Jerry Biddlecom  

Judith Durham Abstract by Jerry Biddlecom

November 2021 - Judith Durham Abstract

November 2021 - Jerry Biddlecom

Original

November 2021 - Jerry Biddlecom

Original 2

About the Image(s)

I hope my entry for this month doesn’t overstep the rules, but I thought
I would try something different this time. I’m a big fan of the extraordinary
Australian singer Judith Durham and belong to one of her fan sites on
Facebook. There is a small number of members who post photographs
taken from the internet and try playing around with the images. I wanted
to try capturing a picture (via screenshot) from a Youtube video of their
1968 farewell concert and as you can see I came up with a quite under-
whelming result. So, in order to make lemonade out of lemons, I went into
Photoshop Elements and played around with the various filter combinations,
including high contrast, posterize, find edges and sharpening. I then used
distort to narrow her face somewhat in the final version. Taking a screen
shot of any video invariably results in motion blur and poor resolution.
Finally I added a stroke, mainly for the left side.

This round’s discussion is now closed!
7 comments posted

Al Swanson   Al Swanson
I like the final result - - it looks like it might make a good poster photo for some PR work. It's too bad the top of her head was cut off. I think it's inclusion would have made the poster more effective.   Posted: 11/12/2021 10:04:39
Peggy Reeder   Peggy Reeder
The rules are - there are no rules! So in my view you didn't overstep. I think it's very creative. Needs to be viewed from a distance though, to get the best effect. This was a lot of work Jerry, but obviously a labor of love. Wonder what it would look like if you colorized her??

I am totally amazed at the variety of images by our group this month!!

  Posted: 11/12/2021 11:56:56
Joseph J Zaia   Joseph J Zaia
I do not see a problem using someone else's work for personal use and experimentation and with no intent to exhibit or make a profit. But perhaps Marti and Barbara are more qualified to address that issue. . . After all your manipulation, I believe you have a pleasing abstract image of your favorite happy star. I am not bothered by the head being cut off, as much as the distraction of the microphone and the white spot under her left eye. In addition, I am sure the composition can be improved by cropping a bit from her left and adding a bit of canvas on her right. I also added a bit at the top and sharpened more. Perhaps you agree and perhaps not.   Posted: 11/13/2021 14:46:27
Comment Image
Marti Buckely   Marti Buckely
I agree with Joe about the white spots. It's not my type of artwork but you've done a decent job with making an abstract image.
In the past, we have not permitted images that were not your own work. For the purpose of experimenting, it might be okay. It would be better to do the experiment on a person where you have done the photo.
Are you still using Elements? Time to move into PS. :)   Posted: 11/13/2021 18:01:51
Jerry Biddlecom   Jerry Biddlecom
This was pretty much a one-off; I almost never use Elements, one of the reasons being the 8 bit processing that for one reason or another continues to this day. Please refer to my comment about Al's picture of the sport jumpers. As to the other remarks: rightly or wrongly, I thought the white spot helped define the placement of her nose, and I wanted the mic left in to enhance the fact that she was singing on stage and not just posing. One more thing, this might be pushing it a bit, but I didn't think of this as someone else's work -- it was taken off of a TV show. Of course I would never enter it in a composition.   Posted: 11/15/2021 15:22:00
Joseph J Zaia   Joseph J Zaia
Jerry, thank you for clearing this up. When you mentioned Facebook, I immediately related to someone else's work.
As for the picture itself, it is your interpretation that counts the most.   Posted: 11/18/2021 12:57:39
Kaylyn Franks   Kaylyn Franks
I too am excited about the diversity of the images and the courage to step out of the comfort zone to try something new. I love abstracts and feel your final image is impressive considering what you started with. I'd like to see it without the distortion of her face. I feel it makes her face to narrow and takes away her identity. I might clone out the white spot under her left eye, but leave the rest.   Posted: 11/27/2021 08:40:32