Project 1...walt

Project 1:
[1] Levels and Curves.
They both seem quick and useful. I transferred the following to SWS:
..."Lake_overexposed.jpg" as is
..."Lake_overexposed_basic_levels.psd"...just adjust RGB.
..."Lake_overexposed_indiv_levels.psd"...adjusted RBB, R, G and B.
..."Lake_overexposed_curves.pds"...adjusted B=RGB, R, G and B curves at high end
..."Lake_overexposed_levels_curves.psd"...use levels - and then curves as a final adjustment.
I'm thinking that adjusting individual levels is pretty good. But adding a little post-tweak with the curves is best. At least based on this one overexposed image.

[2] Variations
Picked the same image. Wanted to see if Variations would be as effective. Tried different color "directions"...but didn't seem as effective as Levels & Curves.
..."Lake_overexposed_variations.psd"...just using variations.

[3] Color channels
Which I interpreted as Channel Mixer. Just reduced each color to 75%. Seemed to balance the contrast a bit. Not too effective.
..."Lake_overexposed_mixer.psd"

[3] Vibrance
Could only find "vibrance" in Camera Raw. It didn't have much effect, but while in Camera Raw, I changed the exposure to -1.80 and added a little vibrance of +30. This really seemed to take care of the overexposure.
..."Lake_camera_raw.psd"


[3] Saturation and Hue
Not too effective by itself. Hue +5, Saturation +30, Lightness -30. I think I just reduced the contrast.
..."Lake_overexposed_SaturationHue.psd"

[3] Brightness/Contrast.
Only using B and C I got
..."Lake_overexposed_BandC.png"
ctually it's not bad for a quick and dirty adjustment.

[3] Shadow and Highlight
The "shadows" part didn't do much. There's no dramatic shadows in the image.
However, the "highlights" did reduce the washout. I used a value of 30.
..."Lake_overexposed_highlights.psd"

[3] Gradient Map
This seems only useful (at least for my image) to convert to Black & White. I did have to adjust he Levels a bit. Actually, it looks pretty good.
..."Lake_overexposed_gradient.psd"

[3] my best mix
I decided on Camera Raw (exposure -1.8, vibrance +20), the some Levels and then Curves.
..."Lake_final.psd"

[4] post/respond. My overall experience: Ok, I came into this just to learn how to use some existing software. But I'm thinking this is pretty cool and that a lot of photos I've taken can be salvaged/improved. As for tools, I'm comfortable with the Levels followed by the Curves tools. The others may make slightly better adjustments, but I'm guessing that Levels/Curves can cover most issues. Except for overexposure...in which case, I'd tend to go to Camera Raw and change the exposure value.

[5] upload to SWS...done

thanks,
walt