Abstracts

[Didache]

Hi all

Now, I KNOW that this kind of stuff is not everyone's cup of tea - and some people wouldn't consider it "proper" photography

Even so, I spent a happy couple of hours doing up some abstracts (the whole thing was prompted by the Viewfind thread on wallpapers). And, they actually ARE based on real photos. You can see some more at the bottom of the page at:

http://www.mikedalesphotography.co.u...olio48581.html

If nothing else, they make interesting wallpapers.

Cheers
Mike

[jetrim]

Hey, a great new use for all those *other* photos that came out so badly I'm embarrassed to show them here After browsing your site, I do think these are the three best with the second being my favorite. I'd be curious to see what they started out as (third looks like it has some elements of a building near the center, but the other two are indistinguishable).

[Frog]

Where's my bong and black light?
Those are actually quite pretty, Mike.
Here's one I did a while back and was my wallpaper for a while....shocked my wife when she first saw it.
It was better when it covered our whole screen

[Didache]

frog .. that would have frightened the bejabbers out of me too!!

jetrim .. my fave is the third, but I agree that these are the best three.

Interesting question though, as to how much of the original image is "recognisable". Just for an experiment I did one with one of my underground train shots. I've rotated it in order to match the rotation of the abstract. Not sure anything is recognisable, apart from the general colour scheme.

I very definitely have too much time on my hands

Cheers
Mike

[Wild Wassa]

'Flat Cat On A Hot Tin Roof' ... or is it a hot cat on a flat tin roof. Anyway it's all a bit too abstract for this cat.





Warren.

[Loupey]

Mike, I have no idea how you created these but they are mesmerizing and beautiful! Love that #3 in the original post.

[Didache]

Loupey .. many thanks.

These started when someone in my camera club showed some abstracts he had done. He told me, in outline, how they were achieved and after a little experimentation I worked out how to do it myself.

I don't mind sharing the technique if anyone is interested.

Cheers
Mike

[mjs1973]

I don't mind sharing the technique if anyone is interested.

I'm interested.

These look really good Mike.

[draymorton]

Same here!

[Didache]

OK - here goes! All this is done with PS Elements, but I'm sure you can do it with any decent program.

1) Get your picture. Pretty large resolution as some cropping will take place later. From experience, avoid more than a tiny bit of white in it, and don't make green the dominant colour (it just looks awful). Something with blocks of two or three colours seems to be best (for instance, the London Underground picture in this thread)

2) Apply mezzotint filter to it. (Filter/Pixelate/Mezzotint/Short Strokes)

3) Apply radial zoom (Filter/Blur/Radial Blur/Zoom) - do this at 100%

4) Repeat (3) - you need a very strong radial effect.

5) Duplicate the layer.

6) In one of the layers (I use the original one) apply some twirl (Filter/Distort/Twirl) - twirl it to the right, but not too much.

7) With the other layer (the copy) twirl again, but this time to the left.

8) Use the "lighten" blending mode. At this point an abstract will suddenly appear.

9) It will be WAY too symmetrical - find an interesting part of it and crop out (typically maybe 1/4 of the image)

10) Layer/Merge-Visible to combine the layers into one.

11) It will almost certainly require some boost in contrast, and I darken it with levels (pushing the middle toggle on the levels histogram a little to the right). You have to play at this to get the effect you want.

12) Resize up to your normal size, apply just a little unsharp mask, and save.

13) Voila!!!!

14) Seriously, don't be disappointed if it doesn't work out .. I find that maybe 1 in 7 is worth keeping. The colours in the original image may not work together well, etc etc. You can try it with different amounts of twirl, etc. If you like you can then go on and apply glow or other filters - although I don't.

Hopefully I have been clear with all this - any problems, just ask.

I am about to put a couple of them up on the Critique forum, if you're interested.

Cheers
Mike

[Loupey]

Wow, Mike - thanks for sharing the technique. Hope I didn't sound like I was fishing for the technique in my original post. But I'm glad you did

I'll try it out and perhaps post a result next week. Thanks again!

[jetrim]

Mike, thanks for posting your method. Since I use PSP rather than Elements I either don't have the same options, or they are named differently and I haven't found them yet. It did inspire me to see what I could come up with though, and after looking at your post in the critique forum, I ended up trying some new things to convey a sense of water and although it is not in the same style as your abstracts, I was pleasantly surprised with the results of this shot which was originally a conglomeration of highway bridges...

[spiraleyes]

Mike! Great technique, and I love the three results that you posted here.

Thanks for sharing!

[spiraleyes]

Here is my first attempt. This is pretty fun!

[jetrim]

Alright Mike, now you've done it :mad5: I have wasted SOOOO much time on this little diversion it's not funny! I really need to stop playing! I did finally figure out the settings in PSP to roughly duplicate your system (attachment 1) and of course had to monkey with it to see where else it would lead me. Attachment 2 started out as a wall of graffiti and 3 was the back end of a pick-up truck. I was especially impressed with the varnished wood-grain/airbrush result on # 3 which was the result of a strong high pass sharpen followed immediately by USM

[Didache]

Great stuff guys!!

jetrim .. I especially like the globe idea .. now it will by MY turn to spend hours playing to get that effect

Cheers
Mike

[jetrim]

That one took the most time...
Some key differences in the procedure:

Blend mode was set to "difference" rather than "lighten" which introduced a whole new set of colors into the mix after "left/right twirl".

PSP X2 has some effects you may have to hunt for - once above was complete, under "geometric effects" I chose "sphereize" and set to 50% (you might be able to get the same effect with "punch").

Then copy/paste as new image. With the new image I went to "distortion effects/lens distortion/fisheye" and set it to maximum which gave me a circle which was mostly clear but had colored edges.

Then use that image to make a "layer mask from image" then copy/paste as new layer over the original. Now you have your globe, marble, whatever.

Merge all layers down, copy/paste as new layer with overlay blend mode. Mirror this layer, skew more horizontal than vertical, and squeeze it with the deform tool and slide it around until it looks good. Finally use the eraser set to something enormous with a hardness of 0 and soften the edges. Now you have your reflection.

Merge all (flatten) adjust your color/contrast/saturation/brightness and you're all done ( a mere 3 1/2 hrs later :lol: )

[Didache]

jetrim - thanks for that! As you suggested, I had to find other ways to do it, but once having cracked it, I thought I'd head in a different direction .. space!!!

Cheers
Mike

[draymorton]

Mike, many thanks for sharing the technique!

jetrim - those are great!

[jetrim]

OK one last one that I thought came out quite cool.
The American flag hung stars up and to the right:

[shootme]

Wow, brilliant I am very impressed these are great, Mike thanks for sharing. Pity I am no good at PP so your instructions are a foreign language for me. One day maybe. Cheers, Shootme

[jetrim]

Been a while, but I'm still tinkering here and there. The processing has gotten increasingly complex, but I do believe the images are improving as a result

[readingr]

I thought I'd give this a go and here is one of Rufus.

Roger R.

[Didache]

Hi Roger ... nice job! Clearly you created it much as I do. It can be addictive though - I have dozens of them!

Mike

[readingr]

Hi Roger ... nice job! Clearly you created it much as I do. It can be addictive though - I have dozens of them!

Mike

Mike,

Just started playing with this to see how it works. As you said addictive, I did Rufus pic and then started looking for more. Two done so far now to experiment with other filters.

Roger R.

PS. how about resurrecting the Oxford event?