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Now I shoot and share for fun, not National Geographic. I know I should recycle my old DC500s, but I have fun, share slide shows with non-diving friends, etc. It can seem like I spend more time fixing the pics than on the dives, but my dive buddy just doesn't get into computers much. Our new agreement is...
On the first dive of our last trip, he failed to ensure that the flash link was on right and shot several pics with the camera set on External - which is really very minimal flashing, and they came out pretty black. We started to dump those, but I ran them thru the free IrfanView - Official Homepage - one of the most popular viewers worldwide program first to see what would happen, and we were amazed! I did tweak these a little to beef up what we found, but still - they would have been worth saving and showing to his sainted mom even if I hadn't.
Open the first one - then advance thru the pairs for before & after comparisons...
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We actually cropped for a closer look at the turtle on that last one.
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I hope I got those pairs loaded right, for before and after viewing. Those are reduced resolution copies of course, so I can attach them here. Facebook allows a 5 Mb pic size and Photoworks allows 7 Mb loading so we load onto those sites in higher res.
Now Irfanview is not as simple to use as some other auto fix programs; there is certainly a learning curve! They do offer a tutorial I think, and it is probably a good idea to study it - eh, maybe I will sometime.
If you just want to try it on some downloads, I really like how it handles darker pics - something I discovered editing some Carlsbad Cavern pics that also works well on sea shots I think. Download the free program and try this test on some underwater downloads....
1: Open the first pic in Irfanview.
2: Use Shift+W to set Display Options on Fit Images to Window so you can see what you have.
3: Use Shift+U to auto enhance the pic and see what you think?
4: Use Ctrl+S to save the pic to the same folder, but add the letter b after the name so you won't overwrite the original...!
5: Then go back thru several on Preview or whatever you usual pic viewing system offer to compare befores and afters.
Now there are a few hundred other things you can do with the program as you grow into it. I use it to resize all pics over 7 Mb to less than that before loading onto PWs, then all over 5 Mb before loading onto FB. When I am feeling brave, I use Shift+G to open manual color corrections where I can brighten, increase any of the 3 basic colors, etc. You can add text to a pic, look at the Exif info, and so on.
See what you think...??
Oh here is the slide show from my dive pics last month: Cozumel August 2010 Select Full-Size, then Play, and speed up, slow down, pause when you want.
Just hand me the card so I can download the pics so he won't lose anymore;
I'll run them thru auto fix for him; and
He can go thru them and tweak them if he likes, or not if he doesn't for a couple of weeks;
Then load them to PhotoWorks: Log in to PhotoWorks so he can where he can send invitations to see his slide show to his friends & family. They've usually seen mine already by that time.
I'll run them thru auto fix for him; and
He can go thru them and tweak them if he likes, or not if he doesn't for a couple of weeks;
Then load them to PhotoWorks: Log in to PhotoWorks so he can where he can send invitations to see his slide show to his friends & family. They've usually seen mine already by that time.
On the first dive of our last trip, he failed to ensure that the flash link was on right and shot several pics with the camera set on External - which is really very minimal flashing, and they came out pretty black. We started to dump those, but I ran them thru the free IrfanView - Official Homepage - one of the most popular viewers worldwide program first to see what would happen, and we were amazed! I did tweak these a little to beef up what we found, but still - they would have been worth saving and showing to his sainted mom even if I hadn't.
Open the first one - then advance thru the pairs for before & after comparisons...
. . . . . . We actually cropped for a closer look at the turtle on that last one.
. I hope I got those pairs loaded right, for before and after viewing. Those are reduced resolution copies of course, so I can attach them here. Facebook allows a 5 Mb pic size and Photoworks allows 7 Mb loading so we load onto those sites in higher res.
Now Irfanview is not as simple to use as some other auto fix programs; there is certainly a learning curve! They do offer a tutorial I think, and it is probably a good idea to study it - eh, maybe I will sometime.
If you just want to try it on some downloads, I really like how it handles darker pics - something I discovered editing some Carlsbad Cavern pics that also works well on sea shots I think. Download the free program and try this test on some underwater downloads....
1: Open the first pic in Irfanview.
2: Use Shift+W to set Display Options on Fit Images to Window so you can see what you have.
3: Use Shift+U to auto enhance the pic and see what you think?
4: Use Ctrl+S to save the pic to the same folder, but add the letter b after the name so you won't overwrite the original...!
5: Then go back thru several on Preview or whatever you usual pic viewing system offer to compare befores and afters.
Now there are a few hundred other things you can do with the program as you grow into it. I use it to resize all pics over 7 Mb to less than that before loading onto PWs, then all over 5 Mb before loading onto FB. When I am feeling brave, I use Shift+G to open manual color corrections where I can brighten, increase any of the 3 basic colors, etc. You can add text to a pic, look at the Exif info, and so on.
See what you think...??
Oh here is the slide show from my dive pics last month: Cozumel August 2010 Select Full-Size, then Play, and speed up, slow down, pause when you want.
