OT: What's your desktop backgroud?

Just changed mine for the winter season. Something with white stuff in it. just to give yeah that chilly feeling. Coming from a warm climate, it don't help much.
derek:friday:
 
background.jpg

Here is mine as of now
 
Hey All,

OK so here is my current one. Mine are almost always either Aviation (GA/bush) or Farm (especially tractors) related. Might have to consider adding Train oriented ones though.

Sure wish I knew how to get this effect from digital photographs. Anybody know?

-Ed-

However on this computer though my son usually changes it to something more Warcraft related.

PS2 An edit to show another that I like.
 
Hey Ed,

Some cool old work horses. Love still photography. (Nick Churchill has a large collection of photography he does on the countrysides of England).

That effect looks like the new Photoshop CS effect of 'distance and focus'. You select a center area, then the outer area is disfocused to whatever degree you like. But I could be wrong.

A very easy way to duplicate this though would be to use airbrush, select the tractor area outline, reverse the selection to be the outer area (so the tractor is dis-included/shielded), then select the colors of the foilage, such as golds and greens, then with a super low airbrush pressure setting of say 3 PSI, and a large area brush with zero setting for hardness, lightly airbrush in over the foilage area's, perhaps in layers at a time, so you can tune their Opacity later and dial in the effect you like. (Thats how I would do it).

Really is a cool effect..



Bill
 
Hey All,

Bill I spent a lot of time yesterday looking into this.

It is actually HDR (high dynamic range) processing of actual digital camera images. Basically you take the same picture multiple times 3 to as many as 9 at different exposures (exposure autobracketing camera helps although manual works as well) - thus over and under exposing and then process through specific software and tone map the resulting final image. The idea is to capture more detail where the photos are either washed out or dark by changing exposures and combine all detail in one picture. Moving subjects don't work very well as your taking multiple pictures - however there is a partial fix - see below alternative. Anyway the resulting effect is -in my opinion really cool. So cool in fact that I have to give this a whirl myself rather than just being satisfied that I understand the concept/process.

An alternative I mentioned above is apparently to overexpose and underexpose a single RAW image within a software package and combine as above. Apparently you get a similar effect but not as much detail as you only took one exposure of the original scene/object.

Below is another desktop I use an HDR of a John Deere combine - an awesome picture - even though I'm not a Deere fan.

I've found pictures of aircraft done this way and they too are awesome however since I fly FS my desktop is usually farming/landscape related.

-Ed-
 
Hey All,

Below are a couple of examples of HDR processed single RAW images - before and after. So often in the digital pictures I take the colors are flat ot the picture is washed out or simply lacks detail. This method apparently lets me put it back in and create richness. In addition I can carry the level of HDR as far as I like.

In the example pairs are the originals more real or the processed images? In the case of the car it's difficult to say - I'm not sure which is closer to what the photographer saw (ignoring the background editing) - one is probably brighter than what he/she saw the other over processed. Which is better/more pleasant to look at? The snow scene well to my way of thinking the HDR is probably closer to what the photographer saw than the camera image.

Anyway since one or two of the people on this forum are into WWII aircraft - I'll suggest you look through this thread and see if you can discern which are HDR processed images. It isn't always easy to tell but some I've no doubt are.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=622624

If your into aviation photography I'd suggest looking into HDR.

-Ed-

PS I apologise for the enthusiasm but this is apparently a way to actually make color digital photography as interesting as black and white has always been to me - without vainly searching the sky for the "right" light conditions. HDR can in a sense let me create the right light as well as add detail and richness.
 
Interesting effects Ed.
Although I'd tend to use it more for creating "Poster" images, as I find the uniform colour saturation actually flattens the image.
You see it better when you create a greyscale:
 
Man Ed,

That is some wild work. The ground in that last John Deere photo looks 3D, lol.. Bump mapping?

The reflections on the cars fender and the detail on the street in the HDR version show you how much the details are brought out. Very nice.

It would be impressive to see how its done, like a tutorial. Or is it all done with nothing but programs?


Very nice.



Bill
 
Hey All,

***** I tend to agree with you on the "flattening" of the car image - however I think that image was processed a bit far - that said I think the snow image is fine. The point is - you have the flexibility to decide how far to carry the effect. Take a look at the mustang on the ground 2/3rds of the way down on the 2nd page of the thread I referenced. It's most likely an HDR as is the P38 3/4 of the way down on page 1. Tastefully done or even in some cases carried to an extreme the ability to do this rather than live with the colour digital images we usually have to live with is awesome.

Bill I have never done this! - so I can't answer your question on a tutorial as I haven't pinned one down. That said they are out there - I saw links to a couple - I just haven't delved into them yet. A freeware HDR capable program is Picturenaut. Are there more and is it the best - well I've yet to find out.

From my perspective I have always thought black and white photography superior to colour because of the ability of black and white to capture texture and detail and to focus you on the composition of the photo rather than being distracted by lots of color often washed out or flat - unless you happen or work hard at getting just the right lighting. HDR is to my way of thinking a possible means to implement Ansel Adams zone system for black and white into a colour setting and capture texture and detail in colour pictures in a way analogous to black and white. To me it is fascinating. For the first time in years and years I have the urge to go photographing again! I was heavy into black and white for some time. I'll be packing my Canon G9 with me now for a purpose other than just documenting what I see - family or work.

-Ed-

PS now what might it do to an FS screen capture?
 
Nice wallpapers EasyEd! I normally don't like HDR, but that pic of the STS on tracks is superb! Really makes good use of the fall colors and that (uggh!) Deere combine. :D

Just to keep it on topic...
Here's my current wallpaper....I use StyleXP in Winders and it rotates a new one in with each boot. A little playing around in PS of a P-40 shot I found on the web. It's darker than a normal sepia tone photo to blend better with Ubuntu's out-of-the-box brown desktop theming...that's what I usually tweak my wallpapers for.
 
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