Welcome to the 65th issue of the Digital Darkroom

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Such exciting times at BetterPhoto! For a fun and creative adventure, take one of our famous online photography and Photoshop classes led by experienced professionals. These interactive courses are filled with information and inspiration, and offer all the flexibility of the Web. Learn more about our school...

Have you ever thought of joining a photography club? Or even forming your own? Less than a year old, our BetterPhoto Clubs program has become a huge hit, now totaling more than 350 clubs! These groups are created by region, camera, or photo topic. It's a great way to meet people with similar interests, learn new skills together, and share and discuss photos. For all the details - plus listings of the newest and most popular clubs, staff picks, etc. - visit the main club page.

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Have a great month!
Jim Miotke
http://www.betterphoto.com/MG.asp?ID=124

In This Issue: Wednesday, August 13, 2008

• Featured Photo: Fire in the sky
• Featured Article: CS3 Hidden Gem - The B&W Adjustment ... by Kevin Moss
• Digital Before and After
• New Photo Discussion 1: Harvest Crew
• New Photo Discussion 2: Shadow Figure
• New Photo Discussion 3: Field of Dreams
• New Photo Discussion 4: Laurel Mill
• New Photo Discussion 5: Ocracoke Dawn Fantasy
• The Next Step: Where to Go From Here

Featured Photo: Fire in the sky

Fire in the sky NIK Bi-color filter,clouds filter on layer, brushes and flood filter. Adjusments in camera RAW CS3. DD © Hendrik Storme Nikon Coolpix 8700...

Featured Article: CS3 Hidden Gem - The B&W Adjustment ... by Kevin Moss
Learn about creating black-and-white conversions in Photoshop CS3 by reading instructor Kevin Moss's article. Kevin, by the way, teaches an excellent course - Photoshop and Elements for Nature Photographers - here at BetterPhoto. Check out his article...
Read more...
 

Digital Before and After

CIRCLE OF FLOWERS Taken late morning. ISO 200. f/5.6, 1/640. Zoom lens at 188 mm. Flexify filter applied.

Original

What Past Students Have Said About BP's Photoshop Classes...

New Photo Discussions

New Photo Discussion 1: Harvest Crew Harvest Crew Cousins who are so excited for harvest to begin. They are jumping in front of the grain tanks where the wheat will be stored. I used the fractalius filter. © Karen E. Baumann Canon EOS 40D Digi... Karen- Good morning, my friend. I love to look at the galleries of people who I have had the pleasure of meeting for the first time and see what beauties they have and am always looking for ways to study their work and learn something. Your gallery is a real treat to visit. I like the action here with the cousins jumping up in the air like that. Great action shot and it is a fun shot also. Excellent lighting and clarity. Love the blue sky background. Colors are bright and vivid. They pop. The use of the fract filter and the way it's like electricity coming off of them is a fabulous touch. The features of the cousins are done with excellent definitions. Outstanding work! Have a wonderful day, take care, enjoy it to the full. - Frank W. Degenhardt See Frank's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Thank you so much for stopping by my gallery and for your kind comments. I agree that it is so much fun to look at the galleries of new BP friends, to see what inspires them and to try to learn some new techniques. I am totally playing with the Fractalius filter... I don't seem to have a sense of what or why things are happening with it... I just keep moving the sliders and trying new combinations. It's been great!!! Thank you again, Karen - Karen E. Baumann Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 2: Shadow Figure Shadow Figure This is a photo I took at a sculpture garden in Warwick, NY. © Gabby Kalipetis Panasonic Lumix DM... This reminds me of a movie we saw once of a monster in the woods that could adapt and look like the foliage! Was that like a Stallone movie??? This is interesting indeed! How did you do this? Layers? Import? Drag and drop? COOL! - Laura E. Swan Response 1:Haha, the sculpture is the actual cut-out you see first, but if you look deeper into the photo, the figuret is behind it. I selected the cut-out area and applied a color-enhancing filter, then adjusted the depth of field and added a warming layer to the surrounding area - Gabby Kalipetis See Gabby's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 3: Field of Dreams Field of Dreams To add a little more visual interest--and because I didn't like the shade of green in the original capture--I shifted the hue to this color and adjusted the saturation. © Cary Rogers Sony Cyber-shot DS... Totally diggin' the color, Cary! ~cheryl - Cheryl M. Phillips Visit ELEGANTREFLECTIONSPHOTOGRAPHY.COM - Cheryl's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 1:Thank you, Cheryl, Renata, and Daniella! I appreciate your encouraging comments! One of the challenges I had with capturing this field of grass was that the light kept changing (clouds) and the wind was unpredictable ... but the scene itself was wonderfully "dreamy" looking. - Cary Rogers See Cary's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 4: Laurel Mill Laurel Mill Located 7 miles from where I live in Louisburg, NC. Photo was taken 3/25/06, using a Kodak point & shoot. Tv 1/640, Av 4.0, ISO 80. BuZZ, poster edges, conversion applied using color balance, channel mixer, & monochrome in PSP9. (DD) <>< © Nadine A. Lewis Kodak EasyShare DX... Beautiful, Nadine. Love the post-processing. - Bojan Bencic See Bojan's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Nadine, this is high on the "wow" meter, just added it to my favorites; beautiful work in all regards, displaying much talent and technique! - Nina P. Shields See Nina's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit ninapshields.com - Nina's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 2:Beautiful image, Nadya. I love the B&W!! It almost looks like a pen and ink ... great job on the PS work. Wonderful lighting and detail. - Marilyn K. Lincecum See Marilyn's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion

New Photo Discussion 5: Ocracoke Dawn Fantasy Ocracoke Dawn Fantasy Original Image - f18.0, ISO 200, 1/500, Ocracoke Island Lighthouse, Ocracoke, NC, Outer Banks, Taken at a low angle, April 2007. Changed the coloring of the sky, added lighting effects, added light rays using a brush, layer style effects, dodge, burn Several Layers, NIK Viveza filter & much more. ;) Reworked & Resubmitted. © Michelle R. Kovach spiritfirephotography.com Canon EOS 20D Digi... Great image and work! - Renata Gusciora See Renata's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Michelle, you've done a wonderful job on making this old North Carolina lighthouse shine! - Connie S. Gentz See Connie's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Michelle, wonderful photo. Love the colors, clarity, POV. I would be curious in how to add light rays to a photo. Interesting! - Rosemary Sampson See Rosemary's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 3:Thank you Rosemary! They are applied with brushes and different layer styles. - Michelle R. Kovach See Michelle's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit spiritfirephotography.com - Michelle's Deluxe 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