Driftwood Eagle
I loved this beautiful piece of art that one of the vendors was selling at the 2014 Native American Festival in Ormond Beach, Florida, recently. The image just seemed to say Nik Analog Efex Pro to me, so this filter was applied as a Smart Object. In the filter the Basic Adjustments, Lens Distortion, Zoom & Rotate Blur, Lens Vignette, and Film Type were selected. Then back in Photoshop, the actual face and part of the wood body were painted back in the filter mask. A Curves Adjustment Layer with a slight S-curve was added on top and that was it. Love the color in this image – really reminds me of the festival……Digital Lady Syd
Wishing I Was Back in Hawaii
Wishing I was back in Hawaii – been a while. Taken at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island – really fun place to stay. I just love the what Nik’s Analog Efex Pro does to give a nice vintage feel. Otherwise just a little clean up here and adding some contrast using Curves Adjustment Layer……Digital Lady Syd
A Nice Illustrative Look
Another image that required a lot of adjustments but lots of fun to post-process. These Savannah homes had cars and trees and all sorts of things in the way so it is amazing that it turned out looking as good as has. I guess that is why I love Lightroom and Photoshop – it is so fun to see what you can do to an image!
Nothing special in Lightroom – just the basics. Next used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Black & White Effects 2 to give a bit of an illustrative look to the image and to add a pretty vignette and border. Alien Skin Snap Art 4‘s Pastel Portrait – soft preset was applied and set to 60% layer opacity. Used a Selective Color Adjustment Layer to get the color adjusted. The Puppet Warp Tool was used to slightly spread the roof from the bottom on the right side as it was a little distorted. That was it but it seemed to take a while. Still, the final result turned out so nice…..Digital Lady Syd
Swan Fountain
Loved the Forsyth Fountain in Forsyth Park in historic Savannah, Georgia. The whole fountain is rather magnificent! This image is just of one of the little swans spewing water around the main fountain. Just the basic slider changes were done in Lightroom. Once brought into Photoshop, the image was processed using the modified Factory Setting from Snap Art 3 – for Snap Art 4 I created a matching preset so I could continue using it. There were three layers selecting different parts of the image in Snap Art. Some clean up and sharpening was done and a Curves Adjustment Layer was added for contrast. Kim Klassen’s Cloth & Paper Reign texture was set to Multiply blend mode at 100% and the old OnOne PhotoFrame grunge 13 was added as a last step. Very easy to do and very pretty result!…..Digital Lady Syd
Mixers for Margaritas!
Totally loved this display taken at the Margaritaville on City Walk, Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida. I could actually see myself making up a wonderful batch of Margaritas with one of these gorgeous mixers! There really was not much processing done here. Just a few basic sliders and some cropping in Lightroom. Did some LAB sharpening this time since there were so many details. ( See my Unsharp Mask Filter In LAB Mode blog for more info on this.) Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3 was used to sharpen a little more. A Color Balance Adjustment Layer was added and the Midtones were set to 0/-25/-60 to bring out the yellows in the texture a little more. Last step was Topaz ReStyle – just overall brightened up the image. (ReStyle settings: Started with Dark Goldenrod Sunset preset. Color Style Hue Fifth -0.50; Sat Primary 0.08, Secondary 0.02, Third 0.25 and Fifth 0.13; and Lum Primary -0.41, Secondary 0.31 and Fifth -0.03; and Texture Strength 0.72; Basic Tone Black Level -0.12, Midtones 0.09, and White Level 0.11; and Detail Structure 0.28, and Sharpness 0.06.) Just more fun in Photoshop!…..Digital Lady Syd
The Boy in the Bubble
This looks like so much fun – wish I could try it! This boy is riding in one of 4 giant floating bubbles at the 2014 Native American Festival in Ormond Beach, Florida, this past weekend. The kids don’t get wet andhave a great time trying to stand up and run. Very little processing was done on this image, which is unbelievable since he is behind a thick piece of soft vinyl. In Lightroom, after some basic adjustments and cropping, Dave Delnea’s Forest Walks Look 3 preset was applied – but I used The Fader to reduce the preset effect to just 61%. Really brought out just the right amount of greens and blues. In Photoshop Topaz (see sidebar for website link) DeNoise 5 was set to an Overall Setting of 0.19. Some clean up was done where the water looked funny on his face. Nik Viveza 2 was used to slightly tone down the bright specular light in the upper left side of the image and to even out the face color. That was it. I like the natural texture the vinyl created. What a cool amusement – looks like he is really is floating!…..Digital Lady Syd
Where Can You Find the Cutest Lion?
This little guy that was standing on the side in Dr. Seuss Landing at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure has got to rank right up there for cuteness! I loved the topiaries in this area – Universal did a great job on them. Very little processing was done to this guy. In Lightroom just the Basic slider adjustments and cropping. Used an Adjustment Brush to even out some of the shadows on the lion’s body and Dave Delnea’s Backlight Horizontal Right preset was applied to even out the light a little. In Photoshop just a little basic clean up in the top corner where a branch was showing. Next the High Pass filter set to 6 and Overlay Blend Mode was used to sharpen just the face and edges of his red mane by adding a black layer mask to the filter and painting back those areas. A painted frame was added as a border and an Adjustment Layer to add just a little overall contrast. That was it! Just love this shot!…..Digital Lady Syd
Fire Brigade Bike
Finally got to see Universal Studios Islands of Adventure section in Orlando, Florida. This image of a Fire Brigade bicycle was one of the first things I saw – very unusual item so had to take a picture. Had to get a little creative though since that is what I do! This time Trey Radcliff’s Biting Icecream preset was applied in Lightroom along with some basic slider adjustments. In Photoshop Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Adjust 5’s Photo Pop preset was added next. Then just a bit of sharpening using Topaz Detail 3 was. Probably did not need it since next I went into Alien Skin’s Snap Art 4 and added the Factory Default settings from Snap Art 3 (which I manually created) and added a little more saturation – no mask layers. Back in Photoshop Topaz ReStyle was opened up and the bright oranges and reds were swapped out for blues and darker reds. I just liked theses colors better so that is what you see. Last step added a slight dark vignette around image using a Curves Adjustment Layer. This was such a nice colorful picture and the nice thing – no people around! Anyway, lots of fun to process using my favorite plug-ins…..Digital Lady Syd
Digital Lady Syd’s Favorite Preset for Nik’s Analog Efex Pro
Just another example of what Nik’s Analog Efex Pro can do. Used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle’s Shaded Subways preset (with these changes: Color Style Lum Secondary 0.07, Third -0.48, and Fourth 0.34; Texture Strength 1.00; and Sharpness 0.84.) Once again used my favorite settings for the plug-in. And that was it. I love the results – using ReStyle with Analog Efex Pro is a really nice combination. Since I am using this preset so much and find it really easy to adjust, I thought I would share the settings with anyone that would like to get a similar effect. Just tune out if you do not want them.
The preset was named SJ Favorite preset. The settings for each section used in the image above are as follows: Basic Adjustments – Detail Extraction 65%, Brightness 14%, Contrast -36%, and Saturation 13; Light Leaks – Strength slider 50%, set to Soft, and selected third row over and fifth row down (a reddish triangle coming from the left and the center point in the middle lower left (this can be adjusted depending on your image); Lens Vignette – Amount 78%, slider moved all the way right under Rectangle, and Size 44% with the center point in the middle of the image; Film Type – Subtle selected using the third row over and fourth row down film, Neutral to Faded slider placed just a little to right of middle, Strength 70%, Grain per pixel 400, and Soft to Hard slider in the middle; Frames – selected White in drop-down and used the first column fourth row down frame – I believe I clicked the Vary button a couple times here but not much difference occurred; and Levels & Curves – this is a little tricky but it makes all the difference in the preset. This is a 16 X 16 grid, so set the points where noted. For the Luminosity Channel, create a curve that starts with a point at 0,0, then one at 8.5, 8, and the last one goes up to the top with a small straight line to the top right corner so use this point 14, 16 – you may want to adjust this the way you want but it really pops my image by adjusting this curve – all other curve lines are left alone. You can go to the Camera Kit and add in other effects to get a little different look – I do this all the time.
The second image in my Photoshop With Corel Painter for Texture blog shows this same preset. Hope you will give it a try – Nik’s Analog Efex Pro is really a lot of fun!…..Digital Lady Syd
Visiting the Country
This is an image of several dachas in the countryside outside the City of Minsk in Belarus. This image had very little processing done to it – just three filters stacked in Nik Color Efex Pro 4 (Brilliance/Warmth, Midnight using the Neutral Color Set, and Detail Extractor). A Curves Adjustment Layer was added and several power lines were removed following my Get Rid of Those Power Lines Fast – with Paths and Spot Healing Tool! blog. The overlay is the same one created for the top image in the blog linked below, and was added with a dark green Color Fill Layer clipped (ALT+click between the layers) to it so it looks dark. See my How to Create an Overlay Out of a Texture blog on how to create this overlay. I like the soft diffused effect the filters created…..Digital Lady Syd
What a Dolling Picture!
This is a rather crazy image of a doll in a lion outfit that I decided to do some processing on. The RAW image had a lot of window reflection, but for some reason I just liked the way the sun lit up the doll and hair on the right side. I do not even mind the white blown out spectral spots – it sort of added to the wintry old feel. In the original file had a lot of spectral highlights that looked like snow. Alien Skin Snap Art 4 was applied in Photoshop using the Impasto Detailed preset and two Detail Masks to bring in the facial features. Then I added my free SJ Snow2 slight blur overlay set to 34% layer opacity. A Solid Color Fill Adjustment Layer was clipped (ALT+click between layers) to the overlay to give a little light peach color to the snow. Nik Analog Efex Pro was applied for a little vintage feel. The last step was to add a Curves Adjustment Layer to add contrast to the image. That was it – for some reason I really like this image!…..Digital Lady Syd
Bamboo Forest Abstract
Got inspired by a short tutorial called Dustin Abbott’s Autumn Abstract with Snap Art 4 on Alien Skin’s website where he created this really interesting abstract painting. The image above is of a bamboo forest on the Big Island in Hawaii. I wanted a little less abstraction so some of the bamboo could be seen but the beautiful Hawaiian forest colors were the main interest. Therefore, I only used a Motion Blur Distance of 594 pixels. Next in Snap Art 4 Dustin Abbott’s Autumn Abstract preset (he graciously lets you download the preset in the tutorial link above) was applied. Back in Photoshop a layer mask was added where a few of the trees were painted back softly just to exaggerate the foreground tree shapes. Next Topaz ReStyle (see sidebar for website link) plug-in was added. (Started with Olivine Pastures preset to keep the Hawaiian green and pink colors intact. Color Style Hue Third -0.14, Sat Primary -0.28, Third 0.20, and Fifth -0.17, and Lum Third 0.63 and Fifth 0.59; Texture Strength 1.00; Basic Opacity 62%, Blend Mode Screen, Color Tint 0.16 and Sat 0.20; and Detail Structure 0.31.) The last step involved adding another of my favorite plug-ins, Nik Analog Efex Pro. (Used these filter settings: Basic Adjustments with Sat at 24%; Dirt & Scratches 82% using the last Organic thumbnail; Photo Plate Corroded – 2nd down 2nd over – at 20% Strength; and Levels & Curves with RGB and Luminosity Curves pulled just a little down and over at 81% Strength.) I think the image depicts exactly what I wanted to express – mainly emphasizing the gorgeous colors and the soft vertical feel of the forest. Give this technique a try and see what you can do……Digital Lady Syd
Digital Lady Syd Related Blogs:
Digital Lady Syd Reviews Alien Skin Snap Art 4
Wintry Dahlia
Loved how this beautiful white dahlia bloom came out – and once again it used two of my favorite Photoshop plug-ins. First applied Trey Radcliff’s Yesterepoch preset to flower in Lightroom. In Photoshop sharpened up the image using Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3 using these settings: Detail Panel: Highlight – Small Details 0.42, Small Details Boost 0.45, Medium Details 0.54, Medium Details Boost 0.40, Large Details 0.48, and Large Details Boost 0.44. Back in Photoshop filled a layer mask with black and painted back just the edges of the flower that I wanted emphasized – this kept the petals in back less in focus. Added one of my textures that I made in Corel Painter with a layer mask so the flower did not have texture applied, and set the layer to 32% layer opacity. Next opened Nik’s Analog Efex Pro plug-in and used a preset I created called Very Basic Set up. It contains just the Basic Adjustments panel (Detail Extraction 30%, Brightness 35%, Contrast 25% and Saturation -30%), Bokeh filter (Blur Strength 24%, Boost Highlights 94%, and centered on middle of flower), and Lens Vignette filter (Amount -33%, slider set under R in Rectangle, Size 77%, and also centered on flower middle). Back in Photoshop added a Levels Adjustment Layer to give just a little more contrast. I really liked the soft textured feel to the flower…..Digital Lady Syd
Christmas Flowers!
Recently I set a goal to learn how to use Corel Painter. These Christmas flowers were a perfect choice for me to practice some of my newly developing skills. I love the colors that the brushes created although I am not sure exactly which brushes I used, but several blending brushes were used. I have learned to keep a custom panel of my favorite brushes set up so I do not have to keep searching for them. (Not unlike setting up your own panels in Photoshop.) After I finished painting it, I wanted to show a few outlines for emphasizing certain area. The original image into Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Simplify and a sketch with black lines on a white background was created. Back in Photoshop, the white was removed using Color Range, and then the layer was moved into the Painter image. A layer mask was added and lines I did not like were removed and the layer was set to 51% opacity. A dark brown Solid Color Fill Adjustment Layer was clipped (ALT+click between the layers) to the lines layer. A Hue/Sat Adjustment Layer was added to make the flowers the perfect color of red. Some localized contrast was added by selecting a Curves Adjustment Layer and filling the layer mask with black. Just the areas where I wanted contrast was painted back, which was mainly the red flowers. I love the way Painter and Photoshop work together! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Holiday Season!…..Digital Lady Syd
A Secret Garden
This was one of my favorite images from Savannah, Georgia, when visiting last month. Not a lot was done to this image although the Puppet Warp command had to be used to straighten out the walls due to the lens distortion. Also Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle was applied to get the pretty soft light effect – the settings were from a Test Preset when I first got the program so I am not sure where I started. Finished up with a little Nik Viveza 2 to direct the eye to the stairs. This image uses some of my favorite colors……Digital Lady Syd
Surprising Results with Nik Analog Efex Pro
I really love how the light was playing through these beautiful huge philodendron leaves – bright sunlight was shining on them near a pond at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens in Ormond Beach, Florida. By applying Nik’s new Analog Efex Pro Photoshop plug-in to the image, I was able to make the background slightly blurred while maintaining the striking light on the leaves. I really like this plug-in as it can be used without getting too much of that vintage effect on the image but yet you can still use some of the tools that can really localize an effect in an image. I think what really added to the image is that there are some unusual patterns in the leaves the misty water effect is interesting. Anyway, turned out to be a surprise which is what is so much fun about Photoshop and all the plug-ins available for it!…..Digital Lady Syd
Rural Church in Belarus
Just another pretty picture of a church in the Belarusian countryside. I wish we had stopped so I could set up the picture, but the trees are so pretty it does not seem to matter that the church is partially hidden from view. Once again in Lightroom I started with a Trey Radcliff preset – this time I used . In Photoshop Nik’s Analog Efex Pro was applied – it really lightened up the image. Therefore a Curves Adjustment Layer was added above the plug-in layer to add back just a little bit more contrast. That was it! I really like what the Nik plug-in does on images – it takes a while to work with the settings, but once you figure them out, it can add interesting and beautiful effects…..Digital Lady Syd
Mossy Turtle
This turtle is carrying a lot of moss on his shell – didn’t realize this until I downloaded the image. Really funny looking but he does not seem to mind and the little fish seem to think it is cool! This image was taken during the brightest part of the day in a pond at Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens in Ormond Beach, FL. Used a little split toning in Lightroom on this image, then in Photoshop added some sharpening using Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3. Filled a layer mask with black and painted the sharpening back in the mask just were I wanted it. Added a Brightness/Contrast Adjustment Layer with no changes but set to Soft Light at 45% layer opacity to brighten the image a little. (See my How to Use an Adjustment Layer to Localize Light and/or Dark in Image blog for more info on this.) I actually revised this image as I downloaded some really nice Nik Color Efex Pro presets from Flypaper Textures – ended using one of my own recipes but I really liked some of the results with the other presets. My preset used the Pro Contrast filter and Balance/Warmth filter to warm of the image just a little more. The last step was to add my SJ Thin Double Edge Frame to the image.
Let’s Hear It for the Graphophone
This image of a Columbia Grand Graphophone built in 1901 in France was taken at the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, Florida. Really catches you eye when at the museum. Sears was selling it for $50.00 – it used 5-inch cylinder records and could also be used as a recorder. Apparently it came with different horns depending upon what you were doing. Just had fun playing with this image. In Lightroom the basic sliders were adjusted and some pretty crazy spit toning applied where a really pink tone was created. In Photoshop applied Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle’s Cream and Plum preset (only changes were to Black Level -0.22, Midtones 0.11, and White Level -0.73; and Detail Structure 0.44 and Sharpness 0.75). A Levels Adjustment Layer was added and all the tabs were adjusted (Black 3/Midtone 0.70/White 196) which created quite a bit of clipping in the image. It seemed to help with the reflections of glass. A little clean up and that was it. I love working on the old items – the materials and color are so nice……Digital Lady Syd
Keeping Time
Just loved how this image turned out. I liked the fact that the dining room was light and bright and slightly out-of-focus and the clock and plant looked pretty nice when put together. The little philodendron was rooted from a clipping of a plant I have had 20 years – amazing! The original image was processed in Lightroom using just the Basic Sliders and Dave Delnea’s Backlight Vertical Right preset. Once opened in Photoshop Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3’s Shadow Relief III preset was applied to sharpen up the image little. Nik’s Analog Efex Pro‘s plug-in was applied – it is turning into one of my very favorite plug-ins! Basic Adjustments, Bokeh, Light Leaks, Dirt & Scratches, Lens Vignette, Film Type, Frames, and Level & Curves tabs were used. I have created a favorite look preset and just keep modifying it – I think that is the easiest way to use this plug-in. A Curves Adjustment Layer was added to increase contrast and that was it. This is just too much fun to do!…..Digital Lady Syd
Digital Lady Syd Related Blogs:
Digital Lady Syd Reviews Nik Analog Efex Pro
Using Nik’s Analog Efex Pro on a Historic Statue
Using Nik’s Analog Efex Pro on a Historic Statue
I really like what Nik’s Analog Efex Pro plug-in does for statues and historic images. At first I did not like this image of the Gordon Monument in Wright Square in Savannah, but since it had that historic look to it, it seemed like a great fit with this new plug-in. Sure enough, it really created a beautiful image and has a feel to it that suits the image. I believe I used the Vintage Camera 4 preset as a starting point, but changed everything up so it is really hard to tell. I always start with the Basic Adjustments tab. Light Leaks was changed (third down, second over) and the Strength set to 67% – the On Image Control was moved towards the bottom. In Lens Vignette the control was set on the figures and the size and amount adjusted. The Film Type was Subtle (second down, first one) and the fading was increased.I changed the Frame – really liked this one in Whites (third row, second over). Back in Photoshop I did add a Curves Adjustment Layer just to pop the colors a little more. I find it a rather charming picture! See my Fun Photoshop Blog Digital Lady Syd Reviews Nik Analog Efex Pro for more information on this new plug-in from Nik. Personally, I love it!…..Digital Lady Syd
Happy Veterans Day!
Happy Veterans Day to all who served! While visiting Savannah, Georgia, recently, I was impressed by how patriotic the city is – US flags were everywhere. I found this image to be quite pretty on a beautiful Sunday morning! In Lightroom the NAPP preset called Hang Ten (the preset is referenced in Scott Kelby’s The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Book for Digital Photographers) and Dave Delnea’s Backlight 002 Vertical preset (which creates the beautiful lighting effect) were applied along with the basic sliders. This image used Topaz (see right side for website link) Simplify and Alien Skin’s Snap Art 3 in Photoshop. A couple Curves Adjustment Layers were used, one for targeting the flag and the other creating a light vignette effect…..Digital Lady Syd
A Day in the Sun!
I love how this image turned out! This is from a wonderful day in Savannah, Georgia, at the Gulfstream Family Day in October. I wanted to go up in that Ferris Wheel, but did not get a chance to. I used a Lightroom preset on this image called Hang Ten from NAPP (the preset is referenced in Scott Kelby’s The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Book for Digital Photographers) – gives a real soft vintage feel and then Backlight Horizontal Left from Dave Delnea’s presets, some of my very favorites! In Photoshop two of my favorite plug-ins were used: Alien Skin’s Snap Art 3 was applied using just the Factory Default and adding three layers to bring in some more details; next Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle was applied using Silver and Ivory Cloak preset and then changing: Texture Strength -100; Temperature 0.14, Saturation 0.05, Black Level 0.38, Midtones 0.06, White Level 0.19, and Structure 0.27. A Curves Adjustment Layer and Levels Adjustment Layer were added to get the contrast just right. That was it – very simple. It really has that old County Fair feel to it!…..Digital Lady Syd
Just a Spot of Color in a B&W to Pop an Image!
Really loved this image taken during the brightest time of day on the Intracoastal Water Way (aka Halafax River) in Ormond Beach – shooting towards Daytona Beach. In Lightroom I did just the basic slider adjustments and removed a little Noise and fringing before opening in Photoshop. Some clean up in the left corner was done to get rid of some out-of-focus greenery and a couple dots on the roof were removed. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) that was converted to a Smart Object, Nik’s Silver Efex Pro 2 was opened and the Film Noire 1 preset was applied. The Color Filter was changed to Green. A Control Point was set on the Roof and the Selective Color slider was adjusted to bring back just a hint of the orange color back into the photo. Another Control point was added to the bridge and building in the background to define the lines just a little – they were pretty soft looking in the original. Once in Photoshop again, a Curves Adjustment Layer was added to give an over-exposed look to the water. The Hand Tool in the upper left of the Curves Panel was dragged up on the water in the image to get the look. That is all that was done to get this look. – I really liked how it turned out.
