Sitka Harbor: Vignetting/Sharpening, a photo from Alaska, West

Photographer's Note

When we travel, I email photos and notes to my grand-daughter. My Sitka letter included the following comments, “The first night on Baranoff Island, we stayed for free at a remote campground with no services and no fish. I caught my first glimpse of an immature bald eagle.
We have been frustrated by the inability to find anything but fresh frozen seafood!! Ludvig’s, a little hole-in-the- wall, far from the cruise-ship-food-mills, was filled with locals. The wonderful fresh prawns in garlic, explained the crowd. Really fresh prawns have a sweet ocean flavor with no hint of a fishy taste. The place is named for the owner’s dog.”
Sitka seems cosmopolitan compared to the rest of South-East Alaska. The Russian influence remains strong here. Sitka was the former Russian capitol of Alaska prior to a purchase negotiated by William Seward just after the US Civil War. The Russians needed money and feared they would lose the territory to the British. Wikipedia presents an amusing diatribe by Horace Greeley, a New York newspaper editor, about the folly of this purchase.
This travelogue was started as my initial TE project. Then I decided to focus on improving my photography skills. However, since my new laptop has only CS2, I’m suddenly motivated to learn the program. I’m using the Alaska photos for PP practice. Today’s lesson was using Filter/Distort/Lens Correction to remove vignetting. I'v posted my very unsuccessful vignetting work in the WS In the end I decided to work with sharpening, see original for details.

ribeiroantonio, gunbud, carper, John_F_Kennedy, feather, pboehringer, kdialyna, pranab, peck, jmcl, xuaxo, bakes888, robertosalguero, isabela_sor, japiey, john_c, Angelillo, josepmarin, singuanti, TeresaT, turkamerikali, scobert has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

kmarscher (2887) 2007-04-01 20:47

Crystal clear waters and successful sharpening enhances this image. There is a lot going on in the shot, a bit cluttered, but shows hou much your photography has improved over the last few years! Enjoy the learning curve with CS2, wish I had that too.

ribeiroantonio (22730) 2007-04-01 20:55

Hi Pat,
This is a very nice work using pp on photoshop to improve the quality of a photo. Many say that it is not right but I really do not agree with that theory. I like the way you made your picture look better. The place looks stunning and by now I am sure the Russians regret having done what they did. Well done.
Antonio

gunbud (34066) 2007-04-01 21:24

Hi Pat,
Come on your killing me with these wonderful Alaskan photos. I think I'll rob a bank and move to Skita. Actually I own a bit of Skita because one of my kayak is a "Dagger Skita." Well back to the photo wonderfully clear light and smashing colors with outstanding reflections. I love the peaks trying to poke their way through the overcast.
Regards, Tom

jaywalker (16105) 2007-04-02 1:39

Hi Patricia, A beautiful view with the low clouds in the background, excellent light under difficult circumstances & superbly composed the reflections of the boats are very good, you have captured a very nice photo with great colour, kind regards Wilson.

carper (96) 2007-04-02 3:39

it is a good one Patricia,
there is so much to see on the composition, the balance is very good, there is good light, nice clouds and a very good sky, very well captured, good photo job here. have a nice day
gr. jaap

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2007-04-02 6:07

This is a very nice composition with great light and colours. I like how the mountains are placed in the background
best wishes
Achim

feather (51130) 2007-04-02 6:51

The difference is amazing PAt; not just the better sharpness but the clarity. Also the original is very pixellated. You might have been new to slr photography but you still had a good eye for composition.
Kath

pboehringer (770) 2007-04-02 13:14

Pat, I'm not quite sure about CS2. I still didn't download it to my PC and looking into your new theme I'm getting a little bit scared with all these new names and technologies. After almost one year of using Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 I got so used and comfortable with it.
The weather didn't help you a lot. It is very grey, but the compsition with the boats in the front and the houses in front of the mountains as a backdrop looks very nice.
TFS, Peter

kdialyna (3148) 2007-04-02 14:48

Good evening Patricia.
A very nice composition from a beautiful peaceful place.
The light and the clouds on the sky, give to the picture a melancholic touch.
I like that.
My regards
Kostas

ahmetgedikli (25609) 2007-04-02 20:14

Hi Pat,
Beautiful scenery! Great point of view, very nice colours and good reflections in the water. Nice work.
Thanks for sharing.
Ahmet

pranab (5354) 2007-04-02 23:23

pat,
your original one is not that much different than this one but this one is for sure the better one. nice pov with good details. and your note adds some more life into this composition.

pablominto (53746) 2007-04-03 12:37

Hello Patricia,
I find the details in this image to be very fine, pin sharp but not overly sharpened...
And it is an attractive point of view on this nice community up North!
In fact this could well be in any fjord in Western Norway...
Rich colours in this well composed image!
Greetings,
Pablo -

jmcl (14535) 2007-04-04 19:14

Hi Pat,

There are so many things I love in this ..
the gentle arched feeling of the whole image .. is that distortion or an effect of the shoreline? ... either way it makes it feel larger .. the way the clouds on the mountain work from near to the distant central mountains .. the interesting objects from front to back .. all sorts of wonderful things .. that all unify to give a wonderful sense of this beautiful place. Your control of the whites in the near boats is great .. as is the overall subdued wet tone and palette of the place as a whole.

take care,

John

xuaxo (6854) 2007-04-06 7:48

Hi Pat
Today it's a more complex lesson.
But the result is worth it. A very beautiful picture.
F

bakes888 (18499) 2007-04-06 16:38

Hi Pat. Looking at the boats there must be some wealthy people in Sitka!! Great photo. The cloud hanging in the hills adds a nice atmosphere along with the calm water and reflections you have a nice moody shot. Good colour for such a low contrast day. Well composed with natural interest points. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

devimeuxbe (58557) 2007-04-06 17:04

Hi Patricia
you give us a very beautifull landscape. The boats and the mountain give a very complete composition.
Beautifull picture
Bertrand

robertosalguero (292) 2007-04-07 3:24

Patricia this picture is very well sharpened. It looks very natural, attractive and the view breathtaking. It seem like a quite and peaceful place. The cloudy sky and lack of sun makes it almost a typical escene of places in the far north. Nice work Pat.

Roberto

banyanman (7797) 2007-04-07 12:11

Despite the dull light, this is still a very pretty scene, Pat, and your PP has done due credit to this peaceful landscape. I must confess your PP skills are well beyond mine. Like Peter, I use only Photoshop Elements and there are still lots of features in that that I don't know how to use (it's much cheaper too!) Cheers . . . David

isabela_sor (47748) 2007-04-07 14:12 [Comment]

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japiey (10163) 2007-04-07 16:08

Hi Patricia.
This is well framed, with the best of compositional value and colours in a fantastic light.
jean paul.

siolaw (38294) 2007-04-08 5:53

Hi Patricia,
A nice POV to the harbor with the V-shape of the pier reminding that of the hills surrounding the central peaks, you done well with the available light... good sharpness too!
Have a nice sunday!
Laurent

Angshu (56760) 2007-04-09 3:42

Hi Pat
Sorry to hear about your Mom. I hope she's doing well now..
The sharpness and clarity of this picture is excellent. The colours are better, but your compo. had been excellent with the boats off-centred in the frame & the mountain peak peeping out of the clouds in the BG
With Regards
Angshu

john_c (24666) 2007-04-09 11:24

Hi Patricia,
A very fine perspective for this interesting harbour scene. I like the lighting here and the natural hues and tones. Your PP work here really cleaned up the photo nicely. The reflections are subtle, consistent with the slightly rippled effect of the water. Very well done. Have a happy Easter weekend.
John

Angelillo (9374) 2007-04-11 16:54

Hi Patricia,

I like the cloudy ambiance, the cold feeling, the misty mountains and lonely boats. It shows very well this area of the world I would like really to know. It's very beautiful. Thanks, and congratulations.

Angel.

singuanti (15250) 2007-04-12 22:48

Hi Patricia. It's funny you posted this as I was just looking at a picture of Sitka wondering what it looked like. I'm lazy and just let DxO fix my vignetting and sharpness. None of my lenses vignette very strongly to begin with. Your composition is tops here with the way you have the eye drawn through the picture on to the big mountains. Awesome shot Pat!

TeresaT (10806) 2007-04-16 17:21

Hello Patricia,
This is really a beauitful view of this harbour.
The mountains of the background are fantastic.
I like this soft colurs and of course the distorted refelctions of the boats on the water.
Regards
Teresa

patelgm (117) 2007-04-18 14:16

Hi Patricia,
A nice capture of atmosphere of the place. Mountains, clouds, water, trees .. everything is there to add up to a pleasant mood.
Wish I was there too.
Regards.
- Gautam.

capthaddock (28790) 2007-04-19 20:43

Hi Pat - this is definitely one of my must see places left to see in Alaska, the problem is it's isolated, and the weather seems to be one of the dampest and dreariest on the planet, nice view of the harbor here, I wish I lived there despite the rain, but keeping my Californian salary!

paura (25802) 2007-05-05 20:34

Patricia,
Clean and nice compo here. Nice subject and beautiful background. well done.

Paulo

turkamerikali (3291) 2008-03-06 19:11

Hi Pat,
Awesome photo from Alaska my friend.
Excellent pov,dof,colors,foggy mountains,focus,sharpness,reflecions and note.TFS
CT

scobert (5355) 2008-04-30 15:22

Hi Pat,
This photo of yours is bringing back some more memories of salmon fishing in Alaska as a kid. This is vintage coastal Alaskan summer weather. Your photo looks very good to me and looks just about what this Alaskan scene would like look through our eyes. I don't enjoy working with Photoshop anymore than I have to. It is just another tool for me to use. You created a vety good and accurate rendition of this former Russian fishing Village and provincial capitol.
Stan