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5/18/2008
Photo of the Week



I've been sadly neglecting my photography hobby of late. :(

I slowed way down when winter came... and now it's spring, but I'm having trouble getting motivated.

Seeing Chica posting at her Photo Projectz blog (LINK) like a mad woman... she never misses a beat... inspires me to try to get my photo-juices flowing more freely (eeewwwww).

So, I figured I'd start slow and challenge myself to, over Sunday evenings &/or into Monday , post a Photo of the Week entry for myself... either a new photo I took that week, or an edit/re-edit of a photo I've taken in the past.

I'll try to mix it up to keep it interesting... ie. no snapshots of Aunt Winnie making tea ... well... unless I capture a particular artistic shot of Aunt Winnie making tea... anyhoo.... yeah, I'll try to mix it up a bit, and when possible, try to throw something a bit new into the posting in the hopes that fellow photo-buffs who pass through maybe see an idea they like and try it out for themselves.

So, to start things off... a photo I took Yesterday (Saturday) at the Fennell family reuinion Lisa and went to in Barriere, BC.

The reunion itself was kind of a bust... lets just put it this way... 100+ rednecks and hillbilly's gathering together makes for some interesting ideas of what is "entertaining".... lol

But, despite that, it was a good weekend, and gave me the opportunity to catch my nephew reaching for another bite of his M&M cookie.

To spice it up a bit I tried a framing idea I've seen before, but never tried myself until now.

As always, please click the image to view it full size, and comments are forever welcome. :)

posted by MothMan at 10:10 | in: Photo of the Week
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Comments:

Posted by Chica at 03:01, 5/19/2008 | Link | |
Haha a redneck and hillbilly gathering, sounds like a blast!

The photo is pretty cool too, that's one messy critter :)


Posted by indigomoonarts at 12:11, 5/23/2008 | Link | |
I like that framing effect. How'd you do that?


Posted by mothman at 01:15, 5/23/2008 | Link | |
Chica: Overall it was enjoyable. It wasn't as fun as I remember the last ones I went to, but maybe just because I was much younger then. Thanks for the comment on the photo. :)

Indigo: Hrmm... I'll try to give you a run-down... this is from memory, so I might be missing something...
(using Photoshop)

- duplicate the background layer (creating Background Copy 1)

- duplicate the layer again (creating Background Copy 2, which is on the very top of the layer stack)

- on Background Copy 2, add a layer mask to HIDE the entire layer (I used this layer later)

- fill the Background layer with solid white

- on the the Background Copy 1 layer I created a layer mask, selected the outside area (border) of the photo, and filled that selected area of the newly created mask with black (to hide that border area of Background Copy 1).

- at that point I have a white 'border' (Background layer) with the inside rectangle of the image in the middle of it (Background Copy 1).

- on Background Copy 1 I went into it's Layer Styles and add STROKE (blue colour in my case) and DROP SHADOW

- that gave me a white background with the rectangle image area in the middle of it having a blue outline and drop shadow.

- then back up to select Background Copy 2 layer, select it's mask (which is all black at the moment, hiding the entire layer), and paint (brush tool) on the mask, with white, over the boys reaching arm/hand, to reveal that portion of the layer

- that left me with a white border, the rectangle image in the middle with the blue outline, and the arm reaching "over top" of that blue-outlined layer.

- I then added a drop shadow to Background Copy 2 to give the reaching arm a drop shadow.

- finally, I just added my signature.

I hope that made sense. >_<

Basically it's a composite of 3 layers... the bottom layer being all white ... the middle layer being the main rectangular area of the image, with an outline and drop shadow added ... and the top layer consisting only of the reaching arm/hand, 'over top' of the underlying blue outline.

The same could be done by using the ERASER tool on layer copies, rather than using layer masks... but I prefer using layer masks as they are non-destructive, and if you "erase" too much on a mask, you can "unerase" it at any time (or vice versa)... whereas with the Eraser tool, you're stuck with what you've done, other than using the Undo command.

If what I've said is confusing, and there's interest enough in seeing the process "in action" I'd be happy to post a blog entry detailing it, with images.



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