Jean Wu
October 2025 - Saint-Laurent Church, Quebec, Canada (June 2023)
Original
About the Image(s)
Here’s a photo I snapped with my iPhone 14 Pro. The weather wasn’t cooperating that day, as you can see in the original photo. And to top it off, smoke from a fire started spreading from the north and heading towards Quebec.
This photo is one of my many shots with clouds in the sky that I’m playing with during post-processing. Before applying Nik Silver Efex preset, I used PS crop/expand, leveled the image, and removed cars. I’m sure removing and cropping/expanding probably won’t be allowed for PSA competition.
Since I have no intention of competing, I have a lot of freedom to post-process my images and it’s fun!
9 comments posted
Nice subject for black and white. I like how effectively you removed the cars.
I did notice that there is a halo around the church. I edited it to remove it, just a quick edit. What I did was do an object select in PS and put just the church into a second layer. I then used the new remove tool to remove the church from the base layer. Then I used the burn tool to darken out the halo.
Then as a second edit I used the dodge tool to lighten the steeple a bit. Posted: 10/03/2025 18:51:44
I did notice that there is a halo around the church. I edited it to remove it, just a quick edit. What I did was do an object select in PS and put just the church into a second layer. I then used the new remove tool to remove the church from the base layer. Then I used the burn tool to darken out the halo.
Then as a second edit I used the dodge tool to lighten the steeple a bit. Posted: 10/03/2025 18:51:44
Good catch and nice edit! My eyes were a bit tired from all the edits, so I totally missed that halo. I did spot it, but it just didn't quite pop into my head. Posted: 10/04/2025 20:17:06
Jean, I love this! Great perspective and viewpoint.
I immediately saw the halo that Ed mentions. Another way to handle the halo is to use the Clone tool. Put it on DARKEN, not "normal". Then make a small brush and clone very close to the edge. Here's a short video. You'll see how simple it is. It shows up with sharpening or extra contrast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoeZuY--_8k
Jean you can enter it in PSA Monochrome with removal and sky replacements (if you photographed the sky and aren't using someone else's). There are just three categories that are Reality Based--Nature, Photojournalism and Travel (so that we don't make places look way prettier than they are). Color, Monochrome, Architecture, Landscapes, etc can all be altered, as long as all replacements are your own. Posted: 10/04/2025 01:19:12
I immediately saw the halo that Ed mentions. Another way to handle the halo is to use the Clone tool. Put it on DARKEN, not "normal". Then make a small brush and clone very close to the edge. Here's a short video. You'll see how simple it is. It shows up with sharpening or extra contrast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoeZuY--_8k
Jean you can enter it in PSA Monochrome with removal and sky replacements (if you photographed the sky and aren't using someone else's). There are just three categories that are Reality Based--Nature, Photojournalism and Travel (so that we don't make places look way prettier than they are). Color, Monochrome, Architecture, Landscapes, etc can all be altered, as long as all replacements are your own. Posted: 10/04/2025 01:19:12
Thanks for your comments and tips. I didn't replace the sky in this photo; I only used Silver Efex to dramatize the look. Posted: 10/04/2025 20:22:58
I like this photo. A few small corrections could improve it, but overall it's very well processed. Posted: 10/04/2025 02:33:06
Thanks for your comments. Any other correction suggestions in addition to halo? Posted: 10/04/2025 20:25:02
It's a strong black-and-white shot with dramatic skies and a lot of mood. The only small suggestion would be to reduce the noise/grain in the sky, but otherwise I think it looks great. Posted: 10/04/2025 21:40:40
Sorry, but I don't agree with the others. To me the sky is so greatly overdone that it has become point of the picture. Also, while you effectively removed the two cars, the cross on the spire is misplaced, perhaps as you extended the size of the image. The spire itself is considerbly darker than the same side of the church itself. I'd like this more if the effects were significantly toned down. Posted: 10/06/2025 16:29:53
You have sharp eyes paying attention to details. That was 'crop/expand' caused that I didn't even notice it. I'll try to correct it, but I'm not sure I want to tone down the effects as I like the drama; it is subjective, of course. Posted: 10/06/2025 17:52:56