Shanghai Nights

[Deano]

Sunset in Shanghai taken from the 38th floor of the Marriot hotel. Unfortunately the window I shot through has left some reflection and decreased the contrast. Any tips for this situation?

I like this shot although the smog obscuring the horizon is a shame.

Comments welcome.




Also - I had the ISO set at 1600 (don't you wish this was shown on the LCD) which has made this noisy. Used Noiseware to remove what I could.

Cheers
Dean

[joolz]

Here's a quick & easy way to sharpen up foggy/low contrast images:
USM with a high radius & lowish amount. (I used 90% @ 250 & 0 threshold)
It can create artifacts so adjust to taste.


Joolz

[Deano]

Thanks Joolz. I had already done that trick with 200% and 250px radius. You should have seen the original...

Cheers
Dean

[joolz]

Oh, didn't realise.
Another suggestion is to use curves to compress the highlights & darker tones to bump up the contrast. Alternatively, you can use levels, but I find curves give much better control - just use an S shape.
http://www.pixspot.com/albums/userpics/41823421B.jpg
Joolz

[sirhc55]

Deano - I would not worry too much about the smog/fog as IMO it adds to the effect of the pic especially where the pic was taken. Just think of it this way - box brownie (no pic) - D70 at least something to remind you of that point in time

[Manta]

Nice shot. Sharpening is a dark art sometimes - the 'rules' seem to change with every image.

Love the illuminated building in the background - reminds me of a certain Irwin Allen disaster film from the seventies.....

[Killakoala]

Another way to sharpen using a High-Pass technique from Luminous Lanscapes.

On the Layer palette select your Background Layer and right click. Select Duplicate Layer.

* With this new layer highlighted select Filter / Other / High Pass. Set the Radius to 10 and click OK.
* Zoom into your image to Actual Pixels level so you can better see what you're going to do next.
* Go back to the Layer Palette and select Hard Light from the left drop down.
* Now go to the Opacity Slider and select a level of sharpening that seems best to you. Usually something between 20% and 70% will be best.
---------------

Great pic btw. You must have been in the perfect spot for the reflection.

[Manta]

Good tip Steve - just tried it on an image that I had been playing with as far as sharpening is concerned and this high pass method is the easiest and most effective. Thanks.