of the boat! If 'push' came to 'shove', I suppose that it would be fairly easy (with the lack of detail in the fog) to extend the space in front of the boat.

[FrankMi]

First of all I want to thank all you that contributed feedback and suggestions for improvements!

Now that I've had some time to think on the suggestions offered, I went back to see if I could improve upon the image. My goal wasn't to make a dramatic difference but rather to incorporate some of the recommendations that were made to subtlety enhance the view. Several changes were made including a softer view, adding some leading space to the left, the sense of sailing into (or in this case, out of) thicker fog, and a touch of vignette. Let's see if this is an improvement and if we should go a bit further.



Any better? Other ideas?

[bnnrcn]

Hi Frank . I don't know if it can be improved any more, it looks great this way

[Dave Humphries]

The third is better for me Frank.

Part of me wonders if you have the ability to easily try alternate (different pattern) mask layers to see if there is a better mist formation, for example, one like this and one as Grahame suggested, with the stern more visible than the bow?

I think you're on the correct track (or tack?), but it might be (slightly) improved by something I cannot describe

[Inkanyezi]

My feel when I see it is that there's something wrong. It is rather dark, with the bulk of the image data in the middle of the histogram. Under conditions where I would see the scene dark as that, I would expect navigation lights, but i discern none.

Fog in daylight always appeared brighter to me, so I would want the bulk of the histogram to the right side of the middle, creating a higher key image, only raising contrast slightly, but accentuating sharpness, perhaps with unsharp mask. I would like it to be foggy still, but less dark.

To me, it brings back memories. I have been sailing a lot, and I can see that the wind conditions do not ask for such a heavy reef of the mainsail of the schooner, but I know they are heavy on the helm, and taking in a couple of reefs in the main is a cure for that.

So I wouldn't want it much more contrasty, only a tad, but sharpness may be improved a bit, taking care not to lose the sense of fogginess.

[FrankMi]

The third is better for me Frank.

Part of me wonders if you have the ability to easily try alternate (different pattern) mask layers to see if there is a better mist formation, for example, one like this and one as Grahame suggested, with the stern more visible than the bow?

I think you're on the correct track (or tack?), but it might be (slightly) improved by something I cannot describe

Actually, my first choice was heading into the fog. However, that meant that most of the distant land was obscured by the fog so you couldn't tell that they were heading into port. It did render a better image of the sailboat as the red coat on the person at the stern and the flag made the scene pop a bit more.

[FrankMi]

My feel when I see it is that there's something wrong. It is rather dark, with the bulk of the image data in the middle of the histogram. Under conditions where I would see the scene dark as that, I would expect navigation lights, but i discern none.

Fog in daylight always appeared brighter to me, so I would want the bulk of the histogram to the right side of the middle, creating a higher key image, only raising contrast slightly, but accentuating sharpness, perhaps with unsharp mask. I would like it to be foggy still, but less dark.

To me, it brings back memories. I have been sailing a lot, and I can see that the wind conditions to not ask for such a heavy reef of the mainsail of the schooner, but I know they are heavy on the helm, and taking in a couple of reefs in the main is a cure for that.

So I wouldn't want it much more contrasty, only a tad, but sharpness may be improved a bit, taking care not to lose the sense of fogginess.

I sincerely value you knowledgeable response, Urban. Given the time of day, about 4PM, it wasn't very bright but may easily have been brighter than depicted here. When I look at the RAW image in ACR with no post processing it does appear to be a bit dark with the histogram bell curve almost dead centered.



I did apply a slight vignette which would have further darkened the corners.

I don't recall there being much wind on the shore that day and we can see the flag at the stern is relatively droopy. The focal length was 360mm FFE.

I could certainly increase the brightness and contrast which would give it a sense of being sharper (more like the second image) but I did apply Unsharp Mask at 100%, 0.3 Radius, and 0 Threshold so that could have likely be tuned a bit more.