It is easy to see why this blog post is called, “Before and After” I really enjoy the process of digital painting in the computer dark-room.
The picture above is a typical example of a very low-luster snap-shot. The digital image below it is the creatively improved image after some tweaking in Topaz Software dark-room. In this photo I use one program from the Topaz menu. I am using Adjust.
By importing the original into the software, I am electing to choose from thousands and maybe millions of various options capable of dramatically or minimally altering the shades, hues, and intensities of the image.
In the Before and After example above, I ended up working more with the top third of the program and less with the bottom third of the program. The shade of blue is altered to a lighter blue and the light from the sun is altered dramatically to create not only depth, but also contrast in intensities.
Multimedia art forms are catching up to the more traditional two-dimensional art methods. Computer generated art is not new, it is grown up and establishing itself as a medium for the web as well as for brick and motor galleries.
It does not matter if your photography is for your scrapbook or if it is for a fine-arts portfolio, it deserves to be the best and the most creative that you can make it.
Above is another rather generic scene of the iconic St. Augustine Bridge of Lions. The first picture was clearly a wash-out and lacked any visual appeal. It hardly could serve as a memory and at that it was gray and flat.
The Digital Dark room came in handy as I wanted to have this scene in my library of St Augustine photos. It is a very familiar scene. The house we have is located just a minute up the road and this is the path that we take to walk into the ancient city.
Although this photo is somewhat improved, it is also somewhat blow-out with too much saturation. I will probably make a 3rd variation of this image. In the mean time it is an illustration that even when you go too far with an image re-construction, you still may end up with something that you liked better than the original.
In the next set of twins you will see how an ordinary street scene, can be turned into a canvas of your own.
Although the second image is a consequence of the original the two have very different missions. The first might be a memory of a great day in the center of town, while the second is more of a creation of its own. It can stand alone as a pleasant canvas. It is no longer simply representational, but it is creational of its own accord.
I hope these three sets of images help you to see that new age photography can be as meditational in the digital dark room as it is out in the field.
Happy Shooting
Writing with Light: iphotoimpression.com 