hey guys i got a small request

[citrine55]

i finally after years of trying got a lightning strike and i want to print it out however i think i had the iso on auto because it is very bright ..was wondering if someone could darken it so it brings out the strike better .ive tried 3 different ways but cannot get it good enough to print..its really the smaller forks i wanna bring out if possible

kev

[Pat]

Ho citrine. Can you upload a larger copy. This one clocks in at only 189 kb. Go for the full 580 or whatever it is. Even that is probably too small for quality printing but what can you do. At that it's going to be tough. It's pretty noisy, and any increase in contrast will make it worse. But to use noise reduction is to eliminate detail in the finer areas of the forks.
Also there are a number of what appear to be dust spots, . You might need to clean your lens and/or sensor. Or is it rain? Have a look at other exposures from the same rough time period.

[citrine55]

hi pat i think it was dust on the lens il check that out anyway but i can clone those out ..il see ig i have the oridinal im sure i have somewhere

[citrine55]

heres the original pat all ive done is get rid of those spots i think it was rain mate

[Pat]

This is about the best I could do with the small sample. It might print reasonably on your home printer (but don't quote me on that). All bets are off if you go commercial, however :).
The max upload for a jpeg is 585.9 kb.

[citrine55]

well that looks great on the small one ..ive posted the full size image mate just above your last post thanks

[Pat]

Hey citrine. Here you go. Hope this works for you.
Cheers.

By the by, aside from lightening some of the lightening forks, I've applied the photo editor's rule of thumb. "To make something appear lighter, darken the surroundings." :)

[coffee]

Here is my attempt

[citrine55]

you guys are gems thanks ever so much ive goto brush up on my photo editing cheers fellas

[jomanros]

Hy,
I could not resist sending my attempt...

[StephenK]

Hi Kev

Great shot! The lions share of this edit was done using a masked constructed with the Calculations option in Photoshop
(Image>Calculations). I was playing with the combination's and found that the gray scale for the image set to Overlay against
itself produced the best quality mask for the job. I've included a screen capture of the Calculations process.

Once the mask was constructed I played with differing combination's until I hit on the one that I liked. My workflow is
included with this as well.

Group 1 was dedicated to the core of the lightning while group 2 was focused on the upper and lower part of the image.

[citrine55]

fantastic mate ..il defo have to play with this program

[Hype]

Hi,

I went in the attic today and pulled out a graphics tablet. Its been there for about 2 years but I have never used it.

I thought I will have a crack at this with it as I can see how easy it would be to go over the lightning.

Here is what I did.

1. Cloned + Healed out the rain drops and also the odd color pixels.
2. Applied a curves adjustment layer
3. Noise Ninja.
4. Created a layer at 50% grey set as an overlay blending mode.
5. Painted over the lightning using white paint brush set Opacity to 50%
6. Flattened image but thought was too bright around the middle
7. Repeat step 4.
8. Used black paint brush to paint over the middle and set Opacity to 45%

Not as good as others here but I liked the way I could paint in the lightning really easily with the tablet.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2551/4169813534_406bed44b8_b.jpg

[StephenK]

I love it Steve! ...and I'm a big fan of the process you used to get there! The 50% gray overlay layer is my favorite
approach for dodging and burning!

Well done!! :^)

[Hype]

Thank you Stephen,

I had lots of fun doing it. The tablet helped so much and it is a real cheap one also but I love it :).

[citrine55]

bloody hell that looks so clear doesnt it ..nice job mate :):)

[coffee]

I love it Steve! ...and I'm a big fan of the process you used to get there! The 50% gray overlay layer is my favorite
approach for dodging and burning!

Well done!! :^)

I also use the 50% gray overlay layer dodge and burn process as part of my normal work flow. I have also been using a levels adjustment, lighter or darker, masking it off then painting in where I want it. It seems less destructive.

[StephenK]

I had lots of fun doing it. The tablet helped so much and it is a real cheap one also but I love it :).

I really need to start working with my own tablet more! I have a decent Wacom tablet that sits beside my
computer that I pass by all the time in favor of the mouse... Indeed the mouse is like painting with a block of soap, but
when you've learned that way it's hard to let it go! :^)