Palo Duro Canyon

[amadjuster]

Thanks for trying on that shot but it was into the sun and I am finding digital is more like slides than photos. They just go soooo far. The lower camp grounds are all closed because the are full of water and sand. How did you like the 5' mud level at the last water crossing? Bring the excietment back to tenting. I have a bunch more pictures but I thought you would like these two of some locals I ran into.

[iCe]

I saw those turkeys when I was there. Well, maybe not those specificly but turkeys. Note that I said saw and not photographed They didn't hang around long.

5' of mud... that's amazing... Normally it's so dry there...

[iCe]

I think the original of your first one could be used and you could bring out a lot of detail. I was working with a tiny little image so I had to be more careful. If you shot RAW you should be in great shape for manipulating it. If High Res JPG it should still have enough to bring out the tank and trees.

Check this procedure out on your original. It works very well for this kind of image.

Here's an abbreviated version of the procedure (from the link I posted above):

1. Create a Duplicate Layer ( Layer / Duplicate Layer) and name it Mask
2. Desaturate the Mask Layer. (Image / Adjustments / Desaturate)
3. Invert the Mask layer (Image / Adjustments / Invert)
4. Click on the Mask layer thumbnail and select Overlay then Blending Mode
5. Enlarge the image to 100% and look at the horizon line or other high contrast area. This is important for the next step.
6. Use Gaussian Blur to reduce resolution degradation of the image by the mask, yet at the same time avoid halos on sharp contrast boundaries such as skylines. (Filter / Blur / Gaussian Blur). Low amounts are usually best.
7. Adjust Opacity as desired. (Click on the Mask Layer thumbnail and use the Opacity slider).

After that I used quick mask and painted over the dark areas. Then I hit Ctrl-I and inverted the mask. I could have painted the light areas and not had to invert but... oh hell... I screwed up and didn't feel like starting over... I had a really cool excuse to type but it sounded like an excuse I had to clean up a few spots but once I had the mask fairly well cleaned off of the dark area I used the magic wand tool and selected the middle of the water tank. Since the lighter areas were masked they did not get selected. Then I added a curves layer using just the selection (little white and black circle at the bottom of the layer box lets you select a curves layer among others).

There's enough data in that tiny little file that you posted that I can see some really nice coloring in the tank. Lots of moss green and reds. If you can get just a hint of them to show the image will be much more improved IMHO.

[Kodachromedude70]

Originally Posted by iCe

Wow... those are nice. I wish that TP&W would do something with those powerlines. I tried to dodge them when I was there and it made for less of an image than I wanted.

Try cloning them out? I use the clone tool frequently with great success.

Marty

[iCe]

Originally Posted by Kodachromedude70

Try cloning them out? I use the clone tool frequently with great success.

Marty

I have since learned a way to knock them right out with a shift click trick but I would still rather that they weren't there

[Kodachromedude70]

Originally Posted by iCe

I have since learned a way to knock them right out with a shift click trick but I would still rather that they weren't there

Agreed,

Marty