Thursday, January 23, 2014

Miscellany and a PSA

Miscellaneous shots taken on an outing January 3rd.
Great Blue Heron

Mockingbird enjoying the peaceful setting.
I always imagine myself sitting in a place like this, but can never seem to actually do it.

Snowy egret


PSA: When I previewed this post, the photo of the snowy egret looked noticeably degraded in quality from what was appearing in Lightroom and Photoshop. The blue was more of a navy and the smooth water was filled with noise. Fiddling with the export settings did not help. I eventually discovered that the "Auto Enhance" feature in Google Plus's settings was not just for photos uploaded to G+, but it's applied to blog photos, too. That Google just takes it upon themselves to mess with photos that I have painstakingly edited makes me angry. After unchecking "Auto Enhance" under Google+...Settings...Photos, I re-uploaded the image. It's much better than it was, but I still find the quality and color off from LR and PS. Here is a better blog post explaining it if you care to read further. I just want to say to Google, "Knock it off!"

Photos from January 5th:
 Trio of canoers on the Tchefuncte River.
Lake Pontchartrain, Mandeville, LA, late afternoon
All of the photos that were shot with 200 ISO and f/8 came out looking 1/2 blue and 1/2 gray.
I wish I was technically savvy enough to know why, but I just accept and appreciate these happy accidents.
Maybe it was because dark clouds started to gather and my sensor was too low on sensitivity to record the scene properly.
The only editing applied was resizing, cloning out sensor dust in the sky, and a slight lighten.

I love the way the light hit the center of the Causeway Bridge
Water's like me. It's laaazy... Boy, it always looks for the easiest way to do things.
Bob Ross (painter and host of The Joy of Painting)

46 comments:

Hootin Anni said...

Yep, I posted about this a few weeks ago...it's frustrating to have them do this without our knowledge first off, and then even to do it after ticking the auto-enhancement off!!!

Kim Stevens said...

Well, I'm so glad you mentioned it, I was wondering what was going on because 2 of mine I just posted didn't look like that (noise) in my folders. I had one I wanted to post that everytime I tried to upload it changed the blacks to green! UGH!

Love, love your last image - reminds me of a similar photo I took on our Anniversay a couple of years ago.

The Cranky said...

Thanks for the PSA, it explains a lot!

*sigh* I've always wanted to visit Lake Ponchatrain.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

I haven't seen that yet, but I'm already ticked off at google- this just adds fuel to the fire. If I thought I could handle wordpress I would move back there in a jiffy. As it is, I am trying to figure out how to get rid of the email and google + without losing my blog..they all seem to be tied together with unbreakable iron grips.

Elizabeth Edwards said...

i love the kayakers ... makes me want to get out there & get back to it. awesome views. up close & personal. that is great lighting peeking through the clouds. i need to go read the google article. i am always amazed by your lighting, processing & all that jazz ... it is amazing to the eyes. mine at least. ( :

Shug said...

Good Morning! Thanks for the info. It is frustrating when you work so hard to make sure your photo is exactly as would prefer it to be, only to find out it has been changed. Great how you can see the sun beams coming down, and the light shining through the middle of the bridge....It's as if the bridge draws the line for the brightness....have a blessed day.

Anvilcloud said...

I just checked, and I have auto enhance off -- as I suspected. It's odd that you can't get good results as G+ is a favourite posting place for many high end photogs. Maybe different algorithms are used for Blogger? I scrunch all of my Blogger pics quite a bit, but usually am not too disappointed with the results.

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh Google QUIT messing with Gail's excellent photos she needs no help from you. Beautiful Gail. Love the bench and mockingbird. Hug B

Anonymous said...

What beautiful shots! Love that egret and the heron in flight.

Indrani said...

Beautiful pictures. I liked the capture of bench most, the line of sight is so perfect in that.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos, Gail. I love the heron taking flight.

TexWisGirl said...

yeah, auto enhance and auto awesome were way too intrusive for me, too. pushy-ass google! :)

love the snowy.

don said...

A fine varied series. Thanks for the extensive information on how to handle Google's auto enhancing.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Huh, this is the first I have heard of the google mess.

That heron has a huge wing spread!

renae said...

Oh, I would gladly tell the "Google Gods" to knock it off. I had to completely walk away from any photo association with those dorks. We have a mutual "ticked off" relationship. I would get to Wordpress if I could but not right now, huh? Thank you sweetheart for your loving words and support. I will be here as much as I can and I'm planning on the "MUCH"!!!♥

LV said...

You no doubt have a nice camera and know how to use it. Yours photos are excellent. Thanks for the info concerning blogger.

Karen said...

Terrific shots, the last two are so moody, love the egret!
I wondered what was happening to my photos. I'll have to go check it out!

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

wonderful shots

I especially loved the last one

Waldameise Andrea said...

Wundervolle Stimmungen. Mein Favorit ist Foto-Nr. 2

Liebe Grüße
Waldameise

Bas. said...

het is genieten om met je mee te mogen kijken.

Bill said...

Wonderful photos! Google can be frustrating when it comes to photos and that's putting it mildly.

hootnonny said...

Wonder if I have Google +.

The snowy egret on the gorgeous blue water looks forlorn. Perhaps its missing its mate.

eileeninmd said...

Gail, your photos are wonderful and you do not need ADDITIONAL help from Google. I had to uncheck that box right away.. love the egret!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Your pictures don't need any help from mr google, that's for darn sure!

Melissa said...

Beautiful wingspan on the great blue heron. I was scanning down further on your blog, and interested to see the tricolor? heron. I've never seen one before.

Anonymous said...

I really love the photo of the Great Blue Heron.

DeniseinVA said...

Your photos are great but messing with them can be annoying. I didn't know they did that!

Ruth Hiebert said...

I so enjoy all your photos. I feel the same about that bench.I would love to sit and just enjoy the scenery,but when given the chance,I find too many things that 'need' to be photographed,to sit there.

Barb said...

I never went onto plus - which sounds like a good decision! I like your rule of thirds water/sky photos. That bridge is long and makes a great middle break.

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

Love the great blue heron with the wings spread, and the snowy egret shot looks perfect to me. But what do I know? The last shot is my favorite, though. Spectacular!

Barbara said...

Thanks for the PSA! I had no idea and probably would never have known if you hadn't discovered it and shared. Gorgeous photos, as always. I'd love to sit awhile on that bench. Sigh.

Kerry said...

Yeah what is UP with google+ "enhancements?" I hate it that they do that.

Your egret is splendid. And the GBH spreading its wings is just lovely.

Debbie said...

Well, I don't understand any of that. I don't use google + so hopefully it doesn't effect me. Your images are just gorgeous, the snowy was my favorite and perfect timing on the heron!!

Stewart M said...

Nice shots - the mysteries of the way that sensors render colours are beyond most of us! And it used to happen with film as well.

Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

EG CameraGirl said...

Yep, Google sure knows how to tick people off!

Suzan said...

the water IS lovely! Especially like the bench with the single bird!! Bet those kayakers were cold!!

Linda said...

I did not know that about Google+. Not good.

Hilary said...

Google has become the bully of the internet. Fame has changed them!

I used to upload photos through Photobucket. Then they started to do the same thing.. only they didn't call it enhancement .. it was downsized and lovely, sharp images looked flat and splotchy. I switched over to Flickr and have been very happy with them, so far.

Your photos are always gorgeous. You don't want anyone messing with them. Stupid Google.

Brian King said...

The mockingbird on the bench is an outstanding shot! I love that! I noticed last year that my photos started looking degraded after uploading them to a post. After a lot of searching, I finally found the source and turned off that asinine auto-enhance. It doesn't enhance a friggin' thing.

Anita Johnson said...

This is a beautiful image!

Anita Johnson said...

This is a beautiful image!

Tammy@Simple Southern Happiness said...

I adore that one with the bench and bird. Shame we cant seem to sit and just take it all in at times. That is a peaceful setting.

Thanks for the info, I have this happening too so now you explained what is happening and its not me, it google. Thanks for the link too.

Helma said...

A blue heron but the water is a beautiful item in this blog :-)

Wally Jones said...

I enjoyed all of your photographs!
The last one is really special - very much a "mood-setter"!

Nice work (again - still)!

Anonymous said...

OMG!!! I absolutely LOVE that last shot! WOW! AWESOME!

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

As I refuse to join Google + I can't seem to find a way to turn off auto enhance. Some photos are effected more than others, some are "enhanced" so poorly I refuse to post them.....