I bought up a couple editing programs from Topaz Labs. These programs work with Photoshop and offer an unlimited combination of effects that can be applied to photographs.
The flowers, shown here, had simplifying and softening effects applied to the background. The main flower was left alone. So, this one is similar to a color splash, except the background is not all the way to black and white. I really like this effect.
Elsa Lancaster portrayed the Bride of Frankenstein way back in 1935. I used a still from that classic movie to create this portrait using vector art.
Vector art is one of many artistic avenues I have been pursuing over the years. I would like to find my path and stay on that path. But my interests are are all over the map. I have ideas for creating characters to use in a comic strip. I also want to try more photo manipulations. There are also plans to build articulated characters out of brass, metal findings and exotic wood.
Back to Elsa, this project was a lot of fun and there may be more vectors in my future.
After getting my mushroom pictures and running the errands, I headed home, going back the same way I came. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw more shrooms on the opposite side of the road. The lighting looked to be better; soft lighting in shadow. I'm not a big fan of direct sunlight. Diffused, soft light, makes for more saturated colors. This mushroom, along with the one shown on my last post, we're both taken on my way back home. I didn't know these shrooms were on the other side of the road. It was a happy accident!
While running some errands a few days ago, I spotted several large mushrooms off the road under a line of pine trees. It was raining steadily, so I made a mental note to take some pictures the next morning.
Early the next morning, the sun was rising, so I grabbed my camera and off I went. When I got to the spot, I pulled off the road and what I thought was maybe half a dozen large mushrooms was actually more like 100 mushrooms.
I took this shot a couple years ago, but it's just been sitting on my hard drive waiting to be rediscovered. One of the reasons it was never used was that I was unable to nail the colors right. This was originally a red rose, but after a softening filter and 80 percent of a desaturation filter, this is the finished product. There are still some subtle adjustments that would make this one perfect. I'm really looking forward to applying these effects to future projects.
My post "Disappointment" was all about the original color version of this bee wrapped in a withering leaf.
In an attempt to make the most out of the shot, I tried a color splash, hoping that would make the bee emerge from the scene. Despite my best efforts, this photo was not the awesome shot I was hoping for.
I get up every morning at the ungodly time of 3:15 am for a 5 am start at work in Philadelphia. I work in the ground tower at the PHL Airport.
We've started an unofficial photo club in the tower, taking pics of sunrises and sunsets from a vantage point 13 (or is it 17?) stories above ground level. I leave most of these photo ops alone, but occasionally I'll snap a few frames. This was the view from the tower this morning.
While this is not a drop dead awesome pic, it's not too bad for a first try at an HDR colorsplash. One of the shortcomings is that this one is a rush job. I snipped off a few buds from our neighbors' rosebush and put together a quick little arrangement. It also might look a little better if the black and white bud were positioned a little more to the left.
This is the idea I alluded to a couple days ago. Now I'll try a couple more shots and see what possibilities might be accomplished.
I have a few ideas of some new twists to add to my photography and to my artwork.
My photo of Old Drawyers Church was shot in HDR and is just a part of what I want to do with my future photo projects. I don't want to give away too much information just yet. I will say this; macro, nature, color manipulation and HDR are all a part of it.
As for the new artwork twists and turns, that's a blog post for another day.
I frequently find something to photograph only to see that the subject is surrounded by distracting elements. This plant was in an office where I work and the office supplies detracted from the beauty of it. I took the shot anyway and used one of my stock backgrounds to clean it up. Layers in Photoshop were used to create this image. The new background was knocked out of focus on the bottom layer. While the flower layer was enlarged to 300%, all the distracting elements were carefully erased revealing the new background underneath.
