A friend is interested in Weathervanes. While in a Water Taxi at the Universal Studios, Orlando Florida, I spotted this unusual weathervane. Not able to stand or move around, I tried to take a few shots for sharing, but I was not able to get a clear picture from where I was sitting. So, I gave myself the project of reconstructing a picture out of the two misfit images and share it with you. Perhaps at some time, you may want or need to do something like this.
The first step was to match the two images, by dragging one image over the other, while holding Shift. Then with the help of Opacity in the Layer Panel and Free Transform, I resized one image to match the other as close as possible. Then I carefully Erased the bad part of the front of one image and then the bad part of the back of the second image, making mistakes and having to do over the mistakes. Once I had most of it done, I Flattened the two images and then by trial and error, selecting sections, portion after portion of the image, I cleared the background as best as possible. Then with a hard edge brush, I continued to clear imperfections or reconstructing errors with the help of the Eraser and the Cloning Tool. I then opened the result in Camera Raw and pumped up Contrast, Shadows, Blacks and Clarity. The result showed some imperfections, which I cleaned up as far as patience allowed. It took several hours, but I suspect that if I had been more proficient with Selections, Layers and Masking, it would have taken much less with better results.
This round’s discussion is now closed! 7 comments posted
Mike Patterson
To me, this represents another outstanding example of all the creative things that can be done in post-processing. From an image standpoint, it seems rather static. However, I believe as an exercise in experimenting with a new technique that requires some expertise and patience (i.e. taking several hours to process), I consider this a great piece of photo design and work. Posted: 01/09/2018 14:31:55
Marti Buckely
Next month Joe will replace the white background for our exercise in sky or background replacement...not that he hasn't already. :) Posted: 01/09/2018 16:57:22
Joseph J Zaia
Mike, I agree with your comments and thanks for the kind words. Yes, Photoshop is an amazing and almost a 'magical' tool. Posted: 01/11/2018 10:02:50
Peggy Reeder
Marvelous work Joe - you have patience! Sometimes it is fun to see just how far Photoshop can take you, and this is a great example. Posted: 01/11/2018 14:40:18
Kaylyn Franks
Wow! It does not cease to amaze me what can be done on PS. Patience and time is the name of this game. Well done! Posted: 01/15/2018 08:21:48
You did a lot of work! Very nice illustration. Bravo! Posted: 01/17/2018 09:16:49
Jerry Biddlecom
Great job of getting rid of the clutter, and matching up both images. I've often thought that there is no reason why you can't approach a photographic image like you would a painting or a sculpture, that is, spend as much time as you need to achieve the desired result. If you've hit a mental block along the way, just save it and come back to it later, whether that's later in the day or a month from now. Very nicely done! Posted: 01/18/2018 10:26:42
