Collin Scott Photography

One Great Wedding 28 June, 2014

2014-08-23T13:06:00.000+02:00

As I sat under the night sky, I again found myself thinking back to my recent trip to Namibia. It wasn’t a holiday, but it wasn’t work either. This, was much, much more.

You see, this trip, was for a wedding. But, not just any wedding, no. This was my younger brother’s special day. He had met his very special lady through his circle of friends. To cut the story short, things went well and they are now very, very happily married.

I can’t remember when last I have seen Brendon this happy as I did over that weekend. Quite a bit of time has passed since and I still think back on it.

[Tokens of thanks will be mention first in my little story]

First off was the announcement, then the planning etc. that built up to the big weekend. So, my first thanks must go to Stephen and Robyn, for hooking a brother up. Without you guys (and whomever contributed), I would not have been there to share their day. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, I love you all so dearly.

Stephen Robyn, Sinead and Abigail Scott

Right, now I had to make a plan to get to the airport. Victor Moss and Leanne (soon to be Moss) Van Zyl, thank you for putting me up for night night. Oh, and tolerating my pongy shoes and somewhat rapid exit the next morning. Love you guys too!

Victor and Leanne Moss

We landed in Namibia just minutes before the Scotts and Dougalls from Johannesburg. What a treat! The gathering has started. Here’s Michael and Annemarie Scott, with their 2 year old daughter, Gia. Whom I only just met in Namibia. Thank you for travelling all the way from Louis Trichardt to join us.

Michael, Annemarie and Gia Scott

Thank you, for being there, the company and the chance to finally meet Gia in person. Thank you too Michael, for the walks, I really enjoyed them.

Now, we can’t forget the cousins, Robert and Kylie, (the real Jo’burg family) who arrived on the same plane from Jozi. Thank you guys for being there, for all that you guys did in making the weekend what it was.

The family is coming together now.

We step through passport control, collect our luggage and are greeted by the last brother and the love of his life. We will get back to them later…

We arrive at Farm Finkenstein, just in time for brunch. At this point we are met by the new extensions to the family. The bride’s mom, Malize, thank you for opening your arms to our irregular family. The sister Nadia, who became a friend and of course, our guide, driver and liason when needed.

There are a few more names that need to be mentioned before we go onto the main event. Erika and Shawn, the residents of Farm Finkenstein. Two more awesome people who opened their house to us. Put us up for the weekend in some incredible rooms and put up with us. They provided great company and presented us with some fantastic feasts. Thank you very much for everything that you did. Shawn, you can braai, champion.

Now, I could carry on and on, but you’re here to read about a wedding and see some pictures, right? Well, okay…

Introducing the stars of the story.

Brendon and Carmen Scott.

Good looking couple, aren't they?

First off, on the lighter side, they apparently have a debate as to who is more uh, ‘full of it’. We now have the pictures to prove it. Oh my…

Okay, but seriously, Brendon could not have found a better person than Carmen. It’s been a long time since I have seen Brendon this happy, truly happy. Now, the arrangement between Brendon and myself was to shoot only post weeding photos… but, I couldn’t do that. What, the whole ceremony must just be cell phone pictures from behind, really? So I walked about and took photos of it all. In hindsight, there could be one or two that I missed, but I got most of it.

But. let’s rewind a bit…

First off, we all played our part in setting up what we could and of course, there had to be a little tension, but that blew over quicker than a Gauteng storm. Tables were set, all extras in place. My beautiful mom, Mavis Scott, made these really awesome thank you cards and face cloths with a B and C embroidered into them.

The entire décor, when done, looked like it was done by professionals. Well done to all who helped make it look so good!

How the cards and face cloths looked on the table

It all looked so great!

View from the married couple's seats

A view of the intimate dining area, very well set up.

So, the wedding was small and intimate with only close family and friends.

Brendon took his place up front, next to the Pastor. The crowd took their seats, but had to leave them behind because we still needed them for the ceremony.

Carmen emerged with her mom Malize (apologies for the spelling) by her side and I must say, Carmen, looked amazing.

Brendon was brimming with excitement. We could tell by his inability to stand still, or keep his hands steady, or the fact that he could not stop grinning. Carmen, kept her cool better, but the tell-tale signs were there, she was just as excited.

The wedding went off without a hitch and nobody objected. The rings, everything was perfect. Except, maybe for the one or two cheesy jokes. Then it was first photo time… and everybody wanted in on that action… as a photographer, this is the challenging time. There are so many over-eager, paparazzi types and that resulted in me bobbing about between the frenzy to get my piece too. I, somewhere along the line, was the lucky one who managed to find the piece of metal with a tap attached to it. Well, my right knee actually. A little blood was worth it though. But after all that, my time was now…

Finally, some quiet time with the newlyweds. They spoke about a very special tree and the rail tracks… I like both ideas and had the privilege of seeing them prior to the wedding. Let’s go!! We hopped in the little Toyota Fortuner and rolled gracefully through some pretty rough terrain to the uh, Pappul? Well, The Giant Australian Oak Tree. This is where Brendon and Carmen took their first “couple Seflie”, so it was a must.

Brendon showing His Support for Carmen

Carmen correcting Brendon's manners.

Their love for all life.

Kylie had asked me ealier that Saturday, why I was smiling. I told her it was because of the clouds in the sky. It made little sense to her at the time… I’m sure she understands now…

We had allot of fun during the shoot (as you’ve probably noticed already) and as usual, I was shooting on a bit of a whim… getting ideas as we went along. Between myself, Nadia, Carmen and Brendon, we really got creative. In this photo (during editing), I noticed the cloud formation resembled a heart. So, a little cloning and painting, I managed to emphasise on that shape. I hope they noticed. If they didn’t, they would now… see the difference?

Okay, I’m running out of things to write about, so I’m going to call it an end. But, a last few words need to be said. It was a fantastic weekend, including the game drive and everything else we saw and did. Again, I say thank you to everyone involved. To see two people so happy together is something amazing. Weddings always seem to bring people together in love and happiness. Even the people who are not getting married. I have found new love in such a short time for my new sister-in law and her family. I still think back every day on that weekend and how special it was.

Much love to all of my family.

Water Legs - Photo Manipulation

2014-06-06T14:15:00.001+02:00

I've done something out of the norm again!

I got this idea to replace my legs, with falling water onto my shoes.

It really wasn't easy to shoot, but it was fun.

Of course, the first thing of any photo shoot is the setup. I mean, focus, position and of course, a proper frame or composition. Remember to shoot a little wider so there's space to crop. It's a real bugger to try and add to a shot afterwards. For this experiment, I used my back yard, well, actually my landlord's back yard. My spot had great light bouncing off the wall behind the camera, allowing me to be in the shadow of a tree, while still getting enough light on me as I posed repetitively until I had a shot I could use (shot about 5 shots in total).

I don't have fancy gear, I don't. This was shot with my Sony SLT-A35 and my kit 18-55mm lens set to around 18mm.

Now once I had a pose that would work, the pouring could begin. 8 or 9 shots (and a wet pair of denims and especially the shoes) later, I had two images I could potentially use to mask over my legs.

Here's me now finally getting the left "leg" close enough.

Then the right leg.

Each time I would have to walk to the camera, check the shot and try again. The tap I was using was also a walk away, so the bucket constantly needed filling too. Remember, I don't have a remote shutter or anything, so each shot was set with the camera's 10 second timer. In which case I would be running up and down between shots.

Problems will arise if your planning is not 100% spot-on. Here I was using a square bucket, because it gave me great walls of falling water. Thing is, somewhere along the line, I got must have bumped the shoes, or the camera just slightly, so the alignment wasn't accurate. Also, the water angle wasn't right. But it's cool, I have Photoshop CS5.

When I was masking the water over my legs, I had to adjust the correct them. For this I used my select too, pressed ctrl+T to select the distort option. This helped, but not enough. I then used the rectangle marquee tool to select the parts I needed and ctrl+J to duplicate these. Again, the select tool and, again, the distort function to try align it more. the I used the warp tool (right-click select warp) to bend the shoes back into place and align things properly. Then I added mask layers to the water and blended them in properly. Once I had them all aligned and blended, I cropped the image a bit. I then created a merged image from the layers (ctrl-clicking on merge layers will create a merged layer without losing your previous layers).

I then played a little further using Shadow/Highlights and a soft-light B&W layer blended over that to bring back some depth and detail. The result is what you see below. :)

Remember, If you want more details, or to book me for a unique and creative shoot, drop me a >mail< and I will pencil you in. All images are the intellectual property of Collin Scott Photography, all rights reserved (C) 2014.

If you do share, please remember to respect the creator and to mention them in your post.

Thank you, have a great day!

Wedding, 2 November 2013

2013-11-14T13:57:00.000+02:00

-~o0o~-

Mr and Mrs Beer

I woke up Sunday morning, 3 November, 2013. It felt like the mighty Thor had somehow gotten trapped inside my head and he wasn’t very happy to be there. I looked around… everything seemed in order. Through Thor wielding his hammer about inside my head, I remember the most amazing evening the night before. I survived a day at work, had the phone-calls of thanks early that morning too. The hangover… was definitely worth it in ways I cannot express.

Well, the wedding was a huge success in the end… but what a story I have to tell…

So let me start off by saying what I don’t like about shooting weddings.

You can plan and prep as much as you want… it probably isn’t always going to go accordingly.

Booze flows way too much toward the end.

Because the booze has taken over, the rest is a mess. The bride and groom start to rush things that they planned so meticulously beforehand and the photographer must roll with it.

Let’s say, the cake cutting for example, no longer as arranged. It all gets messy from there onwards. The downward spiral accelerates into a series of “I don’t knows” and “yeah, later” and before you know it… you end up trying to sort of follow the flow… oh crap! You can try to keep things in perspective, but, it all fails repeatedly. All you can do is hope to get something the bride and groom will appreciate. That is basically after the major formalities have been dealt with, like the preparations, ceremony and the main photo shoot, as the speeches take place and the drinking begins, things change… a little.

As the night draws on, things become a little blurry.

Now, let me tell you what I do like about weddings…

The way the energy levels continue to wind up as time draws nearer to the ceremony. The rush of excitement as all the final pieces fit together. The nerves of the groom, because he can’t stand still. The hum of all the guests, as they settle into their seats. The groom and his best men, lined up in front.

The nervous groom and his best men.

As a photographer, you notice the smaller things though… the sweaty palms, the feet that can’t stay still and even the anticipation from the guests… which continues to grow. The change in music right down to the change of chatter… to soft whispers.

The flower girls and boys make their way down the aisle, followed by the bride’s maids. The whispers of “awww” for the kids and “oh wow, look how beautiful” for the bride’s maids fade out as they all take their seat, or places in front. Almost complete silence now fills the air. It’s almost so quiet that you could probably hear the groom’s heart racing… if you stood close enough.

Last change in the music… the bride is on her way down the aisle. You can actually see the groom’s heart beating, more and more, through the mixture of excitement and nerves that are quite vividly drawn all over his face. She looks amazing.

The beautiful bride on her way down the aisle.

The veil gets lifted and the bride has the same look on her face. The nervous excitement glowing, radiating out through her eyes and smile. This really is a beautiful time for all who are present.

The ceremony begins. I have been on the go for a while already. Lugging camera bag and gear from point to point to try get that one shot. Actually, many of those shots. But, to get myself into that position where I can capture every possible moment takes quite a bit of work, I realise I am quite unfit for this sort of shooting. The rings, the first married kiss, everything. Then, the running, back into position behind the ceremony to capture the return down the aisle of the now Mr and Mrs now as one, united in matrimony. The final walk through between the guests as bubbles and confetti fill the air. They are now married!! The celebrations can begin! Well, for the guests anyway.

For the newly-weds, brides maids, best men and the kids that led the ceremony, it’s still a while before they can celebrate. It’s now quiet time with me!

We were at Thandanani Wedding Venue and it was time for the formal shoot. Now the pressure really gets turned on for me. We all climb into or onto a beautifully unrestored, rusty old Land Rover and go for a drive out into the bush behind the venue. Where are we going? None of us actually know… we eventually arrived at our destination… a short, slow drive away, in the bush.

Thandanani.

Okay, at this point, I have a confession to make. Most times, the wedding photographer has had the opportunity to survey the area beforehand… making notes, planning the shoot. Not me, timing from both sides did not allow it this time. So, I was in a spot, a bit of a bind. I had to shoot without any prior planning. There I was spinning around, seeing what was available to me, how I could work with the hard light and environment. “Okay, just go with” it is what I told myself. We were out in this lush, green bush, blue skies filled the air with hints of cloud here and there. I’d hoped for more as the weather reports had forecasted. I have to make use of the area, without making my uh, ‘subjects’ uncomfortable. There was also that fear of snakes (and I mean Cape Cobras) that made the whole party nervous. So, some ideas were not done, for safety’s sake. We got done in a pretty short time… I could only hope it was a success. Time for the slow drive back. That old, rust Landy could not exactly drive fast… not on the semi-road we were on. The return was welcomed by all… a cold beer would really have gone down well right now…

Oh yes, final shoot with the couple and of course, the new in-laws… then also with the Hummer they’d rented. It was decided the trip to the beach would have taken up too much time… another plan had to be made… more success there!! I think… thought.

As this ceremony of photos draw to an end, I can almost taste the ice cold beer… time for a breather and a cold one. I shot the tables of people, while my beer stood to the side and warmed a little. It’s time, time for the bride and groom to make their entrance. I have to be quick, space is also limited. Gaah! Flash fails me!! I manage to get one… but it’s not worth mentioning. The celebrations continue, my camera continues… after replacing the batteries of the flash to respond faster. Now it’s speeches, first dance, bouquet tossing and the garter thingy…

In between all these uh, ‘rituals’, I continue to drift around, watching, looking for that moment to snap another memorable piece… that extra moment. That one last photo, that will seal the celebrations for the couple. It’s now dark, I’ve been at this now since 2pm and I glance at the time… it now 10pm. I switched to art-mode… did a few slower exposures… to well, kind of express the blur that has become the after party. The parts, some would really remember.

From around that time, my camera and I were feeling the tiredness. There were a few guests also buying me drinks… so party on! I eventually snuck out around midnight… had work in the morning.

To my friends Jaco and Tara, it was an honour and a pleasure to have been there. As your photographer, as your friend. Thank you.

The biltong buckets, for the men who attended.

The setup for the outdoor wedding.

The whole crowd on top the old Land Rover... Happy times.

Having fun, celebrating!

Speeches and toasts were plenty.

Flying Apple Slices!

2013-01-25T21:13:00.001+02:00

Hey guys!

Been a while and I have had such a major mental block, it wasn't even funny!

In October 2012, I took my camera and started to play again... this time, getting tricky!

All the searching for cool ideas led me to try some wayward thinking.

In this case, flying apple slices and chunks errupting from the apple.

right, if you never knew how to... you do now.

I got me some really big, juicy, crisp apples and instead of just eating them, I first played with them. Yes, I played with my food.

Look below... looks cool, doesn't it?

How?

Easy!

First thing to do is... slice your apple, or any other fruit you desire...

Second thing, prop the peices into place with either toothpics, kebab sticks or, in this case, match sticks.

Position your uh, model... point your camera at it and shoot!

Okay...

Once you have your photo, it's time to take it into your editor... mine is Photoshop CS5. But, any editor with clone and heal features will do the trick.

Simple!

See the original photo?

Cool hey?

With a lot of cloning, recloning, close-up cloning and same amount of healing, you can get a good result. All it takes is time and a little patience. Be a perfectionist if you must!

Remember, to make it believeable, you need to really treat it well. Take care to notice edges, marks etc that may catch the alert eye.

Okay, I did do some of my usual layering afterwards and some minor cropping just to make it seem a little more appealing, especially since I underexposed a little and shot a little wide.

Below is another one I did, then ate. If you look close, you can see the attention to detail, it seems really as if the apple bits are floating.

Now, don't forget, you do not need major editing skills or any fancy schmancy equipment. This can be achieved similarly, with a cell phone, or basic pocket camera too!

If your camera has the ability to do long exposures, you can also have fun that way.

Here, I set up my Sony A200 with my tripod. I switched to manual mode, set the shutter to 30 seconds and set the Aperture to F8 with the ISO at 100.

I have a great little light on my cell phone, so I danced around in the street. Okay, not exactly the street, the end of a road. It took a few attempts to get the manual focus right, but nailed it nicely with this one! My mistake, wearing shorts. So, my multiple legs are noticeable in this one... I was also blessed with a car passing by in the background too!

Anyway, thanks for popping by.

Go play outside!

See you soon!

If you've played like this, would be nice to hear about it, share a link in the comment box.

Take care

Collin.

Kite-Surfing ~ Cape Town

2012-10-16T15:05:00.002+02:00

Kite Surfing is big in South Africa. I mean, on a good day, you could find in excess of 50-100 surfers occupying the waters of Blouberg, Sunset Beach and Big Bay in Cape Town, South AFrica. Ther are other parts of the Cape like, Langebaan and more around the other side too, but this seems to be the better area to hit the waters.

What an exhilirating experience it must be to put on your wetsuit, inflate your kite and fit the harness. Once the preparation is done, you've had your training and feel brave enough to head out, it can only be amazing.

Well, since I don't have the kite-surfing equipment, I still love watching these guys head out with their wind-filled kites to venture the cold waters of the Atlantic ocean. To feel the strength of the South-Wester that bellows accross the beach and sea allowing then to almost fly, in a sense. I can imagine myself, one day, splashing accorss these waters, tearing through the crests of the waves, soaring to new heights and landing again as graceful as possible back on the water's surface.

Most Saturdays, there's even a school that will help you to get out there, safely and confidently.

Below are some of the images from a recent day at the beach, watching, shooting, enjoying.

Some, do lose it, a little.

The remains of the shipwreck that is an attraction in Blouberg, slowly dissapearing into the sea.

Always such a great spectacle to watch these guys getting out and having this much fun.

Tearing a wave, getting a little air.

There's always a few learners amidst the more experience.

It's even great for couples!

Looks like a business man, yet, he's loving the thrill and the ride.

Getting some really big air!

Sometimes, taking a breather, isn't a bad thing...

On-lookers aren't plenty for some reason, but there are a few.

Trying new things, once you've mastered the basics.

Special Effects

2012-10-12T10:32:00.000+02:00

Hey everybody!

So, I've been asked numerous times on how I get this effect. Well, I was inspired by a technique called the "Dragon Effect" as the linked video will show you. This, is my own variation of this "effect". It's still a bit of work, just like most of the youtube clips will explain to you.

Me, I think I've followed most of the steps, but, still doing it my way... I guess I have this thing about following rules... I use them as a guide.

Two more examples at the end of my story.

Your initial image should at least look good to start with. This example taken in the middle of the day is a good platform to work with, but not exactly the best.

Time to start putting this onion together, one layer at a time.

This guy was neglected by his decade long employers and left behind in a small town that is also neglected.

Please note that I do all of this in the fantastic Photoshop CS5 and hope you will understand my tutorial here as I don't go into details. I don't show clips of settings, screen dumps or any of those that you see in other tutorials. I just tell you what I did and how I did it. I will however try to give you as much detail as I can remember.

(I'm glad I saved the .psd file so that I could dismantle it and give a brief on how-in-the-hell I did this.)

Right, first thing I did was to shift the shadow/highlights drastically.

(Image -> Asjustments -> Shadow/Highlights)

By shifting these sliders, you can tweak the levels until you find yorself with quite a nice balance between lifted shadows and darkened highlights.

Then a quick copy of the layer (Ctrl -J Win/Cmnd J Mac), which gets some Gaussian Blur thrown at it (Filter -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur). This is to wipe out any freaky looking ghosting and edge halo's that are caused by the shadow/highlight procedure. There are other ways, but this is what I did. Oh yes, don't forget to now ERASE the subject so that only the background is blurred (this can be achieved in various ways, such as using quick select too, magnetic lasso, or just erasing). I used a combo of quick select and eraser.

Ok, cool... So you've noticed a MAJOR saturation explosion, don't worry, we'll get to that. Before that (and this is why I'm not phased by the saturation) I add yet another layer. This layer gets desaturated (Ctrl+shift+U), then more shadow/highlights, then contrasted and finally, the layer filter is set to "Soft Light". Don't really notice it below? Probably because I shifted the fill and opacity just a tad...

Again, duplicated that same desaturated layer and gave it a hint of gaussian blur (less than half of the first blur used for the background) and the the fill and opacity brought back up to 100%.

Now, it's starting to look good and, as you'll notice, the saturation is slowly reducing...

Next steps are "the painter's steps" where I painstakingly sit with different size brushes of black and white and multiple layers (don't get intimidated, this is optional and can be done in different easy ways). Background get first priority... Remember your selection? It should still be available (Select -> reselect), if not, select again the same way you did for the blurred bachground. Cool?

Right, inverse this selection so that you now have the background selected and not your subject. Paint with brush, or use the paint bucket... either, or...

Oh, then set the layer to soft light. Background's looking cool, but still a bit of work.

Duplicate that layer, use a (reasonable sized) feathered eraser to trim around your subject so that you get a bit of a glow and nice rich, dark bacground, just like below.

This layer will get quite a heavy gaussian blur to blend it in nicely.

Okay, now the face, this is what can take the most time.

Another layer to the onion, set to soft light (again, sigh...) and this time, very small, feathered brushes will be used. Why? Because, stop asking questions.

This is to work on the details in the face, to accentuate the creases and "character lines" in his face, to make them stand out more.

There is another way, a photocopy layer, whites removed, blurred, but it isn't as effective as being selective and means a ton more erasing... I tried that route... it can be effective, but is just so time consuming.

Okay, the next two steps are basically, the same... okay, they are...

New layer, painted bucket black, erase the centre with large, very large feathered eraser with opacity set to around um, 20%. Then it's case if erasing from the centre outwards. Yeah, to create a vignette.

Duplicate that layer, erase a little more to have a lesser vignette. Play with these until desired effect.

Please note: They ARE optional, but work for me.

Okay... now it's time to deal with that saturation (which you could probably see, has been changing with each layer added) by using the new adjustment layer tool... selecting saturation and adjusting the master slider. You can, however also opt for selective colour saturation by clicking on the drop down box that says, Master... I just toned down the entire colour spectrum altogether.

Finally, I added my signature and then saved it.

(okay, I might have tweaked the brightness once more after)

That's it, as easy as that.

Do enjoy, let me know if there anything you'd like to know.

csphoto76@gmail.com

Okay, two more examples.

This one, I managed to get it better, practice...

the first one I did, this was done using the photocopy layer story I mentioned earlier.

Travel Part One

2012-10-09T15:28:00.000+02:00

I’ve been thinking about life among other things and have come to the conclusion that I am not a person who likes to sit in an office and pound away on a keyboard…

Me, I love the outdoors, I love to see country sides, landscapes and seascapes. I love to meet interesting people on their travels around our beautiful country. Why can I not do it then? I think I should! I came to this realisation on my recent trip with my best friend to Mossel Bay.

We had no choice but to stay at a backpackers due to budget constraints and found it to be quite enjoyable. I mean, accommodation is cheap, people are relaxed and friendly and there’s always something interesting happening somewhere that doesn’t cost an arm or a leg to do. So, that is the best way to get around South Africa, or any country for that matter. Sure, there’s that little thing of communal bathrooms and kitchen and if the budget is really tight, you share a room too! Come on, don’t be anti-social now…

Rock pool, created from the beating of the waves and rough tides, Dana Bay didn't present much for me, but then again, I wasn't really feeling up to doing any deep searching.

Some colourful holiday homes for the fortunate few. Great l ittle spot just minutes outside Mossel Bay

2nd Beach, Dana Bay, 20 minutes from Mossel Bay.

Holiday spot just a few minutes outside Mossel Bay

Nature Reserve outside Calvinia

Old derelict roadside stall.

You know, it’s not always about getting to point B as quickly as possible, there’s also that thing of taking in the country side around you. Stopping to stretch the legs every so often is not a bad thing at all…

A "road works" stop-n-go presented this goled gem in the late afternoon.

The sense of freedom as you drive, wondering what lies ahead.

The spectacular view of driving through the mountain passes of Western Cape.

A barn we spotted thanks to "road works". I loved the contrasting colours of the storm clouds in the distance with the warm sun shining onto the barn and surrounding fields.

Beauty In The Storm... This was spotted whilst returning to Cape Town, as taken without any editing, besides to resize for web purposes. Words cannot describe the sense of space, seeing the light in the storm. I risked getting my camera wet for this shot, but I think it was worth it.

Hotel in Hermanus has a great sea view with access to a rocky beach below.

The view from the rocky side of Hermanus Beach looking up to the tourist spots.

The beauty of Hermanus

These images are just a small part of what South Africa has to offer…

Spotted this whale swimming at The Point, Mossel Bay.

Calvinia, a town of neglect as this image shows. This old building doesn't seem like it trades anymore. Been there on two seperate occasions and it was still closed.

These two chaps are just two of the people that still reside in Calvinia. On the left, an ex-convict who spent enough years (as he put it) in a cell on Robben Island, right, just a friendly chap who travelled the Cape with "the whites" until they left him behind in Calvinia.

The view from a look-out at VanRhyn's Pass that borders Western and Northern Cape.

The Moss Family

2012-09-07T12:47:00.002+02:00

You know, I spend allot of time with these crazy folk... and I love them to bits.

There is never a dull moment, never an oportunity to miss. I find myself hauling out the camera at the best of times... well, actually, when I have it with me...

On the occasions that I do have it with me and we take a stroll, or pop down to the beach, or wherever, I usually end up with something good. They have two amazingly photogenic daughters!

Here, we have a nice lazy day, in a park just round the corner from their place.

Dad, being dad, mom chilling out in the sun as the two kids have some time together...

Mom: Leanne

Dad: Victor

Daugher: Kayla

Baby: Luna

Here's Luna getting curious as to what it is I'm doing and what this is in my hands.

Kayla loved the playground, climbing and sliding...

She really is becoming a beautiful young lady.

When she's not sliding or climbing, she's having fun with her hula-hoop...

Just love the wild hair in this one!

Okay... so Kayla has decided to go climbing again... Luna now wants to knoow how this hoop thing works...

Kids do take allot out of a person, this much I see... I mean, look at the parents...

Being lazy while the kids play and I run behind them...

I recently acquired a flash for my camera and have put it to the test... a little touch up to sort out the background and we can see a lovely image appear.

I went to a Sony demo of their new cameras at Intaka Island and they popped in to say hi...

Little Luna had this flower between her fingers and when the "awww" started, I knew, snap it up!

A day of beer, sun and sea at Blue Peter can lead to some interesting photos too!

Here's Luna enjoying the view. The white of the walls works great as a reflector spreading the light wonderfully...

"Uncle Collin, look at the sea!"

Exciting stuff... for a toddler...

Kayla, being the energetic one, couldn't just sit on the lawns of Blue Peter, she had to get out and play... burn that energy. Here's her making sure the 'coast' is clear before hitting the downhill...

She's incredibly beautiful... even after an ice-cream and the evidence still on her lips.

Can see her mind is wondering... where' the next adventure...

Mom and dad, showing their love for each other...

Luna's little boots...

Leanne and Luna on the grass whilst Kayla returns from grinding the sidewalks...

Stay tuned, I'm sure there will be more to come from this mad family...

In Black And White.

2012-07-20T20:23:00.000+02:00

Greayscale, as it is also known, is sometimes a great way to express mood or just enhance an image. Other times, it's just a way to better handle an image that was maybe shot with the wrong settings... Best part of only seeing the B&W image is, you'll never know...

I would take my camera for a walk around the neighbourhood to see what would catch my eye.

Spotted this little car parked so perfectly on the side of the road, couldn't resist but to spend a few minutes to best compose the image and still grab all that I want from the shot.

I did do some post processing to enhance the mood and atmosphere.

This was just a pop of thought, I spotted this leaf wedged in between two planks and it immediately planted a thought into my head. A thought of being trapped, waiting for that one thing that would free it. Sometimes, all of us can relate...

This kid, watched him for quite a while, spends his days outside a local KFC in hopes of some food, or money. Always happy, even when he is ignored by passers by, he still enjoys himself and his dog.

Here, sportsmen practice, even though they don't have the best facilities, they make do with what they have and overlook the things that could bring them down.

Sometimes, the road can lead one's mind astray...

Sometimes, it's what's on the side of the road that catches the eye, we should not be too hasty o get to our destination, but to rather enjoy the journey.

Out on the beach, the weather can play a major role in your image, in this case the wind blowing the clouds over the peak of Signal Hill, Cape Town, made for a great, dramatic image.

My 74-300mm kit lens working hard to get the best capture it can from Blouberg Beach.

Technically, this image is wrong, technically (referring to rule-of-thirds etc.). But, as art, it's perfect... do like the scale though of the ship, the stadium and the mountain.

Ah yes, this one caught my eye... I liked the shape of the rock, that near foot-like shape intrigued me. I noticed all the tiny shells lying around there, that could easily end up underfoot. I neatly placed a few on the rock and worked around the sunlight to get a great image. This is the result...

Close-ups can also create great pieces of art. In this case, a bee collecting pollen was readily captured. Of course, it came down to flipping the camera from landscape to portrait until the composition was right. This was the final result of many shots while chasing the bee around the flowers.

On the beach again, I managed to cach this gull just after snatching up a mussel shell. He'd fly up, and then drop it from a height to try and get it to crack open. He succeeded and enjoyed a great lunch.

Well, that's it for this episode, will follow up with some more soon again. Still trying to pick out some good ones and share a little secret with you guys.

Cheers for now.

2012-07-20T19:47:00.001+02:00

Well, I once did a small fashion shoot for a dress maker and fashion designer. Unfortunately she opted to not do further shoots as arranged. But, it was an aweome experience nonetheless.

Below are some of the processed images from that shoot. It was a fun learning curve...

Weather wasn't exactly playing along, messing the lighting around all the time. I was constantly readjusting my Sony A200's settings to adapt to the light. I do not have a decent flash unit so I had to make do with what I had, which was the kit lens and camera.

I think I did okay-ish for a first time...

Seascapes

2012-04-09T13:13:00.003+02:00

So yes, I got myself a Sony Alpha A200 camera and had to learn to use it. I set out to finally capture some beaches, some sunsets and amongst all this other things too. I would set out at sunset, or sunrise to capture some of nature's beauty... Below is a taste of things to come from my lovely little A200.

What Have I Been Up To Since My Last Posts?

2012-02-17T12:01:00.003+02:00

Well, things went astray... as you know, my camera was stolen, I had been loaned a camera for a short while, which I then had to return... So for quite a while I was without camera...

It was quite a frustrating ordeal for me, I loved having a camera by my side, I loved capturing those still images, moments, memories, experiences and most of all, the extraordinary.

Well I had, since then, decided to sell my car, buy a cheap means of transport and invest in a new camera. I searched for the best deal, looked at options, decided methodically and researched my choices beofre I decided. I made my final choice on my needs, what it was I wanted to do with the camera and how much it would cost me.

I chose the Sony Alpha A200 to start learning seriously about photography. I managed to find a sweet 2nd hand deal on it and got myself an extra couple of lenses too! So I got myself back into the game of imagery (which will follow soon) and went out shooting all sorts of random things as I always did.

I have to admit, the A200, be it an entry level DSLR, is quite a wonderful camera. Easy to use (once you familiarise yourself with its lay-out) and can get to the point with relative ease. The fundamentals I knew were now void. I was again, a beginner... I believe I still am an amature with so much more to learn. I was at ease with a basic bridge camera, it was so easy and this was not. The bicylce had changed, the rules had changed.

I began where everybody does... shooting anything and everything! I soon relocated again, closer to the beach... and this opened my eyes to what I am capable of doing. I have started to love photography again, and in a new light. I am now in the mode of DSLR! What a different world. Interchangeable lenses, manual focus, manual aperture and shutter, everything, MANUAL! Wow! I never knew it could be so much fun!

It has taken many a day on the beach, strolls along the coast at dusk and the occasional early morning to make me realise what it is I love about photography, and what it is I love about me.

I am an artist, only thing is, I use digital imagery to showcase myself. I see the world as only I can, through my eyes. All I can do is share what I see and feel with the world. I have learned recently through a very, very close freind, Victor Moss, who was the one to tell me, that I have an uncanny ability to put great emotion into my works. Nothing could be more true than hearing from somebody else. I cannot say thank you more to him for opening my eyes to see what others could see. I am original, one-of-a-kind. I am a giver of happiness and joy. I am, me.

More of my tales to follow... and more good news on how my old, dearly missed, Sony DSC-H10 has still managed to change my life, even though we are no longer together.

Must go for now, much love, readers... much love, world.

Please comment if there is anything you want up on this blog. I know it has been a long time since anything was posted here... I will share some A200 images soonest.

Children

2012-02-17T11:40:00.004+02:00

Children, such innocence, such a reminder of where we once were. The joy of our being, the loves of our lives.

Photographs, a means to cherish these moments, to capture the beauty of their being. To remind us of our youth, our love for them and the happiness they give us every day of our lives...

~o0o~

My First Big Wedding - What an Experience!

2011-05-19T11:09:00.004+02:00

So, in mid 2010, I was asked if I wouldn’t mind shooting a wedding in 2011, at the time the answer was a definite yes. I did not expect that in the time leading up to the wedding things would change so much. Needless to say, time drew closer and I no longer had a camera (mine was traded to a new owner, without consent from me, yes, I was a victim of crime). The stress of the commitment was unbearable. I mean a wedding photographer with no camera is unheard of. I had planned to own my very first DLSR, but that failed to materialize due to some unforeseen circumstances.

Well, time got closer still… then, my prayers were answered, by a generous and giving man, Mr. Brian Cheyne, in the dying times of planning, weeks before the travels to the wedding, he came to my aid. I could not believe what was happening here! A man whom I have never met in person, to me still quite the stranger, was offering to loan me his equipment. First thoughts were “what’s the catch”, there’s always a catch… strangely, there was none. None, this was new territory for me. I mean, there’s always a catch, always a sneaky little something, somewhere. Well, true to his word, there was no catch.

So, we arrived in Pretoria after the 16 hour drive from Cape Town, little sleep and unpacking to still be done. I got some rest in, 2 hours or so, then off to meet the man who saved my bacon. Upon arrival, there, on the table, was a backpack, stuffed with all the goodies I would need. 2 camera bodies (Canon 10D and 50D), and lenses, oh man, lenses. Everything I would need (and then some) for the wedding. You sir, are a true hero!

Ah, but wait! I have to learn how to use all this equipment, the wedding was less than 24 hours away! I’ve never used an attached flash, nor detachable lenses, come on, this is new territory to me! Anyways, after some fidgeting and button pushing, I started to get the hang of all this new fun stuff. I can understand why he loves photography so much. So, late to bed, with an early rise, to continue adapting to the cameras and lenses before the rush to the groom’s place. To shoot him, the bride had somebody with her. Then from the groom, to the venue, to shoot the bride a bit as well at the venue, then shoot the venue and finally… the wedding!!! I went into overdrive! I shot all angles, I shot anything that caught my eye, but never lost focus on the wedding and it’s most important guests… the Bride and Groom!

As you know, nothing flows smoothly, no matter how much planning you have done, there’s always a few surprises. Well, I had my fair share, but to me, these were all learning curves… an all new experience. Needless to say, I tip my hat to the pros who do this nearly every weekend. my legs just aren’t fit enough for all the crouching, squatting, running, bobbing and weaving and many other things I can’t think of right now to get that one shot that could make the wedding album complete.

Well, did the wedding, saw my good friends again, had a ball and then packed the bags and returned home. Now, so far in my mind (and the minds of many) everything was sorted and the editing could begin. I got stuck into editing to realize, but there’s images missing! Oh the horror!!! Worst thing you can do for the wedding is lose some vital images. I mean, I’m playing with the couple and their family’s memories here! Panic stations! A few calls and check here and there, I’d misplaced a memory card, it was still in Pretoria. It took some time to get those images here, I mean these are of the rings, the families and the whole group together! These, were some of the most important images. Well, all’s done and as you can read by this post, 2 months late, but complete nonetheless. Hopefully, if I do a wedding again, it won’t take this long for the couple to get their winning photos.

So, without any further ado, I introduce to you, the bride and groom… Mr. and Mrs. Engelbrecht… and a few images from the wedding.

-In no particular order-

Re-Adapting

2011-04-01T18:12:00.003+02:00

Each time you use another camera, one that you are unfamiliar with, it poses adaptive challenges, things work differently. But, if you are familiar with the features, it doesn't take long to get to grips with it and learn how to get what you want. These are few images taken with a Fuji FinePix. Only in my hands for a few hours and Got to grips quite quickly with it.

Autumn is approaching in South Africa.

Cape Town has a wet, rainy winter, much like some other countries come to think of it... hmmm...

Oddly, it is completely different to the lack of winter in Kwazulu Natal or the dry chilly air of Gauteng, Free State, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. South Africa, the land is as diverse as it its inhabtants. Anyways, a miniature rose, taken after a bit of rain.

Before n After - People

2011-01-31T11:34:00.003+02:00

Hey, just posting some before and after images. Some of the edits I have done in the past that have delivered satisfaction. In this photo I went from basic to extreme, personally, I like the middle one, not too much, not too little.

Now here was a nice fun shot to work with, this girl though very shy and nervous still managed to deliver some stunners. Here is the original image...

...and with a little touching up, magazine-like finish.

My niece came and stood by me while I was photographing some scenery, I think it's a cool shot... ...in black and white, with some shadow/highlight adjustments. Her sister, playing on the stairs, so I perched my camera against the wall and got this one... ... so after a lighting, contrast adjustment and a soft blurred layer (with some cleaning up) the result is quite pleasing and one for the books. A year end dance... shot the lovely couple and had fun. Downside, backgrounds were not always pleasing... ...enter clone tool! Some time to get it right without chopping an arm or anything of the sort.

Well, for now, just some retouch images.

Creating Fantasy

2010-11-21T10:16:00.007+02:00

So I've been a little quiet on the editing side of this blog. Wording the how-to's has been my mental block. But good news, some interesting reading without imaghes on the steps to follow...

---o0o---

So, I was driving the Longtom Pass, Mpumalanga from Sabie to Lydenburg. It was along these lovely winding turns and bends that I watched as the sun set. Fortunate for me, winding these roads and having many a place to appreciate, I spotted this gem. A once off, a must-stop, rolled passed, quickly reversed and bounded out the car. Surveyed the area to see what sort of composition I could get out of this and well... after snapping here and there, crouching, stretching, tilting and eventually kneeling did I get the "luck shot" (only took me around a dozen attempts). Sun was perfectly positioned, The khaki weeds and this fire stricken tree all sitting uh, I mean, standing just right, allowing a channel through leaving the peak of the mountain and the sun well, near perfect.

Um, before I continue, the clouds you see, they're not clouds. There was in fact a huge fire just north of this location and it was churning smoke in masses. Oh man, this created such a perfect scene. Gave it drama, mood and a great breaker between the remains of the day and the beginning of night... Shot at 1/250 sec exposure, aperture F8 and ISO 100 while exposure bias remained 0. Yeah, off camera looks good... but I like rich, bold colours, it's my thing so you know what's going to happen next, right? Right.

So, in Photoshop(R) I just played around with the contrast/brightness and the usual shadow/highlights, like always. Am I getting predictable? Hope not... So with a few added layers, I adjusted the sky, Toned the hot-spot known as the sun and adjusts the curves just a pinch.

---o0o---

Yeah, so now it's nice, but if you've read some of my other posts, you'll know, nice isn't enough. I WANT MORE!! MWAHAHAHAAAaaaa... erm... okay, Dr. Evil laugh doesn't work for me either.

Anyways, back to task. Here goes...

1: Lighten the foreground... New (soft) layer, painted with white where needed. Remember to trim the excess if need be to add to the feel. You'll get the hang of it of you practice enough.

2: Darken the sky... What for? Because I said so, this is my pic and that's what I've done :). Okay, seriously, it was done to add to the mood of the image (these whit and black layers also double as dodge and burn). So, another soft light layer, painted black over the areas I wanted darker. Remember again, trim off the excess, there will be overflow (I did this to keep the outer area darker than the center closer to the sun to help draw the eye into the image). Don't use 100% eraser, keep it to around 30%, this way you can still get a nice blend and effect.

3: Start adding objects... For this one, I added a crow from a failed attempt at getting a BIF (Bird In Flight), positioned just right can make or break an image. Furtuantely for me, this one had blue sky all around so cutting it out was easy. Painted it black to get the silhouette. I duplicated the layer, blured that layer and set it to soft light. This creats a sense of OOF (Out Of Focus) and adds to the sense of motion. Now add another soft light layer and get your white paint ready, set to around 30-40% opacity. I did this to accentuate certain parts of the bird just slightly, creating depth and perspective.

4: Continue addining objects... Don't overkill on things added... if you have a good image, you don't want to destroy it altogether, just make it interesting. The planet/moon/anything else you might think it is was diffilultly easy. No, seriously, to get the angle, placement and lighting right, can be a challenge. What I did here, was to add a new layer, get a big white solid brush and smack it down, like a stamp, boom. Now I have a white dot on my image (removeable layer of course) which needed lots of tweaking. Step one, a soft brush eraser, around the same size as the paint spot. Cool, getting there... now I have a nice white crest sort of thing that fades, pretty much like the moon would... so, with this eraser (now reduced drastically in size and opacity) I dabbed the remains here and there (with different size brushes) until I'd creted some nice uh, let's call them craters... but, it's STILL WHITE!! That's just not going to do! Easy fix, eyedropper tool, picked an orange from my sunset and back to paint. I added a new layer again, soft light of course (don't worry about the white spot, getting back to that) and spread a soft brush of orange over the white, remeber to erase the excess, it looks funny if you don't. Awesome, looks good. Back to the previous layer again for final adjustments. This time, I played with the master opacity and master fill opacity to get the blend done. So that's it. Done.

Oh, wait!

5: Lens Flair... Good point, I nearly forgot. Okay, I duplicated the backround layer, added the lens flair (try make sure you get the position right or it will look out of sorts and make no sense). Once I had that done, it seemed odd, ah yes, eraser again, to trim it off the foreground some, the reason for that was so I could reduce the opacity and still keep the foreground. This also helped to make the flairs seem more distant than they should... adds mistery amd intrigue.

So, I'm done, the results are below. I hope I got you interested, if not, sorry... ask me and I'll go into my archives and try fill in the blanks.

---o0o---

Share this on Twitter, or Facebook, tell your friends and get the word out on cool tricks.

Inspiration Regained

2010-09-19T22:47:00.003+02:00

Yes, I've been a little un-inspired lately... until this realy adorable couple approached me and insisted I am the one they want for their year end dance photoshoot... I agreed thinking the experience would be great... little did I know, just how much this would re-inspire me to go out and expand my skills. Not only that, but to expand my editing skills more...

Here's a few images for you to admire...

Roadsides of South Africa

2010-04-26T21:50:00.009+02:00

~o0o~

You know, travelling a lot can get quite tedious, boring and tiring… very tiring. But, if you have camera at hand, it changes everything just that little bit. Well, for me it does...

You see, I take some of the most boring roads in South Africa and seem to find beauty in them. It is finding the exceptional in the ordinary that makes the many hours in the car so worthwhile.

My secret? I challenge myself, if I can put it that way. What I do is look ahead, still watching the road, but also the sun’s position, time of day, and the scenery. If I spot something up ahead, I start to plan what’s around it, where can I stop, how is the lighting etc… if It all seems okay, I’ll slow down, double check my surroundings and the safety of the stop. If all plays out, stop, hazards on, get out and walk around to find the best composition.

Then I take a few shots, different angles etc because I still don’t get it right the first time and one take is never enough.

I have travelled quite a few roads and have impressed many people with my images.

Look, sometimes, I do the quick runaround thing because I do have timelines and thus get the images either under or over exposed but usually nothing that a little Photoshop can’t uh, fix.

So, next time you’re planning a short drive of more than an hour or between two cities with open countryside, look around, then look some more. Pull over, take a breather, sometimes you see things you wouldn’t usually see when you’re next to the car stretching your legs…

Bear in mind, these images are all shot with a compact camera.

HDR – An alternative process

2010-03-29T21:08:00.013+02:00

So, HDR is the way forward for post editing images these days. It’s a great way of converting your normal image into something more… a work of art if you’d like to call it that.

What is HDR? High Dynamic Range – more can be read ->HERE<-

There are various ways of doing HDR conversion. The primary (and said to be proper) way is to take multiple images of the same scene [set at different exposures] then using software like Photomatix or Photoshop to basically merge these layers together creating a final single image that has the fullest colour range, without all the bright bits of a normal photo.

Well, I do it differently.

I use one image that I blend and alter in various layers.

Okay, so the original, like this one below, is actually “not bad” to start with. Good light, nice colour and detail but it’s just another photograph… yawn… I started out just adjusting the colour for richness and a little more vibrancy. As usual, I got carried away and started to add more and more layers.

First port of call was to address the bright sky and darker foreground selectively, basically try to recover some of the detail in the clouds and lighten the trees and brick work. I did this in two additional layers. The first is just a light painting of black over the clouds, I set the brush opacity to around 20% and painted all the sky. It’s fine to spill over a little, that’s what the eraser is for. The second layer was to get a little light back over the foreground, darken some spots and lighten others. This is again done with black and white paint. I set this layer to soft light and painted areas like the paving and parts of the wall with black. I painted over the trees and the foreground shadows with white to lighten these up a notch or two… and then set the layer opacity to 40% (though this changes depending on image and how much I want it to reveal or blend).

Woops! Now I have it looking somewhat flat! My bad… okay not really. This is deliberate, you’ll see why in a bit. I now duplicated the original image and adjusted the exposure up a tad to brighten things up again and give back some colour [opacity remains at 100%]. I set this layer to soft light as well for obvious reasons. Now it’s starting to look more like a nice image with pretty colour and detail, right? I then duplicated the original again, set it to soft light too with opacity of 12% and it made the slightest of difference but will come into play later as it merely tones the image by that 12% colour wise.

Now, one of usual tricks is of course, the black & white layer (desaturation and brightness/contrast adjustments merged into layer). Soft light setting again and this time 35% opacity (yes, opacity will vary depending on how much shadow you wanting back). The problem with this layer is now the clouds become even brighter than before. No problem to my trusty eraser… be careful not to over erase though. Look! It’s really standing out now! How cool am I?

But, the sky, seriously, look at that sky!! Still too bright and clashing with the rest of the picture. New layer again and yes, you guessed it, set to soft light again (with opacity at 100). I used a heavy brush of black paint and got to painting all the light spots like the sky and all the pillars. You have to admit, it was needed, right? Okay, none of this is really needed, but I love doing it, so I will do it.

Looking good? Almost… I’m still not happy with those bright clouds. So, another [soft light] layer is added and more heavy paint work is done. This time, just to the clouds because the pillars look good to me. This has now gotten the colours and detail of the clouds to match the rest of the image quite nicely I think.

But, all this work comes at a price of course… in this case, it was light, the image is now a lot darker than when I started out on this project. So I played just a little more adjusting levels and then of course playing with the selective colour feature… as always… what can I say, I like to enhance the colours to give you this pretty little picture.

So, ladies and gentlemen, another tidbit to add to your learning curve. Remember, shoot wisely, plan carefully and always, always have fun doing it.

Oh, you can also drop me a mail on cdscott76@gmail.com if you’re keen on any prints or other queries you might have.

Catch of the day!

2010-02-10T20:42:00.007+02:00

This was a bonus for me, right place, nearly right time as my camera was but mere meters away from the action that started to unfold. I was just coming back indoors when this “commotion” caught my eye. Lo and behold, in the corner of the dog box, this fly had made its way into a spider’s web. A Feather Legged Spider had set up office in this little spot and as usually just gathering dust, until this fortunate moment. When I first saw this, the spider was still trailing its way down to the ever wriggling fly. By the time I had gotten back to the scene of the crime, the fly was already in the process of getting wrapped up. Below is a series of snaps that I got of this bad boy in action as he wastes no time wrapping his meal up for take-away. I wonder if it had a family to feed as that looks quite a bit bigger than him… or is it her? Hmm… curious.

The wind had picked up and drizzle had started to fall so I think both me and the spider had to act quickly...

Unfortunately, I missed the initial paralasis stage where the spider gives the fly the insuing sting while running for my camera.

These photos were taken in quick succession of each other so you can imagine this all went down quite quickly.

Now to tuck the wings back in.

Say your prayers little one...

Final stages of the process.

You can almost see the thorax movement as it works that web at a rapid pace.

Last inspection and closing of any open gaps...

Then all that's left is to grab it and haul it up to safety.

Safely home and into storage. by this time the rain was pounding down and the wind howling so in fear of equipment safety, I retired the camera for a cup of coffee.

I can now only still imagine what Frodo must have gone through when he was in the fly's position...

Among Giants

2010-02-10T09:21:00.008+02:00

Living among us giants, faeries still do exist. But, it is the rare few that see them, or at least where and how they live in these modern times... I don't know if any live here anymore as this old house seems quite abandoned. I wonder if they had to move because of all the development that has taken place around them over the last 6 or 7 decades. Sad actually, to think that once there lived the most magical of creatures and we as human beings have forced them out of their habitats...

Okay, not really, this was just me getting creative and adding to my artistic editing. You see, the image below is the original 30 second exposure that I took a few days ago. Note the skew horizon, the very dark foreground and all round poor detail.

While I was looking at this in my photo viewer, ACDSee Pro 2, I wondered what it would look like with lifted shadows and straightened horizon, it brought an intriguing look and feel to it and I wondered about the its potential. Hmmm... PhotoShop!

Okay, so I never did very much in PhotoShop besides a pinch more lighting and a colour boost to give it a bit more life... but I felt it had a void, something was missing, it seemed interestingly boring...

So, now I got creative. First thing I did was go into my archives of photos taken, I rememberd having the perfect picture of an old house that would work, cut and trimmed it to fit. I then had the task of making sure that the old house fits the colour tone and mood of the rest of the image, so some time later, I was happy. Gave the over-all image a complete boost of colour and contrasted brightness.

Threw in another image layer, a high-contrast B&W version which I filtered down to be barely noticeable but to add some more shadow.

Once I'd gotten it to look a little more intersting I decided to give it a more interesting and mystical look... by adding another layer, but this time with a gaussian blur (set to 12.5% blur) and filtered that layer over the others. It, of course, made the foreground a bit too blurry so I erased some (with a 25% eraser) just to add some sharpness back. The end result is quite impressive if I do say so myself. Let's take a look at that one again...

Well, not being completely satisfied (and a little curious), I went forth and converted... to black and white... just to see what it would look like. Well, that's it... another installment done... hope you all liked and enjoyed... take care... take pictures... and have fun!

Artistic Editing 3

2010-01-26T16:53:00.006+02:00

Well, another late submission on the how-to's.

Magic, as it has been called.

I was bored and wanted to just play around with ideas and concepts. Man, I have to play more and update this more often.

Here is the already quite impressive original image, but it looks boring...

The trick to having this one seem like it’s caught in mid-fall is due to balancing the coin on its side… on a sheet of glass. Now you’re probably wondering why there is no reflection off the glass, right? Well, it’s because I have the flash firing from slightly above and behind my “subject” reducing light glare. The sheet of glass was placed on top of an old sheet of white card-board (thus the reason for the ‘cracks’) and to reflect some light back up from the flash.

~0~

I took the image into my trusty Photoshop and got to playing with ideas. I didn’t know at the time of capture what I wanted to do with it but I soon got some ideas. I duplicated the layer 4 times and then got to work on each individual layer.

Okay, I’m going to assume you know how to navigate your way around Photoshop…

~0~

Layer 1: I boosted colour with selective colour and then a pinch of contrast, finally adjusting levels to make it a little lighter, to get the desired, rich colour toned, effect.

~0~

Layer 2: Converted to black and white (I did this by reducing saturation to zero, though there are other methods of doing this too) and adjusting brightness/contrast and levels somewhat so the coin itself had a nice silvery look to it. Okay, from here I made use of my eraser brush to erase everything around the coin. Initially I wanted the coin B&W on a coloured backdrop but when I erased a little too much I got another cool idea. So, I made the size of my brush much smaller (using the (Windows) square brackets [/] short-cut) and set the opacity to around 30% to create a nice faded effect (different opacities can be used too) and gradually erased parts of the coin, like the bird and the 5c until I’d achieved my desired effect. So now I’ve got a coin that looks well used but faded on the inside of the elevations of the coin as opposed to the outsides being faded.

~0~

Layer 3: Another colour version, selective colour to make the white slightly more yellowed (as I did on the first layer) and then just levels increase, more contrast to darken the background and that’s it. So now all that will be removed from this one is the coin and some of the shadow. I used my magnetic lasso tool to cut out the coin and then with my eraser, still set to 30%, I began to fade away around the edges of the coin and followed onto the shadow for effect. Remember, not too much otherwise you’re going to sit with a mess and not a decent blend. Also, adjust the size of your brush according to how much you want to erase.

~0~

Layer 4: Yet another black and white conversion and even more contrast to really darken it and enhance the cracks even more. I adjusted levels as well to darken the rest of the layer too. Once again, allot of erasing took place. This time I started on 50% and a reasonably big brush and erased from the coin outwards in a circular motion. I then adjusted the eraser to 25% and continued to erase away from the coin until I had a nice, rich blend between the colour and B&W layers. Last thing to do was to click ‘File’ and ‘Save As’ and saved it to get what you see below... an image that has folks saying things like "wow" and "it looks like magic" to name but a few.

A bit of work but if you’re after a nice artistic look and feel, it’s well worth it. So ends another in the series of artistic editing.

---o0o---

Landscapes From Recent Road Trips

2009-11-15T14:16:00.009+02:00

Recently I embarked on another couple of road trips. First was off to Mpumalanga region. Sabie, White River, Nelspruit through to Piet Retief and moolman before returning to Pretoria. Among the tall trees of Sabie, there are many roads such as this.

In between all the trees, roads and little of anything else, I spotted one of many old neglected houses...

They too had little roads leading into the forests. The guest lodge I stayed at had a pretty cool pool.

Just outside Nelspruit, the sky began to clear up. Taken amongst the hills and valleys of Mpumalanga. This Giraffe and Zebra were spotted along the side of the road, behind fencing of course on a game farm just outside Nelsruit. Up the hills and back into the contry side. Misty morning in Moolman, a tiny place not even spotted on a map, but 15 minutes from Piet Retief.

I then did Free State and Northern Cape regions. Quite different part of the world with much to see. For now I just posted some windmills spotted along the road.

Our land is as diverse as the people, if not more. You can travel 50kms and the colour of the earth itself will change constantly. This is typical Free State farm lands.

Nature's sculpturing is phenominal.

Artistic Editing 2

2009-11-15T13:43:00.004+02:00

Ok, upon a request from a friend, I'm posting this up, slightly (well, very) delayed.

I took this photo some time back and on camera it looked good until I got home and loaded it onto my pc. Oh, the shock, the horror! The sky looked good but the foreground was so dark and hard to distinguish what was what.

First thing I did was use my image viewer, in this case ACDSee 9, to adjust the shadows and highlights. Once I'd done that I could see the potential and possibility of recovering the image and making something worthwhile of it...

So, I loaded it into Photoshop CS2 and began to play around. I soon realised that I would have to work the sky and foreground in separate layers to create a nice balance between the two. So, I first ran the shadow/highlights in CS2 this time, not using the ACDSee version. After that, I duplicated the image layer and then hid it (by clicking on the little eye) so I could tackle the foreground. First thing was to adjust colours (selective colour) and then adjust brightness/contrast before desaturating it a tad to tone down the colours. Once I was happy with all the work I'd done, I selected the layers including the original image and then, with right-click, merged all together into the layer so that I can get to work with the sky.

The sky needed a different amount level of processing. So, for this I ran selective colour to adjust the cyan, blue and white to the desired effect. Of course contrast/brightness was used very subtly before running levels and another round of selective colour. Once I was again satisfied with the end result, I again merged all the layers into the image layer.

Now I have two completely different looking images of the same picture posted above but layering over each other. Time to erase...

Using my erase tool I set about erasing the land from the top layer. I use a spray type brush for my eraser that erases all in the center of it's brush but fades to the sides allowing room for errors. As I got closer to the horizon, I had to reduce the size of the brush so as to not over erase into the sky. An alternative to this would be to use the magnetic select tool )but isn't as much fun for me) and then select and delete. So, once I had my sky trimmed properly, I made the bottom layer visible again allowing me to see the difference my processing work has made.

Well, many are happy with the end results.

Hope you enjoyed another interesting insight and tip. This will be followed with more soon.