Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Please talk about how you got interested in post processing and share a few photos that represent your journey, or where you are now. Many thanks!

My story includes a bit of Picasa play, but really began with opening PS Elements for the first time and immediately feeling right at home. Compared to Corel Paintshop Pro that I had struggled with for awhile, PSE seemed so organized and intuitive.

I learned how to work with layers and layer masks - a huge challenge for someone who always failed spatial perception tests Then on to Topaz Simplify under UHH user's Treepusher's influence, and then to Dixiegirl and MinnieV for textures and overall artistry and vision.

A free spirit who inspired us with her post-processing explorations was Heirloom Tomato. She died in spring 2014, but her art is still with us here.

After a couple of years I thought I would choose a "signature" look and learn all there was to know, but I'm still a dabbler. I've accepted that there is just too much joy and inspiration around every corner to ever settle down.

Looking forward to hearing from you all!

A lot of Topaz


One of my favorites with a texturized background


Sometimes I do "straight" stuff

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PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Realizing 11 years ago out of camera files requires some manipulation. I started with Lightroom and still with LR 6.

BVBob Loc: Tri Cities, Wa.

My PP motivation didn't start with any "Artistic motivation", I wish it did. Artistic talent is a gift that I wasn't given. My post processing motivation was mainly for technical reasons. Coming from a background as a computer network engineer & amatuer photographer, my desire was to learn how others were able to accomplish improvements to photos by the use of software and other creative ways. I know it seems boring, but I've always been wired that way. I look a the end results of others and want to know how they did that.
@Linda from Maine, I see that you're just 80 miles up the road, I hope you are enjoying our mild winter and are taking advantage of the weather and getting lot's of shooting time. I'm anxious to see the responses to your post. I'm always motivated by the talent of others.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

A very short bio Do you enjoy pp, Stan, or is it more of a housekeeping kind of "duty?" Thanks for posting!

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Thanks so much for your interest in the thread, Bob.

My brother is a civil engineer so I think I get what you're saying. That, and reading the endless topic titles (and sometimes some of the actual words within) of our main discussion forum dealing with the technical side of photography. It's fascinating to read the, shall we say passion that goes into those discussions

Yakima has been gray and wet for several days now. I used to drive to lower valley or up towards Ellensburg when the yuck settled in here, but this year am finding my recliner too comfy to leave.

All the best!

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Years ago I got into computer generated images (CGI). They were mostly 'scapes.

#1 Is a very early example of mine - probably done in the late 1990's

I all ready owned Photoshop and Painter etc.
In 2006 I purchased my first DSLR and for the first time I now had a darkroom, and raw files!

#2 Is an editited, in Painter, version of a 2006 vacation photograph.

As time went on I purchased the usual plug-ins from Topaz and Nik and also purchased Lightroom.
Nowdays,exept for the ocasional panorama (#3) and B&W conversion (#4), and subtle HDRs I usually just tweak my photographs.
I still do some CGI
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#1 Human nature

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#2 Old soldier (PP'd with Painter)

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#3 My wife is one of the choiristers

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#4 For a "client"

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RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Some great examples.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Richard, thanks so much for your story and the varied images. How cool to be doing CGI "way back when."

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Thanks.
It started with the Amiga computer, which had super graphics, back in the late 1980's

BTW wher going fro 40C (104F) here today.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Yakima's summers have many of those days; stay out of the sun

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

My interest in 'post-processing' began during the film era, not long after purchasing my first camera. In effect, while the slide film images I shot and had commercially processed were adequate, the 'drug store/camera shop' prints that resulted from negative films were much less so. The obvious remedy was to assemble a basic darkroom, and I began to process and print the stuff I shot.

A few years passed. In that time, I expanded into medium and large format shooting, and darkroom practices were studied and utilized while alternative processes were similarly explored. When a friend told me that Yale University's A/V department was looking for a B&W printer, I assembled a portfolio and drove on down to New Haven. A few days later, I received a phone call from the department chief. He offered me the job on a part-time basis, agreeing, in effect, to the stipulation I'd made that since I had a position elsewhere --a career-- I wasn't willing to leave, and certainly not for lesser position in another field. So, for the next few years I printed images from Yale's archives and collections, reproducing, in effect, prints of some of the 'Masters,' some known and some obscure. I like to believe I learned a few things in the process.

More time passed, and I travelled west. Blown away by what I saw, I chose to leave that career and emigrated to Utah. Shortly thereafter, luck and circumstances landed me a Ranger position at Arches Nat'l Park. Before long, I was designated the Park's official photographer (not that such a position actually existed; it was more matter of if something needed to be shot, I'd be the one assigned to shoot it). When other seasonals were furloughed during the off-season, I was retained... 'special projects' was the justification. Suddenly, learning DOS and Windows 3.1 became necessities of the job; hooked, I purchased my first computer --a rompin' stompin' Intel P-90 machine sporting a whole MEGABYTE of RAM. A townie friend supplied me with an illegal copy of Adobe Photoshop 4, and soon thereafter, I bought a SCSI-drive scanner. My darkroom at that time was the blacked-out bathroom in my park-provided apartment.

Time passed, and among other interests, I became deeply involved in archaeological/anthropological subjects. Along with more scientific pursuits, subjects needed documentation, and that required photography. I was giving talks and slide programs in and out of the Park, and the frustration I felt in discussing subjects --slide projected images-- that could barely be seen led to specialized photographic processing and processes. In 2002, I was offered the 'Featured Speaker' slot in a major archaeological symposium; I accepted since, at long last, they had a digital projector with which I could finally give a presentation that included images I'd digitally processed. Images that in their normal state could barely be seen could --with scanned and digitally enhanced film images-- be finally seen and discussed, and for me, at least, this was liberating.

The bulk of what I presently shoot is still archaeological stuff, but since interest and knowledgeable discourse is largely limited to academics, I seldom present it here. Instead, I revert back to my earliest --pre-photographic-- 'painterly' interests, and apply some of the things I've learned 'post-processing'-wise to images I find and capture in the land in which I live.

There'd be little point in providing an image or two that might illustrate the above; virtually anything I've posted here on UHH might suffice. For me, there is no such thing as an unmodified image.

Jim-Pops Loc: Granbury, Texas

I was a printing salesman calling on advertising agencies when first introduced to Photoshop and Corel Draw. The art directors I talked to would show me some of the magic that these powerful programs could achieve. Some designers were advanced users of photoshop and I would ask questions and learn a few tricks. As I learned these tricks I would pass this information along to other agencies when I thought it would help them when they had a problem.

About 6 yeas ago I knew just enough to be dangerous. I decided I wanted to get serious about photography as I would be retiring soon. I bought a new Nikon and started shooting. I was using Photoshop to clean up my pictures back then but was afraid of layers and masks. I found UHH along the way and a contributor to UHH, Shakey, had a lot of challenges he posted. I started working on all the challenges and realized I needed to learn layers and find more tricks cloning out or replacing areas. Next I found YouTube, it has been a major source of knowledge for me learning the ins and out of Photoshop.

I'm now doing edits of a local Photographer mostly adding to or replacing things he doesn't want to learn or take the time to do.

I still try to lean something everyday. Just this morning I tuned into YouTube and learned how to do some fine color adjustments to skin that I have not used before.

I use Lightroom for file management and general edits.
When I want to work on different areas of a photo I always use Photoshop.


I shot the picture of the plane at an air show. This model was shot during a workshop photo shoot. Model was them masked, flipped and then placed on plane.

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kubota king Loc: NW , Pa.

I bought my first computer back around 2000. I can't remember how I first came upon photo software . My first program was PSP by Jasc Software. Shortly after that I switched to PS because my nephew told me about it . I have been using it as my main photo program since . I also have the new PSP , Painter , and some other plug-ins and photo programs . I have taken photos for years now with a canon camera . I mainly do photo restores , adding color to black and white photos , etc now . I have done around 200 colorings over the last one and half years . I bought a wacom tablet and pen many years ago , couldn't live without it now. The state park that I live close by has some of my photos hanging in all their cabins they rent out that I took around the park and lakes near by in other towns . I guess I got into it because I was fascinated by the many things you can do to any photo with one of the many programs out there now . And the other reason is to see the faces on my customers after restoring a photo that means a lot to them . Some times removing things , adding things , adding color , etc . I guess you could say I have a passion for it ...Tommy

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Cany143
Film era - I had a little darkroom in my basement when I took a b&w class around 1989. Always fun to read about others who did - or do now (ebrunner is one who does now). Your time with Yale sounds quite magical to me Your experiences with the park service even more so. What a fantastic journey that led you to the yellow pages of UHH!

Jim-Pops
A printing salesman calling on ad agencies - what an interesting beginning. Your mention of You-Tube reminds me that folks may want to check into their public library system's e-resource program to see if they offer free access to lynda.com
Thanks much!

kubota king
How gratifying to restore treasured memories for others. A true labor of love. Thanks so much for sharing your story!

R.G. Loc: Scotland

My main interest in PP has always been to learn how to optimise photos, and to be able to fix them when required. I dabble in the creative side sometimes, but just for fun.

My "journey" (I'm assuming that means learning process) has got me to the point where PP has resolved itself into two distinct types:-

First there is what I call tentative tweaking, which involves moving a slider till the results start to look too extreme or odd in some way, then backing off until the effect looks acceptable and preferably still within the bounds of what could be described as looking natural.

Then there is what I refer to as pushing and mitigating, which involves pushing an adjustment to the point where it starts to look just a bit too excessive, but instead of backing off, you use other sliders to mitigate (or even reverse) the unwanted effects of the initial adjustment. Being able to do that typically requires a certain skill level, and each adjustment has its own mitigation techniques which need to be learned, so pushing and mitigating isn't for beginners. Typically when you push an adjustment in that way it'll produce a mixture of good and bad effects. You want to keep the adjustment for the good effects but you want to be able to counter or reverse the unwanted effects. The skill is in being able to keep a realistic and natural look while holding on to the benefits of the pushed adjustment.

The process of pushing and mitigating can be repeated two or more times if it's considered necessary, and in that way adjustments (with their benefits) can be taken much further than they can with tentative tweaking. But there will come a point where it becomes obvious that an adjustment has been pushed as far as it can.

Sometimes the unwanted effects of pushing an adjustment can't be effectively mitigated and your choice is then to either tolerate the unwanted effects or to reverse the initial adjustment to the level of tentative tweaking.

Another part of my learning process involved realising that global adjustments can't do everything and if I wanted to fully optimise my shots I had to learn how to make selections so that specific areas could be worked on in isolation. Making selections is a useful part of the mitigating process because it's often the case that when you push adjustments, the unwanted effects are seen only specific areas within the image. Apart from that, it's often the case that it's only specific areas that need special treatment. In that situation, using global adjustments would be a very inefficient (and potentially bothersome) way of doing things.

At the very beginning of my own learning process I used only tentative tweaking and I relied largely on global adjustments. But I didn't like the overcooked look that I kept seeing in other people's edits and I was determined to use my own PP to produce only a natural look. Between that and my reliance on tentative tweaking and global adjustments, my edits were a long way from being optimised and there was a lot of unrealised potential in the results.

My learning process is a long way from being complete, but I will claim some progress compared to what I was like as a complete beginner. The following two shots were taken in similar conditions and are of similar landscapes, but I would say #1 is a long way from being optimised. #2 probably has room for improvement, but I would say it's closer to being optimised than #1 is. The difference is due to what I've learned as described above. #1 is from my early days of PP and #2 is recent.

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#1 - Loch Carron.

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#2 - Loch Torridon.

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