Volume I Issue 3

A CURRENT EVENT OF NOTE:

The Covington Days Festival Art Show is being held this weekend (July 15th through 17th) at the Cedar Heights Middle School in Covington, WA.  The following image received the third place award in the adult photographic category:

Dust in the Fog-by Ken Strange

NEW IMAGES:

This week we are adding more new images to our website and we thought we would preview some of them here and tell you a little bit about how they were processed. 

Image #1  Muddy Water-by Ken
This photo was taken near the town of Ucluelet on Vancouver Island.  On this day, a heavy surf was providing a lot of action.  It was originally processed using Nik Silver Efex Pro as a black and white.  The image was dodged and burned as needed to provide more highlights in the splashing waves and a color gradient was added to complete the work.
 

Image #2  Painted Reflections-by Ken
Grays River in southwest Washington provided this three bracketed shot exposure of river reflections (+2, 0, -2).  Another single-shot-image of a tree using the Columbia River as a backdrop was then blended with the first group in Nik HDR Efex Pro.  These four images were then combined with a colored textured filter and finished in Topaz Adjust Simplify.

Image #3  Vineyard Lines-by Lydia
Some of the vineyards in the Willamette Valley are especially photogenic because of the rolling hills.  This shot was more impressive because the grapevine rows initially droppped off slowly then abruptly climbed skyward.  Because of the sloping ground, my horizon seemed off.  So, in CS5, I used edit>free transform>warp to level the bases of the two stakes marking the end of the rows.

 

Image #4 Grape Leaves-by Lydia

Oftentimes, scenics require a wide-angle view.  I find however that once that is captured, it helps to come in closer to get a better feel of a subject.  This is one such image.  These grape leaves give a sense of warmth that the wide-angle vineyard scene above cannot capture in its graphic look.  Due to a slight breeze, some of the leaves came out soft, so I added an artistic texture.  By having it appear as if on canvas, the softness becomes a moot issue.

PHOTOBLOG COMMENTS:

We always appreciate and enjoy any comments, suggestions or questions you may have.  If you have tried the discussed processes or ideas we have shown and have experienced success, have questions or realized other unexpected results, please share those with us and other visitors by clicking the "Comment Box" at the bottom of the blog.