Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

[Mike Buckley]

Post processing is a necessary evil for me. So I keep it pretty simple.

Ironically, perhaps a more advanced post-processing tool would make things simpler. As an example, Lightroom 5's clone tool (about the only tool I use in Lightroom) is much more effective than the tool in Lightroom 4 and is especially good at removing electric lines.

[tbob]

https://www.google.ca/search?q=photo...BwQsAQ&dpr=0.9

Some of these images may take me a bit more than a hour to deal with.

[tbob]

If for me I would ignore them, if for photo circles I would take them out ... the discussion reminds me of a shot I took of blackbirds, flock of them, sitting on a pole and wires ... wires were an essential part of the shot I emphasised the starkness with the Threshold tool.

I suspect my problem may be one of perception. Now presence of the lines has become an irritant and I am unable to ignore them. Even if they are not obtrusive.

[tbob]

Trevor I had not read any of the other posts yet but I prefer the first one with the wires because the second one looks naked...or was that the post processing?

Probably post processing; may have cleaned it up a bit much and gone too far in desaturation.

This is the image with the one retained line I could not remove without causing the horrid artifacts Manfred and Mike noted. There is texture in the snow however the image needs to be seen much larger to see it



I tried to enhance the texture with sharpening in NIK (output sharpening/canvas print) and less brightening overall , the result to my eyes is frightful and garish at full size on my monitor. Surprisingly, not when viewed on this site. Just a bit darker.

[tbob]

Ironically, perhaps a more advanced post-processing tool would make things simpler. As an example, Lightroom 5's clone tool (about the only tool I use in Lightroom) is much more effective than the tool in Lightroom 4 and is especially good at removing electric lines.

I would consider Lightroom and perhaps Photoshop. However Aperture plus NIK does 99.9% of what I need. And in my hands might be like using a Ferrari to haul trash. Taken me long enough to get comfortable using the two tools I have. A new interface is too daunting a prospect.

[Mike Buckley]

I would consider Lightroom and perhaps Photoshop. However Aperture plus NIK does 99.9% of what I need. And in my hands might be like using a Ferrari to haul trash. Taken me long enough to get comfortable using the two tools I have. A new interface is too daunting a prospect.

I completely understand, as I have major issues learning how to use new software and I also use one program, Nikon Capture NX2, for 99% of my images. Having Lightroom in my toolkit is well worth it for the few times that I need to do some cloning, almost all of which simply can't be done using my primary software. The tool in Photoshop Elements might be even better, but I have no idea about that.

[Texas Dave]

I prefer the power lines out. For some reason I view utility poles and wires as photographic litter. Even in street photography unless they are actually part of the subject.

I like your second shot better, although I think you are on the line as of going to far with opening up your highlights. The cross trails in the snow are much more subdued now and the high light on the barn looks almost blown.

[mknittle]

I prefer the power lines out. For some reason I view utility poles and wires as photographic litter. Even in street photography unless they are actually part of the subject.

I like your second shot better, although I think you are on the line as of going to far with opening up your highlights. The cross trails in the snow are much more subdued now and the high light on the barn looks almost blown.

In the sun and snow around here the highlights are blown in real life I think it looks better without the power lines also.

[HaseebM]

Maybe sometime in the future, camera technology will be such that 'auto-remove power lines' will be the norm.