Wall Shadows

[Jon.P]

Can anybody tell me what if anything i should have done
or should i just leave it?
many thanks jon

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/14kv8Lk4PHTDFmUL58zaZYr9fq00H0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=14kv8Lk4PHTDFmUL58zaZYr9fq00H0)

[ken1]

Jon,

In these difficult light situations, I like to bracket the exposure, then select one that is more suitable. However, all is not lost, as there is information in the dark wall :

http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1yhouF1aHqRiWpI7YASYL9LzaRg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1yhouF1aHqRiWpI7YASYL9LzaRg)

1. Select the portion that is in the shadow with one of the selection tools, or with a mask. I used the magnetic lasso tool, set to feather 10 px. That was too much, and if I were to do it over again, I would select 5 px or so
2. Create a levels adjustment layer #1
3. Press CTRL+left click the right layer mask thumbnail of this layer
4. Select original image
5. Go to Select>inverse
6. Create levels adjustment layer #2
7. By double clicking the left layer thumbnail of the respective adjustment layers, you can access the levels controls. Adjustment with the sliders in levels adjustment layer #1 (esp. middle and right) will bring out some detail of the wall
8. I created a stamp visible layer. This retains all the layers, but provides a merger. In my version of Elements, I created a blank layer at the top of the stack, then pressed CRTL+ALT+SHIFt+E
9. I created a blank layer at the top of the stack, sampled the color of the good wall with the eyedropper, and using a soft brush set to mode=color, opacity=12%, painted over the wall. I duplicated this layer 3x, and set blending mode to color.
10 At the interface of the round turret and the wall, I cloned over some of the bricks.
11. The thing needs a lot of work, but this recipe should get you started.

HTH

[jo]

A quick fix for shadows is to use
enhance>adjust lighting>shadows/highlights
I didn't lighten it way up, just enough to see the detail in the shadows, but you can play with the sliders and see what you get.
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1BssQlRV4Jk8po2cV97MYcGPiqIfw0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1BssQlRV4Jk8po2cV97MYcGPiqIfw0)

[karen donnybrook]

Jon I had a go too but nothing as complicated as Ken. All I did was: Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Shadows and Highlights and fiddled with the sliders.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1TCAkE6Z0SPLCXatHztCrc0V1HpCMJ_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1TCAkE6Z0SPLCXatHztCrc0V1HpCMJ)

[karen donnybrook]

You beat me Jo but we did use the same method.

Karen

[jo]

Hey Karen, that's 2 votes ;)

[mljrbg]

Great photo and great fixes!!

[Jon.P]

Ken,Jo,Karen,
Thankyou all. Ken i hope you don`t mind,but the girls method seems a bit easier,in fact i had for forgotten all about the Enhance>adjust lighting>shadow and Highlights. thankyou all again jon ;);)

[Byron Gale]

Jon,

Just because you can never have too many tricks up your sleeve... here's a version using the "contrast masking" method.

I duplicated the Background layer, then did CTRL-SHIFT-U to remove color, then did CTRL-I to invert, then changed the Blending Mode to Overlay.

I then applied a Gaussian Blur to the colorless-inverted-overlay layer until I liked what I saw.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/11d4aGI8keAHnVmSpF6kFoStJWSms1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=11d4aGI8keAHnVmSpF6kFoStJWSms1)

Byron

[Jon.P]

Byron,
Thanks thats another cool way i Am never gonna remember all these
yhanks jon

[ken1]

Jon,

The beauty of a forum such as this is that, invariably, several alternatives are offered. I print the "keepers" for my files. I view it as a learning experience. Here is an HDR rendition that I tried out.

http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=14LsD5Ikv3h8sAd8SpYdVOpQ5RZr

[Jon.P]

Very nice ken jon