Project 52 by Juliac

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Julia,

I have been work on this photo using Photoshop (clone tool) to get rid of the electric wires. I also cropped it. i am wondering if the results of the clone tool can be seen or if there is another way to get rid of the lines.

You what annoying people say when you are painting a wall or window frame?
That's right; "You missed a bit"
(look at the top, just right of centre)
sorry, I couldn't resist

Other than that, it is a pretty good job, the more you do it, the more you learn how to disguise it; practice makes perfect, as they say.

Or- would it be better to keep them?

I don't think so, not unless the photo is supposed to be making a point about birds killed by flying into power lines.

It looks a bit dim, although I guess twilight, it might be worth giving a bit more exposure.

Hope that helps,

[juliac]

Ok thanks - I will give it a try.

[juliac]

I have cleaned the photo up and taken away some of the spare wings on the side as well as having lightened it. i think I am prone to the dark photo!

[juliac]

In this photo I have worked to remove the small trees to get a clean horizon using the clone brush. I have also lightened up the photo. I was wondering if it might work well in B&W

original with the trees on the horizon


Poplars with a clean Horizon

[Dave Humphries]

In this photo I have worked to remove the small trees to get a clean horizon using the clone brush. I have also lightened up the photo. I was wondering if it might work well in B&W

That makes quite a difference Julia - a much nicer, simpler, cleaner image and that was just by removing something that was actually complementary to the scene, not as if buildings or lamp posts!

I think it would work in B&W, not that I do much myself, it has strong shapes and limited tones, with a bit of (grass) texture. I wonder if it is worth losing the half a tree on right too (more cloning) for the B&W?

Cheers,

[kdoc856]

Very nice, Julia

Much cleaner with less visual competition. Would even consider removing a few other low-lying branches and make the trunks more homogeneous. And I think you've left a tiny bit of a mostly cloned underlying tree at the far right. I think you're on to something good with this minimalist approach, and I think it would look great in B&W

Kevin

[juliac]

I have converted it to black and white using the channel mixer in photoshop. I prefer the colour version because the green compliments the trees. However if anyone has a suggestion for a better black and white version I would be very happy to know how to do it.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

I think I prefer the coloured version better - it helps to make the silhouetted trees stand out a lot more I think.

[juliac]

I agree!

[juliac]

I am continuing with work on my post production and as I am back in Jerusalem I am going to start taking photos of more urban areas and buildings of which I have very minimal experience. This week's photo is of the Convent of Borromean Sisters. As you can see from the 1st photos there are plenty of electric wires, lamposts and people so I have worked to remove them using the clone tool after minimal post production. I am also looking at angles of buildings so any suggestions would be welcome.

Original
ISO200 f/22 1/50


After a lot of work with the clone tool in Photoshop

[Donald]

1. That is a very impressive piece of cloning work that you have undertaken. How long did you spend on it? You need to compare notes with Frank.

2. I think your composition, in terms of the angle of the shot is good. Can you say if there were any particular factors that you took into account in deciding upon that specific location so far as the angle is concerned?

[juliac]

It took me a couple of hours but practice makes perfect and it feels easier now.
As for the angle I wanted to catch the whole building and have looked at other photographer's pictures it seems to me that if you get 2 sides of the building with an angel it is much more effective than taking the photo directly.I have also converted the photo to B&W and I think it expresses the heat of the day.

[FrankMi]

Nice cloning work, Julia! I see that you noticed and removed the shadows of the removed objects as well. Based on your demonstrated skills in this area, I'd say that you are ready to move onto the next level. Repeating patterns, such as in the stone wall, are a dead giveaway that cloning has been done.

Most folks might not notice the patterns so it's not critical, but it can be minimized by taking random samplings from different areas to break up the pattern and make it less noticeable. I think I would have left in the tree branches as they tend to add depth to the composition.

Near the peak on the left side of the main roof there is a 'hole' where the wire was cloned out. These differences can be easy to spot in the Lytebox as you arrow forward and back between the two images, but that is easier to fix than to spot at times.

When you refer to the angles of the building, do you mean your shooting angle or the angles formed by the building based on your shooting location?

Overall I'd say you did very well!

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Julia,

That is a very good effort, well done.

As Frank says, the only real 'givaway' is the wall pattern, but most of the rest is invisibly done.

[juliac]

Thanks for all this. I have taken on board what you said and had a go at the wall.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Great work Julia on all fronts. Looking forward to seeing your next photo.

[juliac]

This week I have worked on a number of photos. I am continuing with the buildings and converting photos to black and white. With this photo I am looking at two aspects. What should I straighten to give it the right perspective. I have looked at the small column in the back and also is there enough black in the black and white conversion. I am using photoshop - adjustment layer -channel mixer and religiously arriving at a total of 100 for the RGB colours. With the amount of white in the building it is hard to get enough black contrast.
ISO320 f/14 1/50



The 2nd photo uploaded is my 1st panoroma using a Canon stitch programme. What a view of Jerusalem! Is there enough detail? I cut it down from 5 photos to 3.

[juliac]

The seasons have changed here and the heat is setting in for the summer so I wanted to reflect this in these two photos. I converted them to black and white and carefully refilled in the colour of the flower heads using the history brush in Photoshop essentials. The thistle took ages and I am actually quite pleased with the effect.


ISO 250 1/1600 f/6/3


ISO250 1/400 f/13

I love taking photos of backs! I find them as expressive as taking portraits as postures say so much so the next photo is one of a series I took of people looking at Hagia Maria Sion Abbey on Mount Zion, Jerusalem. Again I am working on the black and white effect and wondering still if there is enough contrast.

ISO 250 1/320 f/13

[FrankMi]

The 2nd photo uploaded is my 1st panoroma using a Canon stitch programme. What a view of Jerusalem! Is there enough detail? I cut it down from 5 photos to 3.

Hi Julia! The difficulty with any panorama is that we can only use a small percentage of our monitor to view the result. Fortunately that's not an issue with prints.

The level of detail is fine and certainly higher than we can see on a monitor. It would be easier to appreciate the scene if the final image was about 1600 pixels wide for posting. To get it any wider you could use multiple panels as I did in this case.

[juliac]

For the last weeks I have been looking at the more urban side of Israel. I find taking photos of flowers very easy and natural but am beginning to see a beauty in these run down areas. I also think they make for good black and white pictures.
The 1st picture uploaded I had intentionally taken for the building but when cropping I prefered the focus on the many people about their daily business. The scene is set in the centre of Tel Aviv


The photo again reflects the urban side of Tel Aviv where the buildings are run down but in contrat there is much activity and life in the area. I have uploaded both the original colour photo and the conversion to black and white




The 3rd photo is a shot I couldn't but take!!! Not only is her hair colour and dress unusual but she has her mobile phone in her hand and is posing with tourists.