Before and after . . .

Back in 2012, I won a bid on eBay. Someone in Europe was selling 14,000 Czech matchbox labels. 14,000! I debated whether or not to bid, and, encouraged by two alleged friends, I entered a low amount, and to their surprise and delight I won the bid. And I'm thinking, uh-oh.

They (the labels) arrived a couple weeks later, all packaged nicely, sort of like Saltines when they used to be in those long, waxed-paper-like tubes.

I began poring over these small pieces of paper like some crazed philatelist, dividing them into groups of like subject matter, wondering what the hell am I going to do with these now? There were five in particular that depicted sports. I liked the overall simplicity of the artwork and the interesting color palette.

So here you see how the matchbox label looked originally, and then you see how I added a background, adding a bit more size and a bit more drama.

I’d not thought of these labels until today, when I was looking for examples of the color orange — my Photomotivation assignment for the month of March. Looking at more of the labels, I’ve got even more ideas. One down, only 13,999 more to go!

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your understanding and kindness.

Eight years apart . . .

The top photo is an image I took in 2008, using a Canon EOS 20D camera. And I processed the image as I usually did back then.

Looking at it today, eight years later, I find it rather dull. But what I like about it is the strong vertical slightly curved line and how it meets the highly curved line bottom right.

I also like the way the vents create a series of horizontal repeating lines. Horizontal lines that move your eye from top to bottom, echoing the strong vertical line on the right.

It's a combination of soft curves and straight lines. I like the texture and I like the color.

I found it in a directory I'd labeled "monochromes."

I opened the file yesterday morning and wondered what I might do to it now, eight years later.

Using Adobe Camera Raw, I lightened and brightened the image. I also increased the contrast, and, using the clarity slider, enhanced the sharpness.

Not content with that, I looked in a directory I have of metal texture photos. I selected a picture I'd taken of scratched metal, desaturated it to remove the greenish cast it had, and then added that picture to the mix.

Is the bottom photo better than the top? Eight years later, have I learned anything? I'm not sure.

The bottom image is lighter, brighter, more vibrant, has more contrast, more life.

But notice this: You see a stronger sense of line and design and composition in the top photo. Why? Because it doesn't have the color "distractions" that you see in the bottom shot.

So I'm going to go with the second photograph. Overall it's more appealing (to me). But I do like how the design pops out in the first.

What's my point? I don't really have one, other than to say it's fun to revisit old photographs with new eyes and new skills. That this learning process never ends, and how lucky we are that it doesn't?!

©Carol Leigh
All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh.

Then and now . . .

Rummaging around in old photos (2003!) I came across this image of a painted/rusted chain on a fishing boat in Oregon. I loved this subject matter then, love it now 13 years later.

The camera was my very first DSLR, a Canon EOS D60, which had, I believe, a 6mp sensor.

I was shooting JPEGs, knowing nothing about shooting RAW. Think I'd had the camera maybe two weeks.

But I did use Photoshop (sort of), and so did some post-processing, as you can see in the first photo.

Times have changed and so has my skill level (sort of). And you can see the difference in the second photograph.

So what did I do in the second picture? I used Curves to create a bit of depth. I used the Clarity slider to add a bit more texture to the rust. I darkened the image, added a layer mask, inverted it, and then used a soft brush to reveal the darker area in the lower two thirds of the frame. I used Photoshop's saturation "sponge" to pump up the blue paint on the metal a bit. And then I used some software I bought yesterday -- Aurora 2017 -- to add a bit more grunge and brightness to the image.

The result is a picture where the colors are richer, where there's more depth, and where the blue paint really stands out better against the complementary rusty orange colors.

Not bad for a photograph that began its life as a 3mb JPEG.

©Carol Leigh
All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh.

Before/After "Lone Star" Effect

Who doesn't love a before/after set of photos? We see this in home decor magazines, style magazines, but not so much in photography media. In a previous post I showed pictures I'd taken in a bistro using the iPhone 6Plus and an app called Camera Awesome. Within that app is an effect called Lone Star.

Here are the before and after versions of each shot:

 

 

©Carol Leigh
All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!