DigaPixBlog

The use of filters, whether they are on the camera or on the computer, can be an art form in themselves.  Knowing when and what to use to alter an image can make or break a composition.  However they should not be relied on to make a week illustration strong.  They should alter the photograph to reflect the photo-artist’s vision of the subject.

The photograph we have here has had a number of computer filters applied with skill.  This photo-artist is experimenting and learning how to manipulate images so they can become a good rendition of antique photographs.  I particularly like the trace of clouds that fill the upper right of the frame.  They act as a cover holding the eye in the foreground. 

The bridge itself has nice lines but lacks drama as a subject.  With the top of the bridge cutting the composition in half a long a near horizontal line the photograph appears stagnant.  Perhaps a little different angle would strengthen the graphics and add to the interest.

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Postcards over the past twenty years have gone from images that looked like proletarian snapshots to sophisticated photographs.  When we see a really old postcard, from the early 20th century, there is a feeling of a simpler time when perfection was not the normal expectation.  These old images from around the world would tell the recreant that this post was from an exotic place unimaginable to the flocks back home.

The image here works on this nostalgic level not because it is technically good but because it breaks the normal graphic conventions.  It has the look of an image that may have been taken a hundred years ago for popular consumption, a time when any photograph of an out of the ordinary local would do for a postcard. 

Some of the rules that were broken that give this image its charm are; too much empty sky in relation to the rest of the scene, the buildings in the foreground with extreme tilt to the right, the boat in the foreground to close to the edge of the frame.  But these flaws are what make this image interesting and nostalgic.  When you break the rules sometimes it works.

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The viewer’s eye likes to flow through a photograph.  It is looking for harmony and rhythm in the image like listening to good music.  Elements that distract the viewer are are noise and cause the eye to be distracted and wander. 

This street in old Europe has a wonderful feeling of age and mystery.  The way that shadows and light define the layers within the receding scene add texture to the photograph.  The slightly ‘S’ curved street takes the viewer through the arch and into the past progressing down through time.  The edges of the frame have a slight softness to them which adds to the dream quality of the story.

There are a couple of suggestions I would like to make to the photographer.  There are no vertical lines and the building appears to be leaning slightly to the right.  This may be deliberate or the part of the photographer but the image could be cropped and rotated a little to the left to create a more stable graphic.  The second recommendation is the removal of the street light.  It has been blown out and there is no detail on the surface.  This hot spot distracts the viewer from the intended subject the street and the arch way.

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For the past couple of weeks I have been packing my things preparing to move to a new home.  While cleaning out one of my drawers I came across an old tin type I must have picked up years ago and forgotten about.  I was amazing how this hundred plus year old image was so unaffected by time, true archival quality far beyond what we can print today.  How many of our images will people be looking at a century from now?

This architectural photograph has the feeling of an old and preserved print.  Not quite a tin type but a nice quality just the same.  The graphics are nice but without the manipulation the image would be a record shot of the structure.  I like the way the photo-artist has softened the image around the outer edges giving this the look of inserted wood cut prints I have seen in antique books from the 19th century.

The photographer has used the computer to take an ordinary shot of an interesting subject and make it into a delightful composition.  The end result fits the subject matter extremely well.

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The keystone effect or sometimes called keystoning is caused by trying to project a vertical surface on the tilted image plane of a camera.  Keystoning causes the vertical surface to appear tilted or take the shape of a trapezoid.  The only way to prevent this is to use a camera with a tilt able image plane such as a bellows camera.  That is one reason large format bellows cameras are still used in architectural photography.

This photographer has used the keystone effect to his advantage.  The tilt of the building gives additional drama to the bazaar decorative nature of this facade.  The tree in the foreground adds depth to the image and helps keep it out of the realm of a purely record shot.

When you look at the levels curve of this black and white image you will see that the distribution of the scale is almost flat across the spectrum.  This has resulted in excellent tone rendition without blown out whites or blacks without detail.  Note the detail in the leaves and brick work around the windows.

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When converting an image through the use of computer filters you need to start with a good composition.  The filters may affect the mood and style in the process but the underlying graphics are required as a foundation to build upon.

The graphics in this composition lead the eye further and further into the scene.  The leading lines of the shadows and fence take the viewer from the foreground to the barn and then across the meadow into the woods beyond.  There are two sloped diagonal lines created by the foreground hill and the meadow that converge at the corner of the barn about one third from the right hand frame, a very pleasing composition with a feeling of balance and tranquility.

The painterly effect combined with the tinting has the look of a watercolor or ink wash print.  This image is a good example of what can be accomplished when a photo-artist starts with an excellent photograph.

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The application of filters to a photograph must be more than an attempt to save a bad photograph.  The photo-artist needs to have a vision of what they want the end result to look like.  They should see into the original image and draw out their perceived result with the application of filtration not just try every tool in their pallet to come up with something that changes the original.

This photographer saw the potential for of a line drawing within the original composition.  With the expert application of computer filtration they were able to create what appears to be a hundred year old sketch of this Italian town and bridge.  This feeling of age was skillfully done with the additional use of fadeout around the illustration and feathering of the lines as a sketch artist might have done.  Also you will note the use of a color tint to all the whites.  This has the appearance of a color wash and/or age.

This is an excellent example of what can be achieved to take a good image and make it into a much better presentation of the subject.

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Chiaroscuro is a term used for a work of art with high contrast between light and dark that affects the whole composition.  Another term that could be used is low-key.  This low-key effect accentuates the contours of an object by throwing areas into sharp contrast between light and shadow.

The composition presented hear is one of the strongest low-key images I have seen is sometime.  The blacks and whites take over this photograph with very little mid tone gray.  It has a film noir quality.  The structures with their different heights from left to right lead the eye up into the sky with its gray to black tones in gradations.

When digitized images with high contrast are transmitted or sometimes when they are printed they have a tenancy to block up in some areas where there are a lot of pixels of the same tone.  This has happened to the photograph as shown here.

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All photographers have their own unique way of seeing the world.  I used to work with a wonderful photographer who saw scenes completely different than I did.  We would go out on a shoot and when we got our images back, even though we had been standing side by side during the shoot, our results looked like we had been in two different counties. 

This image starts with an interesting scene.  This old bar has a lot of potential for interpretation and graphic design.  It is not always necessary to shoot the whole subject to get the idea across.  I like the way the roof line of the barn echoes the mountain in the distance, this sets up an interesting pattern.  There is a significant tilt to the subject in relation to the bottom of the frame.  This may be because the structure was sitting on a slopped surface or the photographer could possibly have been trying to actuate the dilapidated condition of the building.

I would like to make a few suggestions.  The legs of the horse in the lower right hand corner have been cut off at the feet.  You may wish to leave a little more room so we can see the entire horse plus a little room beneath it.  Along this same line the edge of the barn on the left side is at a tangent with the frame.  Perhaps leaving more room at the edge or cropping in so we don’t see the vertical corner would be a better choice. 

I would like to note that the texture in the tree is nice but the sky has little to hold our attention and could be reduced by quite a bit.

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There is no such thing as right and wrong when it comes to photography, well almost nothing.  If it works and the viewer is interested in the image no matter what rules you break it’s still a good photograph.  There’s the rub, if it works for the viewer!  And how does the photographer know if it works?  The only way I can answer that is to say experiment and see.  But your work must be intentional, not just luck.  That’s where talent and practice are required.

This is an interesting experiment in the use of a subject not being as strong as the supporting graphic elements.  The skull is small in relation to the strong lines of the roof eves.  The viewer’s eye is constantly pulled away from the subject and upward to the roof and beyond.  The photograph has been converted to a black and white probably because the color in the eves was distracting from the white wall.

I applaud the photographer for experimenting with this image but I might suggest that the material they had to work with was not conducive to a strong image.  I also think that a little work needs to be done with the contract and curves on the computer.  The image as presented appears to be a little muddy and soft.

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Some subjects beg to be converted to sepia black and white; ghost towns, cowboys, old cars, etc.  Anything we think of as vintage is fair game, however when you see old tintypes and very old prints you soon realize they have a certain quality that is very difficult to duplicate.  Perhaps it was the latitude of the film or the type of developing chemicals used, but it is almost impassable to modify a modern image to look like it was taken a hundred years ago even though the subject could have existed at the time.

The windmill photographed here has been converted with the use of computer filters.  The photo-artist has taken on the difficult task of making the print look antique.  The composition has focused on the subject so that it takes up almost all of the image area.   There is interesting texture in the water and plants along the bank of the pond which has been enhanced by the filters used.  The lighting is mid day but with this conversion that does not detract from the photograph, if anything by converting from color to black and white the subject has been enhanced.

The photographer may wish to consider allowing more space in front of this subject if possible.  This would show us more of the surrounding environment and take the subject off the center line of the composition.  When I first saw this photograph I thought the horizon line was tilted but after checking and measuring I think the illusion is caused by the hexagonal shape of the building and the curve of the shore line.

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A camera consist of three elements; a lens, a light tight box and a photosensitive surface. Right? Not always.  If you want to have fun and experiment you can throw away the glass lens and use a pin hole camera.  The hole needs to be about one hundred times smaller than the distance from the hole to the photosensitive plain.  Another consideration is that the hole needs to be smaller in diameter than the thickness of the surface it is passing through.  If the material the hole passes through is to thick this will result in vigneting at the edges of the image.  But if the hole is too small you will see a reduction in the clarity of the image due to defraction of the light.  The pin hole camera uses the same pineapples as the camera obscura. 

The photographer that presented this image loves to play and have fun with photography.  This pin hole image of the San Fernando Mission was taken this week but with the sepia effect it could have been produced in the nineteenth century.  The use of the trees to frame the architecture of the old mission leads our eye to the arched portal and takes us through it to the garden beyond.  Lengthening shadows help to add texture to the grass area in the foreground. 

It is amazing how much detail there is in the shadow areas considering there is no glass lens used in the process.  Pin hole camera can have an amazing depth of field due to the small aperture of the hold.  You will note there are a few imperfections on the surface of the image.  This is due to dust on the image sensor surface in the digital camera used.

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Night photography opens up a whole new world of image making to the photographer.  This time without the sun as our light source gives us a new personalities to subjects we take for granted.  But it requires us to learn new skills and techniques.

Photographed at night this architecture lit only by manmade lighting gives this structure a feeling of importance.  I think this is achieved by the light being concentrated on the center of the building and falling off to either side.  The photographer has done a good job of controlling the exposure on the light colored subject.  The dramatic perspective adds drama to the photograph.

I would like to have the photographer look at re-photographing this scene at a slightly different time of day.  You will note the pure black sky.  The palm trees disappear into the blackness.  Consider photographing about twenty minutes after sunset.  Meter on the lighting on the building and wait for the sky exposure to be the same or a little darker then the lit falling on the building.  Experiment and do this again every five or ten minutes until the sky is completely black as shown in this photo.  You will get, I think, more interesting detail in the sky and still have a dramatic night shot.  You benifit by geting a feeling for balancing natural light and manmade illumination.

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Sometimes we find a tool or a technique that we like and are successful with so we try to use it on everything.  What do you think a house would look like if the carpenter decided that he would only use a pipe wrench to construct an entire building because that tool had worked so well when he put together some pipes?  Innovate, but don’t get stuck in a rut.  Experiment, try new things but use the right tool for the job.

This photograph of some interesting architecture has nice dappled lighting  that adds texture to the surfaces of the facade.  There are also shadows of palm trees which tells us something about the local.  The woman on the cell phone and the Starbucks sign tells a story about modern life.

The photographer may want to ask themselves why the image is tilted.  Perhaps it is because they wanted the man to be walking across the bottom of the frame rather than the side walk.  Rather than giving the composition tension or movement the tilted image just looks tilted. 

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Capturing the feeling of an old time photograph is more that applying a sepia tone to the image.  First you need something in the scene that tells us this is a different time and second you should always try to tell a story.

The photograph presented has fulfilled these requirements.  The photographer has eliminated any reference to the modern world by isolating the corner of this 1920’s hotel and only showing us just enough information to set the mood.  The sine and the palm trees are a dead give away that this was not taken in Kansas. This image gives me the feeling of a summer day fifty years ago.

There is one small item I would like the photographer to modify.  I know it’s natural but it’s also distracting.  And that is the one small palm frond sticking out of the side of the tree.

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The Californian Hotel in Santa Barbara opened one week before the 1925 earthquake. 

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This photograph brings back child hood memories for me. When I was a boy between eight and ten our favorite game in the neighborhood was playing fort.  We made forts out of everything; old boxes, holes in the ground, when we could find them abandoned sheds. 

I thing the conversion of this outbuilding from color to color tinted black and white was a good selection.  It gives this subject a sense of time and place.  The old tire and refuge in front of the building helps to tell a story about the shacks purpose as well as its capacity.  The window cutout in the side gives us additional information as well as adds a feature to the monolithic surface of the side of the building.

I would like to suggest to the photographer that the image has a recording quality about it.  It does give it a nice old fashion feeling and if that is what you were after this image does a good job of getting the idea across.  However if you intended an image with more punch and drama you might have gotten in closer and looked for interesting details and angles.

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There are times when we come across a scene that just screams history.  And we try to set the photograph in such a way to make it appear like an old image.  The first thing that must be done is to remove any trace of modern life form the scene.  This often involves isolating the subject.

The photograph submitted here of the old sailing ship does an excellent job of isolating the object of our attention.  I particularly like the second old ship in the distance.  Obviously if there had been a modern boat back there this could have turned into a record shot of the foreground vassal.  Lighting on the sales gives detail in the whites which stands off quite well from the background sky.  The white line down the side of the ship adds information.  Otherwise the boat would have been nothing more than a black silhouette.  I like the reflection in the smooth water next to the subject.

I might suggest to the photo-artist that they remove a little of the foreground water and make the horizon one third of the way from the bottom of the frame.  This will make the scene more traditional and at the same time make the viewer feel they are closer to the ship.

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Bruges (Brugge) Belgium was established in the first century BC by the Romans, and subsequently taken over by the Franks and then by the Vikings.  The modern city that we know now was started in 1128 AD.  Today it is the capital of the province of West Flanders.  So much for the history lesson.

The photograph presented here has a feeling of other worldliness right out of the imagination of Bram Stoker.  The use of inferred manipulation and the subtle brown tinting gives this ancient building and tower a hunted feeling.  The composition is nice with the tree and tower acting as counter balancing centers of interest.  They are both required to tell the story.

I would suggest cropping out the shadow of the tree at the base of the photograph.  Is does not appear to serve any purpose and for some reason wants to draw my attention away for the subject.  If this were a more amorphous shadow I think it would work but it is obvious that it is the shadow of a tree. The building itself does not look menacing enough to tell us that this is a true horror picture we are seeing.

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