Evaluate my photo

[Ace of Pop]

After 60 Mins ive turned this into a Mountain Dew colored lens pic.

[samuijimmy]

I don't seem to get into this section very much.... not sure why.... but probably I should ...

Yes playing around with images, which I have been doing a bit more of recently, can be tedious, to get the desired result.... sometimes I wonder if they are not "over baked"

I did ask for comments in one section, but no one answered.. .... . perhaps I should have asked here!!!

[shaggy1969]

I don't seem to get into this section very much.... not sure why.... but probably I should ...

Yes playing around with images, which I have been doing a bit more of recently, can be tedious, to get the desired result.... sometimes I wonder if they are not "over baked"

I did ask for comments in one section, but no one answered.. .... . perhaps I should have asked here!!!

Hi Jim

I take it that you are referring to some of your images that you gave a touch of HDR to?

Have done the very same thing myself mate in the past and found that there is a very fine line between improving the image with HDR software

but at the same time trying to make it look natural and going just that little bit to far and ending up with a kinda 3d effect.I found that working with darker

images works better than bright ones because the brighter images when I try always end up looking too forced and unnatural.I think it is a case of

playing around with the sliders until you find the happy 'boosted' compromise.

I am not really the best one to be giving advice and hopefully someone with more knowledge and experience will come along and give you some better

advice and techniques.Also mate maybe to get the full attention of the other members it might be wise to open a new thread in this forum a couple of

images that you are not sure of and let the other guys share their thoughts with you.

Also be careful when there are thin straight lines in the image that you are trying to edit mate(i.e fishing poles and electricity cables) they more often than not

tend to throw a halo or darkened smudge around the straight bits.

[samuijimmy]

I don't seem to get into this section very much.... not sure why.... but probably I should ...

Yes playing around with images, which I have been doing a bit more of recently, can be tedious, to get the desired result.... sometimes I wonder if they are not "over baked"

I did ask for comments in one section, but no one answered.. .... . perhaps I should have asked here!!!

Hi Jim

I take it that you are referring to some of your images that you gave a touch of HDR to?

Have done the very same thing myself mate in the past and found that there is a very fine line between improving the image with HDR software

but at the same time trying to make it look natural and going just that little bit to far and ending up with a kinda 3d effect.I found that working with darker

images works better than bright ones because the brighter images when I try always end up looking too forced and unnatural.I think it is a case of

playing around with the sliders until you find the happy 'boosted' compromise.

I am not really the best one to be giving advice and hopefully someone with more knowledge and experience will come along and give you some better

advice and techniques.Also mate maybe to get the full attention of the other members it might be wise to open a new thread in this forum a couple of

images that you are not sure of and let the other guys share their thoughts with you.

Also be careful when there are thin straight lines in the image that you are trying to edit mate(i.e fishing poles and electricity cables) they more often than not

tend to throw a halo or darkened smudge around the straight bits.

HI Shaggy,,,

Thanks for the feedback.... yeah I have been like a kid with a new toy, experimenting with the HDR thing, in Google Plus.... I have been trying other "buttons" to see if it does better... All a bit tedious...and a new learning curve to see what works and what does not !

Funny I find the darker images give way too much noise.... as here...this one is bad, but then probably because I am in it !

I do see what you mean about the fishing poles, etc.... it does shadow a bit too much, one problem is that they are a smaller image when editing and it changes a bit in the larger image.

One thing, I think if I do re-edit, they will change to the new edit across anywhere they are posted... so may make that a rainy day project .... I think we are into a few of those in the next while!

I will try to be a bit more selective with the HDR stuff!

Thx!

[shaggy1969]

Hope that the original photo wasn't too bad mate because that looks a lovely group photo that you used as an example.

Am sure that the mention of the Google+ software might seem a little basic for some of the guys on here because I know that they use

editing software with a lot more grunt,but as it goes I actually find it quite good and it is free! What I do know about the HDR effect part

of the editing software is that it is better to have a reasonable photo to start off with.Using a small file, less sharp or noisy image beforehand

can be too much to ask for to get a good result.Nowadays if I use the Google software I am usually working with around a 14 mb image.

Maybe if you are only trying to give your photo a bit of a facelift then the 'Auto Enhance' is quite a good option.The only thing that I find is

if your photo has got people in it then it tends to go over the top with the skin softening slider or if it is a landscape then it can be a little too

generous with the structure.....but both these can be backed off to suit.

After reading your last I went and had a look for a photo to have a play around with.The one below is untouched.

and then after a go in G+ HDR (nature 60%,backed off bright/sat by maybe 25%)

Maybe this one is a little too much,but it is a good example of how it can transform your image.

Also something to be aware of when using the HDR is that it shows no mercy,anything that is on your original image will be enhanced on the edited one.

If you look at the second photo (very top middle to right you) will see a darkish dot.That was dirt on my lens....and I have seen it on a couple of your HDR

images also

[samuijimmy]

Here is the same pic, only enhanced.... nothing came out well that evening.... we all just went down to the local beach, where there was no light.... there was chance of rain, so we did not want to drive to popular spots, and get caught up in crowds and light!

With yours above, I think somewhere in between might have been good.... as you say, it is a fine line!

I won't be rushing to go buy some HDR software anytime soon!

again .... Thanks for feed back!

[fimgirl]

If you look at the second photo (very top middle to right you) will see a darkish dot.That was dirt on my lens....and I have seen it on a couple of your HDR

images also

That's sensor dust. Unless you're shooting with a very wide lens stopped down to f22 lens dust is nigh on indiscernible. Even then is would be very diffused. The spot you see is clearly defined.

The way to check sensor dust is to shoot a clear dark blue sky at f22. Load up to your computer and zoom around at 100%.

In reality, unless your shooting blue skies stopped down, it's rarely an issue and easily cloned out in post if not excessive.

[MJP]

Get a Giottos Rocket blower to sort out sensor dust. If that doesn't shift it do not attempt to clean the sensor yourself. Take it to a camera shop (a real one) and they can perform a wet clean.

[fimgirl]

"au contraire mon ami" (just watching Only Fools and Horses repeats !)

Anyway - I wrote this for the Leica forum some time back

"After buying my M240 late last year I was plagued with a constant dirty sensor. Cleaning became a weekly necessity. The camera seemed to be a magnet to dust spots and grunge. With no local cleaning facility I had no alternative but to self clean. Every proprietary brand proved useless. Sure, after much effort I could achieve a "sort of" clean sensor but never really satisfactory and soon the issue returned. I got to the point of almost selling the camera.

Research led me to Isopropanol. Leica also recommend this product. The problem was that the 100% proof was/is unavailable over here, BUT, they have the 70% available in most pharmacies which is used to clean cuts and burns. A small bottle costs just $2.00. Two small drops on a Visible Dust pad, a quick wipe one way and back on the dry side and bingo, a shiny, clean, pristine sensor. But the best was yet to come as I established that this fluid contains an anti dust/grunge element to prevent re-occurrence.

It's now been 3 months since my last wet clean and having shot the proverbial blue sky at f22 this morning I see absolutely no trace of anything on the sensor despite having just returned from a very humid dusty shoot in the Thai outback with constant lens changes"

[MJP]

Scary if it goes pear shaped.

Going to try 99.9& isopropanol on the A7r.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B7LC54U/ref=pe_385721_37986871_TE_item

with . . .

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DM0I0HK/ref=pe_385721_37986871_TE_item

Another option is a combination of the Giottos Rocket blower used in conjunction with a Sensor Brush . . .

Available for full frame . . .

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Dust-Patrol-Multiplier-Sensors/dp/B001B9RI5O/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1415646468&sr=1-2&keywords=sensor+brush

or crop format . . .

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Dust-Patrol-Multiplier-Sensors/dp/B000LQQQZQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1415646468&sr=1-1&keywords=sensor+brush

[fimgirl]

^^ There's nothing really to go pear shaped. It's the protective glass above the sensor that's being cleaned and not the sensor itself, and we're not exactly bathing it in soap suds. Isopropanol is a fast drying, non smearing, non corrosive substance. It transpires in fact that the 70%, with a higher H2o factor, is actually better than the 99% due to the latter potentially drying just too fast and making cleaning somewhat difficult.

The Rocket Blower should be the anti-static type with a protective valve to prevent dust being blown in.

As for sensor Sensor Brushes - ignore them. Unless they are spotlessly clean they will add to the problem, and cleaning them is a trial to say the least. Think about it. You're lifting of dirt and grunge with a brush. The next time you use it, you put it back!

Believe me, I've tried the lot on all my digital cameras and I can state that a quick blow and wipe with isopropanol is the way to go.

Edited November 11, 2014 by fimgirl