autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

No, not California, but that is the subject for another day. More of Chromatic Aberration (sounds like a terminal disease) and a little trick I learned a while ago, and it's worth sharing. But, it's done in Photoshop, and if you don't do Photoshop don't bother reading the rest.
OK, here it is, and it works quite well.
1) create a layer (CTL J on a PC)
2) go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian and do a very heavy blur on the image (the image will just be a soft mess at that point)
3) in the layer's palette change the blend mode to color, and voila, most of the CA will be gone, or greatly improved!
4) you can adjust, or not adjust the opacity now if you want to reduce the effect some
5) flatten

fredpnm Loc: Corrales, NM

Why not just use the remove CA in ACR within PS?

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

it's all about options Fred, as I'm sure you are well aware that there's often several ways to get a result in photoshop, whether it's sharpening, converting to b/w, or adjusting the individual color channels, etc. And remember, some folks don't shoot RAW, but only JPEG, and therefore they do not use ACR

fredpnm Loc: Corrales, NM

I agree, there is always more than one way to get something accomplished, I guess I would only suggest that we make it clear to folks, especially those who might be new to post-processing, that what we are about to suggest is one of many ways to get something accomplished with regards to CA. We should also be clear that this technique might be more applicable to JPG files over say a RAW file.

Just some thoughts on my part, keeping the potential audience (reader) in mind.

Thanks for sharing the technique,,,

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

Sure thing, and you are right, options are always good, and options may vary from situation to situation with how well they work. I find this method to be quick, and pretty effective in getting the job done regardless of the color of the fringe. And I thought I made it clear to the audience that this is something you can do in photoshop, I don't work in Lightroom, Elements, Paint, or any other editing program, so whether there's a similar way to do it there I'm not aware of it. And to tell you the truth, I work exclusively in RAW, and I have found this technique so effective I never even think of doing CA correcting in ACR. It's not even part of my workflow in ACR.

Nice work on your Smugmug page, BTW Love that P-47!

fredpnm Loc: Corrales, NM

Thanks, Vince.

I should get away from just planes and trains and your very nice Flickr photos have given me some ideas on what I should focus on next.

I have had other subjects - as you might see on my old 500px.com/fredpnm website. I just don't update 500px any longer. Thanks again for the feedback.

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

Hey, all guys like planes and trains, we're just kids at heart! I will shoot anything that catches my eye, and it's probably easier for me to say what I don't shoot, sports, and very little wildlife. And there's a reason for that I suppose, my wife and I are portrait/lifestyle shooters, and our gear is focused on that type of work. Our longest excellent lens is a Nikon 105, and not too good for shooting sporting events or wildlife, but great for portrait work. I do love shooting cars, classics and customs being a car nut for nearly 70 years! Plus, you don't have to chase them, they stay still, and you don't have to make them smile.

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

And with so much to shoot, so many opportunities surround us everyday, there's no reason to get stuck in a rut, or comfort zone, and do the same stuff over and over again. It's all about "seeing" Fred, not looking, but seeing. And, whatever it is I always think, "how will everyone else shoot this, and what do I need to do to make it a little different?" Let's face most car shots are pretty darn boring . I'm happy to hear that seeing some of my work will get you out of that all too common rut that many suffer from! Here's one of my car shots that's not a car, but a small piece that I thought was interesting, and titled Wingnuts (windshield hardware on a Stutz Blackhawk)

Wingnuts by Vince Montalbano (autofocus), on Flickr

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

This is a very good method and I have seen situations where this method works and the built-in tools don't work as good.

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

that is very true Jim, always good to have a few extra tools in your bin when you need them!

Ava'sPapa Loc: Cheshire, Ct.

I'm with you Vince. I've been taking car pics for decades. I have a large shoebox full of photos from 10 years of going to Hershey. It took me a while to realize that it was just too hard to take "whole car" photos. Too many obstacles...people and backgrounds for two. I like to isolate parts of a car so that you can still recognize what the car is. Here are a few examples from a local show.

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

Some great shots Papa, my kind of shooting! It's often said "the beauty is in the details," and it's also true for the automobile (or bike, BTW). Even the ugliest of duckling cars, (as in my all time favorite ugly the '49/'50 Nash,) has some beautiful details. You just need to seek them out. I try to see it as the original designers saw their work as a piece(s) of car. Surely, they thought their taillight, or steering wheel and dashboard was a work of art, and in many ways they were. So why not capitalize on that as photographers. Let's face it, any 7 year old can take a picture of a car, and too many examples you see nowadays look that way. Boring photographs shot of 3/4 fronts from standing eye level, often with hoods open are all too frequent, ad nauseam! If you want to create art apply the rules of art to your work. You need to think different, and different than the way everyone else will be shooting the same subject, otherwise, it's only snapshots! And, BTW, it's not just about cars, I believe it applies to everything we photograph. OK, rant over, sorry about that Papa :))

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Thx

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

knowledge not shared is simply wasted, so why not share it

Ava'sPapa Loc: Cheshire, Ct.