Fun with Filters

The first picture I worked on you can't really tell what I did with the smudge- it's weird because when I was doing it, it looked really drastic. I also applied the waves filter under animation. I did a lot with the dodge and burn filter as well. It was too dark after I worked on it so had to lighten the entire flower area. I really LOVE the smudge tool though- very neat.

 

 

For this second photo, I didn't want to change too much; gave it some texture using the newsprint option under the distort filter. Again, changed the lighting a bit with the hue-saturation option. I'm not sure how I feel about this photo- I like it, but something else needs to be done I just can't figure out what! I kind of wanted it to look more splotchy with the green hue.

Working with these filters really allows you to alter a picture and it was really cool to see how many things you can change. I'm sure there's a filter for every photo! :)

Dodge & Burn

 

I realize this is considered a simple tool, however this took a lot more playing around with than I expected! This time I used GIMP, just to get comfortable using different programs. It was really strange working with this tool because sometimes the dodge or burn strokes would be super noticeable a other times I felt like I was going over the same spot a million times for any change to occur. The end photo isn't perfect, but I learned a lot about this tool, so that was fun.

Before:

After:

Light and Color Photo Adjustments

 

 

(Original)

In this photo I edited the photo filter to bring out a darker purple in the flower. I also selected the mosaic tiles texture and like how it came out looking like a blurry painting- almost a watercolor! I can see myself using this texture for prints on stationary :)

 

(Original)

Here I went under brightness/contrast and selected soft light, then deep red and loved how that came out. I kept playing around with a few more tools/selections, but found it hard to remember what I used- I even tried writing it down, but kept crossing things out when I found it didn't work! But this was fun to see how many things you can do to a photo by changing the light/color/texture.

 

It's kind of funny that once I started playing around with the light and color adjustments, I wondered why I even thought the originals were good photos. It's crazy how these minor adjustments enhance the photo so much and is more aesthetically pleasing! 

Graphic Image Manipulation

I definitely struggled with this and it took many many hours to finally get the hang of this. I really liked the example, so I went ahead and did my own version of that. This is something I'd love to be good at, which I now feel more comfortable with but can't wait to play around with it some more. The first grouping of pictures are the ones I chose to use so I could dissect and add to the background I chose. The second is my final piece!

Landscapes

Before I started taking pictures for this assignment, I knew I wanted to capture a lot of patterns; textures and lines. I started in my yard and ended up driving back roads through Starksboro, Monkton and Charlotte. I think all of my pictures demonstrate what I was going for with these landscapes. I could take landscape pictures all day!

 

Rule of Thirds

I had a hard time finding an object I really wanted to take a picture of. I probably just need to just change up my setting but these were the shots I liked the best. I definitely think the photograph showing the rule of thirds is more "artsy" and interesting, but I like the one straight on better because of the two wood textures being so centered behind the flowers. I can understand why someone would use the rule of thirds and will be giving it another shot ;)

[ F R A M I N G ]

 

I had a lot of fun using this technique and can't wait to use it again in a different setting! It was a little trickier than I thought it would be but was up for the creative challenge! I think the shot of my cat peering through the chair and the chicken coop across the street were the most effective shots I got that demonstrated framing.  Here are some of the shots I got: