Digital Manipulation - a combined image from 2 different sources

I chose to combine the following 2 images together:-

Babbling

 shutter 1/10 aperture f7.1 iso 100 FL 105mm

I like this colourful image but decided it needed some tall flowers around the brook, which would also introduce more colour than just the shades of green. When I shot the scene I thought I would be able to use it as part of a combination image, because though it is a nice scene, I knew it was pretty plain, compositional wise, but then I could look to give it more whiz with the addition of other elements and try to make something more of it as a whole.

Planning:
 I wanted to basically get another water scene for my manipulation part of the course , in keeping with some water scenes I had attained within my nature theme, so I went out one early evening to a local brook within a field.  When taking the shot I decided to centre the brook and simply frame it with the shades of green foliage.  I stood at my height level and lowered my legs slightly to get the view within a gap between the foreground foliage so that I could clearly see the water falling down its little ledge, to give a slight movement feel, and with this in mind I shot handheld.  The light was good because I had chosen dusk to go this venue knowing it would be at this time the brook would receive gently low light.  This gave me the colours I was after and I was able to use a low iso setting. I chose a mid aperture to show some detail, which gave me the necessary shutter speed.                                          

                                                                       Lilac flowers
                                            shutter 1/100 aperture f4.0 iso 100 FL 105mm

My reasons for choosing Lilac flowers to combine with Babbling are because I thought the tall flowers  would blend in well and their delicate colour may work because the brook water appears to have a hint of lilac to it already, caused by the sun's light on the watered stones.

Planning:
I had shot Lilac flowers on a trip out when I went in search of flowers for my theme 2, so I had gone out specially in search of colours that took my eye at Calke gardens.  It was actually on the way back from this trip that I saw my best flower shots, within someone's garden, whereby I found a place to park up and go near enough to shoot them from the path.  I used my zoom to full capacity to get in as close as I could, iso on 100 again because it was the dusk light that I like, and an eye level angle to feel as though I was amongst them. Then I filled the frame with the flowers   I wanted a shallow depth of field to keep a soft background, and this in turn determined my shutter.  The shot was taken handheld but I managed to steady my arm on a wall. At the time I took this image I was in search of my 'dreamy' image and so would experiment with a a gentle move as I took the shot, in the hope to render a slight blur effect. Now in choosing this image for manipulation it will serve good purpose in helping to give that sort of look.


The following screen grabs show clear descriptions of the processes I used and their effects, together with the history list of actions taken:-

I placed both images in photoshop, duplicated the background (layer, duplicate layer) then selected the 'move' tool to  separated them both by clicking on one of their tab tops and dragging it away and off to the side. Then I moved that image back on top of the first one, ready to combine them.

By using the opacity level on the right I lowered it from 100% downwards and this starts the 'see through' effect of the top image showing some of the bottom image within it.

I experimented with this level increasing and decreasing its effects.  I also experimented with the 'fill' level underneath and again increased and decreased its effects.   Then I went back to the opacity level to amend that again and then the fill level....until I was happy with the result.

Reflecting back to when I converted an image to black and white, I decided to just check what the scene would be like without  colour, just to compare.  Even though I found this effective, I consider the coloured image  better because it showed the brook within the scene more, and all the colours make a bolder statement, lending to its feel.

My last adjustment was to increase the brightness to 9 and the contrast to 61.

Giving this result.

                                                                     Fantasy brook

I think the 2 images worked quite well together because they created a fantasy look with effects that resemble impressionism,  and this is what I have been researching and trying to achieve, so it ties in with my themes.  I have achieved it here and you can still see the brook clearly, drawing the eye into the centre of the picture.  It holds colour and light throughout the scene again adding to an impressionistic painting effect.  Interestingly, the combining of these images brought about a white, lady like,  face being created towards the middle top of the frame.  I can also see her arms coming up and around the brook, in the purple/blue flowers, all of which determined its name:  I see a sweeping figure, made of flowers, bringing her light to the brook.

Preparation:

With loaded camera I had gone out locally to take scenes within a few hundred yards of home, for about an hour, with the  intention of shooting hand held nature images in order to try to attain dreamy like effects that I have been researching throughout this course.  I am happy with this combination.

Technique:
In both cases I set the aperture I wanted, letting the camera set the shutter speed.  This worked with the available light with the use of 100 iso.  I like to use iso on 100 where I can, with relevant light, ie dusk golden hour, aiding better quality images, then varying the aperture in accordance with the depth of field I am wanting to attain.

File Format:
Both images were already in a jpeg format to start, and after combining them together I saved the completed result in jpeg too, knowing it would not require further amending before presentation on my blog.

Health and Safety:

  I am very safety concious whilst working and have a self pre-requisite check list which includes:-

 Not straying too far from the car.
Holding and using equipment carefully.
Not placing the tripod in any precarious unstable positions (when in use) so as to not endanger the camera or anybody.
Being careful where I park and tread on foot, not to upset any living creatures habitats.
Always keeping a look out for passers by.
Taking my time with the set up and then packing away promptly and leaving when I have finished my shoot.
Not carrying too much equipment at any one time.
Not going out alone in the dark.
Taking my mobile phone in my pocket.
Ensuring  I wear  relevant clothes/ footwear to suit current weather and forecast conditions.
Carrying snacks/drinks in the car for any long planned stays out.
Abiding by any venue rules and regulations.

Digital Manipulation - a before and after image - tulips

I took another  image and using techniques also described in a previous blog enhanced the following:

                   This is my original image which I placed in Photoshop.  I like the image but thought the bit of blue sky to the top right background was distracting and did not need to be there so I decided to  clone over it.

Tulips

I chose the clone tool and a brush size and strength and selected a green spot from the bottom left of the image and started to clone out the blue.  Once I started I worked my way down the bottom right of the image and decided I would also clone over the right white like areas too.  I thought by cloning  all down the right side, to more match in with the background of the left side, the subject would stand out more in the image.  I wanted to leave the reddish hue that seem to come off the flowers though because I liked its affect, giving the flowers a sort of reflected glow.  I selected different tones of green as I worked, trying to create a blend in affect that was not too rigid.  You can see the cloned prints if you look carefully but I decided this was ok as it gave the scene a mottled look that interest , albeit looking like a different texture to the left background, which has a more sheen effect.  I gave a edge look around the flower head as I worked and decided not to try to blend this out, as it emphasises the reflected look of the red.  I now like the image and consider it has more impact than the original.

Reflecting back to the effects I used when converting an image to black and white, I decided to experiment with the colour channels again, this time on a coloured image, rather than a converted black and white one:-

                                                                  

I like this effect because it is more unusual and gives the picture a different feel.

Scarlet Glow

shutter 1/200 aperture f4.0 iso 100 FL 105mm

 I concluded I liked this as the best effect look, because it is in keeping with the original colours, but with the exception of blue, concentrates more on the greens, which as its complementing colour, in turn makes the red more bold.  Also the removal of the blue brightens the background greens making them appear less dull.  It does make the sunlight reflected parts on the petals look yellow instead of white however, and makes the stalks a lime green, but I like this overall look as an effective throw on its natural coloured edited image, Tulips.

I shot Scarlet Glow (Tulips) handheld from the side of someones garden using an evaluative meter mode just after 6pm.  I focussed on the flower petals using the following equipment:

Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF 24-105L IS USM kit
SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash card 8GB 60 MB/s

Output Techniques:
I could download the images onto a CD or memory stick to hand to Steve for presentation on the college gallery web site and television screen.  This media will be showing students work within the college.  I would ensure the file format is 'jpeg' in keeping with this file setting being best for photographs because its compression preserves more detail.

Digital Manipulation - a black and white image

I have been experimenting with a need to change an image to black and white.  I chose this because I thought it would work well due to its contrast tones, lines and shape:

Bath Time

shutter 1/125 aperture f11 iso 200 FL 80mm

This is the original image taken in colour.  I took the picture on my day out at Matlock Bath.  I had to take it hand held to be quick and I was lucky I managed to get so close.  I was sat on the steps taking from an eye level focal point.

I duplicated the background layer then clicked on adjustments and desaturate.

First Method:

"If you completely desaturate a colour image, you remove the colour data to give just a greyscale.  However it is still a colour image and looks grey because every pixel has its red, green and blue information in balance.  Because of this, the information is self-cancelling and the colour disappears."

 Using another method:

"If you select different colours to desaturate, you can change the balance of tones.  Converting the image to greyscale at this point gives you a different result from a straight conversion, since the colours that you first desaturate become lighter than they otherwise would have been."
(Quotes taken from the Digital Photographer's Handbook by TomAng page 276)

              

The first method I used to convert to black and white shows how dark the shadows are on the left initially, so I adjusted the brightness and contrast levels and the one below is lighter in the shadows.

Taking the 'eye' on and off shows the difference in the 2 above images, one lighter and one darker.

I opened the History box to screen grab a copy to show what I was doing.

The image above shows my second method to convert to black and white, by simply clicking on the 'black and white' option in a drop down box (after selecting the icon for new adjustment layer).  Again this method results in the same dark shadows initially, but more adjustment slider levels became available (see second image down).

Black and white

The black and white, left with the dark shadows  shows off the contrast tones of the white ducks to the grey tones of the other subject matter ie. the stone, water, trees and bridge. The ducks shapes are emphasised.  Contrast textures can be seen with the soft features, and hard concrete steps, and the softness of the water to the hardness of the bridge. The light is emphased...  I particularly like the rim of light around the forefront baby duck and the hint of light showing in the distance (background left) of the river bank.

You can also make images black and white conversions through "channel extraction" on the channels layer:-

These images show the effects with the 'eye' on and off different layers in the channels box and how the tone levels can also be experimented with.

The above shows that by just looking at the green channel (eye only on the green channel) and extracting the other colour channel boxes, the image turns black and white.   Below shows by just looking at the blue channel box, black and white is rendered.  However and reflecting back to what TomAng said there are differences in the  balance of tones (see 'Using another method  above) and this channel extraction way has produced lighter initial tones in the shadows compared to the first method.

A navigator box (small insert in above) shows how the black and white image can be compared to the coloured original.  

A history box shows the actions taken

Reflecting back to TomAng I can clearly see tonal balance at work in these images.

I used another image to show the second method in action, where I converted to black and white and adjusted the colour levels:-

Torches

shutter 1.3" aperture F4.0 iso 100 FL 102mm

I took Torches in my garden after a downpour of rain when I noticed the raindrops and the way light was reflecting on them on the roses.  I used a tripod to enable me to capture the detail better and in  choosing a wide aperture and low iso for the same reasons,  the camera chose a slow shutter.  I got down at a low angle to take from an upward stance and my focal point (in spot metering) was on the rose head.

 I thought this image might convert well to black and white because of its deep red colour contrast to the leaves and the compositional shapes, pattern and lines. What I do like about this one is the way little touches seem to be lit inside the rose bud.

This simple route in then brings up the colour levels sliders for adjustments:-

You can see how I changed the levels this time to make the now white rose stand out from the other  dark grey tones.

 White rose

You can also give this look a tint effect:-

tinted rose

You can see by even giving a tint here, the white of the rose does not stand out as much as in the black and white version, above it. The lighting also looks better in the black and white one, the rain drops look more apparent on the leaves.   In my opinion the coloured rose image does not stand out as much as the black and white conversion.  It is short on impact.  The black and white look captures more impact I think, escpecially on first quick glance of it.  The little torch effects are lost however due to the fact that the red contrasted so well with their white light, but turning the rose to white, they do not stand out against it.  In conclusion: a black and white image can be more powerful than colour in certain imagery.

On reflection I concluded that you far more flexibility with the 'black and white' selection route  than the desaturation route because you get more control levels for finer adjustments.

So then I experimented, with another black and white conversion using this same route of getting to the black and white stage, but then taking the controls further to give a different high key type of effect:-

I used a different rose image, one which I considered had more stem leaf  shades of colour that would be enhanced by a conversion to black and white:

The following screen grabs show my processing:

I liked the effect here but wanted more high key

I experimented with the colour levels until I was happy, being careful not to go too far and lose more  detail.

these are the final controls I settled on

High rose

shutter 0.3 sec aperture f4.0iso 100 Fl 67mm

I am pleased with this effect. I was trying to achieve a high key look.  The different stem shades of green really do extend to more contrast and highlights as I had supposed.  Also this way the background distracting rose blends into the scene better.  Interestingly  the folding out petal on the bottom left of the rose head now appears to look like a run of liquid, and I like the liquid effect inside the rose head.

Output/presentation:

When happy with the images I can save them as 'jpegs' to use on my blog, the gallery web site that is being set up by the college and tv screen, which will be in the college to display students work for approximately 2 weeks.  I would simply do a 'save' or 'save as' from the 'file' drop down box and on the following the pop up boxes can select the 'jpeg' option with a preset of 'jpeg high' to give the best quality.

You can also convert images to black and white via the channel mixer control (page 280 Digital Photographer's Handbook):

Research:-

I am pleased with the effects here and I have learned how there is much versatility within black and white imagery.

Equipment used: Photoshop CS5 plus: