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Secrets Of My Digital Darkroom


Secrets Of My Digital Darkroom
Photo Information
Copyright: Ay Da (chiaraluna) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 435 W: 90 N: 567] (2560)
Genre: People
Medium: Black & White
Date Taken: 2005-03-05
Categories: Experimental, Abstract, Mood, HPP [Heavily Post-Processed], Portrait
Camera: Toshiba PDR-4300
Details: Tripod: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2005-03-12 13:45
Viewed: 890
Points: 18
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
i've been trying to think of an interesting way to come up with a 'digital darkroom' shot for the winter hunt.. then yesterday i suddenly got this image in my mind of an x-ray or something of the sort of my head and indicating it as my digital darkroom.. my creative center.. and so was born the idea which evolved into this post :)

it occurred to me that for all of us, especially here on TL where there is particular focus (pardon the pun!) on creativity and imagination both while shooting and in post processing work and a constant effort to look at things in a different way and use digital technology to enhance our ability to tell our stories and interpret thoughts and feelings through the magical medium of a photograph.. so really our most productive and important laboratories are our minds and our imaginations.. our desire to find new and interesting ways to communicate ideas and emotions without which all the technology in the world would never be of any use..

so although my computer and it's programs are an important part of my darkroom, the nerve center that is most responsible for 'developing' my photographs is my imagination..

***

what was done:

* photo was shot at close range with high exposure and no flash against a white wall with a lamp directed at my face to the left of the camera (hence the profile shadow on the wall)
* slightly cropped to reduce width, sharpened and curves & contrast adjusted to brighten and intensify the image
* converted to grayscale, then inverted to produce a dark negative
* curves adjusted again to make the dark parts darker and the features brighter
* contrast reduced to make the black richer and softer and blend my face more into the background
* text added in 2 different fonts/styles with a desaturation effect followed by a slight pattern overlay applied to the 'imagination' part
* converted to RGB color mode while i applied the frame in another program (as many other programs decimate grayscale quality when you re-save the image..)
* signature added then converted back to grayscale mode in photoshop to restore the image quality for web viewing..

i finally discovered that doing this will limit the noise, blotchiness and quality reduction issues when viewing in web browsers that i suffered from in my last post.. so at least my monotone images will be safe!

hope you like this experiment ^_^
alagoa, DAM, letr, fotofrancis, Dingo has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To Dingo: thanks :-)chiaraluna 1 03-21 21:57
To Shutter2Think: hugs back :)chiaraluna 1 03-18 02:25
To zto: thanks ^_^chiaraluna 1 03-18 01:51
To letr: thx!chiaraluna 1 03-14 23:02
To cloverstar: thanks!chiaraluna 1 03-14 23:00
To chefcop: thx :)chiaraluna 1 03-14 22:32
To DAM: thanks :)chiaraluna 1 03-14 22:30
To mwebr: awww.. thank you! :)chiaraluna 1 03-13 23:18
To alagoa: thx :)chiaraluna 2 03-13 03:02
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • nova Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2733 W: 263 N: 864] (8653)
  • [2005-03-12 14:28]

Very subtle picture! I like it very much! Original and creative! Congratulations!

  • Great 
  • mwebr Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 450 W: 141 N: 666] (3402)
  • [2005-03-12 18:26]
  • [+]

Hey Ayda, wow your notes sound like mine, pretty cool. I love this experiment. Fantasic job and perspective on our imagination/creativity. You are so right...We are the imaginative/creative engineers of our own thoughts and feelings and the computer is only a tool/means of expressing these thoughts/feelings in a visual manner. It begins with a spark and the camera/digital darkroom is the translator. Make sense. I'll stop rambling now. Love the x-ray of the photo and the slight shadow of your face. Great composition and framing. Great, great realization and thanks for all the pp info, really nice. Wonderful note and great title!

Take care,
Michael

ps-you should get 60 points on this for the perspective/viewpoint alone, IMHO. I would if I could.

Very imaginative shot Ayda. Like the way your mind works and the work you produce. Always keep us thinking. Well done.

Peter

  • Great 
  • DAM Gold Star Critiquer [C: 513 W: 67 N: 268] (1110)
  • [2005-03-12 21:56]
  • [+]

Ayda, you said it... it is not the machine but the operator. We control them all and we can do wonders if we want to. Other unfortunately can cause us a lot of harm with their brains.
Your imagination is beautiful, and very creative. You have a great digital darkroom, keep processing. Regards

I liked this version of you digital darkroom :-)))) You definitely set up you creative wheels in motion here! This looks great and you're right, the computers only help us they are not the main thing.
Points tommorow, ok??
Ana

Good imagination and originality. Your note is excellent explaining how you achieved it. Well done.

  • Great 
  • letr Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1162 W: 419 N: 1111] (6780)
  • [2005-03-13 9:43]
  • [+]

Agree with you "our minds and our imaginations" are our dark rooms and the software is just a tool here ..very creative Ayda..sure does reflect the message here !!

Hi Ayda,

Very creative. And excellent work, once more! Your pp work is really getting advanced!

Hugs!
Richard

  • Great 
  • zto Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 946 W: 120 N: 59] (262)
  • [2005-03-17 4:59]
  • [+]

What a wonderfull imagination you have Ayda and what a wonderfull and creative post you have to show for it. You are so right. So much layes in the mind rather then the tools you have. Without that vision no tools in the world can produce a master piece. This is truly great and does not oanly talk about a digital dark room but also about humna valuse such as imagination. I actually just got an idea for a post. Not suew if i can carry it out, how i will do it but...woudl you mind if i borowed this post from you?

  • Great 
  • Dingo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2744 W: 369 N: 2624] (11948)
  • [2005-03-21 17:57]
  • [+]

Well Ayda, your note sums it all up... and you're absolutely right at that. It's all in the mind, and you need just a little bit of technique to make it all come true. I think this is the most original entry for the DD theme of the SH. Excellent, creative idea and very well done. Thanks for sharing (TFS).

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