Speaking of Rainbows

[Roadrunner]

I found this very interesting tutorial on how to create a rainbow not using the sky replacement tool. It's a bit more involved, but I think the results look a lot more natural.

I also found out that there is a default feature using the gradient tool. Photoshop's built-in "Russell's Rainbow", who knew? Not me.

Anyway, here it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DfWw9ycoMY&list=LL&index=2

 

[Allan Bell]

Too much work. Rather have the real thing.

 

I think I will go chasing rainbows. The mild form of a storm chaser.

 

Allan

 

[John Mitchell]

19 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

Too much work. Rather have the real thing.

 

I think I will go chasing rainbows. The mild form of a storm chaser.

 

Allan

 

 

Apparently, being an ambulance-chaser is more profitable. 🤑

 

I'm with you. When it comes to rainbows, I prefer the real thing. Same goes for unicorns. 🦄

[Reimar]

When I was touring England in 2019, we were at Castlerigg Stone Circle on the summer solstice eve.  Weather was very unsettled.  We waited for sun but eventually moved on.  Just as we were driving away, the sun came out with an incredible rainbow.  We rushed back driving like crazy and running a sprint.  Just as I was extending my tripod, the rainbow disappeared.  I was so frustrated I resolved to put in a fake rainbow (not something I usually do).  Here is the result:

https://www.alamy.com/rainbow-over-castlerigg-stone-circle-on-summer-solstice-eve-with-sun-and-dark-clouds-over-cumbrian-mountains-in-lake-district-keswick-england-image330963963.html

Edited July 9, 2021 by Reimar

[John Mitchell]

24 minutes ago, Reimar said:

When I was touring England in 2019, we were at Castlerigg Stone Circle on the summer solstice eve.  Weather was very unsettled.  We waited for sun but eventually moved on.  Just as we were driving away, the sun came out with an incredible rainbow.  We rushed back driving like crazy and running a sprint.  Just as I was extending my tripod, the rainbow disappeared.  I was so frustrated I resolved to put in a fake rainbow (not something I usually do).  Here is the result:

https://www.alamy.com/rainbow-over-castlerigg-stone-circle-on-summer-solstice-eve-with-sun-and-dark-clouds-over-cumbrian-mountains-in-lake-district-keswick-england-image330963963.html

 

Impressive fake rainbow. It's probably not too late to add a unicorn or two. 😎

[John Mitchell]

I've got a few real rainbow shots in my collection. This one is an oldie (35mm scan, probably older than some forum memebers) taken at the Zapotec ruins of Mitla near Oaxaca, Mexico. Handheld with a manual focus Minolta. Rainbows don't wait for tripods IME.

 

Edited July 9, 2021 by John Mitchell

[Betty LaRue]

This is the only one I have, and it’s faint. Also natural.

[Abiyoyo]

I have got few, like:

 

[Ognyan Yosifov]

I just realized the scale of this one !

 

Edited July 10, 2021 by Ognyan Yosifov

[Phil Crean]

Got more than I thought when I looked... All the real thing!

These 3 taken without leaving my apartment!

 

 

 

 

Phil

[BobD]

I was sitting in my car waiting out a storm when this appeared.

 

[MDM]

 

 

 

 

This is my favourite rainbow pic, taken in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, which is a semi-desert. Aside from the few drops that fell when this rainbow appeared, I have never seen it rain there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is another favourite of mine, from Garachico, Tenerife, where it does rain quite frequently.

 

Personally I don't like the false rainbows - most of them look garish and far too big.

Edited July 10, 2021 by MDM

[Roadrunner]

1 hour ago, MDM said:

Personally I don't like the false rainbows - most of them look garish and far too big.

I agree, fake rainbows are probably used too aggressively most of the time but that's where the opacity slider comes in. The YouTube guy did a nice job of showing how it can be done gracefully and with a lot of control on how to arrive at the final result.

I don't shoot a heck of a lot of landscapes and haven't used this method (yet or ever), but I did learn about the default feature in the gradient tool. That was news to me.

 

[MDM]

2 hours ago, Rico said:

I agree, fake rainbows are probably used too aggressively most of the time but that's where the opacity slider comes in. The YouTube guy did a nice job of showing how it can be done gracefully and with a lot of control on how to arrive at the final result.

 

 

 

Sure - I like that style of video - short, sweet and to the point. I don't see myself ever using it on a landscape  image but it might come in handy sometime for a design. I used to read all of Russell's tutorials back in the day - he had some great tips. I have loads of them saved somewhere (the gradient used is called Russell's rainbow). 

Edited July 10, 2021 by MDM

[Reimar]

7 hours ago, MDM said:

Personally I don't like the false rainbows - most of them look garish and far too big.

It helps if there was a weak rainbow or one just before taking the shot.  For a weak rainbow, you can match it and only slightly intensify it and still look natural.  In my case at Castlerigg, the rainbow was very intense, and I think I matched what we saw only moments before.

Edited July 10, 2021 by Reimar

[wiskerke]

A real one over Hollywood:

 

wim

 

edit: just checked: $142 gross in total for 3 licenses. Not too bad.

Edited July 10, 2021 by wiskerke

[Robert M Estall]

On 10/07/2021 at 16:49, Reimar said:

It helps if there was a weak rainbow or one just before taking the shot.  For a weak rainbow, you can match it and only slightly intensify it and still look natural.  In my case at Castlerigg, the rainbow was very intense, and I think I matched what we saw only moments before.

There was a moment in one of those Clint Eastwood westerns about when a man with a rifle meets a man with a hand gun. I might suggest something similar about a man with a tripod and a hand-held operator. Might you have gotten the shot if you had just whipped out a nifty little compact? Almost all of my UK landscape work has been done travelling in my trusty old camper. Aside from being useful place to bed down it is also a comfortable place to wait for the light or weather to come 'round. wait for it is my often cry.

Edited July 12, 2021 by Robert M Estall

[Reimar]

Traveling with a camper sounds like a terrific way to do travel photography. 

As for a compact, it doesn't suit me.  I love traveling with a tripod.  It's great for night shots, taking lots of shots in a crowded place with moving people so I can stitch them out, and mostly, so I can take one shot and know I've nailed it.  In my old age I am so wobbly and unbalanced, I need to take lots of shots hand held in hopes one is straight and not blurred.

But the Castlerigg outing was hilarious.  Picture me sprinting with a camera, tripod, and umbrella, and trying to put it all together at the last second.  Yes, I might have got the tail end of the rainbow hand held, but most likely the shot wouldn't be usable.

[John Mitchell]

10 minutes ago, Reimar said:

Traveling with a camper sounds like a terrific way to do travel photography. 

As for a compact, it doesn't suit me.  I love traveling with a tripod.  It's great for night shots, taking lots of shots in a crowded place with moving people so I can stitch them out, and mostly, so I can take one shot and know I've nailed it.  In my old age I am so wobbly and unbalanced, I need to take lots of shots hand held in hopes one is straight and not blurred.

But the Castlerigg outing was hilarious.  Picture me sprinting with a camera, tripod, and umbrella, and trying to put it all together at the last second.  Yes, I might have got the tail end of the rainbow hand held, but most likely the shot wouldn't be usable.

 

That sounds like a Mr. Bean scenario.

 

Just wondering about 2AAFBCN. I've never been to Niagara Falls, but that double rainbow looks almost too good to be true.

 

 

Edited July 12, 2021 by John Mitchell

[Alex Ramsay]

Just for fun, a circular rainbow (a real one)

 

Alex

 

Edited July 12, 2021 by Alex Ramsay
image too large

[Reimar]

4 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Just wondering about 2AAFBCN. I've never been to Niagara Falls, but that double rainbow looks almost too good to be true.

 

 

Good catch John.  That is a pretty intense rainbow.  I still had the RAW file on my computer, so I could check.  The primary rainbow was indeed there, but not so intense.  I remember waiting until the end just hit the Maid of the Mist boat.  I must have added a processed rainbow to bump it up that much.  The secondary rainbow I can hardly see on the plain RAW file, so that must be artificially enhanced as well.  Luckily I remembered to reverse the secondary rainbow spectrum.

 

Hey, you know, this ain't the National Geographic.  I figure with stock photography, pumping up the saturation and contrast for punchier images is a good thing 🙂

[Robert M Estall]

5 hours ago, Reimar said:

 

But the Castlerigg outing was hilarious.  Picture me sprinting with a camera, tripod, and umbrella, and trying to put it all together at the last second.  Yes, I might have got the tail end of the rainbow hand held, but most likely the shot wouldn't be usable.

Last time I visited Castlerigg I had the camper but stayed overnight a mile or so away planning to get on site really early before visitors. I knew the site so had a huge step ladder tied to the roof. I dragged the kit to the edge of the circle and stabilized it thoroughly. The early light was great and I took my time about it. When I turned around to descend, there was an orderly gang of Japanese visitors awaiting their turn. They did ask if they could have a go! I had a quick shufty at their gear ( this was pre-digital) and decided they looked pretty harmless and noncompetitive and let them climb up. I did think afterwards that I might have been in dire straights if anyone had taken a tumble. The platform was about 12 foot, so high enough to hurt.

 

Oh, and Reimar, I've recently turned 80 and still reckon hand-held is the way to go if there is light to see and you're not looking for blur

Edited July 12, 2021 by Robert M Estall

[Vincent Lowe]

How about four rainbows?  Beside Loch Duich in Scotland, which was directly behind me, and dead calm.  The sun reflects off the loch surface so hits the raindrops at a different angle from the direct sunlight.   It's been featured on the Atmospheric Optics website for a number of years and also used in a book Kaleidoscope Sky by Tim Herd.

 

[Betty LaRue]

36 minutes ago, Vincent Lowe said:

How about four rainbows?  Beside Loch Duich in Scotland, which was directly behind me, and dead calm.  The sun reflects off the loch surface so hits the raindrops at a different angle from the direct sunlight.   It's been featured on the Atmospheric Optics website for a number of years and also used in a book Kaleidoscope Sky by Tim Herd.

 

That’s fantastic!

[MDM]

15 hours ago, Reimar said:

Traveling with a camper sounds like a terrific way to do travel photography. 

As for a compact, it doesn't suit me.  I love traveling with a tripod.  

 

10 hours ago, Reimar said:

 

 

Hey, you know, this ain't the National Geographic.  I figure with stock photography, pumping up the saturation and contrast for punchier images is a good thing 🙂

Do you love travelling with a tripod or do you love the results? I used to always have a tripod when shooting landscapes and I still usually have one in the car if driving, as you can’t beat having the total control that a tripod allows - low ISO, whatever shutter speed and aperture you want. However, as my body strength is not what it used to be, I also usually have a Nikon Z series mirrorless camera with 5-stop IBIS and great performance at moderately high ISO (up to 1600 or so). This allows me to get pictures that I would not have been able to get not so long ago and my body is thanking me for it. I can shoot confidently at 1/30 or less if really necessary. So not a compact but a very light combo with the 24-70 f4 (Nikon’s  amazing pro quality kit lens) weighing in at 1.1 kg or thereabouts. 
 

As far as saturation and contrast are concerned, I am all for freedom to do what you want. It is a matter of taste which for me varies over time. I do think it was good though when we had to declare if an image was digitally altered (as in dropping in a sky or a rainbow, for example). Looking at my rainbow from Fuerteventura above, I would probably make it a bit more punchy now but it was originally processed on a different monitor to the one I use now   This brings up an important point being - what you see on your monitor is not necessarily what I will see and most likely is not what I will see.