Thanks for sharing, Manfred. I do find it helpful to see the before and after.
From what I remember, multi media would need to include smell to get the real feel of the place!
Dave
This must have taken you a while, Manfred. A lot of burning I think.
Cheers Ole
Quite an image!
I wonder whether it would help to add a bit more local contrast and midtone contrast to everything but the sky and background.
Thanks for the suggestion, Dan.
I've been going back and forth on that aspect of the image; there is a very fine line I am trying to hit between the mid-tones where I drive down the darks too much and raise up the lights too much. I thought I had nailed it when I posted early this morning, but when I starting looking at your suggestion some more, I can still get a bit more "presence" out of the shot, especially in the middle ground.
Last edited by Manfred M; 2nd September 2019 at 02:40 PM. Reason: Added refined image
Manfred,
Just comparing the version in the thread and the larger version in the lightbox (lyte box?), I think this might be a case where the ideal amount of contrast and local contrast depends on size. The smaller size obscures detail that is more apparent in the larger size. However, I don't think I have ever dealt with an image like this, so I am shooting a bit in the dark.
Dan
The image size does make a difference. Visually the small images tend to look a touch darker than the large ones.
I've hit the point where I am going to sit on it for a week or so and then run a test print. I start my advanced printing course in a couple of weeks and know that we are going to have to produce around 20 large prints over the duration of the course, so I am looking ahead at which images I am going to work on.
I've started to make my test prints on 13" x 19" Epson Proofing Paper. It runs at around $1/sheet and is a pretty good proxy for printing on any coated paper at a fraction of the paper cost (although the ink cost is still there).
What would be your final image size before printing, Manfred?
I see that your posted image size is 2048x1325px but I don't know what algorithm CiC uses to down-size to the post image. That would affect image quality, would it not?
The plot thickens in my browser because I have FireFox set to 133% which is better for my poor vision. In other words, yet another unknown algorithm up-sizes your image to way bigger than 2048 wide, making it hard to comment as to the detail.
Ted - I always downsize my images to a maximum of 2048 pixels on the long side when posting to ensure a reasonable load time for members that are not running a fast internet connection. I've noticed a number commenting from their phones, so I feel that this is a reasonable compromise. The image itself is 4210 x 2724 pixels and I am looking to print this on A3+ (13" x 19") paper to 11" x 17", which gives me around a 3/4" white border when I mat the print.
I tend to go very easy with the dehaze or any other filter that affects micro-contrast; these filters can give the image a "crunchy" look when printed if applied too liberally. I have already applied a small amount of dehaze in the version I posted, but have not gotten to the output sharpening stage. I've done a bit of in-process sharpening to bring out the mountains and clouds in the background.
Let me post the full sized version here; I still need to do a bit of softening to the sky and background: