Overcooked by Photoshop?

[Neil]

In making some adjustments to a picture in PS (elements) I suddenly saw something that I liked but which looked unreal to me. But, I liked it so much I ended up spending something like 30 minutes making selections and adjustments the colors, especially green. I mostly used levels and color saturation and darkness/lightness. My feeling is that it looks phoney, as far as faithful documentation goes but it captures something that resonates with me.

Anyway, here is a slightly brighter version of the original followed by the cooked version.

Would anyone care to comment on the cooked vs. uncooked pictures.

http://adkhighpeaks.com/neil/outdoor%20pursuits/sawtooth-4-2-1/Sawtooth%205%20in%201_0149.jpg

http://adkhighpeaks.com/neil/outdoor%20pursuits/sawtooth-4-2-1/Sawtooth%205%20in%201_0150a.jpg

[Dick]

My untrained eye says the "cooking" improved the foreground, especially the side of the mountain, the trees in the middle, and the tree in the lower left quadrant. It also brought out more detail in the clouds. But the distant landscape (upper right and center) now seem somehow less "real" and more like a painting, especially the lighter green trees and the now blue outline of the most distant mountains.

Dick

[bridgeman]

One vote for uncooked. Looks more natural to me.

[daLunartik]

The "cooked" photo has a SciFi/Fantasy feel to it, almost painted as an advertisement for an upcoming book. About all that is missing is the dragons breathing fire across the sky.

I like it! :tup:

[billandjudy]

Cook it but take it out of oven a little sooner:D

[Neil]

Cook it but take it out of oven a little sooner:D

Hahaha!

Either that or cook the hell out of it.

I saved most of the layers in a .psd file so I can go back to the kitchen again.

I had the most trouble with the area Dick mentions. Tough to select and tough to tweak.

I find I get best selection edges when I set the hardness to 100.

[billandjudy]

If I don't use a filter and do some software tweaking, I usually try to "lighten shadows" a bit to bring out the details in the foreground and then "darken highlights" that will allow clouds and sky color to be more apparent. I use Adobe Elements Studio and hardly ever use layers as I use to w/ PSP and Photoshop.
If I alter these settings too much I get the "painted movie background" that you see in your cooked shot

[Rob S]

The "cooked" photo has a SciFi/Fantasy feel to it, almost painted as an advertisement for an upcoming book. About all that is missing is the dragons breathing fire across the sky.

I like it! :tup:

Have to agree with Moonray on this one.

It also has a very "Tolkien" feel to it. Somewhere on the edge of Mirkwood Forest!

[TFR]

While it does look a little sci-fi, it also has much more 3-D quality to it!

[daLunartik]

While it does look a little sci-fi, it also has much more 3-D quality to it!
I think that's the clouds - it give the photo much more depth and helps draw the eye to the mountains on the horizon. The white slab of sky in the uncooked version flattens the picture.

Not sure if this would be the edge of Mirkwood, or along the lines of the Misty Mountains.

[1ADAM12]

The cooked one looks like a painting.

[randomscooter]

I like my food, and my photos, cooked.

[looncry]

I wonder what else could be said,as the ''cooked'' pic has depth and detail not seen[IMO] in ''uncooked'' pic. 5 teenagers had this to say: ''sick'' which means,''kool'' to pic uncooked. Looncry

[Neil]

As far as getting a realistic picture I would use the sky from the cooked one and simply bring out (brighten) the left foreground some more. Lighten the cliffs a bit too.

Regarding the cooked one I think the sky needs to be be made subtly surrealistic. Ie. darker and luminous at the same time. The central background requires a better selection process and less "electric" coloring.

The trees on the mountain could be made more emerald-like.

Watch this space tomorrow and don't hesitate to make suggestions or play with the image yourself.

[Rob S]

Not sure if this would be the edge of Mirkwood, or along the lines of the Misty Mountains.

Spot on! Or perhaps the foothills of Ered Luin (Blue Mnts.) looking towards the Grey Havens, or the Hills of Evendim north of the Shire!

I really like the cooked version ..... the only thing I might attempt to try is I'd select the mountains on the horizon and darken them slightly. However, it's usually very difficult and time-consuming to hand-select just the specific areas that is desired. A friend who is a graphic artist for a large clothing chain is an expert on that sort of thing, but I personally don't have the patience.

It's a neat shot ..... and regardless of how the final edit comes out, you will have that day, and images like this, forever etched in your mind.

[masshysteria]

The cooked photo reminds me of the old postcards of the early 1900's. The photos were touched up with a paintbrush to enhance the color. The 'lobster trap' photo was an interesting look too.

[Neil]

The lobster trap photo is way more cooked than the Tolkien one. I jacked everything sky high and pushed the unsharp mask to the limit.

The trick with PS is to recreate what you were living when you took the picture. :D

[hobbitling]

It's "pretty" but somehow a little creepy and surreal. The radio active glow over the mountains, the weird Techinicolor vibe. I expect a crazed cartoon chipmunk to jump out and gnaw my eyes out. That is one bad trip you cooked up there Niel.

you could call it "the uncanny valley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley)".

that's the term for fake objects that are almost, but not quite, reminiscent of natural objects, in such a way that they are unsettling or disturbing. the term is usually used for things that look almost human (mannequins, CGI characters), but I think this could fit the bill.

[DSettahr]

The edited one looks a lot like the hand-colored black and white photographs that used to be use for postcards:

http://www.tuftsarchives.org/pinehurst-graphics-gallery/hand-colored-postcards/

[Neil]

Did some heavy cooking.

There's that pesky central area....

http://adkhighpeaks.com/neil/stuff/Sawtooth%205%20in%201_0150a%20web.jpg

[Dick]

Looks like a storm's a brewin'. Mountain and foreground are good. The rest is much more "sci-fi" than before, sort of a "2001: A Space Odyssey" look to it. Whether it's "better" or not depends on what you're trying to do with the picture.

[looncry]

My untrained eye says the "cooking" improved the foreground, especially the side of the mountain, the trees in the middle, and the tree in the lower left quadrant. It also brought out more detail in the clouds. But the distant landscape (upper right and center) now seem somehow less "real" and more like a painting, especially the lighter green trees and the now blue outline of the most distant mountains.

Dick

Well-I can't be as witty as Cory-hilarious as R-I-K and Pete Hickey-not as sweet as Snickers-not as enthusiastic as Tyler and his dad-not as wise as Peakbagger and Adam 12-not as exciting as Boreal chickadee-not as serious as Dunbar-not as Krazy and energetic as Hillman 1-not as intelligent as Algonquin Bob-not as genuine as Jim C-not as helpful as Winterwarlock -not as photogenic as Neil-not as natural as PA Ridgerunner[you look alot like my Paul]-not as efficient as MAVSOO-not as sincere as JudyandBill-not as informative as viewfinder-and viewsandbrews-not as energetic as Higonlife-and any I 4got-but we all knoe Dick on ADK Forum! :D Happy Birthday to you,Dick.Tnx from me for all you say on the Forum.:) Looncry

[Rockledge]

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore....

Actually, I think the first cooked one is very cool, although unrealistic. Has the fantasy look that others have stated. I like it.

[Cory D]

For some reason "photogenic" is not what comes to mind when I think of Neil?
But "Over cooked" is.

[RTSpoons]

The mountains and skyline look phoney. A bit more natural and a bit darker in that area.

[randomscooter]

Did some heavy cooking.

There's that pesky central area....

http://adkhighpeaks.com/neil/stuff/Sawtooth%205%20in%201_0150a%20web.jpg

The first cooked one brings out some of the subtleties without it looking weird or repulsive. The second one overcooks/destroys the subtleties and pretty much everything else.

I found the first one pleasing, the second one rather harsh and pointless.

But heck, it all depends on what you're after. It's your show.

[billandjudy]

Looks like one of my flashbacks:D

[RTSpoons]

Lucy and the sky with diamonds

[Dick]

Lucy and the sky with diamondsAh yes...where rockinghorse people eat marshmallow pies...

[Neil]

I put the 2nd one on the desktop of the home computer. No one liked it.

I guess I'm just another failure with a digital camera and powerful software. :cry:

I too prefer the first cooked one but I think it could be made a lot more striking without looking phony. Maybe I could go back and took some more pictures under different lighting conditions.

[looncry]

I love this part of the Forum-Photography-Its sweet how a pic means so much to the person[s] who have actually been there,then '' detail and depth'' are added for those to see who haven't been there....keep them coming! Looncry

[ALGonquin Bob]

Sometimes, an image is just what it is, and cranking it up in the computer makes it look artificial. If possible, use a polarizer next time and keep the image out of the kitchen. It's way overcooked!

[NumNum]

looks almost twilight zone-ish..:twisted:

[Wolfjaw]

What the twilight-zone image shows me is that there's enough information in the source to bring out a really good photo here--keep trying. You can probably select the sky and work in on it gently at first to bring some detail out, then work on the whole image in increments--I'd use a combination of Curves and Levels. And 30 minutes is not much time at all to spend on a difficult shot. Don't know how you'd feel about it, but I'd love to take a crack at it myself if you'd be willing to send me a copy of the original.

[Neil]

What the twilight-zone image shows me is that there's enough information in the source to bring out a really good photo here--keep trying. You can probably select the sky and work in on it gently at first to bring some detail out, then work on the whole image in increments--I'd use a combination of Curves and Levels. And 30 minutes is not much time at all to spend on a difficult shot. Don't know how you'd feel about it, but I'd love to take a crack at it myself if you'd be willing to send me a copy of the original.

Yeah! I keep looking at this pic and I see something special there but don't have all the tools and skills to bring it out. My main difficulty is with the selection process.

Check yer email.

[Wolfjaw]

See what I can do--thanks!