Adobe�s new Dehaze slider has been wowing photographers since it was launched for Lightroom and Adobe Camera RAW last month. We�ve seen what it can do for haze, rainy days, and blizzards, but there�s yet another interesting application: enhancing photos of the starry night sky.
New Zealand-based photographer Tom Mackintosh recently did some casual experiments with this late one night from the outer suburbs of Auckland, where light pollution still affects his view of the sky.
After setting up his Canon DSLR and Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, he captured this photo at ISO 3200, 24mm, f/2.8, and 20s (this is what the unedited RAW photo looked like straight out of camera):
He then did some standard enhancements inside standard, tweaking tone, noise, color, and sharpening. Here�s what he was able to get with those tools:
Not bad, right? The Milky Way became more visible, and the colors are much more pleasing to the eye. Check out what happened when he boosted the Dehaze slider to +74:
The photograph instantly pops. �I found the new �dehaze� slider great for removing light pollution,� Mackintosh writes.
If you have old photos of you�ve taken of the night sky, you might want to revisit them now that you have Dehaze at your disposal. You may be surprised by what you can achieve.
Image credits: Photographs by Tom Mackintosh Photography and used with permission
Started out doing photography at the age of 6 using an uncle's old 1940 kodak brownie box camera. At 15 years of age, I decided to buy my very own 1975 Praktica SLR camera. I now shoot with a Nikon D850. I do unpaid TFP and commercial paid work.