Continuing from my last post on working with the Sony A73’s .ARW RAW files in Lightroom. Here are more examples from our Taiwan trip. I’ve included different locations this time round and also subject matter, especially when the kids are in the picture since they require more care in making adjustments. I’m not at the point yet in my post-processing skills to make differentiated adjustments in a picture – but perhaps in the future!
Sample #6 @ Feng Chia Night Market: 1/125s, 0.0EV, f4, ISO1250, 24mm. Adjustments were +0.60EV, Highlights -100, Shadows +13. Our human eyes are capable of better differentiating detail in scenes where there is contrasting light sources that produce a wide dynamic range. So, night photographs that comprise a range of light sources and luminance will routinely result in blown-out highlights, even when taken by full-frame cameras. This picture taken on our first night in Taiwan @ Feng Chia Night Market illustrates this: there is clear loss of detail in the first floor lighted signage. Reduction of highlights solves this, and at the same time I’ve applied a small bump to shadows to illuminate the scooters and persons riding them. In this case though, the Highlights are at -100, which is a little too much: the signage while legible now also looks dim.
Sample #7 @ Houli Strawberry Farm: 1/1250s, 0.0EV, f2.8, ISO100, 125mm. Adjustments were +0.20EV, Contrast +2, Highlights -80. This was taken on Day 2 during our strawberry picking visit in Houli, and around mid-morning. The sun was up and casting strong shadows around. My adjustments here this time are quite specific: to retrieve lost detail from Hannah’s pink jacket that was blown out by strong sunlight and still leave the green leaves of the strawberry plants alone.
Sample #8 @ Zhongshe Flower Market: 1/800s, 0.0EV, f4, ISO100, 24mm. Adjustments were Highlights -100, Dehaze +41. This was about mid-afternoon on Day 2, and the sun was well under cover from the overcast above. There was already very little cloud detail and the sky was mostly white: so reducing Highlights as much as I could didn’t finally do very much, and I also kept my Dehaze adjustments moderate too – that slider has a nasty habit of creating an unnatural blue sky. Quite nice to also see that today’s modern imaging sensors can still get color balance right and not be overwhelmed by the significant presence of primary colors – blue in this case.
Sample #9 @ Gaomei Wetlands: 1/400s, -1EV, f10, ISO100, 26mm. Adjustments were Contrast +6, Highlights -100, Shadows +100, Dehaze +41. Still on the same day, in the fairly late afternoon, and our last stop for Day 2. Scenes like these are always tricky. The sun here is mostly exposed (aside from a cloud layer in the lower half), and cameras on default settings always have a hard time deciding how to correctly meter the image. I dialed in a -1EV on-camera, and in post-processing, reduced Highlights and increased Shadows as much as I could to give the eventual picture a bit more apparent dynamic range. And oh yes; you can see that a lot of people were on the beach at this point. Inevitable unless you go on a day to visit Gaomei Wetlands when no one is around!
Sample #10 @ Cingjing Farm: 1/1000s, 0EV, f4, ISO100, 34mm. Adjustments were Contrast +30, Highlights -54, Shadows +6, Vibrance +13, Saturation +13, Dehaze +21. Fast forwarding to Day 5 afternoon, where we had a gloriously sunny day with a blue sky to boot too. Perfect day to go nuts with landscape shots, though you still have to be mindful of sun facing to get the deepest blues. The adjustments here were basically to add a bit more color to the green meadows and sky layer.
Sample #11 @ Da’an Forest Park: 1/1250s, 0EV, f4, ISO100, 24mm. Adjustments were Highlights -30, Dehaze +21. Fast forward to Day 11 and in Taipei city, where we had another fairly sunny day. Da’an Forest Park on one side faces expensive-looking condo apartment blocks. Adjustments here are relatively minor: basically just to add a bit more color to the picture.
Sample #12 @ Da’an Forest Park: 1/1000s, 1EV, f2.8, ISO160, 143mm. Adjustments were +0.20EV, Highlights -55, Shadows +15. Taken shortly after the previous sample and now while the kids are playing in the sand area of the playground. Direct sunlight has a nasty way of producing glare as it reflects of light-color surfaces – the sand in this case. So, I applied some moderate reduction of Highlights, and at the same time bumped up Shadows a little – though I think the picture would had been alright even without this second adjustment.
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