Oliver Morton
August 2020 - On the Sidewalk
Original
About the Image(s)
This photograph was taken many years ago when I was in Italy. The two musicians were sitting at the edge of a wide walkway with their hat out to collect a few dollars for their playing. I loved the expression of the saxophone player. Since the background was a bit problematic, I selected the musicians and then inverted the selection and darkened the bright areas using the new Camera Raw tools. Then, Nik’s Silver Efex was used to convert the image to B&W.
Data: Canon 5D3 with 24-70mm lens at 70mm; 1/200 sec; f/8; ISO 400.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
13 comments posted
Oliver
Your processing approach solves the challenge you faced with the original, the musicians must stand out for your composition to work.
BW is the right rendering for your shot IMHO Nice work
Emil Posted: 08/02/2020 09:39:13
Your processing approach solves the challenge you faced with the original, the musicians must stand out for your composition to work.
BW is the right rendering for your shot IMHO Nice work
Emil Posted: 08/02/2020 09:39:13
Thank you, Emil. I find that B&W often works best for portraits and, of course, for those images where the importance of texture, pattern, and tone are more important than color. And, as in this image, eliminating color can also be valuable for removing distrations!
Posted: 08/13/2020 09:49:08
Posted: 08/13/2020 09:49:08
Hello Oliver,
Great image this month. Can you tell me more about how you inverted the selection to darken the background? I don't use Camera Raw but I have tried it once or twice. General setting clarification would be helpful.
I do like your image it is minimal with no distractions. The coat behind the sax player works well (figure-ground relationship), making the saxaphone player stand out in the eye of the viewer.
I do not see anything I would change. Bravo for all your hard work!!
Best regards,
LuAnn
Your finishing touches with Nik software are classic to your style. Posted: 08/06/2020 09:49:57
Great image this month. Can you tell me more about how you inverted the selection to darken the background? I don't use Camera Raw but I have tried it once or twice. General setting clarification would be helpful.
I do like your image it is minimal with no distractions. The coat behind the sax player works well (figure-ground relationship), making the saxaphone player stand out in the eye of the viewer.
I do not see anything I would change. Bravo for all your hard work!!
Best regards,
LuAnn
Your finishing touches with Nik software are classic to your style. Posted: 08/06/2020 09:49:57
Thank you, my friend. My process was fairly simple. First I selected the two musicians in Photoshop, then inverted the selection and went into the Photoshop Camera Raw filter. Then, any changes made in Camera Raw would affect only the background. Note that this can seem confusing since you see the entire image change (not just the selected background) until you exit Camera Raw and return to Photoshop. I hope this makes sense!
On a separate, but hopefully useful, note.... try Photoshop's Object Selection tool and the Subject selection tool. Both were vastly improved in the June update.
Posted: 08/13/2020 09:54:39
On a separate, but hopefully useful, note.... try Photoshop's Object Selection tool and the Subject selection tool. Both were vastly improved in the June update.
Posted: 08/13/2020 09:54:39
Thanks for that information, Oliver, I will give it a try. I do dapple in Photoshop some I guess I just have to do it more diligently.
You also have the opportunity to refine your selection, correct? I think this is the biggest obstacle that keeps me from doing advanced edits with my photos; the selection tools don't always get the tiny details we are looking for when doing competitions.
Best regards,
LuAnn Posted: 08/13/2020 10:39:37
You also have the opportunity to refine your selection, correct? I think this is the biggest obstacle that keeps me from doing advanced edits with my photos; the selection tools don't always get the tiny details we are looking for when doing competitions.
Best regards,
LuAnn Posted: 08/13/2020 10:39:37
The two tools I suggest that you play with are the "Object Selection Tool" followed by the "Quick Selection Tool" to refine your selection. They are both in the dropdown menu under the 4th tool. If you would like, I'd be glad to do a brief Zoom session and show you what I mean. (I have a zoom account, so other folks could join in if they would like to.)
Posted: 08/13/2020 11:03:57
Posted: 08/13/2020 11:03:57
Like the idea of a zoom meeting to see this in action, if you're willing. I can't quite envision what you're describing, seeing a demo might help. It's an interesting technique. Posted: 08/17/2020 16:28:52
the sax player does have a great expression. the edits you made do help reduce the background - sometimes with street photography we don't get to choose. I'm with LuAnn, I don't quite understand the process you used, if there is anything you can share on the technique it would be appreciated. Posted: 08/08/2020 17:08:48
Thank you, Leah. This is a photograph I re-discovered when looking back through some old images. The sax player's expression is what made me "give it a try" in post processing. Please take a look at the reply in LuAnn's comment to see my description of the process used. If that leaves questions, just let me know!
Posted: 08/13/2020 09:57:42
Posted: 08/13/2020 09:57:42
Of all the things that can be photographed, still to me the most interesting and eye-catching images are those of faces and what we humans do for fun and profit. This is an exceptionally good human interest shot: do we ever get tired of watching each other? I don't know that it could be improved any better than the way you presented it, Oliver. Wish it were mine. Posted: 08/10/2020 13:15:56
Gary, I completely agree.... images of people are by far the most interesting. I love doing informal portraits. There is a large indoor market in Baltimore that I frequented before the pandemic. On Saturdays there are two hours of live free jazz, blues and/or rock-and-roll. It's a very poor neighborhood so it's a primary source of entertainment for many folks. During the music they dance, often alone, in incredibly uninhibited fashion. It's a fantastic opportunity to take wonderful image (which I print and later give to the people).
Posted: 08/13/2020 10:03:25
Posted: 08/13/2020 10:03:25
(Groups 29 & 80)
What excellent timing you had to capture the sax players face just as he is all puffed up. Not being a Camera Raw (Adobe) user I am not familiar either, but I do have the option of inverting the mask on Luminar and that changes the light to dark or vice versa. Right? Just fantastic making of all those Gray tones with virtually no blacks and whites as there was in the original. Even the accordion lost its white and blacks. Very skillful to get that done. Posted: 08/10/2020 16:44:28
Thank you, Bob. I've used Luminar a bit but am far from an expert with it! But, your approach of inverting the mask sounds like the process I used. Posted: 08/13/2020 10:05:13