How to Cheat in Photoshop

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Posted on 17/04/08 02:42:45 AM

mguyer
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spring is arriving in these parts

when the hibiiscus starts to bloom it is just about spring

Posted on 17/04/08 06:18:02 AM

vibeke
Kreative Kiwi
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Re: spring is arriving in these parts

Lovely flower, surely it's growing indoors?
Not sure what season it is in Cambodia, but I found this amazing flower growing on a tree.

More photos from my trip here: http://picasaweb.google.com/FriisKiwi

Posted on 17/04/08 08:58:05 AM

Paul 2007 thru 2010
Lego Legend
Posts: 361

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spring is arriving in these parts

mguyer wrote:
when the hibiiscus starts to bloom it is just about spring

Lovely bloom, but I thought it looked in need of a slight level adjustment.

Posted on 18/04/08 03:01:54 AM

mguyer
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Re: spring is arriving in these parts

thanks vibeke, yes it is growing indoors. Paul, I kept it on the dark side to show off the varigations (sp?) in the red petals. Thank you both for the input.

Posted on 18/04/08 04:13:49 AM

vibeke
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Re: spring is arriving in these parts

Hi Marty,
I know what you mean, I had kept mine dark too, as it was quite dark where I photographed the flower, but on 2nd thought have improved it, and do think it looks better.

Posted on 18/04/08 05:30:07 AM

dave.cox
Marquee Master
Posts: 518

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Re: spring is arriving in these parts

You know, with a little judicial selecting, you can have it both ways. I used a channel mask to select the flower, (Took about 2 minutes.). I then lightened and color adjusted just the back ground using levels. Then I enhanced the color variations in the red flowers using a curves adjustment.

Posted on 23/04/08 7:19:14 PM

brewell
Pixel Pentagrammarian
Posts: 752

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Re: spring is arriving in these parts

Dave,
Can you tell me how you make a channel mask? I've seen you use it on this flower and on the tables of a previous challenge. It looks like a useful technique.

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Posted on 23/04/08 7:20:00 PM

brewell
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Re: spring is arriving in these parts

Someone out there can help me find the answer to all my questions on channels and masking.
Here are the circumstances:
I started at the "Marx Brothers" back in December. Not only was it my first time in the forum,
it was my first foray into the Internet and I was all starry and googly-eyed, but I do remember
seeing a problem about cutting away fine strands of hair from a background, and the questioner
(tooquilos?) was directed to a tutorial using a Brad Pitt cowboy type.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Thanks.
for alot.
Bruce

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Posted on 25/04/08 8:41:32 PM

brewell
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Re: spring is arriving in these parts

One last time. I found out how confused I was about Alpha channels, putting the cart before the horse. First select, then make a channel. Ok.
The Image Doctor forum on October 12 showed me what I wanted to know.

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Posted on 25/04/08 8:42:05 PM

mguyer
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Re: spring is arriving in these parts

Today was a good day to take the camera out of doors.

Posted on 25/04/08 10:53:50 PM

dave.cox
Marquee Master
Posts: 518

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Re: spring is arriving in these parts

Hi Bruce,

Channel masking is a way of taking advantage of contrast in a photo to make a good selection. Done correctly, it can be the quickest method to make an extremely good selection. It is by far the best method for selecting vary complicated shapes such as hair, but can be used anywhere you can find good contrast. The basic technique is to find the channel with the best contrast, increase the contrast as much as possible by adjusting the level of the channel, and a bit of D&B to increase that contrast.

Russell Brown is a Adobe Expert, and he has done an excellent video on this. You can view it here.

Advanced Masking

Posted on 26/04/08 09:08:30 AM

brewell
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Posts: 752

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Re: spring is arriving in these parts

Thanks Dave.

That's the video I was trying to remember.

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Posted on 02/05/08 8:56:56 PM

mguyer
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Re: spring is arriving in these parts

spring is not just flowers

Posted on 03/05/08 08:48:50 AM

Deborah Morley
Makeover Magician
Posts: 1319

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Re: spring is arriving in these parts

Marty, that looks a very precarious place for a nest. How close were you? Is the bird used to you or was it a case of your waiting for the right moment?

Posted on 04/05/08 3:50:12 PM

mguyer
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Re: spring is arriving in these parts

I was about 20 feet away with my lens extended to 200mm and thjen some cropping on the computer. The bird is not used to me...I have to sneak up on it and I used a ladder.

Posted on 06/05/08 02:35:12 AM

mguyer
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Re: spring is arriving in these parts

I think I was just lucky on this one