Dusk, Blackwater Pond
Blackwater Pond in the Cape Cod National Seashore, seen here at dusk last October, is rendered using computer manipulation of the digital file. There was a time, and I can define that time more precisely: before my vision was altered with the series of retina operations, when I would seldom use obvious manipulation on my photos. Oh, I was frequently tempted, but never had a clear reason to do so.
Now, a full year after the first operation and only a few months into adjusting to the new vision, I find manipulating photos to be the best way to communicate what I see. I started this Mental Seeds blog so that I could explore these personal photos and gain better understanding of digital manipulation. So now, what I see, either actually or in my mind’s eye, is often in need of some post production enhancement and expression. The new vision has liberated me from strict realism in my photography and given me permission to learn these tools and apply them to my art.
Notice I have not used the word PhotoShop. Like the word Google, Photoshop is so well understood it has become a verb. We google for something on the internet, we photoshop our images. But there are other ways to manipulate photographs without using Photoshop. Even camera phones have apps to enhance photos. The painterly affect used on Dusk, Blackwater Pond was achieved with a series Topaz filters.
To be sure, I used the Topaz filters as plug-ins to Photoshop but they can be used with other programs such as iPhoto. The concept here is using whatever tools are available to make the picture look like I want it. I love having the excuse of new vision to learn these tools. Without going into all the specifics, I used the controls within two Topaz filters (Simplify3 and Adjust5) to bring out the watercolor impression after I used Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw to correct the original image. The affect is best seen on a full size print, but clicking on the photo will bring up a slightly larger view.
Either way, the original was pretty dull in the camera, even though I “saw” the pastel sky colors reflected in the water:
I was pretty disappointed how the camera interpreted what I saw in the waning light and didn’t even think to work on this photo until I decided to learn the Topaz tools. The graphic composition was strong but had little of the feeling of that soft gloaming evening sky. The tools brought back the color, and the watercolor effect simplifies the scene and allows it to glow.
As long as I am working on my art photos from that shoot I’ll show another one. No filters needed on this view of native shrubs growing alongside the pond. Realism is the message.
Native Shrub Tapestry by Cape Cod Pond
I have always seen flat, tapestry patterns in nature. I haven’t shown very many but now have the opportunity and excuse to explore the fine art side of my photography. Whether or not my vision is forcing me to see new compositions, I can’t yet judge. Certainly I am building on how I have learned to see and some of these new photos I may very well have seen anyway. But I am sure I wouldn’t be showing them.
Next up: 2012. I hope to approach a gallery in the new year and get these things shown properly, large and on paper.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I believe that Topaz brought out the best in the water reflection. It added a lot of punch to the image. Nice job.
Thanks Donna. I think the more significant filter was the Simplify3 that converted to a painterly effect. I am realizing it is not very obvious to see, even the larger view does not showcase the effect as well as the master file.
I stopped back Saxon because I recently joined a local Photographer’s Group. We go on field trips to photograph a place as a group. I am one of a handful of amateurs in the club and what I noticed about all the pros is that they are heavily using Nik, Topaz, OnOne, and of course Photoshop. I was so surprised. We upload our images onto our member site so that is how I saw all the manipulated images, loads of HDR and composting. Honestly, I was a little disappointed because I really wanted to learn from THEM.
In your post you mentioned rarely using these filters and effects professionally and I have always admired your photography and philosophical approach to photographing. I have been staying away from photo manipulation to improve my skills, and I am curious as to your take on this for a photographer like me. Any advice? I really want to improve my work.
Donna – In my professional work I want to communicate to gardeners what a successful garden looks like. “Successful” means different things to different people but the photo needs to be believable, even knowing the gardens I photograph are pretty special to begin with. Studying them quietly, trying to understand what I am seeing and carefully composing an image is deeply satisfying. My advice to anyone wanting to improve their photography is to study photos you like, shoot as much as you can, and edit hard. That means edit in camera before you click the shutter more than editing when you get back to the computer. A nice thoughtful composition will be appreciated by all. The pros who use all the filters are often using them for quite subtle effects that enhance the original composition, and I bet being a part of a photo group gives them the welcome permission to play and learn.
Once you have a composition that pleases you, first work on the “standard” post production tools to bring out the color, density, contrast, ect that you intended when you saw the photo. Sometimes (often ?) what you saw is not what anyone else saw and the corrections you make will be entirely your own. As you get better and better at bringing out what you want in a photo you may need more tools. That’s the time to explore the special filters.
Composition is still key. For me, when my eyesight changed after the surgeries, I truly needed the special filters to attempt to render new perceptions. Then it goes back to communicating what I saw and the mood or feeling I had when making the photo and interacting with the scene to begin with. This is the best way to use all the amazing array of filters available to us: as tools to evoke what we see. If they are used for pure play, they become candy without substance.
Thank you so much for the advice Saxon. I have been struggling with this for quite sometime. I know Photoshop very well and dabble in the plugins too. I thought maybe these pros were using them for artistic expression because shooting weddings and portraits maybe was too routine. I am just going to have to be bold enough to ask and learn from them. And maybe teach them a few things with Photoshop too, because a purple building and blue landscape was a little beyond believable! I think your point on making the garden believable is perfect advice. If it is for art sake (not that photos are not art), there should be an effort to really make it art.
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