Crown Point Oregon USA Image and the making of

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:27 pm

Crown Point Oregon USA

This was originally posted on NikonGear.com http://nikongear.com/smf/index.php?topic=4160.msg30368#msg30368

Here is an example of an image I made, then at a later time revisited with the idea of creating a black and white revision. Please note I am not a photography expert, nor a photo editing expert. I learn by trial an error, as you will see with Capture NX and the USE of RAW files, you can ALWAYS go back to the original! You can also go back to any "Version" you had previously made as well* (more on that later).

Opening my image Within NX, here you see the Original

Having already thought about the B&W conversion, I wanted to "emphasize" the tonal qualities of the clouds, and play on that idea. There was also a lot of details within the surrounding areas, the water, trees etc. that could also be used as well.

Step 1: Noise reduction, Only making 1 photo as it was too windy for an HDR merge even on a tripod.

Intensity-8, sharpness-10, Method-Better Quality, Edge Noise Reduction(ENR)-ON.

Step 2: Control points, the use of control points in NX allows me to gain more precise control of many adjustments to "selective" areas of an image. For instance, the use of the Brightness/Contrast would allow me to control those settings, on a global level, or image wide.

Brightness/Contrast Control Box:

But perhaps I only want to darken one cloud? Or lighten one patch of green grass? The global control of the Brightness/Contrast would certainly do the cloud, but it would also sacrifice others areas within the image.

Here you can see the control points that I chose, each is separate from one another in its position, and settings. However you can copy control points if you want to repeat the same control point adjustments.

The ability to selectively target an area with Control Points example:

After Adjusting the Control Points:

Step 3: Image rotate:

Step 4: Black and White Conversion tool. (Note: there are 3 ways in NX to proceed to a black and white image; Black and White Conversion, Photo Effects and through the Edit list within the Legacy Camera Adjustments (Base Adjustments>Camera Adjustments>Color Mode>Black-and-White. on the surface there are similarities, however the Camera Adjustments seems to lack many options that the other methods have, more later!)

Filter Hue-60°, Color Filter Strength-40%, Brightness-0, Contrast-0

The settings within the Convert to Black and White are as follows with some general notes:

Filter Hue: 60°

This simulates the use of colored filters that were used with film. These filters were selected based on the scene and what you wanted to emphasize in your photo. In general, Red for blue sky, which darkens the blue sky and can also decrease haze in landscapes. Yellow used for lakes/oceans with a blue sky. Green for lightening of foilage and trees. More on filters via Google search or you can try here: B&WFilters

I like to experiment with the setting to see what happens. Once you become familiar with what the Filter Hue does, you should be able to quickly adjust the setting based on what you want out of your image! Wink

Color Filter Strength: This adjust the Strength or opacity of the selected Filter Hue. Left lightens the filter, and going to the right darkens the filter.

Brightness and Contrast: Here you can alter the "global" Brightness and Contrast of the image. This is usefull if the image is to dark/light or too contrasting/to flat.

Step 5: A few more control points to lighten some lost details. The foreground just below Crown Point (the small building) were lost, as well as a small area in the distant mountains. By adding some control points I lightened them up just enough to make them visible again.

Step 6: When you think you are done, post the image on the forums, and ask for some input! As suggested by members of NEF (Dallas, alan_n) I cropped a bit from the top to balance out the photo.

Note*: Out of Chaos comes Order, when you find "Versions". Versions allows you to save your adjustments at any point in time, within the original RAW file. As an example, you no longer have to "keep" that sRGB .JPG file you uploaded to the web, just re-create it later! You can uncheck Convert to black and white, and create a Sepia image via a new step, and check mark all other settings (filter, sharpening, control points, etc.) without re-creating them. then simply click on versions>new version...> type in a name that describes the version, click OK, and save the image. Here are the "Versions" I have saved under the single RAW file:

Original (Always present, it is a default and represents the image "as shot")
aRGB (color version in the aRGB color space)
B&W (B&W)
B&W V2 Cropped (B&W 2nd version after crop suggestion)
B&W V2 Cropped Print (B&W 2nd version cropped with extra sharpening for printing)

NEF file size, 11.1 Megs. Cant beat that!

I am looking forward to comments, suggestions, requests for clarification, or ideas on how to improve!