photography

Color and Contrast at Christiana

Yesterday evening, it was sunny when we departed for Christiana to intercept the passage of Keystone services 656 and 651.

I made this view from the old freight house as ACS-64 649, dressed with Amtrak’s Freedom 250 logo, raced west with Keystone No. 651 on the old Main Line.

By this time, clouds had thickened and textured the evening sky.

Using DxO PureRAW5, I converted the Nikon NEF RAW files to DNG format. I then transformed the DNG by adjusting color, contrast, and exposure. Below are four variations/interpretations of the file, each is the result of a different technique/settings.

I’m curious to see how these might appear on my phone’s tiny screen following compression by the WordPress platform. In the past, I’ve found that, despite considerable adjustment, WordPress compression can nearly nullify my changes, yielding results that don’t make for particularly extreme comparisons.

Can you see a significant difference between the variations?

DeepPRIME3 corrections in conjunction with conversion to DNG, without adjustment to color, contrast, exposure or level.
Nominal adjustment to bring in sky detail, improve level, lighten shadows etc.
Heavier adjustment, with significant lightening and exposure/contrast controls.
Extreme adjustment with over the top vivid color enhancements.

Tracking the Light Examines Image Processing and Presentation!