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Old 02-02-2009, 02:16 PM
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wulf wulf is offline
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Here is an attempt using this original:

Frosty Lane



It isn't quite right but the colours and lighting of the original weren't an ideal match. Here is my working (using The Gimp):

1. Add two vignette layers. For the first, I made a large rectangular selection, filling most of the image, feathered it by 125px, inverted it and filled it with black and set it to 75% opacity. The second was a smaller rectangle with a 75px feather, inverted and filled with black and set to 50% opacity in overlay mode. Using two stages creates a more subtle effect.

2. I used the curves tool. The values curve was used to increase contrast (lowering shadows and mids and boosting the highlights. I gave a small mid-boost to green, increased lows and dropped mids and highs for blue and boosted a wide mid-range for red.

3. On a copy of the colour-adjusted image, I added a 1px gaussian blur and then used an oval mask (75px feather) and merged this in. This simulates the softness of the lens near the edges. This was merged in with the layer below (PS would allow adjustment layers rather than requiring copies)

4. To further increase the contrast, I created another copy set to overlay mode and reduced to 75% opacity.

5. To finish off, I added another duplicate layer with a small amount of RGB noise and set to 75% opacity.

It is certainly a pleasing effect if not perfect; all values are very dependent on the image - for example, the 1px blur would need to be larger if working on a bigger image.

Wulf
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Wulf Forrester-Barker << Sites: blog / flickr >>
Gear: Nikon D40, Nikon AFS 18-55mm f/3.5 - 5.6G, Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8, Nikon AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6G, Vivitar 90mm f/2.5 macro, Raynox DCR-250, Lensbaby 2.0k, SB600
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