|
Welcome to the 14th issue of the Digital Darkroom
Hi
Exciting news for contest-goers! The finalists in the April contest have been posted for your viewing enjoyment. As usual, the entries were outstanding; in fact, there were so many worthy images that we decided to choose a few more finalists than usual this time! See April's finalists at:
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/dynoGall2.asp?catID=3533
In this month's Digital Darkroom, be sure to check out our regular features. For instance, in Featured Photo, find out how an ordinary lemon can be turned into an eye-popping collage of colors. In Digital Before and After, see a wolf howling first at the sky, next at a small moon, and then at a supersized moon; finally, read how it was done. Also, our lineup of Photoshop courses has never been better: see below for the specifics.
And, once again, BetterPhoto members have posted some outstanding images, contributed to discussions, and shared many tips and tricks. A great selection appears in this issue of Digital Darkroom.
To read the online version of the Digital Darkroom at our Web site, visit http://www.betterphoto.com/digitalpics/
Have a great month!
Jim Miotke
http://www.betterphoto.com/MG.asp?ID=124
In This Issue: Sunday, May 16, 2004
Featured Photo: United Colours of a Lemon...??!!
 United Colours of a Lemon...??!! I used Layer effects in PS to create this image, and adjusted the saturation, hue and lighting. © Emanuel R.L Marcos Kodak Easy Share D... |
 Howling Sans Moon Wolf photographed at Triple D in California Sierra Foothills. |  Howling at the (Small) Moon Wolf photographed at Triple D in California Sierra Foothills. Moon added in Photoshop. |  Howling at the (Supersized) Moon Wolf photographed at Triple D in California Sierra Foothills. Moon added later (duh) |
| Each month, the best Before and After will be featured in the Digital Darkroom. To participate, upload a Before (original) picture then start a discussion on it (using the Discuss This Photo link under the picture). After telling us how you did created the effect, select "1" or "2" from the Upload Image pull-down menu, and submit an optional intermediate image and a final (After) photo. Aim to educate and inspire by sharing a concise, detailed explanation of your technique. Enjoy! |
In A Class By Itself: BetterPhoto's Summer School!
| BetterPhoto's online courses include something for just about everyone. In addition to our "traditional" courses, we have an exciting lineup of online Photoshop classes! For example: Jim Miotke's Beginning Photoshop for Photographers; Photoshop for Photographers with Guest Instructor Kathleen T. Carr; Photoshop for Photographers with Guest Instructor Joe McDonald; Jim Zuckerman's Creative Techniques in Photoshop; Lewis Kemper's Photographer's Toolbox for Photoshop series (Toolbox #1 and Toolbox #2); George Schaub's Digital Black and White Printing. See all the courses at: Learn more... |
New Photo Discussions
New Photo Discussion 1: Radial Abstract
- Casey A. Hanson See Casey's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Magnificent, Lori. I got exhausted just reading about the work involved with this. I'm convinced that we'll be seeing this one again in a month or so. Extremely well done, my very dear friend. - Allan L. Whitehead See Allan's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit ArrowheadFotos.com - Allan's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 2:Very nicely done. Creatively altered. I love the colors. I think the Creative Warp filters are my favorite filters to play with. - Marcie Fowler Response 3:Thank you so much Casey, Allan and Marcie. Allan, thanks for the vote of confidence! :) - Lori Ditlefsen See Lori's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 2: Water Lilly
- Charlene Bayerle See Charlene's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit PictureThisbyChar.com - Charlene's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 1:Looks like a little volcano erupting in the center of that luscious purple, Stan - a beautiful and vibrant image! - Mary K. Robison See Mary's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 3: Bouquet in Waiting #1
- Janice Forrest See Janice's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:This is beautiful, Dale Ann. I appreciate your description on how you did it. - Tammy McAllister Response 2:Terrific, Dale Ann. I love the softness and sepia!!! The selective coloring is great! - Susan T. Evans See Susan's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:Has a nice "Shabby Chic" feel to it ... well done, Dale Ann! - Brinn MacDougall See Brinn's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 4:Brinn, that's exactly the feeling I was going for! I love Shabby Chic, and hoped that was the feeling I was conveying here! Thanks for your comment! You made my day!! - Dale Ann Cubbage See Dale Ann's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 4: Flute on A Pile of Dirty Clothes
- Dale Ann Cubbage See Dale Ann's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Norm, you think of the craziest, most wonderful things to capture!!! This is great ... it's got interest ... it's very pretty with the effect. And guess what? It's not ... boring!!! Good for you!!! - Elizabeth J. Bernier See Elizabeth's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Hey, Beth (great big smile!): Thanks again, good buddy!Norm ,:-) - Norman P. Banks See Norman 's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 5: Edmonton
- Sharon D. Waters See Sharon's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Very creative, Ashley! I like the texture, gives it even more of an urban feel. - Deborah Sandidge See Deborah's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Very neat! The effect makes it look as if it's been done with a metallic foil or something. Nancy | |
New Photo Discussion 6: Delightful Daffodil
- Theresa McCloskey See Theresa's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Terrific image, Marcie. You are the champ of unique presentation. My compliments to the chef. - Paul Michko Response 2:Well done, Marcie. You're creating some very unique images and having a lot of fun in the process. Keep up the great work! - Kenton L. Elliott Visit firesands.com - Kenton's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 3:Wow. Thanks so much everyone for the wonderful comments. They are greatly appreciated. I have to admit I had a lot of fun creating this one. - Marcie Fowler Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 7: Master Painter?
- Cindy Cone Visit cconephotos.com - Cindy's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 1:Thanks, Cindy, and after having visited your very nice online gallery, my guess is that we're neighbors by around 40-50 miles (to your north). - David L. Shannon Response 2:cute! - Kristen W See Kristen's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 8: Dreamy Cream Tulips
- Dale Ann Cubbage See Dale Ann's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Hi Janet! Very nice tulips! I've been experimenting with some today. - Jessica Hughes See Jessica's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Thank you, Ladies! This was a nice photo without the gradient layer, but I like it better with it. Hope no one is getting bored with all the flower photos. After the winter we've had, I can't get enough of them! - Janet L. Detota Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 9: Beach Fun
- Donna J. Taff See Donna's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Thank you! My grandson and I had a lot of fun at the beach. He is 21 months old and such a joy to spend time with. - Rebecca Dickensauge See Rebecca's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Wonderful capture, Rebecca. Like you, I also love the expression on your grandson's face! All that you've done to your shot is very effective, and the frame around it just sets the whole image off perfectly! Great work ,Rebecca! - Carolyn J. Connolly Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 10: Bagel 2
- HEIDI L. PARRAS Response 1:Thanks. I use Adobe Photoshop for just about everything. This is very simple. After I converted to B/W, I just digitally hand-colored the bagels in with the paintbrush tool. I usually use the color-blending mode. - Jennifer L. Rabinowitz Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 11: Desert Light Fantasy
- Julie Turner See Julie's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Thank you, Julie :) While I think we are lucky, as photographers, to capture a moment, this was my first real try at compositing to get an idea out of my head. I used 4 of my pictures, which were originally 1) a hawk flying overhead, 2) a sunset, 3) the mountains/desert (taken from a plane as we approached the airport), and 4) a cactus. I used some PS plug-ins (Mystical Lighting, Mystical Tint and Color, Shadow) as well as PS tools, and will probably make the cactus shadows more evident in a redo. One thing I realized from doing this project is that some pictures you take may not be so great in and of themselves, but they may have promising elements to use in the future. (Isn't digital photography great? We can be closet pack rats!) Thus, I am now not so quick to delete some photos. - Carolina K. Smith Visit CarolinaSmith.com - Carolina K.'s Deluxe BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 12: Simply Beautiful
- Wally Orlowsky See Wally's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Very pretty image. Man, those eyes really stand out! - Rob Friedman See Rob's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Wow!! This is simply beautiful, Bill!! Awesome job!!!!! - Charlene Bayerle See Charlene's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit PictureThisbyChar.com - Charlene's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 3:It is really nice Bill, but I don't get it. Sorry! Is it actually a person and you have done something to it? To me, it looks hand-drawn, but it's still nice. - Rebecca Harrison Response 4:Thank you all. Rebecca, don't be sorry. I appreciate your comment. Yes, it is a friend's daughter. I've posted a photo of her, previously, titled Briana. In this photo, I took her naturally blue eyes, enhanced them and her lips, and muted the rest of her features in order to highlight her eyes and expression. Best of the day to all. - William Raco See William's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 13: Liquid Gold
- Vern E. Wahlberg See Vern's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Eric, this is awesome! The effects are fantastic! Looks like a winner to me! - Dale Ann Cubbage See Dale Ann's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Heaps of thanks, Vern and Dale!! I work with iPhoto software on my Mac, and it allows me to crop, convert to B/W and sepia. Also, I can adjust the contrast and brightness in iPhoto. I shot this one in B/W from my camera setting and converted to sepia through iPhoto. I have no Photoshop. I collected the leaves from neighboring trees (in Tokyo, that's not an easy thing) and laid them in a plate of water and set them on the table near the window for natural light. My camera was on a tripod. I tried to capture the reflective light off the water. I bracketed to find the best exposure for this effect. Finally, I tweaked with the brightness and contrast levers. This is something I have done with a model in some water and was able to make that liquid silver look in B/W. This time I found gold with sepia. There you go, my secret is out. - Eric Schneider Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 14: Spring Has Sprung
- Ria H. Hayden Response 1:Cora, beautiful shot. Love the soft colors and the way you framed the picture. - Randi Heimert Response 2:I thought that was you in my backyard ... lol ... never too much color ... wonderful. What is Dave's Dream Filter ... help! - Cathy I. Barrows See Cathy's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:Well, they sure gave you a great image. Excellent lighting and beautiful spring colors. The dreamy look works well here. Great job, Cora. - Darren K. Fisher See Darren's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 4:Thanks so much everyone. Your comments are certainly appreciated. Cathy, the filter is an action that you can run in PS. I'll email you the link. - Cora Miller Response 5:I am a little confused. What is Dave's Dream Filter in Paint Shop? I have not seen that. What am I missing in the lingo? ;) www.blairknox.com - Blair W. Knox Response 6:Blair, the dream filter is an action written for Photo Shop or Photo Shop Elements which automates several steps so you don't have to execute them individually. It just makes the process quicker. :) - Cora Miller Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
The Next Step: Where to Go From Here
