POTN WORLDWIDE PHOTO DAY PART 19 7/15-7/16- DOF/PROCESSING-

[saravrose]

Posting a little bit early cause I'll have some kids with me tomorrow and i'm not sure if I'll be able to get away... This weeks theme is Depth of field... controlling your apperture to focus on the main subject while leaving other parts of your composition Out of focus.. focus is crucial to your photos... but, Bokeh can comletely enhance and improve a composition... I know that experimenting with apperture's was one of the first things I really noticed and loved about shooting with a DSLR... So, everybody show us how you use DOF what your personal style is...

The second part of the challenge is to show us the before and after... what you do to enhance your images PP. Whether its converting to black and white, sharpening, fixing white balance, curves, layers etc... We all do some kind of processing to our photos.. and I thought it would be interesting to see what folks do.. whether their minimalists and prefer to leave their shots pretty similar to how it was originally captured or whether we want to take a more extreme approach...

Remember, there are no wrong answers it's about sharing and having fun and most importantly shooting... The rules are the same.. photos can be taken from sun-up saturday to sun-down sunday and posted by monday You can post two photos, but i'm adding a little twist.. because were asking for before and after shots if you like you can post before and after of two images..... Have fun, can't wait to see some photos...

sari

[Becky N]

Funny coincidence, Curtis N just put this on our web site regarding our PP of theatre shots, if anyone is interested. He had no idea what were discussing for this week's theme.

If you visit, scroll down and click on The Value of Image Editing

http://performancephoto.us/

[joayne]

Not to but in, but Depth of Field could also include images that have a deep Depth of Field ie: everything in focus from the front to back of the image. Would this also qualify?

[saravrose]

Not to but in, but Depth of Field could also include images that have a deep Depth of Field ie: everything in focus from the front to back of the image. Would this also qualify?

yes. anything that uses apperture to enhance your composition is welcomed. It's your own take on DOF that were looking for.. whether it's your background or foreground thats in focus... :D

[Meaty0]

Okay, looks like I'm first up with a photo or two.

I like how you can use Depth of Focus to tell a story.

Here's the "After PP"...

http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/1928/ooopsafter8pf.jpg



And here's the image as it came off the sensor and went through Photoshop Camera RAW converter and came out a JPEG untouched...

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/4154/ooopsbefore9hj.jpg

Obviously, I cropped, rotated and did a bit of Colour Balance in Photoshop CS2. Then removed my reflection from the lock. Then a bit of Unsharp Mask. Then converted image to right format for uploading.

C&C welcome.

Paul

[tommykjensen]

Oh bummer.

Got up. Was not sure if I should play it safe today and goto the Zoo. I know it would be pretty easy to get good photos using DOF there. Or should I go try photograph some jazz musicians at the Copenhagen Jazz festival. Hmm chattet with Nouna that convinced me to try the jazz festival. Well jazz music really isn't me but I went anyway.

Prepared.
- Got the lenses I want to use. CHECK.
- Got extra memory cards. CHECK.
- Battery level on camera. 100% CHECK.
- Camera in the bag. CHECK
- Memory card in the camera. CHECK
- Got everything. CHECK.

Took off.
Had some time to kill so took a few photos of tourists taking photos. Waited. Still nothing yet. Took a few more photos.

OHHH CRAP..... Battery level at the last 1/4. :mad:

The extra battery I ordered when I bought the camera haven't arrived yet so I currently only have one for my 1D MKII which was the camera I had with me.

... off to http://www.batterier.dk to order an off-brand battery ...

Battery charging now so may not have time to shoot more today so this one will have to do. There is plenty of DOF. Though I also discovered some halo's in the background :(

This is the after shot. Click to view the before. It was shot is raw so the before shot has a minimum of processing to convert it from raw to jpeg. (Resize with FM Plugin WebPro). Save for web and upload.

Using PS CS2 auto adjust in ACR. Then adjusted contrast from medium to strong (also in ACR). Done in ACR. Then Smart Sharpen in PS CS2. Resize with the FM Plugin Webpro. Add frame. Save for web. Upload. And here we are.

http://photo.klein-jensen.dk/photo2.php?n=20060715_photoday_after.jpg (http://photo.klein-jensen.dk/photo2.php?n=20060715_photoday_before.jpg)

[Becky N]

Paul- Nice story telling, hopefully you did not have to use the first aide kit. Seems even when I'm 100% sure my camera is straight by checking for lines in the view finder, I always have to straighten them when I seem them on the big screen.

Tommy- I like how your subject is in the middle showing OOF in front and back, makes her really pop.

[saravrose]

Oh bummer.

Got up. Was not sure if I should play it safe today and goto the Zoo. I know it would be pretty easy to get good photos using DOF there. Or should I go try photograph some jazz musicians at the Copenhagen Jazz festival. Hmm chattet with Nouna that convinced me to try the jazz festival. Well jazz music really isn't me but I went anyway.

Prepared.
- Got the lenses I want to use. CHECK.
- Got extra memory cards. CHECK.
- Battery level on camera. 100% CHECK.
- Camera in the bag. CHECK
- Memory card in the camera. CHECK
- Got everything. CHECK.

Took off.
Had some time to kill so took a few photos of tourists taking photos. Waited. Still nothing yet. Took a few more photos.

OHHH CRAP..... Battery level at the last 1/4. :mad:

The extra battery I ordered when I bought the camera haven't arrived yet so I currently only have one for my 1D MKII which was the camera I had with me.

... off to http://www.batterier.dk to order an off-brand battery ...

Battery charging now so may not have time to shoot more today so this one will have to do. There is plenty of DOF. Though I also discovered some halo's in the background :(

This is the after shot. Click to view the before. It was shot is raw so the before shot has a minimum of processing to convert it from raw to jpeg. (Resize with FM Plugin WebPro). Save for web and upload.

Using PS CS2 auto adjust in ACR. Then adjusted contrast from medium to strong (also in ACR). Done in ACR. Then Smart Sharpen in PS CS2. Resize with the FM Plugin Webpro. Add frame. Save for web. Upload. And here we are.

http://photo.klein-jensen.dk/photo2.php?n=20060715_photoday_after.jpg (http://photo.klein-jensen.dk/photo2.php?n=20060715_photoday_before.jpg)

tommy great shot love the DOF and she looks like she's got a pink camera bag.... makes you wonder what she was taking a shot of...

sari

[condyk]

Nice medical kit Pauly ... so what is the back story here? You get sick of being nagged to do the garden and so you ... (anyone feel free to finish this domestic drama)

Tommy ...is that a lens cap in her pocket or she pleased to see you? Nice on the front and back bokeh work there ;-) Funny thing is I kinda prefer the original shot. Nice to see the before and after and so be able to compare.

Ok, I got three today, but one is a compare and contrast. A bit busy so took the camera and walked down to my local curry house (missed my weekly curry last night so got one this evening instead). While I was waiting for it to cook I went down a few local side roads to seek inspiration.

First shot is converted from the RAW and cropped, some localised sharpening applied, a minor tweak to the door colour saturation, framed to 600px and that's it.

The idea was to draw the eye to the left-hand third and then use DOF in a fairly subtle way to drop detail down to the colour. Was wide open at f4.0

http://www.buzzdns.com/walldoor600.jpg

Second two shots are the same. First one is the original with zero processing other than converted from RAW, shrunk to 600px during framing and then compressed to jpg. I used my Pentax SMC 50mm 1.4 which is a truly beautiful little lens and very tiny. Was shot wide open with the intention of cropping later, hence the pointless wall area.

http://www.buzzdns.com/redpost0600.jpg

Third shot is the same as above but processed a bit more. Idea was to show how even a very ugly background can be bokeh'd out and used to enhance a shot. Not entirely successful, but you get the idea!

Converted from RAW to TIFF, one pass of localised USM 100/1/0 on the post, auto contrast, auto levels, up localised saturation a tad on the red and then up saturation of magenta and blue amongst the bokah, shrunk to 1000px across, localised USM again on the post 50/1/0 and then apply minor curves to taste. Finally shrunk to 600px during framing and then compressed to jpg.

http://www.buzzdns.com/redpost600.jpg

[Claire]

Ok, first shot I just tried to get the DOF to drop along the clothing pins.

The 2nd shot is the processed version. Framed by adding canvas, first 10 more pixels on each side in white, then ten more pixels on each side in black. After this a big of sharpening. Not much more this time really. No need for levels or curves.

[Claire]

I will cheat a bit now. As last week I never posted anything, I thought I'd post the shot I took for that "Darkness" thread. In fact, I both got darkness AND DOF in it. :D

[joayne]

Ok....here is the b4 and after...
This is a macro shot. 100mm 1/4 @4.5.

This flower is quite small, approx. 1/4" across.
It can grow blossoms out of the center of the "Parent flower". Up to 4 flowers stacked on top of one another.
It is very hot now (118 degrees today) so most of the plants are in
the sleep mode and not producing very well...:rolleyes:

94217

cropped, adjustment mask, adn a bit of sharpening


94218

[BLS]

Once again we have a nice variety of subjects. And it's only Saturday, so there's more to come.

Paul -- I enjoyed your story. Nice control of DOF & an interesting subject. Is that blood I see on the shears?

Tommy -- A less common DOF with blur in both the fore- and background. I like it so much that I want to try it myself. Like Dave, I prefer the pre-processed version with less contrast.

Dave -- I like what you did with the color in the bokeh in the 2nd one. Very effective. Way too advanced for my rudimentary pp skills.

Claire -- Nice use of a diagonal line with the clothes pin shot. And the Darkness shot, well, let's put it this way: I'm headed for the Snickers!

[joayne]

Oh...

MeatyO: Really would like the back story here. Hopefully it is just some good imagination
and some fun set up. Hate to think of you heading to hospital!

Tommy: Love your DOF. I always like shots of photogs by photogs! Sorry about you batters troubles. SterlingTek rocks for a replacement battery as I am sure you know.
Great value for the Euro!

Claire: I really like your shots. Love the DOF, but the subject is compelling...but the Chocolate has to go..........:p

[BLS]

Joyane -- Pretty shot. What's the name of that flower? I never saw one before. Most unusual. 118 degrees?!!! Guess that explains the sweat I see on the bottom petal!

[joayne]

Barbara..This is a cactus ( not the usual ) Crown of Thorns.
Underneath all of the green leaves lie leathal thorns..

[Meaty0]

Oh...

MeatyO: Really would like the back story here. Hopefully it is just some good imagination
and some fun set up. Hate to think of you heading to hospital!

Not imagination. Not setup (except for the bandage).

Pruning Shears + Pruning Saw + Ladder + Uneven Ground + Unseen Bird's Nest + Angry Mother Bird Flying Out To Attack Invading Pruning Shears =

Pruner (Me:)) Jumping Back in Surprise + Falling Off Ladder (Don't Worry...Not Too High) + Landing On Ground + Knocking Pruning Saw Off Ladder Onto Foot =

Minor Cut to Foot + Wife Getting First Aid Kit + Commenting That It "Would Have Made Good Photograph" While Applying Band Aid =

Me thinking "Hmmmm...Good Photo" + Way Of Getting Out Of Pruning:D

[joayne]

LOL... :rolleyes:

[Becky N]

Popping in quickly before we have to take my monitor and return to our family reunion shoot for the formal pictures. Yesterday was candid shots and shooting their family talent show. We processed some last night to show as examples today, thus the reason I will soon have my monitor disconnected. Anyway...

Condyk - The first picture I really like all the way around. #2 and #3 certainly show the example of using DOF to enhance/improve the shot.

Claire - I agree, your use of diagonal is right on and the simple frame shows off your skill. The chocolate speaks for itself, yum yum.:D

Joayne - Effective DOF is great for flower pictures. You used its full potential to show us this unusual species and your sharpening enhanced the effect.

Back to MeatyO - So glad it was a minor that was sustained, love your sense of humor in telling the story, futher.:lol: :lol: :lol:

Gotta go, happy shooting everyone, hopefully I'll find a picture worthy of posting later today.

[Claire]

Meaty,
Love your story telling! LOL Glad you didn't get too hurt.

[Becca]

Wow, great shots everybody!
CondyK - Your explanations were great about why you chose to shoot what you did. And my eyes were drawn right where you wanted them to be!
Tommy - I have to learn how to do that! I love both the foreground and background bokeh.
MeatyO - glad you didn't hurt yourself badly and were able to get out of pruning too!
Claire - Love the clothespins! Very creative!
Joayne - Beautiful flower! You'd never know it was on a cactus!

Here's my contribution for the week. The first one is the before shot. For PP, I did the following in PS:
Crop
Unsharp Mask
Hue/Saturation
Curves 1 Layer
Make adjustment layer Using: adjustment layer
Invert
Select brush
Brush Tool
Save

[joayne]

Becca: Lovely DOF and the PP really makes the subject POP :D

Dave: Sorry, forgot to comment on your shots. Love that first one with the blue door. I also saw your posting in the Urban section. I really like that first shot with the note by the locked door. Gave me a chuckle! :rolleyes:

[saravrose]

Hi all... great pictures everybody. Love Nouna's candybar and Dave that bokeh is incredible.. here are my contributions.. the first one is of the weeds from the ditch behind my house.. The before shots are just raw conversions with no corrections..

a. before
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/saravrose/landscapes/IMG_1193-02.jpg
b. after
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/saravrose/landscapes/IMG_1193-01.jpg


the second one is from the train tracks taken behind the movie theatre by the mall..

a. before
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/saravrose/landscapes/IMG_1230-01.jpg
b. after
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/saravrose/landscapes/IMG_1230-02.jpg

[joayne]

Good use of DOF with the receding tracks Sari! Nice PP to get the color up in the ditch flowers. The ditches out here are just sand this time of year.

[BLS]

For some reason I had a hard time this week. I went to an Irish Festival yesterday & took lots of shots, but none seemed right for this week's theme. So this morning I headed to the Living History Civil War Encampment in Gettysburg. Sometimes I get lucky there, and I enjoy talking with the folks -- always learn a lot. Fortunately, I found something to post.


Before: Converted Raw to Tiff in ZoomBrowserEx, and then used PSE to Save-For-The-Web. (That's the extent of my conversion skills.:oops: )


http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-8/812687/Two-Soldiers-raw.jpg




After: 1) In ZoomBrowserEx I corrected the white balance & added some contrast. 2) In DDP I cropped out the large hot spot on the right. 3) In PSE I tried to stamp out the hot spot on the collar of the soldier in the background. I think that's it.



http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-8/812687/Two-Soldiers-C.jpg


I'll be back later when I have more time to comment on others' work.

[tommykjensen]

Tommy - I have to learn how to do that! I love both the foreground and background bokeh.


Hehe it was easy ;-)

To be honest the photo was not shot specifically for this theme. I was killing time and was just shooting photographers at a busy square and people were constanly walking between me and that lady so I had to wait for the right time just to get the lady and then it just turned out as it did with good dof.

[Meaty0]

Great shots everyone.

Sarivrose: Love the sepia conversion of the tracks. It really suits the subject.

BeccaNH: I like how you got the flower and grasses lit against a dark background. It really makes the subject stand out well. I have a question though. How did you make use of the Brush Tool to alter your image?

BLS: Great shots. I'd be interested to know your lens and settings. (No EXIF data.)

Paul

[Meaty0]

I hope this is alright, but I'm posting one more. Since I got out of doing the pruning (see earlier post), guess what I decided to do instead...:D

I always take my camera with me so I thought I'd see how narrow I could get the DOF without making the background unrecognisable. I was surprised to see it was f/16. Guess it's because of the short focal distance (1meter). No PP done except for USM and conversion for upload.

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/8711/golfrf3.jpg

[joayne]

A wonderful use of DOF....;)
Short focal choice leads one to the flag.

Do you putt that well?

[cfpackerfan]

Ok, first let me say, I'm loving the different shots that everyone has posted. It seems that the simpler the theme is, the more diverse the ideas are.

BeckyN: I enjoyed perusing your website, and reading up on your PP of theatre shots. Very interesting. (Oh, totally off subject, but, "Godspell" is one of my favorite theatre performances. Great shots you have of that one)
Hope you have a good reunion shoot; looking forward to seeing a couple of your shots. :)

MeatyO: Im so glad you werent seriously injured, and that the day ended well with a nice round of golf. ;) I loved both of your shots.

Tommy: I love the perspective of your shot. And the recap of your battery mishap. ;)

Condyk: Interesting subject, and excellent use of DOF. Your PP really works for that shot too. Amazing what a little tweaking in the 'red' department can do, eh?

Claire: love the clothespins. I like the difference in colors and textures. The chocolate speaks for itself. Excellent shot!

Joayne: I think I have seen those flowers before. They are very pretty, and definitely make an interesting photo subject. Well done. Beautiful.

BeccaNH: I absolutely LOVE the colors and the DOF in that shot. Really draws your eyes to the flower. You did a great job on the PP. Beautiful photo.

Sari: I wish the weeds around my house were that pretty! :) I absolutely LOVE your shot of the tracks. The sepia conversion fits perfectly!

BLS: I also had a bit of a block with this theme (I'm better with the difficult ones) But I love what you came up with. Interesting subject, for sure. :)

OK, time for mine.
I used as a subject some angel figurines that I got from my best friend for my birthday a few years ago.
Manual focus on all three of these shots. Total DOF control. :) No PP on these except for resizing for web.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v436/cfpackerfan/1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v436/cfpackerfan/2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v436/cfpackerfan/3.jpg

Then, in the intersest of space, I put all 3 PPd images on one canvas:
PP includes...
tweaking levels a bit to lighten
sharpening
slight cropping
decreased red tones
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v436/cfpackerfan/Angels.jpg

[Becca]

BeccaNH: I like how you got the flower and grasses lit against a dark background. It really makes the subject stand out well. I have a question though. How did you make use of the Brush Tool to alter your image?


I use a curves adjustment layer to lighten or darken areas of a photo rather than burning or dodging. I create a new curves adjustment layer and adjust it until the area of the picture that I want to lighten or darken looks the way I want it to. CTRL+I to invert the layer (when you do this, it appears that the curves layer has become invisible). Then if you "paint" over the areas of the photo that you want to darken or lighten, it allows the curves layer to show through on the areas you are trying to adjust.

Hope that makes sense!

[Becky N]

Posting quickly before I have to head to work:( .

The family this weekend, had a worship service they wanted us to shoot. I caught this shot and love the story it tells. The DOF I chose A) was the best aperature I could get at the 60 shutter speed needed under the florescent lights; B) I knew would isolate the individual while still putting them into the service setting

First the original PP only from Raw and resized for here:
http://performancephoto.us/images/Thumbs/060716%20DOF.jpg

For PP I decided to crop to vertical, fix the white balance, and sharpen just a tad:

http://performancephoto.us/images/Thumbs/060716%20DOF%20PP.jpg

I'll be back to comment on other posts, later.

[In2Photos]

Paul- Glad to hear that you were not hurt seriously. Initially I thought perhaps someone was hurt badly. Great story telling shot though and nice PP work.

Tommy- I think you have that DOF nailed. She just jumps right out at you.

Dave- Beautiful colors in the first. I have always liked the contrast between orange and blue. The second is nice as well after the PP. A little dull before it.

Claire- I hope you don't hang your undergarments on those. The orange one would surely grab someone's attention.:p The DOF on the chocolate shot makes it look slightly melted. Nice touch.

Joayne- Nice flower and the PP on this shot gives that little extra umph.

Becca- Not sure exactly what does it for me on this shot but the flower really shines nicely in the PPed version.

Sari- On the first the detail in the shadows has gone away. I really like the added saturation but the shadows are just too black now. The second however really looks great in monotone (maybe duotone). It pulls the eye right down the tracks.

Barbara- That little bit of PP really works wonders. The second shot looks fabulous.

Paul again- You are killing me. I badly want to get out and play but it has been too hot and humid to even think about playing. Thanks for the beauty of a shot though.

Cat- Interesting idea. At first glance of the PPed shot the top and bottom photo look almost identical. I had to examine the first shots to see the difference in focal points. Very nice.

Becky- Great capture of the little boy. Did they run out of sheets for him to look at?;) I prefer the crop of the original though. It still puts the focus on him but provides a better overall story, IMO.

I hope to post mine a little later.

[Meaty0]

Becky That's a classic shot Becky. I can sympathise with that little boy. :-)

[In2Photos]

Here is my lame attempt this week. I didn't take any shots specifically for this this theme as I was a little busy. I managed to get one show that shows a little DOF. Here is the before:

94887

PP involved correction in ACR for WB, slight exposure/shadow/brightness/contrast followed by curves on everything but her eyes. then a little USM, local contrast USM, and framing script.

94888

[eenorton]

Oh! My! Gosh!! I was so distracted and excited about the plans to go to Africa ( http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=192361 ) that I completely and totally forgot about this weeks challenge! :oops:

What a great variety of shots y'all posted! I think this week's challenge, more than any other, resulted in some wonderful explanations of the thoughts behind the shots in addition to the pp everyone employed. Thanks for all of those.

[Becky N]

BeccaNH - Is that Queen Ann's Lace? You certainly made it pop with your DOF selection and then the PP.

Sari - I love how you got the purple to pop, my favorite color:) and adding the sepia to the tracks was a wonderful idea. I may use it for some rail shots I have.

Barbara - Your touchups certainly improved the composition of your shot. Gettysburg was a great historical area when I was a kid, when I went back a couple of years ago I was amazed how they improved on an already good thing. I love the taped tours you can purchase and some day I'm going to hire one of the guides for a ride-a-long.

MeatyO - Pinnacle could use this for an ad, the DOF is perfect, IMHO.

Cat - Thanks for visiting our web site, Godspell was the first show Curtis N and I performed in together. Great idea to focus on each individual angel, but; then to group them is outstanding, I really like the result.

Mike - Perfect crop, I like the little story with the two front teeth showing and then her toothbrush. Good dental care can't start too early. The DOF with the hand reaching out is great and I like your PP particularly the crop.

Over the weekend I thought of an idea for the this week, do you think it is coming back to me now that I'm on the 'puter? NOT!!:mad: Hopefully it will return by the time the discussions starts.

[Claire]

Claire- I hope you don't hang your undergarments on those. The orange one would surely grab someone's attention.:p The DOF on the chocolate shot makes it look slightly melted. Nice touch.

In2Photos,
I don't usally hang my underwear outdoors... ;)

[In2Photos]

Mike - Perfect crop, I like the little story with the two front teeth showing and then her toothbrush. Good dental care can't start too early. The DOF with the hand reaching out is great and I like your PP particularly the crop.

Over the weekend I thought of an idea for the this week, do you think it is coming back to me now that I'm on the 'puter? NOT!!:mad: Hopefully it will return by the time the discussions starts.

Thanks Becky. I hope you remember your idea.

In2Photos,
I don't usally hang my underwear outdoors... :wink:
Usually huh. So there is that rare occasion?:lol:

[Claire]

Usually huh. So there is that rare occasion?:lol:[/QUOTE]

No! :p That's what the drying closet is for. hehe

[wu_wei0]

Nice photos everyone. Wonderfully diverse. It is good to see evidence of your processes as well.

~wu

[cfpackerfan]

I enjoyed everyone's contributions this week.
I know it's only Tuesday, but does anyone have ideas for our next weekend?

Does 'Black and White' appeal to anyone?

[saravrose]

I enjoyed everyone's contributions this week.
I know it's only Tuesday, but does anyone have ideas for our next weekend?

Does 'Black and White' appeal to anyone?

as in shooting the colors black and white or converting things to black and white??

[cfpackerfan]

Whichever. Open to interpretation, as usual. ;)

[Claire]

I really like B&W as a theme. I can't believe we haven't had it already!

Yep,my votes is for this one. :)

[Meaty0]

I enjoyed everyone's contributions this week.
I know it's only Tuesday, but does anyone have ideas for our next weekend?

Does 'Black and White' appeal to anyone?

I like this idea. What about we add more to it to make it just a little more challenging for this weekend. What about SOMETHING OLD CONVERTED TO BLACK AND WHITE?

You know...an antique watch, an old fence, an old tree. I find "old things" tend to make better B&W subjects.

Paul

[joayne]

I like this idea. What about we add more to it to make it just a little more challenging for this weekend. What about SOMETHING OLD CONVERTED TO BLACK AND WHITE?

You know...an antique watch, an old fence, an old tree. I find "old things" tend to make better B&W subjects.

Paul

I don't know if I want to do a self portrait :p

[cfpackerfan]

I don't know if I want to do a self portrait :p

:p LOL.

[condyk]

My area is full of old things and I like B&W so I am happy with the theme. I would also like to hear what people use and how they do their B&W conversions. Mine are OK, but then some people just do an amazing job.

[Becky N]

Thanks Becky. I hope you remember your idea.

I did just as I was falling asleep last night. Due to my unpredictable memory:rolleyes: , I've written it on a post-it, along with a couple of others that came to mind, and put it on my computer for next week.

I like the Black and White idea being discussed for this week. I'm also interested in hearing how others PP for B&W.

[In2Photos]

Black and white is OK with me, but I would prefer to not limit it to things that are old. Of course it would be fine if you shot something old, but it could also be not old.:)

[Claire]

I just want Black & White and with everyone explaining how they converted the shot. Maybe like this past weekend, insert the colour version of the shot as well so we can see the difference.

[condyk]

I just want Black & White and with everyone explaining how they converted the shot. Maybe like this past weekend, insert the colour version of the shot as well so we can see the difference.

I likee ... last week was kinda 'educashunal' and useful, so B&W anything with some PP tips if you want to add any.

[In2Photos]

Or perhaps we can try different conversion methods to determine which works best for us. Should we limit it to only B&W and no sepia or other duotone image?

[Pete]

My effort. Ironically, it's pretty much the first picture I took with the camera, and was very pleased with the blurring of the foreground tree and building.

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/7/7/114400/test_shots_004-small.JPG

If blurred background is "bokeh", is a blurred foreground called "fokeh"?

[Claire]

If blurred background is "bokeh", is a blurred foreground called "fokeh"?

I'm over tired, too hot from the sunshine, stressed cos my boss made me write a press release in an hour and I'm also dehydrated. I probably shouldn't find the "fokeh" as fun as I am right now...:lol:

[cfpackerfan]

If blurred background is "bokeh", is a blurred foreground called "fokeh"?

:lol: LOL. And welcome. Glad you could join us. :D

Hey..could you say, "Where in the fokeh is the bokeh?"

[joayne]

Hey..could you say, "Where in the fokeh is the bokeh?"

:p

[saravrose]

black and white is almost in its own category.. I find it fasinating how folks get some of the results they achieve.. and i'm always thrilled with any pp advice/tips...

sari

[Meaty0]

black and white is almost in its own category.. I find it fasinating how folks get some of the results they achieve.. and i'm always thrilled with any pp advice/tips...

sari

You're dead right there. B&W seems too easy to me. Virtually just take a picture of anything you like and change it to black and white. So the challenge is "change something to B&W and tell us how you did it". I thought the idea of this thread was to inspire you to get out and take photos, not sit on your arse in front of the computer.

[saravrose]

You're dead right there. B&W seems too easy to me. Virtually just take a picture of anything you like and change it to black and white. So the challenge is "change something to B&W and tell us how you did it". I thought the idea of this thread was to inspire you to get out and take photos, not sit on your arse in front of the computer.

you do have a point there.. Okay, I like the black and white idea and think we should use it but we also need a composition theme.. any ideas folks?..

[cfpackerfan]

Well, 'old' was suggested, and I do like that idea, but 'aged' was a previous theme, so I think it may be redundant.

How about "life"

the vibrancy of life
the quality of life
the beauty of life
new life

[condyk]

I think there is a lot more to a good B&W than 'just take a picture of anything you like and change it to black and white.'

When you have an image that you took knowing you'd change it to B &W then how you 'change' it in PP has a profound impact on the final look and feel. It's a continous workflow from initial idea, through how you take it, to conversion. It's not 'sitting on your arse'. If you need to use 'something old' to give a B&W shot impact then it sounds like 'imitation' rather than 'creation'. Use of B&W is perfectly contemporary.

[wu_wei0]

I agree with Dave. A really good B/W is seen from the beginning as b/w. Doesn't mean that you can't shoot something and later decide to convert it and have it look great, just that there really is an art/craft/science to seeing it from the beginning and then seeing it through.

insisting on a contrivance doesn't feel "right" somehow, and seems very limiting. I do very much like the idea of just plain old "black and white" for a theme. then anyone can interpret it as they may: shoot a black and white object, shoot something old and convert it, take modernist spin, op, pop, contemorary . . . black and white is ageless. If people want to show their process, great.

my.025 cents worth

~wu

[Meaty0]

No, No, Noooooooooo....

If we don't have something that gets us out of the house and away from the computer, I'll have no excuse to get out of pruning that bloody tree in the back yard...:-(

[In2Photos]

No, No, Noooooooooo....

If we don't have something that gets us out of the house and away from the computer, I'll have no excuse to get out of pruning that bloody tree in the back yard...:-(

Ok so it is B&W for everyone except Meaty, who has B&W of something old.:D

[BLS]

I was thinking about B&W as a theme and how I know nothing about B&W conversion. The few times I did B&W I just used Desaturate in PS Elements. So I thought this might be a good opportunity to force myself to learn. I did a search here on the subject & found some conversion techniques. They were talking about Channels in PS. Funny, I thought, I don't remember Channels in PSE. So I searched the Help index, and, guess what, there was no mention of Channels.

What I'm leading up to is that I think my capacity for B&W is rather limited. But that's okay, I'll still try B&W as a theme.

Just wondering if I'm the only one with limited B&W capacity. Or maybe I have more capacity than I think, but am too ingnorant to know it. :)

[cfpackerfan]

Nah, Barbara, you aren't alone. As a fellow PSE user, my skills are limited also. I learn a bit here, and a bit there. We'll learn together. ;)
I like the 'open' idea of black and white (Wu said it perfectly)

[In2Photos]

Actually this will be part 20 and I believe that Sari is supposed to pick the theme for this week. Am I wrong?

[cfpackerfan]

You're right Mike!
She said that she would pick the theme for #20.

Might have to save black and white for next week. :)

[wu_wei0]

I agree with Cat, B and W for next week.

OK Sari- you're on!! wish I could type a good drum roll.

~wu

[cfpackerfan]

Just to refresh your memory Sari.... (in case you were going to argue.... ;) )

You said it right HERE (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=1572534&postcount=189)

[saravrose]

haha.. jeez folks that was a long time ago when we were pretty much taking turns choosing themes.. the process has tweaked a little bit. And, guess what. I love black and white and have been a little obsessed with it since seeing some of my friends work taken with film and a twenty-year-old pentax... So, if it is my turn I'd like to go ahead with black and white but reserve the right at a later time to do a round of dictatorship...LOL.. truly, there is something incredible about the feel of it. As though, once the red shirt, purple tie, yellow flowers is removed the composition has to be able to stand on it's own feet without color to draw your eye and make the photo pop. the photo has to carry it's own weight... I also love that hard light pieces that don't work in color, when converted to black and white can have an impact all their own...

sari

[Becky N]

Woo Hoo, my son just called they are going to induce tomorrow, so I think I might be able to come up with a B&W of my first grandchild...sometime...this weekend.:D

[cfpackerfan]

Congratulations Grandma!!! :)

[In2Photos]

Woo Hoo, my son just called they are going to induce tomorrow, so I think I might be able to come up with a B&W of my first grandchild...sometime...this weekend.:D

Oddly enough a friend of mine and his wife are expecting. She is also going to be induced tomorrow. We might have some matching pics.:D She will be delivering 3 weeks early as there is no room for the baby and there is not much fluid. What is the reason your son's baby is being induced?

[Claire]

Congratulations Becky! Hope all goes well.

[eenorton]

Woo Hoo, my son just called they are going to induce tomorrow, so I think I might be able to come up with a B&W of my first grandchild...sometime...this weekend.:D


Oh boy!!!! (or girl!)
http://www.elstopsis.nl/Smilies01a=+/BAC1storkbaby03HL2.gif

Enjoy!!!!

[cfpackerfan]

Can't wait to see all the baby pictures. :)

So, Sari, the theme sticks as Black and White? You have any rules for us?

[Becky N]

Congratulations Grandma!!!

Thanks Cat. And since I'm Aunt Bucky, there is also an Aunt Becky, to my nieces and nephews, my hope is to be Grandma Bucky.;) And don't worry, there will be plenty of pictures to share. Poor child may never know what it is like to have a picture done at Sears.:D

What is the reason your son's baby is being induced?

Well, when I spoke to my son last Sunday, he told me she was going to ask to be induced because it has been so hot. Times have changed since I was pregnant in the Mojave desert I might add:rolleyes: But she has also been dialated for a couple of weeks so there may be more to it than what he initially told me. Either way, I did warn him, from what I have heard and saw when I worked maturnity, it is a rougher time.


Oh boy!!!! (or girl!)
http://www.elstopsis.nl/Smilies01a=+/BAC1storkbaby03HL2.gif


Boy - Aiden Robert . Me thinks God knows I can handle boys, three brothers, no sisters, a son, and a husband. Boys are all I know.:lol:

[Meaty0]

Ok so it is B&W for everyone except Meaty, who has B&W of something old.:D

Nope...don't need no special conditions for me. I'm happy to accept that I won't like EVERY weekend "challenge". I'm happy to hold off for one that I do like the sound of.

One further suggestion that might be worth discussion. What about setting the topic a week in advance, and having a whole week to get the photographs instead of just the weekend? Gives us a bit more time to contemplate the shot we want to get. Sound worthwhile?

Paul (NOT Pauly)

EDIT: BTW...congratulations BeckyN. I'm sure you're too young to be a grandmother :-)

[saravrose]

Can't wait to see all the baby pictures. :)

So, Sari, the theme sticks as Black and White? You have any rules for us?

no.. I think I like the idea of keeping it simple.. too many rules and it feels like a school assignment and folks lose interest..

sari

[Claire]

Ok, B&W. No Rules on composition. Just two B&W shots. :)

[tommykjensen]

Ok, B&W. No Rules on composition. Just two B&W shots. :)

Agree :p

[Claire]

One further suggestion that might be worth discussion. What about setting the topic a week in advance, and having a whole week to get the photographs instead of just the weekend? Gives us a bit more time to contemplate the shot we want to get. Sound worthwhile?

I could go for this. Gives us more time to get photos, like Meaty0 says.

[Claire]

Agree :p

Yeah, men tend to do it my way after a while. :p

[In2Photos]

Well, when I spoke to my son last Sunday, he told me she was going to ask to be induced because it has been so hot. Times have changed since I was pregnant in the Mojave desert I might add:rolleyes: But she has also been dialated for a couple of weeks so there may be more to it than what he initially told me. Either way, I did warn him, from what I have heard and saw when I worked maturnity, it is a rougher time.



Boy - Aiden Robert . Me thinks God knows I can handle boys, three brothers, no sisters, a son, and a husband. Boys are all I know.:lol:

My friend's baby is here already. They checked in last night and she was administered a cervical cream around 6 pm. Around midnight she started having back pain and an hour later and 3, count em 3, pushes later he was born. 5 lbs. 8 oz. Not sure if we are going up there tonight or tomorrow, but if it is tonight I might have to cheat on time frame this week.

[saravrose]

Nope...don't need no special conditions for me. I'm happy to accept that I won't like EVERY weekend "challenge". I'm happy to hold off for one that I do like the sound of.

One further suggestion that might be worth discussion. What about setting the topic a week in advance, and having a whole week to get the photographs instead of just the weekend? Gives us a bit more time to contemplate the shot we want to get. Sound worthwhile?

Paul (NOT Pauly)

EDIT: BTW...congratulations BeckyN. I'm sure you're too young to be a grandmother :-)

It seems that the format for the whole thing would change quite a bit... I rather enjoyed the time limits that made you shoot within a cetain amount of time, it seems that your asking for the whole point of the threads to change.. and, if it is no longer working for the group as a whole than we can change.. I'm not inflexible..

I Just think that this is about shooting, getting out and about and thinking on your feet.. If you want more notice as to what the theme's will be that certainly sounds reasonable and we can absolutely discuss it.. As of now the way things have run in this thread has been effective.. The theme ideas usually open up on their own. Sometimes somthing is chosen as easly as Tuesday and sometimes i'm making the final decision on Friday night.. It just depends on how much input folks put in as the week goes by...

There have been several themes that 've been less than thrilled with.. But, I haven't sat out on any of them and have been pleased that I at the very least made the attempt... It's all for preference.. So, with fair play in mind.. If anyone has some concerns,l complaintsor suggestions PM me or post them...

sari

[condyk]

The original idea was to put aside a sinle, easy to remember and accessible time each week to shoot and that short time would be shared amongst everyone. A single day was deemed too inflexible and a weekend agreed as pretty flexible for most. Having the whole week to shoot gets us along the road of the competitions, i.e. the theme is announced in advance and people have a week or two to shoot. Between this approach here and the competition approach most people's needs can be covered. I have shot every weekend even if I didn't like some. Every weekend I have got plenty of shots for myself and also managed to find shots for here. I personally don't want it to change. You can never please everyone.

[wu_wei0]

I shoot- or do what I can in that direction-- every weekend. I enjoy it. I don't post too often now due to worsening troubles with the DR.
Is there any reason why those that want a weekly without it being competition can't start a thread? I might even participate on occasion once a workable camera is in hand.

~wu

[tommykjensen]

Is there any reason why those that want a weekly without it being competition can't start a thread? I might even participate on occasion once a workable camera is in hand.

~wu

Everybody is free to start another initiative if they like. With 65000+ members there will certainly be enough members to participate.

Doing the shooting during the weekend suits me well as that is when I do most of my shooting anyway so if there were a whole week to do the shooting wouldn't make a big difference for me.

[In2Photos]

Maybe we could just meet somewhere in the middle and include Friday as a shooting day. I love playing the arbitrator.:D

[Meaty0]

Well the reason I suggested it was simply that a lot of photographers have "work" to do on the weekend.

I have to work (in my usual job) Saturday mornings, and this weekend I have to shoot a senior formal (like a Prom) Saturday afternoon, then Sunday it's church and gardening (:(), and it leaves me with just a couple of hours to get out and do the photos.

I'm sure a lot of people have to work week-ends, so it would be nice to at least know what the upcoming week's shot was to give you time to plan and shoot. You could still make the posting time Saturday to Sunday.

It's just a suggestion for discussion, but if you want to keep it the same, well that's okay too.

EDIT: Why can't people get married, have Proms, Graduate etc on a week day :-(

[saravrose]

Well the reason I suggested it was simply that a lot of photographers have "work" to do on the weekend.

I have to work (in my usual job) Saturday mornings, and this weekend I have to shoot a senior formal (like a Prom) Saturday afternoon, then Sunday it's church and gardening (:(), and it leaves me with just a couple of hours to get out and do the photos.

I'm sure a lot of people have to work week-ends, so it would be nice to at least know what the upcoming week's shot was to give you time to plan and shoot. You could still make the posting time Saturday to Sunday.

It's just a suggestion for discussion, but if you want to keep it the same, well that's okay too.

EDIT: Why can't people get married, have Proms, Graduate etc on a week day :-(

I understand completely Paul, trule. my weekends are the busiest part of my work week and often have less than an hour to get my shots done between work and other responsibilities.. as for coming up with themes.. maybe there is a format that we can come up with to discuss them earlier in the week.. But, I generally try to start discussion of what to shoot by Monday.. there have been weeks where a theme was decided while other folks were still submitting photos. But, it really depends on how much involvment members are going to have.. how much input of ideas and the kind of responses received..

sari

[Becky N]

My friend's baby is here already. 5 lbs. 8 oz.

Congrats to your friend. Sounds like it went much easier than was expected. My goodness, small baby considering the reasons for inducing. Glad everyone is doing well.

No grandson yet, they started inducing around noon. I'm giving them the elbow room I enjoyed when I had CJ (darling son), some quiet time together to get aquainted as a new family. We'll go see them tomorrow or Sunday, depending on when Aiden actually arrives, loaded down with digital cameras and lenses:D . We aren't telling any of our family that she is even in labor, thought we would e-mail them all with a picture and all the stats layered in a corner. Then call everyone telling them to check their email. A bit evil:evil: :evil: perhaps, but then our families wouldn't expect anything less from us.:rolleyes:

It just depends on how much input folks put in as the week goes by...

The weekends are when I get out and shoot so the present parameters work for me. Though I missed a few weekends in the beginning, I look forward to the Friday morning post that makes the theme "official". Two suggestions were given that seem reasonable to me:

1. Try to have the theme buttoned down a tad earlier in the week, perhaps by Wednesday evening?

2. Begin the weekend a few hours earlier. Shucks, I consider 5:00 PM on Fridays to be the official start of the weekend. Once I tell my computer at work to "SHUT DOWN" :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Meaty0]

Starting the discussion on Monday sounds good.

[joayne]

Hey, Meaty, a double post and your posts numbers didn't change....

I think starting Friday evening through Sunday night is good. I like that it is a week end shoot. And, yeah, we all have things that we are doing during the week and on the week-ends, but I'll bet most of the time there will be an image that fits the theme. I am out of town this week end, but I think I'll find something that I can convert...hmmmm

[Meaty0]

Hey, Meaty, a double post and your posts numbers didn't change....



Sorry:oops: I must have pressed the submit button half way through typing. I'll go away now.