Project 16: Extending an Image

For this project, I was firstly required to use Photoshop's Clone Stamp tool to replace part of the example image that was in dark shadow. The area that needed to be replaced was part of the ground, which was covered with weathered wooden decking.

As the gaps between the boards were running at an angle to the camera, care was needed to ensure that the lines remained consistent - it was therefore not as simple as simply selecting a large area from which to clone, and sweeping the brush across. However, by using a soft-edged brush with a small radius, it was a fairly straightforward task to replace the shadowed area in a realistic way. There was plenty of ground visible from which to clone, and the lighting and texture of the ground was fairly uniform.

I then selected an image of my own to experiment with. Here is the image I chose - the white area at the bottom is where the canvas has been extended by 10%, in preparation for the cloning:

I chose this photograph for several reasons. Firstly, the content to be cloned is of a similar nature to that in the example image, but is perhaps more of a challenge. The boards here run straight towards the camera, meaning that the perspective is even more pronounced than it is in the example. Secondly, the boards in this image are not uniform in texture or colour, and there are several distinctive features that would be easily noticeable if cloned - again, I was hoping that this would present a challenge. Thirdly, I felt that this photograph may actually be enhanced by the addition of some more boarding. The picture is of Britain's second longest pier, in Walton-on-the-Naze, and part of its appeal to me is the 'neverending' line of boards, leading the eye right up to the vanishing point far in the distance. I was hoping that extending the image would further increase the effect of the 'leading lines'.

I worked on a high resolution copy of the photograph (approx. 3000x2300 pixels) to ensure that I could pay as much attention to detail as possible. I used a relatively small (26px) soft-edged brush for the project, and changed it to an even smaller brush (down to 6px) when necessary. Here are some observations:

• This was much more tricky than the example image, due to the exaggerated perspective. The gaps in the boards diverge strongly, meaning that the only option to maintain consistent lines was to clone each gap from the area of board directly behind it.
• There are many features which would be very apparent if carelessly cloned. I therefore took care to remove noticeable items such as nails and knot holes.
• The colours and textures of each board are unique - again, this means that the area from which material could be cloned was limited. I cloned very small amounts at a time, and tried to compose each board extension from different areas of the photograph to limit the amount of repetition. 

Here is the part-finished image:

When I had filled the white area with cloned material, I added a few gaps at the ends of boards that looked too long. I used a paintbrush with a very small radius to paint in the dark edges of these gaps. I also cloned a few nail heads, adding them to places where I thought they would look natural, and then changing their colours slightly so that it was not so apparent that they had been lifted from elsewhere.

Because the camera angle is low, the boards at the front of the image are one of the most noticeable parts of the photograph - it was therefore crucial to get the cloning right, and to make it look as natural as possible. I think I succeeded - someone who knew that the clone tool had been used may be able to look closely and spot areas of repetition. However, to the casual viewer, hopefully it does not seem immediately apparent. I think it would take quite a lot of scrutiny of the high-resolution version to pick up any anomalies.

Here is the final version: