The Photography Thread (photo-heavy content!) - Page 3

sdwarf36 · 09-30-2012, 09:46 AM

I was embarassed to put anything up next to the pros-my father was a pro photog-and even though I made some money doing it years ago at the local dragstrip, I never pursued it. I just don't have "the eye". Now all I shoot is a point+ click digital set on auto.

But you can still get some worthy shots.

Burke Mt. VT

The wife shot this with her Iphone-Ct river

Burke vt again

Don Prudhomme-CT dragway 1980?

Mt Philo Vt hillclimb

More when i get a chance.

PDBreske · 09-30-2012, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdwarf36

I was embarassed to put anything up next to the pros-my father was a pro photog-and even though I made some money doing it years ago at the local dragstrip, I never pursued it. I just don't have "the eye". Now all I shoot is a point+ click digital set on auto.

But you can still get some worthy shots.

The wife shot this with her Iphone-Ct river

More when i get a chance.

That's a great shot.

I have to say that I will never blame an iPhone for a bad photo. I've been so impressed with mine that I use it for almost every situation. Unless I'm shooting for money or on those occasions when the fixed lens of the iPhone can't accommodate the angle or reach I need, I don't even think about pulling out my DSLR. Almost every photo in my conversion thread was taken with the iPhone and the HDR feature really does a great job of equalizing the shadows in the bus with the extreme bright light coming through the open doors and windows. And it does this without creating the typical "HDR-effect" of halos around high contrast areas. (Of course, I still tweak the images a bit; I wouldn't call myself a photographer if I didn't attempt to control every aspect of the process.)

crazycal · 09-30-2012, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PDBreske

Since Halloween is coming, I decided to hone my photo-manipulation skills and turn some friends into the undead.

Dailyn:

Yendri:

My girlfriend, Ruth (I don't like the way the blood came out on this one—looks a little like a low budget 70s film):

Yours truly (circa 2005):

The second one is cute. Mind if I ask for her number?

PDBreske · 09-30-2012, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazycal

The second one is cute. Mind if I ask for her number?

976-EVIL

roach711 · 10-04-2012, 10:02 AM

PD - Is that "real" blood or did you do it in post processing? I'd love to know how you did it.

PDBreske · 10-04-2012, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roach711

PD - Is that "real" blood or did you do it in post processing? I'd love to know how you did it.

All added in post. Before and after:

You can use Photoshop for this, but I used a Mac-only app called Pixelmator. It doesn't have all the tools of PS, but it can do enough and it costs less than ten percent of what you'd pay for a new copy of Photoshop.

To make the blood, I created a new layer and painted in the areas where I wanted blood. I named this layer "blood." I paid close attention to the facial features and tried to follow a logical path around the nose and eyes and creases that would normally disrupt the flow of blood. I just used a solid color like white to make it easy to see what I was doing. I'm especially proud of the blood in the lips.

Then I created another layer ("blood color") and linked it to the "blood" layer with a clipping mask. Into this layer I painted the blood color. The colors only showed up where the previous layer was already placed due to the clipping link. It was easiest to use a wide brush to completely cover the mask and then fine tune the colors with a narrow, soft brush. I started with a nearly-black red, then brushed in some more saturated red along the edges where the blood would be thinner.

At this point, it will look like a red-black paint applied to the top of the image, but changing the "blood" layer's blending mode to Hard Light and reducing the opacity (just slightly) allows a little bit of the underlying texture to show through, especially where the blood is more red than black. (The "blood color" layer adopts the blending mode of the linked clipping mask.)

I used a blur tool to soften the edges of the blood layer where the original image is slightly out of focus. (Sharp blood on top of blurred skin just looks wrong.)

I added another layer ("blood highlights") and painted in the reflections of the light source, again taking care to match the already existing reflections in the eyes and again softening the highlights where the original image is out of focus.

I watched a couple YouTube videos after I finished these to see if anyone had any tips or tricks that would make this easier next time, but many of the "tutorials" are done by teenagers with no patience and no teaching skills, so they are way too fast and hectic to be of much use, and the results were often not realistic. The best results were done by people using full copies of Photoshop and using advanced techniques that I think the average person wouldn't grasp without a lot of time using the software. Pixelmator is easy to use and costs only $40. I'm sure there are probably Windows-compatible editing apps available that would do the same thing.

roach711 · 10-04-2012, 09:54 PM

I've got CS5 at home so I'll give this a try. I particularly like the highlights you've painted in.

PDBreske · 10-05-2012, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roach711

I've got CS5 at home so I'll give this a try. I particularly like the highlights you've painted in.

Gotta give it that "wet" look.

Accordion · 10-09-2012, 07:36 AM

I took a bunch of photos of this place. I wish I could have gotten inside the top of the grain silos. This was once an operating factory. It is now a dilapidated "scary place".

PDBreske · 10-09-2012, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Accordion

I took a bunch of photos of this place. I wish I could have gotten inside the top of the grain silos. This was once an operating factory. It is now a dilapidated "scary place".

I love these old buildings, factories and warehouses that have been abandoned and left to decay. I know they're no good for the economy, but they are interesting nonetheless. Check out a site called forgottendetroit.com to see some grand old buildings that have been completely neglected.

Accordion · 10-19-2012, 12:25 PM

When I got my first computer, all I did was Photoshop. Here is one of my favorites. I turned my friend into the invisible man.

bansil · 10-19-2012, 12:30 PM

cool

Accordion · 10-19-2012, 12:34 PM

Here is a fun one. That is my clone playing congas while I play the guitar.

PDBreske · 10-19-2012, 06:56 PM

Photoshop is fun!

Three of me discussing something on TV:

Accordion · 10-20-2012, 09:53 AM

I took the liberty of downsizing your photo so that we could see the three of you. I made it 640.

Very cool stuff. Quite amazing how you did that.

PDBreske · 10-20-2012, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Accordion

I took the liberty of downsizing your photo so that we could see the three of you. I made it 640.

Very cool stuff. Quite amazing how you did that.

No problem. Out of curiosity, what size screen are you looking at? I know I can only see the left half of some images on my iPhone, but when I use the desktop browser, I'm able to scroll to see the whole image (if they're too big for my browser window).

crazycal · 10-20-2012, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Accordion

I took the liberty of downsizing your photo so that we could see the three of you. I made it 640.

Very cool stuff. Quite amazing how you did that.

I can do that too...with a bunch of tequila.

I can see double and sometimes triple if I try hard enough.

Accordion · 10-21-2012, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PDBreske

Quote:

Originally Posted by Accordion

I took the liberty of downsizing your photo so that we could see the three of you. I made it 640.

Very cool stuff. Quite amazing how you did that.

No problem. Out of curiosity, what size screen are you looking at? I know I can only see the left half of some images on my iPhone, but when I use the desktop browser, I'm able to scroll to see the whole image (if they're too big for my browser window).

I have a regular size laptop. I do know that 640X480 is the perfect size for pics posted to forums. That size keeps it so that you do not have to scroll back and forth.

Hvbuzz · 10-26-2012, 12:55 PM

The only pictures I take, are with my phone. Years ago when I did have a camera, it seemed I never took any pictures, mainly because I never had it with me when I wanted to take one. They are nothing amazing, but diffenently capture the memory.

Elliot Naess · 10-27-2012, 10:23 PM

“No, you do not have an appointment.”

I staged that with my own truck, somewhere in Colorado, I think.

Jaws, Kinetic Sculpture Racing style. Sacramento, CA, 2000. Pure luck.

Mud pit in Kinetic Sculpture Race, Sacramento 2001. I removed a sponsor’s logo with Photoshop.

Custom car king George Barris in one of his creations, at the Sacramento Autorama. 2008 I think.

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