A Matter of Perspective?

Cliff Walk - Newport, Rhode Island
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

THE WORD, "perspective," of course has different meanings. In photography we most often talk about it literally. By the "Oxford" definition, "perspective" in an image refers to the height, width, depth, and position of elements of a composition, in relation to each other when viewed from a particular point (mostly paraphrased from the #1 definition in the Oxford Dictionary). Perspective in photography is mostly affected by where we stand, the focal length lens we use, and camera position.

If you just logged on to the internet for the first time within the past couple years, you would be excused if you concluded that "AI" is a brand-new, world-changing phenom, but it really isn't

THE DICTIONARY has another definition (#2) however. It references a thinker's point of view. I find it fascinating how that definition intersects with photography. The main thrust of this post is about the latter kind of perspective. And it probably won't shock the reader to find that it is about a currently somewhat controversial subject: so-called "AI," or artificial intelligence. If you just logged on to the internet for the first time within the past couple years, you would be excused if you concluded that AI is a brand-new, world-changing phenom. It really isn't. If you want to stretch things a bit, you could argue that AI in a very rudimentary form, dates back to Leonardo DaVinci in the late 15th century. But that is a bit of a stretch. Today, we think of AI in conjunction with computers and digital imagery and writing. Probably the first mention of "intelligence" connected with computers was in the 1950s (with the term "artificial intelligence" probably first being used in 1955) - so it is not really new.

Cliff Walk - Newport, Rhode Island
Copyright Andy Richards 2016

IT CAN be fairly said though, that use of the phrase, "AI" (especially on the internet), has more recently increased exponentially (like so much of technology has - making Kubrick and Clarke's computer: "Hal," prescient). If this acceleration of AI development feels multiple times as fast, it's because . . . well . . . it is (hence the term exponentially). We first started to see it prominently show up in digital processing programs around 2010. My own awareness was with Adobe's then newly introduced "content-aware" technology (first introduced to me by my friend and Photoshop "guru," Al Utzig) - something that changed my world photographically. Realistically, the technology, which compares the image you are working on with 100's of 1,000's of image examples, was around in a more rudimentary (but still astonishing) form for many years before with in-camera metering technology (Nikon introduced its "matrix metering" in 1983). Given this, I find it remarkable that suddenly sometime in 2024, "AI" became a "thing." 😏 Anybody who doesn't think it has been around for a long time is fooling themselves.

I could immediately see as I looked harder at this image, why I had not processed it and put it on my website back in 2016

WHETHER GOOD or bad, Adobe Software has been working as hard as anyone to bring AI digital technology to us. As an Adobe Cloud subscriber, I have been among the early recipients of this technology. Adobe Firefly (described by them as a series of AI technologies including text to image, image expand and image generation, and video technology, among other things, was first released in its Beta version in 2003. Since then, the technology has been systematically incorporated into other programs (for our purposes, mainly Photoshop and Lightroom) as image generation and object removal technology. Again that technology has changed my world. First, it has taken the now aging content-aware fill process a step forward with the new "remove" tool. Second, it has added to the already impressive content-aware crop tool, and added "generative expand." I know, I know. Get it right in the camera. Thats good advice and one of the fundamentals we should strive for. Reality though is that nobody always gets it right in the camera. The new tools open possibilities for "fixing" framing and even composition at times.

Cliff Walk - Newport, Rhode Island
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

WE COULD get all into the: "that isn't photography" discussion, but personally, I think that is a waste of time and creative energy. The beauty of photography is that we can have it be what we want it to be. If you want to take the view that it is only photography if it was made in the camera and not processed in any way - that is your prerogative. I won't judge you for it. But I have said it from the beginning of my blogging adventures: In my view, photography is art (unless we get into some very narrow exceptions like reportage or scientific). When I arrive on a scene (sometimes even before), I "see" an image or images (although unfortunately "the image" is sometimes what I don't see). I have a "vision" and my goal is to make that vision my own reality. And it is determinative, I think, that what I "see" is not what you "see." Consequently, many of us will do "creative" edits during our post-processing to attempt to achieve our "vision." AI is becoming part of the toolbox. If you like it, great. If you don't, that's fine too.

We could get all into the: "that isn't photography" discussion, but personally, I think that is a waste of time and creative energy

THE CLIFF Walk image (Newport, Rhode Island) image is really one of those examples of what I didn't see. I thought I did. At the time, I was looking at the Gazebo, and the curves leading up to it. We were walking, shooting handheld (tripods, as you can see, would have probably created a nuisance, as there were many people on the walkway that day). Depth of field was an issue in the foreground, though I don't really find it unpleasant (f8 @70mm for tech-seekers). I "cleaned" it up a bit where there were people who in this case I felt were a distraction/detraction from the image. O.K. Nice image? Maybe. To me, though, it really is kind of ho-hum. In fact in the end, I think it fails. Why? I realized looking at it on screen, that it breaks one of the most fundamental rules of photography. Every image must have a subject. I guess you could argue that the gazebo is the subject. The railing leads up to it (though I certainly have better examples of leading lines). But to my eye, it just wasn't compelling. It reminded me of my very first image critique by my friend, mentor, and then college professor, John Knox. I made a really nicely exposed photograph of a snowy, wooded path. The late afternoon light was beautiful and spread a uniform pattern of shadows from the Birches lining the path on the sunward side, across the path. There was white snow and blue sky up behind the canopy. "Nice" photo. Again, maybe. At the time I was pretty proud of it. I took it to him "for critque" (probably really more for praise if I am being brutally honest). John is a nice, polite man. You may have read this story in my bio. He didn't praise it. Instead he asked me if I wanted him to tell me it was nice, or if I wanted an honest critique. I wanted him to like it (even love it). I wanted the acclimation. Instead, I did the better (for me) thing and asked for the critque (Like Robert Frost, I took the road less travelled by and that has made all the difference). He said the same thing over 50 years ago that I said to myself recently with this image (yeah - some of us are slow learners 😁). The photo lacks a compelling subject. If I had a person in a red jacket walking a golden retriever on the path in front of me, it would have made "just a photograph" into a "picture." I could immediately see as I looked harder at this image, why I had not processed it and put it on my website back in 2016.

Cliff Walk - Newport, Rhode Island
Copyright Andy Richards 2016 and 2025
(original and AI-Generated additions)

BUT NOW we have "AI." This time I played around with the "Generate Image" feature in Photoshop. I have done this before with wildly varying results. Some may remember the image I posted of a man walking his dog and the dog walking backward. That from Generative AI in Photoshop. As it will, it just keeps getting better, though it still has a way to go. I played with a few different iterations, asking it to "generate" several times. I tried different words in the text to image box. I finally found a couple that I liked well enough to post here. If you look carefully at the details, there is still a ways to go, but it is impressive nonetheless. I liked both the AI results shown here. There were several others that I either didn't like, or worse, turned out horribly. One thing I have noticed is that it does a terrible job with faces. In these images, my text asked for a blond woman in a red jacket walking a golden retriever. I tried a couple variations (but all but the middle one above had the dog walking behind the woman, and I couldn't get the right combo to move the dog up, so after several tries, I gave up 😖). I do like the red against the otherwise drab colored background. I also like the way the woman's hair in both images virtually (see what I did there?) matches the golden retriever's hair. Is it real? Nope. Is that a concern for me? Not in the least. As a sidenote, I just finished reading (the now late) Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Street Photography." One of the things he repeats about situations like this is how he finds a spot like and then waits (sometimes for hours), for something like this to walk into his scene. What are the odds of this very combination appearing? I don't know, but I don't judge them to be very high. I am not that patient most of the time. But now we have "AI." 😂

"Remove Reflections" tool in Photoshop ACR - Not Ready For Prime Time

ADOBE JUST keeps on rolling out new features. When they first moved to their "CC" version, I was pretty lukewarm about almost everything "cloud" related. Part of it is that "resistance to change" thing. I also didn't like the fact that I was going to be changing from "owning" to "renting" Photoshop. The primary driver for me eventually changing over was the "realtime" update feature, though (and, in my seat-of-the-pants analysis, it really wasn't any more expensive). Not only do we get new features as they officially are released, but if you are adventurous, you can download and use the beta version which offers some of the new things Adobe is working on.

BUT WAIT. There's more. 😀 There is a third offering that I will call "Previews" mode. This mode is a way to preview some of the new features that will (probably) soon be incorporated as standard tools, but for whatever reason, Adobe does not feel that they are ready (or haven't pushed an update through). Most of these tools are what I would consider "almost ready." These new features are available only if you have something called "Technology Previews" loaded. This enables some features that can be loaded in your current version of CC (rather than having to work with the separately installed beta version of PS) which - for whatever reasons - Adobe considers not quite ready for full release yet). In order to take advantage of this, you need to go into your Photoshop ACR (camera raw) Settings (the little gear icon at the top right of the ACR window) and check "Technology Previews." After a restart, you will have these "preview" features in your ACR.

THERE IS one tool, though, that in my opinion is not ready and I think Adobe should have left only in its beta version pending more thorough testing and feedback. Read on.

You should be aware that at this point the tool only works on raw images. It is said that they will eventually make it so it can work on other formats, like jpg and tiff

A SHORT time back, I learned about one of  these new tools. "Reflections," is found in the "Remove" section of ACR (I recently read that it is coming to LR in the near future). It is designed to remove unwanted reflections,primarily created by window glass between you and the subject. Once you bring an image into ACR, you can click on the little icon on the right that opens the "Remove" panel (looks like a band-aid to me, but I suppose it is supposed to be an eraser?). In the drop-down there is a panel that says "Distraction Removal." Currently you will find the "Reflections" tool and another tool: "People" (I haven't tried that one yet). It is AI-based, so once you check the box, it works on its own. You should be aware that at this point the tool only works on raw images. It is said that they will eventually make it so it can work on other formats, like jpg and tiff. In the tool there is a box to check to "apply" the tool. Below that, you are given a choice between "preview," "standard," and "best." I tried them all. I cannot see any difference, and based on that I have been just using "standard" on my subsequent tries. Also, Adobe recommends that you apply this tool first, before making any other quality adjustments to the image.

"Reflections" is designed to remove unwanted (like from window glass between you and the subject) reflections

HOW WELL does it work? My experience has been underwhelming, particularly in light of some of the real "wow" tools that have been introduced in the past year or so. In fairness to Adobe, their own blog says that the tool "simplifies" removal of reflectons - it doesn't outright promise to remove them. I have tried the "Reflections" on a handful of images I have in my portfolio that contain unwanted reflections. I have seen what I would call only encouraging results in two cases. The first was this shot of a sign behind glass that I recently took while in the Caribbean. As you can see, the "Reflections" tool does remove some of the reflection caused by glare on the glass surface (though it looks, in this case like some judicious use of "contrast" might achieve a similar result). But certainly not all of them. There are still remnants throughout, and there is still a marked reflection at the bottom center (perhaps as much a function of the brightness of the light falling on the sign than any other thing). While I would definitely say that in this case, applying the tool improves the image some, it is definitely not what I would call a successful reflection "removal."

Befor and after with Adobe Camera Raw's "Reflections" remove tool applied
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

WHAT ABOUT a more difficult image? What about shooting through the glass? Again, my results have been mixed and mostly they simply fail to impress. The image below was made from high up in one of London's icons: "The Shard." It is hard (though possible, e.g., from The London Eye) to duplicate the panoramic views of London from up there, but there is a challenge.They (disingenuously) tout an "open-air" view from the top. It really isn't. There are thick plexi-glass panels between the viewer and the "air" for any outward or downward views (pretty obvious why - but still slightly disappointing). I have found over the years that it is nearly impossible to exclude reflections in shots like these (a polarizer can help but doesn't always work, and often introduces color casts into the glass). I have tried removing reflections on my own with mixed (and mostly unacceptable) results. I have some shots from the London Eye made a few years earlier, which I tried to save, mostly unsuccessfully. I plan to try the "Reflections" application on them in the future.

London (from the Shard) - reflections from the safety glass panels mar the image
Copyright Andy Richards 2021 - All Rights Reserved

I WAS really interested in trying out the "Reflections" tool on this image. As you can see from the first version, there are multiple reflections off the Shard's glass safety panels that basically ruin the image (you can see them better if you click into - and enlarge - the image). I brought the raw image into ACR and went to the Remove Panel, where I checked the "Reflections" box under "Remove Distractions," and let ACR do its thing. For this particular image, the result was actually decent. Not perfect, but a start.

London from the Shard - Adobe Camera Raw Reflections Removal Tool
Copyright Andy Richards 2021 - All Rights Reserved

REMEMBER, THOUGH that this new tool is mostly AI - based. As I have blogged (and noted on my FB page) in the past, as impressive as the AI tools are, they are far from perfect (though, presumably, they continue to move toward that goal each time somebody uses them). The tool does a decent job with most of the reflections, but it didn't quite get them all. You can see from the circled portion of the photo, that while it tried, Photoshop did not completely "remove" the circled reflections.

London from the Shard - Adobe Reflection Removal with remnants
Copyright Andy Richards 2021 - All Rights Reserved

IN ONE pass though, it did a better job than any attempts I have ever made to do it on my own. Using the "remove" tool that is now found in both Photoshop and LightRoom, and a tiny bit of "cloning" with the "Healing Brush," I was able to correct that area in a way that was satisfactory to me. There are many post-processing experts out there that could probably suggest better ways to do this - and do it better than me. They may also see other things that the new ACR tool "missed" that I didn't see.

Street Photo with my reflection in the window
Copyright Andy Richards 2021 - All Rights Reserved

UNFORTUNATELY, MY subsequent attempts to use it on other similar images have not fared as well. Other than this image, I have yet to improve the image enough for me to even keep the results. In the image above, the "Trickers" sign was prescient. No matter what I tried, I could not get remove reflections to even recognize that there was a reflection in the image. I even tried a tight crop of just the window, to see if that would help. Nope. After several different attempts, it is clear to me that Adobe some work left to do on this tool. Hence, my comment in the title that it is "not ready for prime time."

Unfortunately, my subsequent attempts to use it on other similar images have not fared as well

ANOTHER THING I noticed was that in the process of doing its "thing," the resulting image was darkened (I suspect that is related to my comment above about contrast adjustment being part of the algorithm). Substantially. My first concern was that when I went to brighten it up again, those reflections would re-appear. Fortunately, they didn't. I played with "Exposure," "Brightness," and "Shadows." None of them brought the reflections back. The image below is my final version, which includes the hand-retouching that I did (after applying the remove reflections tool) and my brightening and lifting shadows in parts of the image. I am pretty happy with the end result.

London (from the Shard)
Copyright Andy Richards 2021 - All Rights Reserved

THE UPSHOT here, is that while what I do see with this tool is impressive, there is much room for improvement. It is one of those tools that seems like it is worth trying on images that have unwanted reflections. It may work, or at least it may help. It may provide a foundation for further re-touching using additional tools. I know I will at least try the tool on any shot like this. For now, the tool has future potential and I have little doubt that improvements are on the way.

Photoshop 2025 - Some New Features I Think Are Useful - And Some Things I didn't know about Photoshop

[I can't keep up! I wrote the first draft of this post back sometime in February. Since then I have gotten at least 3 alerts about new features added to either PS 2025 CC or to the Beta version that I also have installed. I have been back here several times with edits. If I don't post it, I am sure it will change again. Here are things as I see them as of the last edit. What we know? It is going to change again. And again. And again.😁]

IN THE latter half of 2024,  released Photoshop 2025 (PS) and its accompanying Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), along with the Adobe Bridge browser (version 15). Since I first drafted this post, they have released another iteration, adding some pretty powerful selection tools. Depending on your point of view, there are some exciting new features. Power users probably know that these features have been out either in beta or as part of the immediately prior PS verison for a few months. Now, in PS 2025, they have become "permanent" features. In addition to some so-called "bug" fixes they claim that they have made the software more responsive (I haven't experienced that). Since Adobe continues to release new features at a pace that has been previously unprecedented (I am currently using version 26.6xx), a single post like this cannot begin to keep up. Instead, I will highlight some of the new additions that I personally find notable and in many cases, have begun using.

Content-aware technology used "AI" before it was cool to use "AI" as a buzz word

WHILE I think they are probably in the minority, there are going to be users and photographers who find these additons - as well as the entire idea of "AI" controversial. For the rest of us, I think some of the new additions are pretty exciting and will prove useful in our workflow.

TWO PRIMARY new features are what Adobe calls "Generative AI," and the "new and improved" Remove Tool.

the new Remove Tool is a brush that does an amazing job, in my experience, with intelligently removing elements from an image

LET'S ADDRESS the Remove Tool first. In the tool palette along with the Healing Brush, Spot Healing Brush, Patch, and Redeye tools, the Remove Tool is a brush that does an amazing job, in my experience, of intelligently removing elements from an image. Working like the content aware replace tool (but better), it sometimes takes some trial and error and multiple passes, but combined with the healing brush tool I have found it to be very much easier and more effective than some of the older methods I have previously used to remove unwanted elements from an image. I have been using it in its basic form (a brush) almost exclusively in lieu of what I used to do with a combination of "content aware fill," the healing brush tool, and occasionally, the now-becoming dated, "clone tool." Content-aware technology used "AI" before it was cool to use "AI" as a buzz word. The newer AI tools, however, are more sophisticated, borrowing not only from its knowledge of "neighboring pixels," but from a huge (and rapidly growing) bank of data that has been collected by Adobe for comparison purposes, and using that information as part of its working algorithm. My experience so far is that it is pretty damn smart! 

The really big deal for me, though, was discovering a facet of the tool I was completely unaware of!

EVEN MORE fun for me though, was just recently discovering a facet of the tool I was completely unaware of! I had been - up until now - using just the brush in its automatic configuration (it uses AI when it determines it is needed). You can change that configuration to AI on or AI off. I leave it in Auto and find it works best for me there. That is not, however, the epiphany. In that same status/tool bar (the features bar just below the menu bar above the image), there is a block entitled "Find Distractions." How did I ever miss this? Click on the little down arrow and you are give two choices: "wires and cables," and "people." I haven't tried the people feature yet (but note that it is in the "Technology Previews" portion of ACR also). I have used the "wires and cables" tool though.

The powerful "find distractions" tool in PS 2025 at work removing power lines
Copyright Andy Richards 2010 - All Rights Reserved

DOES IT work? Mostly. On the relatively uncluttered image of Weston, Vermont above, one click on the tool worked an absolute charm. On very busy images, it sometimes struggles to distinguish between bare branches and cables. It also sometimes doesn't catch everything when the cables go in several different directions. It doesn't remove the things the wires and cables are attached to (which in many cases is probably a good thing), particularly power poles. It is important to beware of the details. In my brief experimentation with a few different images, though it did an impressive job of finding and removing the wires, it did not usually "see" and remove the shadows cast by them (see the second Waits River image below).

Waits River, Vermont - Power Lines are a distraction in my view
Copyright Andy Richards 2005 - All Rights Reserved

IN 2005, I photographed the iconic "Arnold Kaplan" Vermont scenic, Waits River Village. In all the years I have tried, I have never hit this scene in full colorful foliage. But I keep trying.😅 In my mind, this wonderful image is somewhat spoiled by all the telephone wires, gas cutouts, signs and the like. Sometime after that shot was made in 2005, I spent literally hours using the only tools then available to me (spot healing and healing brush), retouching out all those wired, as well as the gas stub, the stop sign, some poles and metal fence poles and even some of the tall grass distraction. By far, the wires are the most difficult. As I wrote this, I pulled up the original raw 2005 image into Photoshop, clicked on the remove tool, selected distractions/wires and cables and in just seconds, got the result below. There would still be some work on the other items, but the brush tool aspect of the remove tool would make short work of them. What a great new feature that I will get a lot of utility from! One word of caution, though. If you use this tool, be aware that it isn't failsafe. Note that while it removed 95% of power lines (you can see it didn't "find" a couple wires in the top left that were in the foliage),  Still, application of the tool save a lot of "picky" time and makes the job of retouching an image like this a lot easier, with probably better results.

Waits River Vermont - Power Lines removed using Remove Tool (remove distractions/wires and cables - note that their shadows remain)
Copyright Andy Richards 2005 - All Rights Reserved

THE OTHER new tools associated with "remove" come in several forms. Perhaps the biggest "wow-factor" form is what Adobe has named: "Generative AI." As readers on the internet are probably aware, the "generative" AI concept is powerful enough to generate imagery from scratch, given appropriate parameters. In Photoshop 2025, it means that you can create elements of an image that weren't there in the first place. That also means that you can "enhance" elements that are present in ways you couldn't previously do. Since it first came out (only just a few months back), Photoshop's generative AI has rapidly improved. I played with it some back then and got mixed results. My favorite example was when I asked Photoshop to use generative AI to add a golden retriever walking on a leash to one of my own shots of a person in a red jacket walking up a back road framed in fall foliage. It got it right. Sort of. The golden retriever was good. The leash was good. The only problem was the retriever was walking in the opposite direction from the walker! 😁 More recent attemps have been better. It still doesn't always get it right, but I am still amazed at how well it does do.

One of my earliest attempts to use Photoshop's "Generative AI" tool
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

THE AI "generative expand tool," however, is pretty remarkable, and I have made immediate use of it in a few of my images. Embedded in the crop tool in Photoshop it can also be accessed in the dropdown menu: edit/generate fill), "generative expand" can be used to fill in areas of an image where you are unsatisfied with composition. Obviously the best way to get composition right is by doing it right at the outset, when framing. Life being life, it doesn't always work out that way. I have used this feature to "fix" cropped out areas of images (edges of structures, for example), and to "move" the subject within a particular composition and dimension (adding to edges, tops and bottoms of images) and similar things with some success. When you use this tool, PS generates 3 versions. If you don't like any of them, just ask it to generate again and it will do 3 more. I find one out of the first 3 that is satisfactory the majority of the time (there are times when, try as you might, the software just cannot seem to find anything that really fits context). Why do I think generative expand works better than using generative AI on its own? When you use expand, finds its additional pixels from the context of the existing image.

It got it right. Sort of 😉

ONE NEGATIVE that could be significant to photographers making high quality prints or large resolution files is that the current version of generative expand generates a relatively low resolution result. The reason for this low resolution is that for now, the tool is only able to generate a 1024 x 2024 pixel block. If your defined expanded area exceeds that, PS does its best to fill that area in from the 2024 block using interpolation, usually resulting in a lower resolution result. The barn in fall foliage in Kirby, Vermont is an example of how I have used generative AI. I can't explain why, but even though I made multiple images at this scene, I did not get a single out of camera shot that didn't have this barn somewhat "bulls-eye" centered. I do know that there was foliage and farmland to the right of the image. I just had a "brain-fart" at that point. Looking at the image later, it dawned on me that I might be able to "save" the composition using the generative AI feature. I did like the result, but a hard "pixel-peep" illustrates the difference in resolution between my 42mp Sony "full-frame" sensor and the 1024 x 1024 resolution limitation (even after "enhancing").

Barn in Fall Foliage - Kirby, Vermont
Copyright Andy Richards 2023 - All Rights Reserved

A NEWER PS Version (2025) added a feature called "enhance" to the generation process. Once you have found a version generated by PS that you like, you can go to the little box in the generate panel which shows the 3 suggested generated images and each thumbnail will have a small graphic in the upper left corner. Clicking on that graphic causes PS to "enhance" the generated fill area. This process does not create more pixels (we are still limited to 1024 x 1024). Instead it works more like other programs (like Topaz's Ggigapixel AI, for example) to "enhance" the image. It does a decent job and at 100% viewing you can see definite improvement. There is a workaround to this issue if it is important enough to you on any particular image or series of images and are willing to put in some time. Take a look at this YouTube video for a very clever technique that appears to work (but does create some extra work for you).

the generative AI concept is powerful enough to generate imagery from scratch

ANOTHER FEATURE I was completely unaware of until pointed out to me by my buddy, Rich Pomeroy, is actually inside the "Remove" area of Adobe Camera Raw and the Light Room Develop module: "Visualize Spots." Not in and of itself an AI or generative tool, it assists in the use of these powerful retouching tools, giving us a much more useful viewer experience. The visualize spots tool creates a pure black and white image and the spots (if any) are shown in relatively bright contrast. You then can use your choice of healing brush, clone, or the generative remove tools within "Visualize Spots." I have begun using it and can see it will not only be a timesaver, but will also probably help me to catch spots I might otherwise have missed.

YET ANOTHER new tool (currently still only found in the beta version) is a Remove Reflections feature. Having played with it a bit, I can see why it has not been officially released yet. I wouldn't get too excited about it at this point, though they will probably improve it. Even then, I think it is going to be one of those tools that will work sometimes and not others. I have tried it several times on several different kinds of images where reflections were undesirable. I have yet to see it work at all on 99% of images I have tried it on. I have a dedicated blog post on this tool in the qeue.

Carter Shields Homestead Cabin - Gread Smoky Mountains National Park
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

ANOTHER NEW other recent new feature update included some pretty powerful selection tools, under the heading of "Landscape" selections. These are found in 3 places in the Adobe setup: Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), and the Adobe Camera Raw filter within photoshop. If you are a Lightroom user, they are right there in your develop module. For PS users, I recommend using them in ACR (where these days I do my "heavy lifting" adjustments). I used these features for the first time on the Sparks Cabin image above. This was made with my Samsung S24 phone camera. The modern cameras in "smart phones" are pretty impressive. As I have said in the past, their primary negative is the very small sensors. I have no doubt that technological progress will remedy that some day. For now, though, I have been "uprezzing" mine to 300dpi before putting them on my website recently. I know that will result in some diminution of image quality, but I have been impressed by the "preserve details 2.0" algorithm in Photoshop. The straight out of camera jpg, letting Samsung's software decide where things fall, alhough it did a decent job, left the shadows too deep and the brighter parts of the image a bit oversaturated for my taste. I opened the ACR filter within Photoshop and clicked on the mask icon, which gave me some choices; among others "Landscape." Landscape gave me three more choices in this instance: sky, vegetation, and architecture. I used all 3, first choosing architecture, which did a good job of selecting the cabin, walkway and rail fence. My primary goal was to brighten up the cabin - particularly in the shadows around the chimney. I next went back and selected "sky," and desaturated the sky. Finally, I clicked on "vegetation." Again, it did a reasonably good job of selecting leaves and grass. But it slightly faltered in discriminating between tree trunks and green vegetation. Easy enough, though, to touch up. I can see some time saving with these new tools.

I AM certain that there are additional cool features that I have missed. As I discover them, I will try to come back here or do separate posts on them. I also anticipate that Adobe will continue over time to develop and release even more of these tools.

"Spring" in the Smokies

Meigs Falls - Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

I USED quotes around "Spring" because I am not sure how best to describe or define that term as it applies to our recent trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) in late April. Certainly by most peoples' definition, April is springtime in much of the continental United States. I have made 2 trips to GSMNP over a period of about 18 months: one in fall and one in spring.

Sunset - Foothills Parkway - Townsend, Tennessee
Copyright Andy Richards 2023 - All Rights Reserved

THE FALL trip was a great time to photograph the park. However, it was not a great time to photograph in the park. In October, navigating the park is much like going to one of the popular amusement parks in high season. Thousands of people and their cars from west to east in the park. As much fun as it was, I vowed I would never again visit the park in the fall. Unfortunately, there are many places in the world that are like that these days.

Fall Foliage on Sparks Lane - Cades Cove - Townsend, Tennessee
Copyright Andy Richards 2023 - All Rights Reserved

SPRING WAS another story. Still plenty of people. But not nearly so many. Much more manageable. The challenge with a "spring" visit to the park is twofold: the weather; and how quickly things change. The first hint of spring - and color - come from the Eastern Redbud, with its purple blooms and the Dogwood with its white, starflower blooms. When I have seen them, it seems like the Dogwood dominates, often littering the forest view with its white flowers. We did not see a single blooming redbud, and we were at least a week (and maybe more) late for the prime Dogwood bloom. I am told by several local sources that not only did they bloom early this year, but it seems to be a pattern as of the past few years.

Lone Dogwood Branch Blooming on Rich Mountain Road
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

OUR ARRIVAL in the park was dictated by some non-weather related timing. My buddy, Rich from Vermont is a CPA. That makes it very hard for him to travel anywhere until after April 15. My other buddy (also Rich) from Michigan had some pressing family commitments. If I go back, I would probably target my trip in the first half (instead of our chosen, second half) of April to catch the bloom. There are also other wildflowers that bloom earlier than we were there.

Tree in the Meadow - Cades Cove
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

NOW ABOUT that weather thing. 😏 It is kind of a bittersweet phenomena. The time of year we were there is their rainy season. We got it, although fortunately never a full, steady downpour. But enough to get (and be) wet a few times. Anticipating in advance, I did carry raingear. For 4 of the 5 days we were there we saw very little of the sun. On Saturday - especially later in the afternoon - our last day, it did get quite nice and we were actually able to make some nice sunset images overlooking the Smokies from the Foothills Parkway, north of Townsend.

Tree in the Meadow - Cades Cove
Copyright Andy Richards 2023 - All Rights Reserved

THE APHORISM is that rainy, cloudy conditions are great for photography of flowers, foliage, and the like. There is little doubt that such conditions often create even lighting with no hotspots or deep shadows. As such, for photography they often create great conditions to make bright colors "pop," and render detail. Water on the subject is an added plus, whether it is droplets or just a slick which creates depth and shine. And these conditions are perhaps as good as it gets for photographing waterfalls and moving water. Deep water, being an extremely reflective subject, is difficult, if not impossible to photograph well under sunny conditions.

Roaring Fork - Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Copyright Andy Richards 2023 - All Rights Reserved

BUT (and you knew this was coming 😁) I  am not a 100% believer. I have some issues with rainy overcast. I do like the soft, even overall light. But its a fine line between soft, overcast ideal for certain photographic subjects and a dull gray which is often what is produced by rainy and cloudy conditions. To my eye, that gray look altogether too often casts a pallor on a scene which is very difficult to overcome - even with modern post-processing tools. Too much rain can also cause image problems. While I carry a dry cloth with me and try to be mindful, I have several instances I can point out where water drops on the lens (that I didn't notice at the time) ruined an otherwise nice photo. And any time you want to zoom back out for a more "landscape" and context-oriented image, a litte drama from sunlight (perhaps poking through the clouds, or light parts of the image) becomes - for me - a necessary element of a good image. The "Tree in the Meadow" image perhaps comes close for me - though I have trouble getting by the denuded branches of early spring.

Middle Prong - Little River - Townsend, Tenessee
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights reserved

WE DIDN'T get as much of the drama of changing weather and filtered sunlight as I would have liked. Some refer to the concept as "edge" photography (just as weather conditions change). We did get some, however, and when we did, we tried our best to take advantage. Don't get me wrong. While I would not chalk this trip up to one of my best ever, photographically, we did have some nice things happen on this trip. I blogged a few weeks ago about perhaps the "shining moment" of the trip for me: the reappearance of the Cades Cove Methodist Church shot from up on Rich Mountain Road. I'll let you read the account there if you haven't already. When we did find the elusive Dogwood branch in bloom we took advantage of it. We spent very little time down in the streams (I thought I got that pretty well covered during the fall trip - and you can see how the fall leaves add to the images).

Spruce Flats Falls - Tremont, Tennessee
Copyright Andy Richards 2023 - All Rights Reserved

OUR FALL trip didn't yield much in the way of dramatic waterfalls. The one exception was Spruce Flats Falls. I actually created some of my own drama there, taking a fall requiring three staples to a gash dangerously close to my eye. Fortunately, that was after shooting the waterfall, which is quite beautiful, but involves an extremely difficult hike up and then back down into the gorge. We had better luck on the spring trip, photographing several waterfalls. Some of the waterfalls in the park just don't lend themselves to good photographs. They are often down in a gorge which would involve difficult and at times dangerous bushwacking to get an unobstructed view. But there are some that are pretty easily accessed and provide a relatively clear view. Perhaps my favorite and very possibly my best image from the trip (the Meigs Falls opening image) was accessed rather easily right by the roadside. Because it was back over the much wider, main river (The Little River), and was part of a tributary entering the river at our viewpoint, it was set well back. I carry a 70-300 zoom lens for such shots, and was able to use that for this one. Because of the rather uniform nature and color of the surrounding foliage, I actually backed off a bit and shot the image at around 220mm.

Mingo Falls - Cherokee, North Carolina

WE DROVE a bit to find Mingo Falls, another waterfall that was rather easily accessed from the parking area. This waterfall was at the far side of the park from where were stayed in Townsend - near Cherokee, North Carolina. It did involve climbing a grade on rustic stairs, but once at the top, there was a nice little observation bridge/platform from which you could get a very decent view of the falls.

Middle Prong - Little River - Tremont, Tennessee
Copyright Andy Richards 2025

AS I have worked and reworked my archives and my website, I have always had a hard time deciding what to call a "waterfall" and what to call something else (e.g., "drops," "shelves," "rapids," etc.). We certainly shot a few other spots that could be characterized as "waterfalls." I think this park may have the highest concentration of these white water spots in the U.S. The shot just above, from the "horse bridge" at the end of the road in Tremont is not anything I would remotely call a "waterfall." But there certainly is whitewater (perhaps rapids), and it is one of the iconic "looks" the park yields in the spring.

Elusive Dogwoods - Cades Cove - Townsend, Tennessee
Copyright Andy Richards 2025

OUR PRIMARY quest, as I noted above, for this spring trip, was what locals and photographers call "the bloom." We were particularly hopeful to find the woods littered with blooming Dogwood branches with perhaps some Eastern Redbuds interspersed. We saw nary a Redbud and the Dogwoods were few and far between. So when we did see an opportunity, we "worked" is a best we could. One such shot was a cluster just in front of the Carter Shields Cabin in Cades Cove (above). We also found a single hanger-on-above the Little River, which we stopped to shoot as a framing tool for the moving water.

Little River - Tremont, Tennessee
Copyright Andy Richards 2025

ONE THING rainy, wet conditions can do is cause fog. Fog can be a very dramatic element to landscape images, and can be particularly prevalent in mountainous environments. With the numerous high overlooks in the park, we found some pretty great foggy conditions. My only negative here is related to my "weather" comments above. The grey conditions can produce strong color casts in the fog. Actually, that can be viewed as much a positive as a negative, if you like the colors. To me, dark grey and magenta don't look good for fog. I spent a fair amount of time during post processing, trying to bring the fog to a more neutral and natural look. The Dan Lawson Place in fog below was actually kind of purple looking. Even after some substantial desaturation and brightening, I still see too much magenta for my taste.

Dan Lawson Place - Cades Cove
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Righrts Reserved

THE SUNRISE shot from the Foothills Parkway, on the other hand, benefitted from a much brighter - though stil mostly overcast - sky, and the fog (I still desaturated it a small amount) looks much more natural to my eye.

Foggy Morning Sunrise - Foothills Parkway - Townsend, Tennessee
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

OVERALL, THE trip, though not rousingly so, was a success. On the last day, my two compadres were off on a "Wild Bear chase" (as opposed to "goose," as it was my understanding that they didn't have any success). Consequently, I was on my own. The only thing I have to show for that morning, which resulted from a largely aborted attempt at yet another tough hike in (an and underestimation on my part of how long the hike would be), was the White Trillum shown here. They were nice, and in places littered the forest floor and hillsides. I hate to be elitist here, but they are pretty tiny compared to the trillium I have seen and photographed in my former home: Northern Michigan. Nonetheless pretty and impressive.

(Mostly Mature) White Trillium - White Oak Sink Trail - Townsend, Tennessee
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

ADD TO all of the above: great company! I have always enjoyed spending time with my long-time buddy, Rich from Michigan. In more recent years, I have equally enjoyed the quality time I have spent with Rich from Vermont. And it is an added plus that the two of them get on great together. In addition to shooting side by side and often offering inspiration and pointing out things to "see," we enjoy each other socially. And, we spent a long and eventful day with noted local photographic guru and writer, Nye Simmons. We not only gleaned a great deal of "insider knowledge" of the area from Nye, but thoroughly enjoyed his company. There is no doubt that if and when another trip happens, I will reach out to Nye. My closing image here (made on my Samsung S24 "smart" phone) was 100% inspired by Rich Pomeroy.

Aspens in Spring - Cades Cove - Townsend, Tennessee
Copyright Andy Richards - All Rights Reserved

Now You See It; Now You Don't

Historic Methodist Church - Cade's Cove - Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Townsend, Tennessee
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

AS PHOTOGRAPHERS, many of us have seen an image that calls us to the place it was taken, to have our own try at it; especially if it is one of those iconic photos of a famous place. Perhaps our efforts would be better spent trying to find something unique about the venue, but even when it has already been done by others, I often still have a compelling desire to do it myself. When I do find the scene, about 10% of the time, I am able to make a unique composition. The rest of the time, I make an image pretty similar to others that have been done. But it is mine.

My buddy, Rich and I made three trips up the one-way road, trying to find it with no success (Rich is very patient and I am - apparently - a slow learner) 😕

SINCE MY first dedicated photography trip to Vermont back in 2005, I have frequently observed another truth about many of those iconic scenes, though. They change. Sometimes that just makes the image slightly different. Other times, it makes making your own image a challenge. And sometimes, it just renders the image no longer viable as a photograph. I was (sadly) reminded of the latter circumstance when I visited The Great Smoky Mountains National Park just 18 or so months ago. There is (was?) an iconic shot of the historic Methodist Church in Cade's Cove, taken from up on the Rich Mountain Road, high above the cove. I first saw it in a book by my friend, Nye Simmons (The Smoky Mountains photographer's guide). But the image had been made many years before. In the ensuing years, the open view from which he made the image filled in with new growth, both down in front of the scene and up on the mountainside. Planning my trip, I didn't realize that and nobody had written about it that I know of. It was one of my planned shots. My buddy, Rich and I made three trips up the one-way road, trying to find it with no success (Rich is very patient and I am - apparently - a slow learner). Finally, after many inquiries, We were able to confirm that the shot was simply no longer there. That was late October, 2023.

Historic Methodist Church - Cade's Cove - Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Townsend, Tennessee
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

IN APRIL of 2025, Rich and I planned another trip to the park, in hopes of finding the early bloom, particularly the dogwoods that litter the forest views when in full bloom. That's another story, and I'll blog about the trip in coming weeks. Another friend (and another Rich) joined us on this trip and one afternoon, we decided to drive up Rich Mountain Road to look for Dogwoods, flowers, wildlife, views and anything else we could photograph. Rich was driving and he decided to stop at the overlook we had thought might be "the one" back in 2023 and show Rich the spot the photograph would have been made from. I got out and walked toward the clearing in the trees and there was the church, in (mostly) plain sight! I had an OMG moment. In spite of the less than flattering light that day, I shot the scene, not knowing if, or when I would ever have another chance. The scene is not a open as it was back when Nye made his image. But it is (at least for a time), a viable shot now.

Did he - or I - have even the tiniest bit of influence on the clearing of the view to the Cade's Cove Methodist Church? I will never know (and I doubt it), but I am going to keep on saying I did. It was me!! 😜

THE REST OF THE STORY: I know that I am but one of 100's of photographers and local residents who have wished for the Forest Service to clear the view again. My level of influence may be like a grain of sand on an ocean beach. But it is an entertaining story. Again back in 2023, we were up on one of the overlooks on the Foothills Parkway above Townsend, in the park, scoping out a possible sunset shot for later in the evening. There were a couple white, official looking trucks and a crew with a tripod and tablet and some other tools working along the bank of trees growing on the mountainside. We struck up a conversation with one of them and it turns out they were surveying trees to determing which ones needed to be culled. She said that part of their mission was maintaining and/restoring views. I told her about my ultimately unsuccessful quest for the view of the church and she pointed out a guy on the crew who was part of the group responsible for the clearing and management. I went down and spoke with him for a few minutes. He was very polite and even made a note to look into it. Did he - or I - have even the tiniest bit of influence on the clearing of the view to the Cade's Cove Methodist Church? I will never know (and I seriously doubt it), but I am going to keep on saying I did. It was me!! 😜

Historic Methodist Church - Cade's Cove - Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Townsend, Tennessee
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

SERIOUSLY, WHOEVER (collectively or individually) was responsible made my day (indeed my week), and if you were one of those who wanted to make that photo, the "window" is open - for however brief a time.