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Task Guide: Developing and Merging an Alpine Glaciology Field Survey

These instructions describe the checked LightCraft foundation as of 14 October 2026. XiLight Alpha is free; public installer availability and XiKey integration are not yet verified.

Scenario

A glaciology research team captured wide-angle RAW brackets and overlapping panoramic sweeps of a retreating mountain glacier under high-contrast midday sun. You need to recover highlight detail in the snowpack, apply a localized gradient mask to the sky, stitch a 5-frame cylindrical panorama, and batch-export calibrated TIFFs and watermarked JPEGs.

Step-by-Step Workflow

1. Recover Snowpack Dynamic Range and Correct Lens Distortion

  1. Select the base glacier frame and press D to switch to the Detail view.
  2. Press J to toggle Highlight and Shadow Clipping indicators on the histogram so blown snow highlights appear in red and blocked crevasse shadows appear in blue.
  3. In the Light panel, pull Highlights down to -65, lift Shadows to +35, and adjust White Balance (W activates the White Balance dropper) by clicking neutral moraine granite.
  4. Check available lens profile correction in Optics and use geometry adjustments where needed; profile coverage depends on the camera and lens.

2. Apply a Linear Gradient Mask and Sync Settings Across Brackets

  1. Press L to activate the Linear Gradient Mask tool. Drag downward from the upper sky border to the ridge line, then lower local Exposure by -0.6 EV and increase Dehaze by +20 to bring out high-altitude cirrus clouds.
  2. Press \ (Backslash) to toggle **Before / After** preview, or Y for side-by-side split comparison.
  3. Select the other frames and use Sync Settings to copy white balance, lens and tone adjustments. Review each frame; sky masks may require separate positioning.

3. Merge the Panorama and Run Batch Export

  1. With all 5 sweep frames selected, press Ctrl+M and select the Cylindrical projection with boundary warp. (For bracketed exposures of the same tripod angle, press Ctrl+H for HDR Merge.)
  2. Open File ▸ Export (Shift+E), choose TIFF and a resized sRGB JPEG, then review bit depth and metadata options. Inspect output; Arabic watermark integration is in progress.

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