http://pspug.org/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl? http://www.eblah.com en http://pspug.org/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1328296765/ http://pspug.org/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1328296765/#num1 [img]

From February 3, 2012

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So, to portray what my mind thought when I saw the original, I created the following image.  I used a slice of a picture of earth, created a separate layer from each pane, touched up each pane (using mostly the clone tool), used the perspective tool on the end panes to match the curvature of the earth, and flood filled the background with an image of a starry night.  Finally I added the Sunburst Illumination Effect for the corner light.  Now I have a photograph of what my mind saw that day.
[img]

From February 3, 2012

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Terles]]> Fri, 3 Feb 2012 11:19:25 terles http://pspug.org/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1327273449/ http://pspug.org/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1327273449/#num1 X4 offers a HDR (High Dynamic Range) effect, designed to blend multiple exposures of the same subject together.  But, here's another use.  Below is a picture I took in Australia last year.

I created two additional images of this original - one by applying a high pass sharpen, radius 10 and strength 40, blend mode hard light.  The other image I applied a clarity of 25.  Then I applied the HDR, exposure merge mode, using all three images.  I picked #4 default result, applied a 1 stop photo fix and ended up with the following:


I like the overall result, and am passing it on for anyone interested.  Have fun playing around with this feature of X4.

]]> Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:04:09 terles http://pspug.org/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1280907353/ http://pspug.org/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1280907353/#num1 MOSTLY WET GOSLING

  [CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE IT FULL-SIZE]

The geese who hang out at the lake seem to have been away all summer, but it turns out that they've been on the other side in a secluded area.  The other day, they returned, with three goslings.  Here is one.  They have since returned to the more remote area, I don't know why.  I had gone down to the lake to get pix of pelicans and grebes, but they were more shy than the geese, staying away because some rowers and kayakers were on the lake.

Took this with my 200-500mm zoom lens with a 1.4x teleconverter, mounted on my tripod.

What I did in PSP
Mostly cloned and cloned to get the branch's twigs not to show across the little critter's legs and face and to remove other distracting details.]]> Wed, 4 Aug 2010 00:35:53 D_Spider http://pspug.org/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1280025692/ http://pspug.org/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1280025692/#num1 What the Cat Dragged Out . . . of the closet

Sunny, our gold inquisitive cat, said something was in the closet with the vacuum cleaner, and a few minutes later he had coaxed it out--I don't know how, since the closet door was shut--and this fellow is whom we saw.  I got my camera and switched lenses and all that, and Sunny--who knows about being bitten--left me to my worse-than-feline curiosity.


    MR. SPIDER BEHIND AN EXTENSION CORD
               CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE IT FULL-SIZE



        MR. SPIDER NO LONGER QUITE SO SHY
              CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE IT FULL-SIZE

Yes, it is a male spider.  The second image, considerably cropped from the original, shows the distinguishing feature on the spider's pedipalp, that shorter appendage to the right of the left legs and to the left of the broader ones below the spider's "face."  This is probably some kind of wolf spider; looks like a "rabid wolf spider" but the book says they don't live this far west nor in people's houses.  (Their bites are said to be harmless, but Sunny suggests that you don't try to find out.)


WHAT I DID IN PSP
Mostly, I cloned out all kinds of hairs and fibers that cluttered up the area where the spider was, and I even made a new custom brush for cloning around the spider's own leg-bristles.  My new technique for this obsessive removal of distracting items is to listen to audiobooks from the public library while I plug away at getting rid of this and then that and then yet another thing.  I've found that listening keeps me from coming to my senses and saying "that's good enough" when there are still a few microscopic distracting elements left in the photo.  I think this takes a bit longer than usual PSP editing, but it very much improves macro photographs, and Louise Penny's mysteries (start with Still Life) are truly excellent.]]> Sat, 24 Jul 2010 19:41:32 D_Spider http://pspug.org/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1273088517/ http://pspug.org/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1273088517/#num1
Here are a couple of my recent efforts

Drösing - a small Austrian town as seen from a Canola (Rape Seed) field - those are the hills of Slovakia in the background.  After saturation/noise adjustment this photo had two layers added - Alien Skin Impasto, and Redfield Fractalius to emphasize the plants.  Then a hand-made frame.


The March (Morava) River - separating Austria from Slovakia, for many years this was "no man's land" with the Iron Curtain just on the eastern side.  Now it is a nature reserve.  Wonderful for bird watching.  The watercolor effect was done with Topaz Denoise.



Tulip under our Pear Tree - don't know the variety, planted by previous residents.  Black vignette added and colors enhanced.



Early Morning - the Lobau is in Vienna, part of the national Wetlands Park.  Nothing much done to this picture except frame and text, and I yellowed the sky a bit.


Hope you like them.  All constructive comments welcome.
]]> Wed, 5 May 2010 12:41:57 JerryB