Ship alongside the dock

[Rufus]

Where there is an object that is difficult to select with say the lasso or selections tools, i find this method works. Create an adjustment layer (curves; levels etc.). Then invert the mask so it is black instead of white. Select the mask and using a white brush paint on your object (ship) so that only the object will be affected by the settings in the adjustment layer. It often helps to make an extreme adjustment initially so you can clearly see where you have painted on the mask. Increase/decrease the size of your brush using the [ ] keys. Then after set the adjustments to how you want them.

I had used a mixture of selection tools attempting to keep the marching ants under control and then used select and mask. I was thinking there must be a way of painting over the desired area with more control.

Thank you for explaining so clearly how this can be done. I shall be keeping it on my desk until it becomes second nature.

Are you using the new feature in PS..... Use lasso to select your area. Edit/Content Aware Fill. Then paint out the green area so the algorithm will only sample from where you choose.

I used Edit/Fill and selected Content Aware. An alternative occurred to me and I have just tested that method again selecting a narrower band of the extended canvas, one third instead of the whole of it. PS filled in the narrow band very well. Repeating on two more bands seems to work well.

However, I have also just tried the new Edit/Content Aware Fill that you describe and it offers much better control and predictability so I shall definitely use that in future.

Thank you, Peter.

[Manfred M]

Stepping away and mulling things over is an excellent way of clearing one's head and getting on with the PP work. I find that sometimes just a few minutes is enough for me to figure things out, but "sleeping on it overnight" and even putting the work on hold for a considerable period (days, weeks months and in some cases years) seems to work as well.

All that being said, your two most recent edits are definitely an improvement over the original image that you posted. The little bit of extra water you left in along the bottom helps the overall look. Both the colour and original B&W are quite good and suspect I understand why you might prefer the B&W version.

I'd like to see the area at where the dock and water meet as well as the bow of the ship lightened a bit (i.e. dodging) just to add a bit more separation to that part of the image from the dock cranes.

[Rufus]

...I'd like to see the area at where the dock and water meet as well as the bow of the ship lightened a bit (i.e. dodging) just to add a bit more separation to that part of the image from the dock cranes.

If I were to go down this route, I would not want to lighten the straight horizonal steels at the base of the cranes as they are a part of the cranes. Lightening the dockside and bow of the ship is beneficial but does not help to visually separate those two items, which I feel is perhaps more important than isolating the cranes from the dockside. There is an argument to say that, as the cranes are the subject, they need to be well defined at the base. But the dockside is clutterred and you cannot actually see the wheels etc. The horizontal steels are as far down the cranes as you can see. Nevertheless, here is my latest attempt with the dockside lightened and the water extended using Edit/Content Aware Fill.



Despite my first impressions, the water does not bear close scrutiny! I might try a gentle Gaussian Blur to make it less obvious but I don't want o end up with "smooth and dreamy" water.

Another problematic aspect of the image (not mentioned it here previously and which the colour version suffers from less) is the coincidental alignment of the top of the edge of the dock with the change in paint colour of the hull of the ship. I became aware of this after doing the original B&W conversion.