Kategorie: News
Post-processing made easy
Anyone who takes photographs underwater is familiar with the problem. Backscatter everywhere. Sometimes more, sometimes less. But it's almost impossible to avoid them completely! This means positioning the lighting correctly and trying to illuminate as few of the ‘nasty’ reflections as possible. This doesn't always work, and many of my pictures have ended up in the bin because there were simply too many of them.
Test report by Gerald Nowak
I don't regret most of the pictures I deleted, but there were a few that I would have liked to keep if it hadn't taken so much time to ‘clean’ them. Painstakingly stamping out countless tiny floating particles by hand is exhausting and tedious. Great tips on how to improve ‘flawed’ pictures keep popping up:
• Mark the blue water areas and blur them with ‘dust and scratches’
• Mask and replace the background
• Use the “repair brush” or “stamp” to “pixelate” them individually
• Paint over large areas with the “retouch tool”.
All of this is doable, but tedious. So some enthusiasts have spent a long time experimenting and looking for better alternatives. In the process, software specialists came across astrophotography. Here, too, attempts have been made for some time to eliminate the stray light from stars. The application for this is now very advanced and calculates reflections and scattering from photos relatively reliably. However, underwater photography presents even more demanding challenges. Some reflections in the image are desired and should not be automatically removed. Air bubbles in the image should also not be removed. This is where the new software from BackscatterXTerminator comes in.
The software is based on innovative AI technology and was originally developed for astrophotographers by AI software expert Russell Croman of RC Astro. It was then further developed specifically for underwater photography with the help of Adobe expert Erin Quigley from Go Ask Erin and her colleague Bruce Warner. Thanks to BSXT's simple, automated installation and workflow, even Photoshop novices can successfully use the BackscatterXTerminator software in just a few minutes.
If you want to learn more, you can do so in a tutorial that comes with the software. Erin Quigley has put together a detailed video introduction to help you get started even faster. The tutorial is included with the software licence and can be studied at any time after purchase. The tutorial guides users step by step through all the features and possible applications. The unlimited licence for BackscatterXTerminator can be installed and activated on up to two computers (Mac or PC). If you would like to try out the software first, you can get a trial licence that gives you full access to all features. The trial version can be used for 48 hours before a full version must be purchased.
Where to buy: Online at www.goaskerin.com. Direct media contact for Go Ask Erin: admin@goaskerin.com
I downloaded this trial version and edited a few pictures with it. I used photos that I would normally delete. It happens to me every now and then that the flash is positioned incorrectly or is simply too strong. To test how the new software handles this, I edited a wide variety of subjects, including circular fisheye (also known as ‘circle fisheye’ or ‘round fisheye’) images. In doing so, I realised how important it is to pay close attention to each step and to approach the editing process correctly. The software cannot simply open a RAW file and edit it in 8-bit mode.
BackscatterXTerminator (BSXT) delivers excellent results for most images. However, occasionally backscatter is not completely removed or subject details are lost. Especially with circular photography (8-degree fisheye), the black circle is occasionally blurred. This is related to the algorithm, which detects a supposed error and tries to compensate for it. It is important to carefully analyse the results of BSXT for each individual image and, if necessary, approach the editing differently. BSXT is optimised for processing RAW files or minimally edited 16-bit image files.
If you open an image in 8-bit mode, you may suddenly discover square blocks in uniform areas after editing with the filter. This is also related to the algorithm and does not occur in 16-bit processing.
Removing backscatter is extremely challenging, which is why processing with the BackscatterXTerminator software does not always deliver 100% perfect results. However, in my tests, I achieved at least 80-90% perfect results. I had to manually rework the remaining 10%, but this still saved a lot of time when editing the images.
As the software is constantly being developed, it is also helpful to report any errors you discover to the BSXT team. I have written at least 20 emails and always received immediate feedback. This feedback has enabled me to improve my editing and the BSXT team to work on their software. I look forward to any further improvements, albeit with mixed feelings, because in the future there will be significantly better underwater images, even from photographers who have little knowledge of underwater photography and are not really familiar with flash or lighting technology.
My consolation, however, is that a good image requires little or no editing, and the BSXT software remains only a supplement and will not completely replace the knowledge and experience required for underwater photography.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
• Photoshop CC version MacOS 12 (Monterey) or higher
• Apple chips preferred, but not required
• Windows 10 or higher The CPU must support AVX instructions. This applies to most CPUs from around 2012 onwards.
• However, Celeron CPUs, which are used in many lightweight laptops and mini PCs, do not support AVX and cannot run BSXT.
• ARM-based Windows computers are NOT supported – currently only x86 CPUs (Intel or AMD).
• GPU acceleration requires an NVIDIA GPU with at least 6 GB VRAM and the installation of the special TensorFlow GPU installer.
• Tablets and smaller devices are not currently supported.
• Photoshop Elements is not supported.
• Unfortunately, Lightroom does not support layers and some of the APIs that RC-Astro uses for its magic. This means that Lightroom or Photoshop Elements cannot be used. These are only available to third-party providers with APIs from Adobe Photoshop CC. BackscatterXTerminator is currently optimised and designed for Adobe Photoshop CC.
There is another application in which BackscatterXterminator can be installed and works. This application is called ‘Affinity Photo’ and is available for a one-time purchase price of EUR 74.99. However, the BSXT features are limited compared to the integration with Adobe Photoshop.
BackscatterXTerminator is constantly being developed and with the purchase of the software, you will automatically receive updates and benefit from new features.
I will continue to test the software and share my experiences with you. With this in mind: ‘Always good air and unique images’!
Software links:
BackscatterXTerminator: www.goaskerin.com/backscatterxterminator/
Adobe Photoshop CC subscription: www.adobe.com/de/products/catalog.html
Affinity Photo 2: affinity.serif.com/de/photo/(...)