Tag Archives: photo

Lightroom Noise Reduction Update Testing

One of the software tools that I find a lot of people talking about these days is DeNoise from Topaz. I have never been terribly bothered by noise in my images. Modern cameras do a pretty remarkable job of handling noise and, for most usage purposes, the noise is not really an issue if it is there. I have posted my efforts with PureRAW in its various forms where I have tried it out to see how the noise reduction comes out and, while I have seen strengths and weaknesses in it, I have never seen it as something I needed to spend on.

Lightroom Classic had one of its periodic updates recently. The big new feature was their own denoise functionality. Much like my experimentation with PureRAW, it analyzes the shot and creates a new DNG file with the noise suppressed. I was curious to see how it would perform and, seeing as it is included in the price of my subscription, I have it anyway. I decided to take some shots I had recently used for the PureRAW3 trial I had done and compare with the Lightroom version.

It defaulted to a 50 level of noise reduction. I don’t know whether this is a percentage and what of but it is a scale so I played with it. I did some at 50 and some at 75 to see whether more aggressive noise reduction had detrimental effects on other parts of the image. Comparing these things and then sharing the results is a touch tricky so I have created a single image from four layers. They are the original Lightroom develop settings, the PureRAW3 version, the 75 denoise settings and the 50 denoise settings. I mask them to make the image into four sections. Then, to make it useful on here, I have zoomed in to show the borders between them to provide some sort of comparison.

The PureRAW3 result is very aggressive on noise reduction. However, I find it can make some odd artifacts in the images where details were not that clear to begin with. The 75 setting in Lightroom provided a very similar level of noise reduction to PureRAW3. It is slightly noisier but barely enough to matter. A setting of 50 does show more noise. It is still a significant improvement over the basic Camera Raw settings and very usable.

What do I conclude from all of this? First, as I have said before when testing the PureRAW trials, it provides some interesting results but it is not relevant to enough of my work to matter to me sufficient for me to spend a bunch of money on buying it. Having denoise in Lightroom now provides me with a very similar option but within the existing price I am paying for Lightroom. Therefore, I will make use of it when the situation dictates. It would be a regular part of my workflow because really high ISO shots are only an occasional thing for me but having it there when I want it will be handy.

Cattle Point and the Forecast Wasn’t Even Good!

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We took a day trip to San Juan Island. I was interested in trying to get some pictures of the foxes that live in that area. The forecast for the day was not that great but, with nothing else planned, a trip to the Islands seemed like it would be fun even if it proved to be damp. However, it didn’t prove to be damp. Instead, the weather was gorgeous. It really couldn’t have been nicer for a Sunday out.

I was wandering along the edge of the bluffs on the lookout for foxes. The results of my wildlife photography efforts will be in other posts. For these, I shall just show the views I got of the coastline. Some of these are long range shots taken with the 500mm I was carrying for the wildlife. Others are wider shots taken with the phone. Cattle Point is a really lovely part of the island and I would struggle to be bored with being in this place.

The Negus 747-400

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We were in the Cotswolds for a wedding earlier this year and the morning of the wedding found my with little to do while everyone was getting ready. I was only 30 minutes or so from the old RAF airfield of Kemble, now Cotswolds Airport. Surely it would be churlish to not take a look since I was killing time? Kemble has quite a lot of interest and will mean there are several posts to come. The first will focus on one of the largest residents.

British Airways painted three of its 747s in retro liveries. The jets had different interior configurations which meant they were used on specific routes. I got to shoot the BOAC jet and the Landor jet when they came to Seattle but I never saw the Negus jet. When BA retired the 747 fleet during the pandemic, the Negus jet apparently made its way to Kemble to become a venue rather than get reduced to parts and scrap metal. However, I didn’t know this.

Consequently, I was rather surprised to find the jet sitting there as I drove up to the airport main buildings. There are other 747s stored on the field at Kemble but this one is very accessible. It was early in the day when I arrived so I could wander around unfettered but there were already crews showing up to bring in fixtures for an event that they were going to be hosting. Renting out a 747 for an event sound like just the sort of thing I would do! I was very pleasantly surprised to see the third of the retro jets and to see it in such good condition. (Sure, they have a few nacelle panels that have been switched around but it still seems in good shape.)

Take Your Car With You

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I have seen countless RVs on the highway with a small vehicle hooked on the back. Having something more usable when you get to your destination makes a lot of sense. What about if you have a boat? How are you going to get around when you reach your next port? Why, bring a car with you of course! This ship was in the harbour at Bristol while we were visiting. The car was sitting on the deck, ready for use whenever it was needed!

Four Seasons Traveling in Style

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A few years ago, I was doing a photo flight over LAX and, on the south side of the airfield at one of the FBOs, a black 757 was parked with marking of the Four Seasons hotel group. This jet was used for some pretty high end tour operations. Not the sort of thing I am likely to be on! The 757 was aging and, in discussion with some friends online, I heard that they had switched to an Airbus A321neo. Lo and behold, a few days later, it came to Seattle.

I wasn’t able to get it arriving (although it came back again another time and I did then) but the departure was on a day that I was free. The jet is in a similar livery to the 757 looking black from a distance. I am not sure whether it is actually black or a deep purple color but, when the sun glints off it, there is a colorful tinge to it. Departures were to the north so it crossed the runway to taxi by me and then turned for the take off roll. They were heading to Hawaii so I imagine the guests were looking forward to some fun in the islands. The aircraft is actually operated by Titan out of the UK. I wonder whether the crews like this gig or whether it is a bit of a drag?

Wood Pigeons Own the Place

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During our UK visit, we stayed in the village of Longparish. The gardens outside our place had a stream of wildlife coming through. By far the most common visitors were the wood pigeons. They were always wandering around the garden looking for snacks in the ground. They are so plump compared to normal pigeons, and you could see why eating pigeon might have been a big part of people’s diet. They seemed so confident in themselves. We felt like we were intruding on their space as we came in or out. It was really their place, not ours.

IPMS Northwest Gathering – Time to Focus Stack

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Once a year, the IPMS northwest group has a gathering at the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field. The modelers from around the region come with their creations to put them on display. I used to make models in my youth and have done a little bit since the pandemic started but not a huge amount and definitely not that good. I do like to go and see how good some of the work can be. I tend to focus on the aviation models but the others are of interest and anyone that has put together a diorama is going to get my attention.

Here are a bunch of shots of the various models on display that particularly caught my attention. When trying to photograph models the problem is that focus is usually very shallow and so it makes the subject look very small. I use focus stacking to try and give a clearer view of the full model and make it look slightly larger. I am doing this handheld which is not ideal and, in some cases, the shots just don’t blend well. Most of them came out okay though.

Examine Detail With the Macro

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Every once in a while, I see some detail on something I have and it makes me want to shoot some macro images. Since converting to the R3 with its focus stacking capabilities, macro is so much easier to work with. I had a car which had both printed patterns and embossed elements on it. I thought these looked interesting so set up the macro lens to get a closer look. The focus stacking in Photoshop is so straightforward when shooting on a mount, it takes no time at all to get the shots.

I was interested in the embossed elements but, when I took a look at the resulting shot, I was quite taken by the edge of the car. The layers in the laminate were quite interesting and the detail in the curves of the edge were brought out in the shots. I did also like the way in which the embossed characters come out when you are working so close in. Macro is such an interesting way to look at things that are normally on a scale which means they are lost to us.

An EMB-135 Can Look Good

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One Saturday afternoon, I was out shooting some planes approaching SEA with my buddy David. We were thinking of calling it a day but I was curious about an EMB-135 that was due in to Boeing Field. The weather was looking like it would get worse and these regional jets are hardly exciting. However, a quick search online showed some older shots of it painted white but a more recent shot of it painted gloss black. I wondered whether this was still how it looked. I told David I would give it a go as we parted.

As I waited for the jet to arrive, I really hoped it was painted black. Waiting a while in gradually degrading weather for a regional jet seemed like it might be a poor use of a Saturday afternoon. When it came in to view, I was very relieved. It was, indeed, gloss black with a hint of color on the tail. The fact that the cloud had come in actually made it easier to get a good exposure on the black finish. Once I got home, I checked out its ownership a little further and, while it was listed to a company matching the Aero on the fuselage, I think it is used by ConocoPhillips. Maybe, if you are an oil company, you paint your planes to look like crude oil?

SS Great Britain

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Bristol Docks are the home of the SS Great Britain. The first iron hulled ship with screw propulsion, the Great Britain ended up in Port Stanley. It was rescued in the 80s and brought to Bristol where it was restored over many years. Now it is in something like its original condition. It was not open to the public on the day we were there but it was visible from the opposite side of the docks as we walked down and then, as we came back up the other side, I could get a quick glimpse through the fence.