Calling All RAW Developers: I'm Seeking a Christmas Miracle

[Jason Dunn]

<img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/hawaii-sunset-jason.jpg" /><br /><br />I took the above photo on the deck of the cruise ship when I was in Hawaii last month - the ship was moving, the sun was just setting, and my camera's shutter speed slowed down to compensate for the low amount of light. The result is an interesting effect where the water has a slight motion blur, but is crisp in some areas, and the skyline is still (more or less) in focus. I did a small 4 x 6 print of this to show my family, and my mother really liked it. She asked for a large version, and that was one of the reasons I purchased the R1800 printer recently. The problem is processing the image - it has a great deal of noise, and I'm unsure of how it will look when printed at 13 x 19". I've done some testing with Noise Ninja, which has helped, but I'm also still a newbie when it comes to RAW processing. <br /><br />I'd really like to give this photo to my mother for a Christmas present, so I thought this might make an interesting community experiment: if you'd like to help, <a href="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/dmt/2006/DMT-RAW.zip">download the RAW image</a> and process the image the way you want. I'm interested in seeing what people do with this image in terms of colour, exposure, saturation, noise reduction, etc. You can do what you want with it, though remember it's supposed to hang on an office wall. ;-) The image will be printed on 13 x 19" Epson Premium Semigloss Photo Paper using an R1800 printer (if you want to track down the appropriate ICC profiles). Once you have the image, post the download URL in this thread. If you'd prefer to keep the results between us, you can send me a private message with the URL. Or, if you lack a place to upload your final image, send an email to [email protected] (I'll kill that email address when this experiment is over).<br /><br />I have no idea if this experiment will resulting in anything usable, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try! :-D

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Here's the version I sent to Jason:

http://www.dysorder.org/dmtrawys.jpg

Normally I like my clouds to be more dramatic and melachonic, so I tend to give a higher contrast coupled with darker outlines to them. I raised the saturation of the coloured areas to make them stand out more admist the sea of, ermm, cool-toned sea and clouds. :P

[cameron]

Well, here's my shot. This is a tough image Jason - the amount of noise, combined with the fact that the clouds aren't really sharp makes it a bit borderline for the size you are looking for. Of course that's what makes it a bit fun - some of my favorite shots are those that I wish I had shot better.

http://www.camerontune.com/Jason_thmb%20copy.jpg

Here's the full-size JPG http://www.camerontune.com/jason_full.jpg

Here's what I did:
1. Ran it through neat image (twice)
2. Brought the horizon down a bit (so it wasn't right in the middle of the shot). I did this by selecting the water and compressing it a bit (using the free transform tool). Doing this made the intended size a bit difficult, so I actually pulled the right side in towards the center. I think this worked well, as I also wanted to keep just the one side of the sky colorful.
3. One curve layer that darkened the image (and saturated the colors a bit)
4. Another curve layer to darken the sky.
5. Sharpened for 13x19 using Nik Sharpener Pro (just the water).

[Chris Gohlke]

Sweet picture. Can't help with the editing part but this picture will definitely be my new wallpaper when I go back to work after the holidays.

Posted via Wii!!!!

[Vincent Ferrari]

One of the beauties of RAW is that you can ALWAYS make improvements after the shot regardless of the quality of the actual shot (although this one, IMHO doesn't need much)

http://www.insignificantthoughts.com/jasonfinalsmall.jpg

Here's what I did...

1. Ran PS CS2's RAW importer to open it.
2. Ran Neatimage.
3. Softened the sky only because I didn't really think sharpening it would look kosher.
4. Opened up the Levels tool and tweaked the Blue a bit to make it less punchy.

Honestly, aside from the noise, you probably didn't need all that done to it, but it was fun to tinker and I liked my end result. The others are great too. Surely out of the ones you've gotten, you'll be able to use at least one of 'em.

You can download my files (large JPG and original quality PSD from PS CS2) here (http://www.insignificantthoughts.com/jason.zip).

[Jason Dunn]

GREAT stuff guys - I'm doing some test prints now, but these are looking great. :way to go: There really is a Santa Claus! ;-)

[Jason Dunn]

..but this picture will definitely be my new wallpaper when I go back to work after the holidays.

Here you go:

http://www.jasondunn.com/images/wallpaper/KauaiSunset-1600x1200.jpg

:-)

[Chris Gohlke]

Thanks!

[Tim Williamson]

..but this picture will definitely be my new wallpaper when I go back to work after the holidays.

Here you go:

http://www.jasondunn.com/images/wallpaper/KauaiSunset-1600x1200.jpg

:-)

Is that the fixed version? It doesn't look very noisy.

[Jason Dunn]

Is that the fixed version? It doesn't look very noisy.

It's a resized version of Cameron's image...

[Tim Williamson]

Nice jorb, looks great! How'd your mom like it?

[Jason Dunn]

Nice jorb, looks great! How'd your mom like it?

She really, really liked the print. I gave her a choice between the one that Lee did and the one that Cameron did, and she chose the Cameron version (sorry Lee ;-)). The printer does SUCH amazing prints, everyone was blown away - most average home users don't see prints that big coming off something that someone else has in their home office...

[cameron]

I gave her a choice between the one that Lee did and the one that Cameron did, and she chose the Cameron version (sorry Lee ;-)).

Woohoo! What do I win? :)

I'm really debating getting a larger format printer. I'm putting together a portfolio book right now and I want to do 11x14s in the book. I've been putting off getting an order together to get them all printed - maybe I'll try to trek out in the snow today and find me a new printer.

[Jason Dunn]

Woohoo! What do I win? :)

Private Message me your shipping address and I'll mail you a Digital Media Thoughts micro light. ;-)