julie tiger

[imported_julie]

Greg
first of all I used RGB to try and get rid of the blue in the shadows. I did save the screen shot but it seems if I put rgb in the name it just wont save. I dont know why. Anyway I have included just the result of this so you can let me know how I went. I shut curvemeister and wwent back in to lab and set highlight and shadow but forgot neutral. Do I still need to if I have tried to get rid of blue in rgb already. I chose to set the shadow on the tiger. I played with it for a while but decided to sacrifice the shadow detail for the tiger. I then added some saturation. I then went back into photoshop and added sharpening using neat image and used shadow/highlight to recover a little detail lost in the tree trunk.  
I think this is Ok. I have probably left too much of the shadow too dark, but I do like the way the tiger stands out. Is the grass too green
Julie

[mikemeister_admin]

Julie,when I  used Neat Image on this image it was just a test.The area NI checked for noise was a small square in the pond,that is,noise wasn't a problem.I stuck with the sharpening applied byNI because it seemed right.I wouldn't use NI for sharpening because PSE 4 has an unsharp mask that gives you more control and CS3 gives even more .GregM

[imported_julie]

GregM,
I tend to use neat image for sharpening. I originally bought it as I was taking lots of indoor photos on holidays and noise was a big problem. I guess I have developed a habit in using it. I always back off on the settings it applies as I think they are too strong. I have never felt very confident with unsharp mask but now I have my new copy of CS3 I should tackle it. There is just so much to learn
Julie

Julie,when I  used Neat Image on this image it was just a test.The area NI checked for noise was a small square in the pond,that is,noise wasn't a problem.I stuck with the sharpening applied byNI because it seemed right.I wouldn't use NI for sharpening because PSE 4 has an unsharp mask that gives you more control and CS3 gives even more .GregM

[ggroess]

Julie,
ROWR...That tiger is wonderful...The last one that is...

Just remember that PSE is a subset of PS and the real power is in the Layers. 
In PSE they take out the masking in layers and force you to use adjustment layers to set up a mask.

There is more but the guts of it you already know...it's more about where items are located on menus rather than new toys...start with what you already have in the bank and expand...
Greg