Before & After 61

[ZeroOne86]

This game is to help those of us who are trying to learn new tricks when it comes to editing.

Here's the breakdown of the game. I will post a picture that I choose, resized to exactly 800 pixels maximum on the long side. Outside of being resized it has to be unedited...meaning no adjustments to any levels, it has to look like it did as it came out of the camera.

The game will last 48hrs and whoever can produce the best edited image (as judged by me) will be picked and it'll be their turn to post their unedited picture for all of us to take a crack at.

The participants must have their "Image Editing OK" turned on and they must provide at least a simple breakdown of how they edited the image, some entrants are a little vague on this point, please give us all details so we can learn and share tips. For instance if you use the unsharp mask tool or Smart Sharpen, provide us with the adjustments you used so others can try them out.

You can post multiple images, but the first image you post will be the one that is judged - all other images will be considered for knowledge and tip use only.

Also, please keep all comments, be they positive or negative, to yourself until after the game has ended.

If you happen to be the winner of the game please start the next one with the title of the game and the following number. For example…the next game should read (Before and After #62).

This is all about having fun so have at it!!!

This will end on Saturday, May 24th at 11pm (EST).

This one I took on the flightline at work a while back will be interesting to see what y'all come up with. Good luck :D

[Foxgguy2001]

A quick go at it... i'm fairly new to photoshop, been using fireworks forever... just tried to allow focus simply on the plane itself... Hope it's at least decent :confused:

cloned out red flags and other destracting items.
Created bracketed exposures in PS.
Processed in photomatix.
Framed

[BitterSweet]

-Cloned out straps, red flags, and line on ground.
-low key filter to lower the blown out sky (no clouds that day at all really lol)
-tonal contrast filter to bring out the details in the jet and ground.
-sunshine filter. Two layer and different opacities one for the jet and ground and then one for just the jet.
-Cropped
-Darken/Lighten center filter because a vignette just didn't seem to work out well.
-Added border and text.

[theflyingkiwi]

OK, Here is my attempt :)


created a mask to remove the sky from the plane and the rest of the background
found a nice sunset photo to full in the sky
create a mask of the buildings and fulled in the area black. change the layer to multiply and change the opacity level of that layer down to 69%
created a bigger shadow to go under the plane and applied a Gaussian blur to it.
copied the layer of the plane and applied some burn tool to the areas I wanted to make darker.
made another copy of the plane and change it to an overlay
applied some dodge tool to this layer to brighten some areas I thought needed to be brightened
added some colour of the sky to the top of the plane to match some of the light coming from the sunset.
adjusted the sky layer with level adjustment to make the sky darker so it seem that the sun is setting more than it really is.
flattened the image and applied a small amount of USM

[PeteJaffa]

Can I include this one just for fun?

[Foxgguy2001]

I actually really dig the magenta/purple sky, and hard shadows. Looks cool.
+1 for the descent spacecraft strafing over the jet... been a long time since I've played descent.

[thekid24]

---had to create vignette using create a layer, filled with white, selected screen blend mode, marquee tool, feathered, inversed, adjusted brightness and contrast, then
merge visible layers
---adjusted curves...made the 'S' shape
---adjusted colors using levels
---switched to LAB colors
---selected 'lightness' under channels
---unsharp mask 50,50,0
---switched back to RGB
---created another layer
---filled with 50% gray

edit: OH YEAH....cropped:)
---set layer to overlay
---added film grain under 'artistic'
---slightly gaussian blurred layer
---merged visible

DONE

[Permagrin]

first added clouds and flattened.
then made 6 total exposures at 2/3 and blended in photomatix.
then added a tonal contrast filter
then added an additional layer of infrared b&w and turned it to multiply (to grunge things up a bit) and opacity 70%
then used a darken edges lighten center filter and flattened and saved

[suzyb]

Sunrise? Sunset?

First I did the usual...levels, contrast, shadows, etc.
Then I added filters in yellow, orange and red.
Added filter-render-lighting effect-omni to make the bright spot behind the plane.
Some noise reduction/sharpening.
Cropped a little bit off the sky.
Added the border...which now I'm not liking too much, but oh well.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2517046308_0a57b61ecb_o.jpg

[Ocron]

This was a fun picture to play with. Here's what I did...

- Graduated filter @70 opacity
- Added the sky using screen blend mode
- Added a 2nd sky layer using normal blend mode @15% opacity
- Added a 3rd sky and masked off everything but the birds (they were too transparent before doing this)
- Bleach bypass everything but the sky at 80% opacity
- Bleach bypass the sky at 50% opacity
- LAB soft light apply image, Color blend mode
- Brightened the bottom of the plane a bit
- light vignette and border

http://ocron.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p387446550.jpg

[AngryCorgi]

Ok...I had a vision of this machine having served it's purpose, now many years down the road it sits in a desert graveyard (like in an abandoned airfield)...

*Started with 3 layers (aircraft, ground, background)
*Tossed the background and gave it a mountain-desertesque backdrop
*Used ocean ripple judiciously with a feather to simulate heat-induced ripples near the ground/aircraft
*Painted in some war beauty marks and placed prominent rust marks, stronger near larger joints
*Placed severe rip/gnash marks on the tail
*Dirtied up the glass and made it look abused
*Lensflare originating where the sun was actually setting in the backdrop image
*Roughed up the mountain silhoutte some to lessen its distracting sharpness

And there we are...

[ZeroOne86]

Hey y'all sorry for the hour overlay had to assist the wife on a photo shoot today. I'm picking AngryCorgi as the winner. I think the image looks very cool would have been interesting to see if you added the white coating to the canopy that protects the avionics in the cockpit. The coating that they put on jets that go to Davis-Monthan AFB boneyard. Everyone else great edits and Permagrin I really like how yours turned out it looks like the drawing that we have on our plaques that we hand out for people PCS'ing. Congrats again to AngryCorgi.

[AngryCorgi]

Thanks Zero! You know, I had just watched a special on TV on the B-17, and was inspired by seeing all those great WW2 planes waiting to get the axe. I was mildly tempted to place markers on the side to represent combat kills, but I was not sure if that even occurs anymore. I'll have to research the protective covering so I'll be better educated for future PSing. ;)

Everybody's edits looked great, so I feel all the more honored.

[Permagrin]

congratulations Corgi.

Thanks Zero (I think...I don't know what PSCing is :lol:)

Kiwi, LOVED Your edit...making it a sunset shot (and such a seamless edit too) was a great touch ;)

[theflyingkiwi]

congrats to AngryCorgi, I nice edit.

Thanks Permagrin, your a sweet girl, esp now that your out of the corner ;)

I will look forward to the next photo.

[ZeroOne86]

congratulations Corgi.

Thanks Zero (I think...I don't know what PSCing is :lol:)

Kiwi, LOVED Your edit...making it a sunset shot (and such a seamless edit too) was a great touch ;)

Lol that's whenever we get orders to a different base and I just remembered what it was called, a lithograph thats we give them. Yeah to my knowledge AngryCorgi even though we haven't much recent air to air battles except for one I can't exactly remember the name of atm. There was a few F-15's in a different squadron that had that had taken down a mirage I believe and had two green stars on the side of it.