Revisit of "The gated community" in the summer

[ulf]

Yesterday I went to revisit the  site for the image "Gated community", to see how it turned out in 850nm NIR in the summer:

https://www.ultravioletphotography.com/content/index.php?/topic/5650-gated-community/#comment-60102

 

When I arrived the sky had cleared up without any clouds in sight.

That led to very contrasty images with a pitch black sky, as normal for some NIR 850nm images.

Maybe I could return later for less contrasty images when the sky is slightly veiled. 

 

This time I could not bring out the magic of the scene I got in November due to the light.

I think I have found the same camera position ans lens settings as the first image.

 

The low contrast of the stems of the trees in the background is not due to any hotspot.

I have not seen any problems with this lens with hotspots.
I think it is due to a very diffuse reflected illumination by the very IR-bright foliage around the trees.

 

However, with the Irix 15mm lens at f/11 I got a rather nice picture of the garden and house, just beyond the gate:

The elderly pair living in the house with their dog are very nice people. 

 

A bit down the road I found another interesting motif, a dam with water lilies:

To me it gives a sense of calmness.

 

Camera FS-converted Sony A7III. IR Filters Zomei 850nm. Lenses, first image Canon TS-E 24mm shifted upwards, Image 2 and 3 Irix 15/2.8 at f/10

All images can be magnified a bit by clicking on them and then click again to magnify.

 

[nfoto]

Images are nice. However, I think there is if not a 'classic' hot spot, then mild central flare. I have observed similar behaviour with my Laowa 11mm f/4.5 for the Z system.

[ulf]

10 hours ago, nfoto said:

Images are nice. However, I think there is if not a 'classic' hot spot, then mild central flare. I have observed similar behaviour with my Laowa 11mm f/4.5 for the Z system.

You might be right and it could even be very benign hotspot, but then the edges of the hotspot are very soft and gradual.

For such a wide lens there are many gradually changing tings that blend together, like vignetting, IR-darkening changes of the sky in different directions, mild flare and hotspots.

 

I'll see if I can improve my postprocess editing skills and increase the contrast in that area.

[nfoto]

I use the vignetting feature in Photo Ninja to reduce the central diffuse brighter area. Later, in PS, I burn in the centre of the image if required. The issue is not always very visible, but on occasion it can be blatantly obvious and has to be dealt with.

[ulf]

Thanks for the tips

I practiced in Photoshop with adjustment layers for Brightness and Contrast, with a very soft-edged brush.
I rarely do advanced editing in PS, so I was a bit rusty in the process flow for where to find all buttons and settings in different panels.

[photoni]

@ulf Your photos are all very beautiful, I don't know if there is a hot spot but it seems to me that the highlights are too light.

To control brightness and contrast in different areas the best thing is to do it with the masks in Capture one before developing the Raw

My edit in "30 seconds" of your file with photoshop is this.

 

Toni

 

P.S. don't retouch black and white photos, do it in RGB... there's triple the information

 

[ulf]

Thanks Tony.

 

It seams like the perception of the image brightness depend on monitors and environmental light levels.

From what I see of your edit I agree.

 

I am using RPP64 as a raw converter and cannot apply masks there.

I'll try to do your edit in Photoshop instead and if I am pleased with the result I will replace the image here.

 

Thanks again

[colinbm]

@photoni Good edit

[Yves W]

Very Good Ulf and Tony

[ulf]

Thanks for the positive words.

Tony's edit example image is from the topic "The stubborn oak",

It shows a good editing suggestion.