Monday, February 25, 2008

"Winter Warrior"


Photo: Andree
Effect: Michael

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The effect shown was achieved in Picasa.

Andree said...

I love it! It looks almost like a wood engraving. It could be a great icon, too. Or avatar.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

A lovely capture and very interesting effects.

bluerose said...

I agree with Andree and Mary. It would be fun to see the original.

I downloaded Picasa the other day, but can't figure out how to get that effect. Could you be persuaded to divulge your secrets?

Michael Serafin-St. John said...

Lori, in Picasa the very first thing I do is to crop the shot, and, for the moment, ignore the fact that tight crops yield fewer pixels. This is unavoidable, but you can often turn this to your advantage by "antiquing" the work. I say to myself, "think woodcut" or "think old photo" or even "think cave painting." After you have cropped the interesting portion of the image, try "straighten," and twist the image to an interesting angle. The "actual" horizon is really not important, but the dynamics of the angles ARE. Try to make the image appear to be in dynamic motion rather than simply laying there. Next, I apply either more or less "fill" light, taking care that the image stands out from its background. If it doesn't "sing" as they say, I apply "shadow," then "highlight." And by this time, the picture tells me what it wants in terms of further effects. Sometimes none, sometimes everything including the kitchen sink! Here's one discovery as a tip: sharpen until the effect is displeasing, then de-sharpen until it takes on that "old photo" look.
Good luck! and remember you are an artist and can do whatever the heck makes YOU happy!

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Lori is an artst.

I love Picasa.

You guys are both artists.

Andree too!

Michael Serafin-St. John said...

I know that people question and debate "artistry" and what it is and what it means. (Some say they can't define what "art" is, but they know it when they SEE it!)
In "OLIVER!" one of the characters (invented by Dickens, another artist in his own realm) was named the "Artful Dodger." HIS claim to fame was his ability to "borrow" a man or lady's handkerchief and get away with it! And somtimes that's really what an artist does, too...he or she BORROWS from life!

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