The western ascent of Honister Pass

[John King]

The road up the western side of Honister Pass doesn't improve give age (unlike a bottle of wine) Poor road surface, bolder strewn and with drivers finding out the Cumbria Passes are not like driving through the street's of leafy Surry

 

[Glenn]

Great composition John, you should be pleased with it I think. Quite a lot less traffic than leafy Surrey too.

Constructive criticism if you want, else ignore. I find my eye drawn to the rock in the bottom left corner. Could it be darkened down a tad perhaps?

 

[John King]

Yes I agree. It had already been toned down but it could do with a bit more. It was a more or less flat surface with what appeared to be white quartz so that was the problem without it being obvious. Actually the traffic wasn't that bad yesterday but the standard of driving made up for the lack of cars. Hence my comment!
I was on my m/bike so was able to avoid most of it.

 

[Oldbones]

I like this its way beyond my skills at the moment but its a fine example for me to study

 

[Joanna Carter]

In no way a criticism, but I use PhotoLab to reduce Micro Contrast and then adjusted the shadow fine contrast to bring out detail in the darker areas. See what you think…

 

[John King]

I am at a loss to understand why I should use Photolab! I use Photoshop which will do/ has done the same task and your version is hardly any different to mine when viewed back to back with each other.

 

[Joanna Carter]

I am at a loss to understand why I should use Photolab! I

You don't have to. I just explained the tools I used from PhotoLab. You will need to find your equivalents.

 

[Toby Webster]

I like this. I think I marginally prefer Joanna's version with the lifted shadow, though on the other hand the 'revealed' shadow does look a bit forced. I would venture that the upload on both is a bit 'crunchy'.

 

[Joanna Carter]

I would venture that the upload on both is a bit 'crunchy'.

This seems to be quite a common problem when folks want bring out detail.

First, the original is a JPG and this is always a bad starting point. for detail enhancement, since there are not enough different shades to be subtle with.

And, yes I do have to mention PhotoLab and FilmPack because they provide a wide variety of sharpening, detail and contrast tools, starting with ClearView Plus, which tends to be the one that most people seem to choose when coming from PS

No sharpening…


ClearView Plus…


But then they also provide micro-contrast (the next most coarse from ClearView Plus) and the four Fine contrast sliders, which allow selective fine contrast on any combination of shadows, mid-tone, highlights and/or "global"

Of course other very good products are also available but, I don't know them as well. The key to effective sharpening is an intimate of your choice of product.

 

[Alan Clark]

John, the textures in your photo look slightly too rough. And Joanna, the textures in yours look far too smooth. You both need to consult Toby to find out how to get a more natural look.

Alan

 

[Joanna Carter]

John, the textures in your photo look slightly too rough. And Joanna, the textures in yours look far too smooth. You both need to consult Toby to find out how to get a more natural look.

Alan

Actually, if you look at mine, you will see one is quite rough and the other smooth - check the top hat. I also have several variants, created with the different sliders. I just didn't want to take up too much space in John's thread. Thanks for your input Alan

 

[Alan Clark]

Joanna, but in your second photo the hands and the coat look unnaturally smooth - like melted plastic with no hint of texture. He is playing with a mute. Maybe he has muted the texture...
I am aware of the fact that we have discussed this before. And I know you have a preference for the smooth, grain -free look. I respect that, and like the fact that we can discuss these things and agree to differ.

Alan

 

[John King]

John, the textures in your photo look slightly too rough. And Joanna, the textures in yours look far too smooth. You both need to consult Toby to find out how to get a more natural look.

Alan

Actually Honister pass is in real life a bit rough too. Can you define what you mean by 'a bit crunchy' or 'more natural'

Rough stones and boulders, rough grass, rough roads. That's the way it was, that's how it is. No if's or buts. Have you been there, if so you should know what it is like. If you mean the almost sparkly bits on the left hillside that is slate that has broken up into small fragments and that I cannot help.

If you put the curser in the image and click it will enlarge and that will show a different aspect

That's digital for you in film it may appear differently.

 

[Helen Summers]

My first thought was when I saw your photo John, was that if seemed a bit crunchy or sparkly. But I now think this is much more to do with the reduced image size on the forum making it look that way. When I increase the image size on my screen the crunchiness drops away and the image looks much more natural, well as far as it can in monochrome. Whatever, it's a nice composition and captures the ruggedness of the place rather well.

 

[John King]

One usually equates slate with Wales, but almost at the summit of the pass there is a small working slate mine but in years past it was very much larger and the broken slate is/was unusable rubbish from the days when it was working full on. It is actually just below an old narrow gauge railway line from where they used to tip the unwanted spoil. In the original colour version you can see the colour of the slate and the grass which when converted to B&W, the tones are are pretty well much the same

 

[John2]

I like this as a comp. John. Good FG interest without it being overbearing and a good lead to the horizon.. More importantly it gives a good impression of the feel of the place itself.

 

[John King]

I like this as a comp. John. Good FG interest without it being overbearing and a good lead to the horizon.. More importantly it gives a good impression of the feel of the place itself.

Another pass, Kirkstone, is almost as spectacular but I believe it is closed at present due to a land slip but it is also on the cards for when it opens again. Then there are the two killers - Hardknott and Wrynose passes, shockingly steep in places, limited very narrow withvery bfew passing places awful tight hairpin bends. I have been over them on my motorcycle numerous times but not at this time of year with the holiday only wannabe expert car riders making a dogs dinner of their ascent using inadequate driving skills.

 

[John2]

Know them all John in fact a (much) younger me was probably one of those wannabe experts.

 

[John King]

Know them all John in fact a (much) younger me was probably one of those wannabe experts.

But cars are much larger now than then and the drivers sometimes cannot see properly knowing, and where the edge of the road is essential. They think their vehicles will save them if the come off the road and plough on regardless but for the grace of God I am surprised that there have not been any serious crashes especially over Hardknott or Wrynose. Some of the drops over the edge of the road are up to 200 feet with no safety barrier to help.

 

[ian_s]

Joanna, but in your second photo the hands and the coat look unnaturally smooth - like melted plastic with no hint of texture. He is playing with a mute. Maybe he has muted the texture...

Agreed, it may be the combination of internal lighting, high ISO and the over zealous application of propriety noise reduction, followed by a boost to micro contrast. Sometimes a bit of a science experiment to prove a point loses some of the emotion the noise / grain provides an image. That guys fingers look very anaemic, perhaps a doctor is needed