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Fun with MF images - ARCHIVED - FOR VIEWING ONLY

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MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
Thanks everyone, now I know why I am confused by this image! I like the vignette and I like the lightening of the foreground. I have to ask Matt, what do you mean by expand the color space?

Tom
Tom,

I should have said "expand the range in the color space". If you convert the image to Lab space, you get three channels. L is luminance, and we leave that alone. a and b are two coordinates that determine the color. PS lets you apply level adjustments to any channel, so increasing the contrast of the a and b channels moves the colors further apart. It's supposed to be good when there are a lot of very close colors that you want to make more distinct - canyon walls are the usual example. I think you can see it here in the distance where there are purple horizontal stripes. Or I may be imagining it.

Here's what happens if you go about three times too far. It's not the same as increasing saturation, although it does look more saturated. This was applied to the whole picture. The sky and foreground don't change that much.



Best,

Matt
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
As Matt says ... the 'Canyon Conundrum' which will make sense to followers of Dan Margulis and his excellent book about journeys into the use of Photoshop LAB color.

Great for stretching color range without introducing nasty saturation side effects.
 

tsjanik

Well-known member
Thanks Graham and Matt. I am aware of Margulis, but have not spent any time with his books; perhaps you're prescient, I think you answered the question I was about to post (interrupted by dinner):

Hi Matt:

I can see the effect. Maybe this is too complicated to reply briefly, but what is the advantage of using LAB over HSL?

Tom
 

darr

Well-known member
Hi Darr:

I really like this and I don't think square, even though my first real camera was a Yaschia MAT 124G.
We should do this more often: an image with potential but needs some help.

Tom
Hey Tom,

I agree, we should do this more often. After all, this thread is titled: "Fun with MF images." When I first saw your image, I saw the possibilities of a panoramic composition, but then it was already done, so I thought I'd pull out my Hasselblad. :) I shot Hassys for 15+ years as my portrait camera back in the day and from there I learned to see like a square. :D I believe a lot of things in photography is practice until it becomes instinctual. I always enjoy seeing your images and looking through this thread.

Kind regards,
Darr
 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
I can see the effect. Maybe this is too complicated to reply briefly, but what is the advantage of using LAB over HSL?
Tom,

The short answer is: I'm not sure.
Longer answer: I thought about it, then googled "hsl vs. lab" and the answer seems to be: try it and see what works. I only tried it because of the Margulis book. PS has a billion ways to accomplish any given thing, and so I tend to stick with recipes until such time (if ever) that I am proficient enough to roll my own. I seldom use Lab expansion, but this looked like it might be a candidate. After trying it, I think working with the color editor in Capture One would be better. I'm really no expert, and there are many on these fora!

Best,

Matt
 

tsjanik

Well-known member
Thanks Matt. I remember reading some material about LAB several years ago. I also seem to remember a suggestion that a RGB->LAB->RGB conversion was a process that lost some data and perhaps that's why I didn't continue. I could be wrong about this.

Tom
 

woodyspedden

New member
Thanks Matt. I remember reading some material about LAB several years ago. I also seem to remember a suggestion that a RGB->LAB->RGB conversion was a process that lost some data and perhaps that's why I didn't continue. I could be wrong about this.

Tom
Hey Tom

I think that part of the problem is the dreaded horizon in the middle plus as has been said a large and overwhelming foreground. i think i would have tried to get closer to the ridge of the foreground and got low to the ground with a wide angle.

I like your idea of posting images which can be reworked by others just to try out differing thoughts. Great exercise for all concerned
Best
Woody
 

tsjanik

Well-known member
Hi Woody,

I couldn't get physically closer. I was standing on the shore of a lake/reservoir and the cliff you see is on the other shore. I couldn't get optically closer either as I was using a 600mm + 1.4x. I was attracted by the horizontal pattern and the low clouds are part of that, hence the horizon in the middle. This is an "almost" image*, but makes for interesting conversation.

Tom

* It's not all that sharp either; shutter vibration (645D) with this lens is a real problem at slower shutter speeds.
 

PSon

Active member
The sky was dull and did not complement the colors of the autumn trees so I worked to bring out the blue. In addition, I used f/2.0 to bring out the rather flat subject from the background and making the sky and clouds softer in contrast to the front subject. This photo is for Darr who misses her classic. The photo was taken with one of my favorite camera and lens: Hasselblad 205FCC/CFV-16 II + 2.0/110 FE.
 

PSon

Active member
Constrain to Our Time and Place. The photo was taken with the Phase One DF camera/Hasselblad CF-39 + Mamiya Sekor 35mm AF.
 

darr

Well-known member
The sky was dull and did not complement the colors of the autumn trees so I worked to bring out the blue. In addition, I used f/2.0 to bring out the rather flat subject from the background and making the sky and clouds softer in contrast to the front subject. This photo is for Darr who misses her classic. The photo was taken with one of my favorite camera and lens: Hasselblad 205FCC/CFV-16 II + 2.0/110 FE.
You know how to treat a lady!! ;)
 

mediumcool

Active member
Thanks Matt. I remember reading some material about LAB several years ago. I also seem to remember a suggestion that a RGB->LAB->RGB conversion was a process that lost some data and perhaps that's why I didn't continue. I could be wrong about this.

Tom
L*a*b* is the mode used internally by PS, as I understand it, and it is a larger colour space than RGB (and CMYK) so conversions between it and RGB should have no losses (except as a result of changes made whilst in L*a*b*).

Wikipedia reference
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
Stopped in at the River Bottom in Florence AZ yesterday for a good burger. The barkeep is a photographer as well and had never seen or held o 80 megapixel camera before so you know what came next...


DF/IQ180 55LS f/3.2 1/60 ISO 400 (handheld)
 
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