Let Me Out!

[kayser]

I have 'lots of these kinds of pictures taken at the zoo:

http://img346.imageshack.us/img346/6144/cage0jg.th.jpg (http://img346.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cage0jg.jpg)

What's the best way to get rid of the "cage effect"? In the one I posted, it's not actually black bars but a lighting/shadow effect. It seems like that would be easier to remove then black bars??

Thanks for any help. This picture was taken today at the show by my husband; he took my daughter to the zoo while I stayed home coughing and sneezing...

[crljean]

I don't know about removing the cage effect but if you have the capability on your camera, use manual focus and you can focus past the wires the next time you take pics at the zoo.

[kayser]

Thanks, I think he tried, but he was trying to keep track of our 3 year old, so playing with the camera settings wasn't easy!:)

[Ward Grant]

Kay,
The only thing I can think of, which I am sure you have considered, is the clone tool and lot of patience. You would need six hands to control a three-year old at a zoo and focus a camera at the same time (although I think my niece, who has two kids, has nine hands sometime).

[kayser]

Yeah, I can't complain about the pictures, because my daughter had a good time and that was really the point.

I was afraid the clone tool and patience were the answer, and patience isn't my strong suit.:( I was hoping there was some magical solution, maybe duplicating the layers and then playing around with blending modes, maybe a LITTLE cloning tool, and then magically getting rid of the shadows.
So, I've decided I'm going more for the artistic presentation...

http://img311.imageshack.us/img311/3029/tiger9se.th.jpg (http://img311.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tiger9se.jpg)

[Ellen]

Good solution Kay. How can you have patience or time for that matter with a 3 year old? Hope you are on the mend.

[NMarti]

Kay
About the only thing I know is careful cloning and blending. It's a lot of work and does not always yield the best results but can be done. Hopefully someone else will have a way. I didn't have the foreground problem with the big cat pictures because I was able to shoot with the camera through the wire, but did have to erase it from several in the background. Cloning and also cut/paste/blend was how I did it.

[Daviskw]

This is the best I can get for a quick fix, way too much contrast but without spending a lot of time with the clone tool this is the best I could do.

I used Grants tools and curves. I sampled the fence then the adjacent colors and placed them on the curves graph. Then I equalized the best I could do. I managed to neutralize most of the fencing but it introduced an excess of gray. To compensate for the gray I had to increase the contrast. No way around it I know of. A few areas of color were introduced and I used a hue/saturation to remove or blend. The last was a 50% gray overlay layer for a little dodge and burning.

Butch

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/4493/cage0jg3dx.th.jpg (http://img154.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cage0jg3dx.jpg) http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/3816/cage0jg14ed.th.jpg (http://img154.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cage0jg14ed.jpg)

[Shari]

Butch - that sounds sooo complicated but you did a great job. I wonder if I will ever get to the point where I understand all that.

Kay - I hope you are feeling better soon.
Shari

[NMarti]

Butch - great job! I don't understand the channels thing much yet but maybe I should acquaint myself with it. It sure would have saved me a lot of time with the Big Cat pictures.

[Daviskw]

Shari...you already have a better eye for color and are more creative than I will ever be. You have come a long way fast.

You know things have a way of sounding a lot more complicated than they really are. Most of the time I just press buttons and wait to see what happens.

Butch

[Wendy]

Hi Butch ...

You did a great job on that ... thanks for the instructions I will try it out :)

Wendy

[kayser]

Wow, Butch! Can my excuse for not doing this be that I have PSE4?
You certainly have a talent for making photos look their best. Thanks for taking a look.