Joyous Ornaments Lining Up for the Tree
This is just one of those crazy photos that make me laugh. It is not all that sharp but sort of exemplifies the total chaos it is for me to get all the ornaments up and hanging right! Biggest issue I had was to get this image sharper without deteriorating the quality. In Lightroom’s Develop module, used my SJ Sharply Dark LUT (created in my blog and video called How to Create Profiles in ACR from LR Presets and Some PS LUT Files) and set it to Amount 81. Then did just the normal adjustments. Radial Filters were used to help sharpen up some of the ornaments I wanted particularly in focus. Went into Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Studio from LR and used AI Clear (applied it twice to get some additional sharpness and it worked!), the Precision Contrast adjustment, Topaz Lens Effects Diffusion Adjustment to soften overall just a little and Topaz Studio Focal Blur Adjustment, placing it over the main ornaments to keep sharp. Then back to LR where it was opened up in Photoshop. Did a little clean up of some edges and used Nik Viveza 2 to emphasize the focal point on a few ornaments. That was it. I find this a really soft sort of happy image – not one that goes up on the wall but one that reminds me of Christmas!…..Digital Lady Syd
View from The London Eye
Just thought this image from the London Eye looked nice with a black and white treatment. This time in Lightroom used one of Sergei Ramelli‘s preset called AA Drama Gradient Filter (subscribe to Serge’s newsletter to get the preset and lots of others) and then went in and tweaked the settings – added some Radial Filters also to emphasize the setting sun on the buildings. Did a crop of the image before taking into Photoshop. On a duplicate layer used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) AI Clear Adjustment, applied it, and opened up Topaz Black and White Effects plug-in from the top drop-down. This time selected from the Traditional Collection the Classic with Grain preset – but turned off the Basic section and used mainly the Adaptive Exposure, Regions, Detail, and Detail boost sliders. In the Finishing Touches selected the Silver and Paper Tone and adjusted to get a nice off-black, almost purple color. Back in Photoshop added a Curves Adjustment Layer. Not much too it…..Digital Lady Syd
Mickey Shopping on Main Street USA
Had some fun working on this image. This image is of a shop on Main Street USA, Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida (click on link to see more info and other interesting buildings). I really love the color yellow so this shop always catches my attention. There was a lot of manipulation done to get rid of the people in front of parts of the image, straightening the building, and adding the Mickey Mouse cloud. Note that the top floors are not as high as the bottom floor – Disney does that on all the buildings to make them look bigger than they are. Just a few Basic panel changes done in LR before going into PS. Next the people were removed in front using the new Content Aware-Fill command and little more clean up. Next the Adaptive Wide Angle filter was used to straighten up the columns and the image was cropped (see my How to Use the Adaptive Wide Angle Filter blog). Next on a Composite layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) , Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Studio’s AI Clear Adjustment and HSL Color Tuning Adjustment were used. Back in PS on a New Layer on top, Grut’s FX Cloud Kernel Hi brush (these Cloud Brushes are the best around) was used to paint in the Mickey Mouse cloud face. Then Grut’s Cloud Lumens Hi and Sparco HI brushes were used on other sky areas. Another composite layer was created and taken into Skylum’s Luminar 2018 (see sidebar for website link). This used their wonderful new AI Sky Enhancer which really popped the sky. (Settings: On bottom layer used Accent AI Filter Boost 67; AI Sky Enhancer Amount 38; Tone: Exposure 0, Contrast 4, Smart Tone 66, Highlights 31, Shadows -6, Whites 92, and Blacks -80; and Golden Hour Amount 17 and Sat -62. On top layer used my SJ Matt Look preset – Sun Rays which contains Matt Look (Amount 47, Fade 20, Contrast 20, Vividness -44, Toning 7, Hue 256, and Sat 46; and Sunrays – placed the sun down halfway on right side of house (X104/&55) with center off the side of the image, and the rest of the settings: Amount 30, Look 31, Number 23, Length 65, Warmth 67, Radius 63, Glow Radius 69, Glow Amount 66, Warmth 72, Penetration 78, and Randomize 8.) The last step involved adding a Mickey Mouse vector object from Shutter Stock (noted that an .eps file from Illustrator can be opened in PS – to see it first, find file in Adobe Bridge and place into your image) and created shadow for him. I love the color and how sharp the image is!…..Digital Lady Syd
Graham Swamp
Graham Swamp is a place I have photographed many times. It is not really that pretty most of the time, but this fall it contained just enough color to create this image. And Topaz (see sidebar for website link) came to the rescue for me. In Studio, the new AI Clear Adjustment was terrific on this type of image. Really helped sharpen up all the little details without over-sharpening them. Learned a new workflow from a Topaz Webinar by Joel Wolfson called The Simple Path to Stunning Images with Topaz. Not sure it is posted yet, but do check out the Topaz webinars – there are some really informative ones like this one. Basically it uses Topaz Adjust to adjust exposure without losing the Shadows or Highlights in the image. I had forgotten this and it is a very useful tip. So here is the tip: since the Adaptive Exposure slider is connected to the Regions slider, use them in together – the higher the Adaptive Exposure amount is, the more Regions should be set. Used the Dehaze, Precision Contrast, Precision Detail Adjustments, and somewhere in the mix some Impression and the ReStyle Plugin. Turned this rather dreary image into a beautiful autumn look…..Digital Lady Syd
Colorful Queen Emma Lily
Enjoyed post-processing this Queen Emma Lily growing in my front yard (they bloom all year long). I was mainly experimenting more with Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Studio AI ReMix. This time used the Neon Rise Style set to Linear Light blend mode and added Impression’s default settings except for Paint Opacity at 0.05 and Precision Detail. Back in Photoshop, added Nik Viveza 2 to sharpen up the center of the flower for focus and that was it. I just love the colorful results! For more on AI ReMix, check out my Topaz ReMix – Update and Better than Ever! blog for more information.
White Abstract Flowers
Love the results of this abstract applied to a rather ordinary grouping of white flowers. Applied a basic Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Impression Abstract preset to the flowers to remove the details. Then took the image into Corel Painter to paint in more of the flowers. Saved as a PSD file and opened up in Photoshop to further paint in details with Mixer Brushes. To get the interesting texture effect, added a rather light edged painted border in white and in the layer style, set the Bevel & Emboss to one created by John Derry. At this point I could not find a link where these can be purchased (I got them several years ago) but try playing around with this layer style effect. The opacity of this layer was set to 44% and the Fill amount set to 5% to get the interesting painting look. Used Nik Viveza 2 and added some color for lighting effect……Digital Lady Syd
Chatting with the Ladies on the Bridge
This was a fairly large sized turtle that was hanging around the bridge platform where I was talking with a few other ladies – he seemed totally enthralled with our conversation. Something tells me he was looking for a hand-out. Lucis Pro was added to sharpen him up a little first. Then Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Studio Texture Effects filter (started with Earthy Cat and Window Gaze preset – only used these adjustments: Blurs, Basic Adjustment, Texture and set the Opacity to 0.30 – used as it gave a natural looking interest in the water; added Dehaze Adj – 0.72 opacity and Strength 0.91 and Suppress Artifacts 0.73 – gave water a darker richer color; next added Radiance Adj – 0.97 opacity, Overlay bm, Radiance Type Light, Strength 0.53, Width 0.16, Length -0.28, Curl 0, Suppress Weak 0.01, Effect Coverage 1.00, Fade 0.13, and Sat 0.63 – in mask painted around turtle with small brush which lightened it up around turtle, then used the Adjust settings and set the Density and Contrast to blend the color into the water color – gave a very soft edge around the turtle; the Glow filter was added last – Opacity 0.58, Overlay bm, Primary Glow Type 0.10, Primary Effect Sharpness 0.74, Primary Electrify 0.23, Primary Simplify Details 0.87, Primary Edge Color 0.17, Primary Detail Strength -0.40, Primary Detail Size 0.20, Primary Brightness 0.37, Primary Contrast 0.98, Primary Sat 0.23, Primary Line Rotation 0, Primary Glow Spread 0.08, Coverage Transition 0.31 and Sharp Radius 0.10). In Photoshop a Vignette was created using Matt K’s technique (see my How to Create a Subtle Vignette blog). The font is called Style Casual, one of my favorites. ….. Digital Lady Syd
Bird on the Prowl
This Blue Heron image which was taken at Mount Dora, Florida, looks a little scraggly and I wonder if he has just gotten his adult plumage. That actually made it a little hard to post-process the image, so I decided to help him along a little bit with a few strokes of the Mixer brushes in Photoshop. Used On1 Photo Raw 2018 Effects (see sidebar for website link) to sharpen him up a little (the Dynamic Contrast and Sharpen filters at default settings does wonders on an image). Then on a stamped layer used Topaz Studio (see sidebar for website link) to get a more interesting background (used Impression with Chalk Smudge II along with Precision Contrast to just the background and AI ReMix for the more modern looking edges in the water). Added my favorite Color Lookup preset – Foggy Night at 78% opacity. From here it was just adding layers to clean him up a little. It was fun to do one of my favorite bird subjects again!…..Digital Lady Syd
Teacher and Student
Am planning on taking a few weeks off from blogging to get some things done around the home – blogging takes up a lot time, so this will be it for a few! This image is of some architectural sculpture associated with the “Castle School” building connected to the Camera Obscura building in Edinburgh, Scotland, near the castle. I thought the sculpture was really charming of a teacher and her student. In LR the image used a Profile by VoxColor called NC to get the interesting tones. In Photoshop just did some normal clean up, used a Black and White Adjustment Layer, a Curves Adjustment Layer, and a Dodge and Burn layer. On a stamped layer, opened up Topaz Studio (see sidebar for website link) and applied the Impression Adjustment and Topaz AI ReMix Adjustment at 0.14 to add some painterly effect into the image. Then added several painting layers using my SJ Pastel 3 brushes (see my How to Create my Favorite Brush Blog and my Painting Fun in Photoshop Blog) to smooth out some of the paint strokes from the Impression filter. A New Layer set to Overlay was used to add a little spotlight effect on the figures. French Kiss (see sidebar for website link) Solstice Initiation texture was set to Color Burn blend mode at 59%. A Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer was clipped to it and the Saturation was reduced to -43 to reduce the color effect of the texture. Finished off with Nik Viveza 2 to draw focus a little more into the sculpture. Last step was to create a vignette using Matt Kloskowski’s technique (see my How to Create a Subtle Vignette blog). That was it – lots of fun here! Will try to add some more blogs as time allows!…..Digital Lady Syd
Beautiful Hibiscus
Had fun with this image. This is one of my peach hibiscus that I turned into a beautiful coral color. Used On1 (see sidebar for website link) Photo Raw 2018 Effects Dynamic Contrast on parts of the image by using the filter’s mask, and Sharpening filter. In Photoshop painted on the layer to fill in areas that were blown out. Added a Texture from Melissa Gallo Paints called Garden Canvas (from her Painting with Photoshop Workshop – excellent course and comes with some great brushes) at 26% layer opacity. Duplicated it and set Blend If Underlying Layer white tab split to 30/60. Three colored spotlight effects were painted on the petals. On a stamped layer, Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Studio was opened and the AI ReMix adjustment applied twice and Dehaze adjustment once. The image had a really bright red and orange effect color. Nik Viveza was opened to add some focus. Then applied my SJ Nastalgia profile (from a preset) in Camera Raw Filter. (See my How to Create Profiles in ACR from LR Presets and some PS LUT Files blog for info on this.) Now the colors are this pretty pink color. A couple layer of painting and burning and that was it. …..Digital Lady Syd
Enjoying the Attention
Here is an image of one of the most beloved creatures in Scotland – Hamish McKay Denovan, the Highland Cow. This guy was as tame and sweet as could be. (Another Flickr contributor noted that “Hamish the Highland Bull at Kilmahog, a popular stop off point on the road through the Trossachs to Lochaber and the western isle” in Scotland is where this guy can be found.) It had not been post-processed since it had a fence going everywhere in the image, but Photoshop’s terrific spot healing brush took the lines out completely. Just Basic Panel changes were done in Lightroom. Then in Photoshop, after removing the fencing, a stamped layer was created. Topaz Studio (see sidebar for website link) was opened and once again and three Adjustments were added, Precision Contrast and two AI ReMix (settings were: Precision Contrast: Micro -0.52, Low 0.72, Medium 0.27, High 0.45, Shadow 0.51, and Midtone 0.12; AI ReMix: Opacity 0.79, Low, Row 13/Col 2 swatch, Brightness 0.14, Contrast 1.15, Sat 0.75; and AI ReMix: Opacity 0.89, Color bm, Low, Col 17/Row 1 swatch, Painted out the animal slightly). The sign on the fence post was different and faded so I put some text in it for this highland cow – three different text layers were used, grouped, duplicated, turned off, and the copy was rasterized. Then the text could be transformed using the Warp to fit the paper. Some clean up was done and some darkening and lightening using two Curves Adjustment Layers with black layer masks. Google Nik Viveza 2 was used to emphasize the focal point. Then my final workflow steps were done: added a Red Channel Luminosity Curves adjustment layer, a Gradient Map adjustment layer using a reddish tone to light blue color gradient, added a layer for a white spotlight effect on his face, and finished up with Matt Kloskowski’s vignette. Love how the Topaz AI ReMix can produce this type of interesting texture…..Digital Lady Syd
Stand Tall
Just love Flamingos – this image taken in Hawaii a while back of some beautiful flamingos at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. This image needed to be made bigger so some more space was added on the right side using Image -> Canvas Size and setting to 120% for the width. Then used Content Aware Fill to fill in the area. Topaz Impression was added to the flamingos. A painted background I created in Corel Painter was taken into Topaz Studio (see sidebar for website link) and my SJ AI Graphic Design Effect preset was added (in community). It was turned into a black and white using a Black and White Adjustment Layer. The Flamingo Shadow font was used and a couple layers were placed above and below. Grut’s Charcoal Shin Ding brush was used to add a slight smokey feeling around the text. My Silver Pattern created using my Glitter texture was added to the text. (See my How to Quickly Add a Touch of Gold to Your Text blog on how to do this.) Nik Viveza 2 was used to emphasize the heads and a darken layer was created to highlight a few of the lines between the birds. That was it. I really love the color of Flamingos…..Digital Lady Syd
Storm on the Way
I decided to work on this image using an old sharpening technique I recently learned. This image was taken into Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Studio and one of my old presets was applied which is just a Precision Contrast adjustment and a HSL Color Tuning adjustment where the individual colors were tweaked. The next step was to sharpen it in Photoshop by duplicating the Topaz layer and setting it to Hard Mix blend mode. Then a Gaussian Blur was set to Radius 3 pixels and the Fill (not the opacity) slider in the Layers Panel was set to 6%. This is a great way to sharpen and does not usually cause haloing. A little dodge and burning was done and a Red Channel Luminosity Curves Adjustment Layer was added. Last step was to add a Vignette using Topaz Lens Effects’s Soft Pearl preset with a few changes to sliders. In PS it was set to 73% opacity. That was it. It looks extremely sharp I think…..Digital Lady Syd
A Scottish Countryside Town
Loved how this image turned out using the new Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Studio AI ReMix Adjustment. I am finding that to get AI Remix to look really good, it helps to stack this adjustment a couple times to get an interesting look. In this case a Precision Contrast adjustment was added first, then an AI ReMix adjustment using the Row 13/Col 2 swatch, then AI ReMix adjustment was applied again using Row 6/Col 3 swatch set to Lighten color blend mode at 0.59 opacity, next an Edges adjustment set to Multiply blend mode, and finally a Color Theme adjustment to change some of the colors of the image (this adjustment seems to work best for changing the colors in these swatches). I created a preset called SJ AI Blocked Blue Look and put it up in the community group if you would like to try it. Back in PS the layer was set to the Luminosity blend mode, did a crop, and a little painting clean up was done in the background. A stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) and Nik Viveza 2 was opened and 4 control points were used to adjust the color. The last step was to go back into Topaz Studio and apply the Pony Express preset from the Simplify section. Back in PS it was set to 26% layer opacity. Last step was to add a Matt K vignette. (See my How to Create a Subtle Vignette blog). I really like the texture and color in this image…..Digital Lady Syd
The Wildebeest
This image of a Wildebeest was in a packet of images I recently bought from Deal Jumbo in a set called Amazing Wild Animals 2 from images taken at South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. I would love to go there and take images, but will settle for this since I love animals! This is very simple post-processing – on the original image just added a Curves Adjustment Layer and a Black and White Adjustment Layer to get the contrast correct and turn the image into a black and white. Then Topaz’s (see sidebar for website link) new AI ReMix adjustment was applied. Unfortunately I lost all the setting for this, but I was able to figure out it used the last swatch in the list. Then used Color Theme adjustment to change colors around (it is the only adjustment that I find to change colors in the image after AI Remix was applied – I placed a preset called SJ Abstract Animal Effect in the Community that is similar to the above results). Back in PS, a little paint was used to adjust out the coloring in his legs which had turned very green. Created a vignette using Matt K’s technique (see my How to Create a Subtle Vignette blog). That was it. Love playing with these type of images!…..Digital Lady Syd
The Mighty Zebra
Just had a little fun with this one – started by painting a blue background with a large watercolor brush. Next added a background template by Anastezia-Luneva which added the side detail. Next a Zebra from Freepik was added. The letters from Ginko Textured Watercolor Graphics by Paperly Studio were added underneath along with the green ferns and flowers in foreground. Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Studio was opened and the new Topaz AI ReMix adjustment (see my What is Topaz AI ReMix???? blog) was applied using the swatch that looks like a B&W drawing (Col 2/Row 9). The adjustment was set to Opacity 0.47 and Overlay blend mode. Then added a Texture adjustment and used my cat painting texture (can download at my Deviant Art site) and painted the texture off the dark parts of the lettering. Last added an HSL Color Tuning adjustment and changed the Blue and Gray saturation sliders. The brush used to create the grass was from one of my very favorite natural brush sets at DeviantArt called Grass Set2 Frostbo Grass. A basic little painted bird was added. Some shading was painted onto the Zebra to give him some depth. The border is my Layer Style with sampled colors from the image (can download here). That is all that was done but it was a lot of fun to do!…..Digital Lady Syd
What a View!
Had some fun with this image of London along the Thames River in England. This is basically stacking a couple layers using different presets in Topaz Studio (see sidebar for website link), specifically the Simplify presets. First duplicated the background (actually did some clean up on the image first) and in Topaz Studio, applied the Flat I preset. This really just blocks in color as if it were painted as an underpainting layer. A Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer and Curves Adjustment Layer were added to adjust the color. Went back to the original layer and duplicated it again. This time it was put on top and back into Topaz Studio, this time using my SJ Graphic Sketch 1 preset (it can be downloaded from the Community if you search for it) and set it to Luminosity blend mode at 71% layer opacity. 2 Lil’ Owls (see sidebar for website link) Color Bokeh Grunge Set no. 5 texture was applied and set to 54% layer opacity. On a layer above used Grut’s fabulous Cloud brushes (the best ones you will ever find!) to create some clouds in the flat sky – the layer was set to 40. Added a Black and White Adjustment Layer on top, adjusted the slider so the colors were not so over-the-top bright and set it to 20% layer opacity. Last step was to add a Red Channel Luminosity Curves Adjustment Layer. I love the painterly effect these presets created!…..Digital Lady Syd
Lots of Bikes at Flagler College
This is a different angle of some of the colorful bikes taken at Flagler College (the old Ponce de Leon Hotel) in St. Augustine, Florida. In Lightroom used the Auto button to tweak the original image and added a little more color into the bike colors. In Photoshop had to use the Adaptive Wide Angle filter to straighten the walls and then used Topaz Studio (see sidebar for website link) and applied SJ Subtle Colored Pencil which is up in the Community for your use. Back in Photoshop a Red Channel Luminosity Curves Adjustment Layer was used to increase contrast. Nik Viveza 2 was used to add a slight vignette. Last step was to add a Levels Adjustment Layer with the black Output Levels set to 27 and the Midtone slider set to 0.81 to get that flat matte Instagram effect. Really love these bikes!…..Digital Lady Syd
Statue of Queen Anne
I was pretty pleased with how this image of the statue of Queen Anne in St. Paul’s Churchyard in London turned out as the RAW file was not too great. I actually did a lot of the toning in On1 (see sidebar for website link) Photo Raw 2018 Effects module using the Tone Enhancer, Sunrise, and Dynamic Contrast filters – I am finding I really like the Dynamic Contrast filter for sharpening up the images. It did a really good job on the statue. In Topaz Studio (see sidebar for website link) two textures were added on the image. Used Blake Rudis’s 5 Tone Heat Map to adjust the tone. The Foggy Night preset in the Color Lookup Adjustment Layer was set to 23% on a layer on top. Nik Viveza 2 was used to brighten the Queen up a little. A little reddish tone was used to give a vintage feel to the image. Lots of fun to try these different filters together……Digital Lady Syd
View from the Road
This image was taken somewhere in Scotland. I tried a few different effects but finally ended up with this rather simple result. Used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Studio for this image. Started with the Desaturated Blush I preset and changed several sliders. Then used the Tone Theme Filter which made the barn more of an orange color – this is a really nice filter and you should check it out if you own it. Back in PS, created a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E), applied a Black and White Adjustment Layer set to Luminosity blend mode, a Red Channel Luminosity Curves Adjustment Layer, and a regular Curves Adjustment Layer. Next applied Topaz ReStyle Zambezi Zest to the image at 42% layer opacity. Again back in PS, did some clean up and Black and White Adjustment Layers. A Gradient Fill Adjustment Layer to add a soft vignette and a Selective Color Adjustment Layer for a corner blue sky issue were then applied. Next added a Blake Rudis 5 Tone Heat Map to add a really pleasing look to the image. ……Digital Lady Syd
Harvesting Orange
Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving in the US with this perfectly colored Bird of Paradise bloom that was growing in my front yard. Used setting from Urban Walk 15 Vintage Street preset in Lightroom. In Photoshop just practiced some of the things I have been learning about the various plug-ins filters. This image used Topaz Studio’s (see sidebar for website link) Impression default with some slider changes including the Painting Progress slider at 0.60 – then painted out most of the effect off the flower. Then the Precision Contrast filter was applied at 0.84 opacity and the Lighting Shadow set way down to give it a very dark background. Back in PS, On1 Photo Raw 2018 (see sidebar for website link) Effects was opened and their Glow Filter Orton Hear a Who preset at 75% opacity and the Noise Reduction filter Shadows preset was applied. A little burning was done on a layer above to emphasize some of the flower lines a little. (See my How to Create a Subtle Dodge and Burn Effect blog.) Some selective sharpening was done with a 50% gray layer and painting was done on the flowers using my SJ Pastel 3 Brush (see my How to Create my Favorite Brush blog). On a layer on top, a Spotlight Effect was created on the flower (see my How to Add a Spot of Light blog). The last step added the text using Naive Deco Sans font. Enjoy the holiday!…..Digital Lady Syd
Countryside Contentment
This image was take on the highway to Bath, England. I did not realize what a beautiful sky was in the image so I had not looked at it in Photoshop. Now I think it looks rather idyllic. This image actually took a lot of layers to get it looking the way I wanted: Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Studio was used to bring the contrast into the image and the Radiance Adjustment was used to get some very precise lines. Some spotlight effect was used to direct the eye and Nik Viveza 2. To warm the sky a Light Gradient using clear, yellow and pink colors was added to warm up the whole image. Blake Rudis’s gradient map vignette technique was used to finish up the image. (See my Yet Another Great Way to Create a Vignette! blog.) Overall a lot of fun to do!…..Digital Lady Syd
Smokestacks in New York City
The above image is from the Library of Congress and is an image taken of the Business District in Manhattan, New York City, cc1900. Shorpy.com showed it as a blog image and has posted some really interesting info about what buildings were in this original image. What intrigued me is the smoke from all the smokestacks and all the American Flags (I counted at least 160), most flying on top of the buildings. A lot of clean up was done first and the image had to be converted to RBG from Grayscale and reasonable size needed to be set. On a cleaned up stamped image (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E), Topaz Studio was opened and one of my uploaded Community presets (SJ Building Sharp) was applied. I did go through and tweak the four adjustments (Basic, Precision Contrast, Precision Detail, and Dehaze) in this preset, but it is pretty much the same settings. The last step in Topaz was to reduce the total effect in the sky – used a Mask Transparency of 0.33 with a brush and then added a Feather of 0.23 in the More Mask Options section. In Photoshop a Color Lookup FoggyNight preset added at 11% layer opacity and Linear Burn blend mode. Two textures from Flypaper were added: Alice set to Overlay blend mode and 100% layer opacity and Villa Adriana set to 36% layer opacity and Overlay blend mode. Last step was to open Nik Viveza 2 and add a little lightness on the buildings facing the sun and in the corners for a subtle vignette effect. Really fun picture to work with……..Digital Lady Syd
Going to Windsor Castle
Enjoyed working with this image of a little shopping and restaurant area that led into Windsor Castle in England – lots of different tourists. I find this kind of image totally entertaining! Will just go over the basics as a lot of work went into this image. Mainly did basic adjustments in Lightroom including converting it to black and white. In Photoshop the image was taken into Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Studio where Precision Detail, Color Theme where some color was added back in some different gray color tones, and Impression where the default was used and the Painting Progress slider set to 0.43 – that is why it is not overly painterly. Added a little pink color, a Nik Viveza 2 filter to clean up some of the lighting issues, several Curves Adjustment Layers, and a Color Lookup to add more pink tones in. On a stamped layer applied Topaz ReStyle’s Wedgewood Blue and Tan preset set to Color blend mode and a Levels Adjustment Layer for final adjustment of contrast. It took a lot of tweaking as the people looked too crisp with some of the settings. I just really liked the feel created by the glass dome and all the activity. Lots of fun…..Digital Lady Syd
