Gaussian Blur followed by Textures

We showed this technique at the Mike Moats Third Annual Macro conference during our "Rust" program....

Our approach to photography is to always take the best possible photograph that we can (there is no "unsuck filter" in Photoshop). More than 50% of our photographs are processed in ACR and then sharpened, so basically SOOC (straight out of camera), but we love the tools that Photoshop and Layers and Masks and Blend Modes and Plugins and Textures provide us as well so the remaining images are processed in Photoshop and we like to pre-visualize what we will end up with as our final artwork.

Sometimes you can change your camera angle and/or aperture to get a pleasing background. But sometimes the subject is not movable is close to the background. For those instances you can apply a Gaussian Blur and a Texture and create your won Artistic interpretation of the scene. Below are two examples of the SOOC and the post-processed versions.

     

1. Duplicate layer
2. Filter --> Blur --> Gaussian Blur
3. Blur to taste to get rid of the background
4. Add a mask
5. Paint with black over the subject, zoom in (100-500%) to go close around the edges, switch to white to unmask background. 
6. Add a Texture (or two)
7. Change the blend mode of the texture (often to multiply for these types of images)
8. Alternatively, use Topaz Texture Effects. Enter the discount use code breaphotos for 15% off Topaz products http://tinyurl.com/topaz-cuchara 

Download 10 Free Grunge Paper Backgrounds 10 free abstract photos or backgrounds with grunge paper theme. Can be used for both personal and commercial purposes, for yourself or on behalf of a client, on their own, or as part of new work. Download here

Kaleidoscope Creativity

Fun with Kaleidoscopes...

Topaz Texture Effects 2.

Topaz Texture Effects 2. Topaz Texture Effects 2 will be on sale from September 27th through October 30th and retails for $69.99. However, it can be purchased for only $59.99 ($10 off) until October 30th by using this coupon code: TFX2.

Textures can be used to deal with bald sky days, and to make your artistic spirit shine through. 

This was the three image HDR version below, textures above and below allowed me to be more creative in my expression of this great unique truck. 

Topaz Texture Effects 2

Working a composition...

Working a composition...



At our recent trip to the Silk Mill we captured the iconic elevator with the iconic spools inside. You can see our thought process and what we created and the progression below...

The first image (5 exposure HDR) was taken wide-angle from the top floor. 24mm

The next image came about from walking in closer and zooming in more 62mm

The third image came about from walking in closer and zooming in more 70mm

The four image was a 20 image vertorama composite (4 horizontal compositions, 5 exposures each)

The fifth image was a 35 image vertorama composite (7 horizontal compositions, 5 exposures each)

and the last image was a 50 image vertorama composite (10 horizontal compositions, 5 exposures each)

 Then we closed the door near that stairwell, it did not close all the way, allowing a ray of light to come in

Noticing that the left side of the door was not included we created a stitched image using two vertical HDR captures 

I love stitched images, and they give you room (and pixels) to composite as well.

HDR at the Blacksmith

Sometimes we hear people say "I have already been to location xyz"...

We often go back to a location more once.

Why?

Well, there are many reasons...

For one thing,that visual overload that can at times be overstimulating, is not affecting your decisions. You can slow down and capture some of the nuances about the place.

Another reason is that the lighting and time of year are different so you get different images. For example, going to a location when the trees are bare can yield very different results than going when the trees are green or the trees are colorful from fall foliage. This does not apply to just Nature and Landscapes, even Abandoned buildings and Urban locations are affected since often you are trying to capture windows and dramatic wide angle scenes at these locations.

Another reason is that YOU are different so you get different images, sometimes very different images as you grow and your photographic eye evolves.

Yet another reason is that the location may provide you access or cooperation that you did not have on the first visit. We are often more restricted on our first visit, and this feeling changes as we frequent a place and build trust and friendships. One location trustee recently said to us that our group was more like friends than a client because we have visited so many times.

Our relationship with this Blacksmith definitely grew over time. Our first interaction with Ben was pleasant but vanilla, we captured what he was doing. Now we know him well enough to call him a friend and we can create images because he works with us to set up the scene.

Light Painting at the Silk Mill

Light Painting.

On our last trip to the Silk Mill it was very dark inside, enabling us to have fun with flashlights, LED lights, shadows, and light painting.

on the left you can see the three exposure HDR image, as compared to the light painted version. ~12 images were merged (areas masked in by hand) to create the light painted composite.