Come Breathe the Clean Australian Air

[eland]

http://home.iprimus.com.au/dee333/smoke1k.jpg

The pristine air of an Australian evening

Regards
eland

[slejhamer]

Hey, that's not what the travel brochures look like!

[pappy]

LOL, we have our share of this as well.

This photograph looks surreal with the beautiful sky behind the silhouetted structures and the industrial discharge. You have captured the "waste" perfectly.

Kind Regards,
Peter

[SoCal69]

It's an interesting shot, but it looks awfully pixellated, and that really detracts from it in my opinion. Was this a result of cropping/resizing?

[eland]

Thanks for your comments.

No Chuck, not cropped or anything like that.
It's an applied texture with reduced color palette.

I like to get away from pin-sharp images.
This effect was used to accentuate the mood.

Kind regards
eland

[SoCal69]

gotcha Eland...

Just proves my point... that I am no expert :)

[eland]

It's a learning curve for all of us, Chuck.
That's what makes it so enjoyable.

We're all just pushing back the frontiers of this new digital science.

I've seen your work. You are doing very very well indeed.

Kind regards
eland

[Leighow]

HAL

A stunning image. Beautiful dramatic colors ... filled with mood and like a book cover suggesting that a narative related to the end of the world or sci-fi will follow.

The diagonals of the smoke clouds beautifully follow the smoke stacks . Only the contail of the now-passed jet hints of our time.

I love it. Chaoter II please !

HOWIE

PS: I have been trying to use painterly effects in PS -- but have yet to get to second base.

[pappy]

Leighow wrote:
HAL


PS: I have been trying to use painterly effects in PS -- but have yet to get to second base.

I'm in the same boat as Howie. I like this forum for the great learning opportunities. Your posts always provide that and I appreciate them very much.

Kind Regards,
Peter

[eland]

Dear Peter and Howie,

You are both very very kind. Thank you both so much for your thoughtful comments.

Most of the effects both in PS and also in the program
that I usually use, are not good.
The patterns are too regular and so look artificial and machine-made.

For this reason I usually stay with simple effects like adding Noise
or trying to obtain a soft tapestry effect as above.
Also fiddling with the colors as in the smoke shot.

I am not obsessed with sharpness and think that frequently
it spoils a picture, reducing it to Reportage.

You both must feel the same way if you have the urge to
"break up" the image.

Below is one effect that I rather like. It started life as a B&W
portrait that was done in one of my classes, using only
two reading lamps and a bedsheet.

The painted effect and color were added on computer.
It reminds me in a way of the paintings by Modigliani.

The lovely model is my very dear friend Dee.

http://home.iprimus.com.au/dee333/dee.jpg


Again thank you both for your encouragement

Sincerely
hal
eland
PS I've decided to put up the image of Dee on her own Post. It's no compliment to her placing her picture down here.

[pappy]

Thank you very Much, Hal. That is exactly the kind of thing I am trying to do and I agree that certain photographs require sharpness but a great many do not. I learned that on my "Path" photo that you kindly commented on in the other forum.

This image is tremendous and I have to agree with your reference to Modigliani. I must confess that I cheated and did view some of his images on the 'net.
Your friend Dee is lovely indeed and I imagine she was very pleased with this result.

Once again, thank you very much for the kind consideration and effort you give to my numerous questions.

Kind Regards,
Peter

[Leighow]

HAL

I can't buy in on this one. The eyes and lips just do not feel right to me.

HOWIE

[eland]

Thank you again, Peter.
As stated, painting effects on PS etc are not usually good.

The important thing about this version is that the subject Dee
likes it very much. In any portrait that is very very significant.

She and I admired some of Modigliani's paintings
not long ago at the Art Gallery of NSW.
........................
I understand Howie that this is not to everyone's taste and
I respect your opinion and your tastes.
.............................
Out of respect for Dee I have put up this image on its own page.
It is not flattering to her to put her picture
at the tail end of another post.

Kindest regards to you both

hal

[TimNYC24]

Hal, I love the feeling the first shot emits, but the second shot of Dee freaks me out with those wacky eyes :)

[slejhamer]

I agree with eland that the effects in PS and most other programs are generally poor. Some of them can be used as steps to achieving a better effect, but few if any work well by themselves.

Though it requires a lot of work and has a fairly steep learning curve, one program that I find interesting is Corel's Painter program, formerly known as Procreate Painter. I have used it only briefly, but the paint effects seem very realistic. Photoshop 7 made some improvement in brush capabilities, but they are still weak compared to the realistic natural media effects (brushes, textures, types of paint, etc.) one can achieve in Painter. It's not for everyone though (where have I heard that before?) and I don't recommend it if you don't have a pen tablet.

Regarding sharpness, I agree there as well. I apply very little sharpening now, whereas I can tell in my earlier photos (from all of 18 months ago) that I really overdid it, obviously going for the "extra crispy" look. Why? I don't know. For landscapes and macros, sharpness is probably a good thing most of the time. For portraits, which is what I primarily shoot, I much prefer diffusion and soft-focus effects.

Another thing I've read in a number of places: if the client likes it and buys it, or if the friend likes it, then that's all that counts! And if we can learn about an artist along the way, that's even better!

Well I'm rambling again ... I'll sum it up this way: I like effects, but it's too bad that today's software doesn't make it easy to achieve good ones.

Cheers,

[eland]

Hi Tim and Mitch,
Thank you both for your posts.
Funny thing Tim that the eyes never bothered me.
I guess I was just looking at the whole effect and not details.

Dee's right eye of course by itself looks awful.
Maybe I'll try to fix it.
(Can't make it any worse ! )

Strange that she likes this image very much and she has
never commented on the eyes either.

Your comments about Corel are very interesting, Mitch.
I had a copy on my computer and promptly took it off as
it was fouling up my favorite editing program.

I'd very much like to see some of your "painted" portraits Mitch. I'm sure we could learn from them.
Your posts are always very informative and interesting.

There is actually very little overtly manipulated stuff
on this site. Pity, as it's an art form in its own right.

Kind regards
eland

[TimNYC24]

eland, I am of the belief (not that my shots always happen this way) that any portrait of any living thing with eyes showing in the photo must be crystal sharp for it to be dramatic. Then again, that's just me, and that's why I said those eyes freaked me out :)
The overall effect is nice!