Let’s go into a little more detail on the creation of the photo art for the Sound Bites Grill ‘Wall of Fame’ with guitarist Ottmar Liebert as the subject.
The process is one I’ve dubbed Photo-Synthesis taking multiple images and using Blend Modes, Layers, Masks, Fx, Adjustment Layers and more to create the final piece. First here is the final piece as it now hangs at Sound Bites…
Finished ‘Wall of Fame’ image featuring Ottmar Liebert
Raw materials for the final photo art.
Here’s the Layers Palette with Layer Modes and Opacity Levels indicated. I recommend reading from the bottom to the top to get a better feel of my process.
I usually start with the base Layer and add a texture I feel will blend well. Then I experiment with different Blend Modes and Opacities to get the effect for which I am looking. On the MAC if the Move Tool is highlighted then holding the Shift key and hitting the + & – keys you can scroll through the various Blend Modes seeing their effects in real time.
This should give you an idea how I work with Adobe Photoshop in creating photo art projects.
Have any questions?? Let me know.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – Textures are available everywhere. Even from fellow photographers. I have a large library of different kinds of texture but for some reason I found myself attracted to two textures from one of the people who inspire me, Thom Rouse. That’s a link to some amazingly fantastic images. Thanks Thom!! BTW if you ever get the oppourtunity to see Thom speak don’t miss it. It’s a fabulous walk through the art world
Been a little bit since I’ve photographed a new artist for the ‘Wall of Fame’ at sound Bites Grill in Sedona, Arizona.
Had the great pleasure of capturing fabulous guitarist Ottmar Liebert who sold out the house and ended up performing again tonight (Monday) because he was such a popular artist.
Here’s the art piece I assembled using my Photo-Synthesis technique using Adobe Photoshop and multiple images blended together.
Performing live at Sound Bites Ottmar Wall of Fame Photo Art image
Initial image was captured with the Lumix GH4 and the 42.5mm f1.2 Nocticron lens. 1/60 sec 3200 ISO I love the density range that the GH4 can hold even under the LED stage lights. Three additional images were pulled from my files and using Blend Modes, Layers, Fx and Adjustment Layers came up with the final art.
Dusty western streets lined with aged buildings hinting very strongly at a bygone time.
Characters in period dress move through the streets as if they’ve returned home from the present day. That was the Arizona PPA Fall Fest this year organized by AZPPA and headed up by board member Bruce Roscoe of Alayna Photography. Bruce created a calendar with this great bunch of actors and arranged to share their talents during this event. There were five instructors, ten actors and thirty-five photographers in action, learning, sharing and generally having a good time.
I gotta tell you if you live in Arizona, are a photographer and not a member of Arizona PPA you are missing out on education, networking and building lifelong friendships with those of a like mind.
But, I digress just a bit. Here’s an image created after the sun sank (sunk?) below the horizon of the ‘haunted church’ done at the end of the street.
This was ‘Filo’ one of the actors posing during a light painting exercise held at the end of the day. Lumix GH4 with a 12-35mm f2.8 lens was mounted on a tripod and a series of bracketed exposures was made of the church scene followed by Filo being lit in various positions. Images were then striped together to have our actor studying up on his ethereal image inside.
If you are not in Arizona there is probably a Professional Photographers of America Affiliated group not too far away from you. You can check the list. I travel around the country and have spoken to many of these groups and I can tel you that the education acquired from being a member and participating as a volunteer can help you grow your photography business.
Lots of photographers suggest that they can get all the photo education they need from the web and online tutorials. I beg to differ there’s no beating live in person education and if you are not already a member of one of these organizations I encourage you to at least visit for one or two meetings. You be glad you did!
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – The event was help at Canyon Creek Ranch and should you find yourself in central Arizona it’s a place you might want to check out!
I went down to authorville today to find a quote for this Sunday. John Steinbeck. You may have heard of him. He wrote over twenty-five books. Some of them pretty well known! He also penned this quote and I think it speaks volumes to something we photographers need to spend time thinking upon.
“In art the subject upon which you concentrate is unimportant; it is only the quality of your concentration that counts.” John Steinbeck
Spend some time with this thought.
OK. Welcome back and here are some ideas from me.
We photographers take a shit-pot (please excuse my french) of images and find ourselves disappointed that we don’t have a really strong body of work. I feel it has to do with the ease of being able to make a picture these days and the ease of being able to share them, And, the lack of time and energy we spend on creating any single image. I see many photos posted receiving comments like ‘Fantastic!’ ‘Beautiful!’ And one of my favorites, ‘Amazing!!’
When in reality the image is nothing more than an OK snapshot.
I feel the best images I have been able to create are the ones that have involved planning, thinking, and yes, some serious concentration. I hadn’t realized it quite so clearly before. Thanks Mr Steinbeck for bringing a little clarity to my thinking and my art!
I’m a fan of some of Georgia O’Keeffe’s art and with her inspiration I am using multiple images and this cow skull on the fence that I photographed at the last Arizona Professional Photographers all day event where I was teaching at a Western set town called Canyon Creek Ranch… (should you ever be in the area it’s a fun place to visit with history, jeep rides, horseback riding and more)
Inspired by O’keeffe
I call this process Photo-Synthesis whereby I use multiple images and blend them together to create something that I believe is greater than the sum of the parts.texture on the fence was created with two leaf images and a sheet metal image using differing Blend Modes in Adobe Photoshop.
This image is part of my ‘play to learn’ time. ‘Play to learn time’ is important for growing your skills and stretching vision.
What have you done lately to push your skills to another level??
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – If you would like to have me come speak to your local photography group or set up one on one lessons let me know…
If you follow Trey Ratcliff you probably already heard about the brand new MacPhun plugin/app AURORA HDR. Well I can’t wait to try it out when it becomes available for download tomorrow but here is a sneak peek video by Trey show you some possibilities…
Trey Ratcliff image using aurora HDR software
Trey’s Vid.
If you are looking to learn more about the HDR software click below.
More images from the Sky Ranch Lodge photo shoot in Sedona, Arizona. If you would like to see details about the shoot and additional images you can check them out here.
King Fireplace room.
Pillow & headboard treatment detail.
Kitchenette and fireplace room.
reat property with wonderful grounds and spectacular views. Coming to Sedona? Check it out…
The AZPPA put on a wonderful event in which I was one of the presenters thanks to Panasonic and the Lumix Camera line. There were five different instructors and the participants were broken down into small groups and rotated through all the education stations. AZPPA through Bruce Roscoe and Alyanya Photography got access to a western town. They added actors ten actors in period costume and a grand time was had by all.
The ‘Shoot-out at OK Corral’ walk through town.
Not to be outdone our female actors commandeered the weapons for a photo OP of their own!
Jerry poses during my class showing Lumix camera gear and Wescott LED lighting equipment.
Old west sheriff.
I used the Lumix GH4 and 12-35mm f2.8 Lens for the top images and the 35-100mm f2.8 for the portraits. Lighting was provided by FJ Wescott. The Skylux LED lights with soft box and strip lights were used for the portrait images. Working with continuous lighting is a great way to know what you are getting. The LEDS were bright enough to work with even in their soft boxes. A little bump in ISO made them perfect for portraiture.
Here’s one of the radio shows I do monthly on KAZM Radio with Mike Taback. We’re talking teaching photography and how people learn about photography, how I teach and two new Lumix cameras GX8 and the G7.
Got a chance to work with my buddy Jack Hillman of Hillman Design Group on another shoot with Sky Ranch Lodge in Sedona, Arizona this past week and we dodged rain and wind to traverse between the eight rooms we needed to photograph for the web site and marketing.
Had a chance to work with LED lighting instead of my traditional flash units to supplement the lighting in the rooms and I like it. Because I had more powerful LED lights from FJ Wescott I was able to see the final image a bit better as I was working. Kicking a little light here and there and seeing the effect immediately was a great way to work.
This is a double queen room. The daylight balance lights made it relatively easy to balance with the light entering the room from outside the window.
Sky Ranch Lodge fireplace and table detail. Simple rooms but very neat & comfortable.
Lamp detail. I enjoy when I get the tell the story of a property in detail images like this. Over the years many properties have tried to show everything in a room in one photo and the message of how wonderful the property actually is can get lost.
The lights I was working with are Skylux LED lights that are designed for studio video work. I pushed them into location lighting for the resort I was photographing. All images were captured with my workhorse Lumix GH4 camera body. ANd the most used lens was the 12-35mm f2.8 Lumix Vario with an assist from the stunning 42.5mm f1.2 Nocticron.
For infrared conversion of my cameras I use LifePixel. Infrared allows you to put an older camera to use and opens up a new time time of day for productive image creation.
Learn Photoshop in a fun environment. Aaron Nace applies the right amount of fun with easy to understand and follow tutorials. Actions and brushes are included with lessons!
Best embroidery ever. Give Queensboro a try, get a $20 instant credit to get started by clicking on the logo! They specialize in great quality custom logo apparel and promotional products with the best customer service.
Platypod has become a great resource for being creative in getting your camera gear easily into unusual places. As an Platypod Pro I get to work/play with the gear even before it comes out. Head over to Platypod, subscribe to the newsletter and you will get special discounts reserved only for subscribers.
