‘SUPER RESOLUTION’ - ANOTHER TRY

Mesa Arch, Canyonland National Park, April 2008

Here is another photo I gave the treatment in post process with the new enhancement feature in Adobe Camera RAW that allows to quadruple the image size. This shot was made in April 2008 at Mesa Arch at Canyonland National Park in Utah. Yes, that is the spot where photographers sometimes pile up on top of each other early in the morning to get an iconic sunrise shot. Google it and you will know what I mean.

I like the company of other photographers but I’m still not a fan of crowded places. We spent the time before and around sunrise that day at the Courthouse Towers, a rock formation in nearby Arches National Park and had it all for ourselves. Joan and I moved on late morning and arrived at Mesa Arch about 1pm. Of course, not the best time for good light but a few clicks were made anyway just for the memories. I used a Nikon D200, which in 2008 was a very good 10MP DX camera. I believe the first digital Nikon full frame camera (FX) was the D3, that just had hit the market in 2007. With other words, most people used cameras with a half size sensor (DX) or smaller. The lens was a SIGMA 18-50, f/2.8. Not a bad lens but kinda soft in comparison to the glass that is now available. With 3872 pixels on the long side of the image I never felt it was worth the effort to work with the RAW file and try to extract more detail out of a relatively hazy scene. 

The picture became now another candidate to try the new ‘Super Resolution Feature’ in Camera RAW. The enhanced original file has 7744 pixels at the long side and working with Vibrance, Dehaze, and other contrast enhancing sliders I was able to get some details in the photo I didn’t even know they were there. The photo can now be printed at a resolution of 300ppi almost 26 inch (~650 mm) long and with a lower resolution, like 240ppi, a 32” (~820 mm) wide picture will still look decent.

I just thought I share my new gained experience with the new software with you and give you another example what can be done with older and smaller pictures. I repeat what was said in yesterday’s blog post, I’m impressed about the outcome.

TRYING ‘SUPER RESOLUTION’

Peregrine Falcon, Bellevue State Park

Before someone gets excited, this picture of a Peregrine Falcon was taken five years ago below the rockface at Bellevue State Park. I drive by there any time on my way to or from the Green Island Wetlands. There is a nest box mounted to the rocks that has been used by peregrines before. The last time I saw a bird was in 2019. Unfortunately I haven’t spotted a falcon this year yet. Maybe I haven’t spent enough time and left always too early…?

The reason I dug out this image from 2016 is the new ‘Super Resolution Feature’ in Adobe Camera RAW. It allows to enlarge a low resolution photo to a resolution four times its original size. It doubles the horizontal and vertical resolution. I tried that with a few older pictures already to see what is possible and I have to say I’m pretty impressed how the software boosts the apparent resolution, powered by machine learning, and enhances the details.

How can we use this technology to our advantage? If your current ‘state-of-the-art’ camera isn’t your first digital camera, you probably have older photos in your library that were shot with a 10, 6, or even 3 megapixel camera model. So the 3MP picture can become a 12MP version. This will allow much larger prints or you can crop the picture much more if you really need an enlargement of an important detail in the shot. Don’t take me wrong, I’m still an advocate for GET IT RIGHT IN CAMERA! However, we all have taken pictures that didn’t turn out perfectly sometimes, but contain valuable memories for us.

Back to the Peregrine Falcon. The bird was high up in a tree and there was no way to get even a foot closer. I had the lens at 600 mm focal length with the camera set to DX mode, which results in an angle of view that is equivalent to a 900 mm lens. The falcon was still only a small part in the photo. It was the first time I ever saw and photographed a Peregrine Falcon, a moment I wouldn’t forget. With the new ‘Super Resolution’ I was able to crop the photo and bring this memory back and share it with you.

If you like to read and learn more about this feature and how to use it in combination with Adobe Lightroom, here is the link to a great article that has a lot more details: https://lightroomkillertips.com/how-to-take-advantage-of-super-resolution-from-lightroom-classic/