Something Different!

The end of 2014 is fast approaching and after four years of blogging it is getting increasingly more difficult to come up with something new or different to share with you. However; I do not wish to let this page cease since I thoroughly enjoy my bit of meager writing and posting my photographic work, as time allows. Having said that; I am looking forward to 2015.

Since autumn has just lapsed and winter is upon us I thought that I would include some of my October to December pictures as these are my most favorite months for shooting landscapes.The vibrant color of fall and the starkness of winter create fantastic settings for awesome images. For this post I have taken eight of my color prints and manipulated them in Photoshop to create an oil painting effect that, when put on the right paper, resembles an actual canvas work. The first requirement is to choose an image with an uncluttered composition and bold color. Then I like to experiment with various filters and software to arrive at the final appearance that I am looking for. The effects can also be adapted for black and white but should be more subtle so as not to destroy the composition unless avant-garde is your aim. The filters included with Photoshop are great but there is a lot of other software available from independent companies. They function as a plug-in with Photoshop so you can layer them and achieve almost any desired result. I use several for my work and they include Nik, Akvis and Corel.
I hope I have piqued your interest and thanks for looking in.