Thread: Post your sunrise/sunset

Originally Posted by dmdigital

David, that second shot are using CS5 HDR and filters or a plugin?

Hi Derek, no HDR on these. Used a 3 stop hard step Grad ND filter and some levels/color balance layer magic in Photoshop to bring up the detail in the water.

Second shot was taken just after sunrise but the cloud layer held the light back. Usually pack up once the sun's up.

Thanks David, second one really has that HDR type feel to it (if that makes sense). You did better than me, I woke before sunrise yesterday looking out at a beautiful spot, only to slowly watch the sky go from black to grey clouds. Sunrises aren't a big thing up here, sunsets are much better.

How are you finding CS5? I find it a big step up on CS3 (I skipped CS4), I'm very happy so far and it also seems quicker.

Regarding PS I am not happy how it process the Nef files (Nikon).
The diference between the images processed by NX2 and the Adobe software is abismal!
I just read that the version 3 of Lightroom it is much better than the other Adobe software for nef files but I cannot justify expending over $ 300 for a software that does not read the nef files properly.
I guess that the only solution it is opening the files with NX2, save them in Tiff and then do any PP in Adobe if PS is the prefered software.
If that it is the case IMO PSCS3 is good enough.

Arthur, CS5 and LR3 both use ACR 6.1 so there is really no difference how they handle the NEF. I agree that NX2 is better though as is Aperture3. That said there are a number of things CS5 does that the others cannot.

My workflow is really Aperture3 which I have setup with NX2 as the external editor. In NX2 I then have CS5 as the external editor. However in some cases I will simply work off the the NEF in either of these - e.g. when doing a panorama I'll just load the NEF's into PS - and then import back to Aperture's library.

I had a need to get CS5 otherwise I would have stayed with CS3 even though it can't handle D3s NEF's as it wasn't a big issue.

Here is one of mine from Dover

Originally Posted by timaus13

Here is one of mine from Dover

Nice colors in the sky and reflection. Better than what we got here yesterday.
Not sure what's stopping the water from running downhill though....

Originally Posted by dmdigital

Thanks David, second one really has that HDR type feel to it (if that makes sense). You did better than me, I woke before sunrise yesterday looking out at a beautiful spot, only to slowly watch the sky go from black to grey clouds. Sunrises aren't a big thing up here, sunsets are much better.

How are you finding CS5? I find it a big step up on CS3 (I skipped CS4), I'm very happy so far and it also seems quicker.

I skipped CS4 too and went to CS5. Still got heaps of learning. Actually did the RAW conversion with Bibble to see what it could do. My preferred NEF RAW converter is Nikon NX.

What do you think that it is better
PSCS5 from the box
or
PSCS3 with Nik, onOne and Topaz software ?