Creative Effects Challenge No. 224 - RAW Let’s Explore Noise Reduction

[hmca]

There are many different tools offered to photographers for the purpose of noise reduction.  In recent years we have been introduced to AI powered options.
This challenge gives us the opportunity to explore and share some of those tools.  The photographer is interested in seeing how much you can bring out in the attached file with little or no noise.

1. Participants in the challenge may provide a screenshot of their edits within the RAW converter of their choice along with the reasons for their edits.

2. Following their initial edits members may use whatever “tools" they wish to create an image that portrays their artistic vision for the image as long as the character of the original image is not lost. You may not add anything to the image that wasn’t already there.

3. Including information on plug-ins, actions, external editors, textures, sky replacements etc that were used will only help to inform members
of some of the creative options that are available to today’s photographer.

4. Including layer stacks may be something to consider when presenting a final edit.

5.  You may not add any objects that were not in the original image.

6.  Submissions for this challenge end on Thursday, April 11th.


Here is a screenshot of the image we will be working on:




Link to Download Image.

[fotofrank]

Thanks for this Helen - Started in DXO Pure Raw 4


Selective Edits

ACR edits

[hmca]

Thanks for getting this started and including your panels, fotofrank! I have created multiple copies of the original file trying to accomplish what I have in mind. What's giving me the most difficulty is the mountain range so I am especially impressed with the detail you have brought out in yours. Hopefully I will have something to add within the next half hour. Otherwise I will get back to it after dinner tonight.

[hmca]

So after spending waaaayyyyy too much time on this and not remembering all of the things I tried, this is what I came up witjh.





This is what I basically did.  I started in DX RAW 1.5.  I felt it gave me a pretty clean image to work with.

Opened that in Camera RAW and used the auto setting to open up the  image.  I then used generative fill to cover the dome.  Closed and saved.

Opened the generative fill layer and converted it to B/W in Camera Raw.....think I used Artistic 7 as a base.

Took the B/W image back into PS and used the neural filter to colorize.

Finally placed the original edit over the new colorized image and masked to combine the darker with the lighter bottom.

Then took that final image back to Camera Raw to adjust.  WHEW.....and looking at it it's not that great of an edit.  BUT.....as this is a learning experience this was the result of all that fiddling!

[kdcintx]

i.ibb.co/6gcsGpS/DSC-7561.jpg

ACR
i.ibb.co/BPq227Y/Screenshot-2024-03-30-230126.jpg

[hmca]

Nice to see that you kept your editing to what you could achieve in ACR, kdcintx . I think I will try that for my next edit.  Your result reminds me of times when the moon is still visible in the morning sky.

[Peterj]

On1 Photo Raw 2024 used exclusively
1) Set raw input to linear raw
2) Cropped
3) Used built in Noise & Sharpening
4) Local adjustments
      Masked moon increase structure and dynamic range
      Masked sky to darken slightly
      Masked foreground to lighten

[hmca]

Thanks for sharing your results using On1, Peterj .  I know that we have quite a few members that use it.   You did a nice job masking the moon and sky and have recovered detail in the foreground.  I particularly noticed the white snow on the rooftops in the distance.

[Peterj]

Here's another version, used ACR for noise reduction then finished using On1; I like this version better. 



I was really disappointed using Topaz DeNoise AI with the raw setting

[hmca]

I notice more definition in the mountains in your first image above....I like that as well, Peterj.

The bottom one appears to be very "smudgy" in the foreground. Getting the right balance with the sliders is always the challenge.

[Lillias]

OK this will be my one and only stab at this one as I am way out of my depth here and don’t mind admitting it.
Below are my ACR settings for what they are worth...
Back in PSE I duplicated the image and applied a levels adjustment layer to which I applied the Linear Dodge blend mode.
I copied the moon onto a layer of it’s own.
I created a stamped layer
I created a selection of everything below the mountains and applied a levels adjustment layer.
I then made a selection of the snowcapped mountains duplicated that and applied the Colour Dodge blend mode to the top one and also a levels adjustment layer.
Above that I created a new layer to which I applied a Linear Gradient.
I moved the moon layer to the top and I was done - in more ways than one!

[pontiac1940]

Opened.
There are two different areas of noise that need different treatment. The sky shows more noise because it is plain. The ground shows less because of the details and structures. The two areas were managed differently. 
Isolated sky portion and reduced noise inside PSE. Denoised the sky two times. 
Reduce light level in sky a wee bit. (That is less than a tad or titch. )  
Inversed selection and denoised the lower port but not as much as the sky. 
Saved jpg and opened in ACR and increased contrast slightly. 
Opened again in PSE and slightly reduced sky noise again.
Done. 

Isolated sky for noise reduction


Lowered level of sky a wee bit

[tonyw]

Definitely tricky to get anything suitable out of this one. For my first attempt I cheated and took the moon out and worked on the rest using Lightroom. I found the white balance was way off once the exposure was corrected using a gradient. Noise reduction all done in Lightroom. Then put the moon back and just had to make it bigger    Will have to give it another go with a different approach to see if I can improve the mountains.  I guess the noise is a bit different than normal as, according to the metadata, it was shot at ISO 200 f9 1/125 sec much underexposed (except for the moon).



Tony

[hmca]

Just want to say that I'm sharing everyone's frustration with this one. I just tried another one....that I spent a good amount of time with and then trashed it!

Lillias.....I understand that this challenge is something that you wouldn't normally deal with as your area of interest is more digital art. So I applaud you for even attempting it. Your creative approach to editing fits in well with the rest of our results.

pontiac1940......Yes....dealing with the sky and foreground seems like a good approach. Lowering the levels on the sky at the end improved the result.

tonyw......What I notice first are the whites you were able to bring out in the foreground. Thinking this was the result of your white balance adjustment. Really like that you have removed that blue overcast. Enlarging the moon was a great idea.

[tonyw]

One more - similar approach as before but tried to brighten up the mountains and take out more blue - maybe a bit too bright considering it's moonlight! Did create more noise in the process but used Topaz Photo AI towards the end and that seemed to work.



Tony