Windows of Photography

 

 




Blast to the Past



I love the composition of this image but, the original photograph (top) did not deliver. The sky was blown-out and the rest of it was too washed-out. I could do nothing to improve it. Yea, it happens sometimes. So when I have an image like the one at the top, I apply the old saying from Dale Carnegie: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” And that’s exactly what I did in the following two images. The image was already distressed so why not distress it even more but, in a good way. I used presets in Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro 2 and Color Efex Pro 4 to create aged images.

Image No. 2: After doing minor post processing in Photoshop CS6, I used Silver Efex Pro 2 to create an aged black and white image with burnt edges. Within Silver Efex Pro 2 I selected the “Full Spectrum Inverse” preset. This particular preset created the right tone and mood for an aged B&W image. To finish-off the image I added a distress white border and burnt edges.

 

Image No. 3: Once again, after doing minor post processing in Photoshop CS6, I used Color Efex Pro 4 to create a postcard like image. Within Color Efex Pro 4 I selected the “Kitschy Postcard” preset. It should not be a surprise that this preset is perfect for creating a postcard style image. I only had to make minor adjustments to finish the image.

 

The great thing about Nik Software’s presets is that once you select a preset, you can then further make adjustments. Plus, you can also combine multiple presets to create something different.

 

To learn more about Nik Software's Presets and Recipes go to: Nik Software
 

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Technical Data: Nikon D3 with a Nikon NIKKOR AF-S 70-120mm f/3.5-5.6G lens, Exposer: 1/500s at f/5.6, IOS: 200, Focal Length: 95mm, Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority, Exposure Bias: 1.00 EV, Metering Mode: Matrix Metering, Filter: Ultra Violet, Subject Distance: Infinity, Lighting: Natural Daylight, Date: 08/4/2009 at 10:15 am, Post Processing: Adobe Photoshop CS6 (images 2 & 3) & Nik Software - Silver Efex Pro 2 (image 2) - Color Efex Pro 4 (image 3)

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