I would read through https://www.darktable.org/tag/tutorial/ its a pretty powerful tool. On Wed, Jan 6, 2016 at 12:24 PM, Michael Havens wrote: > thanks. > .... > WOW. That was easy to make it look just how I wanted it too. How else can > I use it? > > On Wed, Jan 6, 2016 at 2:10 PM, Stephen Partington > wrote: > >> If you are looking to do HDR i strongly suggest DarkTable heck i would >> strongly suggest it for photography workflows in general. Gim is great for >> some deeper manipulation, but for a Darkroom stype process Darktable is >> fantastic. I would put it in a close contention to lightroom. >> >> On Wed, Jan 6, 2016 at 11:25 AM, Michael Havens wrote: >> >>> These are instructions for Gimp but they do not work because (I guess) >>> it was written for an earlier version of Gimp >>> >>> If we were working in *Adobe Photoshop >>> *, we >>> could easily increase the contrast of the image using one of several >>> different types of adjustment layers. However in GIMP we don't have the >>> luxury of such adjustment layers. However there's more than one way to skin >>> a cat and this simple technique for enhancing shadows and highlights offers >>> a degree of control using the layer opacity control that was applied in the >>> previous step. >>> >>> >>> Go to *Layer *> *New Layer* to add a new layer and then press the *D* key >>> on your keyboard to set the default foreground and background colors of >>> black and white. Now go to *Edit *>*Fill with FG Color* and then, in >>> the *Layers *palette, change the *Mode* of this new layer to *Soft >>> Light*. You can see the *Mode *control marked in the accompanying image. >>> >>> Next add another new layer, fill this with white by going to *Edit *> *Fill >>> with BG Color *and again change the *Mode *to *Soft Light*. You should >>> now see how these two layers have considerably strengthened the contrast >>> within the image. You can tweak this though by adjusting the opacity of the >>> two layers if desired and you can even duplicate one or both of the layers >>> if you want an even stronger effect. >>> >>> Now that you know how to create HDR photos in GIMP, I hope you'll *share >>> your results >>> * in >>> the *HDR Gallery >>> *. >>> >>> >>> -- >>> :-)~MIKE~(-: >>> >>> here is the full text if needed, ( I don't know where the page I stole >>> it from is:) >>> >>> *HDR photography >>> * has become >>> very popular over the last few years and I'll show you how to make an HDR >>> photo in *GIMP >>> * in this >>> step by step tutorial. If you're not familiar with HDR, the acronym stands >>> for *High Dynamic Range >>> * and refers to >>> producing photos with a wider range of lighting than a digital camera can >>> currently capture in a single exposure. >>> >>> If you've ever taken a photo of people stood in front of a light sky, >>> you'll probably have seen this effect with the people appearing to be well >>> lit but the sky being near to a pure white. >>> >>> If the camera produced a photo with the sky appearing with its true >>> color, you would see that the people in the foreground looked too dark. The >>> idea behind HDR is to combine the two photos, or indeed many more photos, >>> to create a new photo with both the people and the sky correctly exposed. >>> >>> To make an HDR photo in GIMP, you need to download and install the >>> Exposure Blend plugin produced originally by JD Smith and further updated >>> by Alan Stewart. This is quite a straightforward plugin to use and can >>> produce a relatively good result, though it's not as rounded as a true HDR >>> app. For example, you're limited to just three bracketed exposures, but >>> this should be sufficient in most cases. >>> >>> In the next few steps, I'll run through how to install the Exposure >>> Blend plugin, combine three different exposures of the same shot into one >>> photo and then tweak the final photo to fine tune the result. In order to >>> make an HDR photo in GIMP, you'll need to have three bracketed exposures of >>> the same scene taken with your camera mounted on a tripod to ensure that >>> they'll align perfectly. >>> >>> >>> You can download a copy of the *Exposure Blend plugin >>> * from the GIMP Plugin Registry. >>> >>> After downloading the plugin, you will need to place it in the >>> *Scripts *folder of your GIMP installation. In my case, the path to >>> this folder is *C:* > *Program Files* > *GIMP-2.0* > *share* >*gimp *> >>> *2.0* > *scripts *and you should find it to be something similar on >>> your PC. >>> >>> If GIMP is already running, you'll need to go to *Filters *> *Script-Fu* >>> > *Refresh Scripts* before you can use the newly installed plugin, but >>> if GIMP isn't running, the plugin will automatically install when it's >>> started next. >>> >>> >>> This step is to simply let the Exposure Blend plugin do its thing using >>> the default settings. >>> >>> Go to *Filters *> *Photography *> *Exposure Blend* and the *Exposure >>> Blend* dialog will open. As we're going to use the plugin's default >>> settings, you only need to select your three images using the correct >>> select field. You just need to click on the button beside the*Normal >>> Exposure* label and then navigate to the specific file and click open. >>> >>> You will then need to select the *Short Exposure* and *Long Exposure* images >>> in the same way. Once the three images are selected, just click the >>> *OK *button and the Exposure Blend plugin will do its thing. >>> >>> >>> Once the plugin has finished running, you'll be left with a GIMP >>> document that consists of three layers, two with layer masks applied, that >>> combine to produce a complete photo that covers a wide dynamic range. In >>> HDR software, *Tone Mapping* would be applied to the image to >>> strengthen the effect. That isn't an option here, but there are a couple of >>> steps that we can take to improve the image. >>> >>> Often at this stage, the HDR photo can appear a little flat and lacking >>> in contrast. >>> >>> >>> One way to counter this is to reduce the opacity of one or two of the >>> upper layers in the *Layers *palette, to reduce the effect that they >>> have on the combined image. >>> >>> In the layers palette, you can click on a layer and then adjust the >>> *Opacity *slider and see how this affects the overall image. I reduced >>> both of the upper layers by 20%, more or less. >>> >>> The last step will increase contrast a little more. >>> >>> >>> If we were working in *Adobe Photoshop >>> *, we >>> could easily increase the contrast of the image using one of several >>> different types of adjustment layers. However in GIMP we don't have the >>> luxury of such adjustment layers. However there's more than one way to skin >>> a cat and this simple technique for enhancing shadows and highlights offers >>> a degree of control using the layer opacity control that was applied in the >>> previous step. >>> >>> >>> Go to *Layer *> *New Layer* to add a new layer and then press the *D* key >>> on your keyboard to set the default foreground and background colors of >>> black and white. Now go to *Edit *>*Fill with FG Color* and then, in >>> the *Layers *palette, change the *Mode* of this new layer to *Soft >>> Light*. You can see the *Mode *control marked in the accompanying image. >>> >>> Next add another new layer, fill this with white by going to *Edit *> *Fill >>> with BG Color *and again change the *Mode *to *Soft Light*. You should >>> now see how these two layers have considerably strengthened the contrast >>> within the image. You can tweak this though by adjusting the opacity of the >>> two layers if desired and you can even duplicate one or both of the layers >>> if you want an even stronger effect. >>> >>> Now that you know how to create HDR photos in GIMP, I hope you'll *share >>> your results >>> * in >>> the *HDR Gallery >>> *. >>> >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------------------- >>> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org >>> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: >>> http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from >> rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button. >> >> Stephen >> >> >> --------------------------------------------------- >> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: >> http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss >> > > > > -- > :-)~MIKE~(-: > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > -- A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button. Stephen