Photoshop Thrills

2 pics, left of center

I hadn't intended to post to the blog this week but I couldn't help it. I'm preparing for a couple of road trips, one in the middle of April chasing bluebonnets for a day and another at the end of the month exploring Utah for about five days. Well, you know me - planning is half the fun - so I set myself a couple goals. First, I decided that, since I was going to use my new GPS, I ought to learn how to plot my own routes rather than just go the way Garmin thought I should go. And second, I ought to use the GPS software to plan the trips so I could validate everything on the bluebonnet hunt to ensure that the Utah trip would go as planned.

I'll spread the pictures out and the copy will eventually catch up to them. Remember to click on at least the composite images to zoom in and see what's going on.

First 2 pics, merged

Part of the planning still involves Google Maps and Google Earth. Though I wish they'd upgrade their StreetView cameras and quit smudging signs and curbside address numbers - that's gotta be on purpose; they couldn't screw up so many by mistake - I have to admit they get some great (considering the equipment) landscapes across the country. Not everywhere, to be sure, but enough to make me think it's not all luck. I did run into some shots that seemed to have been taken well after sunset out near the Cedar Breaks National Monument. I'm sure the crew were running a little late and just kept going, headed for that night's motel. Then they used that footage instead of retracing that section in the daylight. That's alright, I forgive them.

2 pics, right of center

None of this, of course, is cause for its own blog. Well, I took a break in my planning yesterday and watched a couple Photoshop tutorials. That's necessary, you see, because there are so many esoteric functions in PS that you have to study it to expand your horizons. Why would you spend that much money for the program and not try to get as much as you could out of it, right? So, one of the tutorials demonstrated the PS Photomerge function. Now, I've merged shots I'd taken specifically to become part of a panorama before. But I used a tripod and was very careful to make sure I got the necessary overlap, etc. and usually came out with something I was pleased with. This Photomerge is a different kettle of fish altogether. So I was impressed with the video tutorial, but needed to get back to my trip planning.

Second 2 pics, merged

The first StreetView I called up - to identify likely spots for photo opportunities on the Utah trip - showed a view looking north in the late afternoon with some great cloud action and lighting. And I immediately decided on a panorama test for that Photomerge function. I copied four sreenshots from StreetView, paying some attention to overlap, but not too worried about consistency, and let Photoshop mull them over for several minutes. I got an output image, but it left one of the shots out entirely and I wasn't satisfied with the result. So I went back and merged the first two and merged the last two. Both were satisfactory this time, but it didn't seem like much of a panorama. What to do? What else? I merged the first panorama with the second one. It was okay overall, but needed some special work after the fact to make it presentable. But that's what I've been doing for years, playing with this stuff to try to salvage pictures.

All four merged, finished with "Content Aware" (and a little extra effort)

Part of the demo included a little detail you sometimes stumble upon that, when you do, you think, "Why didn't somebody tell me about that before? It would have been so damn useful." Well, this little tidbit is related to "Content Aware" functions that came out with Photoshop CS6 (I think). The Photomerge bends and twists things to fit/match and you wind up with really strangely shaped images that you might just ruthlessly crop, leaving a very small portion of what had been rendered. Because of "Content Aware" I can just "delete" the surrounding whitespace and Photoshop comes up with amazingly crafted fill for that otherwise "dead" space.

A 5-image panorama, nearly 180 degrees

Now, just to make sure I hadn't dreamed all this up, I found another stretch of road in the same part of the state and used 5 shots (thanks again, Google Maps), being more careful with overlaps, and let Photoshop come up with it's best stab at it - which was amazingly good. I can't wait to use this on my own pictures when I get back from my trip. Both these composite images were made from StreetView images taken around Panguitch, Utah.