ABOUT ME

I live in a camper van with a West Highland Terrier for company.
My passion is creating images but it is a work in progress.
I am always willing to share what knowledge I have and can be contacted through the comments on this post or e-mail ADRIAN
ALL IMAGES WILL ENLARGE WITH A LEFT CLICK

Monday 15 February 2010

A BIT OF OOMPH! (15/02/10)

Going back to today's first post I thought I would give the salt marsh picture a bit of a seeing to. A seeing to it got and here it is……………

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA   Bit more clout in this one and it’s a two second job……………..Here’s the original………..

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA I opened the above file in editor and duplicated the background layer…ctrl+J or drag it to the wee square with a turned up corner, desaturate it and select the High Pass filter. Select a pixel radius of between 50 and 80…..How much ketchup do you take on your burger?….then set the blend mode of this layer to either hard or soft light….. Drop the opacity to suit yourself.

(as a quick aside the High Pass filter is also very good for non destructive sharpening)

If you want still more punch then dodge and burn the desaturated layer. More than that and you have to invest in any or all of the Topaz filters. As you know I’m not really in favour of photo manipulation so to see the horrors Topaz can provide go to Flickr and any of the Topaz groups. I now only use Photoshop Elements 7. can play for hours………..Best £60.00p I ever spent!!!!

You’ll all be pleased to know that tomorrow it will be fine first thing and Wednesday we are off to the real hills.

7 comments:

  1. I had some of my photos taken to the photo shop it cost 25 Egp per 18 x 9" print that's two pounds 60 pence in your money. not bad for a print that size. But this guy has decided to do what you did but in reverse the pale is paler and the dark is even paler. now me thinks the price of colour is expensive white is free as long as he uses a white sheet. so my green caterpillar has turned out... remember the apple white dulux paint brought out in the eighties well my caterpillar is that colour . and it will fool the experts who decide what species it is.
    I know my Silver Mane Coon is not white the wall it is sitting on is not silver and the foliage in the background is not Dulux apple white. I too like playing with my own. but i do not think its polite for people to play with mine unless they ask first. take it the way you wish, but they are my photos.
    now did you say you are off to Wales again? you mentioned real hills. but we call them boncan (hill). or Mynydd (mountain)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Adrian! Great shot - I like both of them! I'm not sure which one I like better but I find that is often the case. :o)

    I just picked up Photoshop Elements 8 on the weekend and do I EVER have alot to learn! So the tutorials are great! :o)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Penny, 8 is great, never upgraded from 7 as it didn't seem worth it, just ask and I will e-mail how to do it Focal Press do the basic and not so basic tutorial books. Have fun.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Haven't the foggiest idea what you are talking about with the technicalities - but I know I am struck by the top photo because the shape of the ditch / stream leaps out better. Much depends on the intended use of a photo. If I were producing a guide book or holiday brochure, I'd choose the second because the sheep have gone a bit blobby in the top one and the lower one is more restful.

    Lucy

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lucy, neither have I! It's a technique used a fair bit when sending stuff to be printed on newspaper as their resolution and colour management is pretty bad. this was exaggerated....Can't help myself!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was pleased to see this before and after post, with instructions that also work in Photoshop CS4.

    Thanks a bunch for visiting my My Birds Blog and for the comment.

    I was experimenting with shutter speed and aperture to see if I could stop motion and it seemed to work in the photo you saw.

    I was able to focus on the head and stopped that motion well enough so you can see the tiny spider web caught on the beak of the hummingbird. And the wings are still a blur.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You got it just right Abe.
    CS4 a dream for me but apart from masks I suspect a luxury. Elements does what I need and any thing I describe will work in CS3 on, with the exception of panorama stitching.
    Using a High pass filter is a very controllable way of boosting contrast. Came across it by accident whilst sharpening with it. Keeps me amused for hours!

    ReplyDelete