Having set my mind at rest in Part 1 that my new lens wasn’t totally dodgy, I set about trying to make it even better. In fact, I decided to repeat the process on all three of my main lenses. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘Photoshop Elements’
Canon Lens Auto Focus Accuracy – Part 2
Sunday, August 21st, 2011Canon Lens Auto Focus Accuracy – Part 1
Sunday, August 14th, 2011Back in May I wrote about the new Canon 70-200mm f4 L IS lens I had chosen and my reasons for making the choice I did. After taking it out on a few non-critical sessions I haven’t been blown away by its sharpness – it’s good, but perhaps not quite as crisp as I was hoping for. I started wondering if this was down to my unrealistic expectation or if there was something wrong with the lens.
Then one day I was out on the riverbanks in Durham and saw a heron fishing in the shallows. I was a bit far away, but thought I’d grab a few frames just for interest. Reviewing the shots I’d just taken zoomed in on the camera’s LCD, the heron was clearly blurred even though I was absolutely certain I had auto-focused on the body (I was too far away to pick up the eye which I would normally aim for). What was more, the detail in the background was sharp – and it was consistent, shot after shot. Suddenly I panicked – did my new lens have a serious back-focus problem?
The shot that started it: after default sharpening in Capture One, this Heron still looked soft while background details look sharp (100% crop)
Adding Film Grain in Photoshop
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011I’ve been working on a photo I took recently and came across a tutorial which I found useful in adding a film-type grain to a black & white image. I can’t vouch for the site or its authors, but if you want some help with this technique this could be a good place to start – PhotoshopTutorials.
I applied this in Photoshop Elements using Elements+ from simplephotoshop.com. For $12 (at the time of writing), this add-in for Elements gives rudimentary access to curves, 6-channel black & white conversion and Smart filters, amongst other tools. I decided to get this after trying the demo and while it doesn’t unlock a full version of PS5, you would hardly expect it to for the money! I haven’t tested it fully, and anyone reading this should use it at their own risk, but it seems to offer some additional functions that I might have been missing. If you’re looking to add some power to Elements but can’t (or won’t) cough up for a full version of Photoshop, this might be worth a look.
Scottish Fellwalk – post processing workflow
Friday, October 8th, 2010Durham Cathedral and Memorial
Thursday, July 8th, 2010Well, last weekend didn’t go quite as planned. I had hoped to get over to the Lake District on Sunday for my first hill walk of the year but the weather conspired against me. I didn’t much fancy the advertised 80 mph gusts on the tops, especially when they were going to be covered in cloud anyway! I would have tested my new bag system too, but that will have to wait for another day. (more…)
