To Mark Reibman Re: Clearing Haze with Unsharp Mask

ED
Posted By
Eva_Deck
May 19, 2004
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263
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I frequently copy useful hints from this forum. I have been printing them in a book. I’m up to page 82. That tells you how helpful this group has been to me. One of my notes credits with Mark with posting, in January 2003, a method for clearing haze using unsharp mask. Yesterday I took a picture of a goldfish in my husband’s lily barrel. The water was cloudy-murky. This method cleared it up beautifully. Thanks.

For those who may not have copied the note the recommendations were: Amount 30, Radius 60, Threshold 1.

Eva
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How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

MR
Mark_Reibman
May 19, 2004
Thanks Eva. I found this technique magic when i first learned it from someone on the dpreview forum. I have since learned that some use 20 50 1, but it’s the same general idea.

I can also be repeated for increasing haze removal.
RM
Ron_Minler
May 19, 2004
Thank you much. Works great. I’ve been trying to get rid of that digital haze to get brighter photos.
Thanks again, Ron
CC
cal_cowen
May 19, 2004
Unsharp mask has always had me puzzled as Icould never achieve a natural looking result. Have just tried these settings with great results, thanks for the post

Cal
RF
Robert_F_Carruth
May 20, 2004
One more BIG thanks to Eva for reposting and Mark for the original post.

I just applied the technique to half a dozen long range pics taken from various hill tops on the coast of Maine. Though the subject matter is beautiful the typical coastal haze always ruins these attempts. Only about 50 to go unless I scan in some old slides. Then I may be here all summer.

I don’t understand it but it works.

Bob
SS
Susan_S.
May 20, 2004
BOB – USM mask works to sharpen by increasing the contrast for a very narrow distance out along edges- that’s why you get little halos along edges if you overapply USM. With a low amount and a wide radius what happens is that those little "halos" along the edges become much wider and fainter – but they are still there, improving local contrast, reversing some of the effect that mist has in softening the image (the haze of course reduces local contrast). With some images and the right settings the amount of detail that this technique can bring out is almost magical – you’d never have known it was there.
RF
Robert_F_Carruth
May 20, 2004
Susan,

Thanks for the explanation. I’ve been using unsharp regularly but never increasing the radius or threshold and setting amount around 50 or 60 with good results in producing a "crisper" print. Now I have to start experimenting more.

Bob

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

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