Altered Images
Before and After Edits

Magnolia Transformation by Penny Brewer - Screen the Unseen - May 2024.jpg

Digitally Painted Magnolia by Penny Brewer

During Covid I found myself with plenty of time on my hands to learn a new technique. So I learnt how to paint flowers on the computer in Photoshop. It is quite a skill and fairly complicated to start with, but I soon found myself adidcted to the process. I think I have now painted every flower in the garden and lots more.

I also added my own textured back ground with a canvas overlay to finish the artwork

Brutalism at the Baltic by Pedro Landers

Cropped and straightened in Lightroom and then the perspective corrected in Photoshop together with a few bits of cloning to simplify the image. Converted into mono in Lightroom and the contrast pushed up.

More Brutalism at the Baltic by Pedro Landers

Cropped in Lightroom and the two wings of the image darkened using graduated filters. The whole image was turned into a negative with the Curves in Lightroom and the perspective altered using Transform.

Original Image

St Ives refuse day_mono popped_IMG_0331.jpg

Black and White Popped

Refuse Day

St Ives Refuse Day by Ray Jacobs

Inspired by Jane Lazenby Easter Challenge again, but not strictly of her techniques covered this time, I have one "Before" and 2 alternative "Afters" from the same start, resulting in two images with different story emphasis and mood. Images hopefully reduced to fit.

Original revisited was taken up a side alley at St Ives. Steps being one of my recurring themes.

First attempt was to remove distracting details, Bin, downpipe, clean backsteps and other details with "Healing" and "Clone" "Tools". Next "Quick Select" Red Refuse Bag. "Select" "Invert" "Raw Camera Filter" "Monochrome" to convert, adjust to desired effect, "Vignette". Back out and adjust brightness zonally with "Select" areas/"Image" "Adjustments" "Curves" and separately, "Camera Raw Filter" to balance and affect Mood.

Second image, "Crop" in tighter to emphasize the Bin (only in St Ives!). Remove distractions again. Zonally balance by adjusting brightness with "Select" areas/"Image" "Adjustments" "Curves" and separately "Camera Raw Filter". "Quick Select" bin, in "Camera Raw Filter" increase "Vibrance" of Green, Red, Orange and Yellow sliders to brighten the decoration and reduce Black to create contrast.

This illustrates a secondary effect of the free Lazenby Challenges as well as new techniques many ideas to keep things fresh!

1st - Optically Spectacular Display by Ray Jacobs

In Photoshop, cropped to reduce numbers of specs. Removed distractions with clone and healing brush tools. Camera Raw Filter to sharpen (clarity), increase vibrance and balance lights and darks.

monochrome security fencing +red_P1010730.jpg

3rd - Monochrome Fencing + Red by Ray Jacobs

In Photoshop, cropped to eliminate edge distractions. Healing brush to remove distractions on white stripes. Camera Raw Filter to increase contrast and darken blacks, darken space between the gates and increase the vibrance of the red barrier inside and increase the overall sharpness with Clarity.

Sand Dune Erosion by Ray Jacobs

Prompted by yesterday's WCPF email and the point that Mono Digital Images needed some zonal improvement and not just conversion with imagewide adjustment.

This one was converted to mono and selectively enhanced using Photoshop's Camera Raw Filter and selective Dodge and Burn to emphasize the Erosion of the sand dunes particularly around the area of the posts.

The same tools were used to produce subtle Vignette and shade "leading lines" to that area.

Impressionism by Liz Webb

I recently signed up for a 1.5 hour workshop with Celia Henderson: "Paint like and artist - Impressionism" as I enjoy impressionist art and jumped at chance to learn how to alter a photo into an impressionist style image.

The unedited image I took a couple of years ago of Kingsand, I just converted the RAW file to jpg and thought it would be a good trial image. In essence the technique is based Photoshop using layers to digitally build up layers of paint using the brushes available in PS and then using different brushes and applying masks in each layer to scrape off sufficient paint to reveal. It's a trial and see iterative process and very absorbing.

The second image is my very first attempt at this. Clearly there is a way to go before I can perfect this technique. I'm enjoying stretching my processing techniques and becoming more familiar with PS resources.

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Love Is by Peter Tulloch

Taken in Namibia, the Mum was very proud of her baby (they always are of course) and here he is. The frontal flash was too harsh and the interior of her shop was very dark – cool in the hot sunshine outside though. I worked to improve the lighting balance and background detail and to de-saturate her very bright pink dress straps. The baby’s shawl also needed added detail gained from the RAW image.

Lastly, I managed to get some detail into the braided hair styling !

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Fishing From the Pier by Peter Tulloch

If I am honest, I was after the wear and tear on the soles of his feet but I needed more to allow the image to tell the story. So, the RH side and the ‘stick’ across his feet had to go persuaded by appropriate cloning. I was quite close to him to take the photo but he never noticed me.

Heads Up by Peter Tulloch

These guys were totally involved in what they were doing. I got rid of most of the uninteresting background and then boosted contrast and saturation to my taste. It also improved the composition to close the gap between the two boys (cloning tool). The title is a play on bottoms up but drawing attention to the ‘executed’ fish !

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Put a Lid on it by Peter Tulloch

Found abandoned in the Islands of Scotland this kettle needed restoration ! Here I tweaked the image generally to tidy it up (to my taste) and then found and photographed an old (nearly similar teapot) and then threw in the lid using various layers to achieve a soft landing

Tea Without Mates by Peter Tulloch

Having found a grotty, worker’s, teatime location in deepest Wales, I need someone to be the lonely ‘tea mate’ – this is Bruce having a fag. It was quite ‘busy’ (as in a lotta bits) but there were elements that I wanted to keep so I have cropped / cloned out a few and then worked hard to bring out the general grunge. I did try it in B+W but preferred the colour version. The eagle eyed among you might spot that the tea mug went walkabouts !

Getting the Jump by Peter Tulloch

This is my grandson and I having some fun. He was threatening to jump off this low cliff and I was daring him to do so. The image is cropped to get rid of much of the distracting out of focus area on the RH side. Then tweaking exposure (shadows and highlights), increasing contrast and saturation and sharpening the lad himself. A few grasses were also cloned away – Can you spot which – a judge will ?

Devon Cream by Peter Tulloch

Always have a camera (OK smartphone) with you. This was taken whilst joining the queue to have my 1st Covid vaccination. The light was magic and the building shapes offering a potential abstract image. I did not want the trees (too real) so I have cropped them off. The rest becomes my main image with a little tidying up. General agreement that the shadowy doorway in the bottom LH corner should go – I am still not sure on that one. Title comes from the colour of the yellow being the same as on our house – Devon Cream.

More Coke by Peter Tulloch

This lady was struggling with the hot weather and seemingly clinging to her bottle of Coca Cola (for liquid) and the wheel of the steam engine (for support). The choice of title was to ‘play’ with the idea of her needing more Coca Cola and the steam engine needing more coke to get it going ! Image tidied up (top highlights removed) and adjustments made to exposures especially in the shadows to bring out more detail and interest

FAKE NEWS (16x12) by Peter Tulloch copy.jpg

Fake News by Peter Tulloch

Taken whilst photographing graffiti in Paris. The original image lacked much interest so after cropping and cleaning up the original image, I added three new elements from another tattered poster (reversing one) and resizing. I ‘turned’ the streetlight ‘on’ for further effect and then took the title from the word “FAKE” on the image ! It was topical at the time too.

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See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil by Peter Tulloch

The three girls were sitting on their own awaiting the start of a fairground parade but for me the warning ropes and flags were distracting. Their legs and hands were in totally different positions. It became a ‘no-brainer’ to crop low ! After a few comments received, the plastic bottle on the RH side had to go. The title (always important if only to give a judge a steer) was a take on the well know saying.

Flamenco Dancer by Penny Brewer

I did the same edit to each photo in the Triptych. Edited in Camera Raw in Photoshop. First I changed the white balance to remove the pink colour cast. Then removed all the distractions in the background with the Magnetic Lasso Tool using the generative fill which copied the background curtain pixels to produce the curtain into the removed distractions area, then I removed the noise with Topaz DeNoise.

I set up guides on a new page measured into three boxes and added each photo into each box then stretched the photo so that all figures were similar in size. On a new layer I added a white stroke to each photo by selecting each guide.