Black and White

I was challenged by a fellow photography friend to post a week's worth of black and white photos on Facebook. I do like black and white and that is partially why I decided to jump into Infrared Photography.
If the colors don't always trip your trigger, you can always convert it to a stunning black and white photo. Well, that is, if you have a decent photo to begin with.

I hiked earlier this week and took only my converted camera. I used an 850nm filter on it which will only produce IR photos in black and white. In the summer, leaves would appear pure white as would the grass. The clouds would stand out much better in a blue sky that appears black.

Well, here are some of those results with snow!

The bark of the trees are reflecting in a lighter color than a standard black and white shot. The old leaves of the oak tree are reflecting as white! The original photo in camera and when I bring it up at first is really a shocker. It is dull and listless.
So editing with a heavy hand is a must.

Here is a sample of this shot as it came off the camera:

Pretty dismal looking right?

With infrared photography, there is always editing involved.

I find that the infrared in the winter is not always a bonus, but that doesn't keep me from experimenting anyway.

I did use my little pocket IR camera to take this shot of pine trees. This was with a 665nm filter. Here is what it looks like straight out of the camera.

Kind of cool. The pines are a bluish white and the clouds show up pretty well.

Channel Swap:

The colors are pretty wild. Sky is a bluish color and some of the green pines are pinkish.
I could brighten it up some, but thought I'd see what it looked like in black and white.

I liked it!

And then I decided to blend it with a layer of Topaz Glow which sort of emulates a brush stroke.

Well, this final version tickled me. Just enough pizzazz to make it something I'd put on my walls. Not perfectly realistic, but in an artsy sort of sense, dreamy...

I've always thought that winter was perfect for black and white because the colors are so often muted and dismal looking.


I think I should work on some Still Life next....

Oh and the Fairy house?
It is coming along!

Still ugly, but...

It has potential!

Variations on one Photo, Coyote Skull

I'm a fan of bones.  I like finding skulls.  I'm also what is called a 'rock hound' ~ hunting cool rocks and bones is a great past time.

Last year I got a coyote skull that still was quite nasty as far as in the form of decay.
Other coyotes don't eat there own.

I placed the skull tied up with twine in a brush pile, hoping to let the summer bugs do most of the work.

I took the skull and placed it is soapy warm water and let it sit out in the sun for a few days.

Anything that was left on the skull I was able to remove easily.
Now I had the lower jaw in pieces and a bunch of loose teeth.  

I used some clear Elmers Glue to seal the bone.  Since the skull was not 'bug' cleaned it was a bit yellowed, but to me that looks more natural.
I glued the teeth back in place and after taking care of sealing the rest of the skull.

I then I used clear nail polish to 'shine' up the teeth.

Here is a photo of the complete skull after cleaning.

Photographed on a piece of black velvet on a folding chair.

The skull in this state is quite beautiful.  Since I haven't figured out how to attach the lower jaw properly, I have it just resting in place.

Next I adjusted the skull I wanted a black and white image with no yellowing of the skull.

I like this image on its own merits.  It is more like a museum display shot.

So I thought I'd try to do something different.

Wow.  I used Topaz Adjust and a preset I've never bothered with before. Polarize.
I didn't expect this as a result at all.

So I decided to go one step further and use Topaz Glow.
I didn't like the color streaks that it produced so I desaturated it.

Lastly I overlapped it with some grunge brushes and a photo of cracked mud.

I like all the versions but this last unexpected result is something I really like.

Off for a visit!

Checking out for a few days.
Heading North and East to see my youngest son and his family.

No internet there and besides, I am not even taking a laptop.

Enjoy!

Photo of this year's Christmas Chair...edited of course with Topaz and Topaz Glow.

Topaz Glow, the Newest plug in ... a review

A Fractal made by JWildfire.
I decided to download the trial version of Topaz's new creative plug in called 'Glow'.

I'm all for trying something new and adventurous out.
This plug in intrigued me it is similar to Redfield's Plug in called Fractalius.

This was a very toned back version of the plugin.  I wasn't about to go over the top on it.

However....

I did here.  In fact I used Topaz ReMask to remove the backround and added the moon, clouds, and other effects in the backround.

Original:

Photoshop magic created in PSPX6.

Screen shot of Fractalious:

Screen shot of Topaz's Glow:

Glow is being offered at $49.99 for a limited time and then the price defaults to $69.99

Fractalious is offered at $39.99.  Now I have not tried this program.  Reviews have said it is slow and eats at memory.
I've seen some wonderful work with it though.

That said, I am an avid Topaz plugin person.  I use it quite often.

Here is another quick sample.

I used Simplify first and then reduced the 'Glow' layer slightly for the above piece.

Here is the original:

I have a little more work to do with this plug in to see if I can get some consistent results in turning some of my work into 'illustrations'.

If it all works out, you'll see me paying the price for this plug in.

It works very well with PSPro...Corel.
And this is my new go to program for editing.