Mt Solitary and the Three Sisters

[Vicareyus]

I was in the Blue Mts yesterday and took some shots of these icons. Now I need a bit of advice on how to improve what I think could be a good photo but seems to be missing something. A few issues: doesnt seem sharp enough despite sharpening radius 1, amount 100%. What would you use? I used a CPF for first time - does this have an effect on sharpness?

Second - I did something I havent done before - I also took some in RAW (NEF). Have a copy of Photoshop CS but it wont open them. It appears that the camera RAW plug-in is there when I look at "info" but it just wont boot up when I try to open through "file-open."



All assistance, advice and comments appreciated.

Vic

[Greg B]

Vic

There is a newer RAW plugin for PS CS that covers additional RAW formats including NEF. It is a small free download at the Adobe site. You need to follow the instructions to install it after download to replace the existing RAW plugin with the new one.

That might be the issue.

[xerubus]

Hi Vic...

I think the shot is 'technically' spot on... horizon is fairly horizontal and there's a nice use of thirds..

the CPL won't affect the sharpness... I would try getting an edge sharpening action, which should make a difference... i use the following one:

http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/Dig ... oolkit.htm

regarding the nef in photoshop, just grab the latest raw plugin for photoshop cs... i'm using the beta4 version at the moment which seems fine.... you can grab it from here:

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html

and finally, i'd up the contrast a little.. but only a little....

other than that... well done... nice capture..

it would be interesting to see that shot with a velvia action applied... should look pretty good to bring out the colours a little....

cheers

[Greg B]

and BTW, it looks pretty sharp to me! Nice shot.

[sirhc55]

Vic - all of the photos that I have taken over the years of the Blue Mountains appear to be slightly out of focus especially when the “blue” is apparent - I believe that this is always the case due to refraction IMO.

Your photo looks fine but if you wanted to work in PS a mask layer could be used to darken the middle left but then it would not be The Blue Mountains!!

Chris

[Onyx]

Vic, if your CPL filter was the Hoya bought from Birddog - I also found that it robs a little sharpness on the kit lens. The addition of this filter shouldn't affect image sharpness, but in reality it does. Can't get around it, I suppose only use it when you have to.

Photoshop NEF plugin - go to your Nikon View, Capture or Picture Project directory, find the "Nikon NEF plugin.8BI" file, copy this to the plugins directory of Photoshop CS, and magically you can now use CS to open NEFs. Although it limits functionality compared to Capture, it still retains the ability to change WB and exposure which I guess are the main factors for shooting RAW.

Further tips for sharpness:
Use no smaller than f/16 aperture (diffraction)
Read up on hyperfocal distances (when consulting tables, use CoC of 0.018/0.020 instead of 0.025 or 0.030 as these are more applicable for film)

[Greg B]

However, if you download the Adobe RAW plug, you will have full functionality in PS CS with NEFs

[mudder]

G'day Vic,

Re: photoshop stuff, dunno don't have it, but I like the pic of the "sisters", was there a couple of months back myself...

I found it quite awkward getting the "right angle" from the lookout, hard to miss the distracting bits... Was this shot from the upper or lower level? Also, did you try it when the sisters are lit-up at night? Gives it a different perspective... Lots of shiny, sparkly bugs in the spotlights tho..

I like the dappled shadows from the clouds over the hills... I've never noticed losing any sharpness by using a CPL, but like the saturation of the couds... Must have been a very clear day, as I've found some quite strong eucalypt haze over the hills for a few days while I was there...

Cheers,
Mudder

[robw25]

The addition of this filter shouldn't affect image sharpness, but in reality it does. Can't get around it, I suppose only use it when you have to.

i seem to recall reading somewhere that you should't use filters in matrix mode ?? anyone confirm this ?

cheers rob

[Onyx]

i seem to recall reading somewhere that you should't use filters in matrix mode ?? anyone confirm this ?

cheers rob

True, revert to centre-weighted or spot if using CPL. UV/skylights should be fine in matrix - any slight loss of light with these are well short of the precision of the camera's exposure meter (1/3 stop).

[the foto fanatic]

I'm not sure that we are seeing a lack of sharpness here - I think that it is just haze. It's often seen in landscape shots where the horizon is many km away.

So, I don't think that sharpening will improve it. I think you would need to remove the blue colour cast if you wanted it improved. A levels adjustment may also help.

But, I think it is representative of the actual scene, and I wouldn't be too unhappy with it.

[PlatinumWeaver]

I'd go so far as to say that it's too sharp, at least in the foreground on the sisters themselves...

[the foto fanatic]

I think you would need to remove the blue colour cast if you wanted it improved. A levels adjustment may also help.

Vic
Just to clarify, I think there is a blue colour cast on the vegetation near the horizon, in the background of the picture, and I believe that is what you may perceive as lack of sharpness. I don't think it is from the CPF, just the haze that you get over long distance in Australia, particularly in summer. It makes it hard to achieve that "punch" you are looking for.

Sometimes a shot like this is enhanced by not having so much depth. It is very difficult with landmarks like this to get an original perpective, but maybe a tighter crop around the sisters would be slightly better.

But don't slit your wrists, there really is nothing seriously wrong with this pic.