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Post by hmca on Jan 25, 2019 16:27:58 GMT
I took this picture from a hotel window. When I first looked at it my instinct was to delete it. However, in desperation to meet some assignment, I frequently find myself trying to create something out of nothing. And that was the case with this image. I thought it might be interesting to see the progression of this image from its initial upload to the final image. I originally tried to recreate the steps I had taken to share with my camera club. So this is not an exact representation but rather an idea of the general progression. I know there are some photographers who frown at this much manipulation but there were no requirements that an image had to be an accurate straight out of camera capture. Straight out of camera:  After tweaking with the transform tool in ACR to pull in and remove the water in the bottom right corner and get rid of most of the truck:  Cropping to square format and cloning in some grass:  Making selection of thick black line to be removed:  Filling with surrounding cement:  Next step was to clone out the black ground light and create a diagonal cement groove in line with the worker's shoulder. Then convert to B/W using Nik Silver Efex. Screen shot gives an idea of the workflow.  |
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Post by jjr1770 (Judy) on Jan 25, 2019 21:26:32 GMT
Well done Helen! Quite a few distractions to remove but you did a wonderful job.
You had a vision and it all came together.
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Post by whippet on Jan 25, 2019 21:28:13 GMT
Well, as a 'Haven't got a clue' person, I think that is brilliant, Helen. Do I say great imagination, or what?
Yes, I usually press delete, too.
I think the picture would also look really good, before you made it black & white.
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bobharron
Junior Forum Member
Posts: 131 
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by bobharron on Jan 25, 2019 21:41:30 GMT
Wonderful work Helen. Converting to black and white gives it a look like drawing. 👍👍👍
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Post by Lillias on Jan 25, 2019 23:27:07 GMT
Trash or Award
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. I liked this when you first put it up and I still like it. Good to see your workflow and how you arrived at the final result.
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Post by hmca on Jan 26, 2019 0:01:42 GMT
Thanks, Judy. I thought this would be a fun share and I have been meaning to do it for awhile now.
Margaret, I think desperate might be a more honest descriptor than brilliant. But I was pleased with the final outcome. Plus matting and framing do wonders for a picture.
I find green to be a very difficult color to get right in post-processing. Plus, I really do like B/W photography so thought this a perfect candidate.
Thanks, Bob. You are not the first person to say it looked like a drawing and now when I look at it I can see why.
Thanks, Lillias. I know I am always interested in how someone arrives at their finished image so thought this would be a good share.
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Berengaria
Established Forum Member
Posts: 398 
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by Berengaria on Jan 26, 2019 12:08:47 GMT
Thanks so much Helen for taking the time to make this post. It was an interesting journey. You are a master!
Berie
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alexr
Established Forum Member
Posts: 555
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by alexr on Jan 26, 2019 13:15:11 GMT
Thank you for sharing that, Helen, it is always great to learn how someone made 'something out of nothing'. Not saying your starting image was poor, but I think I too would have looked at it and thought, hmmm, the figure is interesting enough, but it doesn't quite work, and then deleted it. But with imagination and skill you have created a very effective image that I remember really liking when I first saw it. For what it is worth, for me, the most inspired thing about the processing, and one that I would never have come up with in a million years, is the addition of the line out to the top left corner. This seemingly minor change is a great compositional feature that not only leads the eye to the focus point, but it splits that flat grey area into two unequal (and therefore interesting) triangles. And yet you hardly notice it. My instinct would to have been to have removed the two visible lines as being distracting, but I'd have been wrong - whereas your instinct was masterful.
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Post by hmca on Jan 26, 2019 13:29:49 GMT
Thanks, Berie. I was pleased with the outcome and then to have it recognized at to photography events was an unexpected but exciting reward.
Alex, I agree about that line. The person I take a class with often points out and looks for repeating geometrical shapes in our work. She also likes the square format. When I look back on this image I'm actually quite pleased with myself that I thought to add the diagonal line.
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angelag
Junior Forum Member
Posts: 298
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by angelag on Jan 26, 2019 20:31:55 GMT
Well done, Helen. It was interesting to see the process. Excellent result, and worth the work you put into it.
AGG
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Post by PeteB on Jan 28, 2019 3:44:28 GMT
A great job  |
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Post by dandc on Jan 29, 2019 22:51:53 GMT
Thank you for sharing your steps that went into making this creation Helen - I never would have thought of moving the concrete seam to match his shoulder or to clone out the dark cement strip. All your choices made an awesome photo that points to the subject so perfectly.
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Post by hmca on Jan 29, 2019 23:41:33 GMT
Thanks, Angela, Pete and Dan. Glad you found it interesting.
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