What Would You Do (#45)

[Nicole]

Oops, sorry a little late again this week. I'm seriously going to start getting these out on time again... really ;)

This week's picture is from windrider86

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/alockintime/1455693103/" title="035 (by windrider86)"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1181/1455693103_8b5539a63a.jpg" title="035 (by windrider86)" alt="035 (by windrider86)" width="500" height="357" /></a>

Available larger (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1181/1455693103_8b5539a63a_b.jpg)

The rules are simple, edit the photo and come back and show us and tell us what you did so that we can all learn from each other. This thread has been really useful to a lot of people trying to learn and try new things with post-processing, so if you can give us a good description of what you've done, even better :)

If you want your photo to be used in one of these threads (and I'm always looking for more pictures to add to the queue of pictures to be used), just drop me a PM with a link to your picture in medium and large size (if possible). Easy as that! I use pictures in the order that I get them, so if it takes a week or two or three before your picture gets used, don't worry, it will get there soon.

Now, let's see what you would do!

[xxpinballxx]

Nicole you are definitely a trooper.....this thread idea is now almost a full year old.....just a few more weeks....unbelievable......
I figured I owed an attempt.....
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/roundboyzphotography/2385210837/" title="NOT MY PHOTO by pinball215, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3041/2385210837_123f3e285c.jpg" width="500" height="364" alt="NOT MY PHOTO" /></a>

this has alot done to it...its two layers one darker than the other and then light added by erasing some of the darker areas to highlight what I want and then i selected the river itself and brightened that up some and then selected the sky and lightened it up and upped contrast so it didnt look soo flat......
Then did some blurring techniques to give it a soft feel then ran noise ninja.....

[xxpinballxx]

this thread doesn't seem to get the attention it deserves lately huh nicole.....
I think it slowed when we re-designed the site.....

[windrider86]

i did this on my lap top so not an easy task
first i created a new layer with a new sky (not so fond of the sky bu m y choicesare rather limited right now) erased edges I didnt want.gassian blur set at 5.mirrored image. used the burn tool set on midtones to darken edges. merged
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/alockintime/2386296641/" title="1455693103_8b5539a63a by windrider86, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3164/2386296641_f07fd8fdee_o.jpg" width="500" height="357" alt="1455693103_8b5539a63a" /></a>

[Teewinot]

this thread doesn't seem to get the attention it deserves lately huh nicole.....
I think it slowed when we re-designed the site.....

I think that the placement of this thread in the Games and Challenges section has been great. It probably is a lot more visible there. I imagine that part of the "slow-down" of responses lately has to do with the fact that even though this challenge rocks:D, it's been ongoing for almost a year!!! That's great for longevity's sake, but perhaps some people are just tired of it now...been there, done that sort of attitude. We just need to find a way to attract the new forum members. I wonder if we could spice it up by offering some specific tutorials for everyone to follow for a particular picture in any given week and see how everyone comes up with different results depending on their editing program, skill level, and style. That would also help the newbies who are intimidated by post-processing to be able to jump in and try. Right now the way we do it is a little intimidating...some one with no editing experience might not even know where to start! Just thinking out loud here. Sorry this became long-winded. :)

[Digidave]

Right now the way we do it is a little intimidating...some one with no editing experience might not even know where to start!

That would be me! I've tried & tried but have never gotten anything worth showing.:o

[xxpinballxx]

That would be me! I've tried & tried but have never gotten anything worth showing.:o

Not true Dave...its all showing....sort of like the old saying there are no dumb questions"
There are no unworthy edits....whatever you o that you like is worth it....might have something everyone else thinks is great....some of mine i think are terrible but post anyways and shockingly i get responses that they like them...LOL!

[Micah Olson]

Very nice photo! I really like the reflections in the water and even though it has pretty flat lighting, I turned out really well!

[Teewinot]

That would be me! I've tried & tried but have never gotten anything worth showing.:o

Thanks for your honesty, Dave!! :) But I'm sure xxpinballxx has a point in saying that no one should feel like their attempts aren't worth posting...

That said, I think we can safely assume that there are others out there who share Dave's sentiments. I was thinking more about what I said above and I have an idea to propose.

What if we started a spin-off challenge to WWYD that focused more on offering a tutorial to follow that everyone could take a stab at it using whatever photo they want. This is similar to about a year ago when Darren posted an article about the "antique effect" on the blog and then had an assignment on the forums challenging everyone to submit a photo they had applied the effect to.

Potential problems I see with this idea are:
(1) Someone has to run the challenge and it might be a bit of work (i.e. finding tutorials, etc...also see point two)! At this time I would consider at least helping getting it started...
(2) Part of the difficulty with tutorials is that they are almost always written for Photoshop users. Talented photo editors can usually translate pretty easily, but I know at least in my experience, this can be a challenge. I for one use Paint Shop Pro and I know there are also a lot of Gimp users too. It would be cool if we could find a way to offer a more general tutorial that would work in most popular editing programs....but that could be tricky.

Potential positive results I see with this idea are:
(1) Once people learn a few editing techniques, they might be more inclined to participate in WWYD!
(2) There is not currently any challenge like this on the forums (I think!) and I imagine it could be very popular...we could be responding to a demand we didn't even know existed. Post processing is getting so popular and I'm sure lots of people would love to learn and practice things like textures, orton, lomo, Dave Hill effect, layers, etc.
(3) Having a place where everyone can come together and share results using the same tutorial could be really great. That way some one who is having trouble could get help from some one else who isn't.
(4) Perhaps if people have a lot of success with their own photos, they would be motivated to write Before and After threads...

So, what does everyone think, especially you, Nicole. :) Also, if this should be discussed elsewhere, please feel free to move it to the appropriate location in the forums.

[Digidave]

Now that sounds like a great idea! That's something I could wrap my head around & may even learn a trick or two. It's not easy teaching this old dog a new trick!:cool:

[xxpinballxx]

i think its a great idea but for me it might be a tough sell only cause i do not typically remember all my adjustments....I usually go with the flow and click and slide till it feels an looks right.....I guess I could try and remember everythign and look at my history pallette.....?

[Liz Caldwell]

Oh! I get to fake another HDR!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y245/raverfluff/WWYD45HDRfinal.jpg

[Firemaine]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scfd/2388289068/" title="WWUD#45 by firemaine, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2398/2388289068_bf2d7f1079.jpg" width="500" height="357" alt="WWUD#45" /></a>

Thought this might make a good Fake Tilt, Shift so this is what I did.

1. Made a copy of the original
2. Used a Gaussian Blur on the copy. (Filter >Blur>Gaussian Blur about 14.0)
Seeing as Elements has no Mask tool I had to fake it.
Using the little black and white ball in the layers pallet I chose Levels and then clicked OK.
This made a levels Layer that I then moved between the original and the copy.
3. I clicked on the Copy to make it active. Then went to Layers>Group with Previous. This Grouped the copy with the Levels.
I made sure that the colors were at default (Black over White) by hitting the "D" key.
Choosing Brush tool and a Fuzzy edge brush I then clicked on the levels layer to make it active and started to sharpen the area I wanted.
There is no lens blur in Elements. So I had to keep changing the Opacity of the blur to get a lens blur.
After that I used some saturation and Hue to brighten some of the colors and make them look a little more plastic.

[xxpinballxx]

that worked out pretty well there firemaine.
I forgot about about tilt shifting lately.....i think that close up rock should be blurred though its throwing me off a bit since its in the extreme foreground and the far off distance is in focus as well.....but still a great job and the color you got out of the shot looks great as well.

[Teewinot]

Here's my go!! :)

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahhallphotography/2387921027/" title="What you would do #45 by ~Teewinot~, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3102/2387921027_88dc44bcd6.jpg" width="500" height="357" alt="What you would do #45" /></a>

What I did (in PSP XI):
-Straightened horizon
-Saturation boost (10)
-Curves adjustment (brightness and contrast)
-Unsharp mask (radius 75, strength 15)
-High pass sharpen (overlay blend, strength 22)
-Film filter: Enhance red tones
-Noise removal filter

[Nicole]

So, what does everyone think, especially you, Nicole. :) Also, if this should be discussed elsewhere, please feel free to move it to the appropriate location in the forums.
Anyone is more than welcome to start something like that up, I can safely say that I have a hard enough time remembering to post up the WWYD each week and coming up with the weekly poll, so anyone *else* who wants to do it is more than welcome ;)

I had a go at this week's and I didn't like the way it came out either, that's why I don't post my own attempts more often :p

[Teewinot]

Anyone is more than welcome to start something like that up, I can safely say that I have a hard enough time remembering to post up the WWYD each week and coming up with the weekly poll, so anyone *else* who wants to do it is more than welcome ;)

;) Yep I certainly never expected you to take on another task...!! :eek: I'll bounce the idea around a bit more in my head and see if I want to start something up. Any more thoughts on the idea are more than welcome!! :D

[EdithOSB]

I loved the photo, and decided to try some things I have never done before. I used Photoshop Elements 6 and a lot of trial and error.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2328/2391130858_f1685565cc.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/edithosb/2391130858/)

What I did included:
Deleted the original sky (dull) and added a layer with a sky I took on in Colorado. Had to select and push the sky around until the part I liked showed in the narrow band where I had deleted the original sky.
Realized that this cloudy sky would have been reflected in the river, so I selected the river and turned the selection into a brush. I used that brush to pick up some of the sky from the Colorado picture, and pasted it into a new layer with about 60% opacity. It took some careful placement to get it to line up.
Adjusted the levels separately for red, blue, and green to brighten the photo a little.
Used Brightened the sky just a little.
Decided to crop away the large rocks in the front so that the eye would be drawn to the river.
Merged the whole thing into one JPEG.

[Nicole]

Great to see a new face in here Edith :)

[Mikkimak]

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mikkigrimley/DigitalPhotographySchool/photo#5185929657774909282"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/mikkigrimley/R_gfjCnWJ2I/AAAAAAAABLw/XhRJwAWPIdc/s400/What%20would%20you%20do%2045%20copy.jpg" /></a>

So I first cropped it into a panoramic (obviously)
* Create new adjustment layer-- black and white
-brightened the greens
-darkened the blues
-blending option - overlay

[Mikkimak]

How do I keep high quailty when copying the picture to my hard drive and editing it in Photoshop??
thanks

[jiminyClickit]

Teewinot,

Some other ingredients for your brain-mix:

One large photo to start:
- First person posts one single change, explaining how that one change was acheived in their program, in general and clear terms, no "Tweaked," or "Played with Sliders." More like "Raised Contrast 20%"
- Next person changes that edit repost with one new edit, explains the work involved ("Lightened 10%"), reposts on thread.
- Not sure how to end it; maybe when the image becomes too degraded (or the wicked "24-hour" limit). WWYD by committee, group work effort?

There are a number of Graphic Artists here:
- As a group, a thread could be moderated to discuss/comment/advise solely on color choices, subject size/position/lighting direction of members' submissions for Critique, with edits to show effects of changes.

Similar to WWYD, but more to show basic theories of graphic art, with less reliance on gimmicks. A way of pointing out that the 5 seconds before the shutter closes, may be at least as important as all the other information about settings and equipment.

[Teewinot]

How do I keep high quailty when copying the picture to my hard drive and editing it in Photoshop??
thanks

Mikkimak, did you download the 'large' version or just the medium? The large version is the highest quality version available. Be sure when you save your edit in Photoshop not to resize (i.e. resize for the web), because that will lower size and quality. Does this help? :)


Teewinot,

Some other ingredients for your brain-mix:

One large photo to start:
- First person posts one single change, explaining how that one change was acheived in their program, in general and clear terms, no "Tweaked," or "Played with Sliders." More like "Raised Contrast 20%"
- Next person changes that edit repost with one new edit, explains the work involved ("Lightened 10%"), reposts on thread.
- Not sure how to end it; maybe when the image becomes too degraded (or the wicked "24-hour" limit). WWYD by committee, group work effort?

There are a number of Graphic Artists here:
- As a group, a thread could be moderated to discuss/comment/advise solely on color choices, subject size/position/lighting direction of members' submissions for Critique, with edits to show effects of changes.

Similar to WWYD, but more to show basic theories of graphic art, with less reliance on gimmicks. A way of pointing out that the 5 seconds before the shutter closes, may be at least as important as all the other information about settings and equipment.

Jiminy, thanks for your input! These are very interesting ideas...I've been thinking more about my original idea and am feeling more excited about starting something up. I will take your thoughts into consideration! :)

[Nathan deGargoyle]

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b209/IanGM/DPS/WindridersRiver.jpg
1. tweaked the colour curve a little.
2. Heavy duty noise reduction using GREYCstoration.
3. Duplicated the layer and desaturated using channel mixer.
4. Changed BW layer to hard light and adjusted opacity.

[Jamesc359]

<img src="http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/1863/wwyd45qs8.jpg" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" />


Use curves to brighten the image
Create a duplicate layer
Add a layer mask
Mask off the forground and weeds
Disable layer mask
Use curve on the red channel to bring up the midtones
Go back to the baselayer and use the Hue-Saturation tool to lower the amount of red in the background

Create a new image 1200x1200
Filters > Render > Clouds > Plasma
Desaturate
Filters > Colors > Color to Alpha
Use pure black (#000000)

Cut the new cloud image and paste two copies onto the original image
Zoom out until the edges of the cloud images are visible
Roughly center both cloud layers
Then use the Change Perspective tool to create the clouds in the background.
The bottom handles should be brought inwards to the edges of the image to just below the skyline, while the upper "handles" should only be lowered to just past the top of the image
Then using an eraser, erase the clouds that fall below the skyline.

Use another Change Perspective tool on the second cloud layer, this time doing the opposite.
Place the bottom "handles" near the bottom edge of the image. Place the upper "handles" inwards to the edges of the image and just above where the river fades into the distance.
Create a new layer mask
Select the water with the Select Continuous Regions tool
Press Ctrl+i to invert the selection
Fill it with black
Then use a small soft brush to fix the little spots along the waters edge.


This is roughly how the perspective changes should look;
<img src="http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/2420/wwyd45perspectivefp2.png" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/>

I think that was all. lol

[Sandie]

I just want to say this is my favorite 'game' and thread topic. Life has just been overwhelming the last few weeks. I look and read, often give it a shot...even when I don't post. I will be more diligent about posting even when I think it is the worst in the bunch if it will keep this game going, at least for a while longer.

[braezen]

These are fun! Windrider... Nice, futuristic feel
Firemaine... Looks like a model train should be in that picture.
Nathan got rid of the orange!!! :)
I will go play with it too first chance I get.

[kstahle]

<a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii306/kiffiej/DPS/?action=view&current=1455693103_8b5539a63a_bcopy.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii306/kiffiej/DPS/1455693103_8b5539a63a_bcopy.jpg" border="0" alt="WWYD_45"></a>

I am brand new to this forum and here is my first attempt for WWYD. This method gives the photo an other-worldly effect and changes the mood of the photograph significantly. Steps are below and are written for CS3.
1. Convert layer to smart object.
2. Add Gaussian Blur of 5px.
3. Select the filter mask.
4. Using the rectangular marquee tool make a selection just inside the photo edge (for this sample I was about 50 px inside).
5. Click the refine edge button and feather the edge by about 75px.
6. With the foreground set to black fill the inside of the selection.
7. Deselect selection.
8. Double-click on the blending options next to the Gaussian Blur and change the blend mode to multiply.
9. Add an invert adjustment layer.
10. Change the blend mode of the inverted adjustment layer to color.

[Canadian Mum]

I love these... even though I don't always play along... I am inspired by the amazing work that the members here can do... and the creativity of it all! I will have to brave the slowness of my computer and give this a try more often!

[dlaf]

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b209/IanGM/DPS/WindridersRiver.jpg
1. tweaked the colour curve a little.
2. Heavy duty noise reduction using GREYCstoration.
3. Duplicated the layer and desaturated using channel mixer.
4. Changed BW layer to hard light and adjusted opacity.

Wow! What a cool transformation, Nathan!

[braezen]

<a href="http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h149/valencepositive/art/1455693103_8b5539a63a_b.jpg"><img src="http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h149/valencepositive/art/1455693103_8b5539a63a_b.jpg" width="600"></a>

just cropped and replaced a shade of blue.
(I see I cropped too much off bottom...)

[windrider86]

There have been some really awsome edits to this picture. Some sublte, some not to sublte but all have been really great and have given me some great ideas!

[KatzPhotography]

Hope you don't mind if I join, I just joined today but it looks like alot of fun. I am not the greatest at post processing but I try :D

Okay, I took and played with this in Pant Shop Pro X - I first did a high pass sharpen, then changed the hue/sat/lighten..... darkened the sky a little....

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a154/KatzPomDogz/PSPImage.jpg

[Mr.Intensity]

Hope you don't mind if I join, I just joined today but it looks like alot of fun. I am not the greatest at post processing but I try :D

Okay, I took and played with this in Pant Shop Pro X - I first did a high pass sharpen, then changed the hue/sat/lighten..... darkened the sky a little....

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a154/KatzPomDogz/PSPImage.jpg

whoa...that's cool pretty! Welcome aboard. you appear to me to have a good grasp of what this is about:) And I notice that you don't show where you're from, We have a Katz' here in Albany Ny, one in the same by any chance? well I gotta get out and take some shots. as The Duke use to say: "We're loosin daylight pilgrim" have fun.

[KatzPhotography]

Thank you, no, I'm afraid I am not the same one. I actually live on the other side of the country in WA state. Thanks again for the compliments!!!

[windrider86]

Nice job, it's looks like a painting!

[Nicole]

Just moved these last few posts over from WWYD(#46) so they were with the right starting picture. :)

[i_luv_ph0tos]

Tried it on an online cartoonizer... and the result is just... another disaster...

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21722229@N05/2433601394/" title="What would you do? (#45) by i_luv_ph0tos, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2358/2433601394_552c3ca537_o.jpg" width="616" height="440" alt="What would you do? (#45)" /></a>