What can you do with it?

[Ribber]

Was out a few weeks ago exploring a new (to me) part of the city and came across this statue. As I circled it, taking shots from various angles, I noticed that the horse always seemed to be staring me down. It really was kinda creepy! I liked this particular angle the most and while the photo captures the scene pretty much as it was, it just doesn't have that eeriness that I felt trying to avoid the glare of that bronze horse.

My Photoshop skill extend about as far as the tip of my nose, so I've been somewhat disappointed with numerous efforts at making this dark and ominous. I'd like to make a print of it at some point, but just can't seem to get what I'm looking for. Anyone care to give it a shot? Maybe all I need is a little inspiration and a brief explanation on what you've done. Thanks, and have fun!

I hope this image is not too large. If it is, I will replace it with a smaller version.

 

[John_05]

thats a pretty cool statue. maybe ive just been here too long. but the city i live in has just gotten boring to me over the years. if there were more interesting things i could get to to shoot, i would probably be using my camera a lot more right now.

anyways, i had a go at editing the picture. i dont have Photoshop, so i used what i do have, PaintShop Pro X.

all i did was change the background with a picture of the sky i took about a year ago. for that, i just used the clarify tool, increased the saturation a small amount (15 i believe), ran the noise removal at 50%, and widened the bottom while leaving the top the same size with the pick tool to change the perspective a little and make the clouds look a bit more linear.

for the statue, all i did was run the clarify tool at around 5, boost the saturation just a little bit, darken it a bit, and sharpen a little.

i had to compress it some, otherwise it would have been too large to host on my free account. i dont think it did much to it, but if i can find an image host that allows images around 1.2MB, ill repost the uncompressed version.

click the thumbnail for the full size picture.

 

[Ribber]

thats a pretty cool statue. maybe ive just been here too long. but the city i live in has just gotten boring to me over the years. if there were more interesting things i could get to to shoot, i would probably be using my camera a lot more right now.

I live in a fairly large city, so with a little effort, I can usually find somewhere new to explore and shoot. I've lived here for almost 20 years and just when I think the pickings are getting slim, I check out a new neighborhood and WHAM... lots of new subjects

anyways, i had a go at editing the picture. i dont have Photoshop, so i used what i do have, PaintShop Pro X.

all i did was change the background with a picture of the sky i took about a year ago. for that, i just used the clarify tool, increased the saturation a small amount (15 i believe), ran the noise removal at 50%, and widened the bottom while leaving the top the same size with the pick tool to change the perspective a little and make the clouds look a bit more linear.

for the statue, all i did was run the clarify tool at around 5, boost the saturation just a little bit, darken it a bit, and sharpen a little.

I like that dark sky behind, and it turned out much nicer than when I tried the same idea. I was always left with a glowing line around the statue and that just didn't work for me. Seeing that you've succeeded where I failed over and over shows me that it *can* be done... I just need to keep trying. I also like how you made the colors in the statue much more richer, the tarnishing really stands out nicely.

No worries on the compression, as I'm really just looking for some inspiration... and hopefully provide the editing fans with an hour of something new to do. I only posted a larger pic because I think they are easier to work on than a 200px image.

Thanks for showing me what you can do, and good luck finding something to shoot! Chances are, it'll be within 5 blocks of your front door

 

[John_05]

I live in a fairly large city, so with a little effort, I can usually find somewhere new to explore and shoot. I've lived here for almost 20 years and just when I think the pickings are getting slim, I check out a new neighborhood and WHAM... lots of new subjects

ive lived here for nearly my whole life. ive taken some "extended vacations" from here, but family always seems to draw me back. i know there more here to shoot, but with no transportation at the moment, im stuck shooting within walking distance and for me, thats not too far.

I like that dark sky behind, and it turned out much nicer than when I tried the same idea. I was always left with a glowing line around the statue and that just didn't work for me. Seeing that you've succeeded where I failed over and over shows me that it *can* be done... I just need to keep trying. I also like how you made the colors in the statue much more richer, the tarnishing really stands out nicely.

No worries on the compression, as I'm really just looking for some inspiration... and hopefully provide the editing fans with an hour of something new to do. I only posted a larger pic because I think they are easier to work on than a 200px image.

i know that glow all too well. thats why i like using PaintShop Pro more than Photoshop. im more familiar with it, and it does a few things that Photoshop doesnt. after i used the magic wand to select the sky and erased it, i went around the edges with the eraser tool with the hardness set to 50%. doing it that way leaves much smoother lines and with PaintShop Pro, if you erase to far in, you can right click and drag to unerase. if you unerase from inside the area you dont want erased, you can go closer and closer to the edge until you start seeing the glow, and stop. then its just a matter of erasing small bits here and there until it looks good.

im sure Photoshop users will be able to tell you an "easier" or faster way to do it with Photoshop using masks or something, but ive been using PaintShop Pro so long i can do it my way and have it done before Photoshop loads and i get a new adjustment layer placed over the image.

Thanks for showing me what you can do, and good luck finding something to shoot! Chances are, it'll be within 5 blocks of your front door

youre welcome, and thanks for giving me something to do for 15 minutes. i get bored easily, so doing little projects like that helps.

chances are i have shots of everything within a 5 block radius of my house, but i keep looking. maybe one day soon ill hop on a bus and see what i can find 6 blocks away and then work my way out. who knows, maybe ill end up in one of the cemeteries ive been meaning to visit for the last year.