It's spring in Australia

[Robyn]

These are just a few of the many pics I took this afternoon. Straight out of the camera......I haven't done any sharpening (mainly because I don't really understand what settings to use in the USM......any pointers gratefully received. :o )

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1ggGH6gswdck5bylSF1m6TNP79d4jL0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1ggGH6gswdck5bylSF1m6TNP79d4jL0)

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/118f0fQuraWJS7siGcbT5LKoln0y71_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=118f0fQuraWJS7siGcbT5LKoln0y71)

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/17kvifVtRBcnoG1RulBAT1rv4d00_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=17kvifVtRBcnoG1RulBAT1rv4d00)

[Robyn]

And three more.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1oCdfh38ugfHkrOIFlnYTzBL0josBF1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1oCdfh38ugfHkrOIFlnYTzBL0josBF1)

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1cRIKj1AIa0E5CSEmHHl7ksIfBv770_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1cRIKj1AIa0E5CSEmHHl7ksIfBv770)

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1BF7tYla0WWvjQAFuv6Z7jqy5LJE3_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1BF7tYla0WWvjQAFuv6Z7jqy5LJE3)

[Juergen D]

Robyn,
I am almost always getting very good results when sharpening at very high Amount, small Radius, and as low a Threshold as possible. This example was done at 435%, 0.3 pixels, and 0 levels. Of course, it is always good to do the USM on a duplicate layer.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1D9LrwqWbmidvCG7eht2wcUTEpeWZP_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1D9LrwqWbmidvCG7eht2wcUTEpeWZP)

Juergen

[karen donnybrook]

Robyn,

They are just beautiful and didn't Juergen's unsharp mask make that one jump off the screen?

Karen

[Robyn]

WOW........didn't that make a difference. Hopefully I'll now have more idea of what settings to use.

Thank you very much Juergen.

[Robyn]

Here are 3 more where I have applied the suggested sharpening settings. But they don't seem to have the 'pop' like the example Juergen has posted. Is this because Juergen has applied these settings to a lower resolution picture? You can see that I don't really know much about/understand the basics of sharpening.

Any further tips would really be appreciated.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1o1x0WIK4cr4QXbAysBtYIuQeGM_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1o1x0WIK4cr4QXbAysBtYIuQeGM)

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1TxeR9zvkteObOOYRS25bcMANRuID8_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1TxeR9zvkteObOOYRS25bcMANRuID8)

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/14fxh8oAyZULqyKY5zr5gAnh1AWC1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=14fxh8oAyZULqyKY5zr5gAnh1AWC1)

[Juergen D]

Robyn,
I don't think it should make a difference that I applied the sharpening to the lower resolution image. I suppose you applied USM with the settings I had suggested. Did you have any other steps involved?
I took this one and applied the same settings here:

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/18X67y3wFSpefLbIOshyfvEFngjx0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=18X67y3wFSpefLbIOshyfvEFngjx0)

Juergen

[ChristineV]

Robyn, those are beautiful! Is that 2nd one a Peony? I LOVE Peonies! But I can't grow them in Texas!! :(

[Juergen D]

Robyn,
Can you post this last image without the sharpening? Same size (700 x 467).

Juergen

[Robyn]

Juergen........

I only applied the settings you suggested........nothing else. But the latest one you have posted looks heaps sharper than what I did.:confused: :confused:

Christine.......I'm not a gardener at all.......but I think that is a camillia. That's the only flower that come from my garden......the rest is just growing wild in the reserve behind my house.

[mel]

Robyn...

gorgeous flowers and great shots of them :)

Juergen...

excellent sharpening method!!

[ChristineV]

Oh I Love Camillias too!

When I lived in Florida I had a camillia bush and all the flowers were white except 3 blooms would always bloom this beautiful, rich pink! it was very strange!

[Robyn]

This one is without any sharpening.......not sure that it looks a whole lot different to the one that I sharpened.:confused:

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1RTeoqphBuESQNoBZdHecR9zkQqidl0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1RTeoqphBuESQNoBZdHecR9zkQqidl0)

[Robyn]

Christine.........on that same bush some are that one colour and others are white and fringed with that colour.

[ChristineV]

Sounds just like the bush I had!! I did have some that were white then streaked with the pink and only about 2 solid pink blooms.

[Wendy]

Robyn ...

Oh the flowers are just lovely !! :)

Wendy

[Juergen D]

Robyn,
There seems to be a minute amount of sharpening on the image that you applied it, compared to the original, almost imperceptible. Something is wrong. I'd like to figure out what happened, maybe something that we are overlooking. If you want me to pursue this a bit more, you could post a screen shot with the USM dialog box open and the layer pallet showing. Hopefully something pops up.

Juergen

[Robyn]

Hi Juergen,

Here is the screen shot. You're right, the difference is hardly noticeable.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/12vwDQDR4KuVkjmVEVlTz5dQ7cUW30_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=12vwDQDR4KuVkjmVEVlTz5dQ7cUW30)

It's nearly midnight here, so I'm off to bed soon. I'll check this thread out in the morning. Thanks for your help.

[NMarti]

Robyn
Those are beautiful. Everything here is now becoming a drab shade of brown. At least we still have a little fall color to look forward to.

[ChristineV]

We don't even have fall color here to look forward to. Everything here has been drab and brown all summer. Even this past spring when everything blooms .. hardly anything bloomed at all. It really has been quite a sad year. And the triple digit temps all summer hasn't helped.

So it is really nice to see the beauty on the other side :)

[Juergen D]

Hi Robyn,
Well, one thing does pop up, which is the fuzziness of the preview inside the USM dialog box. That little picture should be sharp and crisp. There may be something wrong with the USM filter. I have never heard of a way to reset it. Which leaves for now the option to do a reset of the Editor Preferences.
Go ahead and try that and we'll patiently wait for the result and hope it makes a difference. :)

Juergen

[Wendy]

It could be that the image on screen is at say 25% and the image in the preview box is 100% ... and the preview box could just be showing one of the petals at the edge ... the ones that are blurred.

When I use this I try to get the preview box set at about the same resolution as the onscreen image and move the image around in the preview box so that the centre bit shows :)

EDIT ... Then clicking in the preview box will show you a before and after

Wendy

[mel]

Juergen,

I've been trying this same thing that you suggested to Robyn on some of my flower photos and had the same thing happen to me - I just didn't see much of a difference. What I did do was bumped the radius up a bit and then it did look nice and crisp.

I did notice though that on some flowers it looked good and on others it looked over sharpened. I don't know how to put two flowers (like in before and after) in the same link for pixentral otherwise I'd show them.

I don't have much experience with the USM so that's why I'm following along here......it's good practice :) ;)

[Russinator]

Robyn, your spring flowers photos are wonderful. I almost always sharpen with these amounts [84-1-4]. You might give those a try and compare the results with Juergen's settings [435-0.3-0]. I'm interested in the results. Did you do a levels adjustment? If not, that's a good thing to do. Russ

[Juergen D]

Wendy,
You may be right with the assumption that we are looking at a blurry spot to begin with...

Mel,
I have been using this kind of setting for years. I'll look around some more to see what may be influencing the output.
No, you can't just set USM one way and use the same values every time. It depends a lot on the image how much sharpening should be applied. However, the only setting I usually change is the amount. I just about always keep the radius at 0.3 pixels.

Robyn,
I'm now getting really curious. The next thing to try on my end would be using your original. If it is under 2 meg, you could post it at Pixentral, if not, maybe you'd want to email it to me.

Juergen

[mel]

Thanks Juergen :)

And Russ, I'll give those amounts a try as well to see how it comes up.

[NRiceDesigns]

Robyn, they're beautiful. Won't they be wonderful used in Texturizer?
Hey, you could do a montage like Kev's (I don't have the link handy, but I saw it today). They would be great cards.

[BettyC]

Robyn--I'm so glad that it's spring for you! That does wonders for the psyche!! Anyway, regarding the sharpening: Butch gave a great explanation here: #4 message

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10442&highlight=overlay

I've used high pass overlay method for several years. It's so adjustable when you've done it on a separate layer & can adjust opacity of it. (I think I remember that Wendy uses this method, also.)

(You can use this on certain selections that you make in your photos, also.)

Beautiful flowers, by the way!

[ktnoon60]

Beautiful flowers Robyn!

Terry

[Robyn]

Hi Juergen.......

I think I just needed to bump the radius up a bit more......and it looks much crisper. I had a play around this morning and I found I got quite pleasing results keeping the amount at 100% and the radius somewhere between 3 and 4......depending on the pic.

Betty ......I will also check out the high pass overlay method. I know that I looked at this before, but because I had not got around to actually sharpening any pics, I'd forgotten about it. I've really only just started to get into photography.

..........and thanks to all of you who have given me such positive feedback on the photos.........it's much appreciated. Any tips on how to improve would be equally appreciated.

[kroberts]

Beautiful spring flowers! Although I enjoy all flowers, it seems like those in the spring are the best. I guess it's the wonderful color after a dull, drab winter. We're noticing signs of fall here now.

I'm anxious to try out the USM, I've read about it and tried to use it but never really understood how it works. As always, this forum is filled with great information and wonderful images!

[Robyn]

Here is one that I have sharpened at 100% with the radius at 3.5. I am very conscious of over-sharpening. Does this look about right? I guess it's hard to gauge without you seeing the original....but it is certainly much sharper than the original.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1jgGNAvU2KjPCgTPjSg3qmqtOok5y_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1jgGNAvU2KjPCgTPjSg3qmqtOok5y)

[kayser]

Robyn- What beautiful flower pictures! I was just saying in Karen's thread that I am looking forward to the spring growing season in Australia! :)

I, too, am still learning sharpening. I use the sample settings from Kelby's book to get started (I think that's where Russ's numbers are from- 85 1 4 is his recommendation for all-purpose/general sharpening. If you have his book, you might check out that section.

[GaryK]

Reading with some interest. :)

First off ..great shots Robyn :D

Second.. I would think that the resolution of the photo would have a huge impact on the USM filter. This from a guy that never uses it :)

My assumption (possibly wrong) would be that less pixels (lower res) would mean the radius would act more as a percetage.
So using easy numbers a radius of 1 on a 100 x 100 picture would be 1% of the "edge" while the same radius on a 1000 x 1000 picture would only be .1% of the edge.. thus less noticable.

Like I said I rarely use it and my thoughts on how it works could be way off base. :confused:

[Juergen D]

Robyn,
That does look very nice, absolutely not over sharpened.

Gary,
I'm still studying the matter. I am always using the low radius approach for its rather subtle effect, usually on larger images with a much higher resolution. It always works for me and I can't quite figure out why it does not work here.

Juergen

[bnk1953]

Robyn - great images. It always is amazing to me that one part of the world is heading into the rebirth of spring colors while the other part heads into the wonders of Fall colours (at least those of us north of the imaginary Mason/Dixon line).
The discussion on sharping is always well worth the time to work thru and come to better understanding of what is too much, etc.
~bruce.

[GaryK]

Juergen

Like I said, I rarely use it.. I was more commenting on why there COULD be a difference between the results Robyn initially had with her originals and what you got with her posted pics.:confused:

I never meant to imply the settings you suggested were wrong or no good. :)

[Robyn]

Another thing I did this morning.........I really don't know whether this makes a difference or not, but last night I just opened the pic and went ahead with sharpening without resizing. This morning I resized the picture making the resolution 300 instead of 72 and thereby at the same time reducing the actual size of the picture from very large to normal.

I don't really understand the relationship of the settings with the resolution............if indeed there is a 'relationship'.


Gary, Bruce, Kim and Kay.........thanks for the positive feedback.......much appreciated.

[GaryK]

Robyn

Were they with the macro??

[Robyn]

Yes Gary. The Canon 100mm f 2.8.

[GaryK]

Drats :D:D

So Ray is trying to get me to upgrade by showing me Bryce and now I need another lens for those closeup flower shots.
I'm going to have to start cutting the lawn with scissors to keep me away from this place.:p

[Robyn]

Gary, Gary............:D :D you had better make sure that those scissors are blunt as well, that will take you even longer.:twisted:

[Juergen D]

I never meant to imply the settings you suggested were wrong or no good. :)
Gary,
I did not infer that. :)

Juergen

[Juergen D]

OK, speaking of sharpening in general, I also wanted to post this link to a very interesting and informative article on the subject:
http://www.bythom.com/sharpening.htm

Juergen

[mel]

Thanks for that link Juergen :)

I just printed it out for future reference ;)

[GaryK]

Juergen

I didn't think so.. but sometimes texting isn't the clearest of ways to communicate.. just wanted to be sure. :)

[Grant]

Robyn

I have a new toy so I am taking advantage of it and up loaded USM 101 Movie. It ends abruptly but that is my fault not that if the program. It I 8 Meg but should stream therefore you will be able to watch it as it downloads.

http://www.cavesofice.org/~grant/USM101.mov

--

[GaryK]

Grant

Thanks. Great job.. and streamed perfect.:)

[Tom K]

Robyn,
Great pictures of the flowers, nice that spring is here, makes everything
look better than the dark days of winter..
I suspect that you could use the flowers in a stained glass print or one of Kevs montages.. BTW that lens does a really super job..
It seems that you also started a very interesting discussion on sharping..


Grant;
Excellent TUT , Best explanation of radius I have ever seen. Must be
nice to have the latest in toys.
Hope to see more on the tools available in PSE..

Tom :)

[kimi_boo]

Robyn a tut just for you!! :D :D

Grant you have a very smooth voice....

Thanks so much, now I think I get it. :p

[Grant]

Ok I have got around to doing a bit more on Sharpening. The first tutorial is the one you have seen.

http://www.cavesofice.org/~grant/USM101.mov


The second one shows two of many common technique I use in a real world situation.

http://www.cavesofice.org/~grant/USM102.mov

Finally a larger file that should be viewed at 200% to get the full impact. It is a start to finish work flow in real time of the image in USM102.mov

http://www.cavesofice.org/~grant/Start2Finish.mov


All files are large but they should stream and so will be a little less painful to download.

P.S. I do believe in future i will work off a script. All these mov files are off the cuff and they do lack a certain degree of professionalism Not to mention my very sick voice. And yes I do have to learn how to make the files smaller.

--

[Ashac]

Grant, I sure hope you're going to add your sharpening tuts to your site. There's so much to learn I'd love to be able to reference them again!

Asha

[GaryK]

Grant

Great videos. Thanks.

Personally I like it unscripted, it gives it more of a personal touch.:)

[Robyn]

Morning time here and I'm just checking up on the overnight threads so I haven't had a look at your videos yet Grant. But a HUGE THANK YOU in advance. I'll check out the rest of the threads and then I'll be heading for the videos.:)

[Robyn]

Grant............

I've looked at them, I've saved them, and I know that I'm going to be viewing them many times over. There is nothing like a visual 'how to'.....and the clarity of the video and your instructions is fantastic.

Thank you so much Grant for all your help. If you want to play some more with your 'new toy' please feel free to make more instructional videos for mere mortals such as myself. :D

And Grant........your voice is great and I LOVE the personal touch.

[karen donnybrook]

Grant,

Thank you for the great vidoes. I have also saved them for future reference. Thanks.

Karen

[Grant]

I received an inquire on how to view it at 200% in Windows. It seems the browser doesn't want to co-operate.

Instead of opening it up in you browser open just QuickTime, it should be in your programs as Start > All Programs > QuickTime > Quick Time Player! Then from the Menu > File Open URL... cut and paste the URL. The Move will open in QuickTime and by pass your browser. There will be a Menu bar and the options are > View > Double Size.

--

[karen donnybrook]

My Azaleas have been flowering for a week now and I thought I try what Kev did with his beautiful flowers.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1CrA1cgZvtip1a6I2rQQItBFXQ0T0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1CrA1cgZvtip1a6I2rQQItBFXQ0T0)

Karen

[Robyn]

Lovely Karen........aren't we just loving Spring.

[BettyC]

Beautiful, Karen. I love the textured background.

[Dorrie H.]

Grant,
Thank you for the UnSharpMask videos. Sure helps to understand how that works...very nice job, and there is nothing wrong with you voice at all.

Karen,
Nice Spring Flower image...I like it. Your work is lovely.

[karen donnybrook]

Robyn, Betty & Dorrie,

Thanks for the kinds words. I used Grant's tutorial on sharpening on the flowers and it really brought them up beautifully. The background is done with a texture of a group of the deep red flowers.

We had our first real spring day on Sunday and yesterday (Monday) was even better.

Karen

[Ellen]

I just now saw this thread. How wonderful! Great shots of spring flowers in Australia (it is so swell to watch spring unfold there as autumn is lurking here)
Thank you Grant for the movies. What a generous thing to do! Sharpening is one of those things that I need deeper understanding of and your tut helped immensely. Thanks again.

[Tom K]

Nice job Grant !
Your presentation is clear and simple to understand... I know that I benefited
and I am sure that others did to.

Thanks Tom:D

[raffy]

I just spotted this thread,too,Robyn!Fabulous!Absolutely lovely!Keep "em coming!

[Robyn]

Alice.........

You say keep 'em coming. Well I took probably over 100 macro shots of daffodils, pink blossom, white blossom (dont you just love my technical terminology) japonica etc. So I guess you would get sick of too many. Here is one that I've sharpened slightly after watching Grant's videos.

Grant if you see this thread........is this too much sharpening?

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1irR9Ve0zRT9o1lsmHnkQpNLne4Kw0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1irR9Ve0zRT9o1lsmHnkQpNLne4Kw0)

[karen donnybrook]

Robyn,

That is marvellous. The dark red background really sets off the white flowers. I don't think it is sharpened too much but then I am only a novice when it comes to sharpening ;)

Karen

[Robyn]

Okay.........I couldn't resist just two more.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/10JwoIa98SOxNgxgppJ9yP1XpvtEL6_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=10JwoIa98SOxNgxgppJ9yP1XpvtEL6)


http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1VlwJHoHyuejUteBwj09OCPGnDANX_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1VlwJHoHyuejUteBwj09OCPGnDANX)

[Ellen]

Hi Robyn,
I love those shots- there are no halo things or other odd artifacts that happen with over sharpening that i can see. Please keep sharing your spring flowers.

[mel]

Karen and Robyn, your flowers are beautiful :) :)

[mel]

Grant...

Thank you very much for making those informative videos, you explained it very clearly and I finally understand the concept of the USM now.....

.....you also have a very nice voice :)

One question though, how do I save the videos so that I can watch them later on without being online?

I did as you suggested, I opened up Quicktime and copied and pasted the url and it worked fine. I'm just wondering how to save them to my HD.

Thanks :)

[Grant]

Grant if you see this thread........is this too much sharpening?


Looks fine to me. That is, both the image and the degree of sharpening look excellent.

--

[Robyn]

Thank you Grant.

[raffy]

Yup-that goes for me too,Robyn!They look just fine!Amazing detail in the center!

[karen donnybrook]

This bud was not quite in focus so I buZZed it :eek:

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1NxyGP4THA231clk1Z5iziffqikYZ0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1NxyGP4THA231clk1Z5iziffqikYZ0)

Karen

[Wendy]

Karen ...

Oh that is just beautiful :)

Wendy

[karen donnybrook]

Wendy,

Pleased you like it. Without the buZZ effect it was nothing :eek:

Karen

[karen donnybrook]

Here is another of our native spring flowers. This time it is a Harenbergia or native wisteria and I could not resist making the face:eek:

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1kCvq8bslxibJIaJ8d7RaRErZmvG0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1kCvq8bslxibJIaJ8d7RaRErZmvG0)

Karen

[Wendy]

Hi Karen ...

:eek: :D :D :D

Wendy

[Robyn]

That's a beautiful shot Karen, and I just adore the face! I wish I had your extensive knowledge about plants and gardens etc, you seem to know so much,especially about native flora and fauna........my knowledge in this area is virtually nil. :o

[karen donnybrook]

Wendy,

Like I said, I just could not resist the temptation - it was begging to be made into a face ;)

Karen

[karen donnybrook]

Robyn,

All my native flora and fauna knowledge is self taught through books and the net and, of course, asking questions of those in the know ;) Robyn, you have knowledge in areas I can only dream about - just look at your fairy images.

Karen

[Inspeqtor]

One question though, how do I save the videos so that I can watch them later on without being online?

I did as you suggested, I opened up Quicktime and copied and pasted the url and it worked fine. I'm just wondering how to save them to my HD.



Mel, to save the files to your HD, (I am ssuming here you are using Windows and not a Mac) put the mouse on the Link for each file, RIGHT CLICK, then choose SAVE TARGET AS... then at this point decide where to save the files on your HD.

I hope this helps you.

Charles