Finally got some work done on our vacation shots from Knight Inlet / Vancouver. Took over 4,000 shots. Now down to just under 1600. Still got a way to go though. Thought I would post a few, hopefully for your enjoyment. I will spread them over 2-3 posts.

First two were shot from our small floatplane on the way there. Next , a couple of bears and a egret.

Knight Inlet is a lodge floating on an inlet in British Columbia. They offer bear viewing ( why we went ), several different hikes, kayaking and whale watches. Very popular with people from England, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. Barb and were the only americians there.

[Schraubstock]

Schraubstock
I do like what you did. Mine is more of a moody, hazy feeling, while yours has more pazazz & detail.
What processing do you use? It looks like I may have to try it. Plus, how complicated is it to learn.
Remember, I'm an old fart and have trouble complicated programs.

Dennis

Hi Dennis
You can teach an old dog new tricks!

Well where do I start, do you have time to read a post of 50 pages? (Do I have time to author it?) I used to print professional fine art giclée (I have retired now and only do the odd jobs) and have spent thousands on a colour proofing system. I have some 11 image processing programs and I use them all because I find some do a better job than others in certain situations and tasks.

For meaningful work Photoshop still reigns supreme but it is more suitable for image manipulation rather than colour work for which ADOBE Lightroom is more suitable. But they are bloody expensive and the learning curve is steep. Than there is a new French program by the name of OLONEO PHOTOENGINE for which I was a beta tester and I can highly recommend it. The learning curve here is not so steep. (But also expensive)

But wait, don't despair, there is a neat little program used as a plugin or standalone and it is just right for the beginner (or old farts) it is inexpensive easy to learn and it does really quite a good job, not always perfect but all in all quite competent. It is meant for people (and old farts ) who have no or very little understanding of how colour works and it does a lot of the corrections automatically. It is called Colorwasher and can be found here:

The Plugin Site - Plugins for Photoshop, Lightroom, Elements, Paint Shop Pro, Corel, After Effects, Premiere and more Go to PhotoWiz and click on ColorWasher. I think it will be just the right thing for you.

Greetings

[Dma110]

Thanks for the info, Schraubstock.
I will definitely try it.
Won't have much time till end of next week, as we're flying to Indy to see wife's 93 yr old uncle. I will download it tomorrow and play with it when we get back. Will let you know how I do.

Thanks again for your help and info.

Dennis

[Schraubstock]

Will let you know how I do.

That would be nice if you could, I'll be interested if it can work for you.

Greetings

[daacon]

Wow great shots Dennis the first two are specatuclar and a bear in the wild as well - great captures.

[Dma110]

Thanks Daacon. It means a lot to get kind words from you and others whose work I drool with envy over.

Dennis

[juanraortiz]

Schraubstock
I do like what you did. Mine is more of a moody, hazy feeling, while yours has more pazazz & detail.
What processing do you use? It looks like I may have to try it. Plus, how complicated is it to learn.
Remember, I'm an old fart and have trouble complicated programs.

Dennis

Did you shoot a flash with the animals? There is a free program called Photoscape that can help you to adjust the levels in a very easy and simple way. I used it because I don´t have time to manage curves and contrast when I have 100 pics to edit. For example I took your pic and adjusted automatic levels and contrast. Then backlight 75%. Only 5 seconds and here is the final version. I hope this will help you.

[Dma110]

Juanraoritz

Thanks for the info. I'll try it. I downloaded colorwasher, but it seems you have to have Photoshop to run it. I know I'm a heretic, having neither Photoshop or lightroom I'll try yours and see. Picassa is good for some things, but it is limited.
Thanks again for the help

Dennis

[Dma110]

You know when I greet newcomers, I tell them how helpful & friendly this forum is.
I keep finding out how true it is

Dennis