Muddy puddle? Or a gateway to another world?

[David]

Here's another of the photos I took in the dene the other day. It just looked like a muddy puddle till you saw it at a certain angle.

 

 

Taken with Nikon D7100, F/5.6, Exp 1/20 sec, ISO 100, Nikkor 55-300 lens @ 180mm

[bugmeister]

Well seen, the muddy bits form a really good out of focus frame for the clear reflection

[ChrisLumix]

That's distinctive! Did you do ANY p-p work to it all, or is that straight out of camera?

[David]

Thanks bugs and Chris I would love to say straight out of the camera but, I pp'd the raw file in elements 12...

 

Adjusted: contrast (+25), highlights (+59), shadows (+89), whites (+43), blacks (-76), clarity (+20), vibrance (+10). Temp (as shot 4600), tint (as shot +6)

 

Sharpening: (as shot, no adjustment)

 

Noise (didnt really need it but I always like to put a slight reduction into my shots; luminance (+30), luminance detail (untouched) luminance contrast (+30), colour (I always adjust these high...a habit I seem to have got into...+95), colour detail (90)

 

These are what I call polishing the shot, and no hard or fast rules to it I just adjust the sliders 'till I like what I see. Here is the shot as taken:

 

 

Oh and I also turned it upside down to show the trees the right way up instead of upside down

[ChrisLumix]

Thanks bugs and Chris I would love to say straight out of the camera but, I pp'd the raw file in elements 12...

 

Adjusted: contrast (+25), highlights (+59), shadows (+89), whites (+43), blacks (-76), clarity (+20), vibrance (+10). Temp (as shot 4600), tint (as shot +6)

 

Sharpening: (as shot, no adjustment)

 

Noise (didnt really need it but I always like to put a slight reduction into my shots; luminance (+30), luminance detail (untouched) luminance contrast (+30), colour (I always adjust these high...a habit I seem to have got into...+95), colour detail (90)

 

These are what I call polishing the shot, and no hard or fast rules to it I just adjust the sliders 'till I like what I see. Here is the shot as taken:

 

Puddle-raw.jpg

 

Oh and I also turned it upside down to show the trees the right way up instead of upside down

 

That's fascinating. I prefer your processed shot, but weirdly, it's easier to see the original subject matter in the original RAW shot.

 

Do you log down all your Elements adjustments? That's a big Wow as I'd spend my whole life recording those details if I did it!

[David]

By 'its easier to see the original subject matter' do you mean its easier to see that it is a reflection in a muddy puddle? if so I agree. But I like to try to make my photos a bit intriguing to be studied a little and worked out, kind of trying to add a little interest to them. That's why I called it a gateway to another world (I think it looks more like a window than a reflection)  I also (personally) like to make the blacks really black and make further adjustments around this.

 

As for logging down settings I would also be spending all my life recording them! Instead elements saves an XMP file along side the raw file so when you re-open it in photoshop, it opens at the settings you adjusted it to, so they are always there to view, as long as you either don't rename the raw file or you rename both the same and save them in the same folder.