Project 52: Week 45; Olde Worlde Photograph

[billtils]

No real opportunities to click the shutter since last week, but did mange to get some time to play around a bit at the computer.

The immediate motivation was various posts here and elsewhere on the release of DxO Photolab 2 and the pricing strategy. I bought PL1 just after it was released and was pleased to see DxO survive and save the NIK suite from oblivion, but for various reasons I haven't used PL for more than 6 months and don't see that changing. However, the discussions made me think a bit more about how few of the NIK options I use and, coupled with Week 44's Transport Museum adventure, that resulted in a visit to the Antique Plate option in Silver Efex Pro.

Here are two of Eve:

[







and one of Lauretta

[John 2]

These are very nice portraits which I like. Focus on the eyes is spot on with a nice slanting eyeline. Not sure whether the antique finish adds anything to the first two though. I think it does add something in the third though, given the style the model has adopted Flower/beads etc.).

[Shadowman]

Nice shots.

[billtils]

Thanks John (both of you ).

John 2: Yes I see what you mean. The head and shoulders crops don't really display the scene for someone who was not there.

The first was shot in an old Glasgow Subway car. The subway itself is the third oldest underground after London and Budapest, and these particular carriages are being replaced by driverless units as the last stage of a total update to rolling stock and stations that began 7 years ago. The second was shot in an area of the Museum built to simulate a Glasgow street of about a century ago, with the model standing in the doorway of a typical Glasgow building, complete with peeling paintwork.

[Manfred M]

Bill - the settings and the outfit of your model would normally suggest that the "period look" that you have used in your monochrome conversions. Somehow, the third image seems to work better that way, but the first two don't work as well in my opinion.

I think it might just be the contrast. Old sepia coloured image on fading yellow paper tend to have more of a softer, lower contrast look and I suspect that toning down the contrast might be something worth considering here. Those old lenses tended to be a lot softer than today's super sharp and contrasty ones.

[billtils]

Thanks Manfred - that is a brilliant suggestion!