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Several people have asked me how I created some of the photos I have sent out from time to time, so I put together this page to show you how this one was done. I also added a quick look at some of the pictures currently being created from this same basic photo.
I expect that some people will not care for all (or perhaps any) of the versions but that's OK too. None of us see or like the same things as others do. What you see (or maybe feel) while viewing the more abstract versions is totally up to you. Each person may come up with a different impression or interpretation of the image and each is just as valid. I find that each time I look at an image I find something I hadn't noticed previously.
All the thumbnail prints shown below may be clicked to see a larger image. After viewing the enlarged version of a thumbnail use the back arrow on your browser to return to this page.
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First I needed to find a subject that looked like something I could work with. This is not always easy since in nature you most often need to work with the subjects she provides you and many of them never seem to come out the way you originally had in mind. Just keep trying, and learning! There have been many subjects that I would have liked to study but time, location and circumstances have prevented it. (Also the best shots seem to appear when a camera is not available!) The photo to the right is a subject I found on a crisp October day last year.
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As you can see the camera found a lot more detail in the background than the eye did. And there is only so much you can do from the top of a ladder to reframe the shot. This would have been a difficult picture to work with. The example at the right solves many post processing problems. In it I got my wife to hold up a large sheet of white material to serve as a background. Any color not readily found in the subject would do, white was handy. Note: It is wise to find someone who is willing to stand around for long periods of time in awkward positions or who is also into the photographic process, since wind, light, and weather are often not on your side and lots of time tends to go by very quickly.
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Using a feature of Adobe Photoshop2.0 that came with my scanner I made all the white background appear transparent. (Notice that the gray shadows are different enough to not be included in the transparent mapping. In other versions I also reduced or eliminated these gray sections.) At this point I also cropped the picture to eliminate parts I felt were not in the best interests of the final output. Some additional color and contrast adjustments resulted in the clip shown at the right. The file was then saved in a ".gif" format which retains these transparent properties.
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The image at the top of this page is the clip above, simply placed on top of a deep red background. I have tried many different colors as background and each variation results in a slightly different mood. I believe that last time many of you saw this picture it was on a deeper purple background with hints of brown in it. This image gives me a feeling more of spring, even though the leaves are obviously not spring like.
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Next I started playing around with a new program I'm thinking of buying called LView-Pro. This work is done with a time limited test copy. The clip at the right is formed from a deformation of the clip above called neon edging with an insert of blue black in the background. The small photo seen here is far more impressive when expanded and is worth the time it takes to load it.
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'Leaves In the Heart of Winter' |
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Next I added another deformation called a pinch to form the stylistic block photo shown here.
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'Through the Glass Block' |
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A different deformation called rotating mirrors resulted in this lacy looking photo after adjusting the parameters to get the final effect. Once again these last two are far more dramatic when viewed full screen.
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'Doily' |
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If you would like to try some of this kind of work for yourself I would be happy to help you in any way I can. The great thing about digital photography is that you can manipulate images, from any source, in many different ways and not have to spend a lot to do it. If you just want to see more of these kinds of images, I may be able to help you there also. Just let me know.
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