Apologies for my lack of posts - I've had a major upheaval in my personal life. Back in June, my husband left, and I now find myself a single parent on a low income! It's changed everything in my life, and as my daughter is not yet at school, I haven't had the opportunity to go out and take photos. I know that sitting on the beach at dawn with a tripod and camera would be the best medicine I could take to shake off the huge amount of stress I feel - but the chances just haven't been there.
I felt I was progressing well with the course, then in June, it all came to a halt. I'd started writing my essay for assignment 3, but it's remained untouched now for six months. However, I have to move on with my life, and getting stuck in to coursework again could be just what I need!
As opportunities to go out 'in the field' to take photos have been virtually non-existent, I've instead concentrated on trying to be creative with the materials that I have laying around at home. With that in mind, I had a hunt around the garden to see what I could find.
As I may have mentioned before, landscapes are my favourite subject. However, in common with many other photographers, I also have an interest in dereliction. An old doll, abandoned by my niece back in the summer, caught my eye. I put it together with a wooden crate and some autumnal leaves. Here is the original file, undoctored except for resizing to post here:
As a standalone image, this lacks impact - it's kind of flat, and anyone looking at it would wonder why on Earth I'd bothered to photograph it! However, this was always more about the post-processing aspect. I decided to experiment with the aim of making the image as eerie as I could. Here's the result:
To my mind, this has a completely different feel to the original, uninspiring image. Here's what I did:
1. Processed the RAW file three times, using different exposure compensation levels, then combined them in Photomatix to make a 'pseudo-HDR' image.
2. Adjusted Levels, Curves, contrast and vibrance in Photoshop.
3. Produced two different version of the TIFF file, using Photoshop's 'exposure' slider to create one dark and one light image. This was a complete experiment, I've never done that before.
4. Ran these through Photomatix again, to get a 'gritty,' grungy feel.
5. In Photoshop, added a duplicate layer, lowered the saturation and then carefully erased parts of the layer to expose some areas of brighter colour (e.g. the face, some of the leaves).
6. Finally, I used the dodge and burn tools to increase the contrast in some areas.
Because I was hoping that Shutterstock would accept these images for sale, I then had the huge problem of making the levels of digital noise as low as possible. Having double-processed the file through Photomatix, noise levels were ridiculously high. I therefore took a chance and just smoothed out the face, leaving the rest covered in speckles and hoping that I got a sympathetic reviewer who understood that it was part of the style I was aiming for.
Luckily, I did! It was passed, and to date I've sold five copies. If I'd managed to upload it before Halloween, it would probably have done better. Anyway - the important thing is, it's given me the inspiration to start taking photos again, and in turn I think having a camera in my hand will play a big part in helping me move on and start enjoying life again!
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