I began my photo career years before the digital age, at a time where shooting a portrait session took a number of cameras loaded with lots of different kinds of film. The norm for me was simultaneously shooting with three bodies; one loaded with color film, one with b/w film and another with high speed b/w film (1600 for the grainy/artsy stuff). In the end my clients got a good number of proof prints to peruse with a cross section of b/w, color and more b/w. Emphasis on the b/w. It was just kind of my thing—for many many years. Creating black and white images was what I enjoyed most and in the end my favorite shots from any session were -you guessed it- black and white.

Then, a few years ago entered my swift and smooth little digital SLR (that shoots everything in color of course) and the enchanting Adobe Lightroom which helps take that color to a whole new dimension. The last 2 years I have found them to be an irresistible couple that have seduced me into practically forgetting about my beloved black and white. It is only when I see shots like this and this that I am swept up in remembering my passion for the absence of color. For an image that holds the viewer captive with it’s enticing tonal range of whites to light grays to dark grays to the blackest blacks and back again. An image where texture evokes emotion and wonder, and there is no color to distract.

Lately I feel desperate to rediscover that unspoken thing that black and white images bring that drew me to photography in the first place—to rekindle that old flame, and search for ways to restrike that spark in a new world where creative tinder can come from a single stroke of the keyboard.

And you? Where do your loyalties lie? Do you ever feel torn in your processing? Do I or don’t I desaturate? What would make this image the best it can be? How do you decide? And what is your preference? Shed a little light (and shadow) if you would, because I need to know I am not alone in this. Am I?

I found this tutorial today at www.fototiller.com via photojojo. The kids had so much fun making their "OWN" coloring pages. Thought yours might too. You could even make them into a book here or here, and give them as birthday gifts. Happy Wednesday!  :)

photo by HippyHappyHay

Flickr makes my eyes cross.

In a good way, of course. Eye-crossing world-rocking is what feeds music, art, films, literature—creatives influence enthusiasts who become creatives who influence enthusiasts, each imprinting a new twist on the original until you’re not sure where the muse left off and the student begins.

I’m immensely grateful to Pioneer Woman for her most excellent Photoshop tutorials, sitting two inches from the screen breathing with my mouth open all-like OoooohhNOWIGETIT! …But then everywhere you turn we’re all morphing into replicas, following step-by-step like an army of Verne Troyers to Ree’s Dr. Evil, complete with a chorus of mini-maniacal giggling that we all finally got our hands on the recipe for the Marlboro Man style.

It’s soul food for dry spells, and we love her for it.

But this week I was bewitched by HippyHappyHay’s portrait in our fabulous pool, and went on to admire the gorgeous tones and inventive backgrounds found in her photostream. Ethereal and washed out rather than saturated, delicately evocative rather than high-contrast and grainy. So refreshing next to the unrelenting BAM! BAM! BAM! of my intermediate photofinishing routine, the unchallenged 1-2-3 that I apply like a creature of habit.

And now I’m lit up, all hippyhappy. Still grateful for the generosity of the pioneers, but ripe for something new. So don't bust my bubble, 'kay? Don't say "DUH... that's just '#23 Low Contrast/Vintage' from Actions-R-Us..."

Let me bask in this apparent differentness.

(Come to think of it, maybe it's about time I jump on the actions bandwagon. Think so? Do you use actions for instant interestingness? And is it not a contradiction in terms to push a MAKE-IT-UNIQUE! button while everyone else does the same? Isn't adopting the latest popular pizazz like buying a Toyota—don't you then just see Toyotas everywhere? Does originality even matter, or is it all just about prettier pictures?)

I digress. Share with us: who’s taught you a thing or two? And who’s inspired you to turn it all upside-down?

I love, love working with Anna. She's not only a great model, but due to our closeness and ability to read each other's minds, we always seem to create fabulous photographs together.  After her aunt passed away, we talked about doing a series of photographs with her aunt's robe, which further evolved into photographing her newest tattoo, a branch of vibrant cherry blossoms.

Because of her bright hair, the intense color of the blossoms, and the unique hue of the silk robe, I wanted to mute the rest of the image as much as possible. In addition to lighting and color manipulations, I also used Photoshop layers to create soft blurred areas.

First, I opened my layers palette (Window > Layers). At this time there was only one layer, my original photo. I selected the layer and dragged it to the New Layer button , creating a duplicate layer for manipulating.

I blurred the new layer with a Gaussian Blur (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur).  Focusing on the background -- since this would be the blurriest point of my image -- I adjusted the slider to the desired level.

Now it was time to erase the portions of the blurred layer to reveal the focused portions of the layer below it. Rather than use the eraser tool, I used a mask to give me more control and flexibility.

Here's how :

1. I dragged my top (blurred) layer to the Mask button. (When you do this, you will see a new black thumbnail appear to the right of the image thumbnail in the layer.)
   
2. I clicked the black thumbnail to select the mask. (When you do this, you will see the foreground and background palette colors switch to black and white.)
   
3. Next, I switched my palette foreground color to black and "painted" the portions of the layer I wanted hidden. I did this with varied brush sizes and experimented with opacities to get the blur exactly where and how I wanted it.
4. When I messed up, changed my mind, or wanted to dilute the opacity, I switched my foreground color to white to reveal the portions of the layer I wanted to show through.
   

You can use layers and masks for lots of things!  I frequently use them to cut an inch or two off tummies, remove double chins, delete ex-boyfriends from pictures -- experiment and have fun!

 

For quite some time I had been admiring the rich dimension of photographs bejeweled with texture. Not knowing at all how the technique was achieved, I sat in wonder, content that the question ‘how on earth do they do that?’ was just adding to their mysterious charm. Plus, I know how these things go with me and another all-consuming obsession was nothing I needed. But then, alas, the invitation came to join this lovely Flickr group and the rest is slowly becoming history. I am hopelessly hooked and although my inexperience and genuine don’t-know-how could have continued to keep me at arms length, this texture thing is far too alluring for me to resist.

Diving in blindly with one of Melissa’s free textures, I experiment and test and I enjoy the process of discovering what I can do. I begin to figure it out, make sense of it (layers and opacities, contrast and fill light) and as I start a slow and steady waltz I find myself tripping over my own feet, getting tangled in the steps I haven’t learned yet. I am reminded then of what I can’t do--the frustration sets in, I get distracted and I stumble.

My entire journey with photography has been as such. I walk and explore and discover. I get caught up in the music; add a shuffle, a twist, a spin. But it never fails, no matter how fluid the dance may seem, eventually I collide with a wall of my limitations. Although I continue to pick myself up and forge ahead, my technical confines continue to trip me up. Learning new moves takes…well…learning. But like Sarah, I don’t do well with manuals or dry how-tos. I need to get involved, feel the rhythm for myself, and test things out on my own in order to be willingly pushed into the fancy foot work of technical accomplishment.

I know I am not alone. I can hear the collective feminine voice agreeing, “yes, yes, me too”. So, I would like to hear from all of you on the subject. What is it that helps you learn and grow in your photographic endeavors? What inspires you to bust through the technical walls? What approach do you take? And how can we do more of it here at Shutter Sisters?

Come on, let’s dance.