Bergen: another edit and the original

[DanK]

I've been working more on the Bergen rooftops image I posted a few days ago.

I thought it would be interesting to post the current version with the original below it. This was taken with my little Lumix LX-100 (all I had with me in Norway) on a drab day.

Some initial processing in LR, a lot of local adjustments in PS, a few using luminosity masks, and Nik Color Efex Pro Tonal Contrast. Sharpened with a high pass filter to avoid exacerbating the crunchiness that came from severely cropping a 12 MP image.

C& C welcome, as always.

[billtils]

Thanks for posting the original Dan. Probably personal (bad) taste but there are elements in the original that I find more pleasing than they appear in the edit, specifically the sky (!) and the tiles in the rear-most roof. I also slightly prefer the gold rather than yellow in the building on the left.

[DanK]

Bill,

thanks for the comments.

This edit is partly a salvage operation, but I am also using it as a training exercise. I just went through all of the edits in response to your note, starting with the import into Lightroom, and examined the color at one point: where the siding meets the top of the right side in the foreground window.

What I found was interesting (to me), and coincidentally relevant to a mini-lesson I am teaching online to a local photo club on Monday.

My recollection was incorrect: I thought I had made no direct adjustments to colors. That wasn't quite true. I did increase the luminance of the reds, and I made a positive shift in the oranges. The latter had a modest effect on color; the ratio of red to green increased slightly (1.09 to 1.12), while the ratio of green to blue increased more (1.17 to 1.31). However, the ratios between the color channels in the final version I posted above were almost identical to those in the original import! What changed was primarily the absolute values of the colors. I'll post the original and final values:

R: 44.3/ 74.8

G: 39.9/ 67.6

B: 32.3/ 53.7

So, the appearance of a major color shift in the mustard-colored buildings is a bit misleading. There wasn't much change in hue. The change in appearance was almost entirely two things: brightening, and the increase in saturation that arises when one increases contrast either in Lightroom or in Photoshop with a normal blend mode.

There is one possible exception: my use of Nik's tonal contrast. Nik is very opaque about what their filters do.

This has says nothing about which is better, of course. I'm of two minds about the appearance of the yellow areas. My taste differs from yours with respect to the tiles: I think that's a positive aspect, and I actually did quite a bit of local adjustment to bring out the colors and textures of the tiles more.

I think I may try to find the time to do yet one more edit of this. It's proving to be a very educational exercise, so thanks again for your comments.

[billtils]

...the ratios between the color channels in the final version I posted above were almost identical to those in the original import! What changed was primarily the absolute values of the colors. ... So, the appearance of a major color shift in the mustard-colored buildings is a bit misleading. There wasn't much change in hue. The change in appearance was almost entirely two things: brightening, and the increase in saturation that arises when one increases contrast either in Lightroom or in Photoshop with a normal blend mode.

There is one possible exception: my use of Nik's tonal contrast. Nik is very opaque about what their filters do.

This has says nothing about which is better, of course. I'm of two minds about the appearance of the yellow areas. My taste differs from yours with respect to the tiles: I think that's a positive aspect, and I actually did quite a bit of local adjustment to bring out the colors and textures of the tiles more.

I think I may try to find the time to do yet one more edit of this. It's proving to be a very educational exercise, so thanks again for your comments.

Thanks Dan - lots of interesting and valuable elements in your reply. A useful reminder too that there's a reason why HSL adjustments are packaged into one tool.

It's good of you to be sharing your analyses here, and I for one look forward to seeing more of your journey.

[DanK]

Bill,

I did one more edit and then printed a small version to hang on my study/studio wall. the final version won't be to your likeing, but all of the edits were inspired by your comments, so I thought I should show it and explain.

As I mentioned, I too had some concerns about the yellow house on the left. After thinking about your comments, I decided that the house is too bright, too yellow, and too far from its original hue. I went through all of the edits and found that some of the change was from Nik's Color Efex Tonal Contrast, so I masked out that adjustment just for the house, using a brush. I then burned the bright area at the top of the house, and I added saturation to that area to bring it closer to the rest of the house. Not a dramatic change, but I think better. Thanks again for the helpful comments.

[billtils]

I like it Dan!