For Kurt

Here is the sequence of events for the one photo, but I used the same technique and texture for the others. The original image is actually very interesting, with the instruments shown. But the composition bothered me. I think it was the perspective of both window frames, as well as the large amount of white space in the window on the left. So I cropped a little, but still I was not satisfied, so I decided to make the image in the mirror the focal point instead of the banjo. Besides, that image in the mirror is just spectacular, in my opinion. So I cropped in very close to put the emphasis there. Then I just used successive layers to adjust the relative tone of the different sections of the photo, and I finally put a texture layer over it (multiply blending with adjustments to the brightness, contrast and opacity of the texture layer). Somewhere along the line I applied some sharpening. That's it.

another before and after art conversion

Here I added a different background to the painted image because the original background from the photo was distracting. After simplifying the image and using brushes to make the painting emulation, I added a blotchy background using a special watercolor brush and a sampled color from the image, underneath the painting. Of course, a texture was added using various blending modes to finish off the effect.

More art from photography

Accidentally posted this one on the wrong blog, so reposting it here. This is another art conversion using art brushes on a photograph I took at a wedding rehearsal. First had to simplify the image some to remove a bit of the detail, then used several layers and brushes to create the watercolor effect before adding a texture and a border. The final version with a border is on the flickr site.

Photos become art

Here is another photo to art conversion. Original photo on the left, converted on the right. Here I had to lighten the background quite a bit before doing the painting. Also, had to do a little freehand touch up after using the art brushes to get better plane separation in a couple of places. Fun

Textures

Some interesting effects can be constructed by pulling parts of images out of photos and then layering them with various textures. In this case, I found a photo of an old sheet music booklet on flickr and decided to construct something reminiscent of an old photo card with it. I grabbed the image of a pretty girl from a wedding shot I took last summer, converted both the texture and the girl to B&W, colored it sepia, then layered them together with the appropriate blending. I think it still needs some work, but it showed me the concept was workable.

Wedding Art

Sometimes a shot can be saved by converting it to another format. In this case, I was shooting with available light under mixed incandescent and fluorescent conditions, and I had kept the ISO down to minimize noise. The lens was at f/2.8 so the depth of field was also minimal. In the photo, the bride's face was not really in sharp focus, so I decided to convert the photo to digital art. See the result on the flickr page.

original photo

This is the original photo

punching up photos

Did you ever wonder why some photos just don't seem to have the same crispness and balance of color saturation and contrast that you remember in the original scene? Digital photos often suffer from a sort of built-in compression in comparison to the old color slide films. But it is possible to restore the photos so the remembered scene through some judicious post-processing. The photo here, which is also featured on the flickr page, has been restored to reality through a multiple layer process that increases contrast and bumps up the dynamic range. I don't have the original on hand, but I will post it as soon as I can.

Local Event Photography

Local festivals are great spots to capture some interesting candid photos. These shots were taken at a local pumpkin festival in Riner, Virginia. The fall colors are great for photography.

Low-fi camera shots

While on vacation at Myrtle Beach I decided to explore the possibilities of a low-fi camera using my iPhone. The camera is not great, but it's interesting to shoot with. There isn't much you can do with the photos except use them the way you take them - like the old film cameras. I normally take a shot with an eye to post-processing later. But the low fidelity of a mobile phone camera pretty much excludes this possibility. So you have to think about what you are shooting. The cool thing about the camera is that it somehow seems to have a large depth of field, again like the old cameras, or maybe a pinhole camera. Makes it interesting. See the shots on the flickr page.

Wedding shots

Have been doing some wedding photography lately. It's a lot of fun but definitely some work. I really like the post processing. One image is a bride-window shot that I worked up for a client to match a photo taken of her mother when she was married. The flower girl-ring bearer shot was pretty popular and should be published soon. The other bride-window shot was meant to be more of a modeling pose, but the location and timing did not allow me to find a better setting.

Kilchurn Castle watercolor

Another in the series of castle photos that are being turned into digital watercolor paintings. This is Kilchurn Castle on Loch Awe, near Inverary, as seen from the south across the lake. Like Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness, this castle lies in ruins, having been abandoned in 1760. It was a Campbell stronghold from the 1500s until about 1690 when Fort William was established by the government as the main barracks for troops in the area.

I used basically the same technique to convert the photo to the digital painting, although due to the different colors in each shot, some adjustment in the process is required to obtain a pleasing effect.

Loch Castle

Another image to art conversion. This photo was taken out of the car window while driving by at about 60 mph. It's just a snapshot, and not a very good one at that. But after some rotation and cropping and special treatment, it turns into something nicer. Check out the larger version on the flickr page.

Duart Castle Digital Watercolor

The lower image is a digital watercolor of a photograph of Duart Castle, on the island of Mull in Scotland. It was cropped from the larger image (top) that was pretty washed out due to my having to shoot into the sun from the deck of the ferry to Craignure. I played around with it a lot trying to save the colors, but I just couldn't get enough contrast without ruining the photo, so I decided to convert it into a painting instead. I was trying to achieve that look of an old painting that you sometimes see in an art book or something. Don't know if I succeeded or not, but I like the final result.

Barak Obama wearing a kilt

Is something you will probably never see, but look here for another story featuring men in dresses.

Grandfather mountain games

See the blog on New River Journal and some pics on Flickr for info about the Highland Games this past weekend.

Edinburgh Schoolgirl

This is a random shot I got walking back to the hotel near James Heriot's School in Edinburgh. You probably remember that Heriot wrote the "All Creatures Great and Small" books.

Anyway, it was actually kinda late in the afternoon-evening when I walked by the school. Summer in Scotland means long days and twilight nights. I don't know why this girl was apparently standing in front of the school waiting for a ride at this time of day. It had to be after seven local time.

I saw her ahead as we turned the corner, and decided to try to get a candid shot of her. I set my lens to 18 mm and just pushed the shutter release as I walked by. The original image is a bit wider than this, but has an extraneous person in the frame that I had to crop out. I liked the angle of the shot, however, so I preserved it in the final cut. I also applied some softening. The image on Flickr is found here.

Photography services web page

My photography portal is located at http://sites.google.com/site/newriverphotography/

digital art

I have been playing around some lately with digital art. I am not an artist by any means, by which I mean I can't draw. But with digital tools I can at least experiment with filters and techniques that make photographs look more like paintings.

This is a photo I took recently of a girl at a family reunion. The image on the bottomis the original photo and the one on the topis the processed image. I'm not totally happy with the processing, but it is a pleasing effect. I think the hand has too much detail, but I like the way the face turned out almost flat.

Iona

This is an image taken inside the abbey at Iona, in Scotland.  The island of Iona is only 3 miles long and about a mile wide, and the total population is about 100.  It's an eerie place.  Far north and west in Scotland, and desolate.  But it has apparently been a spiritual place throughout history.  The Druids worshipped here, and it is the site of Columba's base for his missionary trips into Scotland beginning in the sixth century.  The nunnery is in ruins, but the abbey has been restored.  A cold wind blows off the ocean so that even on the brightest summer day, you must pull your coat around you.

Scotland scenics

Just got back from the trip to the UK and am processing a couple of thousand photos.  Many snapshots, but also some stock photos.  This posterized image of a little girl on the street worked pretty well, and other shots are posted on the flickr page here.

Bluegrass in Christiansburg

Way Downtown, local bluegrass band, holds a free public jam on the first and third Tuesdays from 7 until 10 pm at the Coffee Depot in downtown Christiansburg.

Art shot

Working on photo-to-graphic art conversions such as the photo shown here, which started with a full-frame color file.  This one's ready to go now.  Will work well for ad layout.

Artisan Trails Brochure

VaMedia is providing photo-graphy for a new tourism brochure being prepared for the Virginia Artisan Trails group, to highlight the Galax/Carroll County area. Here is the photo with a link to the original. This photo is the property of Michael Miller and Virginia Media Services, and may not be used without express written permission.

VT Football

VaMedia probably won't be covering the spring game at VT on Saturday.   VaMedia has covered the spring game and regular games, including sitting in the booth with Mike Burnop and Bill Roth, and also having interview and photo sessions with the ESPN College Gameday broadcasters Lee Courso, Kirk Herbstreit, andChris Fowler.  But this year we didn't request media credentials, so we probably won't make a sideline appearance.  But you never know.  We did take a few shots at this week's practice scrimmage, which was pretty exciting as these things go. Here are a couple of shots and a link to a few more.

Market penetration

Yesterday we were informed that a local business had become dissatisfied with the advertising design services they were getting from the Roanoke Times and had decided to pull their account and give the work to VaMedia.  We'll post more details here and on the web page as we get the appropriate permissions.

In Remembrance April 16 2007

Pausing to remember what is important in life.  Here is a link to the original photo.  All images copyright  2007-2009 VaMedia and Michael Miller

VA Media provides graphics for local trio

VA Media has provided graphics for the Triple-B Trio, a local swing-jazz ensemble.  The band has been playing at a number of local venues and is now looking to expand their footprint in the local music scene.  The graphics, processed from original photos of the group, are being used for their promotional CD and flyer.

All images and graphics copyright 2008-2009 VaMedia and Michael Miller.

Virginia Media photos used by University of Wisconsin

Virginia Media Services photos of the 2008 NCAA Division III girls softball championships have been picked up by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for use in advertising their games in the 2009 season. Examples of two of the posters are included above. William Thomas, the designer, requested use of the images to help improve the visual impact of his ads.

The images were shot in May, 2008 in Salem, Virginia as part of Virginia Media's coverage of the championships for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. VaMedia will also be covering the championships in 2009 for ODAC.

New Media Source

Virginia Media Services has been established to provide graphic design, photography, writing and photojournalism services for New River Valley companies.  Check our starter website at www.virginia-media.com