small areas of shadow/under exposure

[Ed A. Ortiz]

Kinda hard to say without seeing the photo, but have you selected just the crew and vessel?

You can try using the curves and the dodge tool. You may have to zoom in with the dodge tool to bring out the detail of the crew and the vessel.

[Jake Hannam]

Martin,

See if this technique helps:

<http://studio.adobe.com/learn/tips/phs6pntlight/main.html>

[Peter Figen]

Martin,

Use a Curves Adjustment Layer and then paint out the areas you don't want affected by painting on the Adjustment Layer itself. The Adjustment Layer is a dual purpose tool that can both alter the tonality and be a full or partial mask, all at the same time.

[Martin Coleman]

Thanks for that. Plenty to try and another set of tools in the PS armoury I can fiddle with. Really helpful and my dinghy thingies look much smarter!

Martin