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Re: [OM] blue skies plug-in

Subject: Re: [OM] blue skies plug-in
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:37:38 -0800
On 12/1/2010 1:30 AM, SwissPace wrote:
> ... I agree though moose the software doesn't work well for the faces example 
> you posted and viveza2 seems no better, but there are some things that make 
> life easier, like a ratchet spanner in the toolbox, not necessary but saves 
> time and effort.

I don't, and didn't, disagree with the toolbox analogy. My objection is to the 
price/performance relationship. Viveza 
alone is still overpriced and the combo package you bought is much more 
expensive for PS. I'm not buying another editor 
and, in one case, computer, to get the special deal. :-)

I've now looked more closely at your sky and trees example:

Pro: Viveza has done a very good job of selecting sky and separating it from 
the branches and leaves. In an overexposed 
shot with small, dark things backlit by something very bright, the edges of 
the, in this case, twigs and leaves tend to 
disappear. That makes selecting the sky very difficult. I think Viveza has done 
as good or better a job on this image as 
I could do in PS.

It's still not a great job. Working on an image like this is always damage 
control. The correct answer is something over 
-1 EV adjustment when taking the shot. Sure, I screw up and have to try to fix, 
but it really is much easier to get it 
right in the first place.

Con: Viveza has done a poor job of filling in the area it selected. That the 
sky is brighter at the bottom than the top 
is technically poor, but doesn't matter much, as that pattern is common in 
images of sky. That it goes cyan on the left, 
blue, leaning toward purple on the right, is not good. That it goes lighter and 
darker depending on how close it is to 
other subject matter, is just bad.

Look at the areas surrounded by leaves. The small ones are lighter than bigger 
ones. And the large open area on the 
right has an obvious gradient from light to dark going from edge to center.

That's OK for snapshots, but far from the "Pro" tool they claim. If they'd just 
offer the selection part of the tool as 
a $25 plug-in, I'd probably buy it.

> I do intend to try and get more out of photoshop, I am normally quick at 
> picking things up but layers and masking in photoshop, like German are 
> proving difficult for me to learn, although if truth be know I haven't 
> devoted as much effort as I should ;-)

Try thinking of a drawing where you've messed up part of it. You overlay a 
second sheet, draw the wrong parts again, 
then have the ability to erase the parts of the top sheet where the one below 
is fine.

That's layers and masks. No, it's not an exact analogy to the computer version, 
and far less powerful and flexible, but 
may help with getting the concept clear in your mind.

A layer is just that, a sheet on top of another one. It may contain an exact 
copy that one then modifies, a different 
images of clouds, other people or places, anything one can imagine.

A mask is transparency in the upper sheet that lets the one below show through. 
Any part(s) of It may be partially or 
fully transparent, and created by selecting objects and/or areas  or by 
painting on the mask itself.

The Masked Moose!
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