Welcome to the 19th issue of the Digital Darkroom

Hi

This has been a fantastic month at BetterPhoto! Our fall session of online courses has gotten off to a successful start, but there's still space available. Check out our awesome lineup of classes at:
http://www.betterphoto.com/online-photography-courses.asp

Speaking of autumn, I've been photographing the beautiful foliage in the U.S. Northeast. In fact, you can see a photo from this shoot that accompanies my article on software filters: "For Sharp Results, Try a Filter!" For details on the article, see below.

Also in this issue of Digital Darkroom, check out the Featured Photo, the Before-and-After series, and yet another terrific batch of discussions.

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: Tuesday, October 12, 2004

• Featured Photo: Relic
• Featured Article: Sharpening Your Pictures ... With a Filter - By Jim Miotke
• Digital Before and After
• New Photo Discussion 1: What's Your Flavor?
• New Photo Discussion 2: Collectible Memories=My daughters
• New Photo Discussion 3: Look Into My Eyes
• New Photo Discussion 4: Little League
• New Photo Discussion 5: The World Is Round ...
• New Photo Discussion 6: Alcatraz
• New Photo Discussion 7: Till Death Due Us Part
• New Photo Discussion 8: A Stroll on the Neon Shore
• New Photo Discussion 9: Days Gone By
• New Photo Discussion 10: RGB/CMYK
• New Photo Discussion 11: Fresco Portrait
• New Photo Discussion 12: In the Chips!
• The Next Step: Where to Go From Here

Featured Photo: Relic

Relic kind of spooky. image was desaturated, hand tinted, with moon inserted © Roger D. Meador Canon EOS Digital ...

Featured Article: Sharpening Your Pictures ... With a Filter - By Jim Miotke
Software filters are functions that are designed to create certain effects in your images. Of these filters, says BetterPhoto founder Jim Miotke, the most important is the Unsharp Mask. This filter is the most effective way to make your images as crisp as they can be. Jim shares his thoughts - and tips - in an excellent new article at:
Read more...
 

Digital Before and After

Maxed out Beach cottage in Capitola, California. Hue and saturation levels maxed out in PS Elements 2.

~~~~~

Still Time to Sign Up for Fall Photo Classes!

New Photo Discussions

New Photo Discussion 1: What's Your Flavor? Whats your flavor? Just playing around again with Photo Explosion Deluxe. © Kay E. Mahoney Sony Mavica CD400 ... Kay, you and your husband look great! You guys just have too much fun, and you are soooo creative!!! This is wonderful. I wish we lived closer. We could have so much fun. - Julie Turner See Julie's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Cool image, Kay! - Leanne M.E. Boyd See Leanne's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Thanks, Julie and Leanne. Yes, Julie, it would be fun to live closer to each other and we could teach each other different things about the different software programs we have. You do such a great job with your photos. - Kay E. Mahoney See Kay's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 2: Collectible Memories=My daughters Collectible Memories=My daughters Composite of 3 main photo images from my olympus digital. Created baseball & basketball cards of my daughters by scanning in , then using images I shot to create sports cards. Took another photo of a group of collectible cards, then placed my created cards in the foreground. © Kip Berger Olympus Camedia C-... Great work, Kip!! :-) - Jordi Delgado See Jordi's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Great Job, very original, Love it! - Stacey M. Seufert Response 2:Thank you for your nice comments, Jordi and Stacey. The cards were the hard part to create, but were fun doing. I actually got decent prints of them by themselves. You have a nice gallery, Jordi! Take care. - Kip Berger Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 3: Look Into My Eyes Look Into My Eyes Photo of a co-worker's son. Taken during a photo shoot. Late afternoon light with fill flash. Turned black and white in PS. © Aaron Wilbert Canon EOS Digital ... Really great portrait, Aaron! Like the angle you have used. Looks great in B/W too! - Karen A. Lewis See Karen 's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Great shot! I could stare into his eyes forever. Have to agree with Tonya 100 percent. - Christine S. Hunt Response 2:Thank you all for your comments. I was happy with the way it turned out. And when I made it black and white, it became one of my favorites of the shoot. Everyone is happy with it. Thanks again! - Aaron Wilbert See Aaron's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 4: Little League Little League Little League Catcher ready for the pitch. Background blurred in PS7 to bring main attention to the subject. © Kenton L. Elliott firesands.com Nikon D100 Digital... Terrific image, Kenton!! - Colette M. Metcalf See Colette's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Thank you very much, Collette! Great to hear from you, and I appreciate your comments. I'd love to browse and comment, but now it's off to work for me. Best wishes, and thanks again! - Kenton L. Elliott Visit firesands.com - Kenton's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 2:Great eye-catching COLOR, Composition, pose, and blur in the BG! This is a terrific image! - Donna Rae See Donna's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit DonnaraePhotography.com - Donna's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 3:I really appreciate your comments, Donna! Thank you very much! - Kenton L. Elliott Visit firesands.com - Kenton's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 5: The World Is Round ... the world is round... By the Lima´s riverside after sunset. Toned in PS. © Susana Matos Canon EOS Digital ... Beautiful, Su! - Carolyn Fletcher See Carolyn's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit PickYourShots.com - Carolyn's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 1:Wonderful image and love the title... - Bonnie Lackey See Bonnie's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Wow, this is lovely. Such beautiful texture and composition. Love the foreground flowers and the off-center position of the boat. Very soothing and pleasing image, Su. - William C. Raco See William's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit williamracophotography.com - William's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 3:I love the fish-eye effect, Sus! - Leanne M.E. Boyd See Leanne's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 4:Gorgeous capture, treatment and presentation, Su!! The fish-eye effect is GREAT! - Dan J. Holm See Dan's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 6: Alcatraz Alcatraz This is Alcatraz at sunset taken from the Fisherman's Wharf. I added the moon and the beam of light. The glass is lit up from the reflection of the sunset. I used a 70-300 Promaster lens with a Canon Digital Rebel on a monopod. Critiques welcomed. © Lori Carpenter Canon EOS Digital ... Wow, Lori, I love what you did here. Very creative!!! - Donna Pagakis See Donna's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Thanks, Donna. I loved looking at your member gallery. I was just vacationing in California and had to see Alcatraz (I live in IN and work in a prison). I tried to make it look like what I had pictured. - Lori Carpenter Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 7: Till Death Due Us Part To Honor and Cherish Early evening at outside wedding. Added a light sepia tone and an edge to draw your eye more to the center. © Peggy Wolff Canon EOS 10D Digi... Awesome shot Peggy!! What a wonderful faceless photo of a wedding. What program do you use to do your editing? I can't figure how to add the "edge" you mentioned. - Stephanie McMillan Response 1:Terrific perspective, image design, and crisp B/W tones, Peggy! Well done!! - Murry Grigsby See Murry's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Thank you, Murry and Stephanie! I should change the title on this: What I liked about it most was that this is a strong christian couple who puts Christ at the center of their relationship. In this photo, the Bible is in the center of their hands. I just thought that was cool. Stephanie, I forget that I added "WOW" to my PS. I use PS 7 and added the WOW program. The only thing I use from it are the edges. I think the exact name is Adobe Photoshop 7 one-click Wow! I bought it online at that discount bookstore. The name excapes me. - Peggy Wolff See Peggy's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 8: A Stroll on the Neon Shore A Stroll on the Neon Shore Taken at sunset. PhotoFiltre effects: used high contrast with added shadows, swapped RGB channels, finished with fissured texture. © Mary K. Robison Fuji Finepix s7000... WOW, Mary, those are some wild-looking colors. Nicely done. - Darren K. Fisher See Darren's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:WOW!!!! Fabulous Mary!!!! - Charlene Bayerle See Charlene's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit PictureThisbyChar.com - Charlene's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 2:Yeah, Nobi, it's my "sentimental" tribute to black light posters of the '60s (which are growing in popularity all over again - SURPRISE!) LOL! Thanks for stopping in with your comments! - Mary K. Robison See Mary's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:Put me down in the "WOW" column on this one, Mary!!! This is absolutely AWESOME! Your shot is outstanding, your treatment even more so! - Dan J. Holm See Dan's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 9: Days Gone By Days gone by A less-than-favourable day's weather to get a chance to capture some images of a friends restored classic car. But with the use of Photoshop Elements and a few changes in the colour variations ended with a better than expected final result and a complete nostalgic feel. © Karen-Jane Dudley k1photography.com Fuji FinePix S2 Pr... Very nicely done, Karen-Jane!!! It looks great in that landscape and the toning is perfect for it. - Duane Carter See Duane's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:I love the old feel you have given this image! Nice work on the sepia tone. - Paula M. Showen See Paula's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:WOW! I love the Sepia tone. What a great image. Looks like the pictures my parents use to have in an old tin or shoebox. Great work, Karen-Jane! Thanks for sharing. - Mark J. Zimmerman Response 3:The gravel road is the finishing touch for this great image - well done! - Bonnie Lackey See Bonnie's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 4:Many grateful thanks, Duane, Ralf, Paula, Mark and Bonnie for the very kind comments. I had a great time taking this image apart from the weather, which was cold and damp. But thanks to Photoshop, I was very happy with the final results. We are very lucky here on the island to have such wonderful landscapes to use as a great backdrop and really set the car off. Many thanks. - Karen-Jane Dudley See Karen-Jane's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit k1photography.com - Karen-Jane's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 10: RGB/CMYK RGB/CMYK Clear plug on light box with colored gels, lit with flashlight with a different colored gel; lightening added with KPT Effects; 3 images combined © Sharon E. Lowe photosbysharon.com Canon EOS D60 Digi... This is just awesome, Sharon! - Kathleen Clemons See Kathleen's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit kathleenclemonsphotography.com - Kathleen's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 1:Kathleen - thanks! The RGB was planned; the CMYK was a happy accident! - Sharon E. Lowe See Sharon's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit photosbysharon.com - Sharon's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 2:Sharon, Your art has PIZZAZZ!!! Sometimes those serendipities turn out to be the best things. Nicely done. ..mike :-) - Michael Allen See Michael's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:Mike - thanks! And, yes, maybe I was actually thinking it when I picked out which plugs I was using... - Sharon E. Lowe See Sharon's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit photosbysharon.com - Sharon's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 11: Fresco Portrait Fresco Portrait Fresco and Softening filters ~1/7, F-7.1, ISO 400, 135mm~ Could not come up with a good title for this. Any ideas? © Janet L. Detota Canon EOS Digital ... Beautiful effects, Janet. Such a lovely model:-) I'm at a blank too for a title! - Terry R. Hatfield See Terry 's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Great portrait. I really like the effects and colors ... however, I too have no idea for a title - "Lady in Orange"?? - Rob Friedman See Rob's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Wow! ... This is a hauntingly beautiful portrait, Janet!! I kept it full on my screen for a short while while I did other things and couldn't stop looking at it!! ... To me, this shot says a lot ... so why not call it, "A Thousand Words" ? - Dan J. Holm See Dan's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:Beautiful portrait with lovely effects and wonderful color, Janet. My title is "Beautiful Lady". - Deborah C. Lewinson See Deborah's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 4:I am a huge fan of the fresco - never tried it on people, though. This came out GREAT, I would call it Amber Lady, or Hues of Self ( is it you?:) ) Just my corny thoughts;))) - Alisha May Furbish See Alisha May's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 12: In the Chips! In the Chips! Shot mid-afternoon at an outdoor kiosk. In PS, used very high contrast, deeply saturated colors. © Mary K. Robison Fuji Finepix s7000... Terrific shot, Mary!! Love the saturated colors, the detail and your diagonal perspective on this! Great work! (Is this a shot of YOUR winnings?) - Dan J. Holm See Dan's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Excellent display of strong colors in this, Mary. Great work!!! - Nobi Nagase See Nobi's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Hey, I just counted off the chip stacks and the comments, and each of you is entitled to one stack!! Don't blow it all on one bet!!! LOL! Thanks for all your great comments, Dan, Karma, Nobi, Terry, Donna, Susan, and Bill! You've made my day! - Mary K. Robison See Mary's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

The Next Step: Where to Go From Here

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