6. Experiment with Photoshop - Red leaves

I wasn't sure about this one at first - but I've come back to it and decided I do like it.  The leaves were reddish but I played around with the saturation in different parts of the image.

5. Experiment with Photoshop - Pushing things a bit

One of the things I've noticed about other good photos - and I often find I like - is how in the processing the author is brave enough to "push things a bit"...
There are a million ways of doing this - highly saturated colour, different blending modes, textures, you name it...
I think the skill comes in adding impact without taking it totally OTT in a tacky way - not as easy as it may look.

 

                                                                           

In the spirit of having fun and trying some different things, I took two fairly ordinary photos of mine, both different kinds of architecture in bold shapes, and played around - mainly with the saturation. I think I quite like the results.  Comments anyone? And more ideas to try, perhaps?
Incidentally, the top photo was taken in Tenerife and the bottom one is part of The Lowry theatre and arts complex in Salford, Manchester, which is in a great area for photos of modern architecture - but on the day I went had really washed-out skies.

4. Experiment with Photoshop - A paint job

 (Best viewed large)
I had a period of time today when my internet connection was down and I couldn't figure out how to mend it!  EEK!  So to take my mind off the worry (how have I got so dependant on the darned thing?) I did a bit of playing with Photoshop.  I didn't know what I was going to do - I just tried overlaying various photos on some of the 'texture' photos that I have been taking. (I'm trying to build up a stock of them - and skies too - for future use.)  I have been inspired by Chasity's images on 'The road less traveled' - but in the end mine didn't turn out remotely like hers!!  I quite liked this one I created though.

The original images were these:

I just overlaid one on the other, changed the blending mode to overlay and reduced the opacity, boosted the colour saturation a bit and cropped it.  Every now and again I think it's fun to play and to produce something a bit more 'arty' and abstract than a standard photo.

Encouraged by that little bout of creativity, I then managed to figure out how to restore my internet connection. Yay!

3. Experiment with Photoshop - Roof space

 

Sometimes I like taking just one image and playing with it in Photoshop to see what differences I can make.  This image is of the roof space in Salts Mill, Saltaire, which isn't normally open to the public.  During the recent Saltaire Festival there was an exhibition up there, so I was able to explore and take photographs of this awe-inspiring space, originally a spinning shed full of machinery.  (For more information please refer to my other blog.)  The above was the original photo SOOC.

  

 Here I enhanced the colours a bit.

 

A monochrome treatment is the obvious thing to do.....

  

 

...and sepia toning suits the historic nature of the subject...

 

 

... or perhaps even antiqued a bit more.

 

But I think my own favourite is this effect.  I can't claim the treatment is original.  I found some really interesting effects to download on Ree Drummond's excellent blog 'The Pioneer Woman Photography'. This particular one recreates the faded greenish effect of old seventies photographs and somehow I think it really suits this subject.  (Click photo to view large).

2. Experiment with Photoshop - Twirly Trees

I have not really got my act together on this blog yet, partly due to time constraints, but I want to use it at least in part to record my progress as a photographer and Photoshopper.

Thanks to Martin H at Square Sunshine I have had a little experiment with his 'twirly trees' effect, which involves taking a picture of a tree, solarizing it and then inverting the effect, darkening it in Levels and then applying the distortion filter 'twirl'. The effects obviously vary according to the original photo and the degree to which you apply the effects and filters. But it's fun, surprisingly quick and produces some wonderfully fantastical images, rather like illustrations for a children's fantasy book.

I made the picture above from two original photos of mine - a pathway with trees and a 'tall ship'. I don't know what I could use it for but I think it has made an interesting image.

1. Experiment with Photoshop

Being rather bored one evening, I decided to experiment with Photoshop. (I have the early version CS). This will be of little interest to anyone but me, but I am recording the results here, mainly so that I can learn - and not forget what I did.


I took a (not especially good) photo of a rose, cropped it. Then using Channel Mixer (Red) I desaturated it, which gave me a white rose - quite pretty. I then applied the Solarize filter - which gives an interesting effect but rather too grey. I discovered that I could fade that, and apply one of several different modes. I liked the effect given by Pin Light at 79%. I then used Colour Balance to alter the colours and finished it off with Unsharp mask at 46% 2/2.


The purple version shown was in my view the most successful. It gives a sort of silk flower effect.