CCC Forum

davidb wrote:

Mike Farley wrote:The window is slanting across the picture; if I add more of the frame to the right, I get light creeping in at the top left corner.

My comment related to the area above the frame.

You could remove the unwanted light in an number of ways and I would start with the cloning or healing brushes to see what effect they have. A vignette is another option.

Mike

I've taken another look at the image. I've moved the upper edge and cloned out the hi-lights. It seems to work.

This image was used in a recent competition (SLF Plate) and all the judge could see was the small slither of white disc (similar to that by the loco's number) behind the lads head!

I've tried to heal it in Lightroom but it's such a small area it's difficult to hi-lite.

Incidentally, it was accepted by SPA for last years bi-ennial. Without the heal!

davidb wrote:This image was used in a recent competition (SLF Plate) and all the judge could see was the small slither of white disc (similar to that by the loco's number) behind the lads head!

I've tried to heal it in Lightroom but it's such a small area it's difficult to hi-lite.

Incidentally, it was accepted by SPA for last years bi-ennial. Without the heal!

The problem with competitions, especially inter-club ones, is that judges are presented with a lot of good images between which they have to differentiate. Consequently, all too often they concentrate on technical flaws to the exclusion of other aspects of the shot. Which can be frustrating. I even know of one judge who invents poblems to justify dismissing any picture he does not like. Which really does raise the hackles. This is a good shot, tells a story and SPA was right to accept it. Yes, the disk is a slight distraction, but not one which overwhelms the image. It is the sort of thing which can make the difference between an acceptance and a higher award.

Regarding the removal of the small white patch, I can see that it would challenge the Lightroom spot removal function. It is a fairly simple tool which, as you have noted, lacks the ability to isolate the small patch of the white disk. You could try the radial filter for a local adjustment to tone down the Highlights or Whites, but essentially that is a sticking plaster solution. It would still be there, just a bit less obvious. This is really a job for Photoshop, where you should be able to apply a selection to the white area and then clone or heal it out.

Thanks Mike. Your suggestions, as usual, are helpful. My problems is Photoshop - it's a big programme which I have little knowledge of. But I do have a small piece of software that might help to remove the disc.

davidb wrote:My problems is Photoshop - it's a big programme which I have little knowledge of.

Photoshop might be a massive application, but despite its name a lot of the functionality is not relevant to photography. If you have mastered Lightroom, there is no reason why you cannot learn Photoshop as well. It is really just a matter of positive thinking, telling yourself that you will succeed.

There are masses of free tutorials on the net and Adobe's own videos are a good place to start - https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/photoshop/tutorials.html.

Back at the Bluebell Railway and another ride in the observation coach when a familiar image presented itself again.

It's not as successful as the previous version (too many reflections in the glass window) and I need to use the observation coach a few more times to get a better image but for your enjoyment(?) here is the second attempt!

I've cropped it on the left hand side to remove a part of the structure of the window but left the horizontal in …

… hmm the tighter crop looks better without the split screen effect

Hi David

Thanks for sharing. It is interesting to see the same location presented differently, although I agree that this shot does not work as well as your earlier one. At first, I must admit that I thought it was two images. That bar in the glass above the girl's head does you no favours, unfortunately, as you have highlighted with your modified image. It acts as a division and cuts through some of the exterior details. Perhaps a slightly lower viewpoint would have benefited the latter? Darkening the tones of the right hand side would help and a subtle vignette would direct the eye to the girl and the locomotive. I also wonder whether using the entire window as a frame would provide context? It rather depends on what is going on outside, of course. As you say, the situation has potential and it is a question of waiting for the right situation to present itself. That is often the way with observational photography.

Mike

My previous image (from 2015) gives an idea of what the window is like. It is large covering the full width and from about a meter from the floor to the ceiling. It would be difficult getting the whole window in even if I sat by the wall of the carriage; that would, however, eliminate some of the exterior on the right. Darkening and vignetting would help. And trying to eliminate the reflections would also improve the image.

I'll just have to keep trying. My "school" report would probably say "must do better"