Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Sepia Scenes #11




~COLORIZING SEPIA PHOTOS~

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I desaturated the color photo, then I duplicated the layer using Adobe Photo Shop 7. I then used the History Brush to color in the snowball flowers and the vase. I adjusted the Opacity to a low below-50% level.

Since I only "desaturated" the photo and didn't discard the color information, it's still there, so I was able to "paint" it back in with the History Brush.

Please don't be intimidated by the process. There are several online photo editing programs that would allow you to do the same thing if you wanted to.

As you can tell I love to experiment!





maryt/theteach


Friday, December 26, 2008

My new header is based on Mojo's suggestions in his Sepia Tutorial.

The flower is a RED zinnia.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Mojo's Sepia Tutorial

Mojo of Why? What Have You Heard? has prepared a tutorial for all of us to enjoy! I meant to tell you about it on my last Sepia Scenes post but somehow got distracted by holiday stuff.

Please go over and visit Mojo. Part 1 of his tutorial discusses

"how do we go about getting a good sepia image" and "when is sepia the best choice?"
Two excellent questions that I sure want the answers to.

So go on over and let's learn something!



Josh McKenny

maryt/theteach

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Sepia Scenes #10


Welcome to Sepia Scenes!

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These are architectural details of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, NY

Do you notice that there is a very fine netting covering the capital of the column? I didn't notice it until I enlarged the photo. My guess is that it's there to protect the decorative detail.

I'd like to wish everyone

A VERY HAPPY HOLIDAY AND A HEALTHY NEW YEAR!

Please sign with Mr. Linky and leave a comment.

maryt/theteach


Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Sepia Scenes #9




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This is one of the benches at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, NY. The Botanical Garden makes a big deal of Christmas with all kinds of wonderful things for kids and adults. They decorate all the benches in the Garden with big RED bows, greenery and pine cones.


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On that same day the Garden was showing Henry Moore sculptures outdoors placing them strategically around the acreage. The sculpture above is called HILL ARCHES 1973. It is made of bronze and has the typical green patina. I experimented with a sepia tone and then bronzed it in photobucket. I then used a neon yellow-orange color and faded it til the pale green color showed which reminded me of the patina. I don't know if Mr. Moore would like it but I do. :)

I wonder what you think of the effect?

Please sign with Mr. Linky and leave a comment. I'd really love that.

Next Thursday is Christmas Day as well as Sepia Scenes Day. I will be posting that day wishing you all a very happy holiday.

maryt/theteach



Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Sepia Scenes #8




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Hi everybody! Welcome to Sepia Scenes for this week!

I'm sure you recognize these items I found on the shelf in Target. They are nutcrackers! They may not look like the typical nutcracker, the one in the Nutcracker Suite, but these are from that ballet by Tchaikovsky.

You have the Mouse King on the left and a Sugar-Plum fairy on the right. The fella in the middle is, well, I don't know. He's not the Nutcracker. And he's not Drosselmeyer, who is the toy maker. He must be a minor character in the stage presentation.

How I made the picture above: first I changed the color photo to sepia. Then I colorized the photo by using layers and channels in Adobe Photoshop.

Here's some interesting trivia about nutcrackers:

Nutcrackers were especially popular with Germans who coined the phrase, “Gott gibt die Nü sse aber knaker mü ss man sie selbst (God gives the nuts but we have to crack them ourselves)”. This story was intended to teach children that life was hard but rewarding. This little verse made it a favorite toy, possibly because it enabled children to reach one of life’s rewards more easily.

According to German folklore, they were given as keepsakes to bring good luck to your family and protect your home. The legend says that they represents power and strength and serves like a trusty watch dog guarding your family from evil spirits and danger. A fierce protector, they bare their teeth to the evil spirits and serves as the traditional messenger of good luck and goodwill.


Don't forget to sign Mr. Linky (hopefully we'll have no trouble!) and leave a comment.

And visit your fellow participants. They love to have you!



maryt/theteach

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Sepia Scenes #7




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A simple gazebo in my sister-in-law's condo development. It's lovely in the Spring and Summer when there are all kinds of grasses and flowers. But in Winter it looks sad and lonely.

Thanks to everyone who have been participating in Sepia Scenes. I love experimenting and I encourage you to try all kinds of thing with sepia tone or tones.

Don't forget to sign Mr. Linky (hopefully we'll have no trouble!) and leave a comment.

And visit your fellow participants. They love to have you!


maryt/theteach