Chuck, I still have PE-1 in english (!) with the Shipley add ons on my computer as well, but I hate switching between programs. But I ‘ll give it a try tomorrow morning.
Leen, here’s a link to a fairly complicated procedure to create your own sun rays; it’s applied to text in the example, but can be adapted. I’m trying it, but it’s a tough one for me…
Robert and Leen: Another idea might be to lasso the sky and put it on its own separate layer, then apply a threshold adjustment layer (which turns everything into either black or white) to differentiate the dark sky from the light rays. Then select the black portion of sky with the magic wand, turn off the threshold adjustment layer and apply a Levels adjustment layer to darken the (selected) sky while leaving the rays bright. If I had a picture I could fool around with, I could probably refine this technique some more…
Robert and Chuck, as I suffer from an overload of work, I will try all of this during the weekend. Whenever time allows me, I will then mail the image to anyone on the forum who might be interested, provided you use this image just only for personal use and don’t publish it anywhere. As it is commercial work for a client this image unfortunately isnot available for the Challenge. 😉 I really appreciate the trouble you all are taking; this is a wonderful forum, no a forum with wonderful people!
Leen, I think we’re also an honorable group, too. Your image will only be used for experimenting with various techniques to help accentuate the sun rays.
Although your vocation is also your avocation, please don’t overdo it. Get some rest!
Chuck, I’m addicted to IMHO the most wonderful profession in this world. Indeed, I need some rest, but I suppose I will have to work the main part of the weeken as well, just like any weekend since April. I wished I could spend more time on the forum, but I will save this for a winterday.
Working that hard is very rewardiong too. Tonight I portrayed a young woman, I enhanced it in Elements in her presence and when she saw the final image on the monitor she kissed and hugged me with tears in her eyes. To avoid any further problems I printed it at 12×16 and had my wife frame it. 😉
After it had been nicely wrapped as a gift for her boy friend she came back to the studio another time to thank me again.
Who ‘s complaining about working hard? To quote my teacher in the UK :"It’s great to be a photographer!"
Try using the output and input levels Leeanne. Auto levels don’t do the photo justice. You will have better and finer controll over your images when you are useing Output, Gamma, and Input levels.
I should not be telling you this but, if you watch "Call For Help" every Wenesday 1:00pm MT on TechTV. There is a expert on their that teaches people how to use Photoshop the right way. His website is at www.dvgarage.com Click on the techtv section near the left middle of the page. ALL of his teachings he does on the show are in that techtv section. The best part of it is it is all FREE.
Hi Trevor, My name is Leen and not Leeanne; I’m male 😉 and proud of my name as it ‘s the same as my grandfathers and his grandfathers and his grandfathers etc. all the way to 1513……. I love this tradition, probably because of a lack of fantasy.
Unfortunately I cannot watch "Call for Help" as I ‘m living in the most wonderful country of the whole world. (I suppose I don’t have to explain that’s the Netherlands of course)
I know Levels is the precision instrument compared to Auto Levels, but sometimes it does a wonderful job, quick and easy. When it comes to enhancing just only skies it often works OK for me. It is IMHO remarkably how often this auto correction does the job exactly like I would have done manually.
Thanks for your input; I bookmarked this website. At a first glance it is well worth reading.
Leen, I hardly ever use Auto Levels because of the unpredictable effects it has on color balance. However, I use Auto Contrast all the time; it’s the first step with almost every image I’ve taken that’s underexposed – which is most because of the way I set my exposure compensation.
Chuck, I apologise, I meant Auto Contrast. Í too usually set my camera at 1/2 stop underexposure as well to prevent the highlights from burning out. Auto Contrast usually does the job in about 70% of the images; just a few images need a little further correction for underexposure. Sometimes I mix up these names because I use PE1 in english and -mostly- PE2 in Dutch. I can imagine this can be confusing.
I cannot resist quoting the worst pun ever made, about the wealhty Texan who had two boys and gave them a cattle ranch which he called Focus, "because that is where the sons raise meat"!
