January 2009 Contest Discussion

[T Paul]

Add your comments, questions or general discussion about the Contest entries here. This is also a great place to share your techniques or ask others about theirs.

Most members are eager to hear comments/suggestions about their entries, so please take the time to help each other out.

[LonK]

Wow. Just took a look at the source photo for this contest. Quite a challenge being proposed. No wonder there are not any entries yet. This may take some time -- so many details to attend to. Is anyone working on it?

[Ruzzez]

I've started, but I have not accomplished much yet.

[T Paul]

I gave you all of December to rest up for it!

[CathyH]

I'm working on it, too. I also haven't gotten very far. I started with the roof of the barn.
good luck everyone.

[ScubaMargie]

It definitely looks like a tough assignment. I haven't had time to look at it properly yet, let alone do anything about it. Hopefully after my exams next week I can. Have fun everyone :-)

[Lorraine]

I did do reconstruction of the spire on the smaller part of the barn. Then I realized that this project is going to take more time and skill than I have.

I've just started a course in CSS/XHTML, so this contest isn't viable for me now.

Good luck to all who are entering. I'll check out the finished products.

Lorraine

[Kraellin]

ok, this isnt quite as hard as it first appears. i'm going to give you one tip to make your lives easier... remember that the final image is 800 x 600, not what it currently is. if you resize first, before restoring, you'll have to contend with a whole LOT LESS detail. normally, i dont recommend doing that for restorations, but in this particular case, where the final image is going to be downsized rather than upsized, check it out. it might save you a few hours and headaches

[travoll]

i think the hardest part for me was trying to match the reflection in the water. maybe i didn't have to do that but sometimes i get carried away.

[LonK]

I hope all the other entrants enjoyed working this contest as much as I did. As a new Photoshop user (just 3 months now), I found this to be an excellent opportunity to learn manipulation techniques. I think I used most every tool in Photoshop's extensive arsenal!

It was immediately obvious to me that this was not merely a "photo" restoration project, but rather an actual building restoration; that the purpose was for the contractor to use the end result as a sales tool, to illustrate what the building could look like with a fresh face lift and inevitably to sell his services. As such, my goal was to make the scene much more visually appealing than the somewhat dreary source photo suggested.

I spent a good deal of time gathering and preparing the elements I imagined would contribute to that goal, including: roofing, siding, stone wall and brick fills, doors, windows, trees in full bloom, dramatic clouds and even some swans for accent. I dealt with the reflection using a trial of Flaming Pear's Flood plugin.

Putting it all together was time-consuming, but if the contractor gets the job, the effort would certainly have been a good investment on his part and of course, another potential source of income for any aspiring pixel craftsman. For me, it was an invaluable learning experience.

[T Paul]

Lonnie,

You are spot on! That was my objective for this contest. Contractors, realtors, developers and so on benefit from this type of architectural restoration. The photos help the client better envision the end result through before and after shots.

Lonnie also made an excellent point about preparation. It is so easy to want to just dive into the photo and start working on it; figuring out things as you go along. But if you take a little time to plan your attack it will make the process much more productive.

Another common project along this avenue is to turn a house into a pencil sketch or watercolor as a house-warming gift to a client. I’ve also seen a combination of before and after shots -- almost a split screen with a photo of a town street from back in the old days on one side that fades into the present time view. This is quite the challenge as you one, need the old photo and two, have to take the current photo matching the old perspective so line things up. But if you can pull it off, it makes for quite the nostalgic gift.

Cheers,

~T

[Aalandriel]

I was thinking about attacking this from the exact angle that both Lonnie and Tpaul mentions (I had the remodelling mats lined up), but then I reread the contest guidelines and thought maybe the wording of the assignment was actually a clue as to how to attack this.

Repair and restore to me does not mean make it new. So I opted for the pure restoration angle which meant a lot more work but the best way IMO to avoid the "new and overly improved" look that you get when aiming to make it new. Maybe I should have reread the contractor bit of the contest rules as well and it would have changed my opinion once again but if that was the case I fear I would't have gotten anything done as I would still be contemplating how to go about this challenge

If I were to rework my submission even further I would attach the look and feel of the overall image perhaps make it appear as the shot was taken on a spring or summer day instead of what appears to be a dreary November day, but that might just be the sneaky winter depression talking

[magentaskye]

Sums, your take on this scene was totally brill. I love that you didn't follow everyone else's lead and made the picture your own....

totally stunning.

there is something to be said about not abusing your filter powers and making things look like a knitted sweater on a canvas.

[Nasturtium]

1.travoll

2.Ruzzez

3.CathyH

[LonK]

Answering some posts in votes thread:

CathyH: Thanks for your comment.

Nasurtium: You did not enter the contest, therefore you may not vote.

Aalandriel: Thanks for your comments. Oops! You failed to name the artist in your 4th place vote.

sums: Thank you too for YOUR feedback. You are correct that I tried to work this from the contractor's POV. He would, of course, be the person to whom the artist would answer. I did add the swans to contribute animation (life) to the scene. I used Alien Skin's Eye Candy 5: Textures, Brick Wall plugin for the wall and brick fills. I agree it looks somewhat synthetic, but nonetheless effective. The grass was not replaced, rather simply a color range selection recolored to a green hue with HSL adjustment. As far as the background is concerned, my goal was simply to make it more enticing. Replacing the bare, cold trees with ones in full autumn bloom just seemed appropriate. The sky? Well, I just love dramatic skies with billowy clouds. Let me reiterate that I think your entry is fantastic. You certainly have no trouble with visualization. I didn't mean to imply that you broke any contest rules, only that these contests are designed to expose retouchers to what may be real world business situations. In this case, IMHO, your artistic rendition would not be suitable. I do hope we'll see more of your wonderful work here at RetouchPRO in the future.

Ruzzez: I appreciate the feedback.

[Aalandriel]

Originally Posted by LonK

Aalandriel: Thanks for your comments. Oops! You failed to name the artist in your 4th place vote.

Whoooooooooooops! thanks Lonnie

[Ruzzez]

Now that the voting is over, I have taken the comments from the voting and tried to incorporate improvements. I would like some feedback on what you think.

[T Paul]

Great job everyone! This was a challenging contest and those that entered deserve a pat on the back.

It looks like the water reflection caught a couple people though. When working on a photo that has reflective surfaces remember to see if you need to duplicate changes there as well or it will be a dead give away that the photo has been altered. Also, the owners and animals in Sums photo might be surprised to return to find an ocean (wink). All in all, everyone did a fantastic job!

Now for the winner. And the contract goes to…..LonK

When working on a presentation, many times the photo is used not only to win the contract, but also to show everyone what the finished project will look like…the coming attraction so to speak. So this photo might be posted in a lobby, put in flyers or construction signs, published in the local newspaper etc. Keep this in mind when doing presentation work.


Top 5
LonK - 29
Ruzzez - 27
Chillin - 22
Aalandriel -15
CathyH -12

~T

[sylvia1065]

Congratulations to everybody for the excellent job, and especially to Lonnie !!!
I hope you will enjoy my Photoshop Photos to Art ebook
Sylvia

[LonK]

Thanks, Sylvia. I just started looking through your excellent eBook. Your work is certainly exemplary.

[CathyH]

Congratulations Lonk, wonderful as always.

I should have spent twice the amount of time on mine, I know it was not finished but I wanted to post it, so I could vote.

[Kraellin]

congrats, lonk

[LonK]

Thanks, Cathy and Craig.