Welcome to the 28th issue of the Digital Darkroom

Hi

These are such exciting times at BetterPhoto! The new class session has just started, but there's still time to sign up. And to show just how awesome our online photo courses are, we have an illustrated tour that shows how these classes operate. Take this tour at:
http://www.betterphoto.com/tour-courses-01.asp

In this issue of Digital Darkroom, instructor/author Jeff Wignall shares his thoughts about the creative use of the BuZZ filter. Jeff, by the way, is author of BetterPhoto's current Book of the Month - The Joy of Digital Photography - and teaches a terrific online course by the same title. Read his article below.

Also, check out the Before-and-After series, along with the usual collection of terrific photo discussions.

In addition, I hope to see you at our first-ever BetterPhoto Summit. It's going to be a super fun, informative, and inspiring weekend (September 10th and 11th, Seattle, Washington)! Learn more at our conference page:
http://www.betterphoto.com/summit.asp

If you have questions about the Summit, you can find answers at our Summit Q&A page:
http://www.betterphoto.com/summitqna.asp

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: Monday, July 11, 2005

• Featured Photo: Sunburst
• Featured Article: Getting a Buzz On (Simply Speaking) ... by Jeff Wignall
• Digital Before and After
• New Photo Discussion 1: Two Tone
• New Photo Discussion 2: Summer Shades
• New Photo Discussion 3: Gumball Rally
• New Photo Discussion 4: My Little Angel
• New Photo Discussion 5: Petal Abstract
• New Photo Discussion 6: The Frost House
• New Photo Discussion 7: Smiling Mask, Carnevale, Venice
• New Photo Discussion 8: Suspenders
• New Photo Discussion 9: * Cityscape 3 *
• New Photo Discussion 10: Lonely in Red
• The Next Step: Where to Go From Here

Featured Photo: Sunburst

Sunburst Added beams of light using mystical lighting. © Daniel Diaz Fuji FinePix S5100...

Featured Article: Getting a Buzz On (Simply Speaking) ... by Jeff Wignall
One of the first things that most folks do the minute they have successfully loaded any image-editing program is to start playing with filters. Let's face it, says instructor/author Jeff Wignall, until you know what you're doing with most programs, filters are a fun and simple way to create some cool-looking effects. In his new article, Jeff shares tips and techniques for using the BuZZ.X filter, which can make images look more like a watercolor painting, or a watercolor wash. Jeff, by the way, teaches an awesome online course here at BetterPhoto: The Joy of Digital Photography. Check out his article ...
Read more...
 

Digital Before and After

Don't you step on my... "Well, it’s one for the money, Two for the show, Three to get ready, Now go, cat, go. But don’t you step on my blue suede shoes. You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes." My friend thought I was nuts when I saw her blue suede shoes and begged her to lend them to me so I could shoot them... I put the original in the discussion. Happy Elvis Theme Day!

Original Blue Suede Shoes

It's Not Too Late to Sign Up for an Online Course!

New Photo Discussions

New Photo Discussion 1: Two Tone two tone duplicated and mirrored in psp. © Rocky L. Federwitz Nikon Coolpix 4300... Wow!!!! That is really neat. Love the effect you used. - Kay E. Mahoney See Kay's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Gorgeous image, Rocky! - Leanne M.E. Boyd See Leanne's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Thanks, Kay and Leanne!! I like the image alone, but I think it turned out pretty cool mirrored. Thanks again. - Rocky L. Federwitz Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 2: Summer Shades Summer Shades I shot this a couple of days ago in a park while trying out my new Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens for the first time. I cropped and did the usual editing things in PS CS,and then I used the Dry Brush and Poster Edges filters, both at low opacity (about 30% or less). I also created the borders in PS CS. Aperture priority; ISO 400; f/6.3, ss 1/50. Hand held. © Gerda Grice Canon EOS 350D (Di... Gorgeous image, Gerda! Love the framing! - Evy Johansen See Evy's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Hi Gerda! The greens and fiery orange are so appealing! And I love this composition very much. Very striking comp and color! - Dolores Neilson See Dolores's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 3: Gumball Rally Gumball Rally Soft focus and JASC pic frame © Adam Feliciano Fuji FinePix S5100... Adam, Bright pretty and happy image. Love your colors. - Kerby Pfrangle See Kerby's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Thanks, Kerby. My little nephew gave me this idea. Kids seem to like it. - Adam Feliciano Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 4: My Little Angel My Little Angel This shot of my daughter was taken in my home studio. Cloned out a few shadows, cropped, and applied a "flashback" filter from the "virtual photographer" plug-in. © Kelly M. O'Connor Canon EOS 350D (Di... Hi Kelly, this is just beautiful, she really looks like a little angel. Very beautiful hair and eyes. Nice home studio, too. Where did you get the plugin, virtual photographer? Is it a Photoshop plugin? Great job ... blessings, Teri in Canada - Teri F. Inman Response 1:Thank you, Teri. Im not sure if its okay to post a link to a website on here but I hope so...go to: http://www.optikvervelabs.com/ Best of all, the plug-in is FREE!!! Im sure you'll love it, this plug-in has a ton of cool filters!! - Kelly M. O'Connor Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 5: Petal Abstract Petal Abstract I selected a small section from a flower photo and applied several techniques using PSP7. First I used the auto saturation, then colored pencil, duplicated that layer and changed the blend mode until I liked the results. Duplicated the layer again and repeated the blend mode step. Then played with the opacity of each layer until I liked it, this is the end result...:) © Tonya Boles Minolta Dimage Z1 Very cool macro abstract, Tonya! I like the color and texture on this shot! - Tammy Scott See Tammy's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Love it, Tonya!! Terrific colors on this wonderful abstract! - Jenny Bosmans See Jenny's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Great job, Tonya, I love to explore PS and find new and fun things to do, very well done! - Deb Holmes See Deb's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:Thanks Tammy, Jenny, Deb, and Sherry for taking the time to comment. It was fun to play in Paint Shop again ... Glad everyone liked it. - Tonya Boles Response 4:I prefer to work in the concrete, but admire the abstract. You would never guess this started out as a petal; it looks more like an abstract painting, just as you had intended. Very intriguing. Nice work! - Bill K. Ko Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 6: The Frost House The Frost House f7, iso 80, noninterchangeable zoom lens @16mm, shutter speed not recorded Taken in early December, western Kansas, when everything was covered with hoarfrost. This house has since been demolished. Levels and sharpening selectively applied. Pure white sky enhanced slightly. © Connie J. Bagot monumentstothepast.com Olympus Camedia E-... Very beautiful, Connie!!! Like how you framed down low for the frosty grass. - Duane Carter See Duane's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Connie, LOL A fixer upper. Nice image of this frosted old house. The textures, lines and detail are amazing. Wonderful capture. - Kerby Pfrangle See Kerby's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:This is absolutely lovely, Connie Wonederful composition, exposure and detail. Very well taken! - William C. Raco See William's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit williamracophotography.com - William's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 3:Beautiful, Love this look, it puts this house in the look of the past. - William F. Krause See William's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 4:Too bad it's gone ... wonderful capture! - Brinn MacDougall See Brinn's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 7: Smiling Mask, Carnevale, Venice Smiling Mask, Carnevale, Venice Polaroid Image Transfer © Kathleen T. Carr Polaroid Image and Emulsion Transfer Photoshop for Photographers with Guest Instructor Kathleen T. Carr Nikon N70/F70 SLR ... Just found your gallery and this image... WOW, incredible. Great work! - Terrill Province Visit provincephoto.com - Terrill's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 1:Thanks, Terrill. Polaroid image transfers are really fun and creative. You should try it sometime (I teach an online course on it - Polaroid Image and Emulsion Transfer - through BetterPhoto). The technique is great with portraits and weddings. You have some wonderful images in your gallery. Nice going! Kathleen - Kathleen T. Carr See Kathleen Carr's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit Kathleen Carr's Web Site - www.KathleenCarr.com Take an Online PhotoCourse™ with Kathleen Carr: Polaroid Image and Emulsion Transfer Photoshop for Photographers with Guest Instructor Kathleen T. Carr Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 8: Suspenders suspenders Two boy Swedish dancers at the Midsummer's Day celebration, Lindsborg KS. Gaussian Blur added to bg in PS. © Kathy J. Shogren Canon EOS 20D Digi... Kathy, I love this capture! The bit 'o blur gives it the feel of an oil painting. Lighting and framing are very good and I love the bright white shirts with the black suspenders. Good choice for the title. - Cheri K. OBrien Response 1:Thank you so much, Cheri, for your kind comments. So glad you like this. Wasn't sure if I could save this one or not. The people in the stands of the background were very distracting. Hope this worked. - Kathy J. Shogren Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 9: * Cityscape 3 * * Cityscape 3 * Number three in my cityscape series! Looking skywards from beneath two Sydney skyscrapers, with one building reflecting in the other! Some adjustments made using PS CS - Rotate & Crop, Brightness & Contrast, Saturation & Lightness, Shadow-Highlight, Unsharp Mask, & Borders, & filtered using Neat Image... Taken just after midday - 1/320 sec @ f5.6, ISO 64, & 5.9mm digital focal length... © Carolyn J. Connolly Olympus Camedia C-... Wow, What a spectacular perspective, Carolyn!!! Great effects, and that branches framing the shot are a plus!! :-)) - Jordi Delgado See Jordi's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit jordidelgado.com - Jordi's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 1:Carolyn, This is fabulous. The effects of the branches are outstanding. I bet this will be back to visit us again. - Kerby Pfrangle See Kerby's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Jordi and Kerby, thank you VERY much for your very complimentary comments on this image!! I really like the way the branches and autumn leaves are framing this, too!! Of course, I also love that gorgeous blue sky overhead, with the light clouds scudding by!! Thanks again!! :o) - Carolyn J. Connolly See Carolyn's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:Carolyn this really is amazing. We all take and see so many building reflections etc., but this is an entirely new perspective. Really inventive and such an impact. You must have spent some time getting the very best spot to shoot from! - Janet Williams See Janet's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 10: Lonely in Red Lonely in Red While working on a photo of a common weed, (Dandylion), I became bored. As usual, I started to doodle with the smear effect filter, (liquid paint), and this is the result. I used Corel Photo Paint 10. © Teresa Wilkinson Sony Mavica FD-200... Interesting! You start searching what else you may see ... Great pic. - Bianca B. Steinfeldt Response 1:Thank you for your comment, Bianca. Yes, I have a lot of different versions of this "doodle". lol It was hard to choose. Thanks again and Best Wishes, Teresa - Teresa Wilkinson See Teresa's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

The Next Step: Where to Go From Here

• Browse more photo discussions at BetterPhoto.com
• Start your own discussion on any photo in the Galleries
• Read archived issues of the Digital Darkroom