Wilfred's Photoshop actions (last updated April 17, 2005)

Shadow noise reduction
NEW: Dust and scratches removal using the infrared channel generated by VueScan


About Shadow noise reduction

This file contains a Photoshop action to reduce the specks that many scanners and digital cameras produce in shadow areas. To see what it does, check out the example. This action intends to deal with specks in shadow areas only and to leave other parts of your image unaffected.

Installation and use
To install, download and uncompress the .ZIP file by double clicking on it (if this doesn't work, install a decompression utility such as Stuffit Expander or WinZip). One of the decompressed files is an .ATN file. In Photoshop, select Window>Actions. Click on the right-pointing arrow next to the word 'actions' and select 'Load Actions'. A window opens that allows you to navigate your disks and locate the .ATN file. Select it and click 'Load'. Now you should be able to select and run my action from the actions palette. 'SNR' works with slide scans and processed negative scans (i.e., negatives that have been inverted to normal colors). It will probably also work with digicam images. I wouldn't recommend using it on so-called raw scans or RAW camera files. Refer to the Photoshop manual for further details on using actions.
The action explains itself through dialog boxes. You can run it multiple times, but depending on the settings you use, this may affect other areas in your image (see, for instance the example, where the default settings have been used once again to obtain the final image)
The action was written for AdobeTM PhotoshopTM CS. I haven't tested but it may also work with Photoshop 5.0 - 7.01 (full edition). However, using older versions you may have to convert your image to 8-bit mode first (Image > Mode > 8 bits / channel).
Use the action at your own risk. Save your original image before running it and make sure you don't overwrite it with the cleaned version.The actions will not save your altered image, so that you can decide upon your file names by yourself. For large files, processing may be time consuming.
So far, the actions have only been tested with Photoshop CS on Mac OS X. I would like to receive feedback on attempts with other versions.
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About IR dust and scratches removal, version 0.2 (update January 2005)

This file contains four Photoshop actions (one for negatives and one for positives) to automate dust and scratches removal using the infrared channel generated by VueScan Professional if used with a scanner that is able to produce an infared channel (Kodak/ASF Digital ICE or Canon FARE/QARE). I wrote the actions because VueScan's built-in dust and scratches removal doesn't work very well with my scanners. However, unlike most scanner software, VueScan can output the infrared data as a separate channel that can be used to locate dust and scratches to facilitate removal. That is exactly what my Photoshop actions do in a more or less automated way.
The actions work with VueScan-generated files from various scanners, but the actions as can be downloaded are 'tweaked' to work with my Minolta Dimage Scan Elite 5400. It might be needed to tweak the actions for your scanner as well.

Installation
To install, download and uncompress the .ZIP file by double clicking on it (if this doesn't work, install a decompression utility such as Stuffit Expander or WinZip). The decompressed files is an .ATN file. In Photoshop, select Window>Actions. Click on the right-pointing arrow next to the word 'actions' and select 'Load Actions'. A window opens that allows you to navigate your disks and locate the .ATN file. Select it and click 'Load'. Now you should be able to select and run my actions from the actions palette. There are four actions that can be used depending whether you are working with high-resolution (~5400ppi) or normal-resolution scans (~2700ppi), and whether you are working with slide/image/raw scans or negative scans. There is no readme file: the instructions are here on this web page (see 'Optimizing and tweaking').

Refer to the Photoshop manual for further details on using actions.

How to use
To prepare images for these actions, scan your slides or negatives with the following settings in VueScan Professional:
 The actions were written for AdobeTM PhotoshopTM CS. I haven't tested but they may also work with Photoshop 5.5 - 7.01 (full edition). However, using older versions you will have to convert your image to 8-bit mode first (Image > Mode > 8 bits / channel).
Use these actions at your own risk. Save your original image before running one of these actions and make sure you don't overwrite it with the cleaned version.The actions will not save your altered image. They will keep a snapshot of the original image before cleaning in the History palette until you delete it or close the image. For large files, processing may be time consuming.
So far, the actions have only been tested with Photoshop CS on Mac OS X. I would like to receive feedback on attempts with other versions.

Optimizing and tweaking
Some of the settings in these actions are likely to be scanner dependent. This is most obviously the case for the levels adjustment of the IR channel, which is preceded by an interruption. To find out how you should set the sliders, look here.
Other settings that may need revisions for your personal use are: the radius settings for the Expand Selection commands, the radius setting for the Feather Selection command (must be smaller tan the expansion radius) and the settings for the Dust & Scratches filter. To change settings permanently, select an action in the Actions palette, and select Record Again in the Actions palette menu.
To run an action on multiple images in batch mode (File > Automate > Batch), deactivate the 'Stop' command. Make sure that you don't overwrite your original files with the 'cleaned' versions.

Frequently asked questions:
Q: What is the difference between the actions for slides / raw scans and negatives?
A: The main difference is that defects (dust and scratches) always appear as white specks on a negative and black specks on a positive. The actions make use of this knowledge - see third question.
Q: I noticed that  there is an 'unsharp mask' command in your action, but I don't want any sharpening applied to my image.
A: The unsharp masking is only applied to the infrared channel. It will not affect your RGB data.
Q: It seems that a larger area including several pixels around the defects is selected and blurred by Photoshop's Dust and Scratches filter. Won't this degrade my image?
A: The blurred area is on a separate layer on top of your original image. Once the blurred layer is merged down, the original image information is only 'overwritten' if it is lighter/darker than the blurred selection (for negatives/positives, respectively, see first question). Since the Photoshop Dust and Scratches filter already discriminates between defects and their surroundings, ractically, the effect will only be visible on the defects themselves.
 
Feedback is appreciated. The e-mail address is in the 'contact' section of this website.
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