Never used that aspect of PS or CS as it is now called.
I figured I was doing great using Topaz plugin filters to get what I needed.
Along with Photomatix, Dynamic Photo HDR, and anything else I could get my hands on for processing...well,
Post processing.
I read a tutorial by Christopher O'Donnell on the use of luminosity layers. It is a hard concept to initially grasp but I decided to look up as many tuts as I could.
Obviously it has been around for quite some time. Tony Kuper has a good tutorial also.
I'm not one that will follow a tutorial to the letter. I usually open the program and start experimenting on my own.
Here is the original shot. Shot with a .9 ND filter. f22 at 8 seconds. I shot it at 400 ISO because it was so overcast.
The water appears as I wanted it to, but what could I do to make this 'better'?
I decided to try Topaz. This is what I always go to. Great plugins.
Well, more detail, more contrast, more color. I thought it was pretty darned good.
Then I decided to try some 'luminosity work'.
The Layers look like a mess right? But I started seeing a more true to life version of what I did shoot that day.
The whites are a bit blown in this shot and it was an overcast day. Perhaps if I'd shot in RAW format and converted it, ...it could be better.
Lastly I tried to convert it to Black and White using Topaz BW Effects.
I decided to have a bit of fun and go with a preset I had made on my own.
So there you go. Luminosity. Channels.
Things I had not studied before I joined the Google+ Community called 256SOG or Shades of Grey.
Just goes to show you.
You can always learn more things to try if you want to.