SCENIC-ROUTE: PAINT SHOP PRO: TUTORIALS

What about expanding more on the variations, to see if anything somewhat useful can be found? It's no longer the unsharp mask, again, but only a variation on a method used to manually imitate the same effect. As seen, various Geometric Effects produced a blur, and other things, which gave a slight sharpening, and other things. Such a variation might seem subtle, but it also might be something the eye can perceive, and the mind judge more pleasing than using the built-in filters, alone. This also points out the need for a macro program and play, not available in PSP 7, since these 'longhand' methods, ultimately, are tedious and, therefore, impractical. If automated, on the other hand, any number of subtle variations could be employed at the touch of a menu, and compared. The following is sort of, kind of, a combination of the longhand unsharp method with the gray mask variation on page 2.

Blur the image:
1. Starting with IMAGE 1: Shift-D, duplicates the image - call duplicate: IMAGE 2
2. from the menu bar: Effects, Geometric Effects, Pixelate, 4x4
3. Effects, Blur, Blur More
4. Blur More a second time
Subtract:
- from the menu bar: Image, Arithmetic
- Set as follows:
  - Image #1: IMAGE 1
  - Image #2: IMAGE 2
  - Function: Subtract
  - Channel: check All Channels
  - Modifiers:
    - Divisor: 1
    - Bias: 0
    - check Clip Color Values
Call the resulting dark mask - IMAGE 3. Subtract IMAGE 3, now, not from the original IMAGE 1, but from the blurred IMAGE 2
- from the menu bar: Image, Arithmetic
- Set as follows:
  - Image #1: IMAGE 2
  - Image #2: IMAGE 3
  - Function: Subtract
  - Channel: check All Channels
  - Modifiers: (as above)
Invert the result, and call it IMAGE 4:
- Colors, Negative Image
Average IMAGE 4 with IMAGE 1, using a bias of 2:
- from the menu bar: Image, Arithmetic
- Set as follows:
  - Image #1: IMAGE 1
  - Image #2: IMAGE 4
  - Function: Average
  - Channel: check All Channels
  - Modifiers:
    - Divisor: 1
    - Bias: 2
    - check Clip Color Values
Call the result of this IMAGE 5. Fade correct:
- Effects, Enhance Photo, Fade Correcton, amount 5.
'Unsharpen' IMAGE 5.
- Effects, Sharpen, Unsharp Mask
  - Radius: .9
  - Strength: 40
  - Clipping: 0
And, finally, combine with IMAGE 1:
- from the menu bar: Image, Arithmetic
- Set as follows:
  - Image #1: IMAGE 1
  - Image #2: IMAGE 5
  - Function: Average
  - Channel: check All Channels
  - Modifiers: (as above)

The image on the left is the original. The image on the right (or bottom) is the modified version just created.

Here's the difference, then. You could use the Histogram Window (View, Toolbars, and make sure Histogram Window is checked), for a very detailed look at both images. These, below, are just snapshots from the Histogram Adjustment filter:

The histogram on the left is for the original. The one on the right (or bottom) is for the modified version, just as labelled. Clearly, the modified version is 'fuller', and 'smoother'. The right peak is less and the transition smooth. The left peaks from the original are now one, and are smoother, as well, in the modified image.

It's a subtle effect, that sharpens just a bit here and there, and essentially just boosts the 'middle'. It suggests, almost, the effect of an audio compression filter on a sound wave (but beyond the superficial visual similarity, there's really no comparison). Again, it could be closely duplicated, most likely, with Colors, Histogram Functions, Histogram Adjustment, and some Unsharp. But that approach, maybe just upon close inspection, might produce a modified image that is still different than the one created here.

Many, many variations on this could be tried, each with slightly different effect. It is difficult to do manually, every time. And, again, a programmable macro capability surely would make the task easier.

More Variations