Challenge #51

[Grant...@adobeforums.com]

Chris Rankin has supplied the image for the 51st Challenge. All the
photographers had great fun with doing black and white. I Suspect most
turned colour into black and white now it is your turn, So you can now turn
black and white into colour or as I suspect do what every your hearts and
minds dictate.

http://home.cogeco.ca/~challenge/Challenges.html

Present and Past Challenges will remain Until tomorrow at 7:00 pm the then
the Present will be Past and new images will be posted.

* Important notice to all the new people in this forum. This is not a
close shop you are all invited to submit an image. If you don't think you
are good enough this is your first mistake, I think most have found that
working on the Challenge has improved their personal level. So young and
old, hot shots and cool dudes now is you time to post.
--
Grant

Home Pages http://home.cogeco.ca/~grant.dixon/index.htm

Challenge Pages: http://home.cogeco.ca/~challenge/

*********************************************************

Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while
discouragement often nips it in the bud. Any of us will put out more and
better ideas if our efforts are appreciated.

Alexander Osborn (1888 - 1966)

*********************************************************

[Chris_...@adobeforums.com]

A note of explanation:

This shot was taken about 20 years ago in Venice with a Canon AV-1 using Kodak Black and White 400 ISO film and probably my 100-300 zoom. At the time I was just a young, in-experianced, amateur photographer (as opposed to being now an older, in-experianced, amateur photographer) just learning how to use a SLR. When I got the pixs back from the PX I just threw the negatives into a box and forgot about them. I probably took hundreds of pictures during my 4 years in Europe and probably have maybe 20 or 30 negatives to show for it because, hey, who needs negatives? I threw alot away not really thinking that I would ever have a need for them.I really wish I had the negs from Lido Beach though.

Fast forward twenty years and I've bought an HP scanner with an attachment for negatives and slides. So, remembering that somewhere I've got some negatives, I dig out this strip, scan it, and not really appreciating the fact that it's dirty and scratched (and apparently the scanner glass could have used a good cleaning too) I zip it off to Grant. And here we are.

I know that with the talent that's out there you guys will be able to do some good things with it.

CR

[Chuck_...@adobeforums.com]

Chris, I really like that shot! That film would have been the good old
Tri-X, I'm betting --- the superfast film of an earlier generation!

[Pet...@adobeforums.com]

Chris,

Your challenge picture provides a lot of opportunity for the imagination.

I'll go up to Lido Beach and take some pictures if you want, providing you
don't mind the Lido Beach in Florida. But when the national women's volley
ball competitions are held on Siesta Key there may be some better photo
ops.... (I know what you like:)

Pete

[Pet...@adobeforums.com]

Chris,

All depends on which type of wildlife you desire. Or maybe I should say
lust after.

[Chris_...@adobeforums.com]

Pete,
Won't all the crowds scare away all the Marine mammals and seabirds?

CR

[Wendy_E_...@adobeforums.com]

I have just been over there ... but all I can see is last weeks challenge. I tried refreshing the screen but its just the same.

So where did you see the new photo?

Help
Wendy

EDIT: Sorry folks I just followed the link and found it this time (blush, blush)

[Chris_...@adobeforums.com]

Pete,
Judging from your entry in 50 it looks as if you've got all the wildlife pretty well rounded up down there.

CR

[Chris_...@adobeforums.com]

Chuck,
It was Tri-x, I didn't shoot much B&W back then, the only reason I had it then was I ran out of color and happened to have a roll of B&W 'cause I wanted to try it out. Here's a few more from that roll:
<http://www.pbase.com/wyczar/venice_84>.

When I scanned them they came out kinda Sepia colored, I had to convert to grayscale to get the black and white. The new Kodak B&W that uses the C-41 process scans out as Black and White. You're probably up on the technical reasons, if you know maybe you could clue me in?

CR

[Pet...@adobeforums.com]

> Judging from your entry in 50 it looks as if you've got all the wildlife
pretty well rounded up down there.
>

Chris,

And you can see that are dressed for winter:)

Pete

[Grant...@adobeforums.com]

Finally the challenge is now posted and it is a good start.

g.

[Nan...@adobeforums.com]

Grant,

I mailed to CavesofIce.

Nancy

[Maril...@adobeforums.com]

Chris Rankin - What an absolutely gorgeous job you did of colorizing your black and white picture! You must have spent hours touching up all the details, right down to the sailor's wristwatch. And your choice of colors and level of saturation are perfect. Beautiful!

Marilyn

[Chris_...@adobeforums.com]

Marilyn,
Thanks for the compliment but it wasn't really that hard. I probably spent about an hour and a half on it. There were about 10 layers involved, I mostly used the color variations tool to add the color then adjusted with the hue/sat dialouge to get the color the way I wanted. I can't take credit for the wristwatch though. I selected his arm and face for a layer, did the color variations thing and the watch band just came out like that.Instead of trying to add color to everything I tried to pick out things that would stand out. The buildings in the background would have taken a long, long time to do so I did color variations to the layer then added a Gaussian blur so that there was color but I didn't have to go into detail

I enjoy tinting B&W images and there are lots of differant ways to do it. Another way that I've found that works well is to make a selection or layer then Enhance>Adjust Color>Hue/Saturation> check the colorize box and then adjust from there. With this method the program picks a color that seems natural and you can adjust it to suit. I did this one that way:
<http://www.pbase.com/image/17189711>
This one took hours.

CR

[L...@adobeforums.com]

Juergen: Very, very nice!

Marilyn: Nice mix.

Robert: Nice job of colorizing #2. Also nice job on the man. Is that the same guy's face? :)

Irene: Nice job with the subtlety.

Jody: No. 1 is truly great!

[Lorace...@adobeforums.com]

Marilyn, I just love the wine goblet picture. It was beautiful.

And, Juergen, yours left me grinning or breathless, or something. You beautified the river unbelievably and even added the bird. The tint was perfect and I truly loved it.

Not to say that I didn't love them all, but that one struck my fancy.

Lorace

[Terry Boyles]

Chris, I to enjoyed the colorizing in #2, Book marked the procedure for the one on Pbase. That is simply fantastic! I have to book mark everything these days because I suffer from CRS. A condition that comes with age.

Jodi, Nice composition with #1. Is that the Film Strip from Photo Shop Action posted by Raymond back in June? Your #2 made me laugh. UFO? What an imagination!

Dick, Were using Janee's tutorial on "Line Drawing from picture". That is what I used for my #1 and the effect is similar.

Marilyn, As usual, you have the gift for color and composition to set the overall mood in an image. Notably #1 and #4. You could probably make a few bucks for the Italian wine add in #2.

Linda, Nice color and transparent effect. How do you do that?

Lorace, That guy is going to need more than a short sleeve shirt in that enviroment.

Terry

[Jodi...@adobeforums.com]

Linda, Terry...thanks ! actually the filmstrip is the real thing ....i added images in the bottom one to make it look better....got a scanner and i'm not afraid to use it ;)

Chris, great job with the colorizing !

[Juer...@adobeforums.com]

Linda - Thank you!

Lorace - I am happy you liked my approach. I faded into a shot of the
Canal Grand that I had taken about 2 years age. That image was taken in the
late afternoon and it had some nice light and soft colors. Thanks.

Juergen

[byron_gale]

Robert Jones,

Good job with the "cameo appearance" in #2!!

Byron

[Dick_...@adobeforums.com]

Terry, I wasn't consciously following any particular line with either of those pix. I think, the second one was the result of playing with leverls and then adding a couple of filters, but I don't really remember which one.

I need to come up with a way to keep track of the steps I used in Elements. Now that would be a great plug-in, wouldn't it?

Dick

[Pat_C...@adobeforums.com]

Jodi

I have tried to duplicate your standing card, but am puzzled over the shadow effect.. Will you give some hints?

[Grant...@adobeforums.com]

<Byron Gale> wrote in message news:2ccf8...@webx.la2eafNXanI...

Good job with the "cameo appearance" in #2!!

Yup! sort of like a poor man's Alfred Hitchcock, or and the APEs version of
were in the world is weirdo ... wooops that is Waldo.

g.

[Jodi...@adobeforums.com]

Pat, I just painted black on the layer below it...a feathered poly lasso selection to begin...lowered opacity. I just guessed at where the shadow would be. Had to visualize it and decide at what angle the light would have affected the shadow. Just wanted to make it look visually right even if it wasn't technically correct.

[L...@adobeforums.com]

Terry:

Thank you. How did I do it? I started out trying to keep track but ended up getting lost in an abundance of experiments. There were several different filters applied to different layers with different layer modes. Then they were merged and duplicated with more modes, masks, and filters. Sorry I can't be more specific but it was just lots of playing until I ended with something I liked.

Linda

[Bob_E....@adobeforums.com]

Given the subject of our Challenge this week, you all might be interested in this picture on Yahoo:

<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/040123/481/ven10201231853>

The severe cold that is hitting SE Europe has put snow on the Venetian gondola fleet!

Bob Warren

[Terry Boyles]

Linda,
I understand completely. Often I start out with something in mind only to get lost in experimenting and lose track of where I was at. Usually at that point if I don't like it, it goes in the trash and I have a beer and watch some TV.

[Stanley]

If I followed your method, many times I would be passed out drunk .
Though who knows, perhaps a beer or two would "inspire" me to create a
true master piece Grin

Stan (5 degrees in Rhode Island)
Need I tell you - I hate winter

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Chris R- Your "Ocean Liner" entry is hilarious! I sure hope he's a good swimmer!

[Pat_C...@adobeforums.com]

Jodi, another rather simplistic question I know..what did you paint the black with and how do you feather the magnetic lasso? Also was this "painted" layer a duplicate, transparent or what...

[Jodi...@adobeforums.com]

Pat, with the lasso tools and the marquee tools you have the option to set a feather pixel. You'll notice when you click on one of these tool the option appears just above the screen. The higher the resolution of your image the higher you need to set the feather radius of this option to have visual effect. With the Challenge images we generally work in 72 resolution for web viewing so setting the feather to 5px is all I did. I used the 'polygonal' lasso tool on a new transparent layer below the pictures and filled with black paint and then lowered the opacity a little on that layer. The picture that is leaning on the backside of the image got it's own shadow using a different method though. I selected it and used a 'brightness/contrast' adjustment layer and I darkened the whole thing and lowered the contrast a little. This layer becomes a layer mask....painting black on this layer will remove the mask~painting white on this layer will reapply the mask...so to brighten the edges back up on this layer I painted black on the edges of the picture which removed the darkness. I did use a soft brush at various opacities to achieve this effect. A good trick is to select the original layer so that there are marching ants around it and then highlight the adjustment layer and proceed to edit with white or black paint. Ask away if you need more assistance. Keep in mind there is like a zillion ways in Elements to do things...you may find a way that suits you better. It's all about experimenting and having fun ! :)

[Pat_C...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks indeed. Tuesday, I will follow your instructions. I need to work on "painting". Seem to be rather heavy handed, I am.....

[Chris_...@adobeforums.com]

Andy: liked your #2, you can never tell what you might find floating in those canals
Anne: I really like the background of yuor #1 with the tinted photos above
Bob W: Very good images (as always,) liked the restoration on #5 and the moon behind the palace is cool in #6
Dick: liked the grainy #2
Irene:I liked the frame witin the frame effect
James: much more intreasting sky and the font goes well
Jodi: all three are excellent. Is the handwriting in #1 from "your" font or did you take a Photo? #2 is funny; the original film was processed on a goverment installation
Juergan: yours would make a good postcard. Something else to add to your resume.
Linda: yours would make an excellent poster. I like the double exposure effect. Maybe you and Juergan should team up?
Lorace: I thik it seems like that to them now,I know it does here.
Marilyn: I always look forward to seeing your images and these were no exception.#3 almost makes me think that you must have seen me there in Venice :)
Nancy: I like the torn edges in #2. Is that a plug-in or hand made?
Pat:V very "early eveniong feel". Nice job on the color.
Robert J. :#1 is too funny and #2 is funny and seamless
Robin: I liked the way you isolated the hat in #2
Terry: #1 is very nice. Like a piece of mural from a wall.#2 is funny
Other Terry: :) I like your frame, to me it gives it kind of a Victorian influence.
Wendy:#3 would look right at home in an Art Gallery

Everyone's done a great job so far.

CR

[Jodi...@adobeforums.com]

thanks Chris ! the handwriting is my sloppy writing on yellow tablet with daughters pencil doodles...scanned ;)

[Terry Boyles]

Chris, Thanks for the comment on my frame. It was only after I posted the question about controlling the "eliptical marquee" tool that made it possible to do that. Always learning, learning, learning. Get so much help here, and that is comforting.

Terry

[Robert...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Chris,

I really preferred your original black and white image so when I colorized,
I wanted to keep it subdued and mainly suggested rather than fully
colorized. I didn't want to lose the ethereal quality of the background
either.

Regarding image 1, when I asked myself "What should I do with this?" My
first thought was to add the creature. I threw in the Loch Ness Monster and
Rodan for good measure. What the heck, they're tourists ...

Bob

[Robert...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Byron,

I like Grant's "Where in the world is Waldo". I was thinking more along
the lines of the abducted garden gnome appearing in photographs from around
the world. I'll have to keep that Waldo idea in mind though, it's a good
one.

Bob

[L...@adobeforums.com]

Dick: I like #6.

Marilyn: Nice effect on #2.

Terry Foster: Clever variations and nicely done.

Wendy: I like your #3.

Chris: Whoah... panic... duck... on #2. :) Clever and funny... and thanks for your comments on mine.

[Juer...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks, Chris.
:)

Juergen

[Bob_E....@adobeforums.com]

Chris --
Thanks for your kind words. The moon-shot was inspired by memories of pictures of the flooding of St. Mark's square some years ago -- I don't remember if it was really deep enough to float a gondola, but I decided to make it so. The cathedral is a shot I took some years back when I spent a few days in Venice.
Bob Warren

[Dick_...@adobeforums.com]

LRK,

Thanks for your comment. I like that one as well. This challenge was so much fun, there are sooooo many possibilities with color, b&w, filters and all that it's hard to quit once you start.

Dick

[Nan...@adobeforums.com]

Chris,

You are a dear to comment on the Challenges, as is Bob W. I loved the huge ship bearing down in yours!

The edge was from a collection of actions for PSE called Edge Effects. I believe I downloaded it from Ling's website and I know it was free. There were about 10 effects in the package.

Nancy

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Everyone has really done a really great this week on the challenge.

Linda, I really like your entry. I'm not sure exactly how you achieved this effect but it's beautiful. I'm still trying to figure out how you did that awesome lady in glass from last week.

Wendy, You're mirror entry is to die for. I absolutely love it!

Jodi, I liked all of your entries but was really drawn to the filmstrip entry. Yet another week of "Oh my gosh look what she did!"

Bob, I liked your temple entry the best. You really managed to create a surreal mystical environment.

Marylin, Loved your sunrise (or is that sunset) entry. It's very eye catching.

Pat C, What a great entry! I loved the yellow accents! Beautiful!

Chris R and Robert J really tickled my funny bone. Both of which were not only funny but wonderfully done.

Terri

[L...@adobeforums.com]

Terri:

Thank you very much for you comments.

I can tell you how I did the glass over the diver on last week's challenge. Using the pen tool, I traced around the part of the girl that went behind the glass. I then converted the path to a selection. With the selection active I chose the layer with the glass on it and duplicated just the selected part of the glass. I put this layer on top of the girl and used Screen for the layer mode.

Linda

[Lo...@adobeforums.com]

Terri,

How did you get the background buildings' window shapes to be so distinct? Was it a sharpen filter? I spent hours fixing them up by hand for my second entry. :-(

Grant,

I think your software is smarter than you. :-) Terri(y) Foster comes before Terry Boyles, and it alphabetizes that way correctly in the Challenge pages, but you spell Terri Foster as Terr*y* Foster. Eh? What's up with that? (Hey, it's not like you're wasting your time avoiding life threatening car crashes or anything!)

Robin,

Looking at your second entry I see a . . . banana . . . or a hotdog . . . or???! What is it?

Marilyn,

I like your neon-effect entry with the reflection. How did you do the plants?

[Bob_E....@adobeforums.com]

Terri --
Thanks! Nice to know it worked for you.
Bob Warren

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Linda, Thanks for the tip. That is a definite keeper for my "How To" tips folder. I hadn't thought of using screen mode. I had myself convinced you were painting on a mask with gray. Don't ask I haven't actually gotten around to test this theory yet.

Lou, I didn't use any sharpening filters. I too did tons of selections. I started by selecting the sky and applying a gradient. This helps start to bring out the details in the buildings. I then selected out a couple of buildings at a time (not side by side), used curves to bring out the details then used a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer with colorize checked to change their color. I did this again with the next two building just set the color to a different hue to make the buildings "come apart". I think I only applied find edges to the trees and boat docks. You'd have to duplicate the layer with selection active, apply find edges to top layer, then lower the opacity of the layer with the filter applied to get it toned down to a believable level.

Terri

[jh...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Bob. Number two was HSL adjustment,Blade Pro filter then Two
Moon's Roto Blade filter.
Number one was the other guy's (psp), create your own effect filter
(user defined). Of course the sky was from a stockpile of sky
replacements.
Bob_E....@adobeforums.com> wrote in message
news:2ccf8...@webx.la2eafNXanI...> The gondolier picture reminded me
of Mark Twain's
> JAMES H: Interesting pair of images -- playing with
> the low resolution of the distant buildings in #1 is
> cool. I like the fan effect in #2 -- is that a
> plugin or did you do all that shading manually?
--
Have A Nice Day, :-)
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview
http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/
<

[L...@adobeforums.com]

Thank you Bob... faithful Bob... :)

[Bob_E....@adobeforums.com]

The gondolier picture reminded me of Mark Twain's

telegram to his editor on his arrival in Venice:
"Streets full of water. Please advise." Some great
images this week starting from a different sort of
challenge picture.

ANDY T: I like the idea of adding a setting sun -- I
like the way you tinted the rest of the picture, too.
The lens flare and the sinking Mona Lisa in #2 are
neat.

ANNE T: The different 'postcards' on the wood inlay
table make a nice group. The blue-green painting
effect in #2 is cool -- what combination of filters
did you use?

CARL S: I see our diver is living dangerously -- if a
vaporetto doesn't get her, the water will!

CHRIS R: Great colorizing on #1 -- I love the way
you handled the greenery against the brown stucco --
and the gilded seahorse, too. The liner in #2 is too
much -- or so I thought until I saw your take on
Edgar Rice Burroughs in #3! Now you need one of
Tarzan swinging across a jungle stream with the
gondolier passing through.

DICK S: Nice, subtle lighting and tinting in #1 --
the way you played with the grain in #2 & 3 is a nice
complement to the high-speed film. The color and edge
work in #4 & 5 are neat, too.

IRENE K: Nice simulation of faded color film. I like
the interior frame effect.

JAMES H: Interesting pair of images -- playing with
the low resolution of the distant buildings in #1 is
cool. I like the fan effect in #2 -- is that a
plugin or did you do all that shading manually?

JODI F: Very different images this time around. #3
is a photoshop tour de force; I love the UFO humor in
#2; have to go with the 'desktop' in #1 as my
favorite.

JUERGEN D: I like the merged images -- nice to have
one's own supply of 'stock' photos!

LINDA K: The way you've used a double exposure here
is very neat -- I like the 'framing' with light and
the way you incorporated the text, too.

LORACE G: The antarctic gondolier had me in stitches
-- must be more cold tolerant than I!

LOU M: I like the way you replace the blown out water
surface in #1. The detail isolation of the distant
windows in #2 is neat, too.

MARILYN L: A great set of images this week -- can't
decide between the terrific colorizing in #1 or the
superimposed wine glass & bottle in #2 as my
favorite. Nicely done!

NANCY S: Interesting use of the invert image in #1;
another interesting edge choice this week in #2.

PAT C: I like your color choices for the image -- I
can almost feel that maroon velvet on the gondola
seatbacks.

ROBERT J: I see Nessie makes an appearance back by
the vaporetto in #1 -- a nice collection of
'visitors'. Neat colorization and head swapping in
#2.

ROBIN S: Nice use of separations to get the different
tinting in #1. The window arches make an interesting
picture element in #2.

TERRI F: Neat, old fashioned color look to #1 & #2. I
like the way you made #1 look like a scrap of image.
Looks like the gondolier in #2 skipped his water
safety class! The suggested window with drapes in #3
is a cool idea.

TERRY B: Interesting emphasis on the black and white
aspects of this image -- the oval does a nice job of
cropping, too.

WENDY W: Have to go with the nested frames as my
favorite here, but the pastel colors in #1 & 2 are
cool, too.

Bob Warren
<http://www.rewarren.com/challenge/chl51.htm>

[Jodi...@adobeforums.com]

Thank You Bob ! :) I'm amazed at your last one....did you have to make a selection around that palace for your entry ? Incredible !

[Juer...@adobeforums.com]

Thank you Bob. Whenever possible I do like to use one of my own photos.

Juergen

[Chris_...@adobeforums.com]

Bob,
Thanks. With Spirit and Odyssey allowing us to grok the fullness of Mars in the media, I wanted to go back to the romantic era of the Red Planet. I couldn't find an image of John Carter so I stuck ol' Buck in there instead.

CR

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Bob, Thanks. I thought the cheap hotel view looked okay at 2 am but by the light of day I wasn't nearly as happy with the result. I just wish I'd have approached it just a little differently. At least, I'm reasonably happy with the other two.

[Lo...@adobeforums.com]

Terri,

Thanks for the detail in your earlier post. Wow, I'll have to try some of that!

Bob,

Thanks for the feedback. My second image was geekily overdone with a technique I found at the same web site that someone (Jodi?) recommended for a water tutorial--which is what I used in the first image (scrunched and skewed to try to give it perspective, but it still needs work). It's not art, but it sure is fun!

[Bob_E....@adobeforums.com]

Jodi --
The short answer is yes, but it wasn't quite as tedious as it looks -- I was fortunate that my b&w photo had the sky a significantly different tone than the cathedral, so the magic wand (set to contiguous and a low tolerance) did most of the heavy lifting. I did have to go in and touch up some of the cupolas and spires.
Bob Warren

[Anne_Tw...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks for your comments. The only filter I used in #2 was Distort>Glass.

[Ire...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks to evererybody who commented my picture. It is always nice to get
feedback :)

Irene K

[Maril...@adobeforums.com]

Thought I'd better get logged back on and catch up with Challenge 51 before #52 gets posted! Thanks to everyone who commented on my pictures.

Chris - You made the colorization process sound so easy, but still I'm impressed with your picture. I wondered if you and Terri Foster got together on the "before" and "after" pictures--your huge ship and then Terri's gondola slowly sinking into the drink :) Thanks, again, for this lovely picture to work on.

Lou - You asked about the method I used to create the plants in the neon picture. While wandering around on the toolbar looking for something that I could use to add some color to the bottom of my picture, I stumbled across the Pattern Stamp Tool under the Clone Tool. While experimenting with the different brushes, I came across Brush #134 in the default brush group that looks like grass. I set it for 134px and just clicked around on the bottom of my picture. Then used Hue/Saturation and Brightness controls to change the colors.

Your geometric picture was neat, and your colors were super as always. I need to learn more about creating special effects; they look like fun.

Terri F. - That was very creative to design your picture on the shape of Italy. And loved the way you emphasized the windows in the buildings in your pictures. Looking out through the drapes was also very creative. Just like living right on the canal.

You asked if my #2 picture was a sunrise or sunset. I had in mind a sunrise at the time (because sunsets in my area are usually a pinkish red), but I actually started out with the idea of doing a foggy picture; and then I realized that I didn't know how to do fog :)

Bob W. - Like several others before me, it was your #6 fantasy picture that really caught my eye. So soft and ethereal; everything seemed like it was floating, even the moon. Very nice. And interesting how you turned the sailor around.

Lorace - Glad you liked my wine picture. With all the snow and ice around where I live, I felt right at home with your penguin and iceberg picture. I wondered what the sailor was singing?

Terry B - Thanks for all your nice comments. How did you get your patterned background? Did you create it with a brush tool? That made a very original "frame."

LRK - Appreciated your comments. I believe that was your orange-hued picture with the nifty "highlight" mask that made up a frame effect. I need to read back through this thread and see if you mentioned how you created that look. Your picture would look nice on the wall of a travel agency.

Robin - I believe that was the sailor's hat that you singled out for your picture (??). I, too, like using small pieces of the Challenge pictures to create other pictures.

There were lots and lots of other nice pictures that I wish I had time to comment on but can't because if I don't head for bed right away, I might as well just start dressing for work again :) I think we all had a lot of fun with Chris's Challenge 51.

Marilyn

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Marilyn- Italy? Thanks but you imagined that one! I had to go back and look at it. If it looks like Italy, it's a fluke. I never even thought of shaping it like Italy unless it was subconsious. You had to know I was going to sink that boat when you saw the challenge picture. I always got to have a little disaster going on in at least one of my entries. By the way, thanks for giving me a good laugh. Italy...that cracks me up.

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Oh no, not another one!

[Nan...@adobeforums.com]

Terri,

I thought it was a loose rendition of Italy also!

Nancy

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Nancy, I didn't mention before that I have been admiring your first entry with the beautiful edges.

Juergen, Did you sneak in an actual picture of Venice? I didn't compliment you before. It was an oversight. I really like it.

Lou, Very nice entries. That a pretty cool approach you took with your #2.

Anne, Your entry with the 4 postcards was also very nice. I like the sponge effect you put on each of the cards.

[L...@adobeforums.com]

Marilyn,

In response to your comments:

I believe that was your orange-hued picture with the nifty "highlight" mask
that made up a frame effect. I need to read back through this thread and
see if you mentioned how you created that look. Your picture would look
nice on the wall of a travel agency.

I just went back and looked at my layered file. For the frame effect I made frame like selections around the image and then jumped them to their own layers. I think I did three different sizes. I then changed the layer modes to multiply and added a shadow to the innermost border.

Oh, and thank you for your comments.

[Juer...@adobeforums.com]

Terri,

Yes, I did. It's a shot of the Canal Grand taken about two years ago.
Thank you.

I really enjoyed your number 1. (not necessarily because of the Italy shape
:) )

Juergen

[Lo...@adobeforums.com]

Robin - I believe that was the sailor's hat that you singled out for your
picture (??). I, too, like using small pieces of the Challenge pictures
to create other pictures.

Oh, it's the hat! Ha ha. Boy do I feel silly. :-)

[Gareth_...@adobeforums.com]

I didn't submit an image to the Challenge, due to lack of time to do a careful effort. But I did enjoy practising colourising the B&W photo using some of Chris Rankin's tips earlier in this thread.

I can see with a bit of patience, a reasonable coloured image can be produced.

I'm looking forward to the next challenge. It's a great way to improve your skill by practising the tools as Grant says in his introduction.

[Chris_...@adobeforums.com]

Gareth,
There was a thread not too long ago that covered a wide variety of techniques to colorize a b&W image. It dicussed other methods such as painting over adjustment layers and stuff.Some are not as labor intensive as the way I do it. I tried searching for it but didn't have alot of time. If I find it I'll post it.

CR

[Bob_E....@adobeforums.com]

Marilyn --
Thanks for your comment on my #6 (moonlit gondola & St. Mark's) -- it seems to be a popular choice this week!
Bob Warren

[L...@adobeforums.com]

Good dog! :)

[Bob_E....@adobeforums.com]

Linda --
Now I feel like Old Dog Trey. Woof woof.
Bob Warren

[Chris_...@adobeforums.com]

Gareth,
Here's two threads from the archives that deal with colorization:

Grant Dixon "how to colorize a B & W photo" 10/22/03 3:13pm </cgi-bin/webx?14@@.2ccdf150/0>

Jodi Frye "colorization" 8/2/03 9:47am </cgi-bin/webx?13@@.1dea2be4/1>

CR

[Robin_...@adobeforums.com]

Marilyn: yes, the gondolier's hat as it sinks in the wake of the liner, our last glimpse of Guido the Gondolier.

Thanks for all the comments, I've learned more about Photoshop in the few weeks since I found the Challenge than in the previous year.

Robin Schold

[cal_...@adobeforums.com]

hi

[Chris_...@adobeforums.com]

Everyone did an excellent job with this one. It was truly a "Challenge" and ya'll rose to the occasion.

Cal and Carl and Lou and Margueritte and Marty:
I liked all your images. Very well done.

CR

[Lorace...@adobeforums.com]

Chris,

Do you happen to be related to any of the Talmadge, Ohio Rankins?
I've been meaning to ask - my husband should be named Rankin, but his father changed his name.

Just wondering, thanks.

Lorace

[cal_...@adobeforums.com]

Chris, thanks. Like Robin, since I found the challenge I have realised what a great way it is to learn. Really looking forward to the next one. Thanks again Cal

[Chris_...@adobeforums.com]

Lorace,
My people were from Clarion County, Pa.
Here's a link that could prove helpful if you're looking for info on your husband's family:
<http://genforum.genealogy.com/rankin/>

The people there seem to be alot like the people here as far as helping with questions.

CR

[Lorace...@adobeforums.com]

Great link, Chris. Thank you. I've done some searching on this before, but then get bogged down with my side of the family. LOL.

I'd rather work in Elements or, rather, play in Elements.

Lorace

[Jodi...@adobeforums.com]

I gave up on that a while ago. Seems my french heritage on my fathers side burnt all the proof that my great grandmother was a Native....god forbid.

[Lorace...@adobeforums.com]

My friend actually went over to France to check out her heritage, Jodi, and seems she had many of the same problems. She came back not very much the wiser than when she left.

It's easy to get burned out on searching these connections, isn't it? That's why I'm thrilled to be in a group that's producing positive things.

Lorace

[Jodi...@adobeforums.com]

yup :)