Shooting into the sun

spidermonkey · January 8, 2021, 7:43am

My attempt using ART. Took a lot of fiddling around, and still not satisfied with the result…Used log tone mapping, tone equalizer and masks to darken the sky and bring out more contrast in the trees.

Shooting into the sun.CR2.arp (30.1 KB)

Jean-Marc_Digne · January 8, 2021, 10:51am

Thanks for posting this shot, not so easy…
DT 3.4.0

_MG_0185.CR2.xmp (10.9 KB)

Jade_NL · January 8, 2021, 11:20am

shooting.into.the.sun.pp3 (21.5 KB) RawTherapee 5.8-2770-gbae2231ac

Not at all an easy shot to edit. I’m not displeased with this edit, but I honestly thought this would come out better when I first looked at it…

EDIT: Also did a darktable version:

shooting.into.the.sun.cr2.xmp (13.2 KB) darktable 3.5.0+494 gd0b721bf2

priort · January 8, 2021, 2:39pm

I did an edit but tossed it as there were so many versions but I think this is a perfect example also of composition being the determining factor and not what the modules can do. You can work hard and get something out of the foreground but then you alter the whole nature of the picture and make compromises in other areas. I think the sky it the real star for me…so I would go for more of a 16:9 and crop out some of the foreground then build the sky up…not HDRish but bringing out the tones and given all the elements contained in the sky there are likely many ways to go…maybe I will have another go and see what I can get …

spidermonkey · January 8, 2021, 5:37pm

@gaaned92 I like your edit because it changes each time I look at it, just like a real sky

AxelG · January 8, 2021, 9:10pm

May I try also…
dt 3.5.0-508-g76fb1aaa7

_MG_0185.CR2.xmp (30,2 KB)

spidermonkey · January 9, 2021, 7:39pm

It’s tricky, and perhaps part of the battle is knowing what you want to obtain…

Adlatus · January 9, 2021, 8:13pm

_MG_0185-4.jpg.out.pp3 (14,0 KB)

priort · January 9, 2021, 9:30pm

_MG_0185.CR2.xmp (18.4 KB)

Or maybe a bit lighter…

Maybe need more work on color noise…

_MG_0185.CR2.xmp (19.2 KB)

pll · January 10, 2021, 2:18am

@sls141 - Wow! The black and white version is just stunning! Amazing work! Thank you!

pll · January 10, 2021, 2:21am

@AxelG & @paperdigits - I’m happy to add a CC license to this. How do I do this?

I’m very new here

pll · January 10, 2021, 2:22am

Not sure if this is the correct way to do this, but I’ll state publicly this image, and it’s sidecar file are released under the CreativeCommons license!

– @pll

pll · January 10, 2021, 2:27am

@spidermonkey - I’m not familiar with ART, but WOW! This looks amazing! I love the foreground. the sky looks amazing too! I prefer a slightly darker, more saturated blue, as one would get with a circular polarizing filter, but honestly, this is likely a much more realistic depiction of how the sky was when I took the shot!

Thanks!

pll · January 10, 2021, 2:29am

@Jean-Marc_Digne - It is indeed a really tricky photo. Part of the problem was that I took it just after receiving my first DLSR and had no idea how to use it. As a result, everything was exposed completely wrong.

But you’ve done an amazing job pulling out the colors in the foreground!

Thank you!

pll · January 10, 2021, 2:31am

@Jade_NL - Well done! I love the results you got with darktable in the sky. To me, that’s really the focal point, and I think you’ve nailed it!

Thanks!

pll · January 10, 2021, 2:34am

@priort - Todd, I couldn’t agree more! For me, this shot is all about the sky. It’s a tough photo to deal with to be sure. I’m currently trying to learn the modules, so for me this is a learning exercise to learn which modules people use, how they use them, and what those modules can do.

I would love to see whatever attempts you’re willing to share!

Thanks.

pll · January 10, 2021, 2:36am

@Eduardo_Battaglia - I love the colors you’ve been able to pull out in both the sky and the foreground. And since the sky is the real focus, your muted foreground really draws the viewer’s attention to the sky. But there’s just enough color there to keep people looking. Wonderful job!

Thanks!

priort · January 10, 2021, 2:48am

Just luck…someone commented a long time ago that the composition was just as important as the post-processing and it really is true I think the 21x9 crop really helps this image and I think that it helps to let the eye run to the the sky but yeah it’s nice to be able to get some colors in into the images as well and where you can it is nice to crop away any tough to handle or poor quality areas…it can make your editing easier in the long run

pll · January 10, 2021, 3:00am

@priort - I love that second edit! The top one is a little too dark, and the bottom one leaves too much shadow in the foreground, which I find distracting. My eyes keep wandering to the shadows to see what’s there. But the middle one seems to strike a perfect balance.

I see what you mean about the 21x9 crop! It really does let you focus on the sky. And that middle image with a good foreground balance leads your eyes right to it!

Thanks!

spidermonkey · January 10, 2021, 9:27am

@pll Thanks. It would be possible to make the sky more saturated and darker if you wished but I didn’t want to over cook it.
I have always found RawTherapee or ART very good for rescuing highlights. I think you could get similar results with darktable now as their new highlight reconstruction module seems to have improved things. Personally I find it quickest to get good looking results with ART but that is most likely because I have spent time getting accustomed to using it. Perhaps also because there is a less bewildering choice of ways to achieve the same thing, which appeals to me.