Great site!

[Breid]

Just wanted to say "hi" and thank all who have helped put together an amazing site.

I'm not a photographer but an artist and I often incorporate elements from vintage photo's into my paintings. Of course, many of these flea market finds need a bit of help in order to get the detail back so I can see what I'm trying to paint and that's what brought me here -that and I also do a little photo manipulation for work purposes which is graphic design, and animation. Basically, I really love playing with pictures and thought it might be time to concentrate a bit more on it!

Thank you again!

[plugsnpixels]

Your artwork sounds interesting, can you show us some?

[Breid]

Sure! I just updated my profile, but here are a couple in particular. One is a memorial piece of my dad the other is just an example of what I sometimes do. They might be a bit odd for some people though.

http://bonnireid.com/ExhibitB/2011/0...tych-finished/
http://bonnireid.com/ExhibitB/2009/01/16/sargasso/

Thanks for asking!

[plugsnpixels]

Wow, much more advanced and original than I was expecting! Great work!

[Breid]

Thank you so much! This is really the perfect site for me to learn more since I usually just wing-it and fill in the rest with a paint brush!

[plugsnpixels]

Regardless, the results are excellent! Tell us more about your image post-processing.

[Breid]

Oh geez, it changes up all the time! I usually have an idea in mind and then I basically create a digital college with old images and this is used as a rough layout for painting. The human figures are often a combination of a few photo's, same with mechanical devises, etc. I mostly cut-out things by using masks and channels.

As you know often times old pictures have lost a lot of detail which I try and bring back. Sometimes it's as simple as using levels, but often I find I have to mask out areas and pop out others. I do a lot of googling when I can't figure something out. Also, I have a bit of a background using PS because I paint bg's in animation as a living.

And I really do love working with old photos. It's a bit like a mystery and magic finding all those hidden bits.

[plugsnpixels]

I feel a Featured Artist coming on! See the relevant pages in my ezines for examples and let me know if you're interested! No cost/no pay. Includes links to your websites and galleries and a little writeup.

[Breid]

Okay, thanks! I'll look it up....