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by Usky

Brooding London

29 May, 2011 in Photoshop, Places

Come to the Big City they said, the city that never sleeps, the city of dreams where anything and everything is possible. Visit London for a truly unforgettable experience…

Well who was I to refuse? After all everyone has dreams, right? So I went and when I got there, what did I find?

Were the streets paved with gold?
No.

Did all my dreams come true?
No.

Did London truly sparkle?
What do you think?

Tower Bridge

London: dark, brooding and really not very friendly

Yeah okay there’s a touch of image manipulation going on here, but I really did find the Big City to be a dark and brooding place. Not somewhere I’d like to live at all.

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by Usky

What happens if you follow the yellow pricked toad?

7 May, 2011 in Photoshop

Yellow pricked toad
Following the
Yellow Pricked Toad

Just give me the aspirin,
Thou saucy clay-brained hedge-pig!
My head has been afire this day long.
Take yourself to China Town
For there you’ll find a cure, he said.
China Town, said I,
But sire I do not know the way.
Tis easy fellow, tis easy;
Just follow the yellow pricked toad!

Sick

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by Usky

The joys of learning

29 April, 2011 in People, Photoshop, Politics

Cameron can count!

David Cameron can count!

Having been myself an educator for many long years I am well aware of the joys of learning… and indeed of the satisfaction gained by the tutor seeing little light bulbs shine brightly above the heads of learners as taught knowledge finally sinks in.

We have only to look to the right to witness the sheer joy on David Cameron’s face when he realised he had five digits on each hand – perchance he should have settled for being Chancellor of the Exchequer rather than going for the very top job. At least then we’d know that person in charge of the purse strings could count from one to ten!

In case you’re wondering I’m just wasting time while avoiding the unending coverage of certain events currently taking place in the capital…
Tounge-Out

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by Usky

Wind? Don’t despair…

27 April, 2011 in Flora, Photoshop

With 'motion blur'

Original image with 'motion blur'

You’re out in the country wandering along with camera in hand when you spot a pretty wild flower and decide to grab an image… :-)

Just as you press the shutter, the wind blows and the flower moves… you try again and again, but always the same result :-(

What do you do? Well short of erecting some kind of wind-screen (or waiting patiently for a windless day) you might as well pack up and go home… but all is not lost, with a little time and patience you can fool the eye into thinking the wind wasn’t there! ;-)

You’re going to need some fairly sophisticated image editing software (capable of manipulating multiple layers on a single image); I use Photoshop, but there are other and much cheaper alternatives… Gimp, for example, is FREE!

adjusted image

Adjusted image: 'blur' removed

Here’s what you need to do:

Open your image in your chosen editor and copy the background to a new layer.

Select the new layer and choose the ‘move’ tool.

Use the keyboard cursor keys to shift the new layer left/right/up/down against the direction of the ‘motion blur’, until the edge of the blur corresponds with the main focus of the image. (I shifted the layer ‘Up’ and slightly ‘Left’ since the blur was downwards on my image)

Merge the two layers together.

Sharpen the merged image using an ‘unsharp mask’. (adjust the mask settings for the best result)

Viola, job done!

(click the images above for greater detail)

 

 

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by Usky

An exercise in self-satisfaction

25 April, 2011 in Art, Photoshop

Over Exposed

Over Exposed

Sometimes I feel the need to take a totally over exposed image so I can later play around with layers of colour to see what can be rescued… it’s a kind of exercise in stretching my Photoshop knowledge… a chance to see what I know/don’t know if you will… and believe me it can be quite satisfying when it comes together. I know… I’m just blowing my own trumpet… but I don’t care!
Conceited

So anyway the next time someone tells you it’s wrong to play with yourself, think on… it’s an art form… you could be turning this…

…into this.

West Tower

West Tower - click to enlarge

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