Anyone Use TOPAZ?

J

Jeff Fillmore

Member
Anyone Using Topaz Adjust?

http://www.topazlabs.com/topazlabs/03products/topaz_adjust/

There seems to be quite a following of this CS/PSE Plug-in on one of the Nikon Forums I frequent so I thought I would give it a shot with a free 30-day trial version. ; I don't think I am going to be using it a lot but I will admit it is a lot of fun to play with- Disney pictures really seem to lend themselves to it for some reason. ; ;) ;

It can do a range of adjustments from a mild pop to a very heavily processed HDR-esque look which I found interesting. ; Here is a comparison I did between an actual 5-Shot HDR done in CS3 and a single image Topaz Adjustment...

HDR
322416398_Q69Qy-XL.jpg


TOPAZ
3457594189_276e2cfd19_b.jpg
 
OMG I love the HM one....

and I can't believe that I'll be on (a) property in less than 5 days.
 
Jeff, the 1st, 5th, 6th and 8th shots are my favorite's. ; I am not a fan of the extreme end of these or HDR for that matter, but you are correct that these shots do seem to lend themselves to this process.
 
i use photomatix, but haven't even begun to get a real feel for the program, but since we will be at the world in 12 days, i plan on shooting the flower and garden show extensively with hdr in mind, i haven't got it yet, but like obscenity, i'll know it when i see it, that hdr for a large wall print
 
those are awesome Jeff!

I just did some playing around with the nik filters I have. Here is the way Moose Peterson did an "HDR" a while back.

I ran the image through "tonal contrast" maxed out- twice.
then nik dfine to smooth it out.

new:
[attachimg=1]

original:
[attachimg=2]

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I haven't used Topaz - in general I'm not a big fan of the look, but at the same time as long as one doesn't process EVERYTHING this way, it looks like a fun occasional processing technique. ; And I totally agree that Disney seems very suitable for these types of treatments. ; If I had it free, or cheap, I'd consider buying to go along with Nik Color FX and SilverPro, and Virtual Photographer, as just more ways to play around with shots when I've got nothing better to do!

I may try the sample download, and see how I like it. ; Thanks for the link and samples (the riverboat really pops, and the Haunted Mansion just looks wild!
 
Jeff, nicely done, I really like the second SpaceshipEarth photo. ; I took some bracketed shots on my trip to DL last week, so I want to try Photomatix since it integrates into Lightroom, but I will check Topaz out as well.
 
OK...must admit: TOPAZ is fun!

Well I tried out the sample version, and I must say...I like it! ; I thought that the 'extreme' version shots was basically all that was available, but there are some nice subtle contrast and color tweaks too that make contrast masking-style effects one-click easy. ; And the extremes are kinda fun too - every once in a while. ; My initial project with it was to open up all of my 'junk' shots - badly underexposed, ugly shadows, hopelessly grey skies or blown highlights, etc., and see what the program could do for those. ; I was everything from pleasantly surprised to downright blown away how it gave me some very usable, fun, and even very cool shots from what were otherwise junk.

I may just break down and buy this to add to Nik as another fun option, or junk-photo salvage tool.

Just as a sample of a few I tried...

Here's a basically drab photo, too grey with bad light and too much steam obscuring the boat:

[attachimg=1]

Run through on 'dramatic' mode with Topaz...no other editing...makes the shot pop more with color, and darkens the steam and clouds for a more dramatic and bold look:

66-230409113552-8.jpeg


Not bad!

Here's a more extreme version...this was an underexposed shot which didn't really come out the way I hoped:

[attachimg=2]

it was shooting into the sun, and it blew out the clouds while the shadows flattened the depth. ; Good idea, bad execution! ; I decided to try the more extreme 'psychadelic' processing for this one, just to go for something more wild:

66-230409113550-7.jpeg


It doesn't go for realism, just for artistic license. ; But it pops the colors, brings up the shadows, and increases the depth.

It's alot of fun - especially doing the way I did - going through all of your 'throwaways' or not-so-good photos, and seeing if you can breathe new life into them. ; I don't think I'd get into this heavy processing on some better photos - those I like to stick with realism...but for the extras and throwasides, it's great!

Again...thank you for bringing it up and for the link.

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Wow- I really like that first try on the riverboat a lot. ; Dramatic but not overcooked in my opinion. ; I bet it would make an excellent print.

I would say after boosting the contrast like that it would make a nice B&W as well.
 
Good thinking...I never considered doing the Topaz, then converting to B&W - that might give it a real old world drama.

I haven't brought myself to running the process through my better shots in my albums - my initial experiment was to go through my Disney galleries hunting for dull, underexposed, or bad shots that I've never used or processed - or if I did wasn't impressed with the results. ; And though a few were still bombs...there were quite a few that gained a new life.
 
Sounds interesting and I as well might have to look at this for purchasing for the same thought process Justin. ; That riverboat shot really came to life. ; Nice job.
 
Thanks Polynesianmedic. ; If you haven't already, download the free sample version and play around with a couple of your wasted shots. ; It's full function on the demo, so you can get a feel for it...see how it does. ; Truly...take your worst, most throwaway photo and give it a go!

Here's another sample (which I have an older version of). ; This is AFTER my initial post-processing attempt, to just brighten and recover the very poor original...this flat, unexciting shot was as far as I got when I gave up, figuring it wasn't going to get much better:

[attachimg=1]

But the Topaz 'dramatic portrait' treatment popped the contrast, selectively desaturated color in some areas, while strengthening others, and making it feel a little more gritty and 'western'. ; I really liked the way it made it into something that I never would have thought of going for in my own post-processing:

66-230409113555-9.jpeg


It's not so much that you could never achieve the same effect in your own processing steps...it's just that sometimes you can't open your mind to going a different direction like this, and having software that pre-formats some wild ideas and different processing styles can allow you to see what you couldn't visualize. ; It's also why I ended up getting Nik's Silver & Color pro...it just gives me some new ideas and ways of looking at things!

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