What Would You Do (#40)

[Nicole]

Wow! Up to number 40! That means only another 10 to go before we hit 50 :p which seems like a good number to celebrate. Granted, we could celebrate at 52 weeks when it's been a full year of WWYD.

This week's picture is from Sandie:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandiemg/2281951071/" title="random 007 (by sandiemg)"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3133/2281951071_17eb5ee21a.jpg" title="random 007 (by sandiemg)" alt="random 007 (by sandiemg)" width="332" height="500" /></a>

Available Larger (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3133/2281951071_8ef532c895_o.jpg)

The rules are simple. Edit the photo, come back, show us, and tell us what you did. The telling us what you did part is especially good since that's how we all learn ;).

Now, if you'd like your picture to be used in one of these threads, don't be shy. Send me a PM with a link to the medium & large version of your picture (or at least a medium version of it). I use the pictures in the order that I get them, but I'm always happy to get new pictures to add to the queue. So, now, let's see what you would do!

[windrider86]

I dont know where this idea came ffrom but lackof sleep sometimes does amazing things to the brain.
So First I selected the magic wand and had the settings on mode,brightness, feather 20 and replace and selected all of the white sky areas and as much of around the chandalier as I could. Then took a picture of my grandson, copied and pasted into selection. I then duplicated the layer, desaturated and then erased the areas where i wanted colors. Duplicated layers again and adjusted the contrast to where I thought it was ok and then merged layers.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/alockintime/2295500338/" title="what would you do 40 by windrider86, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3027/2295500338_715d4cb7e7.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="what would you do 40" /></a>

[Nicole]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolesphotos/2294862001/" title="wwyd40 (by -Nicole-)"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3258/2294862001_aa911d8cca.jpg" title="wwyd40 (by -Nicole-)" alt="wwyd40 (by -Nicole-)" width="332" height="500" /></a>

I'll try to remember everything I've done on this one, I accidentally closed it after saving it :p.

First, I ran this Vintage Film Action (http://www.flickr.com/groups/technique/discuss/72157601062925085/)
Then I duplicated the picture as a new layer and set it to Color Burn
Then I did a little dodging and burning on a layer filled with 50% grey and set to Overlay
Next I selected the sky area and created a new layer and set it to Color. I painted it with a blue tone, then adjusted the Hue / Saturation to make the blue look more washed out in line with the rest of the image.
Finally I used a high pass sharpening layer on the image.

I think that's everything :p

[wulf]

Not an incredibly exciting job on my part but I wanted to take part without spending too much time that I don't have :)

My steps, to create an early morning / twilight feel:

1. Minor rotation (the original seemed slightly skewed)

2. Adjusting white balance using the levels tool (reducing the output range from 0-255 to 7-248 and setting black, white and grey points by eye)

3. Using curves to increase the contrast and tweak the colours (I knew I was going to add a sky - this was where I decided to look for a golden one).

4. Creating a mask for the sky. Because the existing sky is so blown out this was fairly easy. I desaturated a copy of the image and then used the curves tool to get a fairly sharp contrast between foreground (black) and background (white). This leaves some grey, which creates a smoother transition - I touched up the mask using brush tools where unwanted grey was visible.

5. Pasting in a suitable sky from a photo of mine and applying the mask.

6. Applying a translucent orange layer in overlay mode, which helped integrate the colours of the two levels more smoothly.

I am reasonably pleased with the result although the masking is not perfectly precise, especially round the candles on the chandelier.

Wulf

[Sandie]

These are really cool! I only kept the image because it was kind of quirky, now I am getting inspired to play with it again. :)

[Nicole]

These are really cool! I only kept the image because it was kind of quirky, now I am getting inspired to play with it again. :)
You know, you can post those edits in this thread ;)

[Caterwaul]

Here's my take-

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/caterwault/2295704558/" title="Chandeliers by caterwault, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3216/2295704558_b8988f7d45.jpg" width="500" height="382" alt="Chandeliers" /></a>

1) Brightened highlights, darkened midtones and shadows in the RGB channel of curves

2) Second curves layer- reduced the cap on highlights in the red channel, boosted red midtones to make the chandelier pop

3) Cropped to remove most of the sky and the brick building and keep the whole background blue tinted

4) Copy/pasted the image and its mirror into a new document, lined them up and cropped the excess space

[Sandie]

You know, you can post those edits in this thread ;)

Yes, I know I can post them, and I plan on posting at least one, but right now I am still pretty embarassed by my attempts. I chose this picture for this game because I was hoping to learn how to replace the sky and so I am playing with Wulf's and Windrider's ideas.

It really is different when it is your own picture :D

[wulf]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/caterwault/2295704558/" title="Chandeliers by caterwault, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3216/2295704558_b8988f7d45.jpg" width="500" height="382" alt="Chandeliers" /></a>
I loved the mirrored effect because of the way it makes the chandelier support into such a strong geometric shape but I didn't like the "crease" down the mirror line. I did a quick try, enlarging the canvas and using the perspective distortion tool to make that line of stones vertical before adding a mirrored copy. I also did a little colour balancing using the levels tool (similar to what I did before but more subtle).

If I had time, I could see this developing into some kind of album cover (I would probably want to do some work on the buildings to make them look less obviously mirrored and maybe put a band playing on top of the floating platform).

Wulf

[jujitsu1]

Had a lot of help doing this one from a photoshop learn it now cd that i had free with novembers mags . the video was done by Chris Robinson so credit to him too.
Heres the picture :
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/hayleysboat/Dps/photo#5172082710821767746"><img src="http://lh5.google.co.uk/hayleysboat/R8bt0pd4ikI/AAAAAAAAA7c/YiVF0FClrE4/s400/dps%20altered.jpg" /></a>
Things I did :
Made new layer removed the sky. Desat the rest of the buildings . added the moon. Burnt the buildings to look abit darker. added the clouds . High lighted some of the windows and parts of the buildings to look like the moon was hitting it . added abit of mixed yellow to look like some of the candles and lights where on .

[Ampersand]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3107/2298930610_c1d69f8a22.jpg

- levels, contrast
- correct for distortion
- crop
- add omni-directional light at lower-center of chandelier
- poster edges
- posterize
- selectively desaturate in the outer edges of the picture, as if outside the circle of the light
- vingette to darken corners and emphasize the light

I was going for the effect of the chandelier illuminating the color within a circle of light. I think it would have been more effective had I colored the sky first. But I don't know how to do that yet!

p.s. I really like what everyone else has done. : )

[Teewinot]

Very creative edits from everyone this week! :)

Here's my go:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahhallphotography/2299282140/" title="What you would do #40 by ~Teewinot~, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2211/2299282140_e09d1e6a73.jpg" width="455" height="500" alt="What you would do #40" /></a>

What I did:
-Cropped in closer to chandelier subject.
-Desaturated 30%
-Unsharp mask (radius 75, strength 28)
-Pasted 4 new 'texture' layers on top of original photo: road salt on my car, brown wall paper, dirty glass window, and gray cement floor
-Blended all 4 layers at different opacities until I saw the effect I wanted (used Multiply, Hard Light, and Overlay modes)
-Erased some areas of various layers that I didn't want present
-Merged all layers
-Added shredded paper border

[Ampersand]

Very creative edits from everyone this week! :)

Here's my go:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahhallphotography/2299282140/" title="What you would do #40 by ~Teewinot~, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2211/2299282140_e09d1e6a73.jpg" width="455" height="500" alt="What you would do #40" /></a>

What I did:
-Cropped in closer to chandelier subject.
-Desaturated 30%
-Unsharp mask (radius 75, strength 28)
-Pasted 4 new 'texture' layers on top of original photo: road salt on my car, brown wall paper, dirty glass window, and gray cement floor
-Blended all 4 layers at different opacities until I saw the effect I wanted (used Multiply, Hard Light, and Overlay modes)
-Erased some areas of various layers that I didn't want present
-Merged all layers
-Added shredded paper border

I like it alot. I've got to learn how to do what you did with the layers, it's really effective. You've given me a good idea of what type of shots to start collecting!

[FocalFrenzy]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21002727@N06/2298871785/" title="WWYD-40B by FocalFrenzy, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2051/2298871785_34380a40f4.jpg" width="500" height="382" alt="WWYD-40B" /></a>

I took my inspiration from this thread http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1257.
I followed the links to the GIMP version and followed the very easy instructions. Once I had the circle, I adjusted the saturation levels in GIMP. I then copied and pasted the circle over one of my stone macro shots. (Carnelian) I like the idea of using some of my macro shots as backgrounds. The patterns created by using different backlighting, lend themselves well to achieve abstract images. It's nice to find a secondary use for your images.:)

[jiminyClickit]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/47146451@N00/2299783594/" title="WWYD40 by jiminyClickit, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3068/2299783594_1d3ea5a669_o.jpg" width="400" height="600" alt="WWYD40" /></a>

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3068/2299783594_00005602fd_b.jpg

What's a chandelier without light? A heck of an easier edit. But the challenge was a good one:

- Sky is totally removed, new cloudy one placed behind.
- One candle light is copied, bulb lightened, colored.
- Each fixture is replaced with new version. 32 layers at one point
- Each light has its own "glow."
- Dark layer is added, erased to let chandelier and lights show through
- Vignette completes evening look

[Nicole]

Wow, that is extremely convincing Jim :)

[Nicole]

I wanted to play with this one again after hearing that Sandie wanted a more dramatic sky :)

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolesphotos/2299996572/" title="wwyd40v2 (by -Nicole-)"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/2299996572_87175daa0c.jpg" title="wwyd40v2 (by -Nicole-)" alt="wwyd40v2 (by -Nicole-)" width="332" height="500" /></a>

Ok, first off, I did get sick of erasing the little bits between the lamp. For some reason making the selection in the first one seemed easier :p So there are some bits that are still the old sky. Now, what I did:

Took a sunset picture of my own and pasted it as a new layer. And then duplicated the original picture on top of it. I erased the sky from the original picture (as well as I could for a quick fix). Then I did a few adjustments on the original picture since it was just the buildings on that layer. I added a warming filter and increased the opacity of it to make the buildings more orange. Then I used the levels to darken the buildings a bit. And then I wound up using the photo filter (warming) again because it still didn't seem quite right. I kinda like it :p The sky is definitely more dramatic lol.

[Sandie]

WOW!!!! These just get better and better!!!! I am totally blown away by what you all are creating with a picture that almost got deleted in the camera! I think of all the threads and games WWYD is the one I learn the most from. Thank you all, you are awesome and inspiring!

[Teewinot]

Nicole, great sunset sky!
FocalFrenzy, excellent work...that is really neat!
jiminyClickit, that is awesome! i agree, very convincing!

Ampersand, thanks for your nice comment. Ever since I got addicted to textures, I've been looking at the world in a different way..:D..I now have a textures folder and I confuse my family by taking pictures of dirt, peeling paint, and road salt. The possibilities are limitless!!

[FocalFrenzy]

These edits are amazing, and extremely addictive. This has become one of my favorite threads. Without it, I would still be afraid to open GIMP. Once I learn layers a little better, I hope to be able to edit as well as some of the "Pros" here. (Jiminy, 32 layers, how long did that take?) Thanks everyone for the tutorials.

[Ampersand]

Nicole, great sunset sky!
FocalFrenzy, excellent work...that is really neat!
jiminyClickit, that is awesome! i agree, very convincing!

Ampersand, thanks for your nice comment. Ever since I got addicted to textures, I've been looking at the world in a different way..:D..I now have a textures folder and I confuse my family by taking pictures of dirt, peeling paint, and road salt. The possibilities are limitless!!

Teewinot, I think I'm going to find myself doing the same thing!

Focal, that is amazing. I've never tried GIMP but I sure am going to now.

Jiminy, that looks like it was painstaking, but the result is worth it IMO. It's wonderful.

Nicole, I love what you did. I'm still learning how to cut and paste into layers without it looking clunky and obvious (in PS elements). Sometimes I find I lack the patience. But that sky you used really does something for the image.

[FocalFrenzy]

Teewinot, Ampersand,
Thanks for your comments. This is an easy effect to achieve in GIMP, and from what I've read (here on DPS), it's easy in Photoshop, too. Although dramatic in it's results, it pales in "Skill" level, when compared to most of the other edits here. It's nice to contribute, though, and I keep learning as I go.

[Sandie]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandiemg/2301572158/" title="city scene by sandiemg, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3174/2301572158_5171a9ec50.jpg" width="312" height="500" alt="city scene" /></a>
My best version so far. Now I have to try to tell you what I did :)
1) I used the wand to cut out all the sky (as much as I had patience for),
2) I found the 'post into' button and posted a sky I liked in a second layer and it worked!
3) Then I wanted the clouds to look like they were casting shadows on the buildings so I used an old tree trunk picture for texture in yet another layer!
4) I played with opaque levels until I 'liked' the image.
5) Then I erased the tree trunk from the sky.
6) I played with curves and saturations.
7) I lit the candles with the free hand paint brush, added a little extra gold around the candles for 'atmosphere'.
8) I corrected the rotation by about 3 degrees cw.
Why I feel like a dork!
I learned what the little eye balls next to the layers were for, I learned how to layer different images together, I learned how to use the eraser for artistic purposes :D
Thank you again and again everyone who posted in this thread, I learned everything I hoped to and then some!

[jiminyClickit]

Sandie,

Keep that open mind, trying new things, and patience!

Thirty-two layers (and then 20-some more) went quickly because they were each a light pasted/positioned, some behind others, some needing erasures, resizing, etc.

Edit was a few hours, edges preparation consuming most of that.

[Sandie]

JC, thank you for the encouragement. "Back in the day" I used to love the darkroom even more than taking pictures sometimes. I often took three to four negatives and layered them in the darkroom to create a new image. I never thought I would like PS or that I would use it for more that very simple adjustments. Over the last few weeks as I have played (mostly with other peoples pictures) I have started to "see" many new applications and possibilities for creating images similar to those I used to love to create. As I get more comfortable I know my patience will increase. I used to spend 6-8 hours in the darkroom working on just one or two images, then another day or two adding oils and 'finishing touches'.

Thanks again for having so much patience with us newbies :D

[jiminyClickit]

Sandie, You're welcome

Most of DPS has been very much a passing-along of experiences, from which I seem to learn best. I know how much time it takes to get the words and the functions and the hand/eye thing going on edits, so patience is a part of my Nature.

Some edits seem impossible to me, and then towards the finish, I am sometimes unable to believe it worked again! That's a reward, too. I have one handicap: my edit program (Adobe PhotoDeluxe) is about eight years old, discontinued (no updates/improvements available), and uses different function terms. So to explain how I do an edit becomes a semantic puzzle. Usually generics get close, and you guys take it from there. It unfortunately rarely works the other way.

Hope the enjoyment continues for you, both in-camera and with edits. This is one of my five favorite threads!

[Nicole]

I decided to use the technique for doing a selection (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16997) that irishwhite typed up and shared. It worked really well for selecting the sky in this picture. So, here's an updated version with a little different of technique used than the first time I tried it.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolesphotos/2422854576/" title="wwyd40 (by -Nicole-)"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3150/2422854576_bdd85a98f2.jpg" title="wwyd40 (by -Nicole-)" alt="wwyd40 (by -Nicole-)" width="332" height="500" /></a>

This time, I used the selection technique to select the sky. Then I added in a sunset picture and used the selection to make the mask on the layer. Then, to help make the actual picture look like it was taken all at the same time, I used Match Color on the building layer and used the sunset picture for the source for the colour matching. I liked the way it came out. :)

[Teewinot]

Nicole, WOW! Awesome result. :)