Share this photo on Twitter Share this photo on Facebook

Life is Good

Posted by
john4jack (Corvallis, Oregon, United States) on 14 June 2010 in People & Portrait and Portfolio.

I love to see people holding hands taking in incredible beauty.

Another technique, highly advocated by Matt Kloskowski, that I used a lot at the Bandon Workshop was double processing. From LR, I open the file in PS as a Smart Object. Then I double click on the SO icon, which opens up Adobe Camera Raw. There I make the foreground the way that I want it; I totally ignore the sky. Then I right click on the layer and go down the menu to "New Smart Object via Copy." This creates a new SO layer. I again double click on the SO icon, and in ACR make the sky the way that I want it; totally ignoring the foreground. Next, on that second layer, I take the Quick Selection tool (which does a great job of detecting edges) and create a selection around the sky. Then I click on the Create a Mask icon at the bottom of the layers palette. Voila, I end up with the sky that I want and the foreground that I want. It is quick, down and dirty, and much faster than HDR if you want a realistic look. (I also did this with some of the earlier shots in this series.)

❀ Yvonne Simons ❀ from Tilburg, Netherlands

Yes indeed, life is good! Wonderful picture!

14 Jun 2010 5:01am

PAPOU from paris, France

La découpe de ces monstres de pierre dans ce panorama est aussi belle qu'impressionnante.

14 Jun 2010 6:07am

StarCosmosBleu from Bedford.Qc, Canada

A very nice scene..and your processing gave amazing results...great tones but also some warmth ...very nice work..gorgeous light.

14 Jun 2010 6:08am

Marie LC from Dauphiné, France

Superb backlight !

14 Jun 2010 6:20am

Linerberry from Christchurch, New Zealand

What a beautiful romantic image!

14 Jun 2010 6:52am

Tede from Aubenas 07, France

Very, very beautiful image, excellent work. 5 *. Good day.

14 Jun 2010 6:58am

Pavan Kaul from Mumbai, India

A beautiful image of love and great beauty!

14 Jun 2010 7:04am

Dulcie from Danville, CA, United States

A glowing image and wonderful technique.
Sounds VERY complicated to me, but then, I am just a neophyte.
In fact I just got a PP upgrade and am also just starting to shoot RAW.
So this is great helpful information for me. Thanks, Jerry !!

14 Jun 2010 7:25am

@Dulcie: Actually not complicated at all; it goes very fast; it takes longer to explain it than to do it.

Dulcie from Danville, CA, United States

Oops! Sorry, I miss spelled...JACK !! ;-)

14 Jun 2010 7:27am

@Dulcie: And it wasn't even B&W :))

missparis from PARIS, France

Très romantique cette photo

14 Jun 2010 7:32am

Florence from Paris, France

Working with Camera Raw is so enjoyable and precise and faster. And it really gives nice and powerful results. Well done Jack.

14 Jun 2010 7:34am

rem_la from Villiers, France

magnifique le traitement des couleurs !

14 Jun 2010 7:59am

pixator from kerman, Iran

WOW!
Fantastic shot!
Very beautiful !
Very good job!

14 Jun 2010 8:01am

Fonts from Barcelona, Spain

A dream of life! Unreal. Something ephemeral ... I fly to this place of dreams and no longer exists! Only the rocks will still be there holding the ravages of the sea! Only my friend Jack would take it into his head. Only today is this image that teach us so beautiful! Muchos besos y gracias amigo Jack!

14 Jun 2010 8:20am

MK from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

thats a good technique n the result is wonderful

14 Jun 2010 8:31am

Peggy M. from somewhere in, France

Si la vie est belle, c'est exactement comme ça que je l'imagine. Je vais tenter de traverser l'écran... envie de ce calme et cette beauté. Magnifique image ! Bravo.

14 Jun 2010 8:43am

P J W Miller from Chase Terrace, United Kingdom

great love image, very good

14 Jun 2010 9:19am

k@ from Paris, France

Another of your marvelous by-the-sea poem !

14 Jun 2010 9:39am

oncho from granada, Spain

Great shot, very work and colors

14 Jun 2010 10:36am

Sergei Z from Türi, Estonia

Simply beautiful!

14 Jun 2010 10:50am

✿ Anina ✿ from Auckland, New Zealand

WOW! WOW! WOW! This is very beautiful. I love the tones and silhouettes! This is one of my favorites of the day. I agree the two holding hands are just perfect and adds to the mood.

14 Jun 2010 10:52am

Zora Zoé - sichtbar fotogrativ from Berlin, Germany

Your photos, Jack, make life GREAT :-) *****

14 Jun 2010 10:58am

digitalCG from Manchester, United Kingdom

Nice work Jack, both image and positive message! Time for some 'smart object' training for me...

14 Jun 2010 12:25pm

Anneka from Bray, Ireland

Beautiful scene and love the light.
It's good to read the processing steps too.

14 Jun 2010 12:38pm

MARIANA from Waterloo, Canada

Stunning mood . Yes, very romantic mood !

14 Jun 2010 12:52pm

Bettina from Los Angeles, United States

Thanks for that explanation! It certainly bears out in your wonderful image. Perfect sky and foreground. I love the people holding hands in front of that dramatic surf there.

14 Jun 2010 1:26pm

Irene from France

INCREDIBLE BEAUTY indeed !

14 Jun 2010 1:32pm

olivier Paillet from toulouse, France

Amazing shot !! So beautiful well done !

14 Jun 2010 1:52pm

Tracy from La Selva Beach, United States

Oh this is beautiful! The people make this image even more special. And thanks for the mini- tutorial!

14 Jun 2010 1:58pm

Monique from Koh Samui, Thailand

They look very tiny against that huge ocean! Beautiful composition, love the colors and reflection of the couple in the water puddle!

14 Jun 2010 2:03pm

STEED from SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE, France

Great One,Jack...

14 Jun 2010 2:19pm

Shahryar from Isfahan, Iran

Great shot , I like it :)

14 Jun 2010 2:48pm

Olivier from Manage, Belgium

five stars!

14 Jun 2010 3:09pm

Don from spokane, United States

A fine beach scene shot with impressive processing. Very well done!

14 Jun 2010 3:15pm

MontereyJohn from Salinas, California, United States

Oh no, another process to learn! Egads!

Wonderful result!

14 Jun 2010 3:21pm

Mhelene from Paris, France

Splendid ! I like it very much !

14 Jun 2010 4:38pm

B.Held from Santa Fe, United States

A timeless image! The balance of the composition is just wonderful.

14 Jun 2010 4:52pm

Paul from summerside, Canada

What a peaceful spot beautiful image

14 Jun 2010 4:55pm

Macrobaby from Vancouver, Canada

Life is good...photographing it is great. Thanks for your processing updates. The possiblilties are so endless....Beautiful work here Jack!

14 Jun 2010 5:23pm

Steve Rice from Olympia, United States

That seems to be a great technique judging by this beautiful image.

14 Jun 2010 5:34pm

@Steve Rice: When you have an uneven horizon, such as these sea stacks sticking up, it works better than a split ND filter.

jeff (aka dogilicious) from Millerstown, PA, United States

Excellent colors. Like this processing idea.

14 Jun 2010 6:07pm

Judy from Brooksville, Florida, United States

Good work, Jack with excellent results!

14 Jun 2010 6:39pm

mo.langel from Courtelary, Switzerland

Beautiful light and colors! Great picture!

14 Jun 2010 7:21pm

Curly from South Shields, United Kingdom

I make use of this method (in a roundabout way) in CS3 making two .jpgs from a single RAW then masking one on top of the other. There are many ways to skin a cat as they say!

I love the tones in this shot.

14 Jun 2010 7:32pm

@Curly: You are absolutely right about there generally being a variety of ways to accomplish the same task. Sometimes a particular way gives slightly better results. I tend to find a way that works for me and stick with it. Personally, I don't get a lot of pay off out of the post-processing work. I try to get in and out as fast as I can.

Sylvie49 capture image from Vallée de la Loire, France

Look at the sea, at the horizon and be allowed go!
Colors are beautiful. Congratulation. Best regards.

14 Jun 2010 8:04pm

Ansie from South Africa

Lovely, thanks for the "training", it is appreciated.

14 Jun 2010 8:20pm

PATRICK from miramas, France

just 5*******

14 Jun 2010 8:26pm

kiwisa from North Shore, New Zealand

I love the composition, a couple walking on a lonely beach and the processing. As a PS newby love the detailed account of what you have done. Thanks Jack:)

14 Jun 2010 8:39pm

Viewfinder from Bradenton, FL, United States

Quite an amazing shot, with amazing processing to go along with it.

14 Jun 2010 8:44pm

marc battault from clermont ferrand, France

very nice ,jack ,a great shot !
friendships !

14 Jun 2010 8:59pm

Steven from Chicagoland, United States

Impressive capture. Incorporating the couple here really gives a sense of grand scale. The height of those waves is really high as well.

14 Jun 2010 9:48pm

Susan from Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States

Beautiful image....interesting processing.....will have to try that out sometime......

14 Jun 2010 10:36pm

B. Thomas from Arlington, Texas, United States

Interesting processing and sky tone.

14 Jun 2010 11:12pm

Wild Mustang Photography from Carlisle, United States

Cool processing!love the color! Very beautiful composition! love that you used the rule of 3's to make an amazing image!

14 Jun 2010 11:22pm

LauraS from Chico, United States

Wonderful share of how you did this, Jack. Nice of you to share with us. This is beautiful, and I so agree with you...it's nice to see a couple holding hands and sharing this beauty and wonder of nature. How lucky to be there!

15 Jun 2010 1:49am

DarkElf from Perth, Australia

beautiful composition! great sue of light, shapes and good placement of the people in the frame! i really like the mood that you captured - fantastic!

15 Jun 2010 4:39am

Scott F. Schilling from San Martin, United States

A great job on processing on this to get the details in the sky and foreground! This is a great shot with the people holding hands - as you mentioned!

15 Jun 2010 4:52am

Magda from Vancouver, Canada

Pure gold! Bravo!

15 Jun 2010 5:12am

Denny Jump Photo from Easton, PA, United States

Absolutely - This is fantastic however it is more I have to learn so I'd better get to work - you did a great job here, sir.

15 Jun 2010 11:33am

shoti from somewhere in, China

this .. is a really beautiful photograph. heartfelt, powerful.

15 Jun 2010 11:54am

Dutch from Chicagoland, United States

Your technique is a vast improvement over HDR Jack and I can really appreciate the results of your efforts here. I don't have access to a newer PS that will do all that so it's not anything I can test for myself but I am really enjoying your work.

15 Jun 2010 10:59pm

Manola from Bassens, France

quelle beauté....!!! oui, voir des gens se tenir la main dans cette immensité, cela me touche aussi...
very beautiful..;-)))

17 Jun 2010 4:27am

Nini Pixel from Savigny, Switzerland

Yes life is good... And love win... ;o)

2 Nov 2010 12:31pm