Blaine Forbush

Fine Art Makemo

Fine Art Nail

These are the fine art templates that I created to showcase my photography. There is a colored box which goes under part of the text. This is adjusted with each image to match a dominating color from the image. I also used Illustrator to create the vector layer of the squares that makes the clipping mask. The vector portion can be created with Photoshop, however, the advanced alignment tools of Illustrator make it a bit quicker.

Upper Mesa Closeup Panorama

Bear Gulch Panorama

Here is the final product. I have applied not only the photomerge feature within Photoshop but I also implemented several adjustment layers to get the contrast and the saturation just right. The images turned out pretty well considering I didn’t have a tripod. I did cut into the sky more than I had planned but it was necessary in order to maintain proper proportions.

Here are a few other panoramas that I did on the side, enjoy!

Upper Mesa Panorama

Mesa 1

Mesa 2

Mesa 3

Title: Mesa 1; Info: 11/5/2009 @ 12:53PM; Mesa Falls; f/5.6 – 1/400 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-W1
Title: Mesa 2; Info: 11/5/2009 @ 12:53PM; Mesa Falls; f/5.6 – 1/400 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-W1
Title: Mesa 3; Info: 11/5/2009 @ 12:53PM; Mesa Falls; f/5.6 – 1/400 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-W1
Note: You may have noticed that the information for these three photos is identical. They were shot with a manual exposure so that they would reflect the proper contrast and all three photos were shot within one minute.

Bear Gulch 1

Bear Gulch 2

Bear Gulch 3

Bear Gulch 4

Title: Bear Gulch 1; Info: 11/5/2009 @ 11:30AM; Bear Gulch; f/2.8 – 1/125 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-W1
Title: Bear Gulch 2; Info: 11/5/2009 @ 11:30AM; Bear Gulch; f/2.8 – 1/125 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-W1
Title: Bear Gulch 3; Info: 11/5/2009 @ 11:30AM; Bear Gulch; f/5.6 – 1/125 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-W1
Title: Bear Gulch 4; Info: 11/5/2009 @ 11:30AM; Bear Gulch; f/5.6 – 1/160 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-W1

Here are the original images that I took for the panorama. I like the Upper Mesa photos. There was a lot of contrast because of the lighting but there were some really cool colors of the moss on the other bank as well as the faint rainbow that can be seen next to the waterfall.

PhotoADay

PhotoADay Template

For this edit I used the selection tool to find out the size of the original photo. Then I cropped my original images the about the proper size. I copied them onto the template just above the photo frame that I wanted to fit it into. I adjusted the size and rotated it after reducing its opacity so I could see the frame. I moved it into the perfect position then added a clipping mask. At that point I increased the opacity of the photo and voila, a perfect fit!

Kristen Luminosity

Kristen before CM

Kristen Color Match

Title: Kristen Luminosity Original; Info: 10/24/2009 @ 4:35PM; Rexburg Hill; f/2.8 – 1/1000 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-W1
Title: Kristen Color Match; Info: 10/24/2009 @ 5:21PM; BYU-I Gardens; f/2.8 – 1/125 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-W1

Here I followed the awesome tutorial by Corey Barker. I hadn’t originally planned on doing this but when we were taking photos out in the open, the sun broke through the clouds creating a perfect blown out side of her face. Then for the color match, I used a photo we had taken earlier in the day that had nice warm colors and I matched it to the image above to create a much more lively image.

Kristen Peek

Kristen Grass

Kristen Leaves

Kristen Environmental

Title: Kristen Peek; Info: 10/24/2009 @ 5:00PM; BYU-I Gardens; f/2.8 – 1/100 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-W1
Title: Kristen Grass; Info: 10/24/2009 @ 4:56PM; BYU-I Gardens; f/2.8 – 1/160 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-W1
Title: Kristen Leaves; Info: 10/24/2009 @ 5:10PM; BYU-I Gardens; f/2.8 – 1/80 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-W1
Title: Kristen Environmental; Info: 10/24/2009 @ 10:39PM; Homestead Assisted Living; f/2.8 – 1/80 sec., ISO 400; Camera: Sony DSC-W1

This was a fun photo shoot because my sister can produce a genuine smile almost everytime! I know that after a few minutes of having my photo taken, I start to get tired and then we usually have to do serious shots. I took all of these photos last Saturday. It was partially cloudy so I felt like it was pretty good diffused light even out in the open but on the downside, that type of light tends to make your photos go a little bit flat. Anyway, one of my favorites is the one with Kristen holding some leaves in her hand and so I focused on the leaves using macro to create a blurred look. The one where she is peeking through the window is fun too! Anyway, a special thanks goes to my sister for being such a great model on this one.

Bora Border

Makemo Boat

Here you have your standard edge effects. I really like playing with the paint brushes especially. I even used the paint brush at a high opacity and large size to create some grunge. The second image is a flexible vignette, I made a hole in the layer using a mask and then blurred the mask. Easy as pie!

Night Lights

Light Ribbons

Temple

Title: Night Lights; Info: 10/19/2009 @ 7:08AM; Rigby, Idaho; f/2.8 – 20 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-H50
Title: Light Ribbons; Info: 10/19/2009 @ 6:48AM; Rexburg, Idaho; f/4.5 – 20 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-H50
Title: Temple; Info: 10/19/2009 @ 6:30AM; Rexburg, Idaho LDS Temple; f/3.5 – 1/3 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-H50

The first image I took on the overpass in Rigby. It was so dark that I was surprised that the blue clouds really show up with a 20 sec shutter speed. I really hadn’t noticed the color of the sky at all till I took the photo. I have always loved seeing the trails made by headlights/taillights but the sky and the other lights in the area turned out cool. The light ribbons image was taken by first opening the shutter, then after a few seconds moving the camera slowly, then covering the lens for the rest of the exposure. Finally, the temple shot took a two second shutter time to get the proper exposure. It is on the dark side but still turned out well. Photos are adjusted slightly for levels and are slightly cropped.

Town and Sky Contrast HDR

Town and Sky Before HDR

Vat HDR

Vat Before HDR

Baby Carriage HDR

Baby Carriage Before HDR

Title: Town and Sky Contrast HDR; Info: 10/07/2009 @ 11:47AM; Bannack, Montana; f/8 – 1/250 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-H50
Title: Vat HDR; Info: 10/07/2009 @ 2:42PM; Bannack, Montana; f/4 – 1/125 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-H50
Title: Baby Carriage HDR; Info: 10/07/2009 @ 12:53PM; Bannack, Montana; f/6.3 – 1/13 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-H50

It turns out that HDR is amazing! I really enjoyed the opportunity to learn HDR but it isn’t as easy as it may seem. The first image was by far the easiest. It seems like Dynamic Photo HDR really shines when it comes to outdoor images. After snapping the shot at Bannack, all I really had to do is use the high contrast setting when tone mapping and after adjusting levels and saturation slightly, I was done. The second image was taken in the mill (for those who weren’t there) and required a bit more effort in adjusting saturation using an adjustment layer and mask but came together fairly easily. I was a bit worried at first because I took the image without a tripod but I must have been pretty steady because they lined up well. The final image was a real mess. The HDR image had weird color highlights around any edges where light was being reflected, especially the chromed surfaces on the carriage. Also the window was blown out. So I used multiple adjustment layers to adjust levels and saturation. It turned out alright. I really like the texture of the wallpaper pulling away from the wall but I am less satisfied with the view from the window. But oh well, you win some you lose some. Overall HDR is amazing!

Nail

Paint Chips

Ghosts

Self Portrait

Pipes

Title: Nail; Info: 10/07/2009 @ 3:03PM; Bannack, Montana; f/2.7 – 1/60 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-H50
Title: Paint Chips; Info: 10/07/2009 @ 5:24PM; Bannack, Montana; f/2.7 – 1/40 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-H50
Title: Ghosts; Info: 10/07/2009 @ 4:36PM; Bannack, Montana; f/8 – 10 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-H50
Title: Self Portrait; Info: 10/07/2009 @ 5:36PM; Bannack, Montana; f/2.8 – 1/50 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-H50
Title: Pipes; Info: 10/07/2009 @ 3:10PM; Bannack, Montana; f/4 – 1/200 sec.; Camera: Sony DSC-H50

Well there you have it. The best of what I got at Bannack. All images have slight levels and crops. I particularly like the shot of the paint chips. The nail adds some visual interest while the paint chips add some texture. I feel that our day at Bannack really allowed me to expand my knowledge of photography and improve my techniques. As you can see, I like shallow depth of field. My favorite photos are almost always shallow depth of field. It really allows you to get close and examine something closeup. The ghost photo was fun and I would like to thank Anica and Sharon for helping me out It was a fun day despite the cold weather!