Chan Garrett
April 2026 - The Old Opera House
Original
About the Image(s)
I am working on a B&W series of downtown Deland, Florida.
The old Opera House has now been converted into street level shops and second and third level apartments.
Canon EOS R7 with 16mm lens. f/11, 1/160 sec. ISO 100.
I composed the image from across the street, hand held.
In Lightroom Classic (LrC). I did some basic processing and then went to Photoshop (Ps). In Ps, I worked on color separation, and removed unwanted objects. I then moved the image into Silver Efex for B&W conversion. Back to Ps, I did needed dodging and burning, used the High Pass filter to sharpen and added a solid color layer with the Hardlight blending mode to give the image a slight blue tone to mimic what I used to do in my darkroom with Selenium toning.
25 comments posted
Hi Chan,
I am beyond impressed with the skill you have shown in processing this image and getting rid of distractions. The focus is excellent - I need to look into High Pass Filter in Photoshop! It really did make a difference. One tiny detail I did notice was the distorted leg of the man sitting at a table in front of the building, but that is minor in such a complex image. You might consider adding a bit of sky above the building where it touches the edge of the frame. Your series of downtown Deland sounds like an interesting project! Posted: 04/01/2026 16:22:01
I am beyond impressed with the skill you have shown in processing this image and getting rid of distractions. The focus is excellent - I need to look into High Pass Filter in Photoshop! It really did make a difference. One tiny detail I did notice was the distorted leg of the man sitting at a table in front of the building, but that is minor in such a complex image. You might consider adding a bit of sky above the building where it touches the edge of the frame. Your series of downtown Deland sounds like an interesting project! Posted: 04/01/2026 16:22:01
Thanks for your remarks. I am really enjoying the project of photographing the buildings in downtown DeLand. The man you pointed out was sitting at a strange angle. (See the close up attached.) Posted: 04/01/2026 18:02:22
Interesting! The man in the photo you submitted as the original is sitting in a different position, so that confused me. Posted: 04/01/2026 18:18:56
It is the same position. This image was recorded a moment after the full building shot, and the bottom of the right leg has been cropped. Posted: 04/01/2026 18:54:35
Look more closely at the image you submitted as the original - if you click on it to enlarge it, you can clearly see that the man's right leg is not bent back like that. Using AI to remove objects, like the car that was parked near the man, can sometimes lead to distortions. Posted: 04/01/2026 19:02:18
You are right! I went back and looked at all of my originals and none of them show that position. But look at all that the AI Remove tool did without me having to go back and create the background behind the removed objects. Amazing. Posted: 04/01/2026 19:25:20
Yes, it's totally amazing and saves so much work! Posted: 04/01/2026 20:01:11
See my reply below at the bottom. Posted: 04/04/2026 18:43:58
There's a lot to look at here and that makes for an interesting image in the category of travel or architecture. I appreciate how much you were able to improve on the raw capture. This might be my screen settings but it look like it could use some more contrast and more in the lighter tones. Check the histogram, I may be wrong. Kudos. Posted: 04/01/2026 17:24:02
Thanks for your critique. I will go back to the image and see if anything needs to be done. The entire building is painted grey, which makes it harder to work with. I am giving each image in the project a slight blue tint to mimic the selenium toning I used to do in my wet darkroom. Posted: 04/01/2026 18:07:15
See my reply below at the bottom. Posted: 04/04/2026 18:43:27
Absolutely amazing what AI remove can do. That you removed the cars and still had so much detail. I have noticed when I use AI that it will sometimes change the angles of things behind. I never would have caught that had Jennifer not pointed it out. This is a very minor thing, but is the building on a street that slopes upward to the right? The top of the building is even with the frame, so I'm assuming that it is the street angle. As I said, very minor. How have you learned Ps? Have you taken classes, or are you going it on your own? I want to learn, but there is SOOOO much!
Posted: 04/01/2026 20:14:27
Posted: 04/01/2026 20:14:27
First, yes, the street has a slight slope to it.
Second, it has taken me a few years of study to learn Ps, and I am still learning.
A good place to start would be the PSA online course on beginning Photoshop. After that, there are many online teachers who could be of help. I have a favorite I follow.
Mostly it is a step-by-step process. Posted: 04/01/2026 21:32:27
Second, it has taken me a few years of study to learn Ps, and I am still learning.
A good place to start would be the PSA online course on beginning Photoshop. After that, there are many online teachers who could be of help. I have a favorite I follow.
Mostly it is a step-by-step process. Posted: 04/01/2026 21:32:27
See my reply below at the bottom. Posted: 04/04/2026 18:43:08
I think it's a great project to work on documenting these old buildings before they are all gone. Reminds me of Atget's documentation of old Paris in the late 1800s. Even though the building has been modernized with shops, etc., the picture still gives a sense of what it probably looked like in the olden times. Posted: 04/01/2026 22:29:52
Thank you for these comments. DeLand is a great place to live. It is also the home of Stetson University. Posted: 04/01/2026 23:47:33
See my reply below at the bottom. Posted: 04/04/2026 18:42:45
I like that they took an old structure - and adapted it to a modern multi-use building vs. tearing it down and rebuilding something with less character.
I can't add much to the above - your processing creates and interesting/vintage image. The leg Jennifer pointed out (and can't "unsee it") seems unnatural. I'm unsure if I would have spotted on my own. The building seems a bit dark to me (I don't know what the scene looked like). I think your processing made the sky dark/angry vs. original. As you continue your project, if you ever decide to print/frame a series of Deland images, I suspect the town (library, city hall, etc.) would like to display them.
One question - you did color separation in PS and then the B&W conversion in Silver Efex? What was your rationale for not doing both in Silver Efex (which allows you to precisely edit each color channel in the B&W)? Posted: 04/03/2026 08:31:55
I can't add much to the above - your processing creates and interesting/vintage image. The leg Jennifer pointed out (and can't "unsee it") seems unnatural. I'm unsure if I would have spotted on my own. The building seems a bit dark to me (I don't know what the scene looked like). I think your processing made the sky dark/angry vs. original. As you continue your project, if you ever decide to print/frame a series of Deland images, I suspect the town (library, city hall, etc.) would like to display them.
One question - you did color separation in PS and then the B&W conversion in Silver Efex? What was your rationale for not doing both in Silver Efex (which allows you to precisely edit each color channel in the B&W)? Posted: 04/03/2026 08:31:55
The reason I fully process the color image first, is to be able to save the color image for future use. I then open Silver Efex from Photoshop and convert to B&W. In the B&W conversion I use the color filters to fine tune the tones.
If you have ever processed a color image as a B&W and then go back and try to go back to color, you have found that the color image colors are not good.
In processing a color image, you are working with color separation in order to create the emotional response you desire. In Black and white, you are dealing with tonal values to create the emotional impact you are after. Posted: 04/03/2026 15:08:43
If you have ever processed a color image as a B&W and then go back and try to go back to color, you have found that the color image colors are not good.
In processing a color image, you are working with color separation in order to create the emotional response you desire. In Black and white, you are dealing with tonal values to create the emotional impact you are after. Posted: 04/03/2026 15:08:43
Thanks Chan! That makes perfect sense. You end up with processed B&W and Color images. I didn't think about that. Posted: 04/03/2026 17:22:06
See my reply below. Posted: 04/04/2026 18:41:44
Thank you all. I have considered each comment and as a result, believe I have been able to improve my image. It now fits better with the other images of mine that go in this series.
Chan Posted: 04/04/2026 18:41:00
Chan Posted: 04/04/2026 18:41:00
Wow! What a great image! The details are fantastic and keeps my eyes moving throughout the photo. I love the Selenium tone of the image as well. In your final image, the tonal contrast really stands out well. I also like that you removed the people in the final image, which keeps our focus on the structure itself. Thanks for sharing and explaining the process! Posted: 04/07/2026 21:04:01
I thank this entire group for helping me improve the image. Posted: 04/07/2026 21:06:47