Rita Johnston
March 2025 - Precious Memories
Original
About the Image(s)
This photo was taken in a park, and no one was on or around the tricycle. I think it must have been left there so someone to take, if they wanted it. The data on it was Exp 1/250, f3.2, ISO 640, taken at 11 am on July 5. Processing it was with ACR for color and light, then in Silver Effects Pro put 035 Antique Plate I filter on it, then adjusted with a film type and grain of Rollei Retro 100 Tonal (coffee) on it. Denoised it with Topaz standard, with some sharpening. If you think it is better with the color in, please let me know? I was hoping to give it more an antique look, but I like the color too. All comments and suggested improvements are appreciated.
6 comments posted
Kia ora Rita. I prefer your choice of monotone. It takes away a lot of distraction that the colour provides, and leaves the focus on the tricycle. It is interesting that the bike has both old and new components to it. Well done on the capture and processing. Posted: 03/11/2025 15:21:10
I think the use of monochrome was a good choice. When I peruse this image, I wonder how in the heck the handlebars got so corroded while the rest of the bike is shiny and pristine. It's sort of unsettling in an odd way, and I can't really explain why, except to say that a tricycle suggests innocence to me while the corrosion and tattered streamer suggest the exact opposite. The only reason I mention that is because I couldn't really get past that aspect of the image to comment on it with any additional ideas. Sorry. Guess it's a case of over analyzing a piece of art! Posted: 03/13/2025 12:29:58
I have to agree with the others that this image is confusing with the shiny body and old corroded handlebars and bell. It almost seems as if someone added that old handlebar to a newer tricycle. Strange. So changing it to monochrome definitely helps, but I took it into Nik Analog Efex to see if I could make it even "older" as well.
First, in Lightroom I used your color image and brought down the saturation and highlights. Then in Nik I went into their Vintage presets and chose one called Old English. I didn't make any changes to it, just left the default. Not sure if that really helped make the handlebars and body more cohesive or not, but I added the example.
I can understand why you were drawn to shoot it, but it is kind of odd to look at! Posted: 03/13/2025 14:22:14
First, in Lightroom I used your color image and brought down the saturation and highlights. Then in Nik I went into their Vintage presets and chose one called Old English. I didn't make any changes to it, just left the default. Not sure if that really helped make the handlebars and body more cohesive or not, but I added the example.
I can understand why you were drawn to shoot it, but it is kind of odd to look at! Posted: 03/13/2025 14:22:14
Thank you. I appreciate your comments and changes to it. I was drawn to shoot it because it seemed "abandoned" in the park. I rarely see Radio Flyers anymore, so it seemed like something from a much earlier time. Posted: 03/19/2025 18:55:20
Rita, you picked a wonderful subject. Indeed, it does bring back mamories, so many memories.
I apprecia te the placement of the bike in the image. The imaginary bike rider is peddaling forward. It seems to me that the monochrome was an excellent choice, to bring back a past memory.
I had to play with your image. So I used the original, and then selected the bike with PS Select > Subject and the Polygonal Lasso tool. I then took the bike alone into Topaz BW and selected the Platinum V preset. After saving that monochrome of the bike, I put the layer at 47% opacity with a Dissolve blending mode. That was to add roughness to the shiny parts of the bike. Selecting the bike again, I added a
layer mask and thwwked parts of the bike to hide the dissolved layer. Next, I stamped up and took that new layer into NIK Color Efex Pro and applied a Vintage preset with film type 2 and an Indian Summer preset with Method 4 and saved. I took the new layer into Topaz BW again, and applied Platinum V with a vignette to focus attention on the bike.
Thank you for presenting this nostalgic image. Posted: 03/22/2025 19:34:30
I apprecia te the placement of the bike in the image. The imaginary bike rider is peddaling forward. It seems to me that the monochrome was an excellent choice, to bring back a past memory.
I had to play with your image. So I used the original, and then selected the bike with PS Select > Subject and the Polygonal Lasso tool. I then took the bike alone into Topaz BW and selected the Platinum V preset. After saving that monochrome of the bike, I put the layer at 47% opacity with a Dissolve blending mode. That was to add roughness to the shiny parts of the bike. Selecting the bike again, I added a
layer mask and thwwked parts of the bike to hide the dissolved layer. Next, I stamped up and took that new layer into NIK Color Efex Pro and applied a Vintage preset with film type 2 and an Indian Summer preset with Method 4 and saved. I took the new layer into Topaz BW again, and applied Platinum V with a vignette to focus attention on the bike.
Thank you for presenting this nostalgic image. Posted: 03/22/2025 19:34:30
Hi Rita, I think the conversion to mono is the right choice to remove the distractions of colour and provide a more aged feel. I still feel that parts of the bike look too shiny and new, perhaps the addition of a texture or two would help give a more antique feel. Posted: 03/23/2025 10:05:39