Dueling Light Shafts,
Canon 5DMKIII, 150mm, f/16, 1.6 sec., 800 ISO

During last month’s Northern Arizona Workshop, I took my group to Upper Antelope Canyon. The first portion of the tour centers on capturing the iconic light beams produced as the sun passes over the narrow opening of the 100 foot deep canyon.

This image was quite a surprise. In fact, I didn’t realize that I had captured split light shafts until a recent edit.

It was important during the sharpening phase of my edit (generally the last step in the process), to protect the softness of the light shafts. Here is how I went about it.

I created a mask using Tony Kuyper’s luminosity masks in Photoshop CC to select the white shafts. I did this in two steps. First, I used a Light Lights selection to select just the shaft. Tony’s masks works on the image’s tonality (not color) to make mask selections. You can see in the screen shot that the image turns into a black and white. The marching ants show the main selection, but all of these masks are self-feathering, so I knew the majority of my mask selection was just the shafts.

A selection means that what is selected is where the modification (sharpening) will take place. Thus, I needed to inverse my selection to protect the shafts. To do this, while the selection was active, was to go to Select > Inverse.

Now the selection includes all of the sandstone walls and not the shafts.

Now it is time to sharpen. I use Nik Sharpener Pro, but this techniques will work with Photoshop’s sharpening filters also. In this next screen shot, you can see what will be sharpened while the light shafts are gone (checkerboard background as they are protected by the mask).

Notice that the selection has automatically been feathered for a smooth transition!

Masks are a great way to work on your images. If you would like to learn more about how to process your images professionally, please consider purchasing my video tutorial, “A Simplified Method to Workflow” which contains (26) downloadable videos and contains more than 6 1/2 hours of instruction!

I also teach workflow and vision techniques in my workshops. Would love to have you join the fun!

Order My New Instructional Video Series :: A Simplified Method to Workflow (26 videos, 6 1/2 hours instruction, only $75.00)!

Free Video Sample :: Chapter 19 – Introduction to Luminosity Masks

A Simplified Method to Workflow – 3-minute preview of before and after RAW images processed with Don’s workflow!

2014 Photo Workshops – Complete List

7th Annual Springtime in Big Sur and the Monterey Peninsula – Wildflowers, Misty Fog and Headland Color – April 14-17, 2014 (WORKSHOP SOLD OUT :: WAITING LIST ONLY)

5th Annual Kauai Workshop – Garden Isle and Tropical Paradise – June 20-24, 2014 (Hurry – Only 2 Spots Remaining)

2nd Annual Monsoon Photo Workshop – Workshop #1 – Grand Canyon National Park – August 9-13, 2014 (co-taught by Don Smith and Gary Hart – WORKSHOP SOLD OUT :: WAITING LIST ONLY)

2nd Annual Monsoon Photo Workshop – Grand Canyon National Par – Workshop #2k – August 15-19, 2014 (co-taught by Don Smith and Gary Hart – 6 spots remaining)

3rd Annual Fall Color in Grand Teton National Park – Workshop #1 – September 23 – 27, 2014 (WORKSHOP SOLD OUT :: WAITING LIST ONLY)

3rd Annual Fall Color in Grand Teton National Park – Workshop #2 – September 28 – October 2, 2014 (6 spots remaining)

6th Annual Arches/Canyonlands National Parks and Monument Valley :: Full Moon Over Red Rock, Arches, Canyons and Monument Valley’s Mittens – October 4-8, 2014 (5 spots left)

4th Annual Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks :: Bryce Canyon Hoodoos and Zion Fall Color – November 1-5, 2014 (6 spots left)

2015 Photo Workshops

6th Annual Magic Light, Moonlight, and Pfeiffer Arch Workshop – Winter in Big Sur and the Monterey Peninsula – January 4-7, 2015 (10 spots remain)

7th Annual Northern Arizona Workshop – Grand Canyon (full moon), Page (Horseshoe Bend and Upper Antelope Canyon) and Sedona – March 20-24, 2015 (8 spots remain)

Software Discounts

Photomatix Pro 4.2 type in code at checkout: donsmithphotography 15% discount

Topaz Software type in code at checkout: SMITHPHOTO 10% discount

Helicon Focus click on link to receive 15% discount

Hardware Discounts

Check Out The New March Products From Our Friends at Think Tank (receive a free product when placing an order)!

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