Tips for UW image manipulation

[String]

Can anyone give me tips on how to improve underwater digital image photos prior to printing ?
Basically the shallow images well lit come out OK using paint shop pros auto photo enhance option but the deeper ones ive taken are all washed out blue (due to lack of red light obviously) and the auto balance options are getting severely confused.

Is there any sort of procedure and method to follow to put some colours back into these images prior to printing thats generally the same for all photos?

Ive got access to PSP and Photoshop 7 packages if thats any help.

Some auto method would be nice but a manual touch-up guide will do otherwise although it'll take longer - ive got 140 of the damn things

[Andy Phillips]

Hi

Firstly forget PSP, thry Photoshop, couple of tricks,

1) Try Auto-Levels in the Image drop down menu
2) If that fails using the levels option go into each R, G, B, channel adjust each channel independantly.
3) or try changing to CYMK (Image / mode) and auto balencing the 4 channels independantly.

Andrew

[Tim Ingmire]

Go to scubaboard forum and scroll down half way.  You'll find a link for a downloadable action for photoshop - install and give it a go.  It produces some excellent results right off - tweak for best results.

Let us know how you get on.

Cheers,

Tim

[Andy Phillips]

Hurrummphhh

Goes to show, I have been doing digital imaging for the better part of 15 years and I learn't something today, although the idea of duplicating a channel and then fitting it back in to add in a particular colour is not earth shattering, the method they use is quite clever and works.

We all live and learn eh!, thanks Tim for posting that, I've been on a little voyage of discovery for the last half an hour or so.

Andrew

[String]

Im playing with the photoshop action and for a quick 1 stop script it does seem to make a big difference to the pictures.

FWIW i also found a link to http://www.digitaldiver.info with a lot of info in the forums.

[Tim Ingmire]

The great thing about the script is that it seems to do better than the auto levels tool for U/W piccies.  I've put some quite challenging (ie crap) piccies through both and the Action results are far better.

Now I'm hooked!

When I get a bit of spar time I'll be fiddling with some of the settings.  I'd like to get that realistic but slightly surreal touch to my images that I don't have the skill to do right now.

Also try wetpixel.com.  Not as informative as digitialdiver.info (which is great for Oly owners) but nice all the same.

Cheers,

Tim