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Handie In reply to dixiida [2011-07-22 02:20:00 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! These were kind of experimental but I really liked the patterns. I had to enhance the colour quite a bit to bring out the details.

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Handie In reply to inspiredcreativity [2009-01-26 20:03:19 +0000 UTC]

Hi Matthew,

This a photo of actual frost on my storm door. (it's really cold where I live )

It's not a true macro as I don't have a macro lens, but it is a very close up photo. I wish I had a macro though - I'm sure the detail would be amazing if I did! Maybe some day.....

I love texture in art too. I'm only recently experimenting with using textures on some of my photos. As you said, it adds that little bit of dimension and makes you feel like there is more to the picture than just a flat image.

I was thinking that several of my frost photos might make for interesting texture layers, but I haven't really tried any of them out yet.

I looked at your page and recognized a tutorial that I collected yesterday. Sorry for not making a comment - but I was on a mission to find a tutorial about a certain thing and I was at it for a while and just couldn't find what I was looking for - so I was making a few hit and run fav's along the way!

I was reading your journal and I have to say that you touched my heart with your words. I'm sorry to hear that you are going through such a rough time. I'm glad that you have someone to support you through it. Your advice on life is very, very good. I wish you the best!

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inspiredcreativity In reply to Handie [2009-01-27 11:55:51 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for the long and warm comment. There are things in life we have no control over. I did not mention the brain disorders I was born with, such as the Autism spectrum Disorders. I have High Function Autism, Sensory Integration Disfunction, and four others. For example, I have no visual memory, and cannot visual detail in my head. In other words, I can stare at my partner's face, close my eyes, and not see his face, even after almost 19 years together. This made drawing a major challenge, especially live models. I have to kind of look and draw at the same time.

The lesson to be learned here is that while I have no control over the degeneration of my body, or the disabilities I was born with, I do have lots of CHOICE with what and how I live my life. While some doors are closed to me, others have opened. The same will be true for you. Things, both good and bad, will happen to you, which will be beyond your control, but afterward, you have choice.

Most people take almost everything in their lives for granted. I have trouble breathing sometimes. You really appreciate breathing when you suddenly can't breath. Well, people take "choice" for granted, or abdicate it to others. Your life at any point in time, is the sum of all of your choices. So, if you ever find yourself in desperate straights, and you see no choices, look harder.

Choice is an amazing thing. I choose to see beauty where most people not only don't look, but choose not to see. I choose to forgive people, when everyone around me says I am an idiot for doing so. I choose to find happiness in a life otherwise defined by suffering. It is not easy making these choices, but if I do not, why choose to live at all, why choose to live a life barren of anything but pain? I chose to kill myself when I was 13. So much pain, so alone. If I am going to make an active choice to live longer, NOW, I may as well make the most of it. Who knows, maybe some of this may be of some help to you some day...
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Do you still need the tutorial you were looking for? I can research it for you.

I don't know if you are much into Photoshop, but it looks like you are using it. There are a couple of affect and a technique which can be fun to experiment with:

Gaussian Glow Effect Examples: [link] and [link]

Gaussian Glow is very similar to Orton (see below). The principle difference is in the blending modes. Orton uses "multiply" whereas Gaussian Glow uses "overlay."

1. Open your image
2. Duplicate the background layer (Right click on the background layer and choose duplicate) and name that layer Blur.
3. Apply a Gaussian blur with a radius of 18-30 pixels.
4. Change the blending mode of the blurred layer to "overlay."
5. Finally, lower the opacity of the blurred layer to moderate the effect to your liking.

Orton Effect Examples: [link]

1. Open your image.
2. Duplicate the background layer (Right click on the background layer and choose duplicate) and name that layer "Sharp".
3. Duplicate the layer named "Sharp". This layer will be named "Sharp copy."
4. Change the Blending mode of the "Sharp copy" layer to Screen.
5. With the "Sharp copy" layer selected, right click and choose Merge Down.
6. Right click on the "Sharp" layer, choose Duplicate and name this layer "Out of Focus."
7. On the Filter Menu, choose Blur > Gaussian Blur.
8. Depending on the resolution of the image you are using, the amount of blur needed will change. Use enough that the shapes are still visible, but detail is not. In the dialog box, use a Radius setting of 15 to 50 pixels – the higher the pixel setting the blurrier the photo and the more "painterly" the image… but you can go too far!). Experiment with different settings. For digital file sizes of 50-100 megabytes, a radius of about 25 pixels works well.
9. Change the blending mode of the "Out Of Focus" layer to Multiply.
10. Once you are complete, you may find it necessary to adjust the opacity of your Out of Focus layer and/or apply a levels (or curves) adjustment layer to the Sharp layer if some tweaking is necessary. You can also adjust the amount of blur you apply to the out of focus image, as well as adjustments such as level, brightness and contrast and it is good practice to apply sharpening to your image Sharp layer.

Not all images work well with this effect, but digital photography makes it easier to try it out on wide range of photos.

"Auto-Blend Layers" in Photoshop

If you have Photoshop CS3, CS3 Extended, or CS4, you can Auto-Blend Layer, Auto-Align Layers, and Photomege.

This videos shows you how to Auto-Blend, and also how to MUTATE your Friends with it (QuickTime): [link]

A non-video tutorial on mutating friends: [link]

Tutorials: [link]
[link]

Panorama Tutorial (Auto Align & Auto Blend): [link]

See Auto-Blend Layers in the Photoshop manual > [link]

Also see "Combine multiple images into a group..." > [link]

Photomerge in Photoshop CS3 & 4: [link]

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Handie In reply to loupo [2009-01-22 01:04:35 +0000 UTC]

thanks Lou!

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Handie In reply to Bushido112 [2009-01-21 20:24:14 +0000 UTC]

yes, that's a good way to describe it too!

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Handie In reply to Bushido112 [2009-01-21 04:33:40 +0000 UTC]

thank you - they do look like feathers, don't they? either that or some sort of leaves!

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Handie In reply to Decarabia69 [2009-01-19 05:28:07 +0000 UTC]

Oh Michael - that's such a wonderful way to look at these! Thank you for the wonderful thought!

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Decarabia69 In reply to Handie [2009-01-19 06:28:27 +0000 UTC]

Yes, I thought that was a good analogy for the beautiful photos you've been taking. I coincidently ran into another series of these that are also nice. You can see them here: [link]

I just happened to see her "elf-ears" tutorial in the DD and it interested me because she's also an airbrush artist.

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Handie In reply to Decarabia69 [2009-01-20 18:05:44 +0000 UTC]

oh - those are nice too! thanks for the link!

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