Photoshop CS5 (64bit) and NIK Viveza 2

First let me explain the header image.

After stopping the Hubbell Trading Post National Monument we found a large stone barn on the property; the stone was at least 2-feet thick, the inside was cool and dark. I've taken to the habit of carrying the Leica M9 with me when we make rest stops as you just never know what you might find. One of the items we found in the cool shade of the barn was the wagon. The image was shot using a Leica Summicron 35mm f/2 ASPH lens set at f/2, 1/3 ISO 250.

We've been home now for several days and within that time I've loaded the CS5 upgrade on the studio computer and decided to try a 15-day trail of NIK Viveza 2.

There's three images included in this write-up all the combination of a 4-shot panorama Sandy shot using the Canon 1DsIII handheld at a sunset spot we found in Moab the second day we were there. Yes, I know 4-shot panos and a major PIA however I wanted to try the new software out once we got home. The major part of CS5 is a new "content awareness fill" (under "Edit" open "Fill" then look for the dropdown box and select "Content-Aware"). While I selected a very difficult image to try for my first time I'll admit that I'm blown-away at the results; I can only image what I'll be able to do with other images in the future.

Here's the first image - 4-shots placed into a panorama

The second image is the result of working with the Lasso Tool and Fill

The final image was also a test - this time of what Viveza 2 is capable of. This is another software that has simply blown me away for what it can do using very simple instructions. I was expecting a huge learning curve on this however it was the complete opposite.

I'm working on other images from Moab including Dead Horse State Park, Canyonlands and Arches. I think once you see the beautiful conditions we had you'll understand why we decided not to hike to the Great Gallery; maybe next time.

Thank you as always for visiting and please stay tuned for further news.


Don

Here's a teaser image for next time; that's me laying down on the job as I capture the Green River Overlook. More to come...