Photostory

Here is my final photostory, followed by each picture and a description below the slideshow:


For this projected I used dozens of photos. Way more than 10 photos. The main scene of the photostory is actually 5 photos that I spliced together in a panorama. I then used the dodge and burn, and smudge tool to blend the photos. I also used the cloning tool in pesky areas. (They had lighting and contrast issues) I also used  the contrast tool in GIMP to get them all to blend well. I then used the selection tool to delete everything above the mountain line. Next I touched up the mountain line with the pencil tool, to make it blend better. Here is the panorama before the edits:


From then on out most of the photos were easy. I had taken dozens of photos of the sky, without having to return to the original spot (Elmore mountain) I make the area above the mountain transparent on the above photo, and from there I just had to paste in different skies that I thought fit the time of day. A lot of times I had to adjust the contrast, and clone out some powerlines, treetops, etc. I also had to stretch some of the images to make them fit the panorama.

For the very first photo I used the fog filter to try to imitate an early morning fog. I also darkened the contrast on the photo, and inserted the morning sky. I had to darken the mountain line using the burn tool, to make it fit the skyline.

 

The next six photos were just a matter of adding sky lines for the time of day I was trying to imitate, adjusting the contrast, and editing the mountain line to try to get the appropriate lighting.

 

 

For the next two photos, I tried to imitate a mid day storm, mainly because I wanted to incorporate the rainbow picture I had taken. I used RBG noise filter, mixed with a motion filter and fog filter to try to make it look like a storm. I also darkened the contrast significantly on both photos.

 

I'm not sure the moon really fits into the story, because the moon isn't visible in the last two photos because I edited it out, but I thought it was cool enough to leave in the next photo. Again, sky is a different photo from the original, and I used the contrast tool to darken it, as well as the burn tool on the mountain line.

I love the way this photo turned out. It's the same as the photo before it, only I darkened the contrast over and over on everything below the mountains. I then added the sky from the photo above, darkened it, and added the supernova filter numerous times at various settings to add my stars.

 

 

That's my photo story. Way more ambitious than I first though, but I managed to get it finished. I am really happy with the way it turned out. This class has really sold me on GIMP, and it will be a program I continue to explore.

 

 

 

Portraits

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week we were tasked with taking four portraits. I chose two different subjects, and had a hard time deciding which photos to use, so I decided to post five of my portraits.

 

 

 

These first three photos are of my daughter. She is 11 months old, and has just started experimenting with my work apparel. I decided to try to capture her wearing my hat and sunglasses, as well as my work shoes.

 

 The biggest problem with trying to take portraits of an toddler, is getting them to stay still! It was hard for me to capture shots when she was looking at me, which is why she is looking down at the shoes in this photo. I was not happy with this background,

This one came out a little better, I read in one of the tutorials to hold the camera at an angle, so I was trying to capture her at various angles. This one came out the best in the group of shots. Once again, I think the background could have been better.

 

 

By now you've probably realized I enjoy taking pictures of gravestones! I found this monument in a cemetery in Cabot Vermont this week, and decided to snap some shots. For the first one I used the sky as the background, and switched the portrait to black and white to give it a "Stony" feel.

 

In this second photo I used the trees as the background. This photo was edited in Picasa by blurring everything but the face. I was inspired by one of the portraits in the tutorial in which everything around one guy was moving, but he was clear. I don't feel I captured that very well with this edit, but I thought it came out pretty cool anyway!

Cloning and Water Marks

This week I purposely took a photo I knew I wanted to edit:

 

As you can see, there is a little black Solar dog in the lower right hand corner. I took the photo, knowing I was going to clone the grass to cover the solar dog.

Here are the results:

 

Next I added text to a few more photos I took. I liked this Cloud, because I thought it looked like a dragon. I used a tripod to take this photo, hoping it would be clearer than trying to capture it by hand.

 

I wrote the text with the text tool in GIMP. I then set the opacity to around 66% so that it appeared to be faded in the background. I tried to pick a color that didn't take away from the actual picture.

I did the same with this picture of daisies on my fence line. I originally took this picture to clone out the road in the upper part of the picture. Cloning this much area proved to be a problem however, so I instead used it as a watermark photo like the one above it.

For my Photostory I plan on illustrating a storyboard using a sunset over the green mountains. I plan on using various cloud formations I've snapped photos of, as well as a series of pictures put together in a panoramic view. I would like to do this for my project, because I feel lighting was my weakest point in the class. I feel like if I do a project that concentrates on various aspects of lighting, it will help improve my skills.
I also enjoy the burn tool, and working with layers in gimp, so this will be a good way for me to get more practice in that area.
Since my project is a series of panoramic photos spliced together, and then manipulated for each panel, I will be using a lot more than 10 photos (But it will look like 10 when I am finished) This is a pretty big undertaking, but I would really like to challenge myself with this final assignment.
Here are some of the pictures I plan on using for the various skies:

 

Here is my spliced panorama I would like to use:

 

 

I would like to add a subject, either a cow or a deer or something in the photo as well, doing something, as I am not sure a sunset really tells a story? Comments and Crits are welcome, if this is a stupid idea, please let me know!

 

Fun with filters!

This weeks assignment was to fix a photo using Dodge and Burn, as well as apply filters to two different photos.

                      Here is the photo I burned. (Both the original, and my edit) I tried to make the background darker, and also bring out the red on the mushrooms in order to make it a cooler contrast.

                                 (The original, before I used Burn)

                                        (The Final burned photo)


Next I experimented with different filters. The first image I edited was fairly simple, because I was new to filters, and couldn't seem to get anything I really liked out of the photo. So I added a supernova filter, which would probably make the mushroom look like this if you ate one of them.

                                                  (The Original)

                                          (The Supernova filter)

Finally I played around with a combination of filters in Gimp, and Picasa edits. This particular edit is my pride and joy. First I used Burn to darken the shadows of the stones and trees inside the cemetery. Then I added three layers of the fog filter in various degrees of intensity. After I did this, I did some more with the burn tool.
Next I opened the photo in Picasa, added a gradual tint to make the cemetery look darker, and then I slapped a black and white filter on it. I was very happy with the resulting "Creepy" Cemetery.

                                                     (The Original)

                                              (The Filtered Photo)

That's all! I really enjoyed using filters, and am going to play around with them more.

This week we edited our pictures using Gimp.
Although I have gotten the cropping down pretty well, I am still struggling with color edits. All I was able to do was change the pictures to black and white or sepia, and mess with the highlights a little.
I plan on working more with GIMP this week, and I will try to remember to repost these pictures when  I am able to do a little more with the color. Here are the originals, followed by my edits

GIMP photos

             This week I digitally altered images using GIMP.
When I started, I had no idea how to use the program. After watching many hours of video tutorials, I started to get the hang of it slightly, and I think with more practice and studying I might actually get good at it.(We're talking weeks of video tutorials!)

I do not feel that my digitally altered photos came out very well, and after hours of frustration I decided enough was enough, and took the two I liked the best to post here.
This weeks assignment was very hard for me, but I feel like it was an important assignment. I feel like GIMP could be a very useful tool once it's mastered.
Here are the photos I made:


The first one is actually three photos. Two were of Masonic grave stones I found, and the third was a field of tiger lilies. I decided I might be able to "Create my own graveyard" using the lilies as a backdrop.

 

 

The second photo was of the Lamoille river, which I spliced with a sunset photo I took earlier in the week. I think this would have come out better if it wasn't for the trees at the top. It took me many hours to try to use the selection tool to highlight background areas to make transparent. Finally I gave up in frustration, when I thought the photo looked semi-normal.