I was playing around with a couple different versions of this today and finally settled on posting this one. I over-layed one of my sunset shots of the other day (adjusted the color too) and then applied the "artistic painting" effect in iPiccy and painted some of the rocks in the original photo back in. It's not as highly processed as some of the WWYD challenges I've done, but I like it just the same!
@dakotaburns Thanks Donald! He came with the original picture. At first I thought of taking him out altogether, but that little pop of red is a nice splash of interest.
@digitalrn Thanks Rick- it does have an other-worldly feel to it. @prttblues Thanks Bev- not too many steps on this one- but it has the appearance of more than it really took.
@pflaume Thank you Lisa! This wasn't as hard to do as it looks. I took the original and used a sunset shot I took as a texture and applied it in "invert" to get the colors you see. I then painted the lower half of the original picture back in (basically erased the texture off the bottom). I bumped up the colors in "hue and saturation" then because the texture shot darkened the original. The next step was to apply the "artistic painting" effect and once again paint the original back in, but this time I only painted in the man and a couple patches of rocks to give it some depth and detail. The last step was to add the mirror frame and tint it in orange with a black border frame around the edge. I did all this in iPiccy, which is one of the free on-line sites I like to use. Their texture application gives you the option to upload your own texture- which can also be a photo. The total time it took to do this was less than 15 minutes! Sometimes when I'm working with more detailed photo merging it can take up to an hour.
@olivetreeann Thank you for the explanation, Ann. I wish I could sit next to you and watch you work. I will have to check out iPiccy. I definitely have to learn to spread my editing wings. I am still in Picasa for the bare minimum but as I see so many lovely creative shots like yours on 365, I am inspired to experiment more with that aspect of photography.
@pflaume Thank you Lisa! I am by no means a processing expert- but experimenting is the key! Most of the time I set out with no idea in mind at all and ask myself, "What if I put this effect on this picture? What will it look like?" Once in a while I have an idea in mind and actually pull it off. And other times, I have an idea but discover something different as I'm experimenting. So, I would highly encourage you to just play around with everything! If you are an ace member, you can upload your picture to 365 and then use the "edit in Picmonkey" tab to process your photo with their premium features. If not Ribbet, iPiccy and BeFunky are the places I usually go. All Ribbet's premium features are free right now and their program is very similar to Picmonkey. BeFunky has some great "artistic" effects that really turn the shot into a painting (that's where I did most of the "Boys at Play" shots. iPiccy has some really nice collage layouts and effects like the one used on this shot. I know there are a few other freebies out there but I can't recall the names right now. Anyway- processing is fun. I do try not to rely on it all the time though. I want to be able to be a strong enough photographer in my sooc shots first.
@nicolecampbell Thanks Nicole! Yes, surprised myself with the colors. @sarah19 Thank you Sarah! They remind me of Fall! @sangwann Thank you Dione!
Love the artistic effects you've created, Ann. I think ipiccy is so awesome.....way better than picmonkey. This certainly would make a lovely wall hanging.
@cimes1 Thank you Carole! I find that I like each site for certain things. I've always like the dauggertype effect in Picmonkey the best for making new photos look "old". iPiccy has the nicest collage layouts and the best program for merging photos. They also give you the freedom to upload your own texture too (I think Picmonkey does too). But Ribbet still has the most options for effects. BeFunky has quite a few too- and as you know I LOVE their "artsy" effects! So I find I still jump around between all of them. Glad you like this one- it wasn't what I started out to do, but I liked where it went!
@chrismarfil Thanks Chris- I can't take full credit for the shot as the original was provided by the person hosting the challenge (whose name is escaping me right now), but all the editing and layers are mine.
@kerristephens Thank you Kerri!
@prttblues Thanks Bev- not too many steps on this one- but it has the appearance of more than it really took.
@nicolecampbell Thanks Nicole! Yes, surprised myself with the colors.
@sarah19 Thank you Sarah! They remind me of Fall!
@sangwann Thank you Dione!