Welcome to the 63rd issue of the Digital Darkroom

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June has shaped up to be an exciting month at BetterPhoto.com. Much of this involves our outstanding line of online courses in both photography and Photoshop. Our classes give you personal interaction with successful pros yet all of the convenience of the Internet. See our school schedule...

If you would like to become a Photoshop or photography master, then consider our yearlong ClassTracks program. It's a great value too - a free Pro BetterPholio after enrolling, and upon completion, an additional free 4-week course! Learn more about ClassTracks...

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In this issue of Digital Darkroom, don't miss our usual features - featured article, Before and After series, and a fine collection of photo 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: Wednesday, June 11, 2008

• Featured Photo: Solitary in the storm
• Featured Article: Add Water with a Flood Filter! ... by Scott Stulberg
• Digital Before and After
• New Photo Discussion 1: Waiting
• New Photo Discussion 2: Burnished & Bronzed
• New Photo Discussion 3: Shining Example
• New Photo Discussion 4: Day of the Great Blue Heron
• New Photo Discussion 5: Pine Street Floral
• New Photo Discussion 6: Real to Surreal
• The Next Step: Where to Go From Here

Featured Photo: Solitary in the storm

Solitary in the storm Scene at my village in Belgium. Fractalius and angled strokes on the sky. Angled stokes on the FG. DD © Hendrik Storme Nikon Coolpix 8700...

Featured Article: Add Water with a Flood Filter! ... by Scott Stulberg
In his Photoshop Tips, Tricks and Filter Magic course at BetterPhoto, instructor Scott Stulberg discusses a "nifty little plug-in filter that amazes a lot of folks. The Flood filter can mimic the sea or a lake, and adds realistic reflections that make your photos look pretty dramatic." Learn more in his article...
Read more...
 

Digital Before and After

Arizona heat wave ISO 400 3.0 Landscape distortion filter applied, several different filters applied to copies of same image...layers and transparency filter used

local land

Lensbabies: Ramp Up Your Creativity with a Selective Focus SLR Lens!

Lensbabies – the unique, fun, useful, and affordable tool for creative photography. The award-winning Lensbabies are selective focus SLR camera lenses that bring one area of your photo into sharp focus, with that "sweet spot" surrounded by graduated blur. You can move the sweet spot anywhere in the photo by bending the lens.  Learn more...

Turn Your Photos into Beautiful Cards!

Photographer's Edge features a complete line of do-it-yourself Photo Frame Greeting Cards for all types of photographers and subjects.  Learn more...

New Photo Discussions

New Photo Discussion 1: Waiting Waiting Fishermen on the south coast of NSW waiting the first catch of the day © Geraldine E. Lefoe Nikon D300 DX Digi... Very cool picture- can you tell me what you did to it? Love the b/w - Darby Struchtemeyer Response 1:Darby, I used Photoshop CS3. I converted the Raw image to black and white and dragged the black slider until this section became a silhouette. I opened it and selected the rocks and fishermen then copied them into a new image - I fiddled around with the actual size for awhile to get the right amount of white space. I used the flood filter to achieve this effect, again trial and error until I liked the effect. Glad you like it - Geraldine E. Lefoe See Geraldine's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 2: Burnished & Bronzed Burnished & Bronzed Rectangle for selective emphasis. Background desaturated with gradient. Levels and sharpness enhanced in Photoshop Elements 5.0. Flower Garden in Washington, CT © Sheila R. Silvernail Olympus Evolt E510... This is certainly a creative AND striking image, Sheila!! Very nicely seen, taken, edited AND presented!! I like your choice of camera, too - I have an E-510 and really like it a lot!! How do you like yours so far? :o) - Carolyn J. Connolly See Carolyn's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Many thanks. I especially appreciate your comments presented as a critique as well as a compliment. The idea was for presentation, to crop without actually cropping. I like the Olympus E-510 and my first Olympus E-300 was great. They both have a lot of nice features I've yet to learn. - Sheila R. Silvernail Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 3: Shining Example Shining Example When I encountered this displaying peacock yesterday, it was a breathtaking experience. But EVERYONE photographs these magnificent birds. So, I tried something different: "Golden Silver Peacock" Converted to b&w, added sharpness and contrast, applied two gradients (silver and gold, using the metallic palette in CS3, dodged and burned, painted a little history back..and that's about it! -------------------- F4, 1/640s, 280mm, ISO:500 © Michelle Alton Canon EOS 5D Digit... Beautifully converted, Michelle! Lovely image! - Paul E. Earl See Paul's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Fantastic work Michelle!! Love your creativity with this stunning peacock!!! - Kathy Reeves See Kathy 's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit kathyreeves.com - Kathy 's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 2:It's different, and unique, so you did well. Super! - Ken Smith See Ken's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:What a great idea! Outstanding work, Michelle. I like the presentation, clarity, detail and natural design. I have never seen this done before. You were inspired for sure. - Joseph N. DiGilio See Joseph's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 4: Day of the Great Blue Heron Day of the Great Blue Heron Composite photo of a GBH silhouette (mask layer) combined with a BG bottom layer I created for this image. The original photo was taken last year in hazy light, near sundown. © Cary Rogers Sony Cyber-shot DS... Amazing creation, Cary!!! A wonderful work of art! - Lisa J. Boulden See Lisa's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Thank you, Lisa, Tarun, Stan, Jeff, and Amalia! I appreciate your encouraging feedback! :-) It's around this time of year that the several herons (and cormorants) nest in a tree on an island in a nearby lake. I really enjoy watching them fly to and from the tree, but often the lighting, or the sky in the background, is not optimal. Thanks again, everyone! - Cary Rogers See Cary's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:A wonderful creation, Cary!! Great silhouette, and the background you created is amazing. - Eivor Kuchta See Eivor's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:Fantastic composite, Cary! Amazing capture to begin with (how I'd love to get a photo of one of these birds!), and perfect PS work. This is a winner, imho! - Colleen Farrell See Colleen's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit colleenfarrell.com - Colleen's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 5: Pine Street Floral Pine Street Floral Image of a shop on Pine Street in Philadelphia. Buzzed, added saturation (Flaming Pear Kyoto Color), some cloning and painting and added 18 floral images from my files. One of the floral images was taken with my Fuji S7000 the rest with the Nikon. The original edit of the image sans buzz and added flowers follows. © Robert Mann Nikon D70S Digital... Orinigal base image edit. - Robert Mann See Robert's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:This is a fantastic image Robert!! Caught my eye right away - love all the vibrant colors, flowers, super editing. :) - Pamela Shane See Pamela 's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:I just love this, Robert. Amazing colors and composition. Congratulations!! - Alison M. Cox See Alison's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit alisoncoxphotography.com - Alison's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 6: Real to Surreal Real to Surreal Reworked and re-entered, curves adjusted. © Robert S. Grauer Nikon Coolpix 8700... Really a neat colorful image. Nice lines and curves! - Chuck Bruton See Chuck's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Kaitlin, this is a combination of two images. Both were altered, the film reel was originally red on the edges. Hue and saturation changed. The sky was created with the radial blur in zoom mode and saturation was increased. Layers then flattened. All work was done in Photoshop. - Robert S. Grauer See Robert's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:A true abstract. Not overdone as so many abstracts tend towards. I like your light touch with the surreal. - Aggie Villanueva See Aggie'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