BackscatterXTerminator

Kirsty Andrews · Issue 142, Jan/Feb 2025 · pp. 44–49

Products mentioned: BackscatterXTerminator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom

My thanks to UWP magazine for asking me to try out and review an incredibly exciting development in image editing for underwater photographers: BackscatterXTerminator. This innovative product, a plugin for Photoshop, uses AI technology developed initially for astrophotographers, and repurposed for underwater image use; a joint effort by RC Astro, Erin Quigley of GoAskErin.com and her colleague Bruce Warner. In the decade or so that I’ve been shooting, Adobe have made regular evolutionary updates to their available options for cleaning up imagery. The relatively unsophisticated clone stamp tool has over time morphed into a selection of patch and spot healing tools, including content aware fill. These, combined with judicious use of something like a dust and scratches filter in extreme scenarios, meant that options were available to the photographer with time on their hands. And time is th…