For the images above
                                                Original                        Rev 1
                                                Rev 2                           Rev 3

​Here is another version I attempted after reading the comments.

1) I agree, that the street grounded the image, so I put it back in, and just tried to mask the "newer" items in the image that stuck out for the older concept I was going for. Helped me learn about layer priority as well when I tried replacing a few signs.

2) Since I'm not going back, not much I could do about taking a new picture to help make the buildings more vertical. But the comments helped point out the "transform" function, so I played a little with that as well. Couldn't get perfect, as I ended up just chasing my tail eventually, but do think I was able to improve it a bit without totally losing the fire escapes on the left side, which I really liked.

3) I also, just for fun, tried another aging process on the older buildings. This method kept the color differences, but played with the saturation and shading to try and mimic the older photos that had color but not very deep blacks to them.

4) I also tried creating my own clouds in the area I removed the top of the building in the back. Thought it might help mask the fill of new sky that was hard to blend.

Thanks for the comments. As this was basically an "exercise" to start learning the software, it was useful to point me in the direction to try a few things I didn't even think of at first. Still have a way to go, but it was a decent first step.....John

Our most recent speaker was Lisa Cuchara who presented "Wabi Sabi: Photographing the Old, the Imperfect, and the Everyday". It was another enjoyable and inspiring presentation from Lisa. I could identify with the 'style' so I went looking in my files for images that might fit the definition of Wabi Sabi style. Here are some that I found. 
If you have some to share, post a link here or a few individual images directly in the comment box.
Maryann
​https://photos.app.goo.gl/devh2BGTCBgqQoXeA

Three planned trips this year—all cancelled because of the pandemic. I do most of my photography when I travel so it’s been disheartening. Of course there is plenty to photograph near home but frankly it was too darn hot this summer to go anywhere. I was able to capture the comet NEOWISE one night. That was a highlight. And there are always bugs, birds and flowers just outside my door so I was not totally divorced from my cameras. Yes I could have done some indoor shooting—was not inspired. And I could have spent oodles of time on webinars and tutorials. Somehow I didn’t get to those either. I did find a few photo-related things to do.


1] I went back into my files of thousands of images. Wow, some are really bad! But there were some gems among the drivel. Besides having a better sense of good imagery thanks to our critique meetings, numerous upgrades have been made to Lightroom since I made the images. So it was interesting to re-edit some of them. Some that were halfway decent were improved. So if you need a project, I recommend looking at your old images and reworking them using fresh eyes and more powerful software if you have it. If you are using Lightroom, be sure to update the Process for the image so you are working with the newest version. Old images retain the process they were originally made with. You never know what gems you might turn up. 


2] Another fun project was playing with manipulation—really drastic manipulation in Photoshop that changes a recognizable image to a colorful, totally abstract design. It began with a technique I blogged earlier—March 29th. (BTW, that began as an image of a butterfly). I expanded on the method by incorporating different steps and filters. Many of the resulting images are in the “Abstract Creations” gallery on my web site https://maryannflickphotography.weebly.com/abstract-creations.html  and the original tutorial that I used is here http://awakethelight.blogspot.com/2020/03/


3] I keep a Lightroom collection of my favorite images. I go to this for making prints and for competitions. One day I decided to single out the un-manipulated abstracts and noticed some similarities among them. It sparked another little project that I called “Pairs”. https://maryannflickphotography.weebly.com/pairs.html  
Some of my pairings are similar images and some are contrasting or complimentary images that I think have something in common. 
Here’s a quote from the Adorama 42 West web site about Abstract photography.
“Compared to more popular photography niches like product, outdoor, and wedding photography, abstract photography goes against many photography rules, giving you the freedom to take a photo of anything that grabs your attention and allows you to express your artistic nature.
Formally speaking, abstract photography is a method of expressing ideas and emotions with photographed image elements without the intention of creating a traditional or realistic image. By avoiding and going beyond the usual representations of an object, scene, or any particular element, it reveals details that are normally ignored and triggers the viewer’s imagination.” https://www.adorama.com/alc/abstract-photography-for-beginners-9-tips-for-capturing-stunning-abstract-images
Look through your images for ‘likeness’ and create pairs, triptychs or quads of images that go together. Doesn't have to be abstracts--anything you especially like to shoot is best. If you use Lightroom you can do this is the print module and use “print to file”. It's fun and can give you a better sense of your personal style.

Be well, Maryann

If you have a summer story to share send it to me and I will post it here. You can include images if you like.
​

Title: Iris Macro 2
​Photographer: Rob Nardino





I was trying to take macro photos of the irises that just bloomed in our front yard.  I wanted only some of it in focus, so it would have an abstract feel to it.  I’ve cropped it different ways, and would love to have input about the two versions here.  Offset in-focus elements would adhere to traditional compositional rules, but the background on right is a little less blurred than I would like (I guess I could play around in Photoshop) where as the more centrally placed one could be viewed as more static but I think it appeals to me a little more.