Pipes - raw white balance adj newbie

[Carzee]

Okay, I switched from MF 35mm to EOS 10D [ and AF!] a few weeks back. I think I've learnt how to drive the camera. With a prime and a pop flash anyway.

Now to try raw & digi neg.
This afternoon a set up an interior shot in a corner of the room here, using AWB. Tripod & cable and 200ISO. Lighting was household filament 75w bulb overhead and a bar heater from the front - flat out - its cold here today!

I downloaded the files using the utility browser, chose a file in Zoombrowser, and then went looking for WB adjustment tool. Couldn't find it. After looking around I gave up and I exported to CSE, cropped, sharpened and shrank to 800high x 533w .jpg
http://i.pbase.com/v3/07/441107/1/44684963.050612pipes0028_RT16_533w.jpg

[etaf]

zoombrowser has a whitebalance drop down selection and a colour temp range you can choose from. see attached image

also why not try RSE
http://www.pixmantec.com/products/rawshooter_essentials.html

[MTalley]

I agree with etaf. RawShooter Essentials is really easy to use. I love it already (and I just really started using it in earnest yesterday).

[Carzee]

I don't have that option in the edit section- only have the ZBrowser Ex 4.5 - a clunky one is it?

[etaf]

i thought i had it in v4.5
anyway upgrades are availble now to 5.2
enter your product here and download the upgrade
http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=DownloadIndexAct

[PhotosGuy]

I agree with etaf. RawShooter Essentials is really easy to use. I love it already I'll never use Zoombrowser again!
Here's something I just did with it showing part of the interface...
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=78879

...and here's where you can get it at the bottom of:
http://www.outbackphoto.com/artofraw/raw_18/essay.html
;-)

[Hellashot]

You need to lighten the shadows and darken the highlights a lot on the posted image, then throw back in the contrast the was lost ofter doing those things, maybe a hint of more saturation will be required too.

[Carzee]

I have downloaded it -on dial up- and will install... but first, as always happens at these times, I must answer the call and go mow the lawn like all good hobbyists!

[Carzee]

Wow, the RSE program is so much better laid out. Impressed. Thx for that big guiding hand there, right at the start of my Raw learning curve. POTN rocks!

I loaded the pic above and played WB and tints and contrasts -then I took another pic using a bit of window light in the mix. I think I arrived at lesson 2, don't mix lighting!

I put it thru RSE, and as a beginner, pls make some suggestions (http://i.pbase.com/v3/07/441107/1/44724548.050613pipes001801c444w.jpg) re the content and lighting, and the raw PP..
http://i.pbase.com/v3/07/441107/1/44724548.050613pipes001801c444w.jpg

[MTalley]

Excellent job. Ain't RSE a blast? One little tip I found is the first thing - click on the little yellow triangle icon near the zoom controls at the bottom. This will turn on the flashing indicators for both blown out highlights and zero-level black areas. The flashing areas will be updated each time you make a change. It was really handy for me when trying to lighten up an image I accidentally shot with EV set to -1.0 without blowing out the whites in the image.

[Carzee]

Thx for that. I used RSE to down the overall light, -1EV. Tripod, cable, ISO100 and the 50mm x 1.6.

Aperture. [sigh] I took shots at f2 thru f5.6. The one above is f5. I tried to blur the background and foreground but short dof didn't work i this case. Highland Pipes would have to be the hardest thing to picture. They got gloss and dull, varied lines and forms, varied colours. Ugh. I should stick to portraits and flowers!

What I have done is a more interesting 'super crop (http://i.pbase.com/v3/07/441107/1/44727214.050613pipes001801crop444w.jpg)'. It'll serve as a mudmap for the next session. Its sort of along the way to what I first had in mind.
http://i.pbase.com/v3/07/441107/1/44727214.050613pipes001801crop444w.jpg

[PhotosGuy]

I think I arrived at lesson 2, don't mix lighting! Actually, I like the mixed light in some pics, like this one. I'd still like to see a bit more detail in the pipes & the maribou. Keep at it. ;-)

[Carzee]

Yes, I'll go f16 next time; the glossy highlights are unavoidable so I'll minimise them by getting them in focus.