From Pixels to Posters

Bottles: 25/5/2011; 3:10pm; Bannack, MT; f 5; 1/30-50-160-320-800; Canon PowerShot SX130

I consider this shot my lucky break. It was my fist attempt at HDR and it ended up being one of my best shots. One reason I choose this is because it seemed to be a favorite with everyone. Why I personally like it is because it is an interesting picture. The angle makes the bottle look larger than life. Each bottle is of a different color, size shape and placement which makes it unique. The open window adds this element of open adventure and give the viewer an opportunity to let their imagination wonder. I also thought this would look really good on a metallic print and those are some reason why I choose it.

How I made this picture? I took five shots with a -2,-1,0,+1,+2 exposure values (EV). I put all give into Dynamic Photo and like the Eye-Catching and High-Contrast effects. I choose Eye-Catching and got a nice picture. I then brought the picture into Adobe Lightroom and used the following edits:

General - Auto Tone & Punch; Sharpening - Narrow Edges; Tone Curve - Flat; Green, Red, Adjusted the  

saturation for each color; added vibrance and added a small vignette. 

I exported that then added my signature. To make my signature I wrote it with a marker on white paper and scanned it, cropped it and converted it to a brush. I stamped it on its own layer and did layer adjust and embossed, gave it a drop shadow and put a gradient on it. The gradient was the final touch to my signature and gave it the black and white effect. That completed my picture and made it complete. And thats how I did it.  

Perception: 25/5/2011; 3:33pm; Bannack, MT; f 3.4; 1/80; Canon PowerShot SX130

I choose this picture because it allows you to see into the building, see outside and it captured me between it all. It is a like a self portrait and it represents me and my unique style. I also thought this would look great on metallic print.


I did the same edits as I did for the bottles expect for the fact I had taken only one picture. The rest was the same style of editing. Thanks.

Fine Art Template

For these edits I created a template with Photoshop. I drew 4 different boxes and merged them into one layer then I placed a picture in front of it and turned it into a clipping mask. My "B" is a certain way I make my Bs that are unique to me. Its a type of signature I have and is clear to read. I used a type font and copy and pasted a section of it get the doubled effect. Then I turend it into a paint brush to place it anywhere I wanted to.

Light Shots

 Light Sketching - Inner Light: 11/6/2011; 10:26pm; Ashton, ID; f 3.4; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Blurred Lights - Photo In Progress: 11/6/2011; 11:08pm; Ashton, ID; f 4; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Blurred Lights - Bike Right: 12/6/2011; 11:06pm; Rexburg, ID; f 8; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Blurred Lights - Crisscross: 12/6/2011; 11:06pm; Rexburg, ID; f 8; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Blurred Lights - Bike Hue: 12/6/2011; 11:11pm; Rexburg, ID; f 8; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Blurred Lights - Tangled: 12/6/2011; 11:12pm; Rexburg, ID; f 8; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Blurred Lights - Center Zag: 12/6/2011; 11:14pm; Rexburg, ID; f 8; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Blurred Lights - Side Lights: 12/6/2011; 11:16pm; Rexburg, ID; f 8; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Blurred Lights - Thrice: 12/6/2011; 11:20pm; Rexburg, ID; f 8; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Blurred Lights - Figure Eight: 12/6/2011; 11:28pm; Rexburg, ID; f 8; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Light Painting - Luna Ride: 12/6/2011; 11:46pm; Rexburg, ID; f 8; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Smoke - Frustration Contained: 13/6/2011; 2:10pm; Rexburg, ID; f 4.5; 1/4; Canon PowerShot SX130

Smoke - Beautiful Whisper: 13/6/2011; 1:56pm; Rexburg, ID; f 4; 1"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Smoke- Azure: 13/6/2011; 2:14pm; Rexburg, ID; f 4; 1; Canon PowerShot SX130

Smoke - Dim: 13/6/2011; 2:14pm; Rexburg, ID; f 4; 1; Canon PowerShot SX130

Smoke - Rose: 13/6/2011; 2:18pm; Rexburg, ID; f 3.5; 1; Canon PowerShot SX130

Smoke - Warm Glow: 13/6/2011; 2:18pm; Rexburg, ID; f 3.5; 1; Canon PowerShot SX130

Smoke - Antique Light: 13/6/2011; 2:18pm; Rexburg, ID; f 3.5; 1; Canon PowerShot SX130

Smoke - Fade: 13/6/2011; 2:27pm; Rexburg, ID; f 3.5; 0.4; Canon PowerShot SX130

Smoke - Chill: 13/6/2011; 2:27pm; Rexburg, ID; f 3.5; 0.4; Canon PowerShot SX130

Smoke - Direct Positive: 13/6/2011; 2:27pm; Rexburg, ID; f 3.5; 0.4; Canon PowerShot SX130

Smoke - Split Tone 4: 13/6/2011; 2:27pm; Rexburg, ID; f 3.5; 0.4; Canon PowerShot SX130

This is where the magic happens

Light Sketching - Baby: 10/6/2011; 11:48pm; Rexburg, ID; f 9; 13"; Nikon D3100

Light Sketching - Color CP1: 10/6/2011; 11:48pm; Rexburg, ID; f 9; 13"; Nikon D3100

Light Sketching - Night Ride: 10/6/2011; 12:12pm; Rexburg, ID; f 7.1; 20"; Nikon D3100

Blurred Lights - Fat Cats: 10/6/2011; 10:02pm; Rexburg, ID; f 5; 3.2"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Camera Motion - Loop Pool: 10/6/2011; 10:02pm; Rexburg, ID; f 5; 3.2"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Camera Motion - Pool Loop: 10/6/2011; 10:02pm; Rexburg, ID; f 5; 3.2"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Camera Motion - Green Jazz: 10/6/2011; 10:05pm; Rexburg, ID; f 4.5; 8"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Camera Motion - Orange Counter: 10/6/2011; 10:05pm; Rexburg, ID; f 4.5; 8"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Blurred Lights - White Hot: 10/6/2011; 10:36pm; Rexburg, ID; f 5; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Blurred Lights - Circle of Life: 10/6/2011; 10:36pm; Rexburg, ID; f 5; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Blurred Lights - TriFry: 10/6/2011; 10:39pm; Rexburg, ID; f 5; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Blurred Lights - Athlete's Foot: 10/6/2011; 11:13pm; Rexburg, ID; f 4.5; 6"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Light Painting - Hot Wheels: 10/6/2011; 11:19pm; Rexburg, ID; f 4.5; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Light Painting - Inferno:10/6/2011; 11:21pm; Rexburg, ID; f 4.5; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Light Painting - Wheels: 10/6/2011; 10:21pm; Rexburg, ID; f 4.5; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Light Painting - Love: 10/6/2011; 11:31pm; Rexburg, ID; f 4.5; 15"; Canon PowerShot SX130

Light Painting/Sketching - Neon Lighter: 10/6/2011; 12:30am; Rexburg, ID; f 4.5; 10"; Canon PowerShot SX130

These pictures were fun to do. For all these pictures (except for the camera motion) I had a tripod or set the camera on the ground. For the pictures with lots of bright lights I set my aperture to a really low number (usually around 4.5 or the losest I could go). The lower aperture will give the greatest amount of "neon" light effects. 

For the smoke shots I sat on my bathroom floor and focused the camera on the glass. I couldn't get the shot with my point and shoot so I used a cup to capture the smoke and shined a light on the bottom of the glass. I set my camera to take 10 shots and I turned the flash light on and off like a strobe light to get the effect. I kept missing the shots so I developed the strobe light method to get a lower light for the picture. I used Lightroom to edit the colors to give it a different look and feel. 

For the light movement shots those are my friends motorcycles. I didn't have a tripod so I put it on the ground and had them drive in different directions (until the cops had us leave :). The circle shots are them riding in a circule or figure 8. Sometimes the headlight would "blind" the camera with a huge light so I covered the lens as the turned around. One shot has three bike trails and for that one I set the camera to have a timer and got on my bike to and drove with them.

For the neon bike effect I just put a flashlight really close to the people and let their colors come out. Having them stand next to a background with colors give a nice accent. 

I hope you enjoyed those pictures :) They were really fun to make.

Scanography

One Scan: HP Scanjet 4890 1200 resolution

Collage Scan: HP Scanjet 4890 800 resolution

Originals

For these pictures I laid the items down onto the scan bed. I made the resolution high in attempt to get high quality pictures. To make the collage I lined each picture next to each other and used content fill to blend the sections.


More One Scans:

Heathy Heart: Made with fish oil pills and a black jacket.

Happy: Made with two MonaVie bottles and a shot happy face. (I find him and interesting subject)

MonaVie: Made with the healthiest drink on earth. One empty and one full.