---
title: "Mainz Central Station"
description: Mainz Central Station, edited to simulate a mist filter
date: 2025-09-05T18:45:00+0200
draft: false
# ShowLastmod: true
toc: false
scrolltotop: true
images: []
tags:
  - photography
  - city
  - night
  - nikon
---

Mainz Central Station (Mainz Hauptbahnhof or just short Mainz Hbf) at night. I stepped
out of the [Adam & Eden][ae] restaurant the other night and I was impressed by the
illuminated station.

{{< figure src="DSC_5532-1.jpg" caption="Nikon Z6III with Tamron 35-150mm f/2.0-2.8" >}}

The above was edited as usual in [Darktable][]. I wanted to let the lights in the windows
glow a bit and have them contrast with the otherwise rather dark scene. I did not have
a mist filter on my camera, so I attempted to simulate one with Darktable's
[Diffuse or Sharpen][] module. In my opinion, the effect of mist filters can quickly
destroy an image, it's like emptying an entire bottle of ketchup all at once onto
your fries. I was wary of that and attempted to make it subtle. Don't know if this was
the way to go.

See my [Diffuse or Sharpen][] mist filter preset over at
[github.com/bovender/darktable-presets-and-styles][gh].

{{< figure src="mist-filter-in-darktable-screenshot-1.png"
    caption="Screenshot of Darktable with mask overlay turned on." >}}

The screenshot above shows the mask overlay in Darktable. The screenshow below
shows the settings of the 'g' channel: I want to exclude dark image areas from
the filter effect.
    
{{< figure src="diffuse-or-sharpen-settings-1.png"
    caption="Settings of the diffuse-or-sharpen module with 'g' channel." >}}

The next screenshot shows the 'hz' channel, which I adjusted to include warmish
colors only.
    
{{< figure src="diffuse-or-sharpen-settings-2.png"
    caption="Settings of the diffuse-or-sharpen module with 'hz' channel." >}}

Finally, I applied a large blurring radius so that I can achieve a glowing effect.

I'm not sure yet whether to exclude the moon from the mist filter effect or not.

---

Original image developed in [Darktable][]. Raw image file available
upon reasonable request. All rights reserved.

---

Here's one of several video tutorials on the Diffuse or Sharpen module
by Boris Hajdukovic. He's a master of image editing with Darktable.
Highly recommended.

{{< youtube pAbyORw0mng >}}

---

[ae]: https://www.adamundeden.com
[darktable]: https://darktable.org
[diffuse or sharpen]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAbyORw0mng
[gh]: https://github.com/bovender/darktable-presets-and-styles
