Artistic License

Morning Light

Sometimes the image is all about light, shape, color and too much detail detracts from what I want to 'say' in the image. When I get one of those images I reach into my plugin toolbox and pull out Topaz's Simplifier. I have been using it for years. It started life as BUZZ Simplifier and was put out by a British company whose name I can't recall at the moment. That company went belly up and for a while, I couldn't get updates then Topaz stepped in with their version.

Simplifier groups pixels of similar tone & hue and averages them into clumps. The number of pixels averaged (and thus the size of the clumps of color) is controlled with a slider that goes from very small clumps to almost a posterized image. The original BUZZ filter would go so far that it averaged the entire image but there really isn't much use for that and if you want to I think there is a built-in tool in PS that will do that. The default setting on Topaz's version is higher (bigger clumps) than I usually want and I can't recall ever going higher than the default.

The result is an image that looks a lot like a painting because it does pretty much what painters (except for photorealistic painters) do. I like the effect on some images. I have occasionally been told in the past that I shouldn't call these photographs anymore because they don't 'look photographic'. I don't really care if others prefer to think of them in other terms. I make "images" that I like, that express what I want to express about the subject and render them by whatever means best expresses what I want to show the world. To me, they are still photographs. You may refer to them any way you wish. The terms aren't important, the image is what is important. Here is a group of recent creations using both the camera and the computer. I hope you enjoy them visually and don't get hung up in what to call them.

"OPEN"

"Hay Tedder"

Gold over Gold

"Be Mine"

Click on an image to see it larger. Prints are available. Email me telling me what you want (image/size/your location etc.) and I will reply with a price quote that includes shipping. Please respect my copyright and do not repost any part of this blog elsewhere without my express permission.

Converting to Toned B&W in Lightroom

Reflections in a Vernal Pool - Ampersand Mt.

I am playing with some photos from last year. This one is from a climb up Ampersand Mt. "Reflections in a Vernal Pond". I converted it to black & white and added sepia toning. I don't care for Lightroom's sepia preset. It is too heavy-handed for my taste. The hue is fine but I set the shadow tone saturation back by a third (from 15 down to 10) and turned the highlight saturation off entirely. Toning the highlights only serves to kill them and reduce overall contrast. The whites should be white IMO.

The Cleft on Ampersand Mt. 

Ampersand Mt. Summit

As always prints are available. Email me for details. I can print up to 12x18 inches myself and have larger prints made if need be. If you wish to share with others, please give them the URL for this page, do not repost without my permission. Doing so violates my copyright.

Daily Photo - Day 7

On the Pumpkin Hill Rd. there is an interesting barn that I have been meaning to photograph as a reference for a drawing. It is long and quite close to the road so I had to shoot several photos in sequence to get the full width. Because I walked along as I shot the photos the view angles changed so it doesn't make a good panorama when stitched. The software can't resolve the different angles but it will be adequate as a drawing reference. Some parts of the barn, like this one, are interesting in themselves. I liked this one the best.  Just for fun, I made a toned B&W version as well. I think it suits the subject matter.

Signed prints are available of either version. A  small print (approximately 6x9 image area) matted out to 11x14" is $50 plus postage/shipping. I can print up to 12x18" if you want a larger print. Contact me if you are interested.