Week 9 - Filters

For this image I viewed several different filters in the "filter gallery". This allows you to see filters over other filters and you can change the effects of each filter. For this image I used "palette knife" filter and I adjusted the detail and smoothness. I like the effects and I think that the possibilities with filters are endless because there are so many ways to layer them and adjust them.

Week 9 - Burn & Dodge

Many of the pictures from my trip are very washed out, and overexposed. I played with the burn tool on this shot, and in the bottom one I tried to get some more contrast. I found that although you can change the exposure level of the tool, it was still kind of hard to control and I think that although the color is restored, it may be too dark in some areas, but when I went back to dodge some of the areas, it was too obvious and way lighter. These tools will take some practice but I think they can be effective.

Week 8-Photo Adjustments- Image Set 2

For this image set I adjusted the photo so that It had more contrast and richer colors. I used curve adjustments and I also used the spot healing and the clone stamp again in the sky to soften some of the clouds. I think that the original image is to dark and doesn't have a lot of contrast so I think my revised image really brings out the color in the sunset as well as the overall contrast of the piece.

Week 8-Photo Adjustments- Image Set 1

For the first two before and after shots, I used a landscape image, and I used the clone stamp tool quite a bit to remove the guardrail on the left and then I also used it to get rid of the lines on the pavement. I also removed a few scraggly trees on the right treeline. I also played with the curves adjustments and I gave the image more contrast and darkened the whole piece slightly. I understand that the new CS5 has a tool where you can take out whole elements and it is basically the clone stamp tool but much faster and more precise.

Week 7 - Photoshop Manipulation

These are two pictures that I just played around with in Photoshop and I used several tools, crop, magic wand, quick select, etc. I found that playing with the magic wand was really fun because there are so many possibilities with each selection. I liked exploring the hue/saturation and seeing the results from the alterations. With the top image I selected certain petals of the flower using quick select and then I manipulated the hue and saturation and I also resized those selections. Then I placed certain selections under the original to look like there are more petals than there are. I also experimented with more unrealistic coloring in the bottom photo. It was fun to use the magic want to get certain pixels of color, and then to alter that color significantly. This was a fun assignment just to work with some photos and begin to delve into the endless world of Photoshop.

Landscapes

These are a few from my visit this week in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. We took many landscape shots when we were touring the Cabot Trail. Sorry I am posting these so late, but I just got back a few hours ago and I wanted to share!

As far as my exploration with landscapes, I think that the rule of thirds is a good place to start because it is still applicable and can make an image more interesting. Another thing is that I learned I really want/need a new camera! There were so many times when I was really struggling with my camera, but I think despite this, I got some nice pictures. Let me know what you think!