Reds Blown Out and Restored
This is the initial capture (images are clickable):
To save reds a little, we go for a 1-minute job:
- Duplicate green or blue channel (I used green);
- Go to Composite RGB, select reds, save as a mask;
- Convert to Lab;
- Apply a curve on the channel copy to separate reds (contrast enhancement in reds, result depends grossly on the curve);
- Blur the mask (Red Select) very slightly;
- Apply (via Apply Image) channel copy to L channel, using the mask - see the screenshot for modes.
The above can be repeated as necessary. Working from the full-size unsharpened image helps a lot. Result is better viewed in Photoshop or colour-savvy browser - Safari or Firefox 3 with about:preferences set to use colour management.
For more serious attempt, duplicate the image, convert it to CMYK, extract the Cyan channel (it is the exact opposite of the Red and so contains maximum detail, as unwanted colours usually do), and use it instead of Green or Blue channel.
To save reds a little, we go for a 1-minute job:
- Duplicate green or blue channel (I used green);
- Go to Composite RGB, select reds, save as a mask;
- Convert to Lab;
- Apply a curve on the channel copy to separate reds (contrast enhancement in reds, result depends grossly on the curve);
- Blur the mask (Red Select) very slightly;
- Apply (via Apply Image) channel copy to L channel, using the mask - see the screenshot for modes.
The above can be repeated as necessary. Working from the full-size unsharpened image helps a lot. Result is better viewed in Photoshop or colour-savvy browser - Safari or Firefox 3 with about:preferences set to use colour management.
For more serious attempt, duplicate the image, convert it to CMYK, extract the Cyan channel (it is the exact opposite of the Red and so contains maximum detail, as unwanted colours usually do), and use it instead of Green or Blue channel.