Water shots.

[madukan]

Looking back through some photos I'd taken earlier this year I remembered taking shots of the Falls of Foyers with differing shutter speeds so that I could see which I prefered. I've posted two shots, one at 0.5 sec and the other at 1/200th sec.
I'm kind of leaning towards the slower shutter speed apart from where the falls meet the river below, it looks a mess.







Just wondered what others thought or had some advice on the subject. Ta

[Geoff F]

So why not have both?



ps. I also think your images could do with a touch of midtone brightness and a little bit of unsharp mask.

[madukan]

Not a bad idea Geoff

I've never used unsharp mask, I haven't done much processing on the images other than reducing the file size and attempting to keep them similar for comparison. I like the effect the longer shutter speed has on the flowing water but the overall image is ruined by the concrete like look of the standing water of the river IMHO.
Now for the stupid question, what does unsharp mask do?

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by madukan

Not a bad idea Geoff

I've never used unsharp mask, I haven't done much processing on the images other than reducing the file size and attempting to keep them similar for comparison. I like the effect the longer shutter speed has on the flowing water but the overall image is ruined by the concrete like look of the standing water of the river IMHO.
Now for the stupid question, what does unsharp mask do?

Exactly the opposite of the daft name its got. It sharpens the image! You have to play around with the amount and settings to get the right results, different lenses need differing amounts to give good results.Most digital images improve with some sharpening.

[madukan]

Thx Sammy, I've only used the DPP software that came with the camera. I know you can sharpen a raw or jpeg image with canons software, is unsharp mask better?
Photoshop would be nice but I just don't know any rich people willing to get me it for Christmas

[Geoff F]

Most digital images are a bit 'soft' straight from the camera. Unsharp mask enhances the image where there is a line or colour change and produces a sharper appearance. You can set 'Sharpen' with the in camera settings but most digital photographers prefer to take a 'natural' photo then do any enhancement afterwards with suitable software.

As a starting point I would recommend using a little USM at, say, 200% and 2 pixels radius as the absolute maximum setting. Preferably half that amount, or less. Then there are the 'clever' ways of using USM . . .

More about that another time.

ps. I changed your waterfall using layers and a soft edged erasure brush. Arrange both photos as layers with the slower speed image on top. Then erase the waterfall bottom area from that layer as required so that the underneath faster speed image shows through and creates a 'two speed waterfall'.

[pressld2]

I don't know if it's just the software I use (Paintshop Pro v9) or if it's a universal thing but my images always need sharpening after they've been resized, no matter how sharp the original was.

Dave P.

[Geoff F]

The general advice is always do a little sharpen after a substantial resize. I usually find something like 30% at 1 pixel is sufficient for most images. And, of course, do major resizes in 2 stages using BiCubic Interpolation.

Some experts recommend doing a very slight sharpen between resizing stages but I'm not sure if it makes any noticeable difference.