Sean DeMerchant said:
Hi Mary,
Correcting blown highlights is best done in the RAW converter as already noted. But it can be done easily for some images using an appropriate mask. Albeit, since I do all my post-RAW-converter work in PS I am little help with other tools.
Although I was emotionally engaged with the mushrooms, the pics are part of my practicing. I am sure to take many more with blown highlights and will know in future to try to correct any images that I want to work with in the RAW converter.
My only goal was a more contrasty and saturated rendition to compensate for the semi-harsh lighting.
I am learning from you.
This is where practice comes in and you are already doing that. So just keep watching even when the camera is not in hand and see what tickles your eyes in a pleasing fashion.
Good tip. Thanks very much.
About sending RAW files of other shots of this mushroom colony to Sean:
Please do and I will email or post in this thread my rendition at your preference. At the end of the day, side views of fungi are not always the best, but they are often a personal favorite.
I shall send several, in separate PM e-mails, to stay under my host's 10 MB limit.
Please post your renditions in this thread.
Those swivel screens are a truly lovely to shoot with for low angle work without getting filthy.
Indeed. I love my Canon G2. And when you want to use the screen as a convenient extra view finder, it can be flipped so that it lies flat against the camera back. But I mostly have it in its extended or angled position.
About dealing with the physical aspects of shooting macro landscapes:
I know the feel. Lying on the ground in a mossy and fungi filled area is never a dry experience when the fungi are fruiting. Heck, the gear that keeps my dry tends to cause me to sweat so all that accomplishes in the end is keeping me warm.
Speaking of staying warm, winter is on its way here in Nashville, although there should be some beautiful fall color toward the end of this month. I look forward to perhaps shooting something macro in the snow. Now, *that* will be a challenge for me in using P or M settings in the G2.
Will save that thread for when the problem comes up. < grin >
About Sean's renditions:
Thanks. Half of that is sharpening. Below is a sharpened rendition.
Ah. May I save that to HD, for sending to a couple of friends and relatives to whom I had sent an uncorrected image of this top view of the mushroom hat?
In re sharpening: I had advice from Dierk in another thread to leave learning to do that for a bit later in my progress. Perhaps I will put a query about it as a new thread in Entry Digital Photography a little bit later on.
Looking at this shot closer, I would also say that the plane of critical focus was in the grass rather than on the mushrooms cap.
Yes. I hadn't yet learned about using the little square in the view-screen to focus, and I made the shot looking through the view finder.
About Sean's example mushroom image:
The other half is the lighting used (my shot was pure mildly-diffused flash) and it was shot with a macro lens with a justified reputation for being very sharp.
Asher advised me some time back to get a macro lens for the G2.
I'm considering whether my arthritic hands are up to safely changing lenses on my digicam. I used to do it with ease on my old Minolta film camera--but that feels like a lifetime ago, now.
... let me know if you want emails or responses in this thread.
Both, if time permits. If there must be a choice, put the responses in this thread. And please include pics to illustrate, as well as steps of what you did. I am always mindful that advice which solves a problem for me may be just what someone else is looking for, also.
Off to compose some e-mails to you, now.
Mary
