Any tips for enhancing rainbows?
in [Digital Cameras]
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From: M-M on 1 Jul 2010 14:50 In article <8908rqFol3U1(a)mid.individual.net>, ted(a)loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) wrote: > I've noticed that whenever I take a picture of a rainbow, it looks much less > impressive than it did to my naked eye. > > For instance this one from yesterday is ok: > > http://www.tednolan.net/misc/p1120927.jpg > > but looked much better in real life. > > Any tips for punching rainbows up in GIMP? > > Ted Don't know about Gimp, but Auto levels in Photoshop does wonders: http://i45.tinypic.com/35hls0n.jpg -- m-m http://www.mhmyers.com
From: M-M on 1 Jul 2010 14:52 In article <nospam.m-m-33DD04.14505601072010(a)cpe-76-190-186-198.neo.res.rr.com>, M-M <nospam.m-m(a)ny.more> wrote: > Don't know about Gimp, but Auto levels in Photoshop does wonders: > > http://i45.tinypic.com/35hls0n.jpg I just noticed that the auto-levels detects a second rainbow above the first. -- m-m http://www.mhmyers.com
From: Peter on 1 Jul 2010 21:06 "Mike Russell" <groupsRE(a)MOVEcurvemeister.com> wrote in message news:jy29zz20vjpb.dlg(a)mike.curvemeister.com... > On Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:40:41 +0200, Ofnuts wrote: > >> On 01/07/2010 17:41, Kevin McMurtrie wrote: >>> In article<4c2c4621$0$1581$742ec2ed(a)news.sonic.net>, >>> rfischer(a)sonic.net (Ray Fischer) wrote: >>> >>>> ray<ray(a)zianet.com> wrote: >>>>> Ted Nolan<tednolan> wrote: >>>> >>>>>> I've noticed that whenever I take a picture of a rainbow, it looks >>>>>> much >>>>>> less impressive than it did to my naked eye. >>>>>> >>>>>> For instance this one from yesterday is ok: >>>>>> >>>>>> http://www.tednolan.net/misc/p1120927.jpg >>>>>> >>>>>> but looked much better in real life. >>>>>> >>>>>> Any tips for punching rainbows up in GIMP? >>>>>> >>>>>> Ted >>>>> >>>>> Have you tried a polarizing filter? >>>> >>>> Won't work. Polarizing filters improve sky contrast when the camera >>>> is aimed at roughly 90 degrees from the sun. Rainbows always happen >>>> opposite the sun. >>> >>> A rainbow has polarization so a polarization filter does have an >>> influence. Whether or not it helps depends on conditions and how much >>> of the rainbow is in the photo. >> >> A PL Filter can only remove light and so is only good against unwanted >> polarized light. If the rainbow is polarized the PL can only attenuate >> it, and not accentuate it. > > Digital math will get the job done. Use a tripod. Take two images, one > with the rainbow attenuated, and subtract the images to emphasize the > rainbow. While you are technically right this is not always possible. The life of a rainbow is not very long. There may not be time for the tripod. I would first get what I can get handheld, then go to your technique. I have found a similar issue with a 'Hudson River School" shot. The special lighting conditions lasts only a few minutes after the rain stops. If I start to futz I may very well lose the shot altogether. -- Peter
From: Better Info on 1 Jul 2010 21:22 On Thu, 1 Jul 2010 21:06:15 -0400, "Peter" <peternew(a)nospamoptonline.net> wrote: >"Mike Russell" <groupsRE(a)MOVEcurvemeister.com> wrote in message >news:jy29zz20vjpb.dlg(a)mike.curvemeister.com... >> On Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:40:41 +0200, Ofnuts wrote: >> >>> On 01/07/2010 17:41, Kevin McMurtrie wrote: >>>> In article<4c2c4621$0$1581$742ec2ed(a)news.sonic.net>, >>>> rfischer(a)sonic.net (Ray Fischer) wrote: >>>> >>>>> ray<ray(a)zianet.com> wrote: >>>>>> Ted Nolan<tednolan> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>>> I've noticed that whenever I take a picture of a rainbow, it looks >>>>>>> much >>>>>>> less impressive than it did to my naked eye. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> For instance this one from yesterday is ok: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> http://www.tednolan.net/misc/p1120927.jpg >>>>>>> >>>>>>> but looked much better in real life. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Any tips for punching rainbows up in GIMP? >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Ted >>>>>> >>>>>> Have you tried a polarizing filter? >>>>> >>>>> Won't work. Polarizing filters improve sky contrast when the camera >>>>> is aimed at roughly 90 degrees from the sun. Rainbows always happen >>>>> opposite the sun. >>>> >>>> A rainbow has polarization so a polarization filter does have an >>>> influence. Whether or not it helps depends on conditions and how much >>>> of the rainbow is in the photo. >>> >>> A PL Filter can only remove light and so is only good against unwanted >>> polarized light. If the rainbow is polarized the PL can only attenuate >>> it, and not accentuate it. >> >> Digital math will get the job done. Use a tripod. Take two images, one >> with the rainbow attenuated, and subtract the images to emphasize the >> rainbow. > > >While you are technically right this is not always possible. The life of a >rainbow is not very long. There may not be time for the tripod. >I would first get what I can get handheld, then go to your technique. >I have found a similar issue with a 'Hudson River School" shot. The special >lighting conditions lasts only a few minutes after the rain stops. If I >start to futz I may very well lose the shot altogether. There's plenty of software and freeware to align handheld shots for HDR techniques. In fact handheld multiple frames are better. Images where data overlaps in sub-pixel increments can be used with special stacking software to get 4x's or more the resolution from your sensor. Using a tripod might not always guarantee for this sub-pixel misalignment required. Mirror and shutter slap aside--the same shutter and mirror slap will cause the same amount of pixel displacement in the same directions in consecutive images. Catch up. So many kindergartner-level beginners to educate, so little incentive.
From: Paul Furman on 1 Jul 2010 21:49
M-M wrote: >Ted Nolan wrote: > >> I've noticed that whenever I take a picture of a rainbow, it looks much less >> impressive than it did to my naked eye. >> >> For instance this one from yesterday is ok: >> http://www.tednolan.net/misc/p1120927.jpg >> but looked much better in real life. >> >> Any tips for punching rainbows up in GIMP? > > Don't know about Gimp, but Auto levels in Photoshop does wonders: > http://i45.tinypic.com/35hls0n.jpg Fun thread. I also started with PS auto button on a curves adjustment layer, which neutralized the white balance and optimized the histogram, then darkened it to bring out the saturation and sunset darkness (we don't know if it was an orange sunset or the white balance went weird?). Then I tried maxing contrast on the sky with a complex s-curve to raise shadows, (flatten mid-tones) and increase steepness/contrast in the highlights. That worked great for the sky but the mid-tone smoke stack lost all detail and there was a freaky gray haze around the edge of the pine needles where they met the sky. OK, then I started masking out the adjustment layer and gave up, since there have already been a variety of solutions posted. As Mike Russell said; great example shot for post processing! |