Picture of Youth

Here is a collection I am very much still working on. It is mostly a recovery project. These pictures were taken on film (sorry not sure what type) back in the early 90s.

What I would like to show you in this entry are the pre and post editing versions, with a little commentary.

Pre

My father kindly took the time to scan these and several other similar pictures.

Here you will see that the original was exceptionally grainy.

First thing I had to do was make a decision. Remove the freckles or not? Well, I first decided to remove the spots then continue on that basis. As you will see, the freckles went.

Post

Next, I used the adjustment brush to bring out some clarity in the eyes and mouth. On the face I really took the clarity down to smooth the face to emphasise the detail I was trying to bring out in the eyes and mouth.

Still struggling with the filters for the reds which are really evident by the t-shirt's appearance. This continues to be a problem in the next shot.

Pre

I'm hoping you can see what I'm trying to achieve in this shot.

I really wanted to bring out the red metalwork, which in the original was already benefiting from some great lighting in the classic car show.

Issues that have arisen appear to be in the darker end of the spectrum.

Post

As a result I am still in the process of trying to correct the graining on the jumper and along the side panel of the Morgan.

If anyone has a quick fix in Camera Raw, I would be very interested to hear them.

Here my aim was actually to raise the impact of the DeLorean. 

Pre

I was quite happy as there was less toying round with the settings in Camera Raw than I expected. Maybe I just got lucky.

As I recall, the luminance function was my saving grace. However the default settings weren't cutting it, so I lowered some of the detail level as the dark colours play quite a part in this piece. 

Post

In the car, I decided the face need lighting as it was surrounded by all dark colours. Unfortunately I didn't see as much detail come out as I had hoped.

I think, next I would like to tackle some of the detail on the tyres and perhaps interior of the car. Particuarly as the wheels of a DeLorean are pretty iconic.

Pre

I will be honest, most of these pictures required much the same treatment: remove grain, smooth and lighten.

However the difference in each has been the colours. These were all deep in French wine country (with the exception of the DeLorean and Morgan shots). 

Consequently, in this region of France (Maine et Loire - most will know it for its well known Samur red wines) the stone used to build houses is similar to limestone. All I know is it used to keep the heat in during Winter and the heat out in Summer.

Post

Either way, it provides a great backgorund. Fortunately its beauty wasn't lost in the process of capture and edit. Two events, 20 years apart.

The final shot I have worked on to date. 

Pre

This is probably my favourite, partly due to the lovely 'limestone' fire place decorated for christmas and the subjects' expressions.

Therefore these elements were my focus. 

I began by cleaning up the lines/edges of the fire by sharpening. Then I wanted to lighten the subjects' expressions so they really popped out of the shot.

Post

This was probably the trickiest aspect as a great deal of the surrounding area is dominated by the black coal marks at the rear of the fireplace. No doubt the result of one too many great warm roaring fires.

Regardless I managed to target the areas I wanted and highlighted the expressions to see what these two were really thinking.