Using New Program

[Robshoots]

I just started using the trial version of Exposure X7 for post processing instead of GIMP, which is free. GIMP is okay but a little slow for some things, at least on my laptop. Exposure X7 seems more efficient and, I think, easier to use. Whether I'm using it correctly is another issue. Comments are welcome: contrast, tonal range, whatever. Thanks.

 

[NS: Nikon Shooter]

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Comments are welcome: contrast, tonal range, whatever.

The present DR limitations render a quite flat image. May I suggest you start
with DRL = Dynamic Range Levels = black and white points setting so to get
the full spectrum of tones.

A new app is always a learning curve for sure but proper starting tweaks will
head you in the right direction, Rob.

 

[Robshoots]

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The present DR limitations render a quite flat image. May I suggest you start
with DRL = Dynamic Range Levels = black and white points setting so to get
the full spectrum of tones.

A new app is always a learning curve for sure but proper starting tweaks will
head you in the right direction, Rob.

Thanks very much for the suggestion. I will check that out. The program also has some pretty good tutorials, and I've been watching those as well. I appreciate your feedback.

 

[WalterRowe]

The present DR limitations render a quite flat image. May I suggest you start
with DRL = Dynamic Range Levels = black and white points setting so to get
the full spectrum of tones.

A new app is always a learning curve for sure but proper starting tweaks will
head you in the right direction, Rob.

I agree with this. The image looks a little flat and underexposed. It needs the white point brought down to add contrast and brightness.

I personally use Capture One Pro for all my images editing. It has a steep learning curve and is expensive, but I find it works the very best for me. I imagine others have their favorite image editing tools.

Other free programs are Dark Table and Raw Therapee. You might look at them.

 

[NS: Nikon Shooter]

I personally use Capture One Pro for all my images editing. It has a steep learning curve and is expensive, but I find it works the very best for me.

Same here!

 

[Robshoots]

I agree with this. The image looks a little flat and underexposed. It needs the white point brought down to add contrast and brightness.

I personally use Capture One Pro for all my images editing. It has a steep learning curve and is expensive, but I find it works the very best for me. I imagine others have their favorite image editing tools.

Other free programs are Dark Table and Raw Therapee. You might look at them.

Thanks. I have Dark Table but only use it to open raw files for GIMP. Maybe I’ll take another look at it.

 

[bulldurham]

Next post with the original shot, especially if it is in color will help immensely in helping you toward a good editing solution. I just used NIK's Silver Express 2 and got a better tonal range but working with a small B&W file is harder to achieve reasonable results.

 

[WalterRowe]

Next post with the original shot, especially if it is in color will help immensely in helping you toward a good editing solution. I just used NIK's Silver Express 2 and got a better tonal range but working with a small B&W file is harder to achieve reasonable results.

View attachment 251215

This is more to my liking. Hopefully @Robshoots will share another rendering from the original.

 

[NS: Nikon Shooter]

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Hi Rob, I would be most interested to see the original RAW file
and possibly use my hands and on it!

 

[mrca]

In PS, open a levels layer. Adjust white and black point. Pull the white point in til it touches the histogram. Pull the black point in til it touches the histogram. Move the midtone slider back and forth to taste. Then take it to Nik silver efex, the gold standard of b&w adjustment and fine tune to taste or pick a thumbnail as a starting point.

 

[Robshoots]

Sorry for the delayed response. Thanks for all the helpful advice. This is the original photo, which I was about to delete but then decided I could try converting it for learning purposes. It was taken from a moving vehicle. I also took another shot at the conversion, applying some of the previous suggestions. I am rather unskilled at post processing generally, so I have much to learn.

 

[Robshoots]

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Hi Rob, I would be most interested to see the original RAW file
and possibly use my hands and on it!

Sure thing. Have at it. Thanks.

 

[Robshoots]

In PS, open a levels layer. Adjust white and black point. Pull the white point in til it touches the histogram. Pull the black point in til it touches the histogram. Move the midtone slider back and forth to taste. Then take it to Nik silver efex, the gold standard of b&w adjustment and fine tune to taste or pick a thumbnail as a starting point.

GIMP has the levels function, but Exposure X7 does not, as far as I can tell so far. It does have a curves function, though. In GIMP I would do exactly as you have suggested. But I'm not sure about the Nik silver efex. Thanks much.

 

[Robshoots]

Next post with the original shot, especially if it is in color will help immensely in helping you toward a good editing solution. I just used NIK's Silver Express 2 and got a better tonal range but working with a small B&W file is harder to achieve reasonable results.

View attachment 251215

This is really nice, especially the sky. Thanks.

 

[Robshoots]

One more time. This one I did with GIMP. The shadows in the trees are too dark, and I couldn't figure out how to fix that. But I think this version is better overall.