paga Posted October 7, 2008 Share #1 Posted October 7, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Some of you kindly commented on a recent image I posted and asked "how did you do it?" Well I was walking on 5th avenue, and I noticed that among the chaos of people running around, regardless of traffic lights, other people etc... there was this charming young lady fully focused on her iPod. Armed with my trusted M8 + 35lux, ready to shoot, I quickly aimed, checked the meter and framing and took four shots of her, relatively close to each others, here are the B&W almost "RAW" results: (...cont...) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 7, 2008 Posted October 7, 2008 Hi paga, Take a look here re: Alone, in the crowd. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
paga Posted October 7, 2008 Author Share #2 Posted October 7, 2008 (...cont...) Notice how the two middle shots are really close to each other, so close that it came to me that I could convey the feeling of overwhelming crowd around us vs her (and myself) standing on the side of the busy avenue... by combining these two shots into one. And so here is my secret: I took these two shots, set 2 layers in photoshop, aligned them (with CS3 it is actually quite easy), added a mask on the top layer and then using a very light paint brush slowly revealed the lower layer so that the people around her would show at approx. 50% from each shot, a kind of before and after blended. Then I played a bit with curves to increase the resulting light and contrast, et voila! This is very much like we used to do in a lab with two slides or two negatives, some carton, paper, scissors etc... under the enlarger. Except that with CS3 it is a lot easier to align and do/undo each step, the result can be inspected almost in real time etc... That's all folks, no big secret or action package, just a few simple brush stroke onto a combine 2 layered pictures. I hope this helps, let me know if I left anything unclear. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roguewave Posted October 7, 2008 Share #3 Posted October 7, 2008 Paga, exemplary work. Clear, precise explanation. I think that this is what can really help others to dip their toes in the water. Again, great image & explanation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted October 7, 2008 Share #4 Posted October 7, 2008 A really generous contribution; thank you and congratulations on a truly innovative image. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
azzo Posted October 8, 2008 Share #5 Posted October 8, 2008 Really good work done Paga. Well done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted October 12, 2008 Share #6 Posted October 12, 2008 Paga, Neat way of something like a double exposure. As you state: it fits in the "post processing" you could have done analogue. Marco Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paga Posted October 12, 2008 Author Share #7 Posted October 12, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Paga, Neat way of something like a double exposure. As you state: it fits in the "post processing" you could have done analogue. Marco Yes Marco, I recall trying to do such tricks in the darkroom (it feels like it was so long ago ) but for this picture it probably would have taken me the whole day to produce one good print! Today, on my computer, I have a fairly large file I can size into TIF and print over and over on high quality paper, or quickly downsize it to a small JPG and share it over and over online. You have to admit it is very neat, and I do not feel very nostalgic for my film days when looking at it that way. Of course I just wished digital would get that kind of je ne sais quoi in the tonal range which only film gives, still today, especially B&W... Never satisfied Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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