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Ibn
03-20-2005, 1:20 AM
Raining on and off throughout the day and didn't get a chance to go out. Just shot this cat in the afternoon in between and then tried out some PS. Thoughts on both of these?

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y36/Onei/Mammals/_DSC3289.jpg


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y36/Onei/Mammals/_DSC3289b.jpg
hir0
03-20-2005, 4:58 AM
hrmmmm. well, here's my amateur thoughts - i prefer the contrast in #1 and the highlight control in #2. in #2 the lighting looks kinda flat. #1 the cat seems sharper. i like #1 better. is either of them unedited? maybe somewhere in the middle would be perfect.
*edit, i downloaded both and viewed them in acdsee, i think #1 is a lot better.
Ibn
03-20-2005, 3:28 PM
#1 was sharpened more aggressively versus #2. #1 was at 15% twice @ 30 pixels in PS. Before that, it was sharpened on low setting in Nikon Editor. #2 was sharpened once @ 25% and 1.2 pixels. #2 was also ran through noise ninja, while #1 wasn't.

Here's the original unedited version.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y36/Onei/Mammals/_DSC3289c.jpg
hir0
03-20-2005, 5:49 PM
i think i like the unedited version the best =]
JerseyJay
03-21-2005, 11:20 PM
I would like to see blurred background and more contrast on the cat.
Ibn
03-22-2005, 2:25 AM
Would love to be able to do so myself. Might have to pick up a photoshop book and see if I can dabble with it. That is also a shortcoming of the Sigma lens. Picture was taken at f9 and I'm sure that the 70-200mm VR would have done a much better job given the same conditions.
hir0
03-22-2005, 6:55 AM
f9! try shooting it wide open and see how it comes out. =]
Ibn
03-22-2005, 12:44 PM
I'll check to see if I have any that I took wide open (I believe I do). I don't think the cat was looking at me in the other pics though.
JerseyJay
03-22-2005, 5:45 PM
This is what I meant by making the background blurry

http://aquatic-photography.com/gallery/files/2/editedcat.jpg
Ibn
03-22-2005, 5:58 PM
Dang, Jay. That really looks great. Mind sharing what you did with the picture?
JerseyJay
03-22-2005, 6:02 PM
Dang, Jay. That really looks great. Mind sharing what you did with the picture?
Thanks.

#1. Duplicate Layer
#2. Filter -> Blur - Gaussian Blur (entire image blurred)
#3. Layer -> Add Layer Mask -> Reveal All
#4. Select Brush and paint over the area you want to bring back (in focus) (black color), to correct and bring blur use white color)
#5. Increased Level in background
#6. Flatten Image

Viola !
Ibn
03-22-2005, 6:17 PM
Thanks, Jay. Sounds really simple. Will have to give it a shot later on today when I get off.
Ibn
03-24-2005, 1:58 AM
This one was shot at f/5.6. Kind of soft, but I tried blurring out the background and came out with this.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y36/Onei/Mammals/_DSC3282a.jpg