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Everyday, I look at TROPHY SHOTS on this forum... And wonder...  We spend HUGE amounts of our hard-earned dollars on the safari, i.e., cost of hunt and trophy fees, taxidermy costs, airfare, clothes, rifles, and bullets, cameras, etc. Yet I see a very high percentage of hunters come back with TROPHY PICS that leave much to be desired in terms of IMAGE QUALITY!  I would like to help!  I have an extreme passion for hunting and wildlife/nature photography and I would like to help you get more out of your most treasured safari photos, you may have just one or several that are truly special and would benefit greatly by being processed. Most folks use a good point & shoot camera while on safari and I do too, along with a very expensive Canon with pro lenses. However, point & shoot cameras will benefit alot if they are digitally enhanced through post-processing. In the next few weeks I am carefully considering turning my passion as a hobbyist photographer into a very small part-time business as I see many hunters would benefit from this service for a reasonable cost. Many hunters do not have the time nor the knowledge or even desire to edit/process their photos. I am posting this here to see if a few hunters could submit one trophy photo each and I will post the before and after images here on this forum as a comparison, if it meets my criteria explained below. I will assess them all and only select 7 photos to digitally-enhance out of the bunch and use these in my demonstration here. I will be looking for photos that would be making the BEST examples of before/after comparisons in digital enhancements through post-processing. Photos must be in FOCUS...   Poorly focused photos will not be sharpened through post-processing; rather if they are in-focus they will be enhanced through PP. If there is enough interest I may strongly consider building an online website to serve the hunting community in this niche. It would be my privilege and I would be tremendously excited to do so! If interested in having your TROPHY SHOT from your safari digitally enhanced, then please send me a PM... Send me the ORIGINAL FILE I will only accept one JPG image file. I am doing this to see if HUNTERS out there desire this type of help and service. Thanks! Roland PM me for my email addy if interested... updated for instructions.... INSTRUCTIONS Go to MY PICTURES>Select photo>Select EMAIL> Select ORIGINAL SIZE in prompt>type my email addy>SEND....it'll take a minute or two depending on your file size! Good Luck to all participants...For the SEVEN PHOTOS that are chosen for my demonstration I will send you the enhanced file and also post a re-sized version for my thread here on the web! ... | ||
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Late-Bloomer; You have a PM... regards, D. Nelson | |||
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pics sent Thanks, Mike | |||
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This will be a great serves.  | |||
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Ozhunter, Thanks! I'd like to support my fellow safari hunters and this is one way I can contribute. I believe it is very positive and a move in the right direction! Photos are worth a thousand words and a million memories with just a LOOK  it'll take us right there in an INSTANT!!!I hope to receive the support and demand of this hunting community...We'll see  Aloha! Roland | |||
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Thanks for all the PM's and submittals thus far... Please keep them coming as I want a broad range to select from and make my (7) picks soon! There's soo many of you that would greatly benefit from this as I can easily see by way of what's coming over....I just may extend the number to 10 images...BUT, we'll see...NO promises... Glad to be of help and experience your most TREASURABLE TROPHY SHOTS in this capacity!!! Aloha! Roland | |||
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This TROPHY SHOT was submitted by "retreever" and it was selected as...EXHIBIT A because it was a wonderful photo straight out of his Point & Shoot camera and there was much to gain by using my post-processing techniques. My CHALLENGE here was to extract as much detail from Michael and his BEAST so that they could STAND-OUT from the overall image with much more CLARITY!!! BIG CONGRATS Michael and I will be sending you a full resolution file so that you may have it printed at your favorite printing lab. Thank you for allowing me the privilege to work on this for you and adding my personal flavor to it! Aloha! Roland Here is EXHIBIT A..."retreever and his Monster Beast and of course his DOUBLE"  [Before] pic straight out of camera...  | |||
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Here is one for "kevin davis" that I "requested" from him as I loved the shot so much in his HUNT REPORT...I only had a small ORIGINAL file to work with but I managed to do the things I wanted to do without a hitch. I only can wonder what I could've done with the full file original I should have requested that initially...LOL It's from his recent hunt in Namibia where he shot this beautiful WILD lion on his first day! BIG CONGRATS Kevin...BTW I love the original photo as well...But I just wanted to put my flavor to it and extract as much detail as I could from your BEAST and bring much more CLARITY to the subject and make it stand-out from the background much more with the techniques I'm using...I don't profess to be a GURU of sorts but only enough to get what I SEE in all these TROPHY SHOTS... Here's Kevin's TROPHY SHOT of a frontal between THE EYES! EXHIBIT B  Kevin's already beautiful photo straight out of his Point and Shoot camera... [Before]  | |||
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This TROPHY SHOT was submitted by "D. Nelson"...Beautiful MASSIVE trophy indeed,...but like many of our pics we suffer blown highlights. The CHALLENGE for me here was to see how much of the highlights I could tone down using several techniques at different stages and still extract as much detail as possible from both subjects! I pushed it as far as I could on this particular image and the result is quite dramatic and intensified...I hope you like the finishing touches to it Sis'...!!!!!! Big CONGRATS Darin! I'll also be emailing you a full resolution file to take to print at your favorite photo lab! Compliments! EXHIBIT C  [Before] Photo is straight-out of a Point and Shoot camera...  | |||
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Great looking photos Squeeze!! PM sent to ya.. | |||
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Squeeze: WOW!!! You made my elephant and me look great!!! Thanks so much. I can see I can use the help of an expert for my precious photos! Thanks, Darin | |||
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Nice work on the photos! I have Photoshop Elements 6.0 and play around with it, but I have never really learned how to use it to full advantage. Again, nice work! Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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Right on, Darin... I'm glad you like it and appreciate your comments! Thanks! Roland | |||
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Thank you for your comments I appreciate it! I just want to see hunters getting the most out of their most treasureable photos as I share in the PASSION as well. Simple enhancements can just take 1-3 minutes for regular SNAPSHOTS... BUT the type of work I'm doing here is much more SPECIALIZED. It even takes me 30 minutes to an hour per and sometimes more as it all depends on the photo and where I want to go with it! Getting a $150-$300 Point and Shoot camera photo to look like it came from a $2000 Pro DSLR camerabody/lens gear is what I'm ALWAYS pushing for, so hence much more techniques and time is involved in post-processing and editing. My goal is to extract as much detail from the subjects yet still be able to BALANCE the image...That's ALWAYS the CHALLENGE behind each piece I'm working on! Again, I don't profess to be a GURU at this, however I believe I have enough talent and experience in the use of the tools available in these programs to get the job done and gain a very respectable image than the original out-of-camera shot that MOST hunters post here and hang on their walls in their trophy rooms... I'm using CS4, but PSE6 is also a good program on the cheap...it's just that CS4 is much more powerful... My advice is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE...I've been doing this for a few years now very intently and it still takes me much time and know-how....Don't give up! Do justice to your TROPHY SHOTS...  You deserve it! Aloha! Roland | |||
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Hi folks, The response I have received has been overwhelming through my PM's in such a short time...Perhaps because it's FREE... That's GREAT!!! To all that have received PM's back from me with my email addy...You're good to go! But I will now close my request for additional submittals...I have many that are in already and still coming!!! I will be making the remainder of my selections very shortly...ALL of the submittals are WORTHY of my post-processing efforts however I do have my limitations in regards to this request offer for this demonstration. I hope you understand it's nothing personal as they all could use THE SURGERY... Thank you all for your participation and I will get to these over the course of the week during the evenings! For those of you who would be interested in talking to me about my services in doing your photos...Please keep the emails coming! I look forward to posting the upcoming before and after TROPHY SHOTS soon! I'll be out for much of the day but I'll check back in soon and look forward to hearing all your comments here or via PM/Email... Maybe this service would be welcome here by our own AR Family members...Again, thanks for all the feedback...I appreciate it very much! Aloha! Roland | |||
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Now when I take pics I set camera on its highest setting. But having the knowledge and know how to enhance photos is way beyond me. Wow! Roland thank you. A job well done. Mike | |||
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Hey Mike...That's the exact niche I'm trying to see if I can be of service to my AR Family Members... In other words would they consider this a VALUE! IMHO it most definitely would be especially for TROPHY SHOTS...but we'll see I appreciate the kind words and comments! Thank you for posting that here! Yes, for Trophy Shots "especially" set camera to HIGH QUALITY that's RULE #1...Then there's much more DATA in the file to work with, and when it's time to post-process the photos guys like me are POTENTIALLY able to do alot more for you folks in terms of enhancements generally speaking! Aloha! Roland | |||
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Late-blommer, Are there any other tips you can give us besides setting the camera on High Quality? Also can you give us some idea of what kind of picture flaws can correct? 465H&H | |||
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That is really cool, particularly the difference in Mike and Darin's pictures. The change in clarity is incredible. Mike | |||
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Instead of taking photos in JPEG switch your camera to do photos in RAW & JPEG.. Almost all good compact cameras can take photos in Raw mode theese days. And in programs as CS4 you can do it all, change your cull impala to a trophy lion are not a problem. | |||
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Hi Darin, Here's a crop that you may want to consider as well...I wanted to get more of your face in the photo and bring you and your trophy up close. Hope you like it as well...Compliments! Aloha! Roland  | |||
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Thank you Mike I appreciate the comments! Let me know if I can ever be of help with your TROPHY SHOTS it would be my privilege to help you! Aloha! Roland | |||
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To keep it SIMPLE as I am a simple guy myself and don't get involved with TECHNICAL DEBATES about photography, let me just say the other advice would be to take multiple photos just in case previous shots are not in-focus...It's a good safe-guard. And...have them hold the camera steady and follow through when they PRESS or "SQUEEZE" the trigger just like a rifle... As far as FLAWS one may be able to correct...It has to do mostly with the SKILL LEVEL of the one doing the processing! As I mentioned I only know how to do the stuff you see here as that's the scope of my enjoyment and passion. Some folks gosh the skies the limit! LOL I like doing the type of work involved as you see me doing right here as exhibited and concentrate all my efforts into that alone. I don't do this type of work on all my SNAPSHOTS as I shoot 1000's of them. BUT, I ALWAYS do this type of work to my MOST PRECIOUS and MEMORABLE photos!!! PM me if you have any further questions or I'll give you my phone# and we can talk it over if you need help on a problem you're encountering in your post-processing endeavors...no problem! Aloha! Roland | |||
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Here's another TROPHY SHOT submitted by "Ahmed Sultan" This is EXHIBIT D and it's a beauty! This beautiful photo needs no introduction as it stands on it's own merit! BIG CONGRATS Ahmed!!! I will be emailing you a full resolution file soon...My compliments Thank you for allowing me to work on this for you! This one took me two TEDIOUS hours to complete to my satisfaction and I hope you all enjoy it as well... EXHIBIT D  [Before] This was an already beautiful photo straight out of his camera, yet I knew I could add my personal flavor to the image. One of the CHALLENGES I accepted in assessing this photo was that the Buff on our right is in FOCUS and everything behind of that FOCAL PLANE isn't...All five SUBJECTS are on a different plane of focus and my objective was to bring them all into focus as best possible. So I worked on each subject individually and did a BALANCING ACT to put it all together at the end. These myriad of subtleties all blended together came out quite well IMHO; in regards to foreground, background, plus each of the 5 SUBJECTS...  | |||
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Squeeze; I'm just amazed at how the photos really do come alive after your work!!!!! Just amazing! D. Nelson | |||
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Roland, bravo U have given a new life to the picture, truly wonderful. Ahmed Sultan | |||
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Pick up elements 7 (its probably up to 8 now) and Kelby's book on how to use it. You can spend a year figuring it all out and still only scratch the surface. elements has a guided feature to get you started on editing. CS4 is super powerful, probably much more than anybody other than a graphics designer would ever use. It's nice to have a p&s but if you spend big bucks on hunt/rifle; splurge and spend a grand or two on a dslr. (canon 40d and a nice lens should be doable for 1.5k) After the hunt go thru the pics and cull big time then pp. You think you can spend big $$ on rifles, wait till you start looking at L lenses. | |||
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Thank you Ahmed...It's my pleasure... Aloha! Roland | |||
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Thank you Darin...That's very kind of you... Aloha! Roland | |||
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I received a kind PM from one of our members here who suggested that Ahmed Sultan's Buffs would probably look much BETTER without the BLUE-EYE effect... I AGREE... I'll send Ahmed both images for his keeping...  | |||
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Here's another TROPHY SHOT submitted by "SBT" After I assessed this photo I decided to approach it a bit differently from my other shots posted here. I hope you like it SBT... I'll be sending you a full resolution file in the upcoming days! My compliments! I only have TWO more photos to select in order to complete my SHOWCASE here of seven . Thanks to all for your entries! EXHIBIT E  [BEFORE SHOT]  | |||
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Darin, Thank you very much! I can't believe the difference in clarity, definition and color. Amazing. "There are worse memorials to a life well-lived than a pair of elephant tusks." Robert Ruark | |||
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Hi it's Roland.... And thanks for the comments It was a pleasure doing this for you and everyone else! As you can imagine I get really involved in these TROPHY SHOTS trying to do my BEST and studying the photo intently...Then I approach THE SHOT to bring out as much definition and clarity as I choose... There's a myriad of ways to digitally-enhance these photos...I just feel comfortable with the techniques I'm using and the way I choose to approach each photo... It's definitely alot more than pushing those sliders and tweaking stuff...  Glad you liked it | |||
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They say the mind is the first thing to go..............but they are wrong. Sorry. "There are worse memorials to a life well-lived than a pair of elephant tusks." Robert Ruark | |||
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NOW...That's FUNNY BOTTOM-LINE is ya like the photo... | |||
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You took an excellent photo and turned it into something special! 465H&H | |||
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465H&H, Thank you I appreciate that comment... Aloha! Roland | |||
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Our next TROPHY SHOT was submitted by "9,3x74R" This photo was nice straight out of the camera. It just needed the TREATMENT! I'll be emailing you a full res file as well in the upcoming days...My compliments for participating and being SELECTED... EXHIBIT F  [BEFORE]  | |||
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Only ONE more TROPHY SHOT to go to SHOWCASE """SEVEN""" I promised... I haven't quite selected the FINAL TROPHY SHOT to be used here... | |||
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Thank you for using your time on this. Your work is like magic!! Rino Rino | |||
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