Messages: 8040 Location: Iowa, USA
Registered: November 2003
Nice job, Paul....
Tue, 22 January 2008 23:29
I really like the second one in that group. One of the things I've discovered with the Ambience filter is that it's hard to find one setting that works well across an entire image. For example, in landscapes, I find that the ideal setting for a bright sky with puffy clouds results in the foreground being too dark and exhibiting significant loss of detail. So I've taken to applying the filter with different settings to separate layer copies and then combining the layers so as to achieve more balanced levels across the image.
The landscape below shows the result of combining two different settings on separate layers, one setting for the relatively bright sky and water and a different setting for the land part of the image. The second image is one of my own early attempts with a watch. I really like how the Ambience filter brought up the saturation and warmth on the gold case and movement.
Like you say, it doesn't work for all, or even most, images, but it's a nice trick to have in the bag. ;>)
Regards,
Curt
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” ― Hamlet by Shakespeare
- Paul Delury