Not happy with focusing + would like to see other's post processing: Can I get some help with this photo Please? I wanted the shapes in the foreground in focus, along with the butte in...

Rosanna Loc: Montana

Can I get some help with this photo Please? I wanted the shapes in the foreground in focus, along with the butte in the background. It was shot at the most un-opportune time, mid-day, but happened to have the camera with me just in case. I liked the clouds but I'm not happy about the focusing issues with the butte, plus feel the photo needs some overall tweeking. Thanks

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hlmichel Loc: New Hope, Minnesota

I may be wrong, but I don't think you can get the depth of field you are looking for at 200mm and f5.6.

I don't think anyone will be able to fix that in PP other then overly sharpening the image.

The image does feel a bit flat and someone should be able to help with that.

MMC Loc: Brooklyn NY

This is my attempt.

Northfork Walkabout wrote:

Can I get some help with this photo Please? I wanted the shapes in the foreground in focus, along with the butte in the background. It was shot at the most un-opportune time, mid-day, but happened to have the camera with me just in case. I liked the clouds but I'm not happy about the focusing issues with the butte, plus feel the photo needs some overall tweeking. Thanks

(Download)

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

hlmichel wrote:

I may be wrong, but I don't think you can get the depth of field you are looking for at 200mm and f5.6.

Correct. Settings were Aperture Priority at f/5.6, 1/512 sec, ISO 100. At f/5.6 autofocusing on the near rocks, you are out of focus at 500 feet away. You could up your f to 16 and be in focus from 150 feet to infinity, then slow down the shutter/raise the ISO to compensate.

That won't fix this photo, but for future..... Go to the depth of field calculator to experiment with settings.
http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

Rosanna Loc: Montana

Thank You all for your responses and help. OddJobber, I was told that if a person is photographing a landscape scene, they should put the focus point 1/3 of the way into the scene. On shots like these I don't where/how to focus. Can you help with that? Thanks

Heirloom Tomato Loc: Oregon

I lightened the shadows and put the photo through Topaz Detail. Does this look any better to you?

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Bob Yankle Loc: Burlington, NC

Applied a liberal dose of Viveza to increase fine structure, although targeted locally to increase depth (about 20 Control Points). Ran through 2 layers of Topaz Simpify, one to create a muted watercolor effect, then another to embed a hard pencil sketch - without using photo sharpening, it has the effect of defining edges so that it "looks" like they're sharpened. Took the result through Photomatix to increase color depth and contrast, and ended up in NIK Color Efex for a Darken/Lighten Center application. Matted.

Variant of Mountain Butte

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MMC Loc: Brooklyn NY

Very good job!!!

Bob Yankle wrote:

Applied a liberal dose of Viveza to increase fine ... (show quote)

Bob Yankle Loc: Burlington, NC

MMC wrote:

Very good job!!!

Thanks MMC. Landscapes and me, we be mates.

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

Northfork Walkabout wrote:

Can I get some help with this photo Please? I wanted the shapes in the foreground in focus, along with the butte in the background. It was shot at the most un-opportune time, mid-day, but happened to have the camera with me just in case. I liked the clouds but I'm not happy about the focusing issues with the butte, plus feel the photo needs some overall tweeking. Thanks

I tweaked the contrast a bit in the near rocks and the butte. The sky is magnificent ..., the rocks are nice too.

Walkabout

(Download)

Rosanna Loc: Montana

You guys are pretty awesome at what you can do! I'm pretty ignorant with pp. Bob I have no idea what Viveza, Topaz Simplify and Photo Matrix are. Have heard of Photo Matrix. Are all of these separate downloads?

Rosanna Loc: Montana

SonyA580 - Yes, magnificent sky and awesome landscape, ignorance with settings, my huge dissatisfaction. Was real short on time and know better with 5.6 I'm not going to get focus depth. If I remember correctly, since I was shooting in the southerly direction, I knew the sun was going to be an issue, set it on auto to see what the camera thought and duplicated. I know f/22 would have yielded better results. I'm so disappointed with myself but at the same time I was hoping someone could help me achieve a better photo with pp and both you and Bob have the goods! Me, not so much!! Thanks bunches for your help!

Rosanna Loc: Montana

Heirloom Tomato wrote:

I lightened the shadows and put the photo through Topaz Detail. Does this look any better to you?

Yes the detail is better and thank you much for working with it. Would it be possible for you to share with me what Topaz Detail is? Is it part of a pp download or one on its own? Thanks.

gypsy02 Loc: Indiana

Walkabout, I just received a notice from Topaz today and Topaz Detail is on sale 50% off until 4-30 - $19.99. I really enjoy working with the Topaz softwares. Here's a link to what Topaz Detail is about ...
http://www.topazlabs.com/detail?mc_cid=899ff63fae&mc_eid=b7e6df2105

Northfork Walkabout wrote:

Yes the detail is better and thank you much for working with it. Would it be possible for you to share with me what Topaz Detail is? Is it part of a pp download or one on its own? Thanks.

Heirloom Tomato Loc: Oregon

Northfork Walkabout wrote:

Yes the detail is better and thank you much for working with it. Would it be possible for you to share with me what Topaz Detail is? Is it part of a pp download or one on its own? Thanks.

Topaz Labs sells several software photo editing modules. You can buy them all as a package (expensive) or collect the ones you want piece by piece. They have had 50% off sales every month and I have collected four of the modules. Topaz Detail is one of them, and it is a sharpening program module that works well. These modules work as a plug-in for PhotoShop or PhotoShop Elements. They appear in my filter menu in Elements.

They offer several "presets" (or you can work from scratch if you prefer) and you can select the one that looks best for a particular photo. I think the one I used on your photo was called Overall Detail Strong I.

If you would like to learn more about the Topaz Labs products, go to their website and watch a few videos about the ones that might interest you. Topaz Detail is still on sale until the end of April, I just bought it recently. If you want to buy it, the promo code to enter is APRDETAIL to get the 50% discount. You will see a space for it on the order form. I think it is $20 on sale, and well worth the price in my opinion.