Painting In CS5? Critique requested

I took this photo a while back. I never really cared for it to much as a photo but I think I really like is as a painting.

C&C please

Original

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Wow.

Very very nice. Both as a photograph and as a painterly conversion.

If you were to force me to nit pick, I might say that the bottom of the frame (ramp leading to the carport and the grass) might be over done relative to the rest of the shot, but that is a minor quibble. It is a beautiful shot, and every time I see shots like this I get so pi**ed that I live in friggin Irvine, the most god-forsaken ugly, characterless place on earth!

Seriously, though, this is quality stuff. Find a gallery that specializes in western motif and offer to consign it. My guess, $500 to $1,000 depending on print size and frame quality.

Rad

The painted version is nice, but I really like your original. Bet B & W would work too.

Radtech1, I agree. I think I sort of went to fast on the first go round. Here is another attempt.
These things sure do take a while to do when there is this much detail involved.

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I think that it looks great, its just the bottom wall which turns to mush. Perhaps you need to mask this and run the effect less severely over this region.

corkneyfonz wrote in post #10555504
I think that it looks great, its just the bottom wall which turns to mush. Perhaps you need to mask this and run the effect less severely over this region.

Was this about the first painted version or the second one?

Try the art history brush for this section, it will crinkle it up avoiding a smudge effect.

Radtech1 wrote in post #10554510
It is a beautiful shot, and every time I see shots like this I get so pi**ed that I live in friggin Irvine, the most god-forsaken ugly, characterless place on earth!

I just wanted to toss a few (possibly rhetorical) comments out there for other folks who may read this. In short, "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence", LOL!!!

Honestly, I think that a great many of us may feel this way about our "home towns" from a photography point of view. I live here in Lorain, Ohio and man...there are days where it feels like I just don't have anything at all worth shooting. Yea, we have Lake Erie just a mile up the road from my house but even there, I feel like I've just shot it too death. Just how many sunset pictures can you really take of an otherwise boring light house to begin with? The Cleveland Metroparks...been there, done that. The Cleveland Zoo...been there, done that. Downtown Cleveland...been there, done that. Even my dogs and cats are at the point that they run when the see the camera come out because I've chased them so much with it! LOL!!! As a photographer, there really are days where I feel like there just isn't much worth shooting that I haven't already shot before...and those ruts can be VERY frustrating to say the least! I'm sure this goes doubly so for folks who live in "rural areas"...just how many "pretty landscapes" and/or pictures of cows can one person really take? "Oh...look...another bail of hay...whoopy".

The trick is...part of it at least...is to looking for things in your own "neighborhood" that you haven't really seen before. Week before last my wife and I were hiking with our dogs in one section of the Lorain County Metroparks. Now we have of course hiked this area MANY times but this time we decided to get "off the beaten path" just a bit and I actually found a small water fall that I didn't even know existed! Right now I'm waiting for a really good rain so that it will -really- be flowing and I'm going to head out and do some long exposures...see if I can come up with some shots that look like those classic shots you see in places such as Hawaii or New Zealand, etc.. With all of the trash at the bottom of the waterfall, including an old newpaper dispensing machine, it should be an interesting challenge!

Also look for local events that may provide some interesting photo opportunities that aren't normally available. Local carnivals (or county fairs) for instance...I just did some long exposure shots of some carnival rides a few weeks back that I'm very pleased with...and I got a really good foot long coney corn dog to boot! LOL!!!

Another thing to consider... Try to see things in ways that you haven't seen them before. I think that a lot of us get stuck in the doldrums of seeing the same things from the same perspectives every day to the point that often you just stop looking at them. You drive past that same park on the way to work or taking the kids to school and it just never seems "interesting" any more. Trying stopping and just walking around looking at things. You may find things of interest that you never really considered before.

Here's another thought...if you're one of those folks who's been doing this for a while - maybe you're a pro or a semi pro using "top of the line gear and lenses" - trying using a completely different camera! Get yourself a "cheap" instamatic and see what you can come up with that way. It's like with my carpenter analogy that I use so often...most carpenters -can- build things using only a simple hand saw and very basic tools but most of them use really good power tools because it's easier, it's more convenient and usually they do a better and more consistent job. That said though, sometimes it's nice to "get back to basics" to give you a sense of perspective. If you've been shooting for a few years...or maybe more than a few years...maybe it's time to break out that old Kodak 110 and find some film for it. Remind yourself of what it was like to do things the hard way to give yourself a new sense of perspective .

BTW...to the OP...great shots. I like the original and I love the "artistic" rendition...very nicely done. I too could see that painted version as a large print framed and hanging somewhere as part of an "Americana" exhibit.

Anyways, just passing on some thoughts that I felt were worth sharing.

Peace,
Jim

Fantastic transformation. Well done.