My GPS Camera Phone

I didn’t realize the time, so stop by Dan’s blog and thank him for getting this post out the door today. On to the how-to!

Nothing was coming to me last Tuesday night, which nearly led to me not participating in yesterday’s Wordless Wednesday. Instead of giving in, I tried something that works for me when I get stuck: I went back to basics. Locating a simple image was the first step. After an intense staring contest with computer screen, I decided to re-visit the blending modes, but this time using one image with multiple modes and layers.

After opening the image above in Photoshop CS2, I desaturated the image and then copied the background layer six times, which ends up giving me seven layers total to work with. Switch off the visibility of all layers except the background and the layer above it.

Note: There’s no right or wrong way to do this. Experiment with different layers’ opacity and blending modes for many different results.

I left the background layer at 100% opacity as a foundation for the next six layers above it. Then, starting with the next layer above the background, rotate the layer via “Edit->Transform->Rotate” to any position desired. Try thinking ahead to the final finished product when doing this. Once the image is rotated to your liking, press Enter and the transformation will apply to the layer.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Change the layer’s blending mode to whatever you want, depending on the effect you are trying to achieve. In this case, I utilized Overlay and Multiply on various layers to get the effect you saw yesterday. You can also play around with layer opacity settings, but I don’t believe I did that on this image.

Once completed, turn on the visibility of the next layer and repeat the process. You will probably end up going back to lower layers for some fine tuning, but the end result will be nothing like the original photo.

With regard to blending modes, I’m partial to Mulitply, Overlay and Screen, but I’ve been leaning toward Luminosity as of late. Do you have a preferred blending mode or techniques? Let me know in the comments.

The closest guessers from yesterday: dcr, Chica, Raven, CatSynth, The Right Blue, Ryanne, on the Rock, smarmoofus, DrillerAA, Shiela, Secret Agent Mama, SarahHub, Sister Sassy, BK, Michelle Gartner, Vixen, Brony, kelly and nance (my darling wife).

Hey wait, that’s everyone who commented. Oh well, I’ll bend the rules a bit this week. Next week, though, only the closest guess (or two) wins a link! (Multiple guesses/comments allowed.)

This sign is placed at an unmarked crossing area between the local mall and the Toys R Us. Though unmarked, it does have those big concrete barriers so a car cannot take the crosswalk as a short cut into the parking lot. The road it crosses is a sort of perimeter road around the mall, which also borders a smaller strip mall which includes the aforementioned Toys R Us.

Yes, cars zip along this stretch of road with reckless abandon, but I thought that’s what prompted the invention of speed bumps. Nope, not one good bump around to slow down anything. The burden of safety is placed solely in the hands of the pedestrian. It’s almost like if you did get hit by a car, the mall and driver would be absolved from any responsibility.

Victim: Ow!
Driver: Dude, didn’t you see the sign?
Victim: Call an ambulance!
Driver: I have to go. You should really think about the risks you take. They could get you killed, you know.
Police Officer to Victim: You are under arrest for walking into the path of a speeding vehicle. So, you’re just going to lie there and ignore me? (Victim gets Tasered for good measure. OK, one more time. Just to be sure.)
Victim: Ow!

And so on.

Why they went to all the trouble to put a sign and barriers there without marking the road is beyond me. I do know, however, five places where you would think this sign should be, but probably isn’t.

1. At the trailhead of the unexplored American West
   I’m guessing that it would have been a wooden sign, but still, you’d think it was implied to those who made the attempt.
2. Mount Everest
   Of course, the sign would be there for the foreigners. Everyone knows that the Sherpas can navigate those mountains with their eyes closed.
3. The line in the dirt that mean kid drew that you dared cross
   If it’s any consolation, that kid is either in jail or unhappily married to a domineering wife while paying child support for fifteen children from four previous wives.
4. The Amazon
   Home to botflies and the dreaded Candiru fish, the Amazon is a wonderland for people wishing to play host to other organisms. In spite of all the horrifying Candiru stories and graphic YouTube videos of botfly larva removal, people still go there. It needs a sign. A really big sign.
5. Death Valley
   What better place to adventure on your own than a place with the word “death” in it’s name. Oh, did I mention that it you can visit Furnace Creek and Badwater while on your adventure? Take solace in the fact that you wouldn’t be alone, but pretty darn close. The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe inhabits an area around Furnace Creek. Go to them for advice on desert survival, because you’ll need it.

Props to Nancy, my most awesome wife, who came up with the idea for inspired this post and urged me to take the picture, and to Joe for helping out with 4 and 5.

Evidence that deep down inside, all guys are blockheads.

I took this today while waiting for my most awesome wife, Nancy, to pick me up from work. Taking a note from the Stop Sign of the Subconscious post, I used the hour to take photos of things. I’m particularly happy with this one, aside from it being a bit overexposed – I had to work with the image in Photoshop to tone it down a bit.

If you haven’t already noticed the huge graphic in the sidebar, then look there now. Submit your camera phone photos with a story and you can be eligible for a super-awesome guest posting spot! Since Google updated their PageRank, I’m now happy to say that I’ve gone from 3 to 4. That means the link love you get will be better than before.

I’ve already received some photo submissions, so get yours in soon! The line is growing…

Rate this photo!
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
 Loading ...

Jeez, I get 60 RSS subscribers and it goes to my head. No posts in a week! Well, I can assure you that I’ve left Cloud 9 and have resumed the life of the mundane, as portrayed in this most plain shot of a sunset viewed from a strip mall parking lot.

Of course, I had to do something to liven it up. I mean, it’s a strip mall parking lot, come on. For now, I’ll give you the basics and then maybe make it a tutorial. Here goes:

Open Photoshop CS2. First, I did the basic level adjustments and cropping, along with an auto color adjustment. Then, I killed some of the ugliness by using a radial blur set to zoom, focusing on the sunset. Finally, I decided to add a lens flare, even though it’s a filter that’s way overused. In this case, I think it’s excusable.

I hope you enjoy. I’ll be posting more, promise. Thanks for sticking with me.

Rate this photo!
(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
 Loading ...

Rate this photo!
(3 votes, average: 2.33 out of 5)
 Loading ...